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

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

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

Jean-Pierre Léaud: The New Wave and After

San Francisco Bay Area residents won't want to miss the upcoming Jean-Pierre Léaud: The New Wave and After film program taking place at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive Jan. 18 - Feb 29th.

The French New Wave (Nouvelle Vague) produced many great stars, but Jean-Pierre Léaud is undoubtedly one of the brightest and most talented. He was only 15 years old when he first appeared in François Truffaut's classic The 400 Blows and the actor would go on to star in many other important French films for the next two decades. Jean-Pierre Léaud is still working and making great films and this impressive six week event brings together many of the iconic French actor's best work spanning a period of over 35 years. Some of the films being presented during the program include The 400 Blows (1959), Masculin Feminine (1966), La Chinoise (1967), Weekend (1967), Stolen Kisses (1968), Two English Girls (1971), Day for Night (1973), The Mother and the Whore (1973), Love on the Run (1979) and Irma Vep (1996).

Ticket prices and showtimes can be found at the official program site: Jean-Pierre Léaud: The New Wave and After.

- Kimberly Lindbergs

Coming soon: Martin's Scorsese's movie on the Rolling Stones - Shine A Light

Movie history is littered with movies about or featuring the Rolling Stones, but that's not stopped uber-director Martin Scorsese from adding to the collection with Shine A Light.

It could be good, it could be bad. In essence, this is a live show on film, with Scorsese capturing the band in a small venue in New York - in essence, trying to film the 'electricity' of the band's live performance, mixing it up with background, interviews and history. Which sounds great, but for the fact that the band are well past their peak (though still a decent live act), not to mention that the gig seems to have various walk-on 'special guests' who probably contribute nothing to the event.

But I'll wait until the film's release in April before I pass judgement. In the meantime, check out this trailer for the movie for a taster.

Via Electric Roulette

DVD Review: Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery 10th Anniversary Special Edition (1997)

Is it really 10 years since the world 'shagadelic' came into being? It must be, because Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery 10th Anniversary Special Edition is on the market.

I've got to be honest, I was dreading re-watching this. Time hasn't been too kind to the movie's legacy - the name 'Austin Powers' conjures up images of bad fancy dress costumes and even worse impressions, not to mention those tired old catchphrases. In fact, if someone proposed burying the movie (and its two sequels) underground for 100 years, I would have backed them all the way. But I did watch it again - and you know what? I actually enjoyed it.

Because despite all the baggage, this is a very funny, very well-written comedy spoof. And if you happen to have an obsession for 60s cinema (as I do), there's also the opportunity to bore your friends with a spot of 'reference spotting' from the likes of Our Man Flint, Dr Goldfoot, (original) Casino Royale, The Silencers, Valley Of The Dolls, Girl on A Motorcycle, Smashing Time, Blow-Up and various Bond movies to name just a fraction.

Joy Division documentary premieres at the Salford Film Festival

Ok, it's not exactly Cannes, but Salford does have a Film Festival, with a mix of classics, new movies and documentaries on offer this year.

The festival is already underway, but some real gems are still to come this week, including a comedy double bill of A Night At The Opera/The Lavender Hill Mob do, the rarely-seen and very strange 1966 mini-movie White Bus by Shelagh Delaney (previously featured here on Cinedelica) and real coup for the festival - Joy Division: The Documentary - a first-showing of this feature, introduced by Salford lad (and Joy Division member of course) Peter Hook.

Check out the site for the timetable, which runs until Wednesday 28th November.

Find out more at the Salford Film Festival website

Win Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who on DVD

Just out in time for Christmas is a two-disc DVD set of The Who's finest moments coupled with rare footage of the band and band members - Amazing Journey: The Story Of The Who and Six Quick Ones. And we have three DVD sets to give away.

Directed by Paul Crowder, Amazing Journey tells the story of the band through the music, footage, new interviews with the band, celebrity fans and musicians, plus recently-discovered concert footage, kicking off with I Can't Explain and ending with the band's most recent tour and recordings. There's also an additional Six Quick Ones disc, which focuses on each individual band member, the mod scene, the pop art movement and more rare footage - including film of the band as the High Numbers at the Railway Hotel - the earliest footage of the band known to be in existence.

If you want to be in with a chance of winning a set, just enter your details at our sister site Modculture, following the link below. The winners will be drawn just before Christmas.

Enter the Who competition at the Modculture website

Cult Clip: Aatank (1996)

A lot of popular Hollywood films have been remade in Bollywood and one of the most unusual Bollywood remakes has to be this knock-off of Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975) called Aatank, which was released in 1996. I don't know much about Aatank since I've only managed to see clips of it on YouTube and it doesn't seem to be easily available on DVD or VHS at the moment. I do know that the movie was directed by Prem Lalwani and stars Nafisa Ali, Dharmendra and Vinod Mehra. You can see a clip from Aatank below, but unfortunately it doesn't feature any of the film's entertaining musical numbers. It does feature a giant shark though!

DVD Review: Maurice Jarre: A Tribute to David Lean

Throughout David Lean's impressive career as a filmmaker he often worked with the talented French composer Maurice Jarre. Jarre composed soundtracks for many of Lean's award winning productions including Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago, (1965), Ryan's Daughter (1970) and A Passage to India (1984). The new DVD release of Maurice Jarre: A Tribute to David Lean from Milan Records is a wonderful celebration of the films that Lean and Jarre worked on together.

This impressive two disc DVD set features Maurice Jarre's 1992 tribute concert, which was performed at the Barbican Center in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra after Lean's death in 1991. During the concert, clips from the films that Jarre and Lean collaborated on were shown on a large screen behind the orchestra. These clips also feature behind the scenes footage of David Lean directing the cast and crew while making his films, which adds a personal touch to the event.

TV Film Memorabilia magazine

Whilst out shopping today, I noticed (and indeed bought) TV Film Memorabilia magazine, which claims to be a publication for 'fans of TV, film & collectables from the 1960s to the present day'.

And while not everything in there appeals, it's certainly worth a browse, especially for fans of 60s TV. The current issue includes an extensive feature on The Avengers (and classic collectables and merchandise), vintage tie-ins from Adam Adamant, Monkees memorabilia, Batman vs The Green Hornet, a feature on 1967 and various buyer's guides for vintage items.

It does occasionally go a bit too sci-fi geek for my own tastes (and there's the worry that future issues might go a little too far that way), but this first issue is certainly worth a look in your local newsagents. It retails for £3.

Find out more at the TV Film Memorabilia magazine website

James Bond Ultimate Casino Edition DVD set

I'm petty sure that if you wanted all the James Bond movies on DVD, you would have bought one of the numerous sets or reissues by now. But just in case you didn't, here's the latest set to tempt you - the James Bond Ultimate Casino Edition.

So, what do you get? Well, there's 'deluxe acrylic packaging' that holds 20 Bond movies from Dr. No through to Die Another Day, all as two-disc special editions, plus a two-disc version of 2006’s Casino Royale. And that's not all - it also includes two sets of branded Casino Royale playing cards and a complete set of poker chips from Carta Mundi, as seen in the film.

It retails for £199.99. If the casino add-ons don't really appeal, you can also pick up the James Bond Ultimate Collectors Box-Set for £149.99. Both are available from 12th November and indeed available now, heavily discounted for pre-order, from Amazon.

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

Coming soon: The Who - Amazing Journey on DVD

Out on November 5th 2007 is a two-disc DVD set of The Who's finest moments coupled with rare footage of the band and band members - Amazing Journey: The Story Of The Who and Six Quick Ones.

Directed by Paul Crowder, Amazing Journey is the lead feature, telling the story of the band through the music, footage, new interviews with the band, celebrity fans and musicians, plus recently-discovered concert footage, from I Can't Explain to the band's most recent tour and recordings.

The Six Quick Ones disc focuses on each individual band member, with a fifth part looking at the mod scene and the pop art movement and a final segment where legendary filmmakers The Pennebakers film the band in the studio recording material for the Then And Now album.

Testcard TV - more free movies and TV shows online

We very much enjoyed Joox during its short existence, but it had one flaw - it hosted a large amount of  film and TV without the owners' permission. That isn't the problem with Testcard TV.

The service is an aggregator or indexer of content hosted on 3rd party platforms such as Google Video, YouTube or on mainstream broadcaster websites from around the world. Nothing is hosted by Testcard TV - so presumably that sidesteps a particularly deep legal hole.

After undergoing a month of testing, the service is now available to all - which means you can access free online tv, movies, shows, cartoons, music videos and more, on either a PC or Mac - just as long as you have the divX player installed. You can even sign up to save your favourites or send to friends.

Looks like that day at work just got a little bit brighter.

Find out more at the Testcard TV website

Book review: London Film Location Guide

As a film nerd buff, I don't just like some films, I get obsessed with them. And on the evidence of the London Film Location Guide, author Simon R.H. James is very much from the same mould.

This is detail over and above the call of duty. 276 pages and something like 750 films about London featured, dating from the 1920s through to the present day - an exercise that's taken the author the best part of 10 years to complete. And if that sounds a little too much to deal with, you'll be pleased to know that there's a film index, postcode index and even a street index to help you through the mass of movies featured.

Tartan Grindhouse unveils new budget horror titles

Tartan's horror arm, Tartan Grindhouse, has a new range of titles set for an autumn launch and at a budget price - Basket Case, Society, Bride Of Re-Animator and Killer Barbys vs Dracula.

Basket Case needs no introduction, with one man and his basket seeking revenge on the doctor responsible for their plight. 25 years old and still with the ability to shock. This reissue tags on a trailer and image gallery, all for a £7.99 price tag from October.

November sees the reissue of Brian Yuzna's bizarre 80s debut Society, along with Yuzna's Bride of Re-Animator and a first-time UK release of Jess Franco's Killer Barbys vs Dracula - a mix of punk, vampires and the spaghetti western apparently, which sounds like a seriously tempting prospect. The latter titles all retail for £9.99. Hopefully we'll have reviews before the DVDs hit the shelves.

Find out more at the Tartan Video website

DVD Review: Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss (1998)

Strictly speaking, films about homosexuality are no longer about an ‘alternative’ lifestyle. This isn’t a recent demarcation, off the back of say, Kissing Jessica Stein or Brokeback Mountain. Homosexuality hasn’t been illegal in most countries, and certainly Western democracies, for decades, and so films that deal in sexuality should no longer be taboo. Romantic comedies should deal in both sides of the argument.
   
But strangely, they don’t. This has less to do with social acceptance and more to do with the prudish attitudes of cinema audiences. I mean, think about it: homosexuals of both genders are responsible for some of the most brilliant, awe-inspiring and inventive entries into the artistic canon as any heterosexual, but because of a biological imperative and centuries of social conditioning, we have to distinguish between the two sexualities, especially in the fields of film and literature.

It sucks. Just because someone prefers to get up to something ‘other’ in the bedroom, it must be made clear that their art is different because they themselves are. Gender politics are too complicated an argument to place into a film review, but I will say this – if you can enjoy Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, you can easily sit through this “trifle” by director Tommy O’Haver.

The Ken Loach DVD Collection boxsets

Ken Loach isn't everyone's cup of tea, but if you fancy getting to know the man's work a bit better, you need to pick up The Ken Loach DVD Collection boxsets, which are available from September.

Ken Loach is arguably Britain’s most respected director, with a career dating back to the mid-60s with the controversial Cathy Come Home and a body of work over the following 40 years to match - without concession to commercialism and always with a social conscience.

DVD Review: Spanking The Monkey (1994)

Let’s get one thing out of the way first. This film is not about incest. It’s a film with incest in it, but it’s not a po-faced, Mike Leigh drama where people bang themselves off walls and shout at one another because their souls are tortured with images they just shouldn’t have. No, it’s pretty funny.
   
Not that I’m suggesting we should just sit back and watch it over Sunday lunch with grandma. It’s just that Spanking The Monkey is not a sex comedy, or a farce, or a kitchen-sink drama. It’s strange, quirky, and off the beaten track. In short, it’s a David O. Russell movie.

Russell, who seems to have become notorious for directing dingbat stories with pretty boys in them, was always thought of as the next genius auteur of indie film-making. That promise hasn’t really been fulfilled, since most of his major-label pictures have been greeted with lukewarm reviews and almost uniform bafflement. If many mainstream reviewers had watched this, his debut, they might have discovered an odd tale about an uptight student who gets a bit friendlier with his mother than he intended to.

BBC2 launches The Summer Of British Film

  Good news if you're in the UK - BBC2 is doing what it should always do - promoting the best of British movies, this time under the title of The Summer Of British Film.

Part of the season is a seven-part documentary series called British Film Forever, with contributions from the great and the good of British flicks. The rest is about screening the pick - around 70 in total, including films as diverse as Billy Elliot, Gregory's Girl, From Russia With Love, The 39 Steps, This Sporting Life, Whistle Down The Wind and Witchfinder General.

And as part of the season, the UK Film Council is releasing of seven of Britain's greatest films at cinemas across the UK on Tuesday's from 31 July to 11 September. Those are Goldfinger, Brief Encounter, Billy Liar, Laurence Olivier's Henry V, The Wicker Man, The Dam Busters and Withnail And I.

For more information on the season, check out the website.

DVD Review: Rien Sur Robert (1999)

Who’d be a critic, eh? What a terrible life; getting paid to sit through work that you couldn’t possibly create in your wildest dreams, slag it off beyond all redemption, and then expect to get served canapés and sparkling white wine at the release party. It sucks, let me tell you. It’s only the hors d’oeuvres and the highbrow chit-chat that keep me going.

Patently, for most critics, that’s not the case. Presenting a balanced opinion is the name of the game, and most reviewers do a terribly good job. Think about it – how many times have you watched a film or bought a CD because a friend recommended it? They may not be celebrated, but reviews keep the wheels of entertainment turning just as much as a film studio or a record company.

Rien Sur Robert (Nothing On Robert) uses the field of criticism as a backdrop for a quirky comedy of manners and relationships, and what can happen when a critic feels he wields too much power. Pretentious journalist Didier Temple (Fabrice Luchini) has the nice-work-if-you-can-get-it task of reviewing films for a Paris newspaper, and is highly respected by the people that matter to him, i.e. the rich intelligentsia.

DVD Review: Love In The Strangest Way (1994)

Infidelity on screen always comes back to bite people, usually husbands, in the nuts. You only have to mention Fatal Attraction to men of a certain age to have them wincing at the thought of a rabbit casserole and checking the locks again like an OCD-ridden amnesiac.

Now, no matter who you side with in that kind of dispute, it’s fertile ground for film-making. All the classic elements of a thriller are there; mistrust, dishonesty, cheating, lying and usually sex. Some do it better than others, but it all boils down to one conceit - no married man is prepared to leave his penis in his pants when a pretty lady shows him a bit of attention.

So it is with Love In The Strangest Way. By my estimate, it takes debt collector and family man Julien (Thierry L’Hermitte) about ten minutes to chat up a tasty bit of stuff opposite his office after he’s dropped his wife and son off at the station for their holiday. Him being a real charmer, the object of his lust readily agrees to meet him for dinner.

Cult Clip: Cure (1997)

One of the most interesting directors currently making films in Japan is undoubtedly the talented Kiyoshi Kurosawa. He crafts thoughtful horror films that should appeal to anyone who enjoys clever and creepy thrillers. Some of his best films include Bright Future (a.k.a. Akarui Mirai, 2003), Kairo (a.k.a. Pulse, 2001), Kôrei (a.k.a. Seance, 2000), Karisuma (a.k.a. Charisma, 1999) and Cure (1997).

Cure is an extremely unnerving, but slow moving thriller about an unusual serial killer who uses hypnotism on his victims. The movie is full of fascinating ideas and really good performances, but ultimately Kiyoshi Kurosawa's smart and stylish directing is the real star of the film. Kurosawa knows how to shoot what could be the most basic scene, such as a typical police interrogation, and make it very unnerving and eerie. The minimal use of music in Cure gives it a realistic feel that can leave viewers completely unsettled and the director's sparse use of sound really adds to the effectiveness of the film.

If you enjoy Asian horror films, Cure is a must see. The film is currently available on NTSC Region-1 DVD and you can experience a bit of what Cure has to offer in the movie trailer below:

- Kimberly Lindbergs

Classic French cinema at The Barbican

London's Barbican is doing its bit for cross-Channel friendship, offering three seasons of classic French cinema under the title Aspects of French Cinema.

The three seasons, which run from late June into July, are Paris At The Movies, The Comical World of Jacques Tati and The Films of Robert Guédiguian. The Paris season features The 400 Blows, Amelie, Lift to the Scaffold, Two hours in the life of singer Cléo, La Haine and À bout de souffle. The Tati season includes Jour de Fête (The Big Day), Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (Les Vacances de M. Hulot), Mon Oncle (My Uncle) and Playtime, while the Robert Guédiguian includes a selection of movies plus a chat with the man himself.

Check with the Barbican for times and prices.

Find out more at the Barbican website

DVD Review: Olivier, Olivier (1991)

One of Oscar Wilde’s more famous quotes, taken from The Decay of Lying, was that life imitates art far more than art imitates life. It’s easy to dismiss that as just another flip remark by Ireland’s greatest ever export (and I include Guinness in that), but the more you consider that aphorism, the more accurate it seems to become. It’s where youth culture gets its fashions from, its sayings, and how many times do you watch programmes like The Office or The Apprentice and say to somebody ‘I know somebody just like that’? You don’t; it’s just that popular culture and the world it reflects are about as close as it’s possible to be right now. 

Of course, there will always be debates about what passes for entertainment and what our children, or indeed society at large, should be shielded from. In an age where John Lydon, a man who once said “shit” on tea-time television, can front nature programmes and appear avuncular, it’s hard to believe there can be any boundaries left. But in twenty years time, we may be looking back on an age when there were shreds of decency left in the field of mass media. Popular culture is a sign of the times, be it unfortunate or something to celebrate.

DVD Review: L'Homme de ma Vie (1992)

A funny thing, romance. In the right hands, at least. Although derided by many serious cinema fans, a film like When Harry Met Sally is actually a pretty accurate depiction of that crazy thing called loved, although most of us don’t have to sit opposite a spunky blonde pretending to have an orgasm when we’re trying to make a connection. Like most things, l’amour feels right when there’s room to have a giggle about it, and films have long reflected this, from the greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts There’s Something About Mary to the oddball film it references, Harold and Maude.   

A French romantic comedy, on the other hand, is a different thing altogether. The French invented the art of seduction, the idea of troubadors, and they seem to have a monopoly on clichéd marriage proposal. I mean, nobody makes a special trip to the Millennium Bridge to propose, do they? Yet taking someone nine hundred feet up a rickety steel tower is romance incarnate. Still, it takes all sorts to keep the world turning. You wouldn't get me up there though - I'm afraid of heights.

Walken Warhol T-Shirt

Lucky Threadz has recently created a really nice t-shirt called Walken Warhol. This Warhol inspired design features the great American actor and cult icon Christopher Walken.

The design is available on a white shirt in many different sizes and sells for $17.00

Lucky Treadz is located in the US, but they offer International Shipping. For more information about the Walken Warhol shirt as well as their other great designs visit their website:

http://www.luckythreadz.com

DVD Review: L’Appartement (1996)

Karl Marx once remarked that “history repeats itself twice: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.” It’s probable he was referring to armed conflict and dictatorships, but I think there’s room to include film remakes in that, too. Certainly, whoever decided to make Wicker Park and cast Josh Hartnett (the human chair leg) went straight for the jugular and combined both elements: it was tragic they made it, and anyone who saw it knows how farcical it all is.

That film is a straight remake of the original, and some would say automatically superior, French flick L’Appartement. Notable as being the first time real life husband and wife Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci starred together; L’Appartement garnered wide critical acclaim for its labyrinthine plot, and even won a BAFTA in 1998. Then again, what hasn’t, apart from Life on Mars?

Fantastic Films Weekend 2007

The Fantastic Films Weekend is returning to the National Media Museum in Bradford in 2007 from Friday 15th June - Sunday 17th June, with the usual mix of cult film and TV, special guests and gems from the archives.

Special guests this year include sci-fi legend Brian Aldiss, cult TV man Lawrence Gordon Clark and Hammer director John Hough. There's also a mix of the old and the new on the big screen, including Dave Meyers’ remake of The Hitcher to open the festival, followed by a pile of classics including Hammer's Countess Dracula and Twins Of Evil (from new prints), Basket Case, Vincent Price’s Dracula (aka Dracula, the Great Undead) and showing from the only print currently in the UK, Suspiria.

Other titles playing during the weekend include Soylent Green, Sunshine, Forbidden Planet, I, Monster and Tales from the Crypt, plus a pile of classic TV moments (including a rare showing of Threads - the nuclear drama about a bomb hitting Sheffield).

Tickets are available now, with a choice of weekend or day passes, priced from £12.50 to £35.

Find out more about the Fantastic Films Weekend

DVD Review: Bigas Luna Collection (1990-94)

We all carry preconceptions. Just as Brits are thought of as reserved types who’d rather have a cuppa than a roll in the hay, we in this country (fuelled by fortnights on the Costa Brava and repeats of Duty Free) tend to think of the Spanish as lazy, ill-educated and obsessed with sex and siestas. When pressed, that’s the image most people get in their mind’s eye.

Bigas Luna, the Spanish director, tends to see things just that little bit differently. He sees his compatriots as passionate, imaginative, highly sexual and as vibrant a culture as any country assumes they have the monopoly on. Perhaps not as celebrated as fellow Spaniard Pedro Almodóvar, Luna still manages to make films that bristle with energy and ideas. They’re just a bit skewed in their execution.

One of his earlier efforts, The Ages of Lulú (1990), kicks off this collection. Lulú (Francesca Neri) is a fifteen year old girl who fancies her brother’s best mate, Pablo (Óscar Ladoire). That may be a common tale, but taking her home and introducing her to the wonders of shaving foam certainly isn’t, and before long Pablo and Lulú are at it like Duracell bunnies. Separated by time and the Atlantic, Lulú meets up with Pablo and their affair sparks again. They marry, and spend most of their time, spare or otherwise, testing the bed for durability.

Roman Polanski season at the Barbican

If you want to catch some of Roman Polanski's finest works on the big screen, you have your chance in May at London's Barbican.

The brief season runs in May and includes showings of Knife In The Water, Repulsion, Cul-De-Sac, Chinatown and The Pianist. And if you want to catch more than one, they're even doing a deal on multiple tickets.

It all kicks off with Knife In The Water on 5th May.

Find out about the season at the Barbican website

DVD Review: To Have And To Hold (1996)

Presumably released on the back of The Proposition’s multilateral critical acclaim and respectable DVD sales, director John Hillcoat’s first feature doesn’t quite share the ferocious honesty of his haunting proto-Western, which did for the Australian outback what Trainspotting did for East Edinburgh – you wouldn’t want to go there, but it sure is good agar for stylised harm.

As it happens To Have And To Hold is set in a similarly hostile, this time claustrophobically picturesque pocket of Australasia – the rain forests of Papua New Guinea, where much is made by white settlers of the fact that the natives are only a generation or two ahead of their cannibalistic heritage. One such settler is Jack (Tchéky Karyo), a French-born Australian doing vague scientific research with colleagues in a beautiful if accursed-looking riverside log house.

The narrative is intentionally fragmented, with unflagged flashes forward and back saturating the first half of the film. We learn early that Jack’s wife Rose has been killed in a boating incident, but details are withheld. Luther, A local boy with whom Jack is close, takes the fall for her death; it is implied someone else is to blame.

Vintage Italian film poster gallery

As you probably noticed, we do love a good vintage film poster here at Cinedelica. So when we heard that there's a gallery of vintage Italian film posters and publicity, we headed straight for it.

Over 300 items already in this Flickr gallery - and well worth a browse.

See all the posters in the gallery

Via Bedazzled