Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass said they would only make another Jason Bourne film if they were both on board and if there was a story worth filming. It’s been nine years and one bland spin off since The Bourne Ultimatum rounded off Jason Bourne’s story with style, thrills and intelligence. Damon and Greengrass must have found a story good enough because they have brought Jason Bourne back to audiences in the imaginatively titled Jason Bourne.

Jason Bourne (Damon) is living in exile scraping out an existence as a bareknuckle boxer. After a hack against the CIA’s database by former contact Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) the organisation believes that Bourne is going after them. Agency operative Heather Lee (Vikander) and director Robert Dewey (Jones) attempt to put him down for good.

Endings are a tricky thing. We’ve all seen plenty of films that just can’t stick to the ending, which makes it so great when you get one that hits perfectly. The Bourne Ultimatum had an ending that wrapped up the trilogy so well and cleanly that to attempt to add anything else afterwards is a foolhardy act. So going in to Jason Bourne, you wonder: have they found something worth coming back for? The answer, unfortunately, is not really. The plot is a little limp. Treadstone rears its ugly head again as Parsons tries to make it public but instead turns up a little more of Bourne’s past. This time it’s the mystery of his father and his involvement in the program, something which hasn’t bothered Bourne before. Really it’s just an excuse to get Bourne back. The action is as good as usual. Though there isn’t anything as memorable as the Waterloo Station scene from Ultimatum or the improvised weapon fights from Supremacy and Ultimatum the film does still entertain as Bourne evades capture during a protest that turns in to a riot in Rome and when he sets up a meeting in London. Greengrass is an expert at this stuff now, staging with confidence, making entertaining and coherent action scenes while keeping the action grounded in realism. The hits feel like they hurt.

Time has moved on since the last proper Bourne film and so has technology. This time the CIA aren’t just tracking you through thousands of CCTV cameras, they are now in your computers and phones. This new age is represented by the young agency operative Heather Lee, an ambitious and highly skilled agent who is an expert in digital technology, and Aaron Kalloor, a rock star tech genius and the creator of a popular social media company. Unfortunately, despite them being played by the wonderfully talented Alicia Vikander and Riz Ahmed, Lee is fairly dull and her intentions hazy and Kalloor is more of a theme than a character who only registers on the fringes of the story. The rest of the cast fair a bit better. Vincent Cassel is perfectly cast as an asset with a vendetta against Bourne and Tommy Lee Jones, with his face like a landslide, joins Albert Finney, Brian Cox and David Straitharn as the ruthless older men who run the show, patriots who will protect their country even if it means killing at a moment’s notice. Jason Bourne is synonymous with Matt Damon now and he wears his weariness and assassin skill with ease.

Jason Bourne has some good moments and it’s bolstered by the skilled direction from Greengrass and Damon’s strong performance but it never convinces you that there is a reason for its existence.

JASON BOURNE / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: PAUL GREENGRASS / SCREENPLAY: CHRISTOPHER ROUSE, PAUL GREENGRASS / STARRING: MATT DAMON, TOMMY LEE JONES, ALICIA VIKANDER, VINCENT CASSEL / RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 28TH

 

Although it might be hard to believe, this writer has never actually seen the original Ghostbusters from the 1980s, so didn’t watch the Ghostbusters 2016 reboot with any expectations that would shape my viewing in any way. Instead, sitting down to watch the Blu-ray edition of the 2016 release with an open mind, just waiting to see what I’d find.

So what was that? Well, to this humble critic, Ghostbusters was a laugh-out-loud joy of a film. It contained incredibly funny, and at times, incredibly moving performances from the four main actresses, particularly Kate McKinnon as Jillian Holtzmann and Leslie Jones as Patty Tolan. Chris Hemsworth, in particular, contributes some really funny moments as the dim-witted receptionist Kevin, although it’s the main four Ghostbusters’ humour, particularly the work of McKinnon and Jones, although Melissa McCarthy as Dr. Abby Yates and Kristen Wiig as Dr. Erin Gilbert really shined through, too – I don’t think I’ve ever laughed out loud at a film’s jokes so much! It really does hit the mark with a lot of the jokes.

The effects on the film itself were also outstanding – the already impressive CGI was made breathtaking in high-definition, and the lush, brighter colours really enhanced the overall experience of the film, especially making the appearances of some of the particular ghosts and ghouls all the more shocking and impressive.

The Blu-ray release also contains the extended edition (of which has a 134-minute running time, whereas the theatrical edition is approximately 116 minutes).  – which added lots more scenes, laughs, and story in just over the extra few 18 minutes, and is definitely worth watching. Not that the theatrical edition is any less outstanding and funny and entertaining in its own right – but the pacing and story really comes into its own in the extended edition. The standard DVD of the film also contains some really great special features, such as ‘Meet the Team’, ‘Visual Effects: 30 Years Later’, ‘Slime Time’, commentaries from the writers, director and filmmakers, as well as other great extras such as a photo gallery – which really give you a deeper appreciation of the film, both in general and in terms of how it was all made.

If you go into watching Ghostbusters with an open mind, you quickly realise that’s it’s just a great film – a rush of hilarity, fierce action and outstanding performances, lots of science and slime – and most importantly, ghosts, in one amazingly fun film, no matter what you may have heard. It’s definitely one that should be on your Christmas lists (Yes, even now – you know a film is a good one when it should be put on your Christmas list in November).

GHOSTBUSTERS / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: PAUL FEIG / SCREENPLAY: PAUL FEIG, KATIE DIPPOLD / STARRING: KRISTEN WIIG, MELISSA MCCARTHY, KATE MCKINNON, LESLIE JONES, CHRIS HELMSWORTH / RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 21ST

 

Director and Reeltime Pictures boss Keith Barnfather’s two independent Mindgame productions hail from that odd period shortly after the Doctor Who TV Movie, when fandom’s hope that the series might successfully return to television, let alone actually in the UK, was at its lowest ebb. Following Reeltime’s success with Downtime, Mindgame once again licenses characters from the parent series (albeit just a couple of monsters this time) in the hope of creating something close enough to Doctor Who that the programme itself might not be missed quite so badly.

The first of the two films, a half-hour piece written on autopilot by series stalwart Terrance Dicks, concerns three individuals of different races who are assembled against their will in a tiny cell and instructed to battle to the death. But for a rather inflexible headpiece, Toby Aspin makes for a credible Sontaran, while Miles Richardson’s Draconian is suitably aristocratic and the pair are tremendous fun. Sophie Aldred, without the comfort blanket that her chemistry with Sylvester McCoy provided, is less convincing as a mercenary, although Aldred commands the screen once she arrives. The weakest element is the creature who has committed the abductions, an unconvincingly cheap-looking creation. Dicks’ script is filled with ideas and dialogue repeated almost verbatim from the characters’ television appearances, but it is a step up in professionalism from earlier independent spin-offs and the resolution, while obvious, is at least neat.

Mindgame Trilogy, the follow-up, comprises three shorts of around twenty minutes each, telling the stories of the three characters subsequent to their escape from the cell. The best of these is Terrance Dicks’ Battlefield, with John Wadmore excelling as a re-cast Sontaran, undergoing a crisis of conscience that genuinely adds to the series’ mythology. Miles Richardson’s self-penned Prisoner 451 is a brilliantly acted vignette about a Shakespeare-obsessed Draconian, a slim but entertaining watch. Scout Ship by Roger Stevens seems to have been designed to put Sophie Aldred through her drama school paces, with Aldred’s human mercenary facing an inevitable death. The unavoidable twist doesn’t stand much scrutiny but at least concludes the saga on a pleasing note.

There’s no disguising that Barnfather’s films suffer due to their budget deficiencies, being far from polished and generally lacking in imaginative ambition. But they do make the most of their meagre resources and are much more engaging affairs than they might have been, painting an impressive picture of the lengths fandom would go to while Doctor Who was in an indeterminate limbo. And the extras are a lovely window into those times, with half-decent contemporary documentaries and a retrospective feature with a number of those involved contextualising their accomplishments. A qualified recommendation for fans of classic Doctor Who.

Extras: Making of Mindgame, Making of Mindgame Trilogy, Retrospective documentary, galleries, script PDF

MINDGAME SAGA / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: KEITH BARNFATHER / SCREENPLAY: TERRANCE DICKS, MILES RICHARDSON, ROGER STEVENS / STARRING: SOPHIE ALDRED, MILES RICHARDSON, TOBY ASPIN, JOHN WADMORE / RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 14TH

 

Who would’ve thought archaeology would end up in soap-opera dramatics? ITV’s Tutankhamun retells the events of how the unlikely team in Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon discovered the resting place of the titular king in ‘the Valley of the Kings’, yet it also glamourises elements of it for dramatic purposes. The embellishment is ultimately the major problem as the series focuses more on that than telling the actual events, which is high drama in itself without all the romantic embellishments. It almost felt like as if the writer, Guy Burt, felt that a proper retelling of the events wouldn’t keep the audiences’ attention, so he feels the need to include or alter things in order to make it more acceptable to the modern day crowd.

This includes changing the age of the Carter from his fifties to his twenties/thirties in the hope of making it feel modern, which just goes to show the intelligent wisdom that went behind this series. The fact is that you don’t need the stereotypical attractive young male lead to carry everything. This certainly isn’t helped in the casting of Max Irons as Carter who, while surprisingly solid in the central role, is simply miscast due to his youthfulness. Also, Burt felt the need to bolt on a typical romance plot between Carter and Carnarvon’s daughter Evelyn, even though it has been well-recorded that their relationship was purely platonic and that any indication of a romance was pure speculation. During these romantic interludes, it felt like it started to morph into another episode of Downton Abbey that was full of melodrama and turmoil. Why would anyone want to watch a soap opera switching back and forth? It’s irrelevant to the main story, which was about Carter and Carnarvon’s partnership and their discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb.

When it focused on what it was supposed to be about, it became an engrossing drama as you constantly began to wonder whether or not they could find and recover the tomb, and if they could avoid trouble from the outside world looking in. If the entire show was like this, then this could easily have been a damn near flawless series. Just a shame it all had to get bogged down by unnecessary, historically-inaccurate balderdash. The production and costume design is very top-notch, which helps make everything feel as rich and authentic as it should be, and the gorgeous cinematography helps enforce that. Also, Sam Neill nailed his role as Lord Carnarvon, bringing a real sense of weight and gravitas to the role and he’s the one you truly invest in the most throughout the series.

Overall, Tutankhamun is something of a mixed bag with a great important story about the greatest archaeological discovery that’s unfortunately bogged down by inaccuracies galore, soap opera melodramatics, relentless padding and modern youthful sheen that’s deeply distracting. It’s solidly acted and pretty on the eyes, but the brain’s still craving for a better-told story, which is sadly buried in here somewhere under all that schmaltz.

TUTANKHAMUN / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: PETER WEBBER / SCREENPLAY: GUY BURT / STARRING: MAX IRONS, JONATHAN ARIS, SAM NEILL, AMY WREN / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

The Pokémon Movie Collection brings together the first three Pokémon movies, and as such represents the days when the anime was in its prime in terms of popularity. In the first movie, Ash encounters Mewtwo, a Pokémon lashing out against the mistreatment by humans. In the second he must race to save the world when the legendary birds are thrown out of balance, and in the third, he encounters Pokemon who can bend reality.

The movies themselves are a mixed bag. The first movie might have had a good story going were it not executed so poorly. At several points, it seems like the audience has to take too much for granted to make the narrative work, and it really doesn’t hold up scrutiny. The second doesn’t try as much in terms of story but its vision is much better executed. Out of all three, the third is the best in this regard. It has a simple story, which still holds up and unlike the first movie the third manages to pull off the concepts it explores. It is the touching tale of a girl trying to come to terms with loss, and how to move forward.

As a group, the movies are cheesy, harmless fun. Besides a few moments in the first movie, and the third movie there isn’t much going on here but like similar anime of its type they have a goofy charm. Surprisingly Team Rocket’s appearances in these movies serve as the best metaphor for their quality. They don’t do much to justify their presence there but they are still entertaining to watch.

This collection was created as a way for Nintendo to celebrate Pokémon‘s 20th anniversary. In that regards it. During their cinema run, each movie had an animated short before the main feature. These shorts were included in the VHS and DVD releases but aren’t included here. It is bad enough that a Blu-ray release somehow contains less extra content than a 20-year-old VHS release, but this is meant to be a celebration of Pokémon‘s 20th anniversary. It is baffling that no effort was made in terms of special features. Even simply bringing over the special features from the DVDs would have been better than nothing.

The Pokémon movies are silly fun that are good for diverting your attention (each lasting just over an hour). If the lack of special features or the aforementioned shorts doesn’t bother you then you might want to check this release out. If you would miss those things you would be better off sticking to older releases.

THE POKÉMON MOVIE COLLECTION / CERT: PG / DIRECTORS: VARIOUS / SCREENWRITERS: VARIOUS / STARRING: VERONICA TAYLOR, RACHAEL LILLIS, ERIC STUART, IKUE OTANI, ED PAUL, STAN HART / RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 14TH

 

Written by Tony Robinson (him off Time Team / Baldrick from Blackadder), Maid Marian ran for four series (plus one Christmas special) between 1989-94. One of the most successful children’s’ shows of its era, enjoying huge ratings and winning awards all over the place, this box set brings together every single episode and adds a host of extras to form a truly outstanding collection that fully deserves a place on your shelf. You might need to be quick off the mark if you want to get yourself a copy though – previous DVD releases already command a relatively high price, and this one is a limited edition of just 3000!

The series is probably best described as a farcical semi-musical retelling of the legend of Robin Hood, where Marian is the leader of the Merry Men and Robin’s role is reduced to that of a slightly camp tailor. Along with Robin, Marian’s sidekicks also include a Rastafarian (played by Red Dwarf’s Danny John-Jules), a lumbering simpleton called Rabies, and a hairy beardy little person called Little Ron who has a knack for facing the wrong way at the most inopportune times. On the bad guy side, we have the Sheriff Of Nottingham (Tony Robinson), King John with his taste for torture and all things evil, and Gary and Graham, a pair of buffoons who somehow got themselves a job as the Sheriff’s private guardsmen. Each episode tells a self-contained story and features at least one original song, displaying a huge amount of creativity across the four series.

It’s fair to say that the years have been rather kind to the Merry Men. We’re all familiar with that crushing feeling of excitedly revisiting things from our childhood only to discover that they really haven’t aged well at all, but Maid Marian is one of those rare shows that works just as well today as it did when it was originally broadcast. Kids will enjoy the songs, the jokes about pants, the slapstick prat falls, and general playground humour, while older viewers are sure to get a kick of the huge amounts of double entendres that will have gone way over our heads when we were youngsters, as well as the countless references to the popular culture of the time.

With some fantastic set design, witty lines and humorous asides flying around like they’re going out of style, and a cast who are clearly having the time of their lives, everything fits into place to form one of the most unique and fondly-remembered kids TV shows of all time. Oh, and yes, you can sing along with the theme tune. There’s even a karaoke version! Twenty-seven years later and we can still remember all the words without having to look them up…

Extras: Cast Audio Commentaries, Maid Marian karaoke, Interactive Quiz, Improvised sketches, Photo Gallery, Easter Eggs, Trailers, Compendium booklet by original Maid Marian artist Paul Cemmic

MAID MARIAN AND HER MERRY MEN / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: DAVID BELL / SCREENPLAY: TONY ROBINSON / STARRING: KATE LONERGAN, TONY ROBINSON, DANNY JOHN-JULES / RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 21ST

 

By the standards of director Stanley Kubrick, the reception afforded to The Shining on its initial US release in 1980 was middling. Yet in the decades since, repeated viewings and re-appraisals have bestowed a level of reverence on par with his other true masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Just as that film has become the definitive outer space movie, so The Shining, brilliantly realised on the soundstages of Elstree, has become the ultimate interior odyssey, proof positive that Kubrick was a master of immersive environments. You don’t so much view his films, as visit them.

But back in 1980 Kubrick’s primary concern was to give Warner Brothers the commercial hit they needed from him after the misfiring Barry Lyndon (1975). To this end, he removed 24 minutes from the US version of The Shining prior to its European exhibition. Which makes this welcome UK release of the longer version a chance to compare and contrast.

As intensely powerful as the familiar shorter cut is, the hotel spookery does always seem to come around a bit too soon. You sense that missing material. This version restores the background storyline that propels the triangular family dynamic. In the shorter version, we were only fleetingly acquainted with Wendy Torrance and her psychic son Danny before their trip to Colorado and we had no real insight into why former teacher Jack Torrance seems to be enthusiastically channelling wildman Oscar-winner Jack Nicholson. Here, you get a whole lot more of Stephen King’s character set-up.

While Jack’s off getting politely grilled by hotel boss Barry ‘the hair’ Nelson, Wendy and Danny are also quizzed at home by a children’s doctor (Anne Jackson). Shelly Duvall’s performance in these ‘new’ scenes are a revelation. She relates the story of her husband’s alcoholism and how he recently broke little Danny’s arm in a drunken rage. No wonder the poor woman is such a nervous wreck.  Just watch her nervous face betraying her words as she blithely explains away her husband’s violent behaviour. It’s a magnificent piece of acting from Duvall, for our money her best of the movie, genuinely enhancing our empathy with her in the madness that follows. Talking of which, while we’ve always loved Nicholson’s maniac routine, now we get a real sense of why he’s struggling to keep it together from the off. It’s a very important contextual difference and required viewing for anyone who’s always struggled with the timbre of Nicholson’s early scenes

The extended opening seems to re-balance the film, providing more of a slow-build to the storm we know is coming. Additions elsewhere are less vital but seamlessly enrich things. We get more of the initial tour of the Overlook, many extended dialogue scenes including more of Jack’s double-act with Lloyd the barman and a bunch of cool flourishes including some creepy skeletons that’ll freak you back to last Thursday. Scatman Crothers, another sublime bit of casting, is particularly well served as he battles to get back to the Overlook when he realises the shit has well and truly hit the snow-fan. Still dies in this version, though, the poor old bugger.

Although Kubrick apparently had no preference between the two cuts he released, we think he got it absolutely bang on with this longer version. The dramatic construction is stronger; his small cast of characters are better defined so we’re more engaged and the scares have even more clout.  Not rocket science, that.

Bottom line: The Shining is a masterpiece whichever way it’s cooked but this one has all the trimmings and they taste mighty fine. Time to check back in.

THE SHINING – EXTENDED EDITION (1980) / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: STANLEY KUBRICK / SCREENPLAY: STANLEY KUBRICK, DIANE JOHNSON / STARRING: JACK NICHOLSON, SHELLEY DUVALL, DANNY LLOYD, SCATMAN CROTHERS / RELEASE DATE:  OUT NOW

 

With the umpteen retrospective releases on film, DVD, Blu-ray, and book form – with J.  W. Rinzler’s insightful official accounts of the production and release of the Star Wars films – you would have thought there might not be anything else left in the tank to provide extra perspective on what any number of geeks have probably researched over the internet etc.

However, with help from the Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign and a bit of ingenuity, director Jon Spira has managed to track some of the key figures behind the supporting roles, with the likes of David Prowse (Vader), Angus MacInnes (Gold Leader), Paul Blake (Greedo), Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett), and Anthony Forrest (Fixer) providing their own journey before and after that fateful Summer of 1976 in Elstree Studios.

Inevitably, given the fact that this is more of a documentary that is set outside the circle of completion of Lucasfilm, there are only fleeting glimpses of the production and probably stills that have been seen before. Still, there are some personal recollections in photo and memory from the names above and others, including one anecdote regarding who claimed credit for the infamous Stormtrooper bumping his head as they entered the control room where the heroes located Leia and the tractor beam.

Elstree 1976 on balance is going to be of interest primarily to die-hard Star Wars fans and people who aren’t swayed by various campaigns and Internet stories and in a rather twisted irony, the independent nature of the documentary actually falls within Star Wars creator George Lucas’ determination to maintain autonomy when he made the film, so whether or not he has actually approved of this work remains to be seen. David Prowse does at one point bring up his own detachment from the official circuit with a ban from certain conventions and the current Disney contingent who are refusing to allow him into the inner circle of prestige.

As a long-term Star Wars fan, this writer actually found this quite an illuminating documentary, if only for seeing some of those character favourites as they are four decades on, and it is enlightening to hear the principal actors talk about their own inside experiences in their various roles. There is a semblance of disappointment at the lack of actual on-set footage with the subjects here, but given that even the official archives are limited to the Making Of montages and the Empire Of Dreams supplement on the DVD release some years ago, it is a faint hope that this might turn up once Episode IX is completed half a decade or so from now in the complete box set that is doubtlessly going to be released in the not-too-distant future.

At 97 minutes long, it is compact and does hold the attention, so well worth a look nonetheless.

ELSTREE 1976 / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: JON SPIRA / STARRING: DAVID PROWSE, JEREMY BULLOCH, PAUL BLAKE, GARRICK HAGON, PAM ROSE / RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 14TH

 

Game of Thrones Season Six is the first season to steer a course away from its literary source material since author George R. R. Martin has yet to write the sixth volume of his high fantasy epic. With the show still riding high upon the crest of its popularity, the stakes were high. Would this television behemoth finally ‘jump the shark’ without a book to base it on? Would it flounder only to wash up on the shores of TV wasteland? The answer would be a resounding… NO! It’s a testament to producers Benioff and Weiss that they have so ably forged their own path through George R. R. Martin’s fantasy landscape, with only plot points from the author to guide them. They have a clear understanding of how Westeros and it’s denizens function. If anything season 6 is vastly superior to the fifth season, which at times seemed to drag and often felt like it was treading water. By contrast season six is out of the gate running, and by the second episode, it’s jumping hurdles like a thoroughbred.

With only two truncated seasons left this is the season where all the pieces in the deadly game are at last positioning themselves into their final endgame positions. There are pay-offs a plenty, some welcome return of characters not seen for a good long while and the requisite surprise deaths that have become a hallmark of the show since it began. This season revealed Jon Snow’s true parentage, the origin behind Hodor’s condition and his name, and threw in some time-twisting shenanigans into the fantasy mix, courtesy of Bran Stark’s three-eyed raven tutelage. A vital part of Westeros’ history is startlingly but satisfyingly explained and the battle for Winterfell is as visceral, bloody and nail biting as you could imagine seeing.

This is also the season of female empowerment, particularly for Sansa Stark who, in the previous season was brutally victimised, but here shows how that deplorable treatment has galvanised her into potentially becoming as dangerous and devious as Cersei Lannister. And what of Cersei? Well as deadly and despicable as she is you can’t help but cheer when her moment of vengeance is at hand and marvel at how well executed it is. Arya Stark, who spent most of season five languishing in Braavos also comes into her own this season. She finally understands what it is to have no name and, in so doing, fully accepts that she is, in fact, Arya Stark of House Stark and woe betide anybody on her list.

Season Six is not without its faults, the main one chiefly being Tyrion Lannister’s story arc having seemingly stalled as he looks after the administration of Meereen, whilst Daenerys is off acquiring (through rather lethal means) a Dothraki army. However, this is a minor complaint as this is the finest season of Game of Thrones yet. Story arcs are resolved satisfyingly, and often brutally, and it is evident that plot lines from the books that were, perhaps, hampering the flow of its televisual offspring, are being jettisoned in favour of a tighter narrative that will no doubt conclude with an explosively bloody climax.

GAME OF THRONES SEASON SIX / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: PETER DINKLAGE, LENA HEADEY, KIT HARINGTON, LIAM CUNNINGHAM, MAISIE WILLIAMS / RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 14TH

 

Amadeo (Alex Brendemuhl) has just been crowned King of Spain. His reign is going to be extremely short-lived and he’s destined to spend practically every moment trapped within the walls of his castle, dictated to by Ministers who definitely don’t have his political welfare on their minds. Amadeo cuts a handsome if melancholic figure and the only two people he seems able to trust are his loyal manservant Alfredo (Lorenzo Balducci) who has a disturbingly coital relationship with a watermelon, and his cook Eloisa (Lola Duenas), who briefly becomes his lover. When Amadeo’s wife (Barbara Lennie) arrives from Italy, there seems a vague hope that Amadeo’s circumstances will begin to change, but the peasants are revolting and matters are – quite literally – primed to explode.

Lluis Minarro is a legendary film producer in his native Spain, and this is his first feature as director (he also co-wrote the screenplay). It’s a fantastic achievement, and one of the most surreal, joyous, blackly comic and beautiful to look at historical biopics you’re ever likely to see. Yes, it has a slow moving arthouse tone and there’s a lot of contemplative silence between the words, but it’s such a gorgeously idiosyncratic piece of cinema that even the silences are captivating. Minarro and his cinematographer Jimmy Gimferrer are visual magicians, with each shot composed and lit like a painting, indulging in the rich chiaroscuro of the costumes and set design, taking full advantage of the ever-present Spanish sunlight. But one of the most delightful elements of Stella Cadente lies in Minarro’s genius use of music, especially during a wonderful interlude in the second Act which is guaranteed to put a smile on even the most jaded viewer’s face (you’ll know it when you see it). It’s this kind of savvy but expertly timed irreverence that makes the film such a magnificently unexpected surprise and will make you wish you’d had the opportunity to watch it on a big screen. Highly recommended – this has to be a very late contender for one of the most enjoyable DVD releases of 2016.

STELLA CADENTE / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: LLUÍS MIÑARRO / SCREENPLAY: LLUÍS MIÑARRO, SERGE BELBEL / STARRING: ALEX BRENDEMÜHL, BÁRBARA LENNIE, LORENZO BALDUCCI / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW