July 2020 What do you get if you take the 1970s gay porn industry and cross it with a slasher film?. The answer is a glorious mix of fantasy horror that shines with pride. In the truly unique 2018 film Knife + Heart. A film that provides us with a fantasy horror that miraculously works on every level, despite its …
Mention the name Joe Dante, and some of the films that immediately spring to mind include Gremlins. Explorers and Innerspace. However, few people mention his sublime 1993 homage to cinema ‘Matinee’. A film that joyously celebrated the power of the big screen; the end of innocence and final years of monster driven exploitation filmmaking. While taking inspiration from the real-life …
In May 1980 Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining received its world premiere, its cinematic and cultural influence showing no signs of dissipating forty years later. As film fans old and new continue to unpick the reasons for its sheer brilliance. For me, as a young teenage film fan, The Shining was not only my introduction to the genius of Stanley Kubrick. …
British writer/director/musician John Maclean’s 2015 debut feature is a glittering gem at the heart of the western genre. One that sings with originality and difference as art and lyrical storytelling combine to create a cinematic composition of haunting beauty. One that wraps the viewer in a journey of love and innocence against a backdrop of melancholy and violence. While injecting the …
Removed from British screens by its own director just two years after its release. A Clockwork Orange has become part of cinematic folklore. It’s complex and uncomfortable themes continuing to burrow into the minds of new audiences 49 years later. While the sheer genius of the man who brought it to the big screen haunts the public and critical opinion …
We can only imagine the scene at the Warner Brothers offices back in 1983/84. When Steven Spielberg pitched a new film to nervous executives desperate for the Spielberg magic in box office revenues. After all, this was a director who continued to push the boundaries of filmmaking. With E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Jaws …
Many children of the 1970/80s will have The Muppets deeply embedded in their hearts. Their presence felt through TV, movies, music and theatre over the course the decades proceeding the mid 1970s. However, Jim Henson’s dysfunctional family of foam have of course been around far longer than a mere 45 years. With many early versions of the gang appearing from …
As a director Michael Haneke is well known for producing films that reflect and challenge our notions of social development. While in turn polarising audiences and critics alike with tough and often uncomfortable reflections of our own humanity. His films having ranged from the Piano Teacher to The White Ribbon, each one wrapping audiences in themes of isolation and estrangement. …
If Star Wars: A New Hope led to a resurgence of science fiction storytelling in Hollywood. Then The Empire Strikes Back led to the creation of the onscreen saga. Taking the imagination and energy of the first instalment and injecting it with character development, love and diversity. In turn creating so much more than a sequel, as it expanded the …
Introduction Few film franchises have had the cultural impact of George Lucas’ Star Wars. Its cinematic legacy spanning 42 years, 9 episodes and a range of spinoff films and TV shows. Its stories and characters embedding themselves into modern pop culture like no other saga in film history. While it’s new worlds and visual artistry furthered cinematic storytelling and imagination. …