Saturday, April 23, 2016

Apr 21st  
An Officer and a Gentleman**      

(US 1981)

A wanderer trains in harsh conditions to become a naval aviation officer in the working class district of Seattle, Washington.
Catchy and rough although slightly sentimental romantic drama about men (and one woman) becoming battle-hardened. artificial in some of its plot development but not too cliched, and with some strong acting.

Written by: Douglas Day Stewart.
Producer: Martin Elfland.
Director: Taylor Hackford.
Starring: Richard Gere, Debra Winger, Lou Gossett Jnr, David Keith, Lisa Blount, Lisa Eilbacher, Robert Loggia.
Photography: Donald Thorin.
Music: Jack Nitzsche.

Preceded by:
Fire!*
(GB 1901. 4m. bw. silent; d: James Williamson.)

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Apr 20th  
High-Rise** (15)            
(Ipswich Film Theatre)

(GB/Northern Ireland 2015)

An aspiring young doctor moves to the upper floors of a tower block where the social conditions soon degenerate into chaos.
The orgies of self-destruction and violence go on a bit too long, in what is still an interesting "retro-future" 70s sci-fi allegory based on the author's satire on modern consumerism, quite skilfully re-creating the 70s style, although perhaps not representative of that period, or of its future.

Written by: Amy Jump, from the novel by J.G. Ballard.
Producer: Jeremy Thomas.
Director: Ben Wheatley.
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans, Elizabeth Moss, James Purefoy, Keeley Hawes, Reece Shearsmith, Bill Paterson.
Photography: Laurie Rose.
Music: Cling Mansell.
Production Design: Mark Tildesley.

HIGH RISE. A poster with obvious allusions to Kubrick's Clockwork Orange,  which depicted the future as designed in the 70s, whereas this imagines the future in retro 70s style.


Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Apr 12th   
A Boy and His Dog      

(US 1975)  

In post-apocalyptic 2024 an amoral teenager searches for sex with the assistance of his wisecracking psychic dog.
Fashionably cynical and almost totally bleak dystopian black comedy, frequently lacking narrative coherence or particularly sympathetic characters, with its occasional surprises.

Written by: L.Q. Jones, Alvy Moore, Wayne Cruseturner, from the novel by Harlan Ellison.
Producers: L.Q. Jones.
Starring: Don Johnson, Susanne Benton, Jason Robards, Tim McIntire (voice of the dog), Alvy Moore, Helene Winston, Charles McGraw.
Photography: John Arthur Morrill.
Music: Tim McIntire, Ray Manzarek, Jaime Mendoza-Nava.


Thursday, April 07, 2016

Apr 6th  
The First of the Few**    

(GB 1943)

The last years of aircraft designer R.J. Mitchell leading to the construction of the Spitfire, in the shadow of the oncoming World War II.
Solidly made propagandistic drama with some lively moments, a benchmark for other stirring WWII dramas such as In Which We Serve, The Way to the Stars and The Dam Busters.

Written by: Anatole de Grunwald, Miles Malleson, Henry C. James, Katherine Strueby.
Producers: Leslie Howard, Phil C. Samuel, Adrian Brunel.
Director: Leslie Howard.
Starring: Leslie Howard, David Niven, Rosamund John, Roland Culver, Anne Firth, David Horne, Tonie Edgar Bruce.
Photography: Georges Perinal.
Music: William Walton.