The Ice Tower at The Rex Berkhamsted

 

For  a single showing of The Ice Tower, the Rex was almost deserted. Maybe because this French film had little publicity. However, this month's Sight and Sound magazine has a long six page interview with the director Lucile Hadzihalilovic who also wrote the screenplay with Geoff Cox. The story is more inspired by rather than based on the Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale The Snow Queen. But I did not know anything about it when the film started, but I did became more and more anxious that things would turn out badly, especially in the last half hour. 

Marion Cotillard is the star of the movie as she plays Cristina, a famous actress trying to settle into the filming of The Snow Queen in a cold, dark, snowy  and isolated place in the mountains of France. But in fact the story revolves around young Jeanne played by Clara Pacini. The film starts in her foster home as she "escapes" to who knows where. A stop for the night in what looks like a dark, deserted warehouse, turns out to be a film set. She has found a purse with the ID of an older girl and with that finds a job as an extra on the movie. 

Here she meets Cristina and a kind of relationship is formed. They have some mutual history, and in the end, despite my fears of disaster, I thought this was one of the most satisfying conclusions of any film for a long time. Not everyone will like the ending, but I was glad I could guess the future for Jeanne. There is also one scene that I thought was brilliant. By this time Jeanne has a larger role and replaces an actress who is frightened of the larger black bird (a crow or jackdaw) which has to sit on her arm. The shot from behind as the bird sits there, waiting for Cristina to exit the ice tower, is quite memorable. 

As for the critics, Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian gave it five stars telling us it was a "mesmeric melodrama". A four star review by James Learoyd compared the film to Mulholland Drive, that also had two female leads, with a distinct feeling something was strange. Isaac Feldbergs review for Roger Ebert adds Powell and Pressburger's Black Narcissus "haunts the film and that there is "a masterclass by Cotillard". "This is not so much a film you watch as one you wake up from, shivering". Leigh Singer in December's Sight and Sound full page review says "Hadzihalilovic tends to prioritise tone and texture over narritive and dialogue and this glacially paced, coolly calibrated new work is no exception". 

So this is not a film for everyone, but it stays with you more than most. 

Classic Christmas Movies on Sky Arts - Miracle on 34th Street

 

This episode is all about the 1947 black and white film and not the one with Richard Attenborough from 1994. What was most interesting was the fact that when first released (in the summer!) it was marketed as a rom com and that is why the two adult leads are pictured on the poster. Not a mention of Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle, who actually won the Oscar for best supporting actor. Later on we hear all about his background. Here he is when the studio eventually cashed in on it's Christmas theme.

The movie asks the one question, is he real. The ambiguity is key. This is an original story by Valentine Davies and directed by George Seaton. Neal Norman tells us "it sounds like a children's film when actually is a movie for adults". The story is based on the rivalry between the two main New York department stores, Macy's and Gimbels leading up to Christmas. It all starts with the Macy's parade and the film has real New York locations. In fact the two stores wanted the film re-shot to leave out any refence to their names. But, as Stephen Armstrong says, "you cannot buy pr like this". We hear all about Maureen O'Hara's character as the mother, and about her background. Also her daughter in the film, ten year old Natalie Wood. But hardly a mention of John Payne as Fred Gailey in that poster at the top.

Garden in December

 

Not a lot to see in the garden at the moment. The wallflowers in the pots and conservatory border are doing fine, even flowering in the milder weather. 

The irises below and those in the large pot seem quite healthy, ready for flowering in the spring.

A few snowdrops are also quite early.

Nothing much to see in the main border, just here to compare with the next summer.

Oxford's Hidden Walls

 

When Alison found Priscilla Frost's guide to the old walls of Oxford, we decided to make a start on Friday. However, the rain we expected in the morning duly arrived so we first made our way to the Westgate Shopping Centre and tea at John Lewis. So it was late morning by the time we made our way to Oxford Castle for the start of the route. We actually stayed there quite a long time before heading down New Road and the first part of the walk shown in blue in the map below.

Amazingly, the first part of the route down Bulwark's Lane was closed off so we found our way down New Inn Wall Street. In the end, this was quite fortunate as it took us past the Wesley Memorial Methodist Church where some music was about to start.

It was a concert by a young lady playing violin. There were only two other people in the audience, and we could only stay for three pieces. But what we heard was great. 

Back on the route in the book, we went down St Michael's Street, Ship Street and Turl Street. However, the rain that had held off became much heavier. So we went inside Tourist Information on Broad Street to find a map that would take us to a cafe for a late lunch. Down Cornmarket Street, then the High Street, Magpie Lane, the path past Corpus Christie College and round Christ Church to come out at St Aldates. Not the most direct route but at last we found our destination, The Independent Cafe. 

It was nice to take off our wet coats, found a nice table, and enjoyed some great toasted sandwiches and tea. We had some shopping to do so found our way to Queen Street. By the time we came out of Waterstones it was starting to get dark and headed for the station and the 4.15 train. The day ended up a bit different than what we expected due to the weather. But we have our book of the hidden walls and will be back in the spring/summer to continue our exploration. 

Swans and Cygnets at Weston Turville Reservoir

 

Boy, how the cygnets have grown. Over the last few weeks, every time I passed the reservoir on one of my walks, the swans were over the very far side near the yacht club. But yesterday they were back near the entrance. The five cygnets are nearly full grown and have only a few of their old brown feathers left. But like naughty juveniles, they are still hanging round their parents. 

I posted this note on 24th November, but now in the middle of December, something has changed. At the beginning of the month there was no sign of the cygnets, only the parents were left. Apparently they chase off their brood so they can mate again in the winter. However, on my walk through the village last week, a flock of swans passed over my head. When I arrived at the reservoir, the cygnets were back and no sign of the parents. So I'm not sure what that is all about. Here they are on Sunday dodging the yachts. 

. I first posted pictures of them on 2nd June.

And then later on 21st August.

On 4th September.

And 18th September.

It's so good that all five cygnets have survived. Last year there were just two.

Classic Christmas Movies on Sky Arts - It's a Wonderful Life

 

If I had to watch It's a Wonderful Life one more time it would be too soon. This is not my kind of Christmas film. Indeed as we are told, it never set out to be one. Neil Norman said that director Frank Capra just liked the story and it's only fragments of the film that are set in the holiday. However,  Ian Nathan does start with the words "The most celebrated and beloved Christmas move of them all". This episode has a huge amount of superfluous stuff, lots of documentary footage, stuff about the background of Capra and star James Stewart. All about the cast and the locations. We just do not need to be told about the plot, it is so familiar. Ian Nathan does remind us that "despite five Oscar nominations, it was at first destined for obscurity". If only it had stayed that way. I agreed with Neil Norman when he said the film was "incredibly dark".

The Running Man, Blue Moon and Eternity

 

Despite many positive reviews, I was disappointed by Edgar Wright's The Running Man. Mainly because lead actor Glen Powell maintains his fierce and angry personality throughout. The introduction was far too familiar, and they had spent an awful lot of money on the sets, the action and the extras. But where was the subtlety and some characterisation? And it was far too long, a good half hour could have easily been cut. And don't get me started on the ending that takes place on a plane. Fortunately  we did have Emilia Jones in this latter section. So not a patch on the original, and surprising for an Edgar Wright movie when his previous films have been so good. 

Thank goodness for the next two movies, both written so well. Which was a good job as they are completely led by the dialogue. When I heard that Blue Moon was about lyricist Lorenz Hart I couldn't wait. His songwriting credentials, with music by Richard Rogers, are enormous. Directed by Richard Linklater with a brilliant screenplay by Robert Kaplow, this is a one scene and one set film that is always interesting. It could be performed as a play sometime. Ethan Hawke (a Linklater regular - Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight) is almost unrecognisable as Hart who is much shorter in height than the rest of the cast. 

We are in the bar of Sardi's where Hart enters having left early on the opening night of Oklahoma! Rogers has now partnered with Oscar Hammerstein for this show. There are hints later on why this should be. And although none of Hart's songs are performed here, we do have Morty, the piano player in the bar, quietly running through his repertoire. But Hart is the centre of attention, never stops talking, especially to the barman Eddie. But he spots a quiet man in the corner jotting things down in a notebook, who just happens to be E B White, cleverly played by Patrick Kennedy. (After an early career writing for papers and magazines, he's here thinking about a children's book. His Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web led to a special Pulitzer Prize in 1978). 

Enter the main party for the after show celebration. Richard Rogers, of course, being accosted by Hart. However, I was not that impressed by Andrew Scott as the flimsy composer. But more so by Margaret Qualley (playing a twenty year old?) with whom Hart is in love. But she does have one superb long speech when they find a quiet place, all about a boyfriend who has ditched her, but with whom she is still in love. Typical of all these wonderful conversations as Hart gets more and more inebriated. As usual. 

A funny love triangle is set in the afterlife. For such a flimsy fantasy, Eternity is saved again by some great writing by director David Freyne. So, nearly all dialogue, some funny, some sad. It again could make a great play. The three leads buy into the plot. Waiting in this version of a waiting room for heaven is barman Luke played by Callum Turner (Emma).  He's been there decades waiting (not faithfully) for the love of his short life to finally appear. But first to arrive is her second, and decades long husband Larry (Miles Teller from Whiplash). But it's not long before Joan (a classy Elizabeth Olsen from Martha etc) appears and the struggle to be with her for ever begins. A clever premise that delivers a smart and amusing film. Mark Kermode was impressed with the script and performances. As was I.

Classic Christmas Movies on Sky Arts - The Muppet Christmas Carol

Ian Nathan introduces with the words "One of Michael Caine's greatest performances". "A Scrooge for the ages". Is he serious? Neil Norman tells us that this was the fourth in bringing the Muppets to the big screen and was "something really special" and that it was not really a Muppet movie but "a movie with Muppets". We hear a lot about Charles Dickens and his background, and the same for Muppet creator Jim Henson. When the team talk about Michael Caine, they explain how he took the role so seriously, understated and tragic. A lost soul.

There have been so many versions of the story, and so many Scrooges. What was interesting was how the individual Muppet characters were cast and adapted for their roles. And how they integrated the human characters. The sets were extraordinary. London especially seemed strange, spooky and unsettling. But even more amazing were the ghosts who are very different creations. The story is so true to the book, the script is so good we forget they are actually Muppets? Neil Norman ends the episode with the film is "dark, scary and funny. But beautifully balanced".

Table for Two by Amor Towles

 

Quite a difficult book to review as it is in two distinct parts. The first is six short stories all, except one, based in New York. The second part is a shortish novel set in Hollywood. But let's start with the six:

THE LINE

Pushkin and his wife Irina are peasants living a hundred miles from Moscow. That is until the latter declares they are Moscow bound. All because at last the royal family have been dispatched. The story is clever in that it is Irina who takes to the city like a duck to water, ending up on her work's committee. Pushkin is a disaster and ends up doing the shopping, waiting hours in line with their ration cards. Where he is quite happy with the relationships he makes. But that is not the end: see main title.

THE BALLAD OF TIMOTHY TOUCHETT

An aspiring young writer finds his way to New York ans a job in an antiquarian bookshop. But it's his crucial ability in draughtmanship that, for some extra cash, is used for what might be a criminal activity. But it's the authors own consideration of Timothy's situation that elevates the story to something special.

HASTA LUAGO

A Friday night at La Guardia airport six days before Christmas and a snowstorm. Jerry Brooks is "fortunate" to have met Smitty who organises a stay at the expensive Grand Hyatt Hotel. A story far from orthodox ends with a final paragraph that shows all the writer's talent and compassion.

I WILL SURVIVE

The break up of the long marriage of Peggy and Harry is an emotional read. She feels "ultimately cheated  by life ..... the loneliness, the indignities of marital collapse"

THE BOOTLEGGER

Mrs Harkness, our narrator,  and her husband Tommy have vowed, now the children are growing, to go on a weekly date. It all happens at Carnegie Hall where they have booked for the season. But it's Tommy who gets far too upset with the old guy in the next seat. I'm not sure why he cannot address the man directly rather than involving security. But apart from that, a moving and touching story.

THE DI DOMENICO FRAGMENT

It's lunchtime at La Maison where we find an old gent called Percival Skinner and his cronies. A representative of a wealthy buyer is after a Giuseppe Di Domenico painting, possibly a fragment. Skinner relates the story of the ancient masterpiece The Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel. Somehow the latest in the family to own the picture decided to cut up the painting and give out fragments to members of the family. Skinner might be able to help, but as in all these things, it does not go to plan.

Next up the short novel:

LOS ANGELES - EVE IN HOLLYWOOD

Not quite "All About Eve" but she is the thread for this story. We have quite short chapters, each one headed by one of the characters: Charlie, Prentice, Olivia, Litsky, Marcus, Wendell, Finnegan and of course Eve. 

PART ONE

Charlie Granger is on a train where he just happens to share a table with one attractive young woman - Evelyn Ross. (Whom we know from the author's earlier book "Rules of Civility). She asks Charlie about himself. 

Next up Prentice Symmons, another old boy and a resident of the Beverley Hills Hotel. Who should he sit with in the lobby but a new resident, you know who. They have a glorious conversation

Here at the hotel Evelyn meets Olivia de Havilland. They strike up a friendship and decide on an adventure. Their chauffer has this list: "Things to do before I skedaddle". 

Litsky hangs out at a club called El Ray's and who should walk in but Olivia and her friend (you know who). Before Litsky can take their picture (he's a cheap skate photographer after any star or starlet) they disappear. But off in pursuit, he manages to take a photo that might set him up for life. However, it's when Towles describes all those Hollywood characters that I was enchanted. "Louis Mayer had begun dining on lettuce because he could no longed cross his fat little fingers behind his back".

Marcus is a lawyer for a Hollywood studio, visited on this occasion by one Miss Ross. And who should appear but Selznick himself, wanting her to look after one of their biggest assets, Olivia.

Eve. At last she has her own chapter when we hear about her younger days. But it's her friend that has a big problem when that photo rears it's head. But just leave it to Eve to sort out.

PART TWO

Back to Charlie (he was on that train with Eve) and although he is sixty six and out of circulation, he agrees to meet Eve and help with the problem. Olivia is being blackmailed and Charlie has some suggestions. So the story takes a different turn into a kind of thriller that I was not expecting. 

However, there are still passages of Towles' trade mark insights such as this: "At least half of what a man hasn't learned in his lifetime, he could have learned with ease. This is one of the insights that comes with age - when one understands the nature of discovery but no longer has the time or energy to submit to it's splendours. Thus we are doomed to end our days in an ignorance largely of our own making".

Olivia has agreed with Eve to keep out of the way while she sorts the problem. She's on her way to Pasadena. (Oh, you railway station, oh you pullman train. Here's my reservation, for my destination, far beyond the western plain. To see my home in Pasadena .....".

It's Prentice who is off to The Hacienda (it has history) and a party (to which he has not been invited) to confront the host  Freddie about the photos. Lots of short chapters ups the pace until we reach Finnegan. He was a top cop until we hear the story about when he had to leave the force, and is now head of security at the Beverley Hills Hotel. He becomes embroiled in the blackmail plot until he's not. Thank goodness for Charlie. And of course Eve who is an absolute star.

My Shakespeare by Greg Doran - Parts 19 - 21

 

Part 19   Hamlet

- 2008: Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon; Novello Theatre, London - Filmed for the   BBC

"It's one of the biggies" says Greg. Especially if performed on the main stage of The Royal Shakespeare Theatre. But this is the Courtyard Theatre. As Hamlet is the longest play in the cannon, coming in at four and a half hours no less, the first job for any director is whether "to cut or not to cut". And how. There are lots of shorter versions available, but Greg sets about sorting his own, looking at two to two and a half hours. (However, when filmed for the BBC, it comes in nearer three). He wants to have a cliff hanger at the interval.

A great cast is assembled headed by David Tennant and Patrick Stewart. There is a lot of interesting stuff about the production, how making it into a thriller, and all in modern dress. (See BBC iPlayer). Greg talks about the process of rehearsal that he has developed over the years, starting with examining the text line by line. There is a nice part about how they play Hamlet killing Polonius. And a bit about the real skull used for Yorick. ("Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him well Horatio ...). As for Patrick's performance as Claudius, "it was distilled to a point where his self-containment had the terrifying intensity of an unexploded bomb". 

The production in Stratford was a sell-out, as was the transfer to the Novello Theatre in London. But then disaster struck! David Tennant suffered a prolapsed disc and was carted off to hospital. We hear how his understudy Ed Bennett rose to the occasion, as did all the actors who moved up one. David was back for the last week, and that recording for BBC 2 that was shown on Boxing Day. Another triumph.

22nd October 1988   The Barbican Theatre, London

20th August 2015   The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon

Part 20   Love's Labour's Lost

- 2008: Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon

Greg starts with a part about Rosaline and whether she was written as a brown or black character. "The overt racism is troubling". Greg asks if it might have been a talented black boy in Shakespeare's company for whom he wrote Rosaline. For this production, Greg has cast Nina Sosanya who we know quite well from the TV. This was the final play in Greg's three part season after Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. 

Greg talks about the role of Armado played by Joe Dixon of whom was said "Shakespeare's homage to lifelong immaturity". Double intenders by the bucket load. We get a long run down of the final act "the longest scene in Shakespeare" where we get a full three page analysis. 

Greg was so concerned that at the end, the two main charaters (David Tennant as Berowne and Nina Sosanya as Rosaline) are separated. He thinks about Loves Labours Won (Much Ado About Nothing) and how that might save them. So in 2014, he put on both plays together. See my post of the latter 23rd October 2014.

13th November 2008    The Rose Theatre, Kingston-Upon-Thames

Part 21   Twelfth Night

- 2009: Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon; Duke of York's Theatre, London

A long introduction tells us about Greg and his twin Ruth and what incidents they shared. So Greg always had an affinity for Twelfth Night. He tells us where and when it is being set: an ex-pat crew on the grand tour. Greg talks about all the unsuccessful productions of this play for the RSC over the years: 1998 - 2001 - 2005. But here Greg has a great cast headed by Richard Wilson who was actually not a Shakespeare fan. And two actresses who actually meet for the first time, fall in love, and are married later. Nancy Carroll and Jo Stone-Fewlings. Well, as Greg tells us in detail, the play is all about love. 

When Viola has a long talk with Olivia, Greg describes it line by line. Early rehearsals are at St George's Church in Bloomsbury and after six weeks it's back to Stratford and the Courtyard Theatre. Greg takes the cast to the Knot Garden at New Place. Here he reads a piece by J B Priestly from 1928. Opening night is press night and Greg addresses the assembled cast and ends with introducing - Ruth (see above). He talks about how he didn't quite achieve what he wanted after all. But top critic Michael Billington called it "pleasing production". However we are not told any more about it's reception.  

13th April 1991   The Playhouse Theatre, London

30th October   Watford Palace Theatre

Movies at Home: Code 46, The Titfield Thunderbolt and Far from Heaven

 

A Michael Winterbottom science fiction movie written by Frank Cottrell Boyce. We are in Shanghai where Samantha Morton is giving out fake documents called papelles. She is being investigated by Tim Robbins who gradually falls for her despite being married. But should he trust her? However, the fact that Code 46 concentrates on their affair relegates pictures of the future to a mere backdrop. Arty but interesting. Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian said "it was more difficult and elusive" than these sort of films. Sight and Sound magazine in September 2004 called it "another resounding success for this uniquely talented director". I think Peter was closer to the mark.

The Titfield Thunderbolt is a comedy from 1953, although more amusing than laugh out loud. Straight out of Ealing Studios with Charles Crichton as director. Amateurs take over the train to save a railway from closure. But it's the bus company who would profit from the closure who do everything to disrupt their plans. So every misfortune you could think of is here, including a battle with a steam roller. Mostly shot on location, and all the exteriors looked great. This print must have been a top restoration. 

Many of the scenes are like a silent movie with musical accompaniment. I did laugh once when at last we hear they are running at a profit - "the next thing we know, we'll be nationalised". A typically good cast included leading man John Gregson (we saw him in Genevieve). Stanley Holloway and Sid James are in the supporting roles. Alison liked it.

Following the review in this month's Sight and Sound magazine, I found a cheap DVD of Far from Heaven. Released in 2002, it won four Oscars including best actress for Julianne Moore as Cathy. She looked so different in that stylish wig. The opening credits look wonderful, those beautiful exterior shots of Hartford, Connecticut, the location, the cars, the dresses and the colour. We are in the fall and everything looks great. Who wouldn't want to live there. At times it almost looks in 3D. Director Todd Haynes has captured some scenes straight out of Edward Hopper paintings, especially his famous Nighthawks. 

We see early on that the husband Frank (played by Dennis Quaid) is more interested in men. His visit to a club for gays says it all. And when Cathy catches him with a young man, you wonder what will happen. Frank is in turmoil about it.  But it's actually the entrance of the gardener played by Dennis Haysbert that is a distraction for Cathy. The fact that he is black takes the film into different territory. And although race now plays a significant part of the movie, it felt more like a soap opera to me. Especially when things go wrong with a sad ending. See my post of 26th November 2025.

Film Studies Part 4

 

This post was originally dated 22nd August 2025. However there has been a couple of additions since then. There is only one place to start with Part 4 of my posts on Film Studies.

Sight and Sound Magazine

Part 3 of my Film Studies was in February of 2024, but it actually missed out my post of the 18th December 2023 about a trial issue for Sight and Sound Magazine. The first edition of my subscription was the March 2024 edition that I reviewed in my post of the 4th of that month. So far I have received all the subsequent editions all of which have been reviewed on this blog.

The Directors on Sky Arts

I missed the whole of Series 8 when we replaced our TV, so I have only just caught up now they have been repeated on Sky. Those directors reviewed on my post of 20th August this year are:

James Cameron, Steven Soderbergh, Milos Forman, Richard Linklater, Orson Welles, Philip Noyce, David Fincher, Nancy Meyers, Clint Eastwood and Ang Lee.

The Films of Powell and Pressberger

My post of 17th December 2024 looked at I Know Where I'm Going, A Matter of Life and Death and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.

BFI Open Day

My post of 10th September 2024.

BFI Modern Classics

See my post on Blade Runner of 7th August 2024. 

Art of Film with Ian Nathan on Sky Arts: 

Cold War and Cinema

See posts of 23rd February 2024, 29th February 2024 and 15th March 2024.

World War 2 and Cinema

Posts of 15th April 2024, 19th April 2024 and 27th April 2024.

Classic Movies on Sky Arts - Series 2

Episode 1   The Story of Brief Encounter: 12th September 2024

Episode 2   The Story of Whisky Galore: 18th September 2024

Episode 3   The Story of The Producers: 4th October 2024

Episode 4   The Story of Murder on the Orient Express: 18th October 2024

Episode 5   The Story of I'm All Right Jack : 23rd November 2024

Episode 6   The Story of The Deer Hunter: 5th November 2024

Classic Movies on Sky Arts - Series 3

Episode 1   The Story of The Ipcress File: 11th May 2025

Episode 2   The Story of Kind Hearts and Coronets: 27th May 2025

Episode 3   The Story of The Dam Busters: 3rd June 2025

Episode 4   The Story of Scott of the Antarctic: 19th June 2025

Episode 5   The Story of Flash Gordon: 21st June 2025

Episode 6   The Story of Billy Liar: 2nd July 2025

Classic Movies on Sky Arts - Series 4

Episode 1   The Story of The 39 Steps: 29th October 2025

Episode 2   The Story of Life and Death of Colonel Blimp: 31st October 2025

Episode 3   The Story of Passport to Pimlico: 7th November 2025

Episode 4   The Story of Highlander: 13th November 2025

Episode 5   The Story of The Railway Children: 24th November 2025

Episode 6   The Story of Escape from New York: 29th November 2025

Inside Cinema - Shorts

I said in Part 3 of my posts on Film Studies that I had just started to watch this series on BBC iPlayer. Here they are:

Episodes 1-10     7th February 2024

Episodes 11-20    28th March 2024

Episodes 21-30   4th May 2024

Episodes 32-40   14th June 2024

Episodes 41-50   13th August 2024

Episodes 51-60   31st October 2024

Episodes 61-70   12th December 2024

Episodes 71-80   14th January 2025

Episodes 81-90   23rd March 2025

Episodes91-96    9th July 2025

Art of Film on Sky Arts - Series 2

How Britain made Alfred Great    30th September 2024

The Golden Age of the British Screen Idol    8th October 2024

The Corda Story   10th October 2024

The Script Supervisor   19th October 2024

David Lean in Black and White    28th October 2024

The Birth of the Moguls   12th November 2024

Wonderland: Science Fiction in the Atomic Age on Sky Arts

Episode 1:   Mary Shelley to Isaac Asimov

Episode 2:   Arthur C Clark to Ray Bradbury

Episode 3:   Margaret Attwood to Ted Chiang

Episode 4:   Quatermass to Christopher Nolan

Have You Seen ......? by David Thomson

My previous post went up to Part 10, reviewed on this blog on 18th January 2024. These are the latest of my reviews:

Part 11   Dog Day Afternoon, Out of Africa and Brazil             24th March 2024

Part 12   Night of the Demon, Sunset Boulevard and Five Easy Pieces    23rd August 2024

Part 13   Death in Venice, Dial M for Murder and Strangers on a Train     7th October 2024

Part 14   Kind Hearts and Coronets, City of God and Taxi Driver      11th November 2024

Part 15   I'm Alright Jack, Move Over Darling and Whisky Galore       17th January 2025

Part 16   A Shot in the Dark, Passport to Pimlico and The Outfit        3rd March 2025

Part 17   Went the Day Well?, Ice Cold in Alex and 28 Days Later         20th June 2025

Part 18   Brief Encounter, Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice and Genevieve   27th July 2025

Movies at Home

Since the end of 2023 there are more posts on this blog: 7th May 2024, 29th July 2024, 11th June 2024, 9th August 2024, 2nd September 2024, 24th September 2024, 17th December 2024, 13th February 2025, 3rd March 2025, 1st April 2025, 30th April 2025, 12th May 2025, 10th August 2025, 6th September 2025 and 23rd September 2025.

The Whole Equation - A History of Hollywood by David Thomson

Despite enjoying six of David Thomson's books on film, this one was a big disappointment. My post of 22nd February 2024 says I found it all a bit of a mess. What a shame. 

I have never included in these posts any of the films I see at the cinema, whether at my local Odeon, Cineworld in Hemel Hempsted or at the Rex, Berkhamsted. However, there are some of the Wonderland series on Sky Arts from years ago, but I may have missed a few. Otherwise I am now waiting for the new autumn schedules to see what Sky Arts might bring me next.

Cremona

 It was when I read the description of these chocolates that something rang a bell. They are made in Cremona. I knew that this town was mentioned in a song, but could I find it on the internet? No luck, despite many searches. When you get to my age, the old brain cells take longer to connect. So I extended my search for songs that mention Cremona and at last found it. "We Opened in Venice" is the title of a track from the musical Kiss Me Kate by Cole Porter. The lyrics continue: "We next play Verona, then on to Cremona. Lots of laughs in Cremona" etc. Then each verse has something else for which Cremona is renowned. The most famous recording is by Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and Dean Martin. The one I remember is on YouTube, but only the audio.  Searching for a performance I found one from the BBC Proms in 2014. Oh Cremona!

Classic Movies on Sky Arts - Series 4 Episode 6 - The Story of Escape from New York

 

Ian Nathan introduces this episode, the last of series 6. Escape from New York was made in 1980 and 1981. In this dystopian future, the island of Manhattan is now a maximum security prison surrounded by a giant wall. Christina Newsome says "it's one of the key action/sci fi films of the eighties. Neil Norman adds that it is "a film built to last" and that it does stand repeat viewings. Stephen Armstrong thinks "it redefines science fiction". Kurt Russell is the star who is tasked with getting the president out after a plane he is in develops a fault. 

We hear a lot about the writer and director John Carpenter. Christina says he is a true independent film maker. The films he has made are repeated throughout. She adds it has the structure of an old school western. Ian Nathan explains how, on a limited budget, it was almost all shot at night. Neil Norman tells us how the film has a political edge, and Ian Nathan takes us through the great cast.

Apparently, the script was originally written by Carpenter at film school in 1974, although it was not made until the beginning of the eighties. The script lay dormant for years, the studios were too nervous to back it. However he found funding through Joseph E Levine's independent Avco Embassy Pictures. With long time producer Debra Hill, they created miracles on a small budget. We hear about Debra, how much she was involved in all Carpenter's films especially as co-writer. She was especially good at supporting strong female characters in big roles. 

Christina goes on to tell us about the joint history of Carpenter and Kurt Russell and the latter's background in film. Here he plays Snake Plissen, basically a hero who became a criminal. Then on to that great supporting cast that included musician Isaac Hayes as the self appointed Duke of New York. Donald Pleasance plays the President, again against type as was Lee Van Cleef as the police chief. We hear about the location as New York itself was too expensive and too smart. Hunting for a run down setting, the location manager found East St Louis that had a lot of empty buildings after a major fire. They were able to turn off ten blocks of electricity to shoot in the dark. Dressed to look like urban New York. The special effects team (that included one James Cameron) had a lot to do.

Neil Norman tells us about the plot and the "ticking clock". Also that the script has a "wider view" of their world in a subtle way. But it is enormous fun.

Stephen Armstrong mentions "the crazies" being a real threat. And later how much was Carpenter in the make up of Snake.

Christina talks about Carpenter and his "strong political views". She thinks that there is "still hope for this place" despite everything that is going on there. 

Ian Nathan describes "the breakdown of civilisation" and how the film is "genre based storytelling" on a limited budget that made a huge profit at the box office. He ends with the movie being "one of the most influential sci fi films ever made".

Sight and Sound Magazine - December 2025

 

Editorial

Tilly Norwood: unexpected item in Hollywood

Mike Williams is not impressed with this A I creation of Tilly Norwood, so his article is one long (deserved) rant against A I in movies. He calls it "a trojan horse for corporate control" and "I cannot believe that anyone who cares about film, arts, creativity, rights and human connection would ever think Tilly Norwood is a good idea". He ends his article with "this is a warning ...... we must reject this machine that drains our humanity for profit etc etc".

Opening Scenes

Once Upon a Time in Tillywood

Dominic Lees this time goes on about whether it is " a violation of copyright". But later on we find Tilly only appears for ten seconds in a two minute "comedy sketch". He goes on to spell out the problems involved in casting an A I performer. "The total artificiality of A I actors means they will lack the human-to-human connection with the audience". 

Editor's Choice

Nothing of interest.

In Production, News and Preview

Interesting but not noteworthy.

In Conversation

Catherine Bray talks to Lynne Ramsay about her new film Die, My Love. Jennifer Laurence plays a new mother "who's on the edge and unravelling". Robert Pattinson plays her husband. This is a really good interview about this film and Jennifer's other movies.

Festival

The Dinard Festival of British and Irish Film is actually (and strangely) based in the French seaside resort of Dinard. Winner of the Hitchcock d'Or (just because he was rumoured to have stayed there) was the British film Dragonfly. It stars Brenda Blethwyn, Andrea Risborough and Jason Watkins. One to look out for. 

Obituary - Diane Keaton

Hannah McGill reminds us that Diane won the best actress Oscar for her role in Annie Hall (1977). As well as all those Nancy Meyers films, she was superb as Kay Corleone in The Godfather where she actually represented the audience. I didn't know that later she was a producer and director.

Mean Sheets

All about Drew Struzan and his "poster work for a series of classic films". More than 150 posters for many of the major franchises. We see four that include Blade Runner: The Final Cut and Back to the Future.

Reader's Letters

Interesting but nothing to report.

The Long Take

Taking the release of the movie The Mastermind as it's theme, Pamela Hutchinson talks about other heist films. These include Jules Dassin's Rafifi (see my review), Ocean's 11 and more. The new movie does sound as if the heist, an art theft, was a "shambolic effort". Pamela adds that "this is a film about state sponsored violence" that might be more awful than the crimes on display. Josh O'Connor stars and a role for Alana Haim (who keeps cropping up). 

Flick Lit

The inspiration for Nicole Flattery's article is Ari Aster's film Eddington where she describes "the pervasiveness of screens in every day life" and "how we are at the mercy of systems we don't understand". A small town in New Mexico is the setting where everyone knows everyone and they are all on their phones. It all ends nastily. But it's a quote from English writer JG Ballard that sets this off: "like living in a theme park that never ends". Nicole refers to his novel Super-Cannes (2000) "where the deluge of information of corporate language" is all out in the open. I remembered, like Nicole, two films adapted from Ballard's books: Crush and the even more disturbing High Rise. His Super-Cannes sounds even worse.

TV Eye

Andrew Male is in praise of Cheers (1982 93). Well, for the first five seasons anyway. "Try watching the subsequent six seasons without cringing". Andrew loves how Shelley Long as Diane "becomes the show's vital moral centre" and how her relationship with owner Ted Danson's Sam is a "love-hate romance". She is the "erudite graduate student" dumped by her fiancé. I can only vaguely remember an episode or two, Alison was a big fan. Must find something to watch.

Shoot to Thrill

Kathryn Bigelow and her new movie A House of Dynamite. But only on Netflix!!! Here we have eight pages where Henry K Miller interviews the great director. This is her first film for eight years since Detroit (2017). The new film is a political thriller "moving forward with the relentlessness of a rocket". There is a lot here about her previous films (seen them all) and her career. Shame I will have to wait for a long time to see  new one.

Enemy of the State

Jonathon Romney talks to Jafar Panahi about his Palme d'Or winning film It Was Just An Accident. It was based on his experiences in prison in Iran. More than once. All about his battles with the regime. We hear about all the films he has made. Now his latest comes across as "Panahi's most direct attack on the Iranian regime".

Pinch Me 

Jane Giles tells us all about Harry Lighton's first feature film Pillion. A romantic comedy drama, but hold on. It stars Alexander Skarsgard and Harry Melling. A world premier in Cannes, no less. But when Jane makes reference to films such as The Servant (Joseph Losey 1963) and My Beautiful Launderette (the Stephen Frears classic from 1985) they all have something in common. Pillion is adapted from the novel Box Hill. We hear much about Lighton's history, and when asked about his influences, he includes Joachim Trier's The Worst Person in the World (see my post 14th April 2022). There are lots of references to songs, lots about motorbikes. See review later.

Once upon a Crime

The documentaries Zodiac Killer Project  (directed by Charlie Shackleton) and Predators (directed by David Osit) are discussed with Nick Bradshaw about true crime films. But the article is just a mess and I had never heard of any of the other movies in what is described as a "true crime frenzy".

Critical Thinking

I had never heard of Laura Mulvey, the "film theorist, essayist and academic" who is being awarded the BFI Fellowship. Here are eight pages about her. Apparently her most famous work is "Visual pleasure and narrative cinema" (1975). I found it on the internet but was lost from the very first sentence. It starts "this paper intends to use psychoanalysis ..... etc". There is an interview with Isabel Stevens about her life and her time at Oxford. They talk about lots of films I had never heard of, many of which are old black and white movies. 

Reviews - Films

The first three reviewed are for strange (but worthy?) films: Left Handed Girl (Taiwan), The Ice Tower (France) on at The Rex in mid December, and The Thing with Feathers (UK, France and Sweden) with Benedict Cumberbatch as a sad, mad, dad. Then Palestine 36 and Park Avenue are reviewed before we get to a mainstream release The Choral. See my review. Philip Concannon was not impressed, although Ralph Fiennes was "as watchable as ever". Agreed. 

I would love to see Paul Greengrass's The Lost Bus but it's only on Apple TV+. Although the script is not great. Train Dreams is yet another Netflix film starring Joel Egerton, set in early 20th century Idaho. Then, at last Nicolas Rapolo reviews the Richard Linklater film Blue Moon. Ethan Hawke plays lyricist Lorenzo Hart with "unflagging energy". A "sparkling script" by Robert Kaplow (Me and Orson Welles see my review) and reunited with the same director. "Rest in peace Rogers and Hart, and long live Linklater and Hawke". On at Cineworld next week!

Jay Kelly is more Netflix with Noah Baumbatch directing George Clooney and an all star cast. Pillion is reviewed by John Bleasdale (see previous article). Lesley Sharp appears in a sub-plot in a "spirited performance". Anemone with "the long absent Daniel Day Lewis with his son directing his first film. They jointly wrote the script about a former British soldier in self imposed exile in a cabin in the woods. Springsteen - Deliver Me From Nowhere (see my review) is discussed by Vikram Murthi. This is an artist struggling with his own demons, taking himself off to that isolated mansion to record "these short story songs". However, our reviewer Says that the "real life anecdotes .... are depicted in such hackneyed terms that they feel invented". So not a good review.

I have seen the trailer for I Swear a number of times but decided it was not for me. All about a youth finding he has Tourette's Syndrome. All very worthy and maybe after all the early upsets it may have an uplifting ending. Nick Hasted tells us that the real life John Davidson has been the subject of three BBC documentaries with John awarded an MBE in 2019. Here the film "leans into laughs" and is a "confidently crafted, feel good film". It Was Just An Accident is described in the section Enemy of the State. Being awarded the Palme d'Or at Cannes seems more of a "well done" to the director where it required filming in secret with a hand held camera. A tale of revenge on a man stranded in a small town who may or not be their old foe of state torture.

Die My Love stars Jennifer Laurence as that young mum who goes off the rails when the child is born. Jessica Kiang calls it "harrowing, beautiful and very possibly cursed". As Grace unravels, director Lynne Ramsay "asks a lot of the viewer and then, pointedly, somehow admirably, ignores the answer". The director just wants us to feel Grace's pain.

Reviews in Brief

Only a very short paragraph for Nuremberg (too long) and Relay.

DVD and Blu-Ray

A volume of three Japanese ghost stories. That's all.

Lost and Found

Evdokia (1971) is, apparently "one of the greatest Greek films". 

Archive TV

Object Z (1965) is a six part sci fi series seen on ITV. "A curio rather than a restored classic". Then Kaizo Hayashi's Maiku Hama Trilogy - three detective movies from 1994-6. Then Ken Russell's Altered States, at least I have heard of this one. "A philosophical monster movie" from 1980 says Nick Hasted.

Wider Screen - The The Chronicles of Tilda

There is an exhibition in Amsterdam about the life and work of Tilda Swinton. As well as a cinema, there are exhibits such as "sculpture, installations, photos and costumes".

Books

Film Criticism and British Film Culture.: New Shots in the Dark.  A book of essays from various film critics. Another book called The Carbon Arc is a collection of essays on cinema by "a rich pool of contributors" resulting in a "intriguing, bewildering pick and mix". 

From the Archive - a Time to Love

From Sight and Sound Magazine of march 2003, Richard Falcon looked at Todd Haynes's Far From Heaven (2002) starring Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid that is set in Hartford, Connecticut in 1957. She catches her husband with another man. However it's not long before her association with Dennis Haysbert's gardener takes a  different turn. The fact that he is black ups the stakes. "Looks as beautiful as falling leaves" . (See my review of Todd's film Carol). Richard tells us Todd's film is a "unique homage to the films of Douglas Sirk" especially in relation to this directors' All That Heaven Allows" (1955). The 2002 film is a "ravishing experience" and a top melodrama. With a great Elmer Bernstein score. The colour and retro style looks wonderful. We see two stills from each movie. But the article gets caught up in harping back to Sirk's movie and comparing the two. And then we have another  whole page from that 2003 edition about the same two movies. 

This Month in ....... 1965

The cover and centrepiece of this issue was all about Buster Keaton. Surprisingly for that year, nothing else was of interest.

Classic Movies on Sky Arts - Series 4 Episode 5 - The Story of The Railway Children

 

The first thing we hear is the narration at the start of The Railway Children by seventeen year old Jenny Agutter as Bobbie. Now seventy two, the same lady I remember talking to in the audience of The Globe theatre. Yes, this is a 1970 film from what is now 55 years ago. From the classic book by the great children's author E Nesbitt, it's director Lionel Jeffries (that terrific character actor from films such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) who bought the rights having loved the book. He took a draft screenplay to producer Bryan Forbes at EMI films who, by coincidence, was looking for a family film. It was Bryan who persuaded Jeffries to direct his first movie.

It's Christina Newland who tells us the film is "from the point of view of the children" that "sowed the seeds of such films to come". Neil Norman calls it a "bone fide classic". The year is 1905 and the children's father is arrested on a trumped up charge which is why the family have to move from London to the country. We hear about the author of the book who lost his father as a child. Shot on location in Yorkshire, the film looks marvelous.

The cast includes the wonderful Dinah Sheridan as the mother, Jenny playing slightly younger, and Sally Thomsett as the eleven year old Phyllis despite being twenty at the time. and Gary Warren as young Peter. Add in Bernard Cribbins as Perks the porter as well as a superb supporting cast. The station of Oakworth was a main location and they kept the actual name of the real station. The trains themselves were an important part. Some of the old black and white newsreels are wonderful. 

We hear about the happy ending and how the film's release around Christmas was a big success. Neil Norman says that the movie is "quietly brave" and a "rare family film" that is "rooted so much in reality". Ian Nathan ends with "it treats children as adults". In a good way. 

My Shakespeare by Greg Doran - Parts 16 to 18

 

Part 16   Anthony and Cleopatra

-2006: Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon; Novello Theatre, London. Filmed by the V&A

Greg starts with a trip to Egypt with Tony for inspiration. Three pages could be called "Searching for Cleopatra". He tells us "the language of this play is more lush, more heady with sensuality than any other Shakespeare play". And it all depends on the title roles as they have two thirds of all the lines. So here we have Patrick Stewart and Harriet Walter. Top casting. Patrick was especially good at creating lots of laughs, and Harriet was especially good in the last act.

We hear a lot about Mark Antony, for example a longish piece on how he botches his own suicide. I liked the passage about the snake and why a real one had to be substituted for a false. Michael Billington in his review calls Antony "Shakespeare's most demanding role" and that Patrick was "the best Antony since Michael Redgrave half a century ago.

19th August 2010 at The Royal hakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon

Post of 20th August 2010

Part 17   Merry Wives - The Musical

-2006: The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon

Michael Boyd had proposed a Complete Works Festival for 2006. Greg comes up with the idea of a musical version of The Merry Wives of Windsor. He tells us "it's a romp, Shakespeare's sitcom, or as someone once said "it is the I Love Lucy of the Shakespeare canon". We have Falstaff, Bardolph and Pistol are deposited in Windsor, a long way from their normal residence of Eastcheap. 

Songs are required and here Greg is enjoying his role of a  back seat driver, giving more responsibility to musical director Bruce O'Neil along with the composer and choreographer. We hear how the couple who sing the love duet were actually marvelous. And Alec McGowan found he could sing. As did Judy Dench. Top marks for Brendan O'Hea as Pistol, a cross between Russell Brand and Jack Sparrow. 

However, disaster strikes when Des Barrit who was playing Falstaff is injured and the search is on for a lst minute replacement. Who can start immediately! They are so lucky that Simon Callow is free, is perfect and already knows some of the lines. But the critics were not impressed, but what do they know. The production was sold out with standing ovations every night.

17th November 2010 at Milton Keynes Theatre

Post of  18th November 2010

Part 18   Coriolanus

-2007: Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon; Eisenhower Theatre, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC; Theatre Royal, Newcastle; Teatro Albeniz, Madrid, Spain"

An invitation to the British Library involved listening to extracts from their recordings of every production at Stratford. Greg is particularly impressed with Sir Laurence Olivier's performance of Coriolanus in 1959 directed by Peter Hall with dame Edith Evans as Volumnia. We are now at the very end of the Complete Works Festival and Greg is directing Coriolanus before the Royal Shakespeare Theatre closes for a transformation. With Will Houston (Coriolanus) and Janet Suzman (Volumnia) they are described as perfect casting. And Timothy West as Menenius Agrippa. We hear a lot about the set and how they are able to open up the stage to the very back wall, only because it's the last play in the theatre. 

Greg goes into some detail about the different political factions in the play and how he must not prefer one to another. For example: the tribunes. "Was there ever a more self-serving, cowardly, vicious, pusillanimous pain in all literature". He talks about the casting of Janet Suzman and how she is so good: "never a loss for words. She has just delivered a fifty line appeal to her son, surely one of the longest speeches in Shakespeare. 

Greh explains how "it would be very hard to ignore the theme of homoeroticism". Aufidius and Coriolanus declare how much they love their wives, but "how much more they worship each other". "They even dream of one another". Lastly, we hear about the "terrifying bloodbath" at the end. The reviews were great, especially those for Will. Even compared with Larry. There is also a nice postscript about the tour and meeting the "acclaimed actress and director Zoe Caldwell in Washington". She had never played Volumnia because watching Edith Evans in the part, it could never be equaled.  

28th September 2017 The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon

Post of 29th September 2017

Frankenstein at the Rex Berkhamsted

 

As the poster suggests, there was no general release for Guillermo del Torro's  Frankenstein. I was lucky that the Rex in Berkhamsted had acquired this Netflix film. I did mention in my review of November's Sight and Sound Magazine that it was a shame I wouldn't be able to see it. Revisiting the magazine, it was great to see all those splendid stills from the film. The movie is an adaptation of the Mary Shelley novel, (see below). The dialogue (by del Toro) was just almost OK, but why doesn't he have help? But it's the visuals for which he is quite rightly famed. The sets, costumes, production design and cinematography are all Oscar worthy. From the first scenes of the boat stuck in the arctic ice to the isolated castle where experiments take place, I'm glad I was able to see in on a biggish screen. The story mimics the book as it is set in three parts, the Captain, Victor and the Creature. There is one segment in the latter's story that seemed unnecessary, but then we would have missed David Bradley's blind man, this actor has never been better.

I was unsure about the casting. Oscar Isaac puts heart and soul into Victor, but maybe something more subtle was needed. And Jacob Elordi has a thankless task as the Creature. Even Mia Goth was miscast as Elizabeth, and that also goes for  Christoph Waltz as Heinrich and others. Critic Eileen Jones says it's a "big bloated mess" but it isn't. In that nine page section in Sight and Sound, the director called it a "melodrama rather than a horror". He has obviously forgotten the wolves! Jonathon Romney tells us "the film is authentically rooted in the structure of Shelley's novel, beginning and ending her story amid the ice flows of the far north. But the director tells him "most of the dialogue is not from the book" which might have been a mistake. Jamie Graham in the Sunday Times full page review mostly includes an interview with the director without ever concluding whether or not he liked the film. Strange.

Snow in November

 

We have to go back to 2010 for the last time we had snow in November (my post of the 30th), and then it was the last day of the month. Today it was quite heavy for half an hour and then tailed off. So not much of a covering. And by mid morning it had mostly disappeared.

Bugonia, The Choral and Now You See Me, Now You Don't

 

Well that was weird. It all started to feel that way when the screen size opened in it's 1:50:1 aspect ratio. More of a square box so that took some getting used to. The film seemed to me more of a black comedy than a horror. Director Yorgos Lanthimos and writer Will Tracy have remade the Korean movie Save the Green Planet. In Bugonia, Teddy Gatz played by Jesse Plemons is convinced that the corporate queen Michelle Fuller, played by Emma Stone, is actually an alien. When she is captured and held prisoner, it's hard to be convinced when Teddy is just full of conspiracy theories. Especially when we discover that Michelle's company was responsible for experimenting on his ill mother.  

This first half of the film is actually hard work. As someone said "it's a very very long run up to the finale". Where it goes completely bonkers. Sight and Sound magazine had a double page review by Travis Jeppeson where he says it "adheres dangerously close to the cliches of horror schlock without quite managing to subvert them". Hmm, not sure. But "the depth brought by the performances" is spot on but is "everyone gets what they deserve" not going too far? 

Mark Kermode found the film "profoundly odd" and "hard to warm to it", but "it picks up speed" in a race to the conclusion. I thought it was a very black satire. 

The Choral could not be anymore different. Alan Bennet and Nicholas Hytner are reunited after their previous successes of The History Boys and The Lady in the Van. We are in a small town in the north of England (obviously) at the start of the first world war. The young men are beginning to be called up. They go off to a fanfare from a brass band, unlike the somber partings later. The older men still want to put on a concert. Roger Allam and Mark Addy (supported by vicar Alun Armstrong) are stuck for a choir master and as a last resort turn to Dr Guthrie. A superb performance by Ralph Fiennes. I also liked Robert Emms as the quiet pianist. 

We see a lot of the young men not quite old enough to be called up, but help swell the numbers. Tom Shone in the Sunday Times was spot on when he said "the script spends too much time with pursuing the romantic subplots of his teenage choristers". There is a very late cameo from Simon Russell Beale as Elgar. It's his "The Dream of Gerontius" that will be performed, against all the odds. Tom Shone ends his review with the director having "frittered away his drama in pleasing vignettes".

I thought Now You See Me, Now You Don't was badly let down by an awful script. Director Ruben Fleisher (Zombieland (good), Unchartered (OK) and Venom (not for me) does his best to make it a fast production. And he does have a pleasing cast in this, the third in the series. All the characters from those earlier two movies are back, including a smaller role for Lizzie Caplan (Cloverfield). Morgan Freeman pops up but we never know if he survives or not. I'm not sure who had the idea of casting Rosamond Pike as the villain with a strange South African accent. She has come a long way from seeing her in Hitchcock Blonde at The Royal Court in 2003. I will not trouble this review with the plot/story as already it's forgotten. But it does have that attractive cast, some expensive sets, costumes and hardware. Shame about script. That's what you get when five writers are involved. I thought I had only seen the original film, but realise I did see the second with Daniel Radcliffe as the villain. What is it about Hollywood casting Brits in these roles. 

Classic Movies on Sky Arts - Series 4 Episode 4 - The Story of Highlander

 

I must have seen Highlander but none of it was familiar. And that would have been in 1986, so that is thirty nine years ago!  Ian Nathan introduces as usual calling the film a "strange and rousing fantasy epic". It was called "a true cult classic" and how the film goes "back and forth in time". Ian and Stephen Armstrong discuss what makes a "true cult classic" and the latter adds that it's "never ever become mainstream"? The story is all about being an immortal. It's Christopher Lambert who plays Conor MacLeod with Sean Connery as his mentor Juan Sanchez Villalobos. The latter was, apparently, only hired for seven days of filming. He bet the director he would not be able to do it, but lost.

The film was called "an early VHS sensation", although Neil Norman reminds us that when first released, the movie was "very badly reviewed". Including him. (I have to mention here (which the team only glossed over) the soundtrack with songs by Queen. I have the CD called A Kind of Magic that I played so many times in those days). It's Stephen who tells us about the concept starting with the highlands of 16th century Scotland. There are a number of immortals who are gradually hunted down by The Kurgan, one of their own. That's it. That's the plot. 

Apparently inspiration for the film first came from Ridley Scott's The Duelists starring Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel. Gregory Widen wrote the first script and was also taken with the armour and swords in the Tower of London. A journey to the Highlands of Scotland and the the whole concept came together. Adding in a love story in New York was the final piece in the jigsaw. 

Thorn EMI were the producers and it was they who brought in Peter Bellwood and Larry Ferguson to make the script "more palatable" from Widen's dark and dangerous story. They hired Russell Mulcahy as director and we hear about his background in music videos. Christina Newsom thought it was more about the imagery than the story. Stephen tells us that this is his favourite Sean Connery role. He is "so charming". Wd hear about The Kurgan played with relish by Clancy Brown. Christina said he was "a cartoonish picture of evil". The location in the highlands was the remains of Eilean Donan Castle.

Neil Norman liked how the director used opposite eras, the highlands for the 16th century and modern day New York. He contrasts the huge open vistas of Scotland with the claustrophobic urban scenes of New York. Ian Nathan tells us about the swordfights and the rigorous training by the former Olympic fencer Bob Anderson. He has huge experience in choreographing these in films. Stephen Armstrong thought he was the "greatest" in his field. 

Ian Nathan thinks the "heart of the story is about immortality". Christina adds it's about "the sadness of outliving someone" shown towards the end of the film. Stephen adds it's the "perfect Friday night VHS movie". He and Ian talk about how, because of VHS, it became a cult success after disappointing at the cinema. Anyone could hire it from the video shop, or to own it and watch it time and again. The team discuss the sequels that none of them liked. They were nonsense and a disaster. Neil loved the ending when he is no longer immortal. Stephen thought it was "mad" and a one off, with Ian concluding it was "timeless".