UK Criterion
Blu-Ray Review: Shaft
Hollywood has always been a very white place. Whilst some purposeful steps have been made this century, at least in front of the camera, there is still a long way to go. When black people appeared on screen in the early 1970s, they were usually the bad guy or, at best, a sidekick. There were …
Blu-Ray Review: Black Girl
While you might think that domestic servitude is a thing of the past, it’s alive and kicking in many parts of the world. While it’s rife in regions such as the Indian Subcontinent, Middle-East, South-East Asia and many parts of Africa, that doesn’t mean to say it doesn’t still happen in Europe. While the colonial …
Blu-Ray Review: Double Indemnity
It’s the oldest trick in the book. Beautiful young woman marries a rich older man, persuades him to take out a life insurance policy and soon after he, coincidentally, has a nasty accident. Even better if she can find some patsy to do the deed for her, using her feminine wiles to keep him on …
Blu-Ray Review: Love Jones
The 1990s was a strange decade for filmmaking. There were so many films which were critically well-received at the time, financially unsuccessful, but achieved a cult status in the years and decades which followed. This has led to many works being re-appraised and consequently reaching a whole new generation of movie lovers. Giving them a …
Blu-Ray Review: Make Way for Tomorrow
In the ‘developed world’, at least, we live in an era of increasing life expectancy and aging populations. Most societies aren’t set-up to deal with this, both in terms of care and healthcare provisions. We’re living in an increasingly globalised world which means that families are often scattered far and wide. Parents and children often …
Blu-Ray Review: In Cold Blood
Today, true crime is big business. Newsagents’ shelves are full of magazines, bookstores stuffed to the seams with bestsellers and streaming services providing a platform, and funding, for countless popular series. This hasn’t always been the case though. When Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood was published in 1966 it was an instant success. Remaining one …
Blu-Ray Review: Boat People
People often wonder how authoritarian regimes manage to keep control, but as current events demonstrate it’s possible to brainwash the majority of a population if you control the narrative. The TV channels, the papers, access to the internet and social media. When that’s not possible or enough, there’s fear and intimidation. Portraying a false image …
Blu-ray Review: Modern Times
While he had stiff competition from Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton, there’s no doubt that Charlie Chaplin was the king of American silent cinema. While they were all brilliant physical comedians, the Londoner had the advantage of having the ‘little tramp’ up his sleeve. His much-loved creation is undoubtedly the iconic face of the era. …
Blu-Ray Review: Pale Flower
They say that if you go looking for love you’ll never find it but it will often find you in the most unlikely places. Opposites attract or birds of a feather stick together, depending on which magazine you’re reading at the time. It’s clear though that attraction doesn’t conform to any social hierarchies or cultural …
Blu-Ray Review: Love Affair
Leo McCarey is one of those filmmakers whose name has almost been forgotten by time, even though some of his work has not. Although he only made twenty-five feature films over a period of five decades, he was involved in hundreds more. Writing, directing and producing. He’s probably best-known today for Duck Soup, making a …