Film Reviews by VM

3,500 acres to farm on land not suited to modern agricultural practices - so a very brave decision to stop and rewild - introducing various animals that were then just left to live in the wild (and the joy of them surviving their first winter and producing their babies) and allowing plants, trees etc to do their thing. What an amazing and fascinating transformation, year on year, and to learn how animals live in the wild - their behaviour and choice of habitat can be very different to what we now expect. It made me very sad to realise how domesticating animals and depleting our landscapes has so affected our wildlife, but it was joyous to see the reversion to natural instincts. So yes - a great learning curve, and, incidentally, a well made film with some excellent photography. I've just watched it in my local cinema but so look forward to seeing it again soon.

This is a concert performance without subtitles. As such it is quite good, but not what I had been looking forward to settling down to on a cold Saturday night!

The opera is, of course, superb but this was a disappointing production - barely more than a concert performance, + part of the idea of an opera is the visuals, surely? As for Barenboim's pace - well, you either love it or hate it; his slow tempos took the sparkle out of the music, his fast tempos lost the sparkle in the rush - well, I thought! The voices were wonderful but the talent was wasted.

I started giving this performance a four star rating - but then I watched it again, + again, + again - I couldn't let it go! Fascinating + ever interesting production, excellent performances by all with Willard White totally outstanding.