HANNIBAL SEASON 3

At the end of Season Two of Hannibal, the titular sociopathic psychiatrist severed the ties (pun intended) with soul mate Will Graham. As intriguingly voyeuristic as that relationship was it had to come to an end; and come to a bloody end it did. The beginning of Season Three finds Hannibal Lecter (Mikkelsen) exploring Europe with his part victim, part intellectual muse Bedelia (Anderson) and continuing his macabre, operatically murderous existence more publicly than ever. Someone is going to notice.

The third and final season of what is undoubtedly one of the most stylish television series ever conceived contains all the elements you’ve grown to love. The stunning beauty of the design is matched only by the glorious locations, with Paris and Florence adding considerable weight to an aesthetic already overflowing with sumptuous splendour. Architecture and art provide a backdrop to something that was missing for large parts of the previous seasons; Hannibal being Hannibal. The darker side of the anti-hero (and who doesn’t love him?) comes to the fore as he slays his victims, with the breathy Bedelia watching on.

Sadly, for the most part, the elements that frustrate also continue in this series. Langorous scene setting and culinary pre-amble at times serve to draw you out of the action and while part of showrunner Bryan Fuller’s vision, become just a little too ponderous. Anyone not entirely enraptured with Hannibal’s narrative style will find themselves blowing out the cheeks on more than one occasion. 

The introduction of a new character does add some impetus and gives the lead characters something new to focus on aside from their own psychological duelling. The Tooth Fairy (Armitage) challenges the existing status quo and provides a fitting, highly competent new protagonist. Those familiar with the series source book Red Dragon will be familiar with the story’s arc but the finale is still both shocking and strangely poetic.

If there are to be no more episodes, and the likelihood is that there will not, then Hannibal will be remembered as something unique in this new golden age of television. Police procedural dramas are frustratingly common but none have captured the abhorrent, yet compelling beauty of the serial killer’s art quite like Fuller’s Hannibal. Perhaps too pompous and overwrought at times, perhaps even occasional too slow of pace, Hannibal has never been anything other than a visual feast wrapped around an unpredictable battle of intellect. And rarely will actors so inhabit roles made famous by others to such a degree that any previous incarnations fade in the memory.

Perhaps in the future Hannibal will have plans to call on us again.

HANNIBAL – SEASON 3 / CERT: 18 / CREATOR: BRYAN FULLER / STARRING: MADS MIKKELSEN, HUGH DANCY, LAURENCE FISHBURNE, GILLIAN ANDERSON / RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 19TH

V/H/S: VIRAL

The anthology film is by its very nature a pick n’ mix and thus a hard nut to crack (changing tastes and all that), although the likes of Trick ‘r’ Treat and the original V/H/S show it is possible. And after the unfortunately uneven V/H/S/2 (Gareth Evans’ Safe Haven was a cracker though), hopes were relatively high for this third outing in the V/H/S series. V/H/S: Viral had the potential to either be a great jump to Internet culture for the nostalgia-based found footage anthology series, or would maybe play out like a less funny episode of Rude Tube. Sadly it ends up as neither because (maybe there is some misunderstood, genre-transforming classic here but) all we saw was a complete mess of a film. The talented minds behind VHS: Viral and the new age direction (a little at odds with the core concept admittedly) promised bravado but the film mistakes bravado for bullshit.

The main story, if you can place it under that definition, sees Kevin (Patrick Lawrie) obsess over filming his girlfriend Iris (Emilia Zoryan), and as a passing media showered police car chase takes place Kevin sees his chance for fame, only for some unexplained things to start happening. In-between this, the film plays 3 short films – Dante the Great, Parallel Monsters and Bonestorm. Shame then that though ideas are sprinkled throughout, this whole film is a shoddily assembled allegory on the modern day pursuit of viral fame, which in the end makes little to no sense. In distorting the narrative to an irksome degree like this, a film needs a reason for doing so or a payoff that leaves you thinking. In the case of VHS: Viral there is no endgame, everything is done in pursuit of making the film “cool” or “shocking” but it is just all over the place… and not in a good way.

Screen distortion and found footage (though this film is not really “found” footage) go together like inflated ego and Kanye West but this sequel abuses the technique in the first 5 minutes. It is a hand to be played at certain times for a particular effect, but like everything else here it all feels like a desperate attempt to give the film edge and grit (and makes no sense considering these cameras being digital), and by the end of its 81-minute duration (which drags) you are more vexed by the film than you are entertained. The worst offender is Marcel Sarmiento’s (D is For Dogfight in The ABCs of Death) wraparound Vicious Circles, which features hardly any characterisation and no coherence. As well as simply pointless scenes of padding that don’t even lead into the short films. There are so many talented people at work here that it is heartbreaking to behold a film that is like a jigsaw where all the pieces are the wrong size.

Anthologies are bound to be random but must at least adhere (as the past two V/H/S films did) to a universal theme. In the case of this franchise it should be the chosen found footage approach – by all means risks ought to be taken but the first short Dante the Great right off the bat rebels against the unwritten laws of the series. It feels too polished, abandons the bite that makes V/H/S work, and although there is genuinely interesting story potential here, it is scuppered by the fact Dante does not fit in and feels partially developed. That is followed by the initially intriguing sci-fi/horror Parallel Monsters, which has a promising start before descending into an unintentionally comical shadow of the creepy cultish trappings of Safe Haven. It comes over like an eroticised rip-off of The Thing (sarlaac-like penises and monstrous minges notwithstanding) and yet still feels tame. And then there is Bonestorm that is as if an Army of Darkness fan and MTV viewer saw Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones and thought “lets do this, it’ll be easy”. Promising POV skater camera shots cannot redeem hateful characters, a half-cooked story and recycled gags.

It feels cruel to attack a film that took only 7 days to shoot but it shows, not because of the budgetary constraints but because of the unstructured stories, characters and overall mess. The fact that the directors involved have given us the likes of Timecrimes and Resolution is just upsetting because this film is a terrible entry into this flawed but fascinating series. The saving grace is that these directors will be back with bigger and better works in the future. If V/H/S hopes to say the same it needs to return to atmosphere, tighter storytelling and messages that make you think, instead of feeble half-arsed satire (which is evident only due to ‘viral’ being in the title and being tirelessly repeated throughout) hidden beneath unbearable characters and unwatchable attempts at edgy art. It all, sadly, does not work, and to think Todd Lincoln’s short Gorgeous Vortex was cut from the cinema release due to not fitting in with the film? And the others did? Dispiritingly disappointing sequel that makes you want to eject more than upload.

V/H/S: VIRAL / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: NACHO VIGALONDO, MARCEL SARMIENTO, AARON MOORHEAD, JUSTIN BENSON, GREGG BISHOP, TODD LINCOLN / SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: PATRICK LAWRIE, EMILIA ZORYAN, JUSTIN WELBORN, GUSTAVO SALMERON, / RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 19TH

 

JURASSIC WORLD

“Welcome to Jurassic Park”, so was the iconic line uttered by the late great Richard Attenborough in Steven Spielberg’s revered adaptation of Michael Crichton’s exciting novel. Since 1993 a lot has changed; where Spielberg spellbound with his use of special effects, nowadays even costume dramas have been known to digitally fiddle and whereas before the rustling bushes of large enclosures was enough to edge audiences to the periphery of their seat, now it seems that people want to see more and see it bigger. This is one of the points picked upon in Colin Trevorrow’s (Safety Not Guaranteed) long gestating fourth film in the Jurassic Park franchise. For years, studios, directors, casts and crew have debated about the direction of the next Jurassic adventure. After Joe Johnson’s fun but throwaway Jurassic Park III the future was uncertain, but in a truly ironic turn of events this summer, dinosaurs proved to be alive and well, as Jurassic World broke box office records and became the highest grossing film of this year so far (cue ominous lightsaber swoosh sound effects).

This sequel is based 22 years after the original and set in an all-new thriving theme park, Jurassic World, on Isla Nublar. The park’s operations manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) is too busy with the day-to-day activities to spend time with her visiting nephews. However, when the park’s soon-to-be-unveiled new attraction – the genetically-created new species, the Indominus Rex – escapes the enclosure, all hell literally breaks loose. Dearing must team up with the park’s velociraptor trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) to find her nephews and try and find a way to stop this ultimate predator. The plot knowingly links to all that came before. However, while similar – Michael Giacchino’s score is indebted to Williams’ iconic beats – Jurassic World is the same story of tampering with nature with a very upgraded skin. 

Trevorrow’s film is all about the pursuit of profit through scale and the conflict between less is more and bigger is better. The characters and story openly acknowledges that “you can’t beat the original”, so instead Trevorrow’s film simply tries to upgrade it and mostly succeeds, albeit with some expected issues. Jurassic World, with its island-wide park and huge Disneyland-like scale, arguably is the best film of the entire series to capture the largeness of the source material and revel in the danger of enclosing so many titans of nature together. Trevorrow has an eye for chaos and building up to it, and he delivers on the ferocious reptilian set pieces. True, the film does venture into the ridiculous – raptor training, a logic defying climax – but after all, this is a film about a theme park full of dinosaurs! 

The biggest single problem with the film is its characters. Dallas Howard’s lead is particularly cold, not to mention the sexual politics of her character are questionable. This in turn creates a forced chemistry with the roguish Owen that is irrational, and some may find it more than a tad patronising. Pratt and Dallas Howard are fine in their roles but the characters themselves lack the memorability of the original’s – and even parts 2 and 3 – crew of leads, not to mention the likeability. Only Jake Johnson’s control room worker, Lowery Cruthers, seems to boast notable charisma. Now in a film of this kind this is not as damning a flaw as it could be, but what helped make Jurassic Park so iconic was not just the spectacle but the human faces behind it – Dr. Ian Malcolm… whatta guy.

Still, charactoral flaws aside, Jurassic World is spectacular entertainment that is ridiculous but in the right way and a very enjoyable renovation. Although one of the best things about the film is something that everybody seems to have overlooked and that makes the other issues less of a bitter pill to swallow – the ideology. The film, of course, toys with the aforementioned ideas of going bigger to satisfy the modern day consumer, but Trevorrow’s film has an understatedly contemporary animal rights backbone and this is what elevates its standing. This on-screen theme park is a constant and keen comment on animal captivity issues and abuses of parks like SeaWorld (watch Blackfish), which is a timely conservationist edge showing there’s brains behind the teeth. 

Jurassic World isn’t a perfect sequel, the characters are problematical and the plot occasionally defies logic, but the grand sense of Crichton’s source novel is done justice. Plus the film’s openness to modern day trends and its gratifying pushing of present animal abuse themes adds an extra layer to the sights, nostalgia and excellent action. This film is smarter than it appears and while some may not like the approach, this is a worthy sequel and a fun night’s viewing that delivers exactly what it was expected to – dinosaurs, theme park carnage and DNA tinkerers buggering up… again!

Special Features: Chris & Colin Take On The “World” / Barbasol Content / Welcome to Jurassic World / Dinosaurs Roam Once Again / The Control Room / Innovation Center Tour with Chris Pratt and Dinosaurs Roam Once Again / Deleted Scenes

JURASSIC WORLD / CERT: 12A / DIRECTOR: COLIN TREVORROW / SCREENPLAY: RICK JAFFA, AMANDA SILVER, COLIN TREVOROW, DEREK CONNOLLY / STARRING: CHRIS PRATT, BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD, TY SIMPKINS, NICK ROBINSON, IRRFAN KHAN, JAKE JOHNSON / RELEASE DATE: 19TH OCTOBER
 
 

GRAVITY: SPECIAL EDITION

Alfonso Cauron is an exceptional filmmaker who in the past has made great film after great film with the likes of Y Tu Mamá También, A Little Princess, Children of Men, and the best of the Harry Potter films with Prisoner of Azkaban. However, despite having a difficult time working on it, Gravity was his ultimate achievement, as well as his masterpiece, and you get that immediately from the opening shot and from there on, you’re know you are in for “one hell of a ride”. When debris hits their shuttle during a repair mission, Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) make it their mission to find a way of getting back home to Earth.

“Epic cinema” is something that film-going audiences crave for nowadays in this age of film, and Gravity felt like “epic cinema” when it was first released back in 2013 and it still has that feeling now. You are completely immersed in that world for a variety of reasons; even though you are just watching it, you feel as if you are inside the spacesuit and out in complete zero gravity, completely taking in the isolation and the solitude of space. Also, you are completely engrossed by the story’s messages and themes, and that shows that why the film is also a honourable sci-fi film that’s enriched with concepts and ideas.

Despite the simplistic plot summary, the film is really hammering home the fact that the outer space has become the inner space where the empty blackness of the void mirrors the emptiness within these characters, which they must face and overcome in order to get back home. There is also, at the heart of the matter once again, the powerful parent/child story in which Ryan Stone faces her own parental ghosts through this perilous mission in order of performing some redemptive leap of faith. The self-discovering journey of birth to death, a rebirth of the soul, overcoming the futility of rescue and finding the will to survive in the face of inevitable death is symbolised through her character, and all that is portrayed masterfully by the acting powerhouse that is Sandra Bullock.

As well as mastering its story, the film also masterfully blurs the boundaries between the real and the digital/the physical and the virtual, resulting in an extraordinary ballet of the two entities. It’s an astonishing visual achievement and is a defining touchstone of what happens when humanity and technology collide to create something breathtaking; this is thanks to the combination of Framestore’s beautiful effects work and Emmanuel Lubezki’s incredible cinematography. Steven Price’s imaginative score also adds to the film’s emotional power, and even though this Special Edition release comes with a Silent Space mode where the music isn’t included, this needs to be viewed with the score included as it works hand in hand with the film seamlessly.

In the two years since its release, we’ve seen films that have followed in its wake with Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar and Ridley Scott’s The Martian, films all remarkable and ambitious in their own right, but would’ve probably never existed if not for this. Gravity is a technical achievement that has a genuine heart to it, with strong themes, solid direction, great performances (particularly from Sandra Bullock) and a powerful score. But more than anything, it’s a perfect demonstration of the power of the image, and what cinema is really capable of.

Special Features: Gravity: Silent Space Mode / Looking to the Stars: The Evolution of Space Films / Gravity: The Human Experience / Sandra’s Birthday Wish / Gravity: Mission Control (It Began with a Story, Initial Challenges: Long Shots and Zero G, Previsualizing Gravity, The Hues of Space, Physical Weightlessness, Space Tech, Sandra and George: A Pair in Space, Final Animation, Complete Silence) / Shot Breakdowns (Behind the Visor, Fire in the International Space Station, Dr. Stone’s Rebirth, The Sound of Action in Space, Splashdown) / Aningaaq: A Short Film by Jonás Cuarón / Collision Point: The Race to Clean Up Space

GRAVITY: SPECIAL EDITION / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: ALFONSO CUARON / SCREENPLAY: ALFONSO CUARON, JONAS CUARON / STARRING: SANDRA BULLOCK, GEORGE CLOONEY, ED HARRIS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

THE PHYSICIAN

The Physician is the definition of cinematic style over substance. Hidden behind the beautiful vistas and extraordinarily detailed sets is a story so mediocre and lacking in interest that it makes you wonder why it was ever made at all.

Following the death of his mother, young boy Rob joins a Barber (Stellan Skarsgard), a kind of medieval medicine man, on his travels. Several years later, confused by a gift that allows him to sense when someone is about to die and interested in learning the true art of healing, Rob (Tom Payne) sets off to Persia to study under the legendary Ibn Sina (Ben Kingsley). Gaining access to Muslim lands by pretending to be a Jew (which involves a little homemade circumcision), Rob hones his skills battling an outbreak of the bubonic plague in the shadow of political upheaval that may eventually lead to war.

Based on Noah Gordon’s European best seller, Phillip Stolzl’s film struggles throughout with a central premise that in itself just isn’t that exciting. The story of a young man learning about healing, interwoven with numerous other narrative strands, may provide enough sustenance for an epic period novel, but when stripped down that central story feels isolated and hollow. The early part of the film suffers in particular as Rob’s story jumps around from plot point to plot point, compounded by poor editing that gives the whole thing a feeling of being no more than a hastily constructed highlights package. Performances are either hammy (Olivier Martinez as the tyrannical Shah) or wearily phoned in (Kingsley’s dreary doctor), with some character arcs never being fulfilled, presumably with key scenes left on the cutting room floor. Only astonishing camera work from cinematographer Hagen Bogdanski offers any interest, but this sadly remains purely on the surface.

The lack of any intrigue or urgency is symbolised by the film’s most “tense” scene. Never before has a third act hinged so much on an appendectomy as it does in The Physician, as Rob and his mentor struggle against the odds to perform what is portrayed as the first operation in history. While seemingly integral to the film’s themes of tolerance and acceptance, of balancing religion against emerging scientific knowledge, it feels desperately clichéd in offering justification for certain character’s actions and principles.

Suffering badly from grandiose over-ambition, The Physician never demonstrates the confidence to match its lofty intent. The astounding beauty of its design and cinematography is no match for the sheer number of its failings, and you get the sense the filmmakers hopes are to dazzle their audience with superficial charms akin to a magician’s sleight of hand. Look closely and The Physician is shallow and dull, more cinematic anaesthetic than epic adventure.

Special Features: Making of

THE PHYSICIAN / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: PHILIPP STOLZL / SCREENPLAY: JAN BERGER / STARRING: TOM PAYNE, STELLAN SKARSGARD, OLIVIER MARTINEZ, EMMA RIGBY, BEN KINGSLEY / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

THE KID

This is Chaplin’s first venture into feature film production and it marks out his ambition to be more than a slapstick comedian. Here we get the 53-minute-long 1971 re-release, rather than the original 68-minute-long version that was originally released in January 1921, and promoted as ‘6 reels of joy’.

It is a simple story of The Kid (Jackie Coogan) who is abandoned by his mother (Edna Purviance) at birth and lands up in the care of The Tramp (Charlie Chaplin). Living in a poor and tough part of town, The Tramp uses all his ingenuity to look after and feed The Kid. When The Kid is 5-years-old, he is sent to throw rocks at windows, and minutes after they are smashed The Tramp miraculously turns up to offer his window replacement service.

Their scam works well until The Kid falls ill, and a doctor realises that The Tramp is not the boy’s father and informs the authorities. In response a couple of men are sent to take The Kid into ‘care’.

The film is a Dickensian view of poverty and society, where ‘care’ constitutes being taken to an impersonal institution, and when The Kid and The Tramp escape to a flophouse, we are shown its depressing conditions where the poorest exist.

Fortunately, The Kid’s mother ‘whose sin was Motherhood’ has in the meantime become a rich star, and is now in a position to look for her abandoned child. The music, composed by Chaplin, underlines the despair of separation and the joy of a mother recovering her child from crime and poverty.

The film emphasises the importance of motherhood and the need for a child to be loved. This reflects elements of Chaplin’s own life where he was brought up by his mother in poor conditions, and the recent death of his 3-day-old son Norman Spencer Chaplin on 10 July 1919. This tragedy inspired him to start production of The Kid in August 1919, and he lavished 9 months on the project in the midst of dealing with a bitter divorce from his first wife and Norman’s mother, Mildred Harris.

Whilst The Kid shows the traumas of childhood, and the imagining by Charlie of how Norman Spencer might have turned out, it also features a dream sequence near the end of the film. This has The Tramp transported to a fairyland, where his friends and enemies play harps and have angel wings, and more significantly includes the young, innocent and ‘flirty angel’ 12-year-old Lita Grey, whom he married 4 years later.

Chaplin’s story met with huge success and justified his belief that he could unite comedy with drama. The weaving of autobiographical details and his mastery of the film medium in The Kid, shows Chaplin transforming into a world class auteur.

Special Features: Introduction by David Robinson / Outtakes / Recording the new score / Trailers

THE KID / CERT: U / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: CHARLES CHAPLIN / STARRING: CHARLES CHAPLIN, JACKIE COOGAN, EDNA PURVIANCE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

VAMPIRES

Richard Johnstone’s micro-budget British horror movie, retitled from the slightly more subtle Bloodless, sees a quintet of young couples (all supposed to be the same age although one or two look distinctly more mature than the others) rock up at a spooky old ‘castle’ (although it’s really more of a sprawling country pile) as volunteers in experimental medical trials. If they can last the thirty-day trial period they’ll get a tasty £20,000 per couple as ‘prize money’ for their trouble. But naturally all is not as it seems in their rural seclusion where they are cut off from the outside world (they even have to surrender their mobile phones – shriek!) and the mysterious ‘team’ conducting the experiments aren’t quite who they seem. They’re vampires; don’t start screaming ‘Oi, spoilers!’… did you catch the film’s title?

At first blush it seems as if Vampires hasn’t got much going for it we’ve not seen a zillion times before. Mismatched kids trapped in middle of nowhere – check; eerie strangers watching and manipulating – check; things going bump and arrgh in the night – check. Yet despite its story shortcomings – we can pretty much guess the way it’s going to play out the moment the kids step nervously out of the van that’s brought them to the ‘castle’ – Vampires is oddly agreeable and surprisingly accomplished for a film starring no-one of note and undoubtedly put together for not much more than pocket money. Johnstone’s script is light on its feet, its characters better sketched than many of the cyphers who populate generic horror fare (if rarely especially more likeable) and he makes superb use of the semi-dilapidated location and the autumnal English countryside surroundings, all grey skies, squelching mud and squawking crows. The vampires, when they are finally revealed, are a suitably gruesome bunch too; the use of roaring lion sound FX as they hunt and kill gives them a pleasingly animalistic – and mercifully un-Twilight – demeanour and encounters with a beguiling child vampire are genuinely creepy and disconcerting thanks to an effecting performance from young Holly Louise Newton.

Vampires doesn’t reinvent the subgenre but then it’s not trying to. It does, however, succeed in giving the undead their bite back after years of touchy-feely teen twaddle and for that alone Johnstone, a promising talent with a real feel for his subject matter, deserves considerable kudos. Our sincere fangs, in fact… (Ouch – Ed).

Special Features: Making of / Cast and crew interviews

VAMPIRES / CERT: 15/ DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: RICHARD JOHNSTONE / STARRING: BILL FELLOWS, VICTORIA HOPKINS, ANGELA ZAHRA, MELISSA ADVANI, JUDITH ALEXANDER, KRISTIAN JAMES / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA THE MOVIE: PART 3 – REBELLION

Where the first two Madoka Magica movies compiled the tumultuous events of the 12-part anime series, the third entry is a brand new venture into the dark and enigmatic frontline of magical girl life. From the opening, it’s plain to see that Rebellion was intended purely as movie; it’s altogether more cinematic, and joyously so. It goes beyond what’s usually seen in traditional episodic anime form for something that’s truly exuberant and essential.

Far from undermining the power of her sacrifice at the end of the previous instalment, Rebellion weaves a new tale where Madoka, already a seasoned magical girl, goes about her daily routine. Get up, go to school and fight witches with her friends. But this strange new world is a slinking shadow of what the audience has seen before. It lulls you in with a sense of knowing, but as the layers fall away, it’s an altogether more mysterious storytelling experience than its precursors.

Visually, it’s a patchwork masterwork, a magnum opus of animation both in terms of style and in audaciousness. The labyrinth scenes go above and beyond the eerie imagery of the previous movies, more chilling and more arresting. The transformation scenes play like ballet, beautifully coloured and scored to the traits of each of the girls’ personalities and fighting styles. The pencil sketch character designs and thoughtful interiors counterpoint the background and gnarly angles for something tactile, as if you could reach out and actually feel the textures.

The creepiness of its visuals, complexity of its characters’ relationships and interactions, and the graceful plotting make this the definitive magical girl mission statement. From the almighty fight sequences to its devastating conclusion, Rebellion is a transcendental revelation.

Special Features: Mongatari Manners / Textless opening and closing / Commercials / Trailers

PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA THE MOVIE: PART 3 – REBELLION / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: YUKIHIRO MIYAMOTO / SCREENPLAY: GEN UROBUCHI / STARRING: AOI YUKI, CHIWA SAITO, AI NONAKA, EMIRI KATO, ERI KITAMURA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

SPARROWS CAN’T SING

A light-hearted comedy-drama with a pre-Carry On Barbara Windsor and a supporting cast made up of nearly every great British comedy-character actor you can think of? With a theme song written by Lionel Bart and sung by Babs herself? It’s even based on a play by the late-great Stephen “Blakey” Lewis: this should be fun.  But strangely enough, it isn’t. The past is not only a foreign country; it can also be a rather dark place (even in HD).

Charlie (James Booth) comes home from two years at sea to discover his East End house has been knocked down and replaced by high-rise blocks. Furthermore, where is his wife Maggie (Barbara Windsor)? If that sounds slightly implausible today, remember that over fifty years ago a sailor would have to make quite an effort to stay in touch with his family while operating out of the ports of South America and Charlie isn’t the effort-making sort. In fact, despite the film’s obvious intention of portraying him as a lovable rogue, Charlie would appear to be trouble. His brother (Roy Kinnear) doesn’t appear too happy about his sibling’s return. Not after last time. Just to make matters worse, it turns out Maggie has actually shacked-up with Bert (George Sewell) in one of those high-rise flats. Bert and Maggie have had a baby together and poor old Bert has left his wife, meaning he has two families to support. What is cheeky-Charlie going to make of all this? Well he takes half the film tracking her down through a myriad of cockney characters who don’t seem to be looking forward to the great reunion. They finally do meet and then… well, to a modern audience, things get really weird.

You see, despite the rascal-like appearance of Charlie, we couldn’t help but notice that there was a disturbing undercurrent of violence to his character. There are even thinly-veiled threats to Maggie. Were we missing something here? You certainly don’t end up rooting for him, and when he tries to make out Maggie’s baby might be his own, it’s downright chilling. When she (*SPOILER*) leaves Bert to return to Charlie in the finale, you can’t help thinking she needs her head examining.

But this is an old film that reflects the mores of its day. Actually that’s what makes it so fascinating. This is a time when the Krays were still celebrities (and indeed they apparently have a cameo in here but we didn’t spot it). The representation of London’s new immigrant community is not necessarily out-and-out racist for the time but they’re still racial stereotypes.  While it was probably intended as some unholy cross between a kitchen-sinker and a Carry On, it has none of the gravitas of the former and certainly none of the humour of the latter. This is not a film that is still funny.

So you probably think we’re not going to recommend this one. But if you’re the type who likes to peer at the past through the grubby net curtains of history, you actually might find this rather interesting. We did. If only for jaw-dropping moment when the now-dumped Bert says, “I was thinking of going back to the Missus anyway”.

Special Features: Interviews (Peter Rankin, Murray Melvin and Barbara Windsor) / Locations featurette / Stills gallery / Trailer

SPARROWS CAN’T SING (1963) / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: JOAN LITTLEWOOD / SCREENPLAY: STEPHEN LEWIS / STARRING: JAMES BOOTH, BARBARA WINDSOR, ROY KINNEAR, BRIAN MURPHY, GEORGE SEWELL, MURRAY MELVIN, HARRY H. CORBETT / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
 
 

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION)

Many of us will already be familiar with this one, but for the uninitiated (because that seems to be who this release is aimed at), The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the film version of one of the greatest rock n’ roll musicals of all time. The phrase ‘cult classic’ is wildly overused these days, but this is one of the rare occasions where it actually rings true – from its humble beginnings in a small 63-seat London theatre in 1973, Rocky made the leap to celluloid in 1975, gathering a wildly devoted fanbase and going on to become the longest-running theatrical release in movie history.

The story follows Brad (Bostwick) and Janet (Sarandon), a young couple who suffer an unfortunate tyre blowout in the middle of a forest while on their way to visit their former college professor. Their search for assistance leads them to an old castle where a madcap series of events unfolds, covering the likes of aliens, transvestitism, incest, and genetic experimentation, all tied together with an incredible glam/punk/rock n’ roll soundtrack and plenty of nods to 1950s sci-fi.


Tim Curry turns in a wonderfully over the top performance as the genteel but deranged cross-dressing scientist Frank-N-Furter, and the rest of the cast fit their roles perfectly. Show creator Richard O’Brien plays the creepy and sinister downtrodden butler Riff Raff to perfection, with his on-screen ‘are they or aren’t they?’ sister Magenta (Patricia Quinn) adding an uneasy air of menace to proceedings. And let’s not forget Little Nell as Columbia, clearly infatuated with and devoted to Frank while quietly grieving for her missing biker boyfriend Eddie (Meatloaf). With many of the cast members reprising their roles from the original stage production, you can see how the main players had plenty of time to hone their characters to the point where it’s difficult to imagine how any of the performances could have been improved upon.


Unfortunately however (and I really do hate to say this), it isn’t difficult to imagine how this 40th Anniversary re-release could have been made into a more attractive proposition for long-term Rocky fans. Serving more as a re-marketing than a re-release, the contents of this Blu Ray are exactly the same as the previous 35th Anniversary edition (and even then, some of those were recycled from previous DVD releases). The artwork has been changed, but the menu screens, options interface, and extras are all identical to the previous 2010 Blu Ray release. The ‘Collector’s Edition’ does come with some pink rubber gloves, a pair of fishnet stockings, and a soundtrack CD, but it’s a shame that no effort has been put into adding some new content to the disc itself. With 40 years of history to draw from, and the stage show still touring around the world, it’s disappointing that nobody thought to dig out a few bits of memorabilia or interview some members of the cast. Even a Behind the Scenes feature from one of the current stage productions might have been a nice addition.


What we do get though, is all perfectly good stuff for those who haven’t seen it before. The picture quality is superb, with plenty of background details being much more visible than they were in previous DVD releases, and the option to switch between the old mono and newly reworked stereo soundtracks is much appreciated, especially seeing as some of the reworked soundtrack can be a little bit jarring at times. The extras included are all pretty interesting, with commentary from Richard O’Brien and Patricia Quinn giving an insight into both stage and film versions of the show. There’s also a 35-minute documentary (a survivor from the 25th Anniversary DVD), some audience participation footage, a karaoke option, outtakes, missing songs, and a whole host of other bits and pieces that really show the extent to which the show has built up such a large following over the years.


Judging this release solely on its own merits, there’s still no better and more complete version of the movie around. It’s hugely disappointing that the extras haven’t been updated though, and that (apart from the rubber gloves etc.) the overall package is identical to the previous release. With its tongue planted firmly in its own cheek though, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is still the ultimate midnight movie. If this release might attract some new fans and keep the dream alive then it can only be a good thing, but here’s hoping that the next version might contain something for owners of previous editions. We’re guessing we’ll probably find out when the 45th anniversary rolls around in 2020!


Extras: Rocky-oke: Sing It! / Commentary By Richard O’Brien and Patricia Quinn / Don’t Dream It, Be It: The Search for the 35th Anniversary Shadowcast, Part I / An-tic-i-pation: The Search for the 35th Anniversary Shadowcast, Part II / Mick Rock (A Photographer) / Mick Rock’s Picture Show (A Gallery) / A Few From The Vault / Deleted Musical Scenes / Outtakes / Alternate B&W Opening /Alternate Credit & Misprint Ending  / Rocky Horror Double Feature Video Show (1995) / Beacon Theater, New York City (10th Anniversary) / Time Warp Music Video / The Midnight Experience / Pressbook & Poster Gallery 

  

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION) / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: JIM SHARMAN / SCREENPLAY: JIM SHARMAN, RICHARD O’BRIEN / STARRING: TIM CURRY, SUSAN SARANDON, BARRY BOSTWICK, RICHARD O’BRIEN, PATRICIA QUINN, LITTLE NELL, MEATLOAF / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW