Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Aug 27th  
Willow**  
US 1988. MGM/Lucasfilm/Imagine Entertainment. 126m. Panavision

In a faraway land, the safety of a child born to overthrow a wicked sorceress falls into the hands of a midget farmer.
Slick and sometimes sluggish fantasy, heavily derived from Tolkien and Lucas's own Star Wars. The special effects are impressive, if a little under-developed by today's high standards, although compared to subsequent recent epics, this one is much more enjoyable than any of the Star Wars prequels, and more economically self-contained than Peter Jackson's magnum opus.

Written by: Bob Dolman, from a story by George Lucas.
Producer: Nigel Wooll.
Director: Ron Howard.
Starring: Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer (a performance with strong echoes of Harrison Ford), Joanne Whalley, Jean Marsh, Patricia Hayes, Gavan O'Herlihy, Pat Roach, Phil Fondacaro, Rick Overton, Kevin Pollak, Maria Holvoe, Mark Northover, Billy Barty.
Photography: Adrian Biddle.
Music: James Horner.
Production Design: Allen Cameron.
Special Effects: John Richardson.
Visual Effects: Dennis Muren, Micheal McAllister, Phil Tippett.

Preceded by:
Superman inShowdown**(US 1942. A Superman impersonator is involved in a theft racket.; d: Izzy Sparber; voices of Bud Collyer, Joan Alexander, Jackson Beck.)

Labels: ,

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Aug 26th
Pan's Labyrinth** (15)
(El Laberinto del Fauno) Prince Charles Cinema

In Fascist Spain in 1944, a little girl retreats into a parallel fantasy underworld where she is a lost princess.
Dark variation on Alice in Wonderland, with an added historical element (used also in del Toro's previous film The Devil's Backbone), which is given just as much weight as the fantasy elements. Both worlds are in fact rather bleak, and the film lacks a certain "magic", although the designs are very imaginative, and not really for children but adults.

d: Guillermo del Toro
s: Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, Ariadna Gil, Maribel Verdu, Alex Angulo, Doug Jones (as "Pan"), Roger Cassamajor, Federico Luppi

Labels: ,

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Aug 21st
Henry V*** (U)
(Cineworld Ipswich)

GB 1944. Rank/Two Cities. 137m.

As part of the "British Summer of Film" season, comes this overdue re-release of Laurence Olivier's original version of Shakespeare's play about the triumph of the English king and his forces over the French at Agincourt.
Episodic and rambling but splendidly mounted pageant, made to commemorate the D-Day landings (as well as a tribute to "the few" in the Battle of Britain), with some delightful touches such as the first scenes of the play presented in a fine re-creation of the Globe Theatre in 1600, complete with rain falling down on the audience and small doses of farcical comedy, to the scenery switching to a more realistic setting as the story progresses. Bits of the acting please (though much of it is "theatrical") and the whole production is a remarkable achievement that triumphs within its slightly limited means - the battle scenes were shot in Ireland to avoid bombing raids. All in all, a thoroughly satisfying cinematic treatment of Shakespeare.

Written by: Alan Dent, from the play by William Shakespeare.
Producer/Director: Laurence Olivier.
Starring: Laurence Olivier (King Henry), Leslie Banks (Chorus), Renee Asherson (Princess Katherine), Harcourt Williams (King Charles VI of France), Max Adrian (The Dauphin), Leo Genn (Constable), Felix Aylmer (Archbishop of Canterbury), Robert Helpmann (Bishop of Ely), Ralph Truman (Mountjoy), Valentine Dyall (Duke of Burgundy), Robert Newton (Pistol), Freda Jackson (Mistress Quickly), George Robey (Falstaff), George Cole (Boy), Roy Emerton, Esmond Knight, Michael Shepley, John Laurie, Niall MacGinnis, Jimmy Hanley.
Photography: Robert Krasker.
Music: William Walton.
Costume: Roger Furse, Margaret Furse.

100 Favourite Films: Henry V

Labels:

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Aug 14thGirl Shy** US 1924. Pathe/Harold Lloyd. 88m. bw. silent

A haberdasher's assistant tries to save the girl he has fallen in love with from a bigamous marriage to another man.
Slightly contrived star vehicle, Lloyd's first breakaway film from Hal Roach, relying more on his character's bashful charisma than spectacular stunts, although the film works its way up to a fine, hectic climax where the hero dashes through various modes of transport to get to the wedding in time.

Written by: Tommy Gray, Ted Wilde, Tim Whelan, Sam Taylor.
Directors: Fred Newmeyer, Sam Taylor.
Starring: Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Carlton Griffin, Richard Daniels, Judy King.
Photography: Walter Lundin.

Music: Jim Parker.

Labels: ,

Thursday, August 02, 2007

July 31st
The Company of Wolves** GB 1984. ITC/Palace Pictures. 95m.

A teenage girl dreams of a parallel world involving strange stories of werewolves.
Fragmentary but highly imaginative adult spin on established "children's" fairy tales. The modern day interspersions are slightly unnecessary, and the film gets lost trying to find an ending, but the wolf make-up is suitably horrific, and the whole thing has an unexpected beauty about it.

Written by: Neil Jordan, Angela Carter, based on her short story.
Producers: Chris Brown, Stephen Woolley.
Director: Neil Jordan.
Starring: Sarah Patterson, Angela Lansbury, David Warner, Tusse Silberg, Graham Crowden, Stephen Rea, Kathryn Pogson, Brian Glover, Shane Johnstone, Terence Stamp (uncredited).
Photography: Bryan Loftus.
Music: George Fenton.
Make-up Effects: Christopher Tucker.
Production Design: Anton Furst.

Labels: ,