Coming soon: The Master Of Gore Collection

If you're on the look out for an introduction to the work of low-budget exploitation director Herschell Gordon Lewis, The Master Of Gore Collection could be for you.

It's a collection of four infamous vintage titles - 2000 Maniacs, Wizard of Gore, Gruesome Twosome and Colour Me Blood Red - none of which are for the easily squeamish. If you want to get an idea of the kind of thing in the box, check out the trailer for The Gruesome Twosome below.

And if you like, the box is released on 1st September 2008 - Amazon is taking pre-orders right now for £14.99.

Find out more about the DVD at Amazon.co.uk

DVD Review: The Flesh and Blood Show (1972)

Hammer might have been in terminal decline in the 1970s, but the British horror movie was still going strong - and Pete Walker was behind a few notable entries. Criminally ignored in the BBC's recent B-movie retrospective, Walker produced horrors more in keeping with European flicks of the day rather than Hammer's period pieces, with The Flesh and Blood Show (very much an apt title) not being a million miles from the Italian gialli.

Eight young actors/actresses are invited to rehearse for a play on a deserted seaside pier (Cromer pier fact fans), with the show eventually heading to the West End. The cast is headed up by Mike (Ray Brooks) and featuring other 70s notables including Robin Askwith and Jenny Hanley. Except there's something not right - the pier really is deserted and the backers of the play seem conspicuously absent.

And that's not all - as this is the Flesh and Blood Show, we get plenty of female flesh being flashed (in a very restrained 70s style of course), but we also get blood, as members of the cast are attacked or bumped off. Is the killer one of the cast? Or perhaps one of the locals from the semi-deserted town? You'll have to watch it to find out, although you might well guess long before the credits roll.

Cult Clip: The Flesh and Blood Show (1972)

A top notch trailer for a typically low-rent exploitation flick from Pete Walker - The Flesh and Blood Show.

Packed with a typically 70s cast list (including Robin Askwith, Ray Brooks and Jenny Hanley), the film is a murder mystery with added blood - with a group of actors gathered together by  mysterious producer in an abandoned theatre on a pier...but each falls prey to crazed killer.

The film will be reissued on 21st July 2008, complete with its original 3D ending - you can pick it up for under £6. Note that the trailer below has a small amount of nudity (occasional flash of bosom) in case you're watching at work.

Find out more about the DVD at Amazon.co.uk

First must-buy Blu-ray release: The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (1970)

Last week, I considered writing a list of 10 must-buy Blu-ray releases for Cinedelica, but couldn't actually find 10. In fact, I couldn't find one. But that's not the case now, with the impending launch of The Bird With The Crystal Plumage on Blu-ray.

Not much I can add to our previous review of the DVD, except to say that Dario Argento's stylish debut gialli/giallo should look stunning in high-definition. It's released (initially) in the US by Blue Underground, promising full 1080p HD resolution, top-notch sound and a disc that's 'loaded with extras'.

No news on a price or shelf date as yet.

Blue Underground website

Blood on Satan's Claw and Children of the Moor at London's BFI

One of the finest British horror movies of the 1970s gets a rare big screen outing in London in August - Blood on Satan's Claw.

This dark and atmospheric horror (produced by Tony Tenser's Tigon company) is set in an isolated rural community in 18th century Britain, with the devil taking over the village's youngsters, using the body parts of the local teens to manifest itself. It's a real gem - as is the score (which you can find out about here).

It's part of a Flipside presentation at the BFI, with the movie introduced by director Piers Haggard, screenwriter Robert Wynne-Simmons and actress Linda Hayden (pictured), who will also be around for a post-screening Q&A. Also on the bill is rarely-seen 70s folk documentary Children of the Moor, which looks at life in three remote village in Dartmoor.

It takes place on Thursday 21st August, with ticket details available here. Check out the introduction of Blood on Satan's Claw below...

Coming to DVD: The Gore Gore Girls (1972)

Fans of grindhouse cinema should make a note of 18th August - the date of the first-ever DVD release (in the UK) of the Herschell Gordon Lewis exploitation gem The Gore Gore Girls.

What's it about? Well, I can't out it better than the publicity sheet:

'A lunatic with a grudge against g-strings, pasties, and pretty women is slaughtering the sexy strippers who work for strip club impresario Marzdone Mobilie (Henny Youngman). Not content with mere murder, the psycho enthusiastically mangles and mutilates the women, thus turning Marzdone's go go girls into The Gore Gore Girls.

Trying to solve the gruesome goings-on are private eye Abraham Gentry (Frank Kress) and a dizzy reporter Nancy Weston (Amy Farrell). Burrowing through the underbelly of the sleaze-and-tease business, Abraham eventually offers the killer the perfect bait by coercing a drunken Nancy to perform in an amateur strip contest...'

And best of all - Amazon are doing pre-orders for just £5.99.

Find out more about the DVD at Amazon.co.uk

Cool It Carol! gets a UK DVD launch

We got a lot of emails about Cool It Carol! after we reviewed the US DVD some months back - most of them asking why the movie wasn't available in the UK. Well, in August, it finally gets a launch.

This British exploitation flick from the hand of Pete Walker dates back to 1970s and stars Robin Askwith and Janet Lynn as Joe and Carol, a young couple looking to make it big in Swinging London, eventually falling into prostitution and stag films to make money before that big break arrives.

It's no classic, but it is well worth seeking out for fans of the era. We'll hopefully have a review online of the UK DVD, but in the meantime, check out our US DVD review and make a note of the 18th August, which is when the film will be available to buy.

Find out more about the DVD at Amazon.co.uk

Coming soon: Grindhouse Trailer Classics 2

Regular readers will know we loved the original Grindhouse Trailer Classics release, so we're more than a little excited to hear a second volume - Grindhouse Trailer Classics 2 - from Nucleus Films.

And as you might expect, this is more of the same, a disc packed with theatrical promos for some of the most weird and wonderful grindhouse flicks you'll ever encounter, chosen by cult movie expert Marc Morris and including the likes of The Black Gestapo, The Depraved, Bloody Pit Of Horror, The Pink Angels and Foxy Brown to name just five of the 55 movies featured.

Hopefully we'll have a review online well before the release date - which is 8th September 2008.

More from the Nucleus Films website

Cult Clip: Purab Aur Pachhim (1970)

Bollywood meets Swinging London? That will be Purab Aur Pachhim.

I've not seen the movie, but Bossbeat (check out his Bollywood clips for more of the same) put us onto it. The title apparently translates to 'East and West', with the plot revolving around 'a good Indian boy going to swinging London in the 60s'.

Want a clip? Check it out below. No sign of it being available in the UK right now, but I'd guess some specialist sellers will have a copy.

Saul Bass limited edition exhibition poster

Back in 2004, London's Design Museum held an exhibition of the work of Saul Bass, producing a superbly stylish poster to go along with it. If you missed it, here's some good news - a limited edition re-print is now available.

Saul Bass was the master of film title design thanks to his collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese. This poster was inspired by Bass’ titles for Otto Preminger’s Anatomy of a Murder and is sized at 1000 x 700mm and printed on parilux matt white 150 gsm paper.

Just £15 buys you one - but don't hang about, once the new stock has sold through, no more will be printed.

Find out more at the Design Museum Store website

Classic James Bond movies head to Blu-Ray

Just bought the latest restored versions of the James Bond movies on DVD? Well, I'm afraid we have some bad news - the James Bond back catalogue is to be reissued in high definition on Blu-Ray disc.

Good news if you didn't buy the most recent reissues though - and if you have a Blu-Ray player. According to MGM/Twentieth Century Fox, the new versions have been 'recently restored and re-mastered for the highest quality picture and sound quality via the state-of-the-art Lowry process digital frame-by-frame restoration. And they'll be packed with special features too.

The date for your diary is October 31st (same day as the new Quantum of Solace hits the big screen), with the first titles reissued being Dr No, Die Another Day, Live And Let Die, For Your Eyes Only, From Russia With Love and Thunderball.

James Bond (unofficial) website

BBC4's British B Movies weekend

We love a British cult classic, so we'll be in front of the box all weekend to catch BBC4's British B Movies weekend.

In truth, it's not as good as it could have been, although the 90-minute documentary - British B Movies: Truly, Madly, Cheaply - should be worth the effort, with plenty of interviews and clips packed in.

As for the films, well satanic Brit biker movie Psychomania gets its annual BBC airing, alongside The Last Journey (1936), Lazybones (1935) and perhaps more interestingly, Marilyn (1953), The Black Rider (1954) and Cover Girl Killer (1959). Set the DVD recorder.

Find out more at the BBC website

DVD Review: What Have They Done To Your Daughters? (1974)

Shameless returns to 1970s Rome for its latest DVD release - Massimo Dallamano's What Have They Done To Your Daughters?

A follow-up (of sorts) to What Have You Done to Solange?, it's a mix of giallo, police thriller and exploitation, with an uncomfortable subject matter, some gratuitous nudity and the odd bit of rather nasty blood-letting - although none of that gets in the way of a well-presented and at times, quite serious story.

It follows the well-trodden path of a body being found by the dashing police detective (Claudio Cassinelli as Inspector Silvestri), with a 15-year-old girl hanging from a ceiling. It looks like suicide, but it soon becomes evident that this is murder - and what becomes a lead to a far-reaching child prostitution ring.

DVD Review: My Dear Killer (1972)

It's all too easy to write off Shameless DVD releases as 90 minutes of blood, guts and general old school video nastiness. But those blood-filled sleeves can be deceptive, with some really cool vintage flicks getting a first release by the fledgling label - including My Dear KIller.

A 1972 movie, directed by Tonino Valerii (one of Sergio Leone's assistant on the 'Dollars' movies amongst other career highlights) and set in Rome, this is well above average giallo with the occasional nasty shock and an interesting script, not to mention the ubiquitous black-gloved killer. It's just a shame the ending's so cheesy really.

It's also got one of the strangest starts to a movie you'll ever encounter, as a private detective loses his head, courtesy of a digger driver hired to dredge a pond. Bad luck? Well, no - it kicks off a sequence of events that leads back to the kidnap and killing of a child from the affluent Moroni family some years before.

DVD Review: Radio On (1979)

A dark film about a dark era - but Chris Petit's Radio On is an incredibly striking movie, a fine period piece and arguably one of the finest road movies ever to come out of the UK.

It's a British movie, but with an undeniably German feel - hardly surprising with Wim Wenders pushing things along on the production side and Wenders collaborator Martin Schafer dealing with the monochrome photography. But it is a film very much about life in Britain, capturing the country at the dawn of Thatcherism - in the grip of economic and social decline.

The loose plot (with very sparse dialogue) follows Robert (David Beames), a London DJ who receives news of his brother's mysterious death. At a crossroads in both his personal and professional life, he takes to the road - heading for Bristol to find out the truth behind his death. On his way, he meets people as lost as himself - a squaddie on leave of duty from Northern Ireland, a wannabe rock star (played by Sting) and a German woman (Ingrid - Lisa Kreuzer) on the hunt for her child. All soundtracked by one of the finest selections of music ever compiled for as movie - including Kraftwerk, David Bowie, Devo, Robert Fripp and Wreckless Eric. Does he find out the truth behind his brother's death? Not really - but he does come to the end of the line as the plot jumps from whodunnit to a tale of a man (like many at the time) struggling to find direction in his life.

Joy Division (2008) - the trailer

Following on from our review of the Joy Division documentary, here's the trailer for it.

Enjoy...

Review: Joy Division (2008)

One of my earliest childhood memories is being dragged into Manchester by my parents - and being ever-so-slightly scared by the decaying warehouses and factories, the disused Manchester Central railway station and the concrete monstrosities that made up the actual centre. It was grim beyond belief. But that decaying, depressing and hopeless environment produced one of Manchester's most iconic bands and the basis of this self-titled documentary - Joy Division.

Yes, with Control barely out of the cinema, here's another Joy Division story to replace it. But if you are a fan of the band, this is one you really need to see. Why? Well, it's all about the detail.

Reigning Cats & Dogs - Robert Downey Sr's Pound plus Robert Crumb's Fritz The Cat and Bob Stanley DJ set at the Barbican

Next Friday looks like a decent night at London's Barbican, with the Fortune Teller Press presents Reigning Cats & Dogs. That means an outing for Robert Downey Sr’s Pound (unseen for 30 years), supported Fritz the Cat and a DJ set from Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley.

Pound is Robert Downey Sr’s rarely-seen follow-up to Putney Swope - an existential look into the world of dogs locked up in a NY pound - except all the dogs are played by humans. Studio execs hated it so , much that all copies were destroyed. Well, not quite all - here's a surviving one. Backing it up is the cult movie based on Robert Crumb’s Fritz The Cat, with morality taking a backseat to drugs, sex and an incredibly soulful soundtrack.

Tickets are £11, with the 9th May event starting at 7pm.

Find out more at the Barbican website

DVD Review: The Owl Service (1969)

Remember The Owl Service? Me neither - but after watching the newly-released DVD version of the 1969 teen drama, it's a show that will certainly stick in my mind for some time.

Set on a remote Welsh farm, The Owl Service mixes family intrigue with ancient legend in a complex tale that will require more than just casual viewing. Based on Alan Garner's 1967 novel, the tale revolves around a family brought together by marriage - Clive and his son Roger, plus the (unseen) Margaret and her daughter Alison (played by Gillian Hills - better known for appearing in A Clockwork Orange, Blow-Up and Beat Girl). They are joined by housekeeper Nancy and her son Gwyn.

One day, Alison hears a scratching in the loft and asks Gwyn to investigate - but he finds nothing but some plates with owls on them (The Owl Service). Seems fairly innocuous, but it kicks off a stream of events that see Alison becoming obsessed with the owls, cutting them out in secret, as well as developing a relationship with Gwyn.

Coming to DVD: Radio On (1979)

An unusual slice of life in late 70s Britain gets a BFI DVD issue later this month - Christopher Petit 's existential road movie Radio On.

This cult gem (filmed in black and white and with a soundtrack including David Bowie, Kraftwerk, Lene Lovich, Ian Dury, Robert Fripp, Wreckless Eric and Devo) follows a young London DJ (David Beames) on the road to Bristol to investigate the mysterious death of his brother - and at the same time inadvertently capturing the cultural and social change taking place at the dawn of the Thatcher era.

This new version also adds a newly-filmed interview with Chris Petit and producer Keith Griffiths, a 'digital video essay' on the movie, the original trailer and an illustrated 28-page booklet. Expect it on the shelves from 26th May.

Find out more about the DVD at Amazon.co.uk

Armchair Thriller DVD winners

One last competition to draw for now - for a pair of Armchair Thriller DVDs.

Three winners, each receiving the first two volumes of this cult 70s TV series. They are:

Alex Baxter - London
Jane Bullough - Derby
Keri Vagges - Glasgow

A number of new competitions will be starting soon.

Coming to DVD: The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)

Writer/director Peter Weir's debut movie - The Cars That Ate Paris - gets a UK DVD release on 30th June, courtesy of Second Sight.

Set in the secluded outback town of Paris, Australia, the sinister community preys on unsuspecting tourists who have the misfortune to pass their way. Cars are forced off the road in accidents orchestrated by the evil townsfolk, who scavenge parts and possessions  for themselves. The lucky victims are the ones who die, the survivors are subjected to the local doctor’s bizarre experiments.

No news of any extras (so we can presume there are very little), you can pick it up for £15.99 (and likely discounted on the various large retail sites).

Find out more about the DVD at Amazon.co.uk

Sinister Folk at the BFI

When meddling townies move to remote country communities and the old ways meet the new, things take a turn for the sinister.  Hail the Queen of the May as Flipside unearths two obscure, genuinely creepy ‘70s folk tales on Friday 2nd May - Sinister Folk.

Robin Redbreast (Play For Today 1970)
Smart urban divorcee Norah gets more than she bargained for when she retreats to a remote house in the country. Toyed with by some very curious locals who know more than they let on, Norah soon finds herself the unwilling participant in shocking traditions both ancient and frightening.

Murrain (Against The Crowd) (ATV 1975)
When a mysterious virus plagues local pigs and a family goes sick, panicking farmers blame a frail old woman - the ‘witch’ that lives up the lane. An idealistic young doctor from the city tries to dispel the rumours. Taut, intelligent, convincing, written by legendary Quatermass creator, Nigel Kneale.

Afterwards, Resonance FM DJs Jonny Trunk (Trunk Records) and Nervous Stephen (Murri) will be spinning 'dark folk ditties' on black vinyl in Benugo. Tickets for the whole event cost £8.60.

Book tickets at the BFI website

Fashion In Film Festival returns for a second year

Returning for a second year is the Fashion In Film Festival, mixing talks, exhibitions, newly-commissioned film works, but best of all, some rarely-seen cinema classics that show how fashion of the day was just as important as a good plot and scenery.

Some superb films on show this year too, with highlights (for me) including the visually stunning (see image above) 10th Victim (La Decima Vittima) from 1965 and Get Carter (1970) at the ICA, Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace (1964) at the Horse Hospital, as well as a double bill of delinquency curated by fashion designer and former mod Roger K. Burton (The Violent Years from 1956 and The Boys from '62), Dario Argento's The Bird With Crystal Plumage (1970) at the BFI plus Plein Soleil (1960) and Fata Morgana (1965) Ciné lumiére.

Much more besides, including some rare silent flicks and classic US film noir. Check out the full programme at the website - the event runs from 10th - 31st May 2008.

Fashion In Film Festival website

Cult Clip: Vault Of Horror (1973)

Good old YouTube comes up trumps again for the recently-reviewed Vault Of Horror. The trailer is in black and white - but the movie is actually in colour.

Vault Of Horror (1973)

A year after filming Al Feinstein's Tales From The Crypt, Amicus did the same thing with another Feinstein publication - Vault Of Horror. And while the director might have changed (this time to Roy Ward Baker), the film is more or less a carbon copy.

Well, actually, it's a lesser copy - same big name British cast, same scenario, same spooky tale - just not quite as memorable. This time the cast includes the wonderful Terry Thomas (above), Tom 'Dr Who' Baker, Denholm Elliott and numerous other actors you probably remember briefly from your childhood.

For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond at the Imperial War Museum

London's Imperial War Museum is the location for a major Ian Fleming and James Bond exhibition - For Your Eyes Only.

A look at the man and the character, it features a large amount of material on show for the first time, including  a selection of annotated Bond manuscripts and Fleming’s Colt Python .375 Magnum revolver, along with material from the films including the ‘blood–splattered’ shirt worn by Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, Rosa Klebb’s flick–knife shoes in From Russia With Love and Halle Berry’s bikini from Die Another Day.

There's also a number of events and family activities relating to Bond, plus free screening of some early Bond classics - Dr No, From Russia With Love and Goldfinger. The exhibition opens on 17th April 2008, running until 1st March 2009. See the website for full listings.

Find out more at the Imperial War Museum website

Via Retro To Go

O Lucky Man! heads to DVD as two-disc 35th anniversary edition

Bizarre, surreal but incredibly watchable, Lindsay Anderson’s cult classic O Lucky Man! comes to DVD as a two-disc 35th anniversary edition on 19th May, courtesy of Warner Home Video.

Malcolm McDowell is wide-eyed innocent Mick Travis - armed with ambition and a work ethic, he hits the road in his search for wealth and status, soundtracked by Alan Price's BAFTA award-winning song score. On his way, he visits a secret sex club for businessmen, is captured and tortured by military intelligence agents, submits to medical experiments at a bizarre private clinic, hitches a ride with a travelling rock band, falls in love and eventually lands in prison after he's implicated in a deal to sell chemical weapons to the Third World.

Guilty Pleasure: Bless This House (1972)

I don't know about you, but I've got a list of films I'm drawn to like a moth to a flame - the kind of low-brow movies that would never make my top 10 list, let alone a serious film critic's top 1000. But the kind of a film that's perfect for a Sunday afternoon to see you through a hangover. These films are Guilty Pleasures - and up there with the best of them is Bless This House.

For the uninitiated, Bless This House was a British sitcom from the 1970s based around the Abbot family, with a cast headed up by Sid James (Sid Abbot), Diana Coupland (Jean Abbot) and Cinedelica favourite Sally Geeson as Sally Abbot. And like all good British sitcoms, it had a movie spin-off, with a few cast changes for the big screen. In came Robin Askwith as the son (Mike), Peter Butterworth as neighbour Trevor and new neighbours Ronald and Vera Baines (Terry Scott and June Whitfield, later to get their own Terry and June sitcom).

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)

I'm sure we've all got films that we have always intended to watch, but for some reason or other, never got round to buying and viewing. Top of my list for far too long was Dario Argento's debut feature - The Bird with the Crystal Plumage.

Probably not the first gialli/giallo, but certainly one of the most influential, it's a stylish thriller with a plot that draws you in and should keep you guessing through to the final moments.

Metro-land (1973)

On paper, it's not hard to make a documentary - you just need to find the middle ground between education and entertainment. In practice, that find line has proven a little more difficult to find - especially when your subject matter is a little niche. If you want to know how to get it right, pick up a copy of Metro-land.

On the face of it, this could be the quite an ordeal - an old poet takes a trip through London's regional and rail expansion of the 1930s, telling us all that life's not as good as it used to be. But it's so much better than that - in fact this piece of 30s nostalgia has taken on an added dimension today as a piece of 70s nostalgia.

The poet in question is Sir John Betjeman, taking us on a rail trip along the Metropolitan railway, kicking off at the (already closed) Marlborough Road station, heading through Neasden, Wembley, Harrow, Chorley Wood and through to the end of the original line, Verney Junction.

Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter (1974)

I've said it many time before and I'll continue to say it - Hammer's latter day output is some of its finest. Why? Well, because it had to keep up with the competition. And that meant taking chances and following perceived trends. The cinema-goers and critics of the era might not have been keen on the new approach, but the early-to-mid 70s output is certainly some of the most watchable and least-aged today. And that output is headed up by Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter.

It's deep in Hammer territory, but this is miles away from the classic Cushing/Lee Hammer flicks. That's down to the writer/director, Brian Clemens, a man associated with some of the best British action/adventure of the 60s and 70s (Avengers, Adam Adamant, Protectors, Champions etc) as well as one of my favourite cult horror films, And Soon The Darkness. Clemens took the classic Hammer scenario of vampires stalking the peasants, but adding one extra ingredient - the comic book hero.

DVD Review: Flavia The Heretic (1974)

Pick up any Shameless DVD release and you're guaranteed an 80s-style video nasty sleeve and a bold claim or two about the content within. Flavia The Heretic is no exception, although it's not really blood and guts shocker you might expect.

Based (very loosely) on a true story, Flavia The Heretic is part arthouse, part feminist tale, but ultimately an above average slice of Euro exploitation. Set in 15th century Italy, Flavia Gaetani (played by Florinda Bolkan) is the daughter of a rich landowner, sent to a convent to cleanse her soul. But instead of living a humble life, Flavia grows ever-more angry with the world, especially with the way men treat women, especially after witnessing the torture of one of the other nuns and the rape of a local farm girl by the local duke. Indeed, she is whipped herself for running away from the convent with a male friend.

Vampyres (1974)

A caravanning holiday in the English countryside in the 1970s isn't the typical scenario for a horror movie, but that is the case with José Ramón Larraz' Vampyres.

In stark contrast to the peaceful setting, Vampyres is the film Hammer were never quite able to make, with the blood letting more realistic and the eroticism in excess of what the British censor would have been comfortable with in 1974. In essence, it's a Euro horror, but set in the UK with a mainly British cast.

Sabrina Siani

If you're familiar with the innumerable sword & sorcery flicks Italian cinema churned out during the 1980s, chances are you've seen Sabrina Siani.  Either naked or in extremely skimpy outfits.  The beautiful, blonde starlet (real name: Sabrina Seggiani, but sometimes billed Sabrina Sellers) graced many a cut-price fantasy epic, typecast as an Amazonian princess or gutsy jungle girl.  Jess Franco wasn't a fan (calling her: "the stupidest person I've ever met"), but what does he know?  Siani may not have set the screen alight as a teen cannibal queen in Franco's dreadful Mondo Cannibale (1980), but at least she didn't direct it. 

Following a brief stint in sex comedies and Franco's calamitous gut-muncher, Siani soaked up the sun in Blue Lagoon rip-off Blue Island (1982) and played a feisty, female Tarzan in Umberto Lenzi's Incontro Nell'Ultimo Paradiso (1982), before making her mark as a sword-swinging maiden in Aristide Massaccesi's Ator the Fighting Eagle (1982).  Contrary to Franco's sentiments, Siani had a lot to offer: a winning athleticism, sex appeal, and a charismatic screen presence.  Whether slaying monsters, befriending bears (!), or smouldering seductively, she frequently upstaged bland beefcake, leading men like Peter McCoy (Pietro Torrisi) and Miles O'Keefe. 

The Harder They Come - The Barbican's Jamaican film season

London's Barbican centre is hosting The Harder They Come season, celebrating the best of Jamaican cinema.

In terms of movies, The Harder They Come is obviously heading things up, followed by director Perry Henzell's follow-up movie, No Place Like Home, 70s cult classic Rockers, Smile Orange from 1976 and recent flick One Love. Also featured in the season is the stage version of The Harder They Come and a live show headed up by Linton Kwesi Johnson.

Full details are on the Barbican site, with the season kicking off on 6th March.

Find out more at the Barbican website