May 29th  

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee*    

(US 2008)    

A retired publisher's young wife discovers she is having a nervous breakdown.

Self-indulgent tragi-comic drama with offbeat moments, unfolding like 90 minutes in the psychiatrist's chair, particularly with irritating constant flashbacks to childhood, but with some interesting guest star support.

w, d: Rebecca Miller, from her novel.

s: Robin Wright Penn, Alan Arkin, Blake Lively (as young Pippa), Maria Bello, Winona Ryder, Mike Binder, Keanu Reeves, Shirley Knight, Julianne Moore, Monica Bellucci.

May 28th  
Berberian Sound Studio*   

(GB/Ger 2011)                

A lonely British sound editor finds himself working on a violent Italian horror film, and starts to find it overpowering him.
Stylishly effective in its re-creation of those lurid 1970s Dario Argento horrors, although slightly underdeveloped as a story once it settles into an increasing nightmare for its unassuming central character.

Written and Directed by: Peter Strickland.
Producers: Mary Burke, Keith Griffiths.
Starring: Toby Jones, Cosimo Fusco, Antonio Mancino, Fatma Mohamed, Chiara D'Anna, Tonia Sotiropoulou.
Photography: Nic Knowland.
Music: Broadcast.

May 24th 
What's Eating Gilbert Grape**  

(US 1993)          

In the small Texas town of Endora, a grocery store assistant struggles to cope with his obese mother and his autistic younger brother.
Strongly reminiscent of The Last Picture Show and the more recent Rain Man, this slow-burning but absorbing and ultimately moving coming-of-age drama is beautifully and sympathetically evoked in its rural hometown American setting, with a good ensemble cast - notable among them being the young DiCaprio in his scene-stealing Oscar nominated role.

Written by: Peter Hedges, from his novel.
Producers: David Matalon, Meir Teper, Bertil Ohlsson.
Director: Lasse Hallstrom.
Starring: Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mary Steenburgen, Darlene Cates, Laura Harrington, Mary-Kate Schellardt, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover, Kevin Tighe, Penelope Branning.
Photography: Sven Nykvist.
Music: Alan Parker, Bjorn Isfalt.

Preceded by:
Tom & Jerry in
Texas Tom**
(US 1950. 6m.; d: w, d: William Hanna, Joseph Barbera; p: Fred Quimby.)

May 19th    
The Stepford Wives*    

(US 1974)                    

An aspiring photographer moves from New York with her family to the mysteriously serene town of Stepford, where all the other glamorous women are being replaced by submissive robot duplicates.
Unsettling in a vintage 1970s paranoia style, much akin to a feminist variation on Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but deadeningly slow to get going with characters not sharply enough drawn, despite some intermittently strong performances. Interestingly, Forbes takes a detached male perspective on both the men and the women of Stepford. A comedy remake 30 years later only served to make the original look better than it was.

Written by: William Goldman (and Bryan Forbes), from the novel by Ira Levin.
Producer: Edgar J. Sherick.
Director: Bryan Forbes.
Starring: Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, Patrick O'Neal, Peter Masterson, Nanette Newman, Tina Louise, William Prince, Carol Rossen.
Photography: Owen Roizman.
Music: Michael Small.

+ Mary Stuart Masterson and Emma Forbes play young children of their real life parents (Peter Masterson and Nanette Newman respectively)

May 11th     
Inside the Third Reich**      

(US TVM 1982)

The experiences of "Hitler's architect" Albert Speer during the 1930s into World War II, who penetrated into the Fuehrer's inner circle.
Consistently interesting and occasionally illuminating subjective take on oft-told history, restrained to some extent by its TV mini-series budget (and truncated in this version to 195 minutes), but at its most intriguing in the scenes between Speer and Hitler. The rest of the time the star cast occasionally bring lustre to their roles.

Written and Produced by: E. Jack Newman, based on the book by Albert Speer, and other sources.
Director: Marvin Chomsky.
Starring: Rutger Hauer, Derek Jacobi (as Hitler), Blythe Danner, John Gielgud, Trevor Howard, Ian Holm, Maria Schell, Elke Sommer, Maurice Roeves, Randy Quaid, Stephen Collins, Viveca Lindfors, Robert Vaughn, Zoe Wanamaker.
Photography: Tony Imi.
Music: Fred Karlin.
Production Design: Rolf Zehetbauer.

May 4th ("Star Wars Day")      

Elstree Story**          

(GB 1952)

Engaging pictorial history of some of Elstree studio’s output since 1927, quiet snappily presented for a studio documentary (with Technicolor epilogue), and providing a priceless record of snippets from certain British films of yesteryear.

Producer: Gilbert Gunn.
Narrators: Richard Todd, and others.
Photography: Stanley Grant.
Music: Philip Green.