The Last Impresario review
Gracie Otto’s feature debut, The Last Impresario, introduces its subject, producer Michael White, by showcasing the extensive roster of famous folk he has known throughout his life. It’s clearly supposed to be seductive, and it may well work for many, but I wonder if White rubbing shoulders with a few celebs is really that interesting. An audience’s interest in … Read more
The Gang’s All Here Blu-ray review
You’d perhaps be hard pressed to recall it, even as the film is just finishing, but there is a storyline in Busby Berkeley’s first colour feature, The Gang’s All Here. What tale there is begins with Andy Mason (James Ellison) trying his luck with nightclub showgirl Edie Allen (Alice Faye), despite the fact that he’s actually … Read more
The Long Day Closes and Terence Davies with The Badlands Collective
What films do, they capture the fleeting moment. That’s why it’s so fabulous. (Terence Davies, 10/09/2014) The Badlands Collective are a small group of cinephiles on a mission to host screenings of great films in the UK, and always from high quality 35mm prints. Their first screening was a tribute to the late, great Harris Savides and … Read more
The ‘Burbs is a great film but we shouldn’t ignore the ending
The following post will, unsurprisingly, include major spoilers. Joe Dante‘s The ‘Burbs, which Arrow Video are releasing on Blu-ray this week, counts among the director’s best films and represents some of the best work Tom Hanks has ever done. Nonetheless, the film has problems. Really, it has one big problem. Its ending. At the other end, … Read more