Britannia Hospital is the final film in what is an incredibly loose trilogy built around the character of Mick Travis, played in all three films by Malcolm McDowell. It's undoubtedly the worst film in the "so-called trilogy" (as McDowell refers to it as such in O Lucky Man! commentary track), but when you are following up two masterpieces … Continue reading Britannia Hospital – Blu-Ray Review →

Criss Cross is a great noir from Robert Siodmak, who was one of the key directors during the noir era. It reunited Burt Lancaster with Siodmak, the director who made him a star with The Killers, which was a very loosely based on a Ernest Hemingway short story. It was also one of, if not the only, … Continue reading Criss Cross – Blu-Ray Review →

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence was directed by noted Japanese auteur Nagisa Ōshima, who was at the peak of his career when he made this. He was riding high after winning best director at the Cannes Film Festival for Empire of Passion, which is where he met the fantastic and very nice producer Jeremy Thomas. That year at Cannes, … Continue reading Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence – Blu-Ray Review →

Little Joe is a kind of a body-snatchers story in which a corporation is developing a new species of plant, and plant-breeder Alice Woodard (Emily Beecham) decides to bring one home. It’s against company policy, and soon she is living in fear of it and her son is starting to act strangely. The plant is … Continue reading Little Joe – Blu-Ray Review →

It Couldn't Happen Here has been out of circulation for decades, with the last home video release being on VHS back in 1992. It's a massive curiosity, because it's the one and only film the Pet Shop Boys have made in their decades-long career. Originally it started out as a "video album" for their second album, Actually, directed … Continue reading It Couldn’t Happen Here – Blu-Ray Review →