Film Reviews by sb

FILM & REVIEW Michael Powell’s first major motion picture and what a remarkable film it is. Set on the remote Hebridean island of Hirta (in reality the island of Foutra)it opens with a luxery yacht captained by Powell himself and skippered by Andrew (Maginnis) calling thinking it is inhibited but Andrew who used to live there tells him it’s been abandoned. This leads to a lenthy flashback of Andrew , his best friend Robbie (Berry) and his twin sister Ruth ( Crystal) who Andrew is in love with… A dispute between the two men leads to a challenge to scale some cliffs but Robbie tries a shortcut with fatal consequences. This enrages the twins Father (Laurie) who forbids Ruth to marry and this combined with a declining population and economic opportunities causes Andrew to leave for Shetland. Once he has gone Ruth discovers she is with child but as the mail boat only comes once a year she has to rely on the trawler fleet to pass on the news…. Meanwhile conditions worsen and the decision to evacuate the island is taken… It was an arduous shoot where the cast and crew had to fend for themselves with almost no contact with the outside world which adds to the isolation of the film. The use of the wind swept barren cliffs that the population cling to is remarkable as are some the climbing sequences carried out mainly by the cast. In his later career Powell would create entire landscapes at Pinewood but for this it’s man vs the elements at its most brutal….quite remarkable 4/5

FILM & REVIEW Aka Time Without Pity - Early British Film from Joseph Losey after his blacklisted Hollywood exile. It’s a gripping tale of Graham (Redgrave) a recovering alcoholic who has been in a sanatorium in Canada and has only just discovered that his son Alec (Mcowen) has been convicted of murder and is to be hanged. He flies over but is told by the lawyer (Cushing) that it’s hopeless and even his own son wants nothing to do with his father and just wants it to be over. Graham discovers that Alec was closely involved with the Stanford family ruled by the tyrannical and permanently furious father (Mckern) who makes his wife (Todd) and adopted son’ s life miserable. Can Graham unravel what really happened and save his son’s life as the strain has got him back on the bottle big time. It’s interesting that the identity of the killer is revealed in the pre- title scene so it’s not a whodunnit as can the various lies all the characters tell (for different reasons) be unravelled in time. It’s a powerful attack on the then still active capital punishment with terrific performances all round (look out for Lois Maxwell in a key scene)with a great use of clocks in almost scene as the countdown to the hangman draws ever closer - terrific stuff….4/5

FILM & REVIEW Aka The Nude Vampire One of Rollins strangest and most haunting films - a young girl ( Cartier)is pursued by various characters in weird horse head masks. She is rescued by Pierre (Rollin Jnr) but she gets shot and killed and is carried off. He follows to a house where well dressed people are admitted. He has no invite but discovers it’s owned by his Father. Gaining admittance the following night he discovers it’s a suicide cult where random guests shoot themselves as sacrifices to the young girl.Pierre is selected next but escapes forcing his father and his associates to flee Paris for a mist shrouded chateau where he encounters a rival cult intent on freeing the girl. As always with his films logic is out the window but it has an eerie haunting quality with mysterious beautiful women, guttering candles , an enigma in that is the girl a vampire or not and open ending on a wind swept beach which may mean anything….one of his finest - 4/5

FILM & REVIEW Aka If you meet Sartana….Pray for your Death… First in the official 5 canon movies and one off the best. It opens with a stagecoach being robbed for a case of gold by some Mexican bandits. They in turn are massacred by a gang led by Laski (Berger) who leads his men plus the crate to a secluded river bank where he uses a Gatling gun to slaughter his own gang…..only to discover the crate is full of rocks….and this is just the first 15 minutes…… Sartana (Garko) is soon on the trail to discover a vipers nest of bandits , corrupt lawmen and crooked bankers none of whom trust each other and with good reason. Add in Kinski as a gun for hire who hooks up with Lanski with endless shootouts and betrayals where Sartana hones his slight of hand gun fighting that became a trademark in the series…..it’s terrific stuff - 4/5

FILM & REVIEW On a pouring wet Autumn Sunday afternoon what better than an old fashioned Le Carre Cold War spy thriller. Mason plays Dobbs who is investigating a senior civil servant who was a Communist back in the ‘30’s when Dobbs department receives an letter claiming he still is. Dobbs investigates but clears him only to discover he shot himself that following evening. Dobbs is not convinced but falls foul of his boss so quits to investigate further opening a full can of worms stretching back to the war where nothing is as it seems. I say Mason plays Dobbs but it’s obviously George Smiley down to his nympomaniac openly unfaithful wife Anne - the name change is simply down to another studio having the rights to the characters name. A fine supporting cast including Andrews as an eccentric retired copper, Kinnear as a shifty car dealer and Schell as Dobbs’ friend from the war who is Anne’s latest lover. Mason is just superb dealing with the petty betrayal’s of his life with Signoret as the widow who may well know for more than she is letting on. Although it was made in 1966 it’s as far away from Swinging London as it’s possibly to get - Lumet and his cameraman Freddy Young shoot everything in a drained de-saturated palette so it’s like it’s set in a previous decade and the script is excellent using the Le Carre book as the basis of how all the certainties of the War have faded into ambiguity. The reveal takes place during a performance of Edward II a play itself about betrayal and look out for a youthful David Warner in the lead role - a real overlooked gem - 4/5

FILM & REVIEW Cracking sequel to Villnauve’s narco-classic. No Blunt this time but Brolin and Del Toro return as the DEA agents taking on the Mexican cartels. To complicate things it initialially appears that the drug gangs are smuggling Islamic terrorists over the border so the US Admin declare full out war. A plot is hatched to kidnap the teenage daughter of one of the drug king-pins (the same one who ordered the murder of Del Toro’s family last time around) but pin the blame on rival cartels and let them tear each other apart. Needless to say things don’t go as planned and the DEA squad find themselves cut loose and ordered to tie up any loose ends…which inludes the teenage girl. This sets up a moral hazard for the second half of the film that gives it its emotional core. Solimma takes over directing and as this is the man who made Subbura and Gommerah he knows how to set up some spectacular action set pieces. It’s superbly shot by Darius Wolvski with a somber menacing score by Guðnadóttir who worked with the late Jóhannsson on the first one and is just as effective. Brolin proves again just how good he is in Gary Cooper mode with a much more subdued Del Toro . There is still talk of a third volume as the story is far from over - 4/5

FILM & REVIEW Aka Shiri - a superb ferocious Korean thriller set during a brief thawing of relations between North and South. 2 South Korean agents Yu (Suk-Kye) and Lee (Kang-Ho) are on the trail of top North Korean assassin Hee who has several sniper kills to her name but she always gets away. They learn of a new high explosive the South are developing and the fact that a ruthless North Korean special forces squad led by Park (Moon-Sik) who intend to steal it and use it to undermine the peace process. Yu is in a relationship with Hyun (Lee) who is a sweet girl who runs a tropical fish shop. It soon becomes apparent that someone is feeding the enemy squad vital info as they are ahead all the time. Can the agents uncover the mole in time to avoid a massacre and resulting war…. It’s full full of major set pieces with car chases , massive gun battles and bomb timer count downs that owes as much to Die Hard as it does to John Woo with a surprisingly affecting emotional core - solid leads and Moon-Sik is wonderfully deranged as the bad guy and was the largest grossing Korean movie up to that point - 4/5

FILM & SHOCKTOBER Jean Rollin has carved out a reputation for making haunted dreamlike vampire films and this is his feature debut. It’s 2 films rolled into one - first half is really good where 4 sisters live in a decaying chateau and believe themselves to be vampires. A trio of medical students arrive to convince them it’s all a delusion and they are being manipulate by the landowner. All manner of strange things take place and nothing is at it seems. The second half has a vampire Queen arriving to clean up the mess with her own agenda…unfortunately none of the second half makes any sense and is as much influenced by the Theatre of the Absurd rather than any vampire tradition. It’s interesting in that all the themes of his career are here - the dreamlike sequences, the deserted Normandy beaches (which will become one of his motifs ) , the tasteful female nudity and lesbianism….but the plot is such a mess….fortunately the rest of his films take the better elements of this so 3/5

FILM & SHOCKTOBER An oft overlooked entry in the Hammer canon which is a shame as it’s really good. Fontaine plays Gwen a missionary in Africa who falls foul of the local witch doctor and is attacked causing a breakdown. After recovering in England she is offered a post as school teacher in a village by the Reverend Bax (Mckowen) who lives with his sister Stephanie (Walsh). Gwen accepts and moves to the idyllic village but something isn’t quite right. Bax isn’t a real priest and there is only a ruined church and it’s not long before all manner of odd things happen. A local girl Linda (Brett) plays with dolls even though she is to old for them and romance with a local boy is discouraged as she must remain pure…..for the obvious reasons. Soon Gwen seems to have uncovered a witches coven but digs too deeply and events cause her to have a complete breakdown. She recovers and escapes the institution she is being held at and returns to the village…..where fate awaits her. It’s very played by all the cast with an excellent script by Nigel Kneal and uses the quaint English village hiding something far darker very well.It should really be a lot better known - 4/5

FILM & SHOCKTOBER Very strange and bleak Hammer sci-fi/horror movie. Set in and around Weymouth in Dorset we meet Simon (Carey) a middle aged American tourist who is lured by Joan (Field) into the clutches of a motorcycle gang led by her brother King ( a very sinister Oliver Reed) where he is beaten and robbed. She feels sorry for him and in a way to get away from King (it’s implied there is an unhealthy relationship there) she jumps onto his boat. The gang pursue them and on landing by some cliffs the pair discover some mysterious scientific base run by the militery. With King chasing them they discover a secret entrance in a cave and find a group of children who are being held captive but educated via TV screens by Bernard (Knox) . The children help the adults and they are joined by King but the children are all ice cold to the touch and and any interaction by the guards are conducted wearing radiation suits. The adults agree to let help the children escape but begin to fall sick as Knox knew they would….. Directed by Joseph Losey in exile from the Hollywood blacklist he brings his customary edgy remote icy touch which adds to the whole ‘60’s atomic paranoia but with an really strange almost surreal twist to it… It’s unusual for a Hammer film of the time to have an outside director and is a much darker bleaker affair than normal - very good indeed - 4/5

FILM & REVIEW Trigger Warning - contains cockfighting.. Monte Hellman’s infamous film has Oates as Frank who has shot his mouth off once too often and until he wins the Cockfighter of the Year award has taken a vow of silence. He bets his latest bird against Harry Dean Stanton’s but bets everything - his car, his trailer park home and when he loses he even throws in his girl with the deal. Free of all encumbrances he starts afresh building up his cash reserves to buy better birds and is partnered by Omar who seems to be the only person that can make sense of Frank. He also has a fiancé Mary but again always backs away - his reputation increases until he makes the championship and invites Mary to it to see him and the birds in action….. As you can imagine this all ends on a bittersweet note. Hellman’s films are full of remote taciturn men and by making Frank mute by choice he takes this to logical conclusion and it’s to Oates credit that you still get involved. It was refused a certificate for years on the obvious grounds and the camera does not slack as the birds tear each other apart so be warned . It’s also an interesting slice of underbelly Americana as the sport is illegal in 38 states but occupies a niche in others. Been on my to see list for ages so can finally tick that one off - 4/5

FILM & REVIEW Cracking early Spaghetti Western has Gemma as the Angel Faced killer in jail after his latest self-defence shooting. While there the local bank is robbed and the town is shot up while the bandits escape to a nearby villa where the Sheriffs fiancé lives with her Father so a full on assault is out off the question. For a share in the reward money Ringo agrees to pretend to help the bandits to escape playing each off against each other.To complicate things the fiancée’s father takes up with the main bandits woman (Navarro) while his impeccable manners keeps the more bestial elements in the gang at bay. Ringo uses all manner of tricks and subterfuges to keep the bandits off balance whole plotting their eventual demise. It mixes loads of action with a nice line in comedy with mass gunfights, shoot-outs and brawls to keep to it boiling nicely. Spanish actor Sancho is terrific as the fat wily bandit with 2 strong female leads to add to the mix……it spawned the usual endless copies but this is the original and best - 4/5

FILM & REVIEW Aka Forbidden Photo’s of a Lady Above Suspicion- another snappily titled Italian Giallo. Laasander plays Mimou the wife of businessman Peter (Capponi)- one night she is attacked and fears the worst but he just wants to tell her that her husband is a murderer. His company is in trouble and when his chief creditor is found dead in mysterious cicumstances she suspects him. The stalker (a very menacing Andreu) plays her a tape of her husband planning the death and demands money. She arrives at his place but he blackmails her into a sadistic masochistic relationship which she is equally appalled and aroused by it. Her best friend (Scott)seems to encourage her but things soon spiral out of hand - she tells her husband who believes her but all the evidence seems to vanish and she begins to doubt her sanity. You can see where all this going but some slights of hand and red herrings keep it going…..it’s a minor entry into the genre but worth a look - 3/5

FILM & REVIEW Hosada’s wonderful understated Animi tells the story from the point of view of Yuki the daughter of Hana who while at college falls in love with an enigmatic stranger. He is revealed to be the last surviving werewolf although there is no howling at the moon and tearing peoples throats out. They have 2 children together (Ami is the younger brother) but the father as a wolf drowns leaving Hana to bring up the kids alone. Social services soon come calling so to keep her secret she moves to a remote rundown cabin but soon the neighbours rally round to help out. The kids grow up and soon school beckons with Yuki made to promise not to reveal her true nature and settles down but Ami is more in touch with his wolf nature spending more time in the forest with a real ageing wolf. Hana realises her children are set on very different paths… The Animation is just beautiful with a superb score by Tagaki and although it would have been so easy to slide into mawkish sentimentality it manages to keep the right side of this with a really engaging story. I watched in the original Japanese so no idea how the English version works but you can really feel something in your eye by the end …4/5

FILM & REVIEW Interesting if somwhat contrived gangster drama. It’s Chicago in 1959 and all the local hoodlums are dressed by English tailor Leonard (Rylance) a man who says nothing but sees everything. The main local mob are convinced there is an FBI rat in their midst and have a tape that contains the identity. Late one night the head mobsters son Ritchie is brought in gut shot by Francis (Flynn) who Ritchie suspects of trying to supplant him in his Fathers affections. Leonard sows him up and begins to play the various factions off against each other playing up all the paranoia that already exists. To complicate things his receptionist Mable (Deutche) is Ritchie’s girl but also seems to her own motives. The scene is set for a showdown. It all takes place in the tailors shop so it’s quite stage bound but the claustrophobia that this entails adds to the tension. Rylance is excellent as the fastidious tailor supported by Deutche and ok the wheels do come off big time in the final act but it’s an interesting and different approach to the genre - 3.5/5