A round up of weekend film watching.

And just like that its Monday again, this time the weekend seeming shorter than usual thanks to the fact I  had one of the laziest weekends I've had for months: no parties, no raves, just doing nothing apart from watching TV with mates and going out to the shop a couple of time just so we can say that we had managed to leave the house at some point over the course of the days. But it did mean that some awesome films we're watched. Perfect Blue, The Maltese Falcon, Kind Hearts and Coronets, the whole of Elfen Lied, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Dr Strangelove, Millers Crossing, some Paranoia Agent, Yojimbo, some rioting on the news, a few hours of Manhunt (the ps2 game) and 2012, in all its shit drenched, well, shit. I'm probably missing a couple, but if I can't remember them, they can't be that great.

If I had more time on my hands I'd write about each individually, but I doubt that is going to be the case this morning, maybe I'll come back and edit the post later, but if not here's a summary on the best of the bunch.

Dr Strangelove (Or How I Learnt To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb). I actually can't count how many times I've seen this film. Peter Sellers never fails to impress as all three of his characters (I still can't choose between the stiff upper lip Colonel Mandrake and Dr "Mein Fhurer" Stangelove as best performance though). Stanley Kubrick, in one of the best plot rewrites I can think of, decided to change the story from a serious war thriller to a biting satire, and handles it perfectly, keeping the humor so deadpan and dry you'll need a glass of water to keep from dehydrating. From classic lines: "Gee, I wish we had one of those Doomsday machines", to classic scenes: The pilot, cowboy hat in hand, riding a nuclear bomb down to earth as its about to end the world. It's just one of those films I can watch over and over and still find something new to laugh at.

Elfen Lied: Now this is one cracked-out, messed-up, slightly offensive but almost brilliant anime. About a group of humans who start to evolve (I know its cliche-ridden but bear with it) special powers/extensions to the human body, specifically invisible hands which vary in length and number, capable of cutting through objects (or people) due to their vibration at ultra sonic levels, and their persecution by the rest of human kind due to their differences. It is a series which investigates the effects and limits of suffering. Fun times ahead! Every character in the series has suffered some kind of nasty traumatic incident in their past, whether its a murdered family, child abuse or being experimented on by the government from a very young age, resulting in a story that despite efforts to lighten the mood through snipets of humor, is generally very dark and downbeat. I won’t say too much about the actually plot line, as it's definitely worth a watch if you’re a fan of anime, but it deals with all manners of taboos, on top of the ones mentioned above, has some nice twists and turns, despite practically giving away the final revelation halfway through the series, and one of the most inappropriate songs playing over the credits I have ever encountered, leading me to believe it had to have been a joke put in by the makers.

Maltese Falcon: People who know me in person (the only peeps reading this I imagine) are probably aware that I'm a huge fan of Film Noirs. I don’t know why. Maybe it because they are products of a long gone era. Maybe I'm a sucker for the Femme-Fatales. Maybe chain smoking in a raincoat down an alley is something I used to get up to in a past life. Who knows. But the point is, Film Noirs are awesome. Maltese Falcon is one of the better known and respected examples in the genre, starring a Humphrey Bogart dripping in cynicism trying to find, amongst other things, an expensive statue named the Maltese Falcon, and encountering murder, dames and crooks along the way. With Mary Mastor as the woman surrounded by danger giving a great performance and John Huston directing like a pro, this a damned good film and one to be watched regardless of whether your a fan of the genre.

Perfect Blue: Back to anime now, with a Lynch-esque surreal tale in which the borders of reality and fantasy are blurred and not much is as it seems. I say Lynch-esque, but surprisingly despite the film being highly influenced by the structure and narrative of Lynch, a kind of inspirational circle takes place as its Lynch himself who ends up being influenced the most by this film. Its pretty much a restructured and easier to swallow version of Inland Empire. Maybe I'm simplifying a little to much, but the similarities are uncanny: Both follow a young female actress who as she acts, looses track of what’s real and what’s not until her life and the film she is working on are indistinguishable. Very surreal, with long sections possibly being nothing more than the main characters imagination, its easy to see where Lynch got his ideas from. As great as the anime is, and believe you me, its an astonishingly assured, intricately plotted psycho-thriller of the highest caliber, I preferred Inland Empire. But that’s no reason to dismiss this film, Inland Empire is a masterpiece from one the greatest visionaries of our time, and seeing as this was the inspiration for said film, it had to have been doing something right. Unsurprisingly it’s not just Lynch who got inspired by this title. Darren Aronofsky bought the American rights to the film for $69,000 back when he was making Requiem For A Dream, just so he could the floating in the bath scene in his own film. Lucky for some I suppose.

Tetsuo: The Iron Man: Are you familiar with the band PiL, Public Image Ltd? Johnny Rotten, post Sex Pistols, adventured into the world of Industrial, taking punk and stretching into something noisier, harsher, darker and a whole lot less human. Metal Box, their second album is said to be one of the high points of the genre, even going so far as to rank 469th in Rolling Stones list of best albums of all time. But, really, the only run in with them which interested me was an EP I found in a charity shop called 'Deaths Disco', a funky avant-garde slice of disco-industrial-something, which if played at 33 or 45, sounds awesome either way. Anywho, I'm blabbling on about this because it ties into Tetsuo: The Iron Man: They are both high points of Industrial. Tetsuo, which has to be one of the most radical, engaging, at times cringeworthy, but always fearless films I've seen for a long while. Made in 1989 with a very limited crew, shot in black and white, and blessed with a genuinely outstanding special effects crew, it follows an unnamed man who inserts metal and mechanical objects into his body, as part of a fetish, the man who runs him over, and the curse layed on said driver which causes him to start growing metal all over his body. Words wont do the film justice, its so reliant on imagery it must be seen to get a clear idea of what its like. Its run time is only an hour and ten minutes, and it was shot in black and white, presumably for artistic qualities rather than censorship as I'm almost positive it never got a theatrical release, reinforcing its 'nothing but arthouse' attitude. All in all, a great film for technophobes the world over.

Theatre and Music 8.1

I have worked in theatre for 3 summers, starting as a student then getting promoted to an ASM (assistant stage manager), working behind the stage on a mix of main shows, childrens shows, lunch time performances and gala’s. In the months I was there it gave me a great understanding of the industry, how theatres are run, how the chain of command works (and in theater there is always a chain of command), but more importantly it showed me how different aspects of media tie into each other. The theater has to make sure that an audience will actually turn up to watch the shows, and to accomplish this it needs to make sure there is sufficient coverage through advertising so that the public knows the play is going on, tieing it into the advertising industry. It needs to make sure it has all the equipment necessary to make sure the productions run properly, such as lighting, costumes and sometimes sound equipment if it’s a musical. On top of this every theatre needs a fully prepared front of house staff, taking care of duties which don't usually involve the stage: taking people to their seats, working bars, manning the box office, cleaning... All are essential for the theatre to run smoothly but are often overlooked by the general public. In the national theater while on the trip for college in the Oliver Stage we got to see some of the musical facilities they had access to, such as the two ashtrays (a slang term for the boxes where the orquestra sit during performances) which were kitted out with soundboards, microphones and cue prompters, along side some lovely instruments.

In the music industry all the different angles of creative media play a big role also. Nowadays, especially since the success of youtube has allowed amateur productions to be widely seen by the public, music videos for songs has become a completely standard tool for increasing coverage and gaining recognition, and in a more artistic light provides ways for musicians to express themselves outside their usual methods. And in actual feature films, an incredibly powerful tool used all over the craft is the incorporation of music alongside the visuals to create or assist in the effect of emotions. But the music industry doesn’t just stop with film, there are whole TV stations which are dedicated to nothing but music, promoting bands, playing songs and relaying news, agencies of designers making album covers and posters for the music and now even computer programmers making games to promote new releases. There are people who own studios, renting them out by the hour to musicians, sometimes charging a fortune. There are promoters, who do nothing all day but trying to set up gigs and parties. The band manager who has to organize pretty much everything the band does at all times, from what they eat, to where they sleep, to their transport and often even the clothes they wear. There are producers, who help and oversee the recording in studio, often lending their sound and style to the recording, Lee 'Scratch' Perry is a prime example. There are offices filled with lawyers going through endless piles of legal documents copyrighting and protecting the music which has been made. All in all, in any media related business there will always be a cross over between the different fields, all playing a vital role to form the media industry.

Trip to the National

A couple of weeks ago Sarah Hunt was kind enough to get us a on to a tour of the National Theatre, it was a great experience giving us a chance to see one of the biggest and best established theatres in the country. We got a tour of the whole venue: front of house, backstage and the admin, and had a chance to meet some of the people who work there, from editors working on the recordings of shows and carpenters designing sets and props to Charlotte Wilkinson (Art Director) and David Sabel (head of Digital Media). It was interesting for me to see such a large theatre company because for the last three summers I worked for a small summer theatre company, and being able to compare how the two were run was pretty cool. I was particularly impressed by the Olivier Stage and the drum lift they have there, especially the fact that it had been in operation since the 70's, although I feel sorry for the engineers below the stage operating it, barely getting to see the light of day. After the tour we got a chance to watch a couple of plays put on by the National Theatres connection scheme called Children of Killers and Frank & Ferdinand. Both were very well written and directed, dealing with difficult subject matters in a mature and interesting way, and I think the young actors did a very good job with the materials they were given. All in all it was an insightful experience, in a place which has a lot to offer and is run by intelligent people.

Who wants cheap cinema/theatre tickets?

Tired of paying stupidly high prices to go and watch a film thats a piece of shit? Do you think paying 20 pounds for the privalige of watching a show at the theatre is wrong? If so then maybe I have found the solution. I want to start my own venue! The idea came to me while watching a screener of a documentary on the Arcola Theatre named I'm Going To Make A Miracle, a great film by the way and the fact it was made for 500 pounds deserves a huge well done, where Mehmet Ergen a young Turkish man who barely spoke any English came to London looking to work in theatre, couldnt find anything as he couldnt speak the language, and decided to open his own. He got friends to help him find seating from where ever they could find it (in the end they nicked it all from an indian restaurant that was closing down), put together a make shift stage in an abandoned factory which they squated, and started offering the stage to who ever wanted to use it. Ten years later and the Arcola is one of the most respected theatres in London. Mehmet is living proof that if you are determined and genuinely want to do something, and if need be are willing to go through untraditional methods, you can get what you want. So I've basicaly got the same idea but with one difference: Theres going to be a projector thrown into the mix also. Now, I know playing films to a public audience is a copyright shit storm, if you dont own the rights that is, but there has got to be a way around it, I'll look into it and see what I can come up with. And frankly, even if there isnt, I'll do it anyways and worry about issues when they appear. So I still need to find a space big enough to put a stage and a screen up, get a projector, find some seating, sort out a stage, let people know there is a space going for anyone with interest in putting on productions, find an audience to actually come to it, then make it all happen. As you can see its still in its alpha stages, but watch this space as hopefully in the upcoming months the prince charles cinema will have a rival in the making... Oh, if and when it does all come together I'll make sure I have all night 8pm to 8am showings. Hells yea.

Douglas Slocombe, an underappreciated master of the craft.

So, at work we're rereleasing some old Ealing titles on blu-ray, unsurprising seeing as we currently control the UK distribution rights to most of their catalogue (and they have a hell of a catalogue). I bring this up because one of the titles to be remastered and blessed with a short cinema run is Kind Hearts and Coronets, one of the darkest, most hilarious comedies Ealing ever released, a film which has influenced so many film makers (I'm looking at you Coen Bro's) and authors, its hardly surprising its getting such star studded treatment. To fill up the blu-ray, and make it a worthwhile release, we've been trying to source some new extras to treat those Ealingites (like israelites, but mad about British film). One such possibility is an interview recorded in 1988 with the main camera operator at Ealing: Douglas Slocombe, the man who shot Kind Hearts. The interview in question is from an amazing project started by BECTU (The Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union) at least 30 years ago, set up to give professionals in the Media industry, who would normally remain relatively unknown to people outside the industry (and in many cases people inside the industry also) a chance to tell their life story, from birth to their retirement. Douglas was the main cameraman for Ealing during their Golden age (40's, 50's) and left such an impression on people who saw those films he went on to film more internationally known classics such as The Italian Job (60's version not Marky Marks) and the Indiana Jones series. Armed with a pretty bad stutter, which contributes to the 4-5 hours runtime of the interview, his life was such an adventure, from being the first Brit to get footage of the Nazi's just before the Second World War, to being tracked down personally by Steven Spielberg who was such a fan of the Ealing titles he made sure Douglas was director of photography in his Indiana Jones flicks.  He is a character who is relatively unknown outside of the tightly knit circle of film cinematographers, but deserves a much greater spot light shone upon him. The interview in question availbe to listen to at the BFI library, however you must get in touch with BECTU beforehand to listen to it. Who knows what other stories have been recorded in that collection? Some absolute gems, I'm sure.

Latest an greatest on the film front

Quite an interesting week as far as film watching goes, watched a couple of Sonny Chibas in Finsbury, The Street Fighter and The Killing Machine, with Stret Fighter being the better of the two despite both having some amazing choreography and Sonny, or Shinichi as he's known in Japan, being a serious rival to Bruce Lee as baddest muthafuker in 70's asian exploitation.


Series 10 of Family Guy was actually surprisingly funny, but probably because its the uncut version I watched. I never knew that Fox and BBC only air censored versions of the show, not just bleeping out swear words but changing whole jokes for less controversial (funny) material. Apparently on Adult Swim you can watch the uncensored episodes online, but I'm not sure if that US only.

Ended up watching Godfather part 2 on Sunday, due to long time to kill and the discovery that a mate of mine had never seen it. Everytime I watch it I loose a bit more certainty on what I think of it. Its either one of the most overrated films I've seen, or one of the best. For every masterfull scene, which flows with the greatest of ease, there seems to be a clunky, slightly forced feel to another. Regardless of whether its flawless or not, its still damn entertaining.


Larry Crowne was fucking tragic, I havent seen a film that bad in a long long time. I wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised if it stormed the razzies. Well, I wouldn't if didn't shamelessly shove such cliched American family values down your throat, till you choke on the cheesy suburban placidness of the whole affair. If I weren't attending the premier, I would have walked out when it tried showing how cool and film-savy it was with its Quadrophenia throwbacks. What a painfull pile of wank.

Quatermass 2! Yes! The very definition of WINNNING! An awesome oldschool Hammer title from the late fifties complete with gasmasks, conspiracies, aliens and blob monsters. Maybe not as good as the first, probably because theres no performance by Richard Wordsworth undergoing a metamorphosis, but still a classic piece of british horror from its golden age.

Classic cases of negotiation in film.

Classic cases of negotiation in film.

In the Godfather part 1 goes to Don Corleone on the day of his daughters wedding and asks him to kill the man who raped his own daughter. As a Sicilian man can never refuse a favour on this special day, he agrees to make the rapist an offer he cannot refuse, but the man is now in the Dons debt. This is a classic case of negotiation in film.

In one of the versions of Apocalypse Now (I think it’s the redux version) after the crew of the army boat steal Lt. Bill Kilgore’s surfboard and hide under the cover of plants and trees on the shoreline, Kilgore flys back and forth in his helicopter attempting without success to negotiate the return of his board. This is one of the more famous cases of failed negotiation in film.

In Rear Window James Stewarts character is wheelchair bound, stuck in his apartment following a car accident, and during his daily visits from the Hospital appointed nurse she tries to convince him that he should stop spending so much time looking out his back window observing his neighbours, as people will start to think of him as a peeping tom. But hearing none of it he tries to convince her that there’s nothing else to do, it’s harmless and besides, he might have come across something a bit peculiar. Once again, a classic case of negotiation in film.

So negotiation is everywhere in film, because negotiation is everywhere. Any time there is a disagreement between two parties and an exchange of information concerning the conflict takes place, that’s negotiation. Whether its Obi-Wan using Jedi mind powers to convince Elan that he doesn’t really want to sell him death sticks, or Osgood Feeling telling Jerry at the end of Some Like It Hot that ‘Nobodys perfect’, there are so many examples it would be pretty much impossible to list them all.