August 27
Away From Her (2007) - Sarah Polley
Rental release only.
Released by High Fliers - Available to rent
Ballad of Narayama (Narayama bushiko) (1958) - Keisuke Kinoshita
Film Description:
The inhabitants of a small village have adopted extreme measures to ensure their survival - male babies are killed with little remorse, and when villagers reach the age of 70, they are sent to the base of Naryama mountain to die. Refusal to go brings disgrace to the family. Orin is 69. However, before she heads to the mountain she wants to ensure that her eldest son finds a wife.
.
Released by Tartan Video
Black Rose Mansion (Kuro bara no yakata) (1969) - Kinji Fukasaku
Film Description:
From Kinji Fukasaku, director of the controversial BATTLE ROYALE (2000) comes this 1969 oddity starring female impersonator Akihiro Maruyama of BLACK LIZARD (1968) . When wealthy Kyohei (Eitaro Ozawa) hires singer Black Rose (Maruyama) to perform in his exclusive men's club, he gets more than he bargains for when she brings dozens of murderous ex-lovers out of the woodwork--at the same time that Kyohei and his son begin to fall in love with her.
Released by Tartan Video
Blackmail Is My Life (Kyokatsu koso Waga Jinsei) (1968) - Kinji Fukasaku
Film Description:
One of Japanese cinema's most exhilarating directors, Kinji Fukasaku has thrilled audiences for over forty years. 1968's BLACKMAIL IS MY LIFE is no exception to the rule. The film follows an up-and-coming hipster, Shun (Hiroki Matsukata), as he blackmails his way into success and fortune. But that hot streak is short lived when Shun tries his luck on a very dangerous gangster. Dark, murky, and filled with splashes of violence, BLACKMAIL IS MY LIFE is a must-see for fans of the pulp genre.
Released by Tartan Video
Born Into Brothels (2004) - Ross Kauffman
Film Description:
A portrait of seven children who live in the red light district of Calcutta where their mothers work as prostitutes. Spurred on Spurred by the children's' fascination with her camera, Zana Briski, a New York-based photographer documenting life in the brothels, decides to teach them photography. As they begin to look at the record their world through new eyes, the children, unrecognised by society, realise for the first time their own talents and sense of worth.
Review
DVD Extras
Deleted scenes; Kid's video commentary; Born into Brothels - reconnecting.
Released by Drakes Avenue Available to rent
The Claude Chabrol Collection Vol 2
Description:
Includes the films
INNOCENTS WITH DIRTY HANDS,
WHO'S GOT THE BLACK BOX?,
THE POWER OF EVIL,
PLEASURE PARTY,
THE BREAK UP,
COP AU VIN.
Released by Arrow Films
Close-Up (Nema-ye Nazdik) (1990) - Abbas Kiarostami
Film Description:
Kiarostami's masterpiece, depicting in documentary fashion an unemployed man's attempt to impersonate the director Mohsen Makhmalbaf and the court proceedings which result. This is a brilliant, multi-layered exploration of illusion and reality, infused with its creator's humanity and wisdom.
Released by Soda Pictures
Destiny Of A Man (Sudba cheloveka) (1959) - Sergei Bondarchuk
Film Description:
This was Sergei Bondarchucks debut feature which he not only directed but also acted the main part of Andrei Sokolov in the screen adaptation of Nobel Prize winning author Mikhail Sholokovs novel.
Beautifully crafted and acted, the film is a moving account of an ordinary Soviet citizen during the desperate fight to protect the motherland from Nazi invasion in WWII. In the course of the struggle, Sokolov is captured by the German invaders and despatched to a concentration camp in which the inmates are mercilessly worked and ill-treated. The only thing that urges him to cling on to life is the thought of being reunited with his family when the war is over.
Essentially a morality tale of humanity ultimately triumphing over evil adversity, the film, on its 1961 release (two years after it was made), was a great worldwide success and an eye-opener to western audiences who assumed Soviet directors could not break free from their propagandist yokes. It launched Bondarchuck on his career, which went on to include such landmark films as They Fought for Their Motherland, Waterloo and War and Peace.
DVD Extras
M. Sholokhov featurette; S.Bondarchuk featurette; Filmography; Film of Victory Day; German Prison Camps for Russian POWs; 1941 Military Parade; English subtitles or English dub options.
Released by Nouveaux Pictures
Gingko Bed (Eunhaengnamoo chimdae) (1996) - Je-Kyu Kang
Film Description:
A college art lecturer buys an antique bed made of gingko, only to discover that it contains the soul of a woman who died a thousand years earlier--and that he is the reincarnation of her long-lost lover. As he learns more, a tragic love story buried for a thousand years is awakened again.
Released by Elephant Video
Kisses (Kuchizuke) (1957) - Yasuzo Masumura
Film Description:
Masumura's debut feature in which a teenage boy and girl meet while visiting their respective fathers in prison. They shrug off their respective resposibilities and head to the beach. A pared-down narrative is complemented beautifully by hand-held black and white cinematography.
Released by Yume Pictures
Legend Of Gingko (Danjeogbiyeonsu) (2000)- Je-Hyeon Park
Film Description:
Sequel to the Korean fantasy adventure film GINGKO BED. Two rival clans fight for their people.
Released by Elephant Video
Lights In The Dusk (Laitakaupungin valot) (2007) - Aki Kaurismaki
Film Description:
A marvellously droll tragicomedy of love and crime, in which a security guard meets a femme fatale who sets him up, exploiting his gullibility. The final part of Kaurismki's 'loser' trilogy, following on from Drifting Clouds and The Man without a Past.
Partly a reaction to Man without a Past, which he said he found 'sickly sweet', Kaurismki said that his original idea for the film was to put his protagonist in an exceptionally bleak modern milieu and then batter and bully him to death. He doesnt (quite) go through with this. Luckily for our protagonist, the author of the film has a reputation of being a soft-hearted old man, so we can assume there is a spark of hope illuminating the final scene he says. And so there is.
Review
DVD Extras
Kaurismaki Interview; Filmography.
Released by Artificial Eye
The Living Dead Girl (La Morte Vivante) (1982) - Jean Rollin
Film Description:
One of cult director Jean Rollin's most successful films, THE LIVING DEAD GIRL takes in resurrection, despair, and a desperate addiction to blood.
DVD Extras
Uncut version
Jean Rollin's Short film - LA PAY LOINS (1965)
Rollin interview
Stills gallery
Redemption trailers
Released by Redemption
The Night Of The Sunflowers (La Noche de los Girasoles) (2007) - Jorge Sanchez-Cabezudo
Film Description:
A nicely intricate thriller that begins with the report of a woman's body found in the middle of a field of sunflowers. From this situation, a patchwork tale of mistaken identity, murder, corruption and deception is gradually revealed, which a wily veteran of the local police force tries to stitch together.
DVD Extras
Making-of; Deleted scenes; Q&A; Trailer.
Released by Yume Pictures Available to rent
Palms (Ladoni) (1993) - Artur Aristakisyan
Film Description:
There is no other film like Palms. Made as Aristakisyans graduation film, this address to his unborn son was filmed among the beggars and homeless community in the town of Kishinev. It is a film populated with outcasts and survivors, the maimed and the damaged. This is deliberate - any contact with the system leads to compromises and the loss of spiritual salvation. If freedom of the spirit comes at the price of complete rejection, then so be it. Anarchistic, apocalyptic even, this unique film gives bourgeois tastes nothing to congratulate themselves on and nothing to recognise. The experience is dizzying and discomforting, as if all the solid ground beneath your feet has turned to jelly.
DVD Extras
Interview with director Artur Aristakisyan.
Released by Secondrun
They Fought For The Motherland (Oni srazhalis za rodinu) (1975)- Sergei Bondarchuk
Film Description:
In July 1942, the exhausted Soviet army is retreating towards Stalingrad while desperately trying to hold their ground in front of the rampaging German war machine. Bondarchuk's film concentrates on the remnants of one shattered regiment and its individual soldiers' thoughts and fears in the face of impending annihilation - of both themselves and Russia itself. The depictions of war and destruction are powerful, as are those of the individual characters forced to participate in a terrible fight for survival.
A screen adaptation of Nobel Prize winning author Mikhail Sholokov's novel of the same name.
DVD Extras
Digitally remastered from restored print; Interviews with actress Irina Skobetsova and Professor A. Ushakov.
Released by Nouveaux Pictures
Wheel Of Time (2005) - Werner Herzog
Film Description
Herzog's documentary film about the largest Buddhist ritual to promote peace and tolerance, held by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Bodh Gaya, India and Graz, Austria in 2002. The film includes exclusive interviews with the Dalai Lama, access to previously secret rituals for the first time as well as footage of a pilgrimage to the Holy Mount Kailash in Tibet.
Review
Released by Soda Pictures
I must admit, I was surprised that the best of the new releases is not available to rent, I'm so glad I managed to catch Lights In The Dusk on its short theatrical run.
Cheers Trev.
UK Releases
Re: UK Releases
by arsaib4 » Fri Aug 24, 2007 9:02 pm
I believe I got the Kaurismki info via Play. If the sets are simply ports of the Swedish ones, then don't expect any pertinent extra features.
- arsaib4
Re: UK Releases
by A » Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:23 am
This looks again like loads of good stuff are coming out in the UK. Thanksagain for the good work Trevor
- A
Re: UK Releases
by trevor826 » Wed Aug 29, 2007 7:43 pm
September 03
Curse Of The Golden Flower (2007) Zhang Yimou
Film Description:
In 2004, Zhang Yimou caused a sensation with his astonishing HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, and his CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER is yet another dazzling, visually stunning film. Calling again upon the talents of the striking Gong Li, Yimou tells an epic tale of lust and power set in the opulent world of the Later Tang dynasty. The plot follows the story of the Emperor (Chow Yun Fat) and his Empress (Li) and the tragic disintegration of their royal family--whose problems go far beyond the merely dysfunctional. For starters, the ailing Empress has long been having an affair with her stepson, the Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye). Unbeknownst to her, Wan has been dallying with the Imperial Doctor's daughter (Li Man), and has plans to escape the palace with her. Meanwhile, the Emperor himself has just returned from a long trip, and while relations with his wife are obviously icy, it becomes clear that his plans for her are far more ominous than she could ever imagine. Everyone involved has a secret plan for either escape or domination, resulting in an explosive ending wherein the darkest family secrets are revealed and horrifically bloody battles are waged both inside and outside the walls of the sparkling, gold-encrusted palace. Yimou appears to be trying to balance his flair for telling an emotional story with his talent for thrilling, detail-driven action sequences, and while CURSE's plot does at times seem close to that of a soap opera, the phenomenal performances and breathtaking visuals are more than enough to power the film forward. Fans of Yimou's quieter work (RIDING ALONG FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES) are likely to enjoy the dramatic exploration of family relationships, while there are still plenty of hissing ninjas to satisfy DAGGERS enthusiasts.
DVD Extras:
Curse of the Golden Flower - Secrets Within
Released by Universal Pictures
The Ken Loach Collection (Vol 1)
Film Description:
Ken Loach is a name synonymous with British cinema; a director that has continued to challenge his audience's perception of film form and never ceased to surprise. This collection brings together many of his most celebrated films, along with some that are ripe for rediscovery. Featured titles are Poor Cow (1967), Kes (1969), The Gamekeeper (1980), Riff Raff (1990), Raining Stones (1993), Ladybird Ladybird (1994), Bread and Roses (2000) and The Navigators (2001).
Poor Cow is a combination of Wednesday Play realism and commercial "Swinging London" movie, and contains elements which were to become basics of Loach's method. Carol White's performance forms the real heart of the film.
Probably still Loach's best-known and best-loved film, Kes was adapted from the Barry Hines novel A Kestrel for a Knave. The portrait of northern working class life remains as pertinent and fiercely unsentimental almost 30 years on, and everyone remembers the famous football games sequence with the late lamented Brian Glover hilariously impersonating Bobby Charlton. A true classic of postwar British cinema.
The Gamekeeper, like Kes, is based on a novel from Barry Hines, and follows a year in the life of a gamekeeper, from rearing birds and dealing with predators to organising the shoot.
Witty and naturalistic, Riff-Raff had strong messages for workers in Thatcher's Britain: drugs, daydreams and horoscope escapisms are out, mutual support and retaliation, in! There are vintage Robert Carlyle and Ricky Tomlinson roles, plus an unforgettable foreman who sees laziness everywhere except in his own tea-leaves.
Raining Stones reflects Loach's unwavering left-wing sympathies and has a truly satisfactory ending as life dishes out justice for a change! Ricky Tomlinson is on form together with Bruce Jones (Coronation Street's Les Battersby) as they wrestle with sheep, drains, loan sharks and poverty.
Ladybird Ladybird is an intense drama in which a woman fights with the social services over the care of her children.
In Bread and Roses, sisters Maya and Rosa are Mexican immigrant cleaners who work in L.A., earn a pittance and get treated like dogs. A young activist offers hope when he vows to help them get the justice and dignity they deserve. Inspired by the real life 'Justice for Janitors' campaign.
The Navigators, one of Ken Loach's most accessible and poignant films, follows the fortunes of a group of track workers as the privatisation of British Rail takes effect. When the workers get their new working brief, the company's 'Mission Statement', the talk of 'performance-related pay' and unpaid holidays seem like a joke. Before long though, the workers are forced to make a very clear 'choice' to take their chances with the redundancy pay-off and life as casual agency workers, or toe the line and work for the new company under new rules. Forced to cut corners, a tragic accident seems inevitable.
DVD Extras:
8 discs; 16 page booklet; South Bank Show documentary (1993) with Ken Loach interviewed about his career to date.
Released by Spirit Entertainment.
The Ken Loach Collection (Vol 2)
Film Description:
Ken Loach is a name synonymous with British Cinema; a director that has continued to challenge his audience's perception of film form and never ceased to surprise. This second collection brings together many of his most celebrated films, along with some that are ripe for rediscovery. Featured titles are Cathy Come Home (1965), Hidden Agenda (1990), Land and Freedom (1995), Carla's Song (1996), My Name is Joe (1998), Sweet Sixteen (2002), Ae Fond Kiss (2004) and The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006).
Cathy Come Home is probably the most famous British television play ever, watched by a quarter of the population on its first broadcast in 1966. Its impact was enormous, provoking questions in the Houses of Parliament and helping to launch the housing charity Shelter. Ken Loach and producer Tony Garnett also ushered in a new style of television drama, taking the cameras onto the streets and fusing documentary and drama styles to give the story an extra sense of reality, and a devastating emotional impact. A bleak and uncompromising view of how inflexible officialdom splits families and ruins lives.
In Hidden Agenda, an American lawyer is killed in Northern Ireland after failing to stop at a road block. A top-ranking police officer is called upon to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death. A taut, intriguing and exciting political thriller.
Land and Freedom is larger in scope than any previous Loach film and the Spanish Civil war sequences have a great authenticity. Jim Allen's screenplay connects the political education of Ian Hart's Liverpudlian volunteer with that of his 1990s granddaughter
Carla's Song sees Robert Carlyle's pawky Glasgow bus driver (the actor is actually driving that double-decker) wooing and winning Carla, a Nicaraguan refugee. When the couple move to Central America, Glaswegian wit cannot cope with what it encounters in a homeland subject to Contra attacks and the love story has to end - to be replaced by another one. The humour in the first half of Paul Laverty's script foreshadows that of My Name Is Joe.
In My Name is Joe, the drug addicts, dealers, and long-term unemployed are powerfully depicted in this drama set in contemporary Glasgow. Paul Laverty makes sure that humour and romance have their place in his screenplay. Peter Mullan as Joe fully merited his Cannes Best Actor award.
In Sweet Sixteen a Scottish teenager whose mother is in prison tries to raise the money for a home so that when she comes out she will be safe from the likes of her former boyfriend. An uncompromising and fiercely unsentimental slice of raw social realism that comes over like a Scottish Kes.
Ae Fond Kiss is Loach's most optimistic film to date, and asks some hard questions about religion, race and immigration in multi-cultural Britain. With insight and compassion, the film examines the culture clashes faced by second generation immigrants, to produce an intelligent and entertaining love story.
The Wind that Shakes the Barley, Ken Loach's deserving Palme d'Or winner, is a searing and powerful depiction of the Irish War Of Independence, focusing on two brothers who find themselves on different sides during the conflict. Its representation of what happens when an occupying force withdraws is clearly applicable to current events, and this is a great piece of angry political cinema.
DVD Extras:
8 discs; Director commentaries; Documentaries; Booklet; 2006 documentary about Ken Loach's 40 year career making films.
Released by Spirit Entertainment.
Love In The Strangest Way (1994) - Christopher Frank
Film Description:
Aka Elles n'oublient jamais. A Hitchcockian thriller in which married debt collector Julien has a fling with a beautiful, mysterious woman while his wife is away. The one-nighter is over before it even begins - or so Julien would like to believe, but Angela, his pick-up, is after revenge and calmly begins to dismantle his career, home and sanity. A French Fatal Atraction.
Released by Bluebell
La Nouvelle Eve (1999) - Catherine Corsini
Film Description:
The New Eve. A touching madcap comedy. Scornful of marriage, hedonistic Camille is smitten by politically correct Alex who is married with children. Described as 'A Gallic Bridget Jones Diary'.
Released by Bluebell
Rien sur Robert (1999) - Pascal Bonitzer Getting a lot of dj vu here.
Film Description:
An assured French comedy of morals in which the life of superficial, middle-class, paranoid critic Didier starts to fall apart after writing a damning review of a film he hasn't seen. Michel Piccoli enjoys himself in his cameo as Ariel Chatwick-West, who lambasts the hapless critic.
Released by Bluebell
Take Care of my Cat (2002) - Jae Eun Jeong
Film Description:
A moving coming-of-age drama set in the South Korea port of Icheon where five young women try to remain close while navigating life for themselves after high school. Some resign themselves to the drab reality of their bleak environment, others try and get a toe-hold in the city.
Released by Bluebell
Cheers Trev.
Curse Of The Golden Flower (2007) Zhang Yimou
Film Description:
In 2004, Zhang Yimou caused a sensation with his astonishing HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, and his CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER is yet another dazzling, visually stunning film. Calling again upon the talents of the striking Gong Li, Yimou tells an epic tale of lust and power set in the opulent world of the Later Tang dynasty. The plot follows the story of the Emperor (Chow Yun Fat) and his Empress (Li) and the tragic disintegration of their royal family--whose problems go far beyond the merely dysfunctional. For starters, the ailing Empress has long been having an affair with her stepson, the Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye). Unbeknownst to her, Wan has been dallying with the Imperial Doctor's daughter (Li Man), and has plans to escape the palace with her. Meanwhile, the Emperor himself has just returned from a long trip, and while relations with his wife are obviously icy, it becomes clear that his plans for her are far more ominous than she could ever imagine. Everyone involved has a secret plan for either escape or domination, resulting in an explosive ending wherein the darkest family secrets are revealed and horrifically bloody battles are waged both inside and outside the walls of the sparkling, gold-encrusted palace. Yimou appears to be trying to balance his flair for telling an emotional story with his talent for thrilling, detail-driven action sequences, and while CURSE's plot does at times seem close to that of a soap opera, the phenomenal performances and breathtaking visuals are more than enough to power the film forward. Fans of Yimou's quieter work (RIDING ALONG FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES) are likely to enjoy the dramatic exploration of family relationships, while there are still plenty of hissing ninjas to satisfy DAGGERS enthusiasts.
DVD Extras:
Curse of the Golden Flower - Secrets Within
Released by Universal Pictures
The Ken Loach Collection (Vol 1)
Film Description:
Ken Loach is a name synonymous with British cinema; a director that has continued to challenge his audience's perception of film form and never ceased to surprise. This collection brings together many of his most celebrated films, along with some that are ripe for rediscovery. Featured titles are Poor Cow (1967), Kes (1969), The Gamekeeper (1980), Riff Raff (1990), Raining Stones (1993), Ladybird Ladybird (1994), Bread and Roses (2000) and The Navigators (2001).
Poor Cow is a combination of Wednesday Play realism and commercial "Swinging London" movie, and contains elements which were to become basics of Loach's method. Carol White's performance forms the real heart of the film.
Probably still Loach's best-known and best-loved film, Kes was adapted from the Barry Hines novel A Kestrel for a Knave. The portrait of northern working class life remains as pertinent and fiercely unsentimental almost 30 years on, and everyone remembers the famous football games sequence with the late lamented Brian Glover hilariously impersonating Bobby Charlton. A true classic of postwar British cinema.
The Gamekeeper, like Kes, is based on a novel from Barry Hines, and follows a year in the life of a gamekeeper, from rearing birds and dealing with predators to organising the shoot.
Witty and naturalistic, Riff-Raff had strong messages for workers in Thatcher's Britain: drugs, daydreams and horoscope escapisms are out, mutual support and retaliation, in! There are vintage Robert Carlyle and Ricky Tomlinson roles, plus an unforgettable foreman who sees laziness everywhere except in his own tea-leaves.
Raining Stones reflects Loach's unwavering left-wing sympathies and has a truly satisfactory ending as life dishes out justice for a change! Ricky Tomlinson is on form together with Bruce Jones (Coronation Street's Les Battersby) as they wrestle with sheep, drains, loan sharks and poverty.
Ladybird Ladybird is an intense drama in which a woman fights with the social services over the care of her children.
In Bread and Roses, sisters Maya and Rosa are Mexican immigrant cleaners who work in L.A., earn a pittance and get treated like dogs. A young activist offers hope when he vows to help them get the justice and dignity they deserve. Inspired by the real life 'Justice for Janitors' campaign.
The Navigators, one of Ken Loach's most accessible and poignant films, follows the fortunes of a group of track workers as the privatisation of British Rail takes effect. When the workers get their new working brief, the company's 'Mission Statement', the talk of 'performance-related pay' and unpaid holidays seem like a joke. Before long though, the workers are forced to make a very clear 'choice' to take their chances with the redundancy pay-off and life as casual agency workers, or toe the line and work for the new company under new rules. Forced to cut corners, a tragic accident seems inevitable.
DVD Extras:
8 discs; 16 page booklet; South Bank Show documentary (1993) with Ken Loach interviewed about his career to date.
Released by Spirit Entertainment.
The Ken Loach Collection (Vol 2)
Film Description:
Ken Loach is a name synonymous with British Cinema; a director that has continued to challenge his audience's perception of film form and never ceased to surprise. This second collection brings together many of his most celebrated films, along with some that are ripe for rediscovery. Featured titles are Cathy Come Home (1965), Hidden Agenda (1990), Land and Freedom (1995), Carla's Song (1996), My Name is Joe (1998), Sweet Sixteen (2002), Ae Fond Kiss (2004) and The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006).
Cathy Come Home is probably the most famous British television play ever, watched by a quarter of the population on its first broadcast in 1966. Its impact was enormous, provoking questions in the Houses of Parliament and helping to launch the housing charity Shelter. Ken Loach and producer Tony Garnett also ushered in a new style of television drama, taking the cameras onto the streets and fusing documentary and drama styles to give the story an extra sense of reality, and a devastating emotional impact. A bleak and uncompromising view of how inflexible officialdom splits families and ruins lives.
In Hidden Agenda, an American lawyer is killed in Northern Ireland after failing to stop at a road block. A top-ranking police officer is called upon to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death. A taut, intriguing and exciting political thriller.
Land and Freedom is larger in scope than any previous Loach film and the Spanish Civil war sequences have a great authenticity. Jim Allen's screenplay connects the political education of Ian Hart's Liverpudlian volunteer with that of his 1990s granddaughter
Carla's Song sees Robert Carlyle's pawky Glasgow bus driver (the actor is actually driving that double-decker) wooing and winning Carla, a Nicaraguan refugee. When the couple move to Central America, Glaswegian wit cannot cope with what it encounters in a homeland subject to Contra attacks and the love story has to end - to be replaced by another one. The humour in the first half of Paul Laverty's script foreshadows that of My Name Is Joe.
In My Name is Joe, the drug addicts, dealers, and long-term unemployed are powerfully depicted in this drama set in contemporary Glasgow. Paul Laverty makes sure that humour and romance have their place in his screenplay. Peter Mullan as Joe fully merited his Cannes Best Actor award.
In Sweet Sixteen a Scottish teenager whose mother is in prison tries to raise the money for a home so that when she comes out she will be safe from the likes of her former boyfriend. An uncompromising and fiercely unsentimental slice of raw social realism that comes over like a Scottish Kes.
Ae Fond Kiss is Loach's most optimistic film to date, and asks some hard questions about religion, race and immigration in multi-cultural Britain. With insight and compassion, the film examines the culture clashes faced by second generation immigrants, to produce an intelligent and entertaining love story.
The Wind that Shakes the Barley, Ken Loach's deserving Palme d'Or winner, is a searing and powerful depiction of the Irish War Of Independence, focusing on two brothers who find themselves on different sides during the conflict. Its representation of what happens when an occupying force withdraws is clearly applicable to current events, and this is a great piece of angry political cinema.
DVD Extras:
8 discs; Director commentaries; Documentaries; Booklet; 2006 documentary about Ken Loach's 40 year career making films.
Released by Spirit Entertainment.
Love In The Strangest Way (1994) - Christopher Frank
Film Description:
Aka Elles n'oublient jamais. A Hitchcockian thriller in which married debt collector Julien has a fling with a beautiful, mysterious woman while his wife is away. The one-nighter is over before it even begins - or so Julien would like to believe, but Angela, his pick-up, is after revenge and calmly begins to dismantle his career, home and sanity. A French Fatal Atraction.
Released by Bluebell
La Nouvelle Eve (1999) - Catherine Corsini
Film Description:
The New Eve. A touching madcap comedy. Scornful of marriage, hedonistic Camille is smitten by politically correct Alex who is married with children. Described as 'A Gallic Bridget Jones Diary'.
Released by Bluebell
Rien sur Robert (1999) - Pascal Bonitzer Getting a lot of dj vu here.
Film Description:
An assured French comedy of morals in which the life of superficial, middle-class, paranoid critic Didier starts to fall apart after writing a damning review of a film he hasn't seen. Michel Piccoli enjoys himself in his cameo as Ariel Chatwick-West, who lambasts the hapless critic.
Released by Bluebell
Take Care of my Cat (2002) - Jae Eun Jeong
Film Description:
A moving coming-of-age drama set in the South Korea port of Icheon where five young women try to remain close while navigating life for themselves after high school. Some resign themselves to the drab reality of their bleak environment, others try and get a toe-hold in the city.
Released by Bluebell
Cheers Trev.
- trevor826
Re: UK Releases
by wpqx » Wed Aug 29, 2007 8:38 pm
I am definitely jealous of the Loach collection(s)
- wpqx
Re: UK Releases
by trevor826 » Thu Aug 30, 2007 8:49 am
They're certainly value for money and pretty comprehensive.
The only thing that bothers me is how this distributor, completely unknown to me has been able to collect these films together when those that have been released before have been distributed by several different companies, some very recently.
Just hope the packages are as good as they sound and that Spirit Entertainment can deliver what they promise.
Cheers Trev.
The only thing that bothers me is how this distributor, completely unknown to me has been able to collect these films together when those that have been released before have been distributed by several different companies, some very recently.
Just hope the packages are as good as they sound and that Spirit Entertainment can deliver what they promise.
Cheers Trev.
- trevor826
Re: UK Releases
by arsaib4 » Sat Sep 01, 2007 6:35 pm
I'm pretty sure we discussed Take Care of My Cat somewhere along the line. Surprised we don't have an actual review. It's a pretty solid coming-of-age effort.
- arsaib4
Re: UK Releases
by trevor826 » Sun Sep 02, 2007 6:38 am
Yes I remember writing comments for it but that was on the site before we moved to ezboard. It's one I've been meaning to re-watch and write up on again.
The problem with this dvd release is that I would guess most people who want it would have an import copy. Still better late than never and I hope it does well for the blossoming Bluebell Films.
Cheers Trev.
The problem with this dvd release is that I would guess most people who want it would have an import copy. Still better late than never and I hope it does well for the blossoming Bluebell Films.
Cheers Trev.
- trevor826
Re: UK Releases
by trevor826 » Sun Sep 09, 2007 9:14 am
September 10
The Aki Kaurismaki Collection (Vol 1)
Film Description:
Contains the three films in Kaurismaki's 'workers' trilogy - Shadows in Paradise (1986), Ariel (1988) and The Match Factory Girl (1990).
With low-key acting, minimal dialogue and humour so deadpan it practically isn't humour at all, Kaurismaki tells simple, devastating stories of loss, love, compassion and the urge to escape. In Shadows in Paradise, garbage man Nikander strikes up a relationship with a cashier in a Helsinki supermarket. This was Kaurismaki's first collaboration with Kati Outinen, an actress whose face is emblematic of his cinema.
In Ariel, a coal miner whose father has committed suicide heads off in his his white Cadillac through Finland's snowy wastes in a search for work, love and escape.
The Match Factory Girl tells the excrutiatingly sad story of Iris, a worker on an assembly line, who lives with her dour parents, and has a disastrous social life. Then she gets pregnant by a man who thought she was a prostitute.
Released by Artificial Eye.
The Blossoming Of Maximo Oliveros (2005) - Auraeus Solito
Film Description:
The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros is one of those all-too-rare films that handles prepubescent sexual anxiety with intelligence and honesty.
12-year-old Maxi (Nathan Lopez) lives with his widower father and two older brothers in the slums of Manila. His mother has passed away, leaving the male contingent of the family to turn to petty crime.
Meanwhile, Maxi takes on the role of surrogate mother, cooking, cleaning and sewing for the family. Things become complicated when Maxi falls in love with Victor, a rookie cop who has an axe to grind with local criminals.
As events start to spiral out of control, Maxi has to make a choice: either stay loyal to the family he mothers, or to Victor, the object of his affection.
DVD Extras:
Director's commentary; Q&A with Director.
Released by Peccadillo Pictures
Cheers Trev.
The Aki Kaurismaki Collection (Vol 1)
Film Description:
Contains the three films in Kaurismaki's 'workers' trilogy - Shadows in Paradise (1986), Ariel (1988) and The Match Factory Girl (1990).
With low-key acting, minimal dialogue and humour so deadpan it practically isn't humour at all, Kaurismaki tells simple, devastating stories of loss, love, compassion and the urge to escape. In Shadows in Paradise, garbage man Nikander strikes up a relationship with a cashier in a Helsinki supermarket. This was Kaurismaki's first collaboration with Kati Outinen, an actress whose face is emblematic of his cinema.
In Ariel, a coal miner whose father has committed suicide heads off in his his white Cadillac through Finland's snowy wastes in a search for work, love and escape.
The Match Factory Girl tells the excrutiatingly sad story of Iris, a worker on an assembly line, who lives with her dour parents, and has a disastrous social life. Then she gets pregnant by a man who thought she was a prostitute.
Released by Artificial Eye.
The Blossoming Of Maximo Oliveros (2005) - Auraeus Solito
Film Description:
The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros is one of those all-too-rare films that handles prepubescent sexual anxiety with intelligence and honesty.
12-year-old Maxi (Nathan Lopez) lives with his widower father and two older brothers in the slums of Manila. His mother has passed away, leaving the male contingent of the family to turn to petty crime.
Meanwhile, Maxi takes on the role of surrogate mother, cooking, cleaning and sewing for the family. Things become complicated when Maxi falls in love with Victor, a rookie cop who has an axe to grind with local criminals.
As events start to spiral out of control, Maxi has to make a choice: either stay loyal to the family he mothers, or to Victor, the object of his affection.
DVD Extras:
Director's commentary; Q&A with Director.
Released by Peccadillo Pictures
Cheers Trev.
- trevor826
Re: UK Releases
by arsaib4 » Fri May 02, 2008 11:43 pm
The Terence Davies Trilogy
The Long Day Closes
British Film Institute (BFI) / July 21
The Long Day Closes
British Film Institute (BFI) / July 21
- arsaib4
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