Joe Sales blogpage

2012-01-17T19:32:00.005Z

Jan 17th
The Iron Lady** (12A)
Cineworld Ipswich

GB/Fra 2011. Twentieth Century Fox/Pathe/Film Four/UK Film Council/Canal+/Cine+/Goldcrest. 104m. ws

Margaret Thatcher spends her later years in senility with her dead husband Denis, reminiscing about the old days.
Entertaining, slightly superficial story of woman's rise and fall in a man's world. Like most biopics, it relegates its important supporting figures (and events) into the sidelines. The Queen is among those - female - opponents to Mrs. Thatcher who don't even enter the picture. The star's performance is as meticulous as always - at times uncanny - but lacks some insight, as does the film.

Written by: Abi Morgan.
Producer: Damian Jones.
Director: Phyllida Lloyd.
Starring: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Olivia Colman, Anthony Head, Richard E. Grant, Nicholas Farrell, Roger Allam, Alexandra Roach (as young Margaret), Harry Lloyd (as young Denis), John Sessions, Michael Pennington.
Photography: Elliot Davis.
Music: Thomas Newman.

2012-01-13T23:18:00.002Z

Jan 13th
Devils of Darkness
GB 1965. Planet. 88m.

A French vampire cult under threat follows its trail to Britain.
Swinging Sixties horror film, more swinging than horrific, despite the best that formula can do.

Written by: Lyn Fairhurst.
Producer: Tom Blakeley.
Director: Lance Comfort.
Starring: William Sylvester, Hubert Noel, Tracy Reed, Carole Grey, Diana Decker, Peter Illing, Eddie Byrne, Victor Brooks, Burnell Tucker.
Photography: Reg Wyer.
Music: Bernie Fenton.

2012-01-10T22:48:00.001Z

Jan 10th
Ursula Kemp: Five Centuries of History*
(Headgate Theatre)

GB TVM 2012. Fade to Black. 50m.

Documentary with brief reconstruction scenes covering the story of a famous convicted Essex witch whose bones were unearthed and exploited by museums and art collectors before being brought back to St. Osyth to a rightful place of burial.
Carefully crafted and quite interesting compilation, which does have the documentarian's misfortune to discover the truth about its subject half-way through the course of making the film, but still lands on its feet.

Produced and Narrated by: John Worland.

2012-01-08T19:22:00.005Z

Jan 8th
Flicks in the Six
(Firstsite, Colchester)

East Anglian Film Archive.

Selection of mostly dully informative 1950's black-and-white information films set in the county of Essex, with occasional noticeable diversions and recognisbale locations. Fairly mundane and Harmless on the whole, although one instalment, In Need of Care* (GB 1958), about local orphaned children, touches upon some of the darker issues with some poignant moments, and another is an amusing William Tell semi-satirical skit about litterbugs.

Other shorts:

Mind Your Bike!
Essex River (GB 1954.)
Axemanship for Scouts (GB 1956.)
First Class Journey (GB 1956.)
Protect the Countryside: Take Your Litter Home*
Midday Adventure (GB 1958. Essex County Council Film Unit.; narr: Richard Baker.)

2012-01-01T09:49:00.002Z

Jan 1st
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell*
GB 1973. Avco/Hammer. 89m. bw

A disciple of Dr. Frankenstein is sentenced to the asylum where he finds his mentor is still at work incognito.
The last of the Hammer Frankensteins, finishing off in lurid style. Unpleasant in tone and indicative of the increasing gratuitousness of the Hammers series since 1957, but a vast improvement on their preceding horrors, with the old guard giving it one last go.

Written by: John Elder (Anthony Hinds).
Producer: Roy Skeggs.
Director: Terence Fisher.
Starring: Peter Cushing, Shane Briant, Madeline Smith, David Prowse, John Stratton, Charles Lloyd Pack, Patrick Troughton, Bernard Lee.
Photography: Brian Probyn.
Music: James Bernard.

2011-12-31T13:28:00.005Z

Dec 31st
Lost Horizon**
US 1937. Columbia. 125m(partially restored version). bw

A British missionary and fellow passengers escape war-torn China by plane, but are delivered to Shangri-La.
Paradise on Earth seems to resemble an art deco estate, and some of the sentiments and comic relief look horribly dated now, but for the historical context of its time (just two years before World War II#) the appeal of Shangri-La is still as elusive to a troubled world as it ever was.

Written by: Robert Riskin, from the novel by James Hilton.
Producer/Director: Frank Capra .
Starring: Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt, John Howard, Thomas Mitchell, Edward Everett Horton, Isabel Jewell, H.B. Warner, Sam Jaffe, Margo, Hugh Buckler.
Photography: Joseph Walker.
Music: Dmitri Tiomkin.
Art Direction: Stephen Goosson.

# a 1942 re-release (shortened to 108 minutes) paints the Japanese as villains during the early evacuation scenes from China

## see also "The Battle over Lost Horizon"

2011-12-31T01:44:00.003Z

Dec 30th
Silk Stockings** (U)
National Film Theatre

US 1957. MGM. 117m. Cinemascope

An American film producer in Paris corrupts three Russian commissars and their beautiful senior officer who has been sent to take a famous composer back home.
Inflated musical remake of Ninotchka, replacing Lubitsch's whimsy for the Paris of yesteryear with slightly more vulgar studio-bound Hollywood spectacle, but some of the acting is commendable (in the face of Greta Garbo for competition), and some of the numbers have their charming moments too.

Written by: Leonard Gershe, Leonard Spigelgass, based on the musical by George S. Kaufman, Leueen McGrath.
Producer: Arthur Freed.
Director: Rouben Mamoulian,
Starring: Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Janis Paige, Peter Lorre, Jules Munchin, Joseph Buloff, George Tobias, Wim Sonneveld.
Photography: Robert Bronner.
Music Supervision: Andre Previn.
Choreography: Hermes Pan, Eugene Loring.
Art Direction: William A. Horning.

2011-12-29T08:14:00.002Z

Dec 28th
Beyond the Sea*
Ger/GB 2004. Archer Street/Quality International/Trigger Street. 118m. ws

Stylized, self-indulgent biopic of Bobby Darin and his stormy marriage to Sandra Dee, quite accomplished technically in most departments, but lacking something of a human heart as the film is so Brechtian in its approach.

Written by: Kevin Spacey, Lewis Colick.
Producers: Arthur E. Friedman, Andy Paterson, Jan Fantl, Kevin Spacey.
Director: Kevin Spacey.
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Bob Hoskins, John Goodman, Brenda Blethyn, Greta Scacchi, Caroline Aaron, Peter Cincotti, William Ulrich.
Photography: Eduardo Serra.
Music: Christopher Slaski.

2011-12-27T09:12:00.004Z

Dec 26th
Of Mice and Men***
US 1939. United Artists/Hal Roach. 107m. bw

Drifters George and Lennie go on the run from one farm labourer's job to another, hoping to build a ranch for themselves but hampered by the child-like giant Lennie who doesn't know his own strength.
Powerfully made, quintessential American tragedy which points up this element with melodramatic music and bravura camerawork, and strong in most other departments too.

Written by: Eugene Solow, from the novel by John Steinbeck.
Producer/Director: Lewis Milestone.
Starring: Burgess Meredith, Lon Chaney Jnr, Betty Field, Roman Bohnen, Charles Bickford, Bob Steele, Noah Beery Jr, Oscar O'Shea.
Photography: Norbert Brodine.
Music: Aaron Copland.

2011-12-24T15:21:00.003Z

Dec 24th
Whale Rider**
New Zealand/Ger 2002. South Pacific Pictures/ApolloMedia/Pandora/New Zealand Production Fund/New Zealand Film Commission. 101m.

In present-day New Zealand, the saviour of the Maori tribe turns out to be a girl.
Thoughtfully crafted and intelligent semi-mystical drama, weaving family melodrama with observation of contemporary Maori society, beautifully photographed with some fine performances.

Written and Directed by: Niki Caro, from the novel by Witi Ihimaera.
Producers: Tim Sanders, John Barnett, Frank Hübner.
Starring: Keisha-Castle Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Cliff Curtis, Vicky Haughton, Grant Roa, Mana Taumanu.
Photography: Leon Harbey.
Music: Lisa Gerrard.

Preceded by:
Father Christmas*
(GB 1991. Blooming Productions/TVC London/Channel 4. 26m.; Annual adventures of a caustic Santa Claus grumpily sifting through the mountain of mail in between holidays. Not as funny as the original books, but with some touching moments.; w: Dianne Jackson, Michael Adams, based on "Father Christmas" and "Father Christmas Goes on Holiday" by Raymond Briggs; d: Dave Unwin; voice of Mel Smith; m: Mike Hewer.)

2011-12-20T09:57:00.002Z

Dec 19th
The Gold Rush**
US 1925. United Artists. 95m. bw. silent

The Tramp goes prospecting in snowy Alaska.
One of Chaplin's most famous features, and while not entirely well held together - Chaplin himself revised it in sound form with music and narration in 1942 - as a director of set pieces he is near top form, with classic sequences like the lopsided log cabin, the chicken hallucination and the rolls dance. His original 1925 version also provides an interesting commentary on the flapper society of the time as well as his own troubled second marriage (his wife Lita Grey was originally to have co-starred.)

Written, Produced and Directed by: Charles Chaplin.
Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Mack Swain, Georgia Hale, Tom Murray, Malcolm Waite, Henry Bergman.
Photography: Roland Totheroh.
Art Direction: Charles D. Hall.

Piano Accompaniment: Neil Brand.

2011-12-15T07:32:00.005Z

Dec 14th

Goodbye Mr Chips*** (U)
Headgate Theatre, Colchester (last Colchester Film Society screening there)

US 1939. MGM. 112m.

A shy schoolmaster looks back on his long life at a boys' boarding school, encompassing both triumph and tragedy.
Sentimental school drama with some comic asides and an excellent star performance (that fought off competition as stiff as Clark Gable and Laurence Olivier for the 1939 Academy Award), and also some brief but sparkling cameos.

Written by: R.C.Sherriff, Claudine West, Eric Maschwitz, from the novel by James Hilton.
Producer: Victor Saville.
Director: Sam Wood.
Starring: Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, Paul Henreid, Austin Trevor, Lyn Harding, John Mills, Jill Furse, Judith Furse, David Tree, Cyril Raymond, Frederick Leister.
Photography: Frederick A. Young.
Music: Richard Addinsell.
Art Direction: Alfred Junge.

+ Robert Donat memorial plaque in Manchester

2011-12-10T23:10:00.008Z

Dec 11th
Hugo** (U)
Hackney Picture House

An orphaned boy who lives inside Paris Gare du Nord tries to reconcile an aging toymaker who turns out to be legendary filmmaker Georges Melies.
Touching, refreshingly mature family film (a little long at 2 hours) set in a stylized 1930s Paris with the occasional jarring British accent (Scorsese's tribute to Michael Powell), but making some good use of 3D and also allowing Scorsese to indulge in his love of the moving image.

d: Martin Scorsese
s: Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jude Law, Ray Winstone, Emily Mortimer, Christopher Lee, Helen McCrory, Michael Stuhlbarg, Frances de la Tour, Richard Griffiths

Preceded by:
2:20**
(GB 2011. 2m.; d: Jason Winyard.)

+ winner, Virgin Shorts 2011

2011-12-06T21:58:00.002Z

Dec 6th
Beetlejuice**
US 1988. Warner Bros/Geffen. 92m.

Recently deceased newly weds have tenant problems in their home and unwisely hire a mischievous fellow ghost to evict them.
Ghoulish comedy horror not entirely certain of its focus, whether Gothic or satirical, with the director's imagination running riot over a script that, characteristic of Burton, has plenty of holes.

Written by: Michael McDowell, Warren Skaaren.
Producers: Michael Bender, Larry Wilson, Richard Hashimoto.
Director: Tim Burton.
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O'Hara, Glenn Shadix, Annie McEnroe, Robert Goulet, Dick Cavett.
Photography: Thomas Ackerman.
Music: Danny Elfman.

2011-12-01T22:13:00.005Z

Nov 30th
The Deep Blue Sea*** (12A)
Odeon Colchester

A judge's wife who has left her husband is also rejected by her ex-RAF lover after she has attempted suicide.
Beautifully evocative adaptation of one of Rattigan's more tragic dramas, of almost unbearably repressed British post-war austerity, and moments of Brief Encounter-like intensity.

d: Terence Davies
s: Rachel Weisz, Simon Russell-Beale, Tom Hiddleston, Ann Mitchell, Karl Johnson
ph: Florian Hoffmeister
m: Samuel Barber (Concerto for Violin & Orchestra)

2011-11-29T22:51:00.004Z

Nov 29th
Battle of the V-1
GB 1958. Eros Film/John Bash. 109m. bw

Secret agents in Poland risk their lives to uncover the truth behind the Nazis' new secret weapon.
Clunkily efficient WWII programmer on a mini budget with some interesting patches that echo Schindler's List but with much less verisimilitude.

Written by: Jack Hanley, Eryk Wladek, based on the book "They Saved London" by Bernard Newman.
Producer: George Maynard.
Director: Vernon Sewell.
Starring: Michael Rennie, David Knight, Patricia Medina, Milly Vitale, Esmond Knight, Christopher Lee, Carl Jaffe, Peter Madden.
Photography: Basil Emmott.
Music: Robert Sharples.

2011-11-22T22:31:00.002Z

Nov 22nd
My Man Godfrey**
US 1936. Universal. 90m. bw

A destitute man is rescued from the slums and adopted as butler by an eccentric New York family, but turns out to be an ex-millionaire himself on the skids.
Pleasurable screwball comedy combined with Depression era overtones: in the latter regard hardly very incisive but the production is quite slick and stylish, and the cast certainly sparkles in all directions.

Written by: Morrie Ryskind, Gregory La Cava, Eric Hatch, from his novel.
Producer/ Director: Gregory La Cava.
Starring: William Powell, Carole Lombard, Gail Patrick, Alice Brady, Eugene Pallette, Mischa Auer, Jean Dixon, Alan Mowbray, Robert Light, Pat Flaherty.
Photography: Ted Tatzlaff.
Musical Direction: Charles Previn.
Art Direction: Charles D. Hall.

2011-11-16T21:38:00.004Z

Nov 16th
Kameradshaft***
Ger/Fra 1931. Gaumont- Franco film-Aubert/Nero Film AG. 91m. bw

In a Franco-German border town a mine explodes, and the German miners defy the border controls to help rescue the trapped French miners.
Powerfully moving social melodrama based on the Courieres mine disaster in 1906, here transposed for added effect to between-the-wars Europe, laying home its Socialist message rather heavily, but acutely observes some of the human tragedy and the disaster itself is brilliantly captured with scary authenticity. It couldn't be more relevant today, in the wake of the ongoing debate about migrant workers as well as the recent mining disasters in New Zealand and Chile.

Written by: Peter Martin Lampel, Karl Otten, Gerbert Rappaport, Ladislaus Vajda, Leon Wurth.
Producer: Seymour Nebenzal.
Director: G.W. Pabst (and Robert Beaudoin)
Starring (in no particular order): Alexander Granach, Fritza Kampers, Ernst Busch, Helena Manson, Daniel Mendaille, Georges Chalia, Andree Ducret, Alex Bernard, Pierre Louis, Elisabeth Wendt.
Photography: Fritz Arno Wagner, Robert Baberske.
Music: G. van Rigelus

+ available on YouTube

2011-11-09T22:24:00.001Z

Nov 9th
Fanboys*
US 2008. Weinstein Company/Trigger Street/Picture Machine. 90m.

Four Star Wars fans travel across America intending to break into Skywalker Ranch to see Star Wars Episode I before its release, for the sake of one of them who is terminally ill.
The Star Wars fan film cult reaches professional level: as fan films go a rather average effort. A gross-out spoof road movie exclusively for its generation with knowing in-jokes, and the plot turns sentimental before long, but with some good vignettes and effortless guest cameos.

Written by: Ernest Cline, Adam F. Goldberg.
Producers: Dana Brunetti, Kevin Spacey, Matthew Perniciara, Evan Astrowsky.
Director: Kyle Newman.
Starring: Sam Huntington, Dan Foglert, Kristen Bell, Jay Baruchel, Christopher Marquette, Danny Trejo, Seth Rogen, Billy Dee Williams, William Shatner, Carrie Fisher, Ray Park.
Photography: Lucas Ettlin.
Music: Mark Mothersbaugh.
Production Design: Cory Lorenzen.

+ LAST LINE OF FILM: "Guys...what if the movie sucks?"

Preceded by:
Miracle Fish*
(Australia 2008. Qoob TV/Screen Australia/Druid Films.Blue-Tonge Films. 17m.; On his birthday a bullied schoolboy suspects his wish has come true when the school is suddenly emptied - by a serial killer.; w, d: Luke Doolan; p: Drew Bailey; s: Karl Beattie, Brendan Donoghue.)

2011-10-26T23:48:00.006+01:00

Oct 26th
The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn** (PG)
Odeon Colchester

Tintin and Captain Haddock foil a plot by a vengeful descendant of an old enemy.
Innovative throwback to Raiders of the Lost Ark material, only now 30 years later transposed into the innovative process of motion capture, where all but the actors voices are simulated brilliantly in a near live action format faithful to the original comic books. For me the process still lacks a certain human element (like Final Fantasy), but it takes a director of Spielberg's skill to pull off the whole enterprise so entertainingly; his touch is apparent throughout (although the real stars are the animation "TDs"). It will be interesting to see how Peter Jackson's second planned instalment compares.

d: Steven Spielberg
voices (and motion captured bodies) of: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Toby Jones
m: John Williams

2011-10-19T08:19:00.002+01:00

Oct 18th
The Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest**
US/GB 2010. Altitude Films. 94m.

The history of George Mallory's ill-fated attempt to climb the North face of Mount Everest, and two American climbers' subsequent attempts to emulate that feat in the present day.
Poignant, consistently interesting drama-documentary using the late Natasha Richardson as one of the voiceovers (before her own tragic death in mountainous conditions). Another film about Everest may seem old hat nowadays, but the region itself is never less than visually stunning.

d: Anthony Geffen
Narrator: Liam Neeson
Additional voices of: Ralph Fiennes, Hugh Dancy, Natasha Richardson, Alan Rickman
ph: Chris Openshaw, Ken Sauls

2011-10-09T05:48:00.006+01:00

Oct 8th
Johnny English Reborn (PG)
Odeon Colchester

Second instalment of the bungling would-be James Bond from the credit card ads, slightly slicker this time round (with some knowing nods to the recent Daniel Craig incarnation), with Atkinson on just as good form as before and the rest of the cast enter into the spirit of things, the cheerfully idiotic plot moving along quite enjoyably - like the typical old-fashioned James Bond film in fact.

d: Oliver Parker
s: Rowan Atkinson, Rosamund Pike, Dominic West, Gillian Anderson, Daniel Kaluuya, Stephen Campbell Moore, Tim McInerney

2011-10-04T21:54:00.004+01:00

Oct 4th

Deliverance**

US 1972. Warner Bros/Elmer Enterprises. 109m. Panavision

A canoeing trip for four city workers in the Deep South turns into a fight for survival.
Primal, semi-allegorical forest melodrama on a theme the director returned to, in this case hurling his courageous actors through real-life rapids, accompanied by a sometimes indigestible but always forceful narrative.

Written by: James Dickey, from his novel.
Producer/Director: John Boorman.
Starring: Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox, Bill McKinney, James Dickey.
Photography: Vilmos Zsigmond.
Music: Eric Weissberg.

+ LEWIS (Burt Reynolds): "Sometimes you have to lose yourself before you can find anything."

Preceded by:
Superman in
Billion Dollar Limited**
(US 1941. 9m.; Superman and Lois Lane foil gold bullion robbers on a speeding train.; d: Dave Fleischer; voices of Bud Collyer, Joan Alexander.)

2011-09-28T21:03:00.002+01:00

Sep 27th
The Fisher King**
US 1991. Tri-Star. 137m.

A New York shock jockey unwittingly incites a murder spree but tries to redeem himself when he meets a man whose wife was killed and now dreams of finding the Holy Grail.
After overblown epics such as Brazil and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen(qv), Terry Gilliam restrains himself with more humdrum material, a fantasy drama about dysfunctional people coming to terms with their broken lives in the Big Apple. The Gilliam touches when they come (especially the commuters dance in Grand Central) are magical and a trifle indulgent, but there are longeurs in between.

Written by: Richard LaGravenese.
Producers: Debra Hill, Lynda Obst.
Director: Terry Gilliam.
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, Mercedes Ruehl, Amanda Plummer, Michael Jeter, David Hyde-Pierce, Harry Shearer.
Photography: Roger Pratt.
Music: George Fenton.

2011-09-21T00:40:00.004+01:00

Sep 20th
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy** (15)
Cineworld Ipswich

Fine emulation of the 1979 TV series based on John Le Carre's novel, every bit as absorbing and indecipherable as the original, and packed with 1970's Retro and an equally good cast, despite the inevitable (but not fatal) absence of Alec Guinness.

d: Tomas Alfredson
s: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ciaran Hinds, Kathy Burke, Simon McBurney, Roger Lloyd-Pack, David Dencik

+ John Le Carre himself pops up as a Christmas party guest

2011-08-25T07:20:00.006+01:00

Aug 24th
Cowboys and Aliens** (12A)
Odeon Colchester

A wanted criminal who has lost his memory rides into the town of Absolution, where an alien attack is about to take place...
Persuasive old fashioned Western which begins slowly but then loses its complexity in favour of a white knuckle sci-fi chase with an Independence Day-style finale. The stars give good value for money.

d: Jon Favreau
s: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Adam Beach, David Carradine

2011-08-24T08:13:00.004+01:00

Aug 24th
La Bete Humaine***
(The Human Beast)

Fra 1938. Paris Films. 99m. bw

A train driver witnesses a stationmaster and his wife who have murdered her elderly lover. She persuades him into keeping his silence but is later compelled into committing murder himself.

Highly evocative French railway melodrama with only occasional moments of falseness (mainly in the plot), with Renoir concentrating on a beautifully down-to-earth and authentic railway setting, with some classic individual cinematic moments too. The early precursor of American film noir.

Written by: Jean Renoir, Denise Leblond, from the novel by Emile Zola.

Producers: Raymond Hakim, Robert Hakim.

Director: Jean Renoir.

Starring: Jean Gabin, Simone Simon, Fernand Ledoux, Julien Carette, Blanchette Brunoy, Jacques Berlioz, Jean Renoir.

Photography: Curt Courant.

Music: Joseph Kosma.

2011-08-09T21:48:00.003+01:00

Aug 9th
Breakfast at Tiffany's**
US 1961. Paramount. 115m.

A young writer befriends New York callgirl Holly Golightly who shares her colourful life with a series of prospective husbands.
Charming romantic comedy much sanitised from its original source material, with some good cameos and a star who looks in perfect make-up even at six in the morning. A sentimental delight, for those in the right mood.

Written by: George Axelrod, from the story by Truman Capote.
Producers: Martin Jurow, Richard Shepherd.
Director: Blake Edwards.
Starring: Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen, Mickey Rooney (a horrendously stereotypical Japanese), Alan Reed, John McGiver, Jose Luis de Vilallonga.
Photography: Franz Planer.
Music: Henry Mancini.

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S. The climactic romantic clench between George Peppard, Audrey Hepburn, and a cat who deserves some sort of feline Oscar.

2011-07-31T00:14:00.006+01:00

July 30th
Pluto Nash
aka: The Adventures of Pluto Nash
US 2002. Village Roadshow/Castle Rock/NPV Entertainment. 82m(DVD version).

In 2087 the wisecracking owner of the Moon's most profitable nightclub is pursued by gangsters who want to turn it into a casino.
Hip comedy Blade Runner variation with some good cameos and occasional sight gags, but the script just isn't good enough to justify such huge expense on sets and special effects. Proportionately one of the most unsuccessful films ever made, costing hundreds of millions of dollars and barely bringing in one tenth of that at the box office.

Written by: Neil Cuthbert (and others).
Producers: Martin Bregman, Michael Bregman, Lewis A. Stroller.
Director: Ron Underwood.
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Rosario Dawson, Randy Quaid, Joe Pantoliano, Jay Mohr, Peter Boyle, Pam Grier, Luis Guzman, James Rebhorn, Burt Young, Illeana Douglas, John Cleese, Alec Baldwin (uncredited).
Photography: Oliver Wood.
Music: John Powell.
Production Design: Bill Brzeski.

2011-07-20T22:04:00.004+01:00

July 20th

A Place in the Sun***

US 1951. Paramount. 122m. bw

A young man whose family connections help him climb the social ladder is compelled to murder his pregnant working class girlfriend after he has also fallen in love with a stunning socialite.
Beautifully visualised adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, inevitably blandly altered from the original but held together by powerful atmosphere and commanding performances. A belated tribute of sorts to Elizabeth Taylor, about whom this film seems quite a fair reflection.

Written by: Michael Wilson, Harry Brown, based on the novel by Theodore Dreiser and the play by Patrick Kearney.
Producer/Director: George Stevens.
Starring: Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters, Anne Revere, Keeffe Braselle, Raymond Burr, Fred Clark, Fried Inescourt, Ian Wolfe.
Photography: William C. Mellor.
Music: Franz Waxman.

2011-07-09T23:12:00.007+01:00

July 9th
The Tree of Life* (12A)
Rio Dalston

US 2010. Fox Searchlight/River Road/Cottonwood Pictures/Plan B Entertainment. 138m.

An executive reflects on his life within the scheme of the universe and feels sorrow with his parents after the loss of his brother many years before.
Long, absorbing and pretentious surreal drama, deeply meaningful to its director more than anybody else.

Written and Directed by: Terrence Malick.
Producers: Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Grant Hill.
Starring: Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain, Hunter McCracken, Sean Penn, Laramie Eppler, Fiona Shaw.
Photography: Emmanuel Lubezki.
Music: Alexandre Desplat, and other classical pieces.
Visual Effects: Douglas Trumbull.

2011-06-30T22:28:00.003+01:00

Jun 30th
Chimes at Midnight**
aka: Falstaff
Spa/Switzerland 1965. Internacional Films Espanola/Alpine/Harry Saltzman. 119m. bw

In the reign of King Henry IV, his son and heir Prince Hal prefers a life of merriment and mischief with his friend Sir John Falstaff, whom he is nonetheless preparing to shun.
Stylish compendium of the various Shakespeare plays in which Falstaff appears, revered by Welles buffs as a commentary on his rejection by Hollywood (as he sees it), with some good moments and performances, but the style (filmed in chilly Spain) often overwhelms the verse.

Written and Directed by: Orson Welles.
Producers: Emiliano Piedra, Angel Escolano.
Starring: Orson Welles, Keith Baxter, John Gielgud (as Henry IV), Jeanne Moreau, Margaret Rutherford (as Mistress Quickly), Norman Rodway, Fernando Rey, Ralph Richardson (narrator).
Photography: Edmond Richard.
Music: Angelo Francesco Lavagnino.

2011-06-24T09:02:00.001+01:00

June 23rd
Hattie
GB TVM 2010. BBC/Angel Eye Media. 85m.

The troubled personal life of comedienne Hattie Jacques, who entered in a promiscuous affair with her chauffeur but kept her husband in the same house to preserve their reputation.
Powerful but grim behind-the-scenes showbiz drama, probably best left behind closed doors, with hard-working performances, but like other biopics of this kind, it fails to recapture how the central figure was funny.

Written by: Stephen Russell, based on the book by Andy Merriman.
Producers: Richard Osborne, Seb Barwell.
Director: Dan Zeff.
Starring: Ruth Jones, Robert Bathurst (as John Le Mesurier), Aidan Turner, Jeany Spark, Jay Simpson.
Photography: Ian Moss.
Music: Stephen McKeon.

2011-06-22T21:43:00.004+01:00

June 22nd
The Man with the Golden Arm**
US 1955. United Artists. 119m. bw

A reformed drug addict just out of prison battles to kick his old habit.
Superficial in its treatment of the risky subject (painting drugs as evil with little of the element of intoxication), but quite daring in its later scenes, this landmark treatment of a cinema taboo is still effective, supported by a sterling jazz soundtrack, and tells its tale with efficiency and clarity, unlike some of the director's later work.

Written by: Walter Newman, Lewis Metzner, from the novel by Nelson Algren.
Producer/Director: Otto Preminger.
Starring: Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak, Eleanor Parker, Darren McGavin, Arnold Stang, Robert Strauss, Emile Meyer, George E. Stone, Leonid Kinskey.
Photography: Sam Leavitt.
Music: Elmer Bernstein.
Titles: Saul Bass.

2011-06-22T08:02:00.004+01:00

Jun 21st
Senna** (12A)
Odeon Colchester

Archive documentary about the young Brazilian Ayrton Senna's short rise from international go-karting to three times World Formula 1 Champion, who comes across as colossally arrogant and gifted to begin with, then gradually laced with inner humility and some emotional moments as triumph and tragedy follow in his bitter rivalry with team-mate Alain Prost. A long haul of grainy video and film footage, although some of the scenes of backstage niggling are memorably melodramatic (as much as if it were a drama), and a priceless record for those fans who remember the time when sport was competing with commerce and occasionally won.

d: Asif Kapadia
contributions by: Viviane Senna, Ron Dennis, Frank Williams, Sid Watkins, and others
ed: Chris King, Gregers Sall

2011-06-19T12:21:00.002+01:00

June 18th
The Beaver* (12A)
Cineworld Ipswich

US 2010. Summit Entertainment/Participant Media/Imagenation Abu Dhabi FZ/Anonymous Content. 91m. ws

A chronically depressive father finds a way out by talking through a glove puppet.
Darkly comic drama with timing that unfortunately matched that of its star's own personal disintegration; as a film a little uncertain of its identity (like the main character), unwisely "opening out" the subject when the Beaver becomes a nationwide success, but performances are generally good and the choice of such a project is daring.

Written by: Kyle Killen.
Producers: Steve Colin, Keith Redman, Ann Ruark.
Director: Jodie Foster.
Starring: Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence, Riley Thomas Stewart, Cherry Jones.
Photography: Hagen Bogdanski.
Music: Marcelo Zarvos.

2011-06-16T22:43:00.003+01:00

June 16th
Frequency**
US 2000. New Line. 118m. ws

In 1969 a fireman uses his amateur radio to tune in to his future son, who helps him to avoid a tragic death, and then solves a series of unsolved murders.
Enjoyable if increasingly formulaic thriller variation on Back to the Future which jumps back and forth between the time zones a little too much for its own good, but sustains its course and also keeps some of its sentiment in check.

Written by: Toby Emmerich.
Producers: Hawk Koch, Gregory Hoblit, Bill Carrard, Toby Emmerich.
Director: Gregory Hoblit.
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Jim Caviezel, Elizabeth Mitchell, Andre Braugher, Shawn Doyle, Noah Emmerich, Daniel Henson.
Photography: Alar Kivilo.
Music: Michael Kamen.

Preceded by:
Les Bicyclettes de Belsize**
(GB 1969. Delmore. 27m.; Well intentioned, lightweight British pastiche of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.; w: Mchael Newling; p: Jacques De Lane Lea; d: Douglas Hickox; s: Anthony May, Juxy Huxtable, Leslie Goddard; ph: Wolfgang Suschitzky; m, ly: Les Reed, Barry Mason.)

2011-06-16T09:42:00.003+01:00

Jun 15th
Berlin Express*
US 1948. RKO. 87m. bw

An important German peacekeeper is kidnapped, and various members of the Four Powers search through devastated post-war Germany to rescue him.
Efficient and strikingly filmed on the authentic locations, but as a thriller weighed down its message, although there are some good set pieces.

Written by: Harold Medford, from a story by Curt Siodmak.
Producer: Bert Granet.
Director: Jacques Tourneur.
Starring: Robert Ryan, Merle Oberon, Paul Lukas, Charles Korvin, Robert Coote, Roman Toporov, Fritz Kortner, Charles McGraw, Tom Keene.
Photography: Lucien Ballard.
Music: Frederick Hollander.

2011-05-31T10:29:00.002+01:00

May 30th
Tarzan the Ape Man***
US 1932. MGM. 99m. bw

Ivory hunter's daughter Jane Parker meets Tarzan.
The first established version of the Tarzan legend on film, which despite occasional narrative lapses (Tarzan's origins are never explained) and standard studio product, is still a thoroughly enjoyable yarn, and set its muscular Olympic swimming star off on a popular trail.

Written by: Cyril Hume, Ivor Novello, based on the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Director: W.S. Van Dyke.
Starring: Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, C. Aubrey Smith, Neil Hamilton, Jiggs (as Cheeta), Forrester Harvey, Ivory Williams.
Photography: Harold Rosson, Clyde de Vinna.

Preceded by:
Crossbow*
(Australia 2008. New South Wales Film and Television Office. 14m.; A dysfunctional teenager is traumatized by his promiscuous parents and their drug-pushing friends.; w,d,narr: David Michod; s: Cy Standen, Lisa Chappell, Joel Edgerton, Mirrah Foulkes.)

2011-05-28T09:23:00.003+01:00

May 27th

Thor** (12A)

Odeon Colchester

US 2011. Paramount/Marvel. 115m. ws. 3-D

Thor the god of thunder is exiled to present-day Earth but fights his way back to the realm of Asgard to prevent his brother's attempt to usurp the throne.
Quite sustainable comic book adventure with Shakespearean overtones to the mythical element which actually works better than the Earthbound scenes, where the comedy seems clumsily interposed.

Written by: Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne, from a story based on the comic book by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby.
Producer: Kevin Feige.
Director: Kenneth Branagh.
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Colm Feore, Idris Elba, Clark Gregg, Samuel L. Jackson.
Photography: Haris Zambarloukos.
Music: Patrick Doyle.
Production Design: Bo Welch.

2011-05-20T22:39:00.003+01:00

May 20th
Little Caesar**
US 1930. Warner Bros. 80m. bw

The rise and fall of a bullyish Chicago gangster, clearly based on Al Capone, and though a little stagy and encumbered by the Warners' desire to make an earnest social statement, there are still some stunning moments, not least the central performance for which this star became synonymous.

Written by: Francis Faragoh, Robert E. Lee (and others), from the novel by W.R. Burnett.
Producer: Hal B. Wallis.
Director: Mervyn le Roy.
Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jnr, Glenda Farrell, George E. Stone, Thomas Jackson, Stanley Fields, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Black, William Collier Jnr, Ralph Ince.
Photography: Tony Gaudio.
Music: Erno Rapee.

Preceded by:
Hearst Metrotone News (1931)
("Legs" Diamond's Girl Talks After Gunman is Slain.) ["Kiki" Roberts, ex-Follies dancer]

The Hard Guy*
(US 1930. Warner Bros/Vitaphone. 6m. bw; A down-at-heels father contemplates going to criminal lengths to feed his family.; w: Burnet Hurshey, from the play by Betty Ross; d: Arthur Hurley; s: Spencer Tracy, Katherine Alexander.)

Lady Play Your Mandolin**
(US 1931. 7m. bw; Sprightly early Merrie Melodies short.; p: Hugh Harman, Rudolf Ising; anim: Rollin Hamilton, Norm Blackburn; md: Frank Marsales.)

2011-05-09T22:23:00.003+01:00

May 9th
Come and See**
USSR 1985. Mosfilm/Belarusfilm. 142m.

In Belorussia in 1943, a boy joins the Partisans whilst the local villages are being ransacked by the Germans.
Searing war drama made to commemorate the 40th anniversary of VE Day, but focusing much more on the atrocities committed by the Nazis. Slow and confusing to begin with, it builds with increasing intensity and horror (although the brief use of stock footage is unnecessary), so that by the end the images more resemble Hieronymus Bosch paintings than warfare.

Written by: Ales Adamovich, Elem Klimov.
Producer: S. Tereschenko.
Director: Elem Klimov.
Starring: Alexei Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Laucevicius, Vladas Bagdonas, Victor Lorents, Juri Lumiste, and others.
Photography: Alexei Rodionov.
Music: Oleg Yanchenko, Mozart.
Production Design: Viktor Petrov.

Roger Ebert review

2011-05-04T22:21:00.013+01:00

May 4th
The Edge of Love**
GB 2007. Capitol Films/BBC Films/Prescience/Rainy Day Films. 110m.

In World War II London, the married poet Dylan Thomas unexpectedly meets up with his childhood sweetheart Vera Phillips, who marries another man, and the resulting menage a quatre nearly has tragic results.
Indulgent period melodrama made as a star vehicle for two celebrity actresses, which distracts from the history, but strongly acted and visually very attractive, capturing some of the essence of Thomas's verse.

Writen by: Sharman MacDonald, based on "Dylan Thomas: A Farm, Two Mansions and a Bungalow" by David N. Thomas, and "Personal Sketch of Vava and Personal Sketch of Papa" by Esther Killick.
Producers: Rebekah Gilbertson, Sarah Radclyffe.
Director: John Maybury.
Starring: Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, Matthew Rhys (as Thomas), Cillian Murphy, Lisa Stansfield, Richard Dillane, Paul Brooke.
Photography: Jonathan Freeman.
Music: Angelo Badalamenti.

2011-05-04T09:19:00.003+01:00

May 4th
The All New Adventures of Laurel and Hardy: For Love or Mummy
US 1998 (straight-to-video release 2004). Coast Entertainment/White Dune/Larry Harmon. 85m.

The grand nephews of Stan and Ollie combat an ancient Pharaoh prophecy to take over the world.
Inevitably misguided but spirited impersonation, which despite the occasional recognisable moment generally treats the lovable duo more as stupid idiots than endearing buffoons, and anachronistically thrusts them into the present day but still wearing their period clothes. Plotwise no worse than most of the original Laurel & Hardy features.

Written by: Jeffrey Pillars, Joseph Dattore.
Producers: Kenneth M. Badish, John Cherry, Larry Harmon, Susan Harmon.
Directors: John Cherry, Larry Harmon.
Starring: Bronson Pinchot, Gailard Sartain, F. Murray Abraham, Susan Danford (uncredited), Philip Godawa, Jeffrey Pillars, Rick Rogers.
Photography: James Robb.
Music: Robert Folk.

2011-04-28T10:22:00.002+01:00

Apr 27th

The Big Bus*

US 1976. Paramount. 88m. Panavision

The world's first nuclear-powered transit bus is beset by attempted sabotage.
Trivial if topical spoof of disaster movies with mostly silly but occasionally fitfully amusing jokes. The makers of Airplane! hit this nail squarely on the head four years later.

Written/Produced by: Fred Freeman, Lawrence J. Cohen.
Director: James Frawley.
Starring: Joseph Bologna, Stockard Channing, John Beck, Jose Ferrer, Lynn Redgrave, Ned Beatty, Richard Mulligan, Sally Kellerman, Ruth Gordon, Rene Auberjonois, Harold Gould, Bob Dishy, Larry Hagman.
Photography: Harry Stradling Jnr.
Music: David Shire.
Production Design: Joel Schiller.

2011-04-05T21:53:00.002+01:00

Apr 5th
The Flying Scotsman**
GB 2006. Content Film International/Freewheel International/Flying Scotsman Films/Doosra/Zero West Films. 96m.

The true story of Scottish cyclist Graham Obree who struggles to break the World Speed Cycling record in spite of regulations and his own inner demons.
Powerful but also quite enjoyable sports drama using a variety of cinematic styles including the mental perspective of its central character, and also with the courage of some of its convictions in focusing on his tragedies as much as his triumphs.

Written by: John Brown, Simon Rose, Declan Hughes, based on the book by Graham Obree.
Producers: Peter Brougham, Claire Chapman, Peter Gallagher, Sara Giles, Damita Nikapota.
Director: Douglas Mackinnon.
Starring: Johny Lee Miller, Billy Boyd, Laura Fraser, Brian Cox, Morven Christie, Steven Berkoff, Niall Greig Fulton.
Photography: Gavin Finney.
Music: Martin Phipps.

2011-03-31T21:59:00.002+01:00

Mar 31st
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus**
GB/Canada 2009. Infinity Features/Poo Poo Pictures/Davis Films. 123m.

In present day London an elderly travelling entertainer is actually a centuries old philosopher engaged in a constant battle of wits with the devil, and is helped in his quest by a mysterious young charity worker who shepherds them along.
The last film of Heath Ledger, whose death halfway through filming is replaced by three other Hollywood heartthrobs also playing his character in the Imaginarium sequences; the effect is surreal and suitably Gilliamesque, and imaginatively livens up what is a slightly sluggish, sentimental and not entirely convincing drama fantasy, spending a little too long in grimy London for its own good.

Written by: Terry Gilliam, Charles McKeown.
Producers: Terry Gilliam, Samuel Hadida, Amy Gilliam, William Vince.
Director: Terry Gilliam.
Starring: Christopher Plummer, Heath Ledger (and Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell), Lily Cole, Verne Troyer, Andrew Garfield, Tom Waits.
Photography: Nicola Pecorini.
Music: Jeff Danna, Mychael Danna.
Production Design: Anatsasia Masaro.
Editing: Mick Audsley.

2011-03-22T22:49:00.005Z

Mar 21st
Monsters**
GB 2010. Vertigo Films. 95m.

A photographer escorts his boss's daughter from Mexico across the border into the US, but they are perilously forced to travel through the Infected Zone where alien creatures have invaded.
Persuasive low budget sci-fi road movie (with some nods to Apocalypse Now) with an equally soft-played romance, lacking any major frissons, but instead tellingly made in documentary-like fashion.

Written, Directed, Photographed and Visual Effects by: Gareth Edwards.
Producer: Allen Niblo, James Richardson.
Starring: Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able, and others.
Music: John Hopkins.
Editing: Colin Goudie.

2011-03-16T22:54:00.002Z

Mar 15th
Priest*
GB TVM 1994. Electric Pictures/BBC/Polygram/Miramax. 105m.

A Catholic priest suffers a crisis of faith in a tough new parish, which also brings out his homosexual leanings.
Powerful, urgent clerical melodrama painted with the sweeping broad brush strokes characteristic of this writer, which does also make for some interesting characters and a moving ending.

Written by: Jimmy McGovern.
Producers: George Faber, Josephine Ward.
Director: Antonia Bird.
Starring: Linus Roache, Tom Wilkinson, Robert Carlyle, Cathy Tyson, James Ellis, Lesley Sharp, Robert Pugh, Christine Tremarco, Rio Fanning, Paul Barber.
Photography: Fred Tammes.
Music: Andy Roberts.

2011-03-10T23:53:00.005Z

Mar 10th
The Adjustment Bureau** (12A)
Odeon Colchester

An aspiring politician falls in love with a ballet dancer that he was never supposed to see again, but the Men In Suits intervene.
Intriguing supernatural thriller about the course of destiny, one of the easier on the eye adaptations of Philip K. Dick, quite imaginative in an unobtrusive fashion (making fun use of several New York locations), and more engaging as human drama than Inception(qv), although the pay-off is disappointing.

d: George Nolfi
s: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Terence Stamp, Michael Kelly.

2011-02-28T22:31:00.001Z

Feb 28th
The Man Who Knew Too Much**
GB 1934. Gaumont British. 75m. bw

A couple on holiday in the Alps have their daughter kidnapped by political assassins, and so they take action for themselves.
One of Hitchcock's defining early 30s thrillers, a little primitive in some respects and dated in some of its acting, but with several notable set pieces including the Albert Hall and a climax based on the Sydney Street Siege.

Written by: Charles Bennett, D.B. Wyndham Lewis, Emlyn Williams, from a story by Edwin Greenwood, A.R. Rawlinson.
Producer: Ivor Montagu.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock.
Starring: Leslie Banks, Edna Best, Peter Lorre, Nova Pilbeam, Frank Vosper, Hugh Wakefield, Pierre Fresnay.
Photography: Curt Courant.
Music: Arthur Benjamin.

2011-02-23T07:50:00.005Z

Feb 22nd
The Wolfman**
US 2010. Universal/Relativity Media/Stuber Pictures. 114m(DVD version). ws

Glossy, ambitious remake of Curt Siodmak's 1941 film of an aristocrat's son who is bitten by a wolf and becomes one himself, which looks rushed in its early stages, in a manner reminiscent of Bram Stoker's Dracula with added elements of Edgar Allen Poe-style Greek tragedy and even a hint of Jack the Ripper and a few other fantasy-horror films. Despite its pedigree it struggled to find an audience, which is a shame.

Written by: Andrew Kevin Walker, David Self.
Producers: Scott Stuber, Benicio Del Toro, Rick Yorn, Sean Daniel.
Director: Joe Johnston.
Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving, Max Von Sydow (uncredited), Art Malik, Anthony Sher, Geraldine Chaplin.
Photography: Shelly Johnson.
Music: Danny Elfman.
Make-up: Rick Baker.

2011-02-20T09:56:00.008Z

Feb 19th
Black Swan* (15)
Electric Palace, Harwich

A young ballerina is cast in the role of Swan Queen in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, which threatens to destroy her.
Intense and at times ludicrous ballet melodrama with perhaps unnecessary supernatural elements, almost totally seen from the perspective of its main character, so that it lacks focus.

d: Darren Aronofsky
s: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder, Benjamin Millepied

Philip French review

2011-02-12T22:55:00.008Z

Feb 10th
Under Milk Wood**
GB 1971. Timon Films. 88m.

Series of vignettes describing life in a Welsh fishing village.
Acceptable, sometimes all-too literal translation of Thomas's imagery, which is only occasionally striking and with the momentary nice acting cameo, given international lustre thanks to the influence of local boy Richard Burton and the distraction of his famous wife in an over-glamorised appearance.

Written and Directed by: Andrew Sinclair, from the play by Dylan Thomas.
Producer: Hugo French, Jules Buck.
Starring: Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole (as Captain Cat), Elizabeth Taylor, Glynis Johns, Victor Spinetti, Ryan Davies, Angharad Rees, Ann Beach, Sian Phillips, Vivien Merchant, Talfryn Thomas, Glyn Edwards, David Jason, Ruth Madoc, Susan Penhaligon, and others.
Photography: Bob Huke.
Music: Brian Gascoigne.

+ filmed on location in Fishguard, with Elizabeth Taylor's brief scenes shot at Lee International Studios in London

UNDER MILK WOOD. Richard Burton brought kudos and his glamorous wife Elizabeth Taylor to his native Dylan Thomas, but left any acting with Liz to his old drinking chum Peter O'Toole.

2011-02-02T07:26:00.004Z

Feb 1st
The King's Speech*** (12A)
Odeon Colchester

The future King George VI tries to cure his stammer with the aid of Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue, and is thrust into the limelight when his brother Edward VIII abdicates.
Deeply moving study, not of one man's triumph over adversity but his ongoing and ultimately winning struggle; languid in pace, like the King's stammer, and historically taking one or two short cuts, but at its best when focusing on the love-hate relationship between the king and his speech therapist. The truth of the story is perhaps what makes it most moving.

d: Tom Hooper
s: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Derek Jacobi, Guy Pearce, Jennifer Ehle, Timothy Spall, Michael Gambon, Claire Bloom.

2011-01-31T07:40:00.001Z

Jan 30th
The Watcher in the Woods**
GB 1980/81. Walt Disney. 83m(revised version).

An American family renting an old house is threatened by a malevolent force in the woods of a girl who has disappeared.
Scary children's ghost story, an uncertain mixture of horror and cutesy sentiment, with the latter wisely dispensed with by the end (three of them, as on the American DVD release). A Disney curio, that if made a few years later would happily have fitted under their Miramax/Touchstone banner.

Written by: Brian Clemens, Harry Spaulding, Rosemary Anne Sisson, from the novel by Florence Engel Randall.
Producer: Ron Miller.
Director: John Hough (and Vincent McEveety).
Starring: Bette Davis, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Kyle Richards, Carroll Baker, David McCallum, Ian Bannen, Richard Pasco, Benedict Taylor, Frances Cuka.
Photography: Alan Hume.
Music: Stanley Myers.
Production Design: Eliot Scott.

2011-01-28T07:51:00.004Z

Jan 27th
Anna Karenina**
US 1935. MGM. 95m. bw

A influential minister's wife embarks on a tragic love affair with a dashing count, to the cost of her marriage and her son.
Economically adapted but grandly staged version of Tolstoy, with Hollywood's idea of Russians in a wild variety of international accents.

Written by: Clemence Dane, Salka Viertel, S.N. Behrman, from the novel by Leo Tolstoy.
Producer: David O. Selznick.
Director: Clarence Brown.
Starring: Greta Garbo, Fredric March, Basil Rathbone, Freddie Bartholomew, Maureen O'Sullivan, Reginald Owen, Phoebe Foster, May Robson, Reginald Denny, Ethel Griffies.
Photography: William Daniels.
Music: Herbert Stothart.
Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Fredric Hope, Edwin B. Willis.

2011-01-22T22:21:00.005Z

Jan 22nd
Of Gods and Men** (15)
Ipswich Film Theatre

In 1996 the Cistercian monks at a village in Algeria find their peaceful way of life threatened by Islamic terrorists.
The terrorist threat (with several false alarms until the final tragic hostage taking) is a pervading menace to what is elsewise a beautifully observed and deliberately laboured study of the monks' way of life and their relationship with the community, and how powerful this and their faith keeps them there in spite of the danger. It only fleetingly covers the more interesting aspect of the clash between different religions.

d: Xavier Beauvois
s: Lambert Wilson, Michel Lonsdale, Olivier Rabourdin, Philippe Laudenbach, Jacques Herlin, Loic Pichon, Xavier Maly, Jean-Marie Frin, Sabrina Ouazani, Farid Larbi.

2011-01-19T07:40:00.004Z

Jan 18th
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly**
Fra/US 2007. Pathe Renn. 112m.

The editor of Elle Magazine Jean-Dominique Bauby suffers a stroke but uses his left eye as a means of communicating with the outside world.
Absorbing true story which tries as much as possible to retain the subjective camera view of its main character to emphasise the horror of his condition, whilst still managing to give him an interior monologue and some imaginative visuals, and also sharing its sympathy not only with the patient but also those closest to him.

Written by: Ronald Harwood, from the book by Jean-Dominique Bauby.
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Kilik.
Director: Julian Schnabel.
Starring: Mathieu Amalric, Emanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josee Croze, Anne Consigny, Patrick Chesnais, Max Von Sydow, Jean-Pierre Cassel.
Photography: Janusz Kaminski.
Music: Paul Cantelon.
Editing: Juliette Welfling.

2011-01-11T22:02:00.003Z

Jan 11th
Alice in Wonderland*
US 1933. Paramount. 75m. bw

Little girl Alice steps through the looking glass and encounters many bizarre characters.
Inventive but disappointingly stolid version, mechanically moving along from one scene to the next, with much of Lewis Carroll's visual wit, but little propensity for storytelling. The guest stars are mostly unrecognisable.

Written by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz, William Cameron Menzies, from the novel by Lewis Carroll.
Producer: Louis D. Lighton.
Director: Norman Z. McLeod.
Starring: CHarlotte Henry, Edward Everett Horton (Mad Hatter), Cary Grant (Mock Turtle), Edna May Oliver (Red Queen), Ned Sparks (Caterpillar), Charles Ruggles (March Hare), Jack Oakie, Roscoe Karns (Tweedledum & Tweedledee), Gary Cooper (White Knight), Mae Marsh, Patsy O'Byrne, and others.
Photography: Henry Sharp, Bert Glennon.
Music: Dmitri Tiomkin.
Make-up: Wally Westmore.

Preceded by:
Superman in
Mechanical Monsters***
(US 1941. 10m.; Superman and Lois Lane tackle a jewel thief who is using indestructible robots. One of the best of the Dave Fleischer Superman shorts.; w: Isidore Sparber, Seymour Kneitel; d: Dave Fleischer; anim: Steve Muffat, george Germanetti; voices of Bud Collyer, Joan Alexander, Julian Noa.)

2010-12-30T22:16:00.009Z

Dec 30th
Gigi**
US 1958. MGM. 119m. Cinemascope

In 19th century Paris, a bored playboy unexpectedly falls for his young friend Gigi, whom to their mutual delight flowers from girl into woman.
Very charming late vintage MGM musical about the yearning of courtship as much as its triumphs, with a lot Parisian charm including use of authentic locations. The slender story is padded along by some memorable musical moments.

Written by: Alan Jay Lerner.
Producer: Arthur Freed.
Director: Vincente Minnelli.
Starring: Leslie Caron, Louis Jourdan, Maurice Chevalier, Hermione Gingold, Isabel Jeans, Jacques Bergerac, Eva Gabor.
Photography: Joseph Ruttenberg.
Music/Lyrics: Frederick Lowe, Alan Jay Lerner.
Musical Direction: Andre Previn.
Production Design/Costume: Cecil Beaton.

GIGI. In these darker days, a song like "Thank Heavens for Little Girls" would have rather sinister overtones, but dear old Maurice Chevalier still had his charm, and "I Remember It Well" with Hermione Gingold is a delight for any generation.

2010-12-29T01:26:00.002Z

Dec 28th
A Cock and Bull Story**
GB 2005. BBC Films/EM Media/Revolution Films. 94m.

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon star in a film about the life of Tristram Shandy.
A witty, self-regarding adaptation of an epic unfocused work, containing only fleeting period trappings and concentrating mostly on the trials of film making, in the style of Eight and a Half and Adaptation.

Written by: Martin Hardy (Frank Cottrell Boyce), based on "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy - Gentleman" by Lawrence Stearne.
Producer: Andrew Eaton.
Director: Michael Winterbottom.
Starring: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Keeley Hawes, Shirley Henderson, Dylan Moran, Jeremy Northam, Naomie Harris, Kelly McDonald, James Fleet, Ian Hart, Stephen Fry, Gillian Anderson.
Photography: Marcel Zyskind.
Music: Handel, Nino Rota, Edward Nogria.
Production Design: John Paul Kelly.

Preceded by:
Laid Off*
(GB 2006. 11m.; A dead man wanders the streets like an unemployed worker hoping to be successfully sent upstairs.; w,d: Zam Salim; s: John Paul Hurley.)

2010-12-28T05:55:00.002Z

Dec 28th
Fathom**
GB 1967. Twentieth Century Fox. 99m. Franscope

A beautiful skydiver becomes involved in a plot to retrieve a valuable Oriental ornament.
Slick Sixties semi-spoof spy thriller of double-cross and triple-cross, with the decorous Raquel Welch instead of the more chauvinist James Bond. Quite innocent fun.

Written by: Lorenzo Semple Jnr, from the novel by Larry Forrester.
Producer: John Kohn.
Director: Leslie Mattinson.
Starring: Raquel Welch, Tony Franciosa, Clive Revill, Ronald Fraser, Richard Briers, Greta Chi, Tom Adams, Ann Lancaster.
Photography: Douglas Slocombe, Ken Vos.
Music: Johnny Dankworth.

2010-12-27T05:30:00.003Z

Dec 27th
The Man Who Could Cheat Death*
GB 1959. Paramount/Hammer. 83m.

A doctor who has experimented with immortality for 104 years becomes increasingly desperate and murderous.
Melodramatic Hammer horror with some talky phases and spirited performances.

Written by: Jimmy Sangster, from the play "The Man in Half Moon Street" by Barre Lyndon.
Producer: Anthony Nelson-Keys.
Director: Terence Fisher.
Starring: Anton Diffring, Hazel Court, Christopher Lee, Arnold Marle, Delphi Lawrence, Francis de Wolff.
Photography: Jack Asher.
Music: Richard Rodney Bennett.

2010-12-23T10:07:00.003Z

Dec 22nd
Bedknobs and Broomsticks*
US 1971. Walt Disney. 131m(extended version).

An apprentice witch takes on three evacuees and teams up with a would-be magician to foil a German invasion.
Flimsy attempt by the Disney studio to replicate the success of Mary Poppins with poor period detail and a story lost in the face of animation sidelines and song and dance numbers, but the occasional memorable tune.

Written by: Bill Walsh, Don Da Gradi, based on the novel by Mary Norton.
Producer: Bill Walsh.
Director: Robert Stevenson.
Starring: Angela Lansbury, David Tomlinson, Ray Snart, Cindy O'Callaghan, Ian Weighill, Tessie O'Shea, Roddy McDowall, Sam Jaffe, Bruce Forsyth.
Photography: Frank Phillips.
Music/Lyrics: Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman.
Special Effects: Eustace Lycett, Danny Lee, Alan Maley.

2010-12-19T12:19:00.003Z

Dec 18th
Tron Legacy** (PG)
Cineworld Haymarket

Sam Flynn searches for his father, who has re-entered "The Grid" but is trapped fighting his own cyber alter ego.
Self-celebratory sequel, every bit as preposterous as the original but just as engaging as an adventure, and a little easier on the eye than first time round (with or without 3-D.)

d: Joseph Kosinski
s: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, James Frain, Bruce Boxleitner, Beau Garrett, Michael Sheen

2010-12-13T08:18:00.003Z

Dec 12th
Family Plot*
US 1976. Universal. 120m.

A psychic and a con trickster search for a lost inheritance who turns out to be a ruthless diamond smuggler.
Easy going comedy thriller with the air of a TV mystery, and some characteristic touches which are all done in rather leisurely fashion. A gentle last outing for the Master of Suspense.

Written by: Ernest Lehman, based on the novel "The Rainbird Pattern" by Victor Canning.
Producer/Director: Alfred Hitchcock.
Starring: Barbara Harris, Bruce Dern, William Devane, Karen Black, Ed Lauter, Cathleen Nesbitt, Katherine Kelmond.
Photography: Leonard J. South.
Music: John Williams.

2010-11-26T08:07:00.005Z

Nov 25th
Five Easy Pieces** (15)
Electric Palace, Harwich

US 1970. Columbia/Bert Schneider. 98m.

A drifter who is also a talented pianist rejects his family and his pregnant girlfriend and reflects on his empty life by heading north to Alaska.
Compelling 70s fable with more than a ring of truth to it (symptomatic of the disaffected generation of the late 1960s), low key for the most part but with outstanding individual scenes that are worth the wait.

Written by: Adrien Joyce, Bob Rafelson.
Producers: Bob Rafelson, Richard Wechsler.
Director: Bob Rafelson.
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Susan Anspach, Lois Smith, Billy Green Bush, Ralph Waite.
Photography: Laszlo Kovacs.
Music: various.

100 Favourite Films: Five Easy Pieces

2010-11-25T10:15:00.003Z

Nov 22nd
The Neverending Story**
WG/US 1984. Warner Bros/Bavaria Studios/WDR/Neue Constantin. 94m. Technovision

A boy instigates the story of the mythical land of Fantasia where nothingness is threatening to destroy it.
Existential children's fairy tale with some dark moments, jarringly edited in some of the transitions between fantasy and reality but with great imagination.

Written by: Wolfgang Petersen, Herman Weigel.
Producers: Bernd Eichinger, Dieter Geissler.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen.
Starring: Barret Oliver, Noah Hathaway, Gerald McRaney, Thomas Hill, Tami Stronach, Moses Gunn, Patricia Hayes, Sydney Bromley.
Photography: Jost Vacano.
Music: Giorgio Moroder, Klaus Doldinger.
Production Design: Rolf Zehetbauer.

Preceded by:
Sugar Daddies*
(US 1927. 15m. silent. bw; A bumbling millionaire calls upon his lawyer and butler to help him escape unwanted in-laws.; w: H.M. Walker; d: Fred L. Guiol; s: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Noah Young, Charlotte Mineau, Edna Marian, Eugene Pallette; ph: George Stevens.)

2010-11-17T08:14:00.006Z

Nov 16th
You Again* (U)
Cineworld Ipswich

Female rivalries are re-ignited when former high school girls discover they are marrying into the family of someone who bullied them.
Spirited bitchy comedy with sentimental interludes and uncertain characterisation but some good star guest turns.

d: Andy Fickman
s: Kristen Bell, Odette Yustman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Betty White, Victor Garber, James Wolk, Kristen Chenoweth, Sean Wing, Patrick Duffy, Cloris Leachman

2010-11-16T11:31:00.003Z

Nov 16th
Becket**
GB 1964. Paramount. 149m. Panavision

The high-living King Henry II unwisely appoints his best friend Thomas Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury, which brings them into conflict.
Stately, very grand looking historical drama with two hellraising stars enjoying themselves, a mixture of the playful and deeply reverential. The occasional star cameo enlivens what is basically a two character piece.

Written by: Edward Anhalt, based on the play by Jean Anouilh.
Producer: Hal B. Wallis.
Director: Peter Glenville.
Starring: Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, Donald Wolfit, John Gielgud (as Louis VII), Paolo Stoppa (as Pope Alexander III), Martita Hunt, Pamela Brown, David Weston, Felix Aylmer, Sian Phillips, and others.
Photography: Geoffrey Unsworth.
Music: Laurence Rosenthal.
Production Design: John Bryan.

2010-11-09T08:38:00.003Z

Nov 8th
Are You Being Served?
GB 1977. EMI. 95m.

The clothing department of Grace Brothers go on holiday to the Spanish resort of Costa Plonka, just before a revolution there.
Cheap and cheekily effective adaptation almost indistinguishable in style from a Carry On film, with most of the regulars and allowing for most of the TV show's saucier jokes.

Written by: Jeremy Lloyd, David Croft.
Producer: Andrew Mitchell.
Director: Bob Kellett.
Starring: John Inman, Mollie Sugden, Frank Thornton, Trevor Bannister, Wendy Richard, Nicholas Smith, Arthur Brough, Arthur English, Harold Bennett, Andrew Sachs, Glyn Houston.
Photography: Jack Atcheler.
Music: David Croft, Ronnie Hazlehurst.

2010-11-03T08:58:00.004Z

Nov 2nd
All About Eve***
US 1950. Twentieth Century Fox. 138m. bw

An admirer of Broadway star Margo Channing turns out to also be a scheming vixen who wants to jump into her shoes.
The story is artificial, but this is otherwise a brilliantly acerbic backstage melodrama (with next to no on-stage footage) with an A-rate cast who don't take any prisoners. Probably the one film that most accurately captured the plight of older actresses who are deemed to be past it.

Written and Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck.
Starring: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, Celeste Holm, George Sanders, Thelma Ritter, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe, Gregory Ratoff, Marilyn Monroe, Barbara Bates.
Photography: Milton Krasner.
Music: Alfred Newman.

2010-10-20T00:11:00.005+01:00

Oct 19th
Metropolis*** (PG)
Odeon Colchester

Ger 1926. UFA. 148m. bw

In the year 2000, workers exhaustedly operate the machines which power the towering city of Metropolis; a scientist constructs a robot the duplicate of the workers' saintly leader Maria in order to incite them to revolt.
An almost complete restoration of the missing scenes from Lang's classic, now reverting an influential futuristic sci-fi epic to the more Expressionist human melodrama that it originally was, with more focus on the characters who are less overwhelmed by the enormous sets. The first film to depict the future as stunning but also deeply foreboding, making it a benchmark of science fiction.

Written by: Thea Von Harbou.
Producer: Erich Pommer.
Director: Fritz Lang.
Starring: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Gustav Frolich, Fritz Rasp, Theodor Loos, Heinrich George, Erwin Biswanger.
Photography: Karl Freund, Gunther Rittau.
Music: Gottfreid Huppertz, Bernd Schultheis.
Art Direction: Otto Hunte, Erich Kettelhut, Karl Vollbrecht.
Special Effects: Eugen Schufftan.

100 Favourite Films: Metropolis

2010-10-06T08:13:00.004+01:00

Oct 6th
A Dry White Season**
US 1989. MGM. 107m.

Soweto, 1976: a white schoolteacher unwisely fights for justice after his gardener is tortured and murdered by the security police.
Powerful if simplistic indictment of the Apartheid regime which lags in the last hour after Brando's absorbing cameo as a human rights lawyer.

Written by: Colin Welland, Euzhan Palcy, from the novel by Andre Brink.
Producer: Paula Weinstein.
Director: Euzhan Palcy.
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Janet Suzman, Jurgen Prochnow, Marlon Brando, Susan Sarandon, Winston Ntshona, Zakes Mokae, Michael Gambon, Ronald Pickup, Richard Wilson.
Photography: Kevin Pike, Pierce-William Glenn.
Music: Dave Grusin, Hugh Masekela.

2010-09-28T21:29:00.008+01:00

Sep 28th
Britannic
GB/US TVM 1999. Flashpoint/Regent Entertainment. 90m.

In 1916, a plucky military intelligence girl (who survived the Titanic disaster) tries to find out which one on board the hospital ship Britannic is a German spy.
Clunky TV budget cash-in on Titanic, a fictionalisation mostly of the Britannic disaster based on the speculation that the ship was sabotaged for secretly carrying weapons.

Written by: Brett Thompson, Kim Smith, Denis Pratt, Brian Trenchard-Smith.
Producers: Paul Colichman, Mark R. Harris, Judith Hunt.
Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith.
Starring: Amanda Ryan, Edward Atterton, Jacqueline Bisset, John Rhys-Davies, Ben Daniels, Bruce Payne.
Photography: Ivan Strasburg.
Music: Alan Parker.
Visual Effec ts: Corbitt Design, Inc.
Production Design: Rob Harris.

Do Detectives Think? plus other shorts

2010-09-25T23:27:00.010+01:00

Sep 25th
Manifest Theatre, Manningtree

Laurel & Hardy "Men O'War" Tent evening of films beginning and ending with the theme of vengeful crooks, and also featuring Walter "Butch/Mugsy" Long in Any Old Port.

Do Detectives Think?**
(US 1927. Pathe/Hal Roach. 20m. bw. silent; A judge hires two inept detectives to protect him from a vengeful escaped convict. The duo's first use of their trademark costumes (but with different character names.); d: Fred Guiol; s: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Noah Young, Viola Richard.)

County Hospital**
(US 1932. 20m. bw; Stan visits Ollie in hospital with a bad leg, and causes inevitable mayhem.; w: H.M. Walker; d: James Parrott; s: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Billy Gilbert.)

followed by:
Any Old Port (qv)

Going Bye Bye! (qv)

2010-09-23T21:37:00.001+01:00

Sep 23rd
The Browning Version**
GB 1951. GFD. 90m. bw

A retiring schoolteacher is despised by his unfaithful wife and unpopular with his pupils, but one of them gives him consolation.
A poignant and thoughtful little play set in a lost era, uneasily expanded to feature length (especially the happy ending), with a slightly over-theatrical central performance, but enough of the power of the original still comes through compellingly.

Written by: Terence Rattigan, from his play.
Producer: Teddy Baird.
Director: Anthony Asquith.
Starring: Michael Redgrave, Jean Kent, Nigel Patrick, Ronald Howard, Brian Smith, Wilfrid Hyde-White, William Travers, Peter Jones.
Photography: Desmond Dickinson.
Art Direction: Carmen Dillon.

2010-09-17T08:13:00.002+01:00

Sep 16th
Condorman*
US 1981. Walt Disney. 90m. Panavision

A comic book artist gets the chance to re-create his hero's adventures by helping a beautiful Russian agent to defect.
Passable but lame superhero spoof from a flagging Disney studio, more James Bond than Superman.

Written by: Marc Sturdivant, Glen Caron, Mickey Rose.
Producer: Jan Williams.
Director: Charles Jarrott.
Starring: Michael Crawford, Barbara Carrera, Oliver Reed, James Hampton, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Dana Elcar.
Photography: Charles F. Wheeler.
Music: Henry Mancini.

2010-09-12T00:41:00.005+01:00

Sep 11th
Knight and Day** (12A)
Electric Palace, Harwich

A woman on her way to her sister's wedding meets a rogue CIA agent who embroils her in a plot to smuggle a valuable battery into the hands of arms dealers.
Nonsensical but fun and slickly packaged comedy thriller with elements of Bird on a Wire, Romancing the Stone, True Lies, The Thin Man and To Catch a Thief. The characterisation and the star performances help to carry it off.

d: James Mangold
s: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Viola Davis, Jordi Molla, Paul Dano

2010-09-07T09:49:00.005+01:00

Sep 7th
Poor Cow**
GB 1967. Anglo Amalgamated/Vic/Fenchurch. 101m.

A young mother has to fend for herself when her crooked husband is sent to prison, as also is his best friend with whom she has fallen in love.
This director's first foray into cinema after some acclaimed fly-on-the-wall TV dramas; the approach here is much the same despite some occasionally wooden moments, with the extra permissiveness that cinema allows for - which even for the time is shockingly down-to-earth, but entertaining in the Loach style that is now familiar.

Written by: Ken Loach, Nell Dunn, from her novel.
Producer: Joseph Janni.
Director: Ken Loach.
Starring: Carol White, Terence Stamp, John Bindon, Queenie Watts, Kate Williams.
Photography: Brian Probyn.
Music: Donovan, and others.
Editing: Roy Watts.

POOR COW (1967). Cathy Come Home's Carol White as a downtrodden version of Julie Christie.

2010-08-26T07:45:00.003+01:00

Aug 25th
Indestructible Man
US 1955. Allied Artists/CGK. 75m. bw

An executed criminal is brought back to life and goes on the rampage against those who incriminated him.
Cheapjack modern Frankenstein thriller with a few cliches and more than an average amount of OTT lumbering required of its star. Fair enough entertainment for the drive-ins.

Written by: Vy Russell, Sue Bradford.
Producer/Director: Jack Pollexfen.
Starring: Lon Chaney Jnr, Casey Adams, Marian Carr, Ross Elliott, Stuart Randall, Robert Shayne.
Photography: John L. Russell.
Music: Albert Glasser.

2010-08-20T23:47:00.006+01:00

Aug 20th
One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing*
GB 1975. Walt Disney. 94m.

A civil servant sneaks out a secret formula which is pursued by the Chinese through London.
Enjoyably silly spoof adventure with prolonged action sequences but making excellent use both of familiar English places and faces.

Written/Produced by: Bill Walsh, based on the novel "The Great Dinosaur Robbery" by David Forrest.
Director: Robert Stevenson.
Starring: Peter Ustinov, Helen Hayes, Derek Nimmo, Joan Sims, Clive Revill, Bernard Bresslaw, Andrew Dove, Max Harris, Deryck Guyler, Roy Kinnear, Natasha Pyne, Richard Pearson, Max Wall.
Photography: Paul Beeson.
Music: Ron Goodwin.
Art Direction: Michael Stringer.

Preceded by:
Superman in
The Mummy Strikes**
(US 1943. Paramount/Famous Artists. 8m.; Clark Kent uncovers the story of a Mummy's ancient curse, which comes alive!; d: Izzy Sparber; voices of Bud Collyer, Joan Alexander, Jackson Beck.)

ONE OF OUR DINOSAURS IS MISSING. The star of the title, who also later made a guest appearance on the deserts of Tatooine.

2010-08-18T08:58:00.004+01:00

Aug 17th
Anne of the Thousand Days*
GB 1969. Universal. 146m. Panavision

Anne Boleyn is seduced by Henry VIII into bringing him a son, then when she fails is framed for adultery and executed.
Long, stately and sometimes moving historical soap opera with slightly mannered performances, especially Burton's.

Written by: John Hale, Bridget Boland, from the play by Maxwell Anderson.
Producer: Hal B. Wallis.
Director: Charles Jarrott.
Starring: Richard Burton, Genevieve Bujold, Anthony Quayle, Irene Papas, John Colicos, Michael Hordern, Katharine Blake, Peter Jeffrey, Denis Quilley, William Squire (as Thomas More).
Photography: Arthur Ibbetson.
Music: Georges Delerue.
Costume: Margaret Furse.
Production Design: Maurice Carter.

2010-08-05T18:33:00.002+01:00

Aug 2nd
Babes in Toyland**
aka: Toyland; March of the Wood Soldiers; Laurel and Hardy in Toyland
US 1934. Hal Roach. 77m. bw

Little Bo Peep and Tom-Tom the Piper's Son outwit the evil Barnaby, with a little help from two toymakers.
The stilted filming and acting are irrelevant; the tailoring of these two comics to an essentially theatrical children's operetta makes all the difference, utilising well-used comic routines to still good effect, if rather toned down from their usual brilliance. One of the most magical and child-like of the Laurel & Hardy features, distinguished further by the beautifully mounted production.

Written by: Nick Grinde, Frank Butler, based on the operatta by Glen MacDonough, Victor Herbert.
Directors: Charles Rogers, Gus Meins.
Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charlotte Henry, Henry Kleinbach (later Henry Brandon), Felix Knight, Florence Roberts, William Burress.
Music: Victor Herbert.
Lyrics: Glen MacDonough.
Musical Direction: Harry Jackson.
Photography: Art Lloyd, Francis Corby.

+ the numerous title changes came about mostly because of the 1960 Walt Disney remake of the same name, whose makers removed most intact copies of the original 1934 negative. Sadly a fully intact print has yet to materialise.

2010-07-28T07:57:00.003+01:00

July 27th
The Bullfighters*
US 1945. Twentieth Century Fox. 60m. bw

Stan poses as a famous matador in Mexico where he and Ollie are in hiding from a vengeful ex-convict.
The last of L&H's features at Fox, and one of their better ones (which isn't saying much); a strung together plot with occasionally well sustained slapstick, echoing some of their earlier work.

Written by: Scott Darling.
Producer: William Girard.
Director: Mal St. Clair.
Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Ralph Sanford, Richard Lane, Carol Andrews, Margo Woode, Diosa Costello.
Photography: Norbert Brodine.
Music: David Buttolph.

Preceded by:
Baby Herman & Roger Rabbit in
Tummy Trouble**
(US 1989. Walt Disney/Amblin. 7m.; Imaginative tribute to the short cartoons of Tex Avery and the like, a useful "mini" version of Who Framed Roger Rabbit.; d: Rob Minkoff; voices of Charles Fleischer, Lou Hersch, Kathleen Turner.)

2010-07-23T07:38:00.003+01:00

July 22nd
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman** (12A)
Electric Palace, Harwich

GB 1950. Romulus/Dorkay. 122m.

Off the Spanish island of Esperanza, a mysterious lone yachtsman turns out to be the legendary Flying Dutchman, condemned to eternally sail the seas until he finds the woman who will die for him.
Whimsical romance with a dream-like atmosphere that successfully mixes fantasy with reality, although some of these images seem to go on forever. An oddity for British cinema but an intriguing one.

Written and Directed by: Albert Lewin.
Producers: Albert Lewin, Joe Kauffman.
Starring: Ava Gardner, James Mason, Harold Warrender, Nigel Patrick, Sheila Sim, Mario Cabre, Marius Goring, John Laurie.
Photography: Jack Cardiff.
Music: Allan Rawsthorne.
Production Design: John Bryan.

2010-07-19T00:41:00.003+01:00

July 18th
Inception* (12A)
Notting Hill Coronet

A member of the thought police tries to plant an idea in someone's head, but is constantly haunted by subconscious memories of his dead wife.
Hard to follow psychological blockbuster, of dreams within dreams (five of them) of variable imagination, but the relentless soundtrack drives most logical thought out of people's heads - appropriately.

d: Christopher Nolan
s: Leonardo Di Caprio, Marion Cotillard, Ken Watanabe, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Lukas Haas, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Pete Postlethwaite, Michael Caine

2010-07-16T21:53:00.003+01:00

July 16th
Love Field**
US 1991. Orion. 104m.

A Texas housewife obsesses with traveling to Washington to attend the President Kennedy's funeral, with the aid of a black single father who is forced to go on the run.
Compulsive thriller drama with excellent period detail, a skillful encompassing of the various emotions and prejudices of the time. Shamefully overlooked in Britain with a straight-to-video release, perhaps because the subject of interracial romance is still a touchy one.

Written by: Don Roos.
Producers: Midge Sanford, Sarah Pillsbury.
Director: Jonathan Kaplan.
Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Dennis Haysbert, Stephanie McFadden, Brian Kerwin, Louise Latham.
Photography: Ralf Bode.
Music: Bill Payne, Jerry Goldsmith.

Preceded by:
Cosmic Zoom***
(Canada 1968. 8m.; A journey into inner and outer space, from the furthest reaches of the known galaxy down to the atom.; p: Robert Verrall, Joseph Koenig; drawings: Eva Szasz; m: Pierre F. Brault.)

2010-07-09T07:24:00.001+01:00

July 8th
Please Turn Over*
GB 1959. Anglo Amalgamated. 87m. bw

A suburban family is shocked to realise that their daughter's scandalous novel is an exaggerated version of themselves.
Mostly over-the-top farce with an energetic cast and some bright flourishes.

Written by: Norman Hudis, based on the play "Book of the Month" by Basil Thomas.
Producer: Peter Rogers.
Director: Gerald Thomas.
Starring: Ted Ray, Jean Kent, Julia Lockwood, Leslie Phillips, June Jago, Lionel Jeffries, Joan Sims, Dilys Laye, Tim Seely, Charles Hawtrey.
Photography: Ted Scaife.
Music: Bruce Montgomery.

2010-07-02T08:31:00.003+01:00

Jul 1st
The Millionairess*
GB 1960. Twentieth Century Fox/Dimitri de Grunewald. 90m. Cinemascope

A haughty heiress falls for a humble Indian doctor.
Lavish British comedy with glamorous international participation, which lacks the spark to set it alight despite spirited star playing. The spin-off hit song "Goodness Gracious Me" got through the basic plot much more succinctly and wittily.

Written by: Wolf Mankowitz, Ricardo Aragno, from the play by George Bernard Shaw.
Producer: Pierre Rouve.
Director: Anthony Asquith.
Starring: Sophia Loren, Peter Sellers, Alastair Sim, Dennis Price, Vittorio de Sica, Gary Raymond, Noel Purcell, Alfie Bass, Graham Stark, Virginia Vernon.
Music: Georges Van Parys.
Production Design: Paul Sherriff.
Costume: Pierre Balmain.

Preceded by:
Service to Southend*
(GB 1957. British Tranport Films/Data Films.10m. bw; Electrification replaces the old steam line from Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria.; d: Leslie Shepard.)

2010-06-18T23:48:00.004+01:00

Jun 18th
Exodus*
US 1960. United Artists/Carlyle/Alpha. 200m(DVD version). Super Panavision 70

The foundation of the state of Israel in 1948.
Laboured modern historical epic with occasional Hollywood artificiality, trying (and failing) honourably to cover a still tricky political situation with fairness.

Written by: Dalton Trumbo, from the novel by Leon Uris.
Producer/Director: Otto Preminger.
Starring: Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Ralph Richardson, Peter Lawford, Lee J. Cobb, Sal Mineo, Jill Haworth, David Opatoshu, John Derek, Alexandra Stewart, Felix Aylmer, Hugh Griffith, Gregory Ratoff, Marius Goring.
Photography: Sam Leavitt.
Music: Ernest Gold.

EXODUS. The visual metaphor of the poster, alas, still rings true today.

2010-06-17T08:08:00.002+01:00

Jun 16th
Father Dear Father*
GB 1972. Sedgemoor/MM. 99m.

A divorced writer copes incompetently with his two growing teenage daughters by trying to re-marry himself.
Modest screen conversion of a cosy TV sitcom, very much of its time, with amusing farcical moments and some over-the-top cameos, but the endearing qualities of its central figure still shine through.

Written by: Johnnie Mortimer, Brian Cooke.
Producer: Peter J. Thompson.
Director: William G. Stewart.
Starring: Patrick Cargill, Natasha Pyne, Ann Holloway, Donald Sinden, Beryl Reid, Noel Dyson, Ursula Howells, Joyce Carey, Richard O'Sullivan, Jack Watling, Jill Melford.
Photography: Alan Hume.
Music: Nachum Heiman.

2010-06-09T12:34:00.004+01:00

Jun 8th
My Favorite Brunette**
US 1947. Paramount. 87m. bw

A baby photographer turns detective when a beautiful woman is involved in a sinister plot to steal uranium from the US Government.
Amiable spoof private eye thriller where ironically the look of the film is conversely much brighter than the conventional noir, with a similarly lightweight dramatic effect, but some characteristic star turns.

Written by: Edmund Beloin, Jack Rose.
Producer: Daniel Dare.
Director: Elliott Nugent.
Starring: Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Peter Lorre, Charles Dingle, Lon Chaney Jnr, John Hoyt, Reginald Denny; and Alan Ladd, Bing Crosby.
Photography: Lional Lindon.
Music: Robert Emmett Dolan.

2010-06-04T23:46:00.004+01:00

Jun 4th
The Killer Inside Me** (18)
Rich Mix, Bethnal Green

A Texas deputy sheriff is also the resident psychopath.
Intriguing small town noir with controversial violence that captures reasonably well the author's barbed perspective of the killer himself.

w: John Curran, Michael Winterbottom, from the novel by Hunter S. Thompson
d: Michael Winterbottom
s: Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson, Ned Beatty, Elias Koteas, Tom Bower, Simon Baker, Bill Pullman

THE KILLER INSIDE ME. A latter day Norman Bates.

2010-06-02T14:11:00.003+01:00

Jun 1st
East of Ipswich**
GB TVM. BBC. 72m.

A teenager reluctantly holidays with his parents in Suffolk but finds love.
Gently nostalgic British seaside semi-memoir (based on how Palin met his future wife) with many well-observed moments of dreary humour, and a twist in the tale that prevents it going down too predictable a path.

Written by: Michael Palin.
Producer: Innes Lloyd.
Director: Tristram Powell.
Starring: Edward Rawle-Hicks, John Nettleton, Pat Heywood, Oona Kirsch, Pippa Hinchley, Allan Cuthbertson, Joan Sanderson, Graham Crowden, Charles McKeown, Sheila Fern, John Wagland.
Photography: Nat Crosby.
Music: George Fenton.

2010-05-25T22:31:00.002+01:00

May 25th
Junior Bonner*
US 1972. ABC/Booth-Gardner/Solar. 105m. Todd AO-35

A struggling rodeo cowboy rides again to save himself and his fractured family.
Downbeat but agreeable star vehicle with a certain amount of unusual sentiment for the rodeo community by Peckinpah, interspersed with his usual flair for stylised violence.

Written by: Jeb Rosebrook.
Producer: Joe Wizan.
Director: Sam Peckinpah.
Starring: Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, Joe Don Baker, Ben Johnson, William McInney, Barbara Leigh, Dub Taylor.
Photography: Lucien Ballard.
Music: Jeb Fielding.

2010-05-17T22:05:00.001+01:00

May 17th
The Witches of Eastwick**
US 1987. Warner Bros/Guber-Peters/Kennedy Miller. 118m. Panavision

Three frustrated single women conjure the Devil into their home town.
Impish supernatural battle of the sexes, quite glossily made with its enjoyable elements and a rollicking climax.

Written by: Michael Cristofer, based (loosely) on the novel by John Updike.
Producers: Peter Guber, Jon Peters, Neil Canton.
Director: George Miller.
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, Veronica Cartwright, Richard Jenkins, Keith Jochim, Carel Struycken.
Photography: Vilmos Zsigmond.
Music: John Williams.
Production Design: Polly Platt.
Editing: Hubert C. de la Bouillerie.

2010-05-16T02:02:00.005+01:00

May 15th
Bonnie Scotland* (U)
Manifest Theatre, Manningtree

US 1935. MGM/Hal Roach. 80m. bw

Stan and Ollie travel to Scotland to inherit the McLaurel estate, then join the army to India where they overwhelm a tribal uprising.
Rough-and-ready Laurel & Hardy feature with some attractive moments, a mixed bag of jokes and sub-plots including an insubstantial romance that is not resolved come the conclusion.

Written by: Frank Butler, Jeff Moffitt.
Producer: Hal Roach.
Director: James Horne.
Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, William Janney, June Lang, James Finlayson, Daphne Pollard, Anne Grey, Vernon Steel, David Torrence.
Photography: Art Lloyd, Walter Lundin.
Music: Marvin Hatley (who also appears playing the accordion).

Preceded by:
Liberty**
(US 1929. 20m. bw. silent; Stan and Ollie jailbreak but escape onto a high-rise building site!; d: Leo McCarey; s: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Tom Kennedy, Jean Harlow.)

Chickens Come Home**
(US 1931. 30m. bw; Ollie is blackmailed by an old flame on the eve of his election for Mayor; w: H.M. Walker; d: James W. Horne; s: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Mae Busch, Thelma Todd, James Finlayson, Norma Drew.; GB title: Chicken Come Home)

2010-05-06T07:24:00.002+01:00

May 5th
Left, Right and Centre**
GB 1959. British Lion. 95m. bw

A TV star contesting a by-election falls in love with his opponent.
Relatively lightweight political satire with a contrived Romeo & Juliet set-up, but carried along cheerfully by Launder & Gilliat and a mostly reliable bunch of British comedy talents.

Written by: Sidney Gilliat, Val Valentine.
Producers: Frank Launder, Sidney Gilliat.
Director: Sidney Gilliat.
Starring: Ian Carmichael, Patricia Bredin, Alastair Sim, Richard Wattis, Eric Barker, Moyra Fraser, Jack Hedley, Gordon Harker, Eamonn Andrews, Gilbert Harding.
Photography: Gerald Gibbs.
Music: Humphrey Searle.