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

DVD Review: The London Nobody Knows (1967) / Les Bicyclettes de Belsize (1969)

There are numerous reasons why some films and TV shows become cult items, but obscurity/lack of availability is probably the biggest one. And that's certainly applicable to The London Nobody Knows and Les Bicyclettes De Belsize - both almost impossible to find or see since the 1960s and both available for the first time on a single DVD disc. But that's where the similarity ends as these two 'mini movies' have absolutely nothing else in common.

The London Nobody Knows has become a favourite of cult cinema nights in recent years, directed by Norman Cohen and based on a book by Geoffrey Fletcher, it's a look at the 'underbelly' of London in the late 60s through the eyes and voice of veteran actor James Mason.

Diana Dors - Swingin' Dors album reissued

Diana Dors is something of an icon of British popular culture. Her heyday was in the 50s as the glamorous movie star (check out the excellent Yield To The Night), with a career that continued, albeit steadily in decline, until her death in 1984. She even made it onto the cover of The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's album.

And staying on that musical tip, Diana Dors made music - and that now sought-after Swingin' Dors album from 1960 is getting a reissue (presumably named after the biography pictured here). It's lounge-style swing, 12 tracks with orchestration by producer/arranger Wally Stott.

It's released as a limited, individually numbered vinyl LP as well as a CD digipack. Both formats copy the gatefold sleeve of the original and include a 12-page full colour booklet featuring rare and previously unpublished photographs. It's available from 24th September 2007.

Diana Dors official website

Psych Out (1968)

“They’ll ask for a dime with hungry eyes, but they’ll give you love for nothing!” ran the sensational blurb on its release. Psych Out was easily the most successful movie depicting San Francisco during the legendary “Summer of Love” although lets not get too excited here.

While the world watched on in varying degrees of intrigue at the antics of the love generation, few filmmakers ventured out to catch the lightning on Haight Ashbury’s streets, leaving Psych Out as the sole dramatisation of the period. Psych Out’s producer, TV pop impresario Dick Clark, was evidently keeping a watchful eye on the hippy phenomena, and despite his Hollywood leanings, he managed to lift a sizeable chunk of ambience from the hippy hangouts of San Francisco.

The cast took a young Jack Nicholson, by then on the cusp of moving from Biker B-flicks to the mainstream, and Susan Strasberg, whose innocent beauty was enough to secure a fair amount of love interest on screen. The plot concerns Strasberg’s deaf alter ego arriving in town in search of her renegade brother. With nowhere to stay, she’s picked up by Nicholson and his band of musos, who act as her guide and mentor around San Francisco. With her elusive brother playing an intricate game of hide and seek, she ends up being dosed with STP, a concoction known to fry even the wackiest of brains. Although this all might sound a trifle sensationalist, there’s little to offend here.

AIP, the film’s producing agent, had been badly burned after their previous effort, The Trip, ran into all manner of problems with the censors due to its veiled promotion of LSD. As a result, Psych Out held back on any obvious drug promotion or slap and tickle. Visually, there’s fair bit of visual vox pop from the Haight, while The Seeds and Strawberry Alarm Clock offer up some psychedelic intrigue for the soundtrack. Within a year, Nicholson would lift off into stardom, leaving behind the likes of Psych Out to be picked over by historians of the period.

(c) Simon Wells 2007

More about the DVD at Amazon.co.uk

A Life In The Death Of Joe Meek

Currently in post-production is a feature-length documentary about visionary madman producer Joe Meek, under the title Something I've Got To Tell You: A Life In The Death Of Joe Meek.

It covers the life and career of Meek, with Susan Stahman and Howard S. Berger shooting 70 on-camera interviews over four months in the UK with celebrity fans, acqaintances amd musicians that recorded with Meek. It's likely to get a full airing next year, but if you want to see a 12-minute teaser, it's showing at the Leeds Film Festival on 8th and 9th November. For full details click here.

If you can't make that, check out the much shorter trailer below. More on this when we have it.

DVD review: Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story

There's a new range of music DVDs in the shops from next week from Slam Dunk Media, predominantly reissue titles of full price titles with all the same extras, but with one big difference - they all cost just £5.99.

First up is the Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story. Bit of a misleading title, as it's really just the Syd Barrett Story. And it's no quick cash-in after Syd's death - this is the BBC's well-received Omnibus documentary from a few years back.

Well-received because it was incredibly well put-together. With just the right amount of sentimentality, it pulls together all the main players in his early life, adds some interesting period footage, throws in a couple of contemporary fans and you a well-balanced, very watchable show for both casual and serious Syd fans.