Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

Billy Wilder is one of cinema’s landmark figures. An auteur who carved a truly decadent and expansive career, consistently pushing the creative and thematic envelope in the process. For the initial thirty years of his craft, Wilder would be keen to take that additional step; forever questioning the boundaries and limitations of his art form. Although his narratives were largely whimsical in tone and spirit, there was a distinctly adult aesthetic to the production, and its filmic structure was largely audacious.

With this in mind, if any studio-system filmmaker would make a successful transition to the developmental landscape of ’60s and ’70s Americana – home to the blossoming new blockbuster and waves of contract-free stars – it would be him. However, history was written in an entirely different form. Having initially directed a feature film per year from 1942 until 1966, Wilder’s productivity, and sadly quality, dramatically plummeted.

However in 1978 he helmed an ode to the industry he dedicated so much time to, and in the end, somewhat cast him astray with Fedora; a tingling, vibrant and coyly funny observation of Hollywood movie-making. In 2016, the film finally lands a much-deserved Blu-ray release courtesy of Eureka’s divine Masters of Cinema retrospective, which prides itself on sourcing the lesser-known or appreciated titles from the industry’s rich banquet of directorial talent.

Now it is important to establish that Fedora is no masterpiece. In fact, it is a far-cry from Wilder’s finest work. Films such as 1944’s Double Indemnity, 1950’s Sunset Boulevard and 1960’s The Apartment are of a significantly higher quality in virtually every department. However there is a beguiling charm to his penultimate film; it is sage and sincere – thoughtful yet unusual. It is the product of a director entirely aware the industry he largely helped revolutionise now no longer requires his assistance. That sounds exceptionally gloomy we know, but the final product is quite the opposite.

Similar to his own Sunset Boulevard in structure and style, the film opens with a death and proceeds into a thick sensory recalling of past events, excellently narrated by star William Holden. He plays Barry Detweiler, a down-on-his-luck movie producer who arrives in Greece to locate the titular Fedora (Marthe Keller), an enigmatic star now in retirement. Barry is keen to pull her from unemployment and cast her in his adaptation of the classic novel “Anna Karenina”. However, it isn’t long before things get seriously complicated and well, rather weird. Fedora now resides on a plush private island, with a small group of associates of whom Barry soon begins to suspect is holding the star against her will. To detail any further would taint the film’s experience as it relies heavily on a major, if predictable, twist that alters the landscape for the core duo and those in their direct influence.

The transition to Blu-ray is seamless. Eureka has done a marvellous job at retaining the rich colour palette of Wilder’s film, using digitalisation to really heighten the visual and tonal experience. The print is clean and packed with excellent detail, and viewers have the option to watch a short restoration demonstration which shows just how great the transitional quality is. Much like many of the other Masters of Cinema titles, the audio is fantastic, too. Even when they are challenged with a silent film (this author owns many of their Fritz Lang entries in particular), they are able to preserve and further the medium, even when audio is entirely absent.

It is a slightly different story in regards to extras, however. For a film with such a messy and troubled production history, it would have been nice to receive a more extensive look at the processes and implications of Fedora as opposed to a small assortment of deleted scenes; most of which are extremely grainy in quality. Still, like with all of Eureka’s releases, buyers will gain a detailed essay booklet with their purchase which offers further information about the film, its director and the influences Fedora has had upon the industry since the late ’70s.

For those interested in portraits of studio filmmaking, there are few directors who can better Wilder. Even today it is a subject which fascinates and fixates audiences, but for the richest experience, it is best to take a step back rather than ahead. Whilst Sunset Boulevard is unquestionably the superior title, there is still plenty to enjoy with Fedora, and it isn’t likely to gain a finer, more authentic release than this.

Special Features: Deleted Scenes / English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired / Restoration Companion / Booklet featuring a new essay by film scholar Neil Sinyard, a new essay by critic and filmmaker David Cairns, a vintage piece of the film’s production, and archival imagery.

FEDORA (1978) / CERT: PG  / DIRECTOR: BILLY WILDER / SCREENPLAY: BILLY WILDER, I.A.L. DIAMOND / STARS: WILLIAM HOLDEN, MARTHE KELLER, HILDEGARD KNEF, JOSÉ FERRER / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

Before Pride and Prejudice, A Very Peculiar Practice, or even To Serve The All My Days, there was in autumn 1979 at 6pm on Sunday evenings serial a “sumptuous adaptation (according to the DVD sleeve) of the timeless saga” of King Arthur, written by 43-year-old Welsh lecturer moving into full-time television writing, Andrew Davies.

The Legend of King Arthur is only “sumptuous” if you consider the less prestigious productions of 1970s BBC1 as such; recorded in the usual combination of film for location and multi-camera videotape for studio, the serial looks well enough by comparison with similar programming, but by today’s standards is rather stagey and slow-moving. Indeed, Davies’ original (as in non-adapted) take on the legend looks and feels very much like one of the BBC’s contemporaneous Shakespeare adaptations. Rather than concentrating on the mythical king’s supremacy over the Saxons – a theme which does get raised towards the end – Davies constructs a political pot-boiler very much at one with the Bard’s, in which across eight half-hour instalments Arthur’s half-sister Morgan tightens a net around her born to be successful brother.

The first episode sets the scene, with the birth of Arthur to Morgan’s mother Igrayne, witnessed by a horrified eleven-year-old Patsy Kensit after Uther Pendragon has slain her father and usurped his marital position. Arthur then grows up under Merlin’s tutelage, eventually to remove one famous sword from its stone and recover an even more celebrated sword from a lake, and take his rightful position as Pendragon’s heir upon the throne of Britain – and briefly create “God’s kingdom on Earth” out of the Dark Ages.

The second episode jumps forward to Arthur’s courtship of Guinevere and the arrival of his revengeful half-sister, now played by ex-Doctor Who companion Maureen O’Brien. What follows is, but for a brief interlude for a cursory search for the Holy Grail, the story of Guinevere’s chaste relationship with Lancelot, and Morgan’s manipulation of Mordred and his brothers, and how the two plot strands come together to eventually seal Arthur’s fate. Merlin, almost as a necessity, goes to a watery grave (foreshadowing Arthur’s own funeral) a quarter of the way through.

The script, staging and acting are all very much as you might expect from the glory days of the BBC’s classical and historical output, with a fine cast giving generally nuanced performances in spite of an over-abundance of theatrical projection. O’Brien is perhaps miscast as a slightly too fey Morgan, but Andrew Burt makes a very natural Arthur, combining practicality and modesty with enough of a hint of regality to convince you of his eminence. The rest of the principal players, whether stolid and heroic like David Robb as Lancelot, plebeian and big-hearted like Godfrey James’ Bors, or politicised and conniving like Steve Hodson’s Mordred, more than match what Davies’ words ask of them.

The fight sequences, of which there seems to be an obligatory one per episode, might look rather quaint and innocuous to modern eyes, and Dudley Simpson’s score less lush than we are nowadays accustomed to, but the courtly shenanigans are as absorbing as they were in Davies’ later The House of Cards, and The Legend of King Arthur is somewhat of an underrated classic of its type, absolutely ripe for reappraisal.

Special Features: None

THE LEGEND OF KING ARTHUR: THE COMPLETE SERIES / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: RODNEY BENNETT / SCREENPLAY: ANDREW DAVIES / STARRING: ANDREW BURT, DAVID ROBB, FELICITY DEAN, MAUREEN O’BRIEN, GODFREY JAMES, STEVE HODSON, GEOFFREY BATEMAN, ROBERT EDDISON / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Vikings is an Irish-Canadian historical drama television series written and created by Michael Hirst for the television channel History. While the lavish sets and costumes are impressive, it is the scheming between the various allies and enemies that keep viewers hooked on this historic soap opera. The best way to describe the series would be like Game of Thrones but based, somewhat, on real history.

Filmed in Ireland, Vikings is inspired by the sagas of Viking king Ragnar Lothbrok, one of the best-known legendary Norse heroes and notorious as the scourge of England and France. In the first series Ragnar begins as a farmer who rises to fame by successful raids in the west and by season three rises to position of a Scandinavian king. He is supported by his family and fellow warriors: his younger brother Rollo, his son Björn Ironside, and his wives—the shieldmaiden, Lagertha, and the princess (later Queen) Aslaug.

The fourth season of the Canadian-Irish historical drama television series Vikings picks up where the third season left off. After seizing victory from the jaws of defeat in Paris, Ragnar returns to Kattegat dangerously ill and rumours of his imminent death galvanize the forces who seek to succeed him as king: including his second wife Queen Aslaug and his oldest son, Bjorn. Meanwhile, Ragnar’s first wife, Lagertha, continues power struggles with her calculating former second in command, Kalf. All the while Rollo, Ragnars’ younger brother, betrays (or perhaps lives up to) his Vikings heritage by remaining in Frankia in a plan to defeat his brother in battle and Floki is seized for murdering the Christian priest Athelstan.

The DVD release benefits from some excellent extras including a commentary provided by series creator Michael Hirst on the episode “The Last Ship”. There is also a good feature that looks at the transformation of Rollo’s character throughout the series.

VIKINGS: SEASON 4 PART 1 / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: VARIOUS / SCREENPLAY: MICHAEL HIRST / STARRING: TRAVIS FIMMEL, KATHERYN WINNICK, CLIVE STANDEN, GUSTAF SKARSGARD, ALEXANDER LUDWIG / RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 24TH

Vikings is an Irish-Canadian historical drama television series written and created by Michael Hirst for the television channel History. While the lavish sets and costumes are impressive, it is the scheming between the various allies and enemies that keep viewers hooked on this historic soap opera. The best way to describe the series would be like Game of Thrones but based, somewhat, on real history.

Filmed in Ireland, Vikings is inspired by the sagas of Viking king Ragnar Lothbrok, one of the best-known legendary Norse heroes and notorious as the scourge of England and France. In the first series Ragnar begins as a farmer who rises to fame by successful raids in the west and by season three rises to position of a Scandinavian king. He is supported by his family and fellow warriors: his younger brother Rollo, his son Björn Ironside, and his wives—the shieldmaiden, Lagertha, and the princess (later Queen) Aslaug.

The fourth season of the Canadian-Irish historical drama television series Vikings picks up where the third season left off. After seizing victory from the jaws of defeat in Paris, Ragnar returns to Kattegat dangerously ill and rumours of his imminent death galvanize the forces who seek to succeed him as king: including his second wife Queen Aslaug and his oldest son, Bjorn. Meanwhile, Ragnar’s first wife, Lagertha, continues power struggles with her calculating former second in command, Kalf. All the while Rollo, Ragnars’ younger brother, betrays (or perhaps lives up to) his Vikings heritage by remaining in Frankia in a plan to defeat his brother in battle and Floki is seized for murdering the Christian priest Athelstan.

The DVD release benefits from some excellent extras including a commentary provided by series creator Michael Hirst on the episode “The Last Ship”. There is also a good feature that looks at the transformation of Rollo’s character throughout the series.

VIKINGS: SEASON 4 PART 1 / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: VARIOUS / SCREENPLAY: MICHAEL HIRST / STARRING: TRAVIS FIMMEL, KATHERYN WINNICK, CLIVE STANDEN, GUSTAF SKARSGARD, ALEXANDER LUDWIG / RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 24TH

Once upon a time there was a handsome artist called Thomas (Ethan Peck) who has spent his adult life having some pretty freaky dreams about a Sleeping Beauty (India Eisley) who can only be awoken with a kiss. When Thomas inherits a creepy old mansion from a relative he didn’t even know existed, he quickly teams up with real estate agent Linda (Natalie Hall) who tells him about all the people who have mysteriously disappeared inside, including her own brother. After searching the mansion, discovering a secret room and being attacked by mannequins and a sinister creature known as the ‘veiled demon’, Ethan and Linda enlist the help of paranormal investigator Richard (Bruce Davison, phoning in a watered-down version of the character he played in Rob Zombie’s excellent The Lords of Salem) and technobrat code-breaker Daniel (James Adam Lim) to find out what’s going on. The bottom line? Thomas is the victim of a family curse that can only be broken by kissing and waking up the Sleeping Beauty who, it turns out, is being held prisoner somewhere within the mansion’s walls. Will he find her? Will we stay awake long enough to find out? And will the game-changing shocker of an ending be worth the wait?

On paper, fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty should make an excellent basis for a horror movie. There’s an intrinsic and primal darkness within the Brothers Grimm’s original story that is just begging for the opportunity to scare the hell out of us. But with The Curse of Sleeping Beauty, director and co-writer Pearry Reginald Teo has really jumped the spinning wheel. It’s obvious from the opening dream sequence that he wants to make a film reminiscent of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth with touches of Tarsem Singh’s The Cell, but it’s equally obvious, from the very first moments, that he’s badly over-reaching himself. TCoSB is a mess with only two redeeming features – Alessandro Marvelli’s production design and Scott Glasgow’s fragile and occasionally beautiful musical score – and Teo even fumbles Marvelli’s hard work by shooting in so much darkness we can barely comprehend what’s going on.

The screenplay is a car-crash, littered with portentous flimflam about the djinn, the Crusades, the end of the world, and with dialogue that’s so laughably heavy-handed it would even give Basil Exposition a seizure. As a leading man, Peck has none of his grandfather Gregory’s charisma (or acting ability) and India Eisley comes over less like a Sleeping Beauty and more like an Emo-teenager who fell asleep during a Halloween party. She really doesn’t have very much to do until the last few minutes, and she’s woefully unconvincing when she does it. Unsurprisingly, only Bruce Davison gives a half-way decent performance and even that isn’t worth the price of suffering through this horribly uninspired dreck. And Doctor Who fans will have a lot to roll their eyes about when they see the mannequins… weeping angels, anybody?

We’ve got a feeling that TCoSB would make a great cure for insomnia, which is kind of ironic when you think about it.

1 star for Marvelli’s designs and 2 stars for Glasgow’s soundtrack.

THE CURSE OF SLEEPING BEAUTY / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: PEARRY REGINALD TEO / SCREENPLAY: JOSH NADLER, PEARRY REGINALD TEO / STARRING: ETHAN PECK, INDIA EISLEY, NATALIE HALL, BRUCE DAVISON, JAMES ADAM LIN, ZACK WARD / RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 24TH

There is something strangely familiar about Remainder, and yet also curiously original – as if your full understanding of what is going on is just beyond your reach. Conceptually, there is no doubt it is an impressive piece of work, but as a film, it just doesn’t quite hold together well enough.

Tom (Sturridge) loses his memory when the sky quite literally falls on him. Operation follows operation, and after months of rehabilitation, he re-enters society, albeit without the faintest clue what happened to him, or what his life was like before the incident. When the unnamed company responsible make him a compensatory offer of millions of pounds, he begins to reconstruct a new reality based on the fragments of his memory.

With Remainder, director Omar Best tests the patience of his audience by denying any real insight or clue into what is really going on. So much is initially ambiguous, so much confused by an intentional smokescreen of strangeness that you feel yourself being unavoidably disarmed. As much as you might hope to get a handle on the plot, this becomes a futile exercise before the narrative begins to slowly cohere in the final act. When it does the ambition of the movie becomes evident. This isn’t a film of moments, of neatly scripted scenes that stand out on their own. This is a film that only makes sense as a whole and for their refusal to conform to any Hollywood simplicity the filmmakers must be applauded.

The issues come for the same reasons that make it so interesting. There is a cold distance to the performances, almost as if the director has asked his cast to act as uniformly ‘grey’ as possible. There is little variety or development in any of the characters and this flat blandness, while contributing to the overall intrigue, gives the film a very sterile feel. Never do you have an emotional response to what you’re watching, something reflected in the protagonist Tom who travels through the film with an aura of malevolent disinterest, single-minded in his goal at the expense of any approachability.

Despite its flaws, and in many ways because of them, Remainder is a film worth seeking out. When everything does finally come together you get a sense of what the director is striving for but be prepared for an element of frustration, however much you may enjoy its inherent complexity.

REMAINDER / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: OMER FAST / STARRING: TOM STURRIDGE, CUSH JUMBO, ED SPELEERS, ASHER ALI / RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 24TH

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is the sequel to 2014’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That earlier feature didn’t seem to be about the popular altered animals, being more of a generic action CGI-fest. Luckily, this new movie is a vast improvement.

The Turtles have had an interesting journey as a franchise. Eastman and Laird’s original comic strip was a dark and moody parody of ‘80s comic books, with hyper-violence and angst added to the mix for good measure. The popularity of the amphibious brothers grew like wildfire in ‘80s, and the mutants changed into something more family-friendly and relatable. This culminated in the live-action movies of the ‘90s, which featured singing, dancing and a distinct lack of martial arts violence.

Since then, subsequent versions of the Turtles have tried to balance all the various elements of the franchise. The cartoon series tend to stick to the comics, building on ideas from earlier cartoons and spin-off media. The current IDW comic book series blends the violence of the original comics with the goofy charm of the cartoons, toy range and even the movies. The 2014 movie didn’t try to do any of this; it simply attempted to emulate the same notes of Michael Bay’s successful Transformers action movie franchise, and was a huge mess.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is more of a blended approach. The movie opens with the Turtles still being outsiders. Despite saving the city of New York, they still lurk, ninja-like, in the shadows. They fear humanity and humanity returns the favour. Being teenagers though, they still want to hang out and have fun. This leads to fun scenes at the start with the Turtles sneaking in to watch a live basketball game, just like any other New Yorker, whilst also hiding. Things change when Shredder is let loose on the city yet again, this time with a scheme so outlandish that it feels like a proper piece of comic book fun. Better yet, Shredder is portrayed as the scary bad-ass villain he’s meant to be, rather than just some fool in a fancy metal suit.

The interplay between the brothers is much improved. Raphael no longer seems like a steroid-driven muscle-head, Michelangelo is genuinely funny, Leonardo takes himself too seriously, and Donnie is still a nerd first and a ninja second. Even Megan Fox’s role as April O’Neil is slightly more credible, partially because she actually does something in this movie. Stephen Amell makes a welcome debut as Casey Jones and plays a convincing vigilante. The stars of this movie, however, are Gary Anthony Williams and WWE wrestler Sheamus, who play Be-Pop and Rocksteady. The movie brings together the two elements that make them work as villains – Happy-Go-Lucky idiots who also happen to be utterly deadly murderers. Funny and fearsome in equal measure, the pair really bring Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows into the light. This is a fun feature, go take a look.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: DAVE GREEN / SCREENPLAY: JOSH APPELBAUM, ANDRE NEMEC / STARRING: MEGAN FOX, WILL ARNETT, STEPHEN AMELL, NOEL FISHER, JEREMY HOWARD, PETE PLOSZEK, ALAN RITCHSON, BRIAN TEE GARY ANTHONY WILLIAMS, STEPHEN FARRELLY (AKA SHEAMUS) / RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 24TH

Some films come to attain a reputation before they even arrive, case in point with films like Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger and Roger Christian’s Battlefield Earth, though sometimes these reputations tarnish what is actually an enjoyable picture (the former example), however many times the rotten reception is wholly justified (the latter example). And this year it seems that Alex Proyas’ (The Crow, Dark City) ancient spectacle Gods of Egypt had a similar reputation for being the year’s worst movie before even arriving here in the UK. From racial casting controversies (for which Proyas apologized) to the corresponding responses to the reviews by Proyas, who called critics “diseased vultures” and accused them of following the pack. Sometimes this may be true and this reviewer certainly respects any filmmaker for making a picture but when all is said and done, was his film really harshly criticized fun or truly the worst thing to happen to Egypt since Yahweh went a bit OTT with his plagues? 

The story, set in an alternate ancient Egypt, sees the masses ruled over by shape shifting gods who live among us. The film really centres on young thief Bek (Brenton Thwaites) and his faithful love Zaya (Courtney Eaton), as they attend the coronation of a new king. But as Horus the god of Air (Coster-Waldau) is about to be crowned; he is surprised by the return of his brother Set the God of Darkness (Gerard Butler), who initially seems to be wishing his family well, until he aggressively strikes to attain the crown for himself. Set’s ascension to the throne, throws Egypt and its people into fear and strife and when Zaya is hurled into a deadly situation, Bek must seek ought the vanquished Horus to help him save Egypt, Zaya and the world. As fantastical yarns go, this ancient Egyptian epic could have been great or at least cheesily enjoyable (The Mummy Returns) but has not got the knowing wit or structure to sustain your entertainment or enjoyment.

The aforementioned reviews hoopla does lead you to think that this is going to be must see bad, when in actual fact, it is just a misfire that is overlong and unsure of its direction. Proyas’ film has good intentions of the heart and some visually interesting moments but never knows whether to play it straight or silly and consequently the script is often jarring and the jokes bomb. The CGI is hit and miss too, never falling into London Has Fallen bad but never really glistening to the level expected of a $140 million movie. To say Proyas has assembled some talented people and some interesting mythos, the film – barring the odd set piece – is too muddled to capitalize on many ideas and the performances are poor on the most part. Thwaites is charming enough but Coster-Waldau is left stranded by the script’s lack of tone and structure and Butler’s baddie is hilarious in the wrong ways (that accent) Oh and Black Panther Chadwick Boseman turns up uber camp as Thoth the God of Wisdom, while a bald Geoffrey Rush shouts at a beast every now and again too.

That being said, Gods of Egypt is not as offensively bad as some and while it is directionless, at the ideas stage there could have been something fun here, as Marco Beltrami’s great score and the costume and make up design shows. A bad film yes but far from the worst film you’ll ever see, hell it is not even the worst film this year – as anyone who has also sat through the risible Dirty Grandpa will tell you. Alex Proyas should be commended for wanting to craft his own mythology using rich Egyptian storytelling and blockbusting ideas but the film is unsure of its tone, structure and purpose. Gods of Egypt is just an overblown mess, albeit an intermittently watchable one and unlike the recent Fantastic Four it is not completely joyless but is undisciplined and unstructured. In the end it is an unfortunate muddle of a movie that both manages to be expensive and inexpensive. A case of being all dressed up with nowhere to go really.

Special Features: Featurettes / Deleted Storyboards 

GODS OF EGYPT / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: ALEX PROYAS / SCREENPLAY: MATT SAZAMA, BURK SHARPLESS / STARRING: NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU, GERARD BUTLER, CHADWICK BOSEMAN, BRENTON THWAITES, GEOFFREY RUSH / RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 24TH

If someone was to describe NBC’s Blindspot to you, you would naturally assume that this was a show that was stealing familiar elements from such a diverse range of sources as Bourne, Total Recall, The X-Files, Alias, and so on. We have an amnesiac woman named ‘Jane Doe’ covered in tattoos that solve mysteries, so its up to her, Kurt Weller and his FBI team to solve them and uncover the truth about her past. While it is true that the premise isn’t entirely original, what we have here is still an entertaining show, despite some major faults along the way. Like the tattoos covering our entire anti-heroine’s body, this is a show about mystery and deception, which is something that series creator Martin Gero and his writing team would have great fun in by pushing our suspension of disbelief to its very boundaries. For the most part, the show manages to keep those mysteries compelling and engaging in order for us to eagerly see what will come next in later episodes, even if a lot of the mysteries, conspiracies and character motivations end up feeling somewhat contrived or occasionally repeated to hammer home the point its trying to make.

And this perfectly highlights the biggest problem this series suffers from the most: padding. This show is loaded to the gills with it by having a lot of filler episodes or pointless characters, subplots or sequences, crammed in and repeated constantly throughout, like the conspiracy surrounding the disappearance of Taylor Shaw, Zapata’s personal struggles, Reade dating Weller’s sister, Mayfair’s involvement with the anonymous Project Daylight, and so on. It’s the TV equivalent of overusing slow motion in a movie; this series would be half its length without of all the superfluous additions that could’ve easily have been excised. As it stands, it feels like a 12-episode series that had been extended to 23, and unfortunately, its momentum can be lost along the way.

Having said that though, there is still enjoyment to be found, and a lot of that can be found its uniformly solid cast, who all manage to convey the complexity and intrigue of the characters they are playing, as well as delivering the exposition with enough credibility without falling into the realms of the ludicrous and the annoying. Jaimie Alexander is solidly efficient as the mysterious Jane, displaying a unique combination of vulnerability and strength, whilst Sullivan Stapleton manages to make Weller an interesting protagonist with depth and authority without making him completely dull. While there can be good character moments for our two central players, they do tend to be a bit on the bland side thanks to the pointless padding and contrived motivations.

In regards to the supporting players, the real standout, and in fact the true underlying heart of show, is the adorkable Agent Patterson, played with genuine likeability and pathos by the extremely talented Ashley Johnson (her of Critical Role and The Last of Us fame). Patterson is the character that goes through the most development over the course of the series, starting out as a quirky scientist who, by the end, transitions into a woman who nobly stood up to evil. True, her comedy can be seen as predictable, but she definitely brought some much-needed humour during the darker turns of the season. In fact, her subplots are actually much more investing than the main plots of the episodes, and because she goes through the most changes, it’s entirely plausible to see her as the actual main character instead of Jane or Weller.

Blindspot is a flawed series undeniably, but it still manages to be an entertaining popcorn thrillride that’s mostly fun and engaging. The concept of having a new reveal or mystery every episode is an interesting idea despite the overall concept being somewhat unoriginal, but it keeps us invested in both the events that transpire and the characters involved. Plus, credit to Gero and his writers for using misdirections to keep us from guessing what the real plan entails, even if the execution is sometimes deeply questionable. True, the relentless padding can be annoying, but overall, it’s still entertainingly good fun, though it could’ve easily have been shortened and spruced up quite a bit.

BLINDSPOT – THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON / CERT: 15 / CREATOR: MARTIN GERO / STARRING: SULLIVAN STAPLETON, JAIME ALEXANDER, ROB BROWN, AUDREY ESPARZA, ASHLEY JOHNSON / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

It is Alexander’s (Erland Josephson) birthday. Once an accomplished actor, he has abandoned the theatre to concentrate on journalism and a career lecturing in aesthetics. He lives by the sea; in a house he shares with his wife Adelaide (Susan Fleetwood), stepdaughter Marta (Filippa Franzen) and ‘Little Man’, his young son who has been rendered temporarily mute following a throat operation. Alexander muses on the past, and describes his relationship with God as non-existent, but the thundering of fighter jets flying low above their house is about to shake Alexander out of his reverie. When a news programme announces an impending nuclear holocaust, Alexander promises God that he will sacrifice everyone he loves if the crisis can be averted. When his friend Otto, who dabbles in parapsychology, tells Alexander that his maid Maria is a witch, and that he should sleep with her, Maria takes her confused employer into her bed. But as they lie together, and the bed begins to revolve and float inexplicably up into the air, the seeds of Alexander’s undoing have already been sown. Alexander is about to sacrifice everything he possesses.

The Sacrifice was Andrei Tarkovsky’s last film, and it is a true testament to his genius as a filmmaker. With its theatrical misé en scene and languorous pacing, it feels more like a collection of very delicate character studies than a complete narrative, a tone which is set from the opening scene, when the father and son plant a tree beside the beach and Alexander monologues about how he and Adelaide first discovered their lovely house. As with all of Tarkovsky’s films, The Sacrifice is beautiful to look at, with moments that are eerily disconcerting – the brief black and white flashbacks especially. And the nervy pre-coital meeting between Alexander and Maria, and the scenes that follow, are masterpieces of cinema.

Curzon’s two-disc presentation includes an audio commentary by Layla Alexander-Garrett and, on disc two, a fascinating glimpse inside Andrei Tarkovsky’s Metaphysical Dream Zone. This is exquisite filmmaking, and very highly recommended.

THE SACRIFICE (1986) / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: ANDREI TARKOVSKY / STARRING: ERLAND JOSEPHSON, SUSAN FLEETWOOD, FILIPPA FRANZEN / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW