Film Reviews by LE

It's just rushes/footage from the filmed inserts for a stage play. It's for Welles completists only. Should really be an extra on a proper DVD rather than a DVD on its own. Become tedious quite soon, plus there's some awful abuse of a horse early on. Not pleasant.

There was probably a quite muted critical reception to this film when it came out in 2002. It felt like an epic but, like many epics, it felt impersonal and lacked an emotional entry point for viewers. Having seen it many times since then, it is one of those films that improves with every viewing. You begin to realise the structure and appreciate the thematic and narrative throughlines. It's Scorsese trying something different, and he brings his formidable mastery of cinematic technique to an, at first, pretty impenetrable story. There is one magical shot that follows starving Irish immigrants off the boat at the New York port, and tracks them as they sign up to fight in the ongoing Civil War and so board a waiting ship that will take them to that death-ridden conflict, while the coffins of the poor souls that preceded them are brought back past them. It's a striking visual way of detailing the madness of war, and how death confronted the underclass at every turn in this godforsaken time and place. The bluray has some interesting documentaries about the real Gangs of New York, the making of the film, plus a very good commentary by Scorsese himself. I'm never totally convinced by DiCaprio as an actor but god bless him for being the vehicle that allows Scorsese to make the incredible films he wants to make. Diaz is great as Jenny but Day-Lewis steals the show as Bill the Butcher. A typical Scorsese ani-hero, but Day-Lewis provides an almost dreamlike baroque quality to the character. I'd have loved to have seen De Niro's version if the film had, as planned, been made in the 1970s. I can't imagine him being any better though- which is quite the compliment. The production design and costumes are extraordinary - probably the last time that sets would be built at this scale for a film. It's now CGI all the way. Perhaps this is our last glimpse of the Golden Age of Hollywood. If you are able to, try to see this multiple times. It really does reward that sort of emotional investment.

I've been enjoying very much going chronologically through the Bergman back catalogue(thanks to Cinema Paradiso). He's one of those directors who is probably incapable of making a bad film, and all his early works have a lot in them to recommended. But this is perhaps the first one that feels really profound. It's a meditation on unhappiness, alcoholism and mental health problems. He portrays broken characters who are desperate to discover pathways to a happier existence but are unable to follow them when they appear. As you would expect from Bergman, there are many sequences that reward a closer look. A rewatch uncovers the depth and richness of the world he has created. This may be where his filmmaking crosses the line into visual poetry. Very moving and yet the viewer almost feels like a passive victim to what is being shown. Highly recommended.

It still blows my mind that De Niro and Scorsese are in this - and they both put in great performances. I have a theory that perhaps Joe Pesci was supposed to play Scorsese's part - a puffer fish whose voice goes very high when he gets angry. Remind you of anyone? Maybe he turned it down. This is a fun film with lots o great performances. The special features show the care that went into it, and there's a decent commentary. Perhaps the animation looks quite dated now but this is a good family choice for an evening in.

I rented this due to the link with Bill Kenwright - all the films he's been involved with have been excellent. Lots of great performances and well handled by Norris. There's a rather edgy post-screening interview with a film critic in the special features - Norris does not look happy. Maybe the screening hadn't gone as well as expected.

I'm surprised this film didn't cut through a bit more, I'd never heard of it until I rented it, and I can't see why it isn't more famous. I guess there's some rather egregious nepotism in some of the casting which leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth but other than that it's well worth your time. Tim Roth has never been better.

Having watched Joel Coen's amazing version of the same play, I was interested in seeing what other directors did with the material, and there's no greater director than Orson Welles so I was pretty excited to see this. The shoestring budget is pretty conspicuous at times but this is a dark disturbing interpretation. Whereas Coen focussed heavily on the bird imagery throughout the text, Welles - without explicitly stating it - seems to be more interested in the childlessness of the Macbeths(something which is key to understanding their characters. The very first images of the witches makes that clear with the weird sisters seemingly conjuring up a foetus. Possibly the darkest mage in all of Welles' cinema. There's a couple of terrific one-takes in which Welles moves the camera in a way only he could. Yes some of the costumes aren't up to Hollywood standard, neither are some of the accents but those are pretty superficial complaints for a film so eerie and haunting.

I rented this because Martin Scorsese often speaks about it as a huge influence on his work. His student film 'Who's That Knocking At My Door', for example, is clearly influenced by this. As are 'Mean Streets' and 'Taxi Driver'. I would argue that his later spiritual films also owe a debt to Cassavetes' work. This film feels rough in our age of super-slick cinema but there is a truth and vibrancy to the characters and their environments that feels almost subversive. Among other things, it's a fascinating nuanced look at race in 1950s New York and it must have been somewhat daring to produce a film at that time with three main black characters. But it's not only about race, it's about life, hope, despair, and art itself. Just as it influenced Scorsese you can't miss the influence of the French New Wave on it.

It comes with a commentary track that is a bit below par. Seymour Cassell provides some insights but he is rather disagreeable, and the academic beside him doesn't provide the substance necessary for a difficult film like this. They do sometimes refer to what they/we are watching but it often just feels like a stilted audio interview. This film really deserves a proper commentary by someone who knows how to do them. CALLING MR SCORSESE.....!

Firstly there is egregious animal abuse, racism and antisemitism in this film. The only saving grace is a three minute short by Hitchcock called "I'm In The Wrong Flat". It's brilliant and basically like one of his feature films in microcosm. Pure distilled Hitchcock. This film is definitely worth seeing for that short scene if you are a Hitchcock completist like me. But the bad stuff mentioned above will put you off the rest.

Really unsettling. Like all of David Lynch's work, this feels like being trapped in a nightmare. He's up there with Fellini and Tarkovsky in his ability to convey a dreamlike world. My own theory is that a lot of his work is about the conflict between nature and industry. This film seems to be about how a person's environment - in this case, heavily industrial and devoid of nature - can seriously affect their subjective view of the world. Here it seems to lead to suicide. But a lot of it is still quite comic. A hard act to pull off! Like all his work, this rewards multiple viewings.

Really interesting western in which the main protagonist is an object - a gun. Beautifully directed by Anthony Mann with many interesting framings. He utilises a remarkable depth of field which means nearly every shot has action in the extreme foreground and extreme background. There are noir-ish elements in the characterisations and the acting is superb. Am pleased to say that there is an unadvertised commentary track on this disc, and it's with James Stewart! The dvd menu says its an interview, it's not. It's a commentary and quite a good one. Never imagined James Stewart had done a commentary for any of his films so that was a very pleasant surprise.

This is Ridley Scott's fourth film. His first three are.......deep breath...... 'The Duellists', 'Alien', and 'Blade Runner'. Probably the best first three films of any director in history. So 'Legend' is interesting to view as a follow-up to those classics. There are two versions on this disc. One is the film they put out in Europe in 1985, the other is the newly-found 'director's cut'. Not sure if it actually IS the Directors Cut as Scott doesn't specifically say so, and he has a habit of putting out different versions of his films, without quite explaining why. The theatrical version is shorter and makes more sense. The other cut meanders too much and can get a bit plodding at times. So if you only view one version on the disc, see the European Theatrical version. The film itself looks amazing. Perhaps, sadly, the last time that Scott put this much effort into the visual aesthetic of his films. So even if the plot synopsis doesn't grab you, do watch it if you like a film to look amazing. The scenes in Darkness's castle reminded me of Powell&Pressburger films - which is about the highest complement you can pay a director. It's a long way from being perfect but it is still worth your time.

It's good to see films from this era which aren't necessarily from the top tier but are simply examples of very well-made Classical Hollywood - the kind of films that haven't been made since the studio system was broken up in the 1950s. There's hundreds of films of this standard, many almost forgotten. I only rented this one as it is a Criterion release and they usually make brilliant discs with great extras.

Unfortunately the print was mediocre at best. I assume it has been cleaned up but it wasn't pristine by any stretch. The film itself is an easy watch - a story that probably seemed novel at the time but which a modern audience has seen many times by now. For this reason the exposition of the film is layered on pretty thick (and there are plotholes the size and depth of Boris Johnson's underpants), but Alexander Hall directs it with efficiency and with an admirable lack of sentimentality. Claude Rains is unsurprisingly perfect in the title role. And James Gleeson delivers a heroic comic performance. I do feel a couple of the other actors may have been somewhat miscast, including Montgomery in the lead. As luck would have it, Criterion supply, as an extra, a Lux Radio Show of the same story with Cary Grant in Montgomery's place and it works much better. That performance is also brought to life by having an audience to laugh at the funny bits. It becomes almost joyous at times.

There's also an interesting, though somewhat peripheral, interview with Montgomery's daughter, plus a fascinating discussion between two film scholars about the film and it's legacy.

Rodriguez's effort is far more entertaining and I think also the better film. It's funny and insanely violent. Tarantino's begins really well but just becomes annoying in the 2nd half. There's a very long car chase which admittedly isn't really my thing, and the characters in the 2nd half are probably the most irritating of any of his films(which is saying something). But the first part of his film is pretty much at the same cinematic level as RR's one.

Some of the fake trailers are wonderful - particularly Edgar Wright's and Eli Roth's. They really capture the aesthetic that the project demanded. One question that I haven't seen addressed is why Tarantino's film starts with that idiosyncratic Grindhouse look(damaged film, sound outages etc) but then transforms into looking like a normal 2007 Hollywood film after the halfway point. Maybe it's a fault with this disc, as I can't find a single review even mentioning it. Would love to know.

There's loads of extras which is obviously a good thing but some of them get a bit repetitive, especially those focussing on the actors. Actors are always annoying. The best ones are the various commentaries (including those for the fake trailers) and an hour-long interview with RR and QT on stage with the New York Times. Warning: There's a horrible bit in the 'making of' documentary for Edgar Wright's fake trailer where he talks unironically about 'retards' and 'mongoloids'. Have to say I've lost a lot of respect for him because of that. Very surprising.

I gave this five stars because it's worth seeing purely for 27 minutes of prime mid-90s Tarantino. His section is the most cinematic with amazing continuous takes within a single room, and bucketloads of his inimitable quickfire dialogue. Rodriguez's section is also very good and probably the most entertaining. When his section starts you can feel it turning into a proper film. Unfortunately the first part is poor and the second section is not much better. And, just as the film improves as it goes along, so does Tim Roth's performance which is, sad to say, awful for the first 45 minutes. He's an appalling comic actor, to the extent that I began to wonder if he'd actually ever seen a comedy before. It's pretty embarrassing. Fortunately in the hands of two great directors that's not so much of a problem, but under lesser talents he stinks the place out. I feel sad for Madonna who is far from the worst thing in her section but seemed to attract most of the contemporary criticism. That's misogyny for you, I suppose. So watch the first half of the film as a sort of universal humanitarian penance for the acting crimes of Tim Roth and you are then free to enjoy the second half for the exhilarating representation of 90s cinema that it is.

It's a great film - or at least the first half is - and the less said about the ending the better - but this is a phenomenal Bluray because of its extras. Two great commentaries and a load of amazing documentaries and interesting video essays etc. I wish there was some way of finding out which Criterion discs that Cinema Paradiso have because if they are all as good as this one, I'd like to see them.