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“A Comedy Of Errors”
By Raymond Benson
Alastair Sim was a national treasure in Great Britain, a comic actor who never failed to make one smile or outright guffaw. His Scrooge proved that he could also take a serious turn as well. This reviewer likens him to an early sort of John Cleese—an irreverent player who could do irony, surrealism, farce, wicked delight, and pure outrageousness within the confines of a somewhat realistic human being of a character.
As the star of The Green Man (1956), Sim plays an assassin named Harry Hawkins. Yes, that’s right, Alastair Sim is a mad bomber who takes it upon himself to get rid of the pompous blowhards in Britain, whether they be boring politicians or unctuous professors. He even has a Peter Lorre-like assistant, McKechnie (John Chandos), who is willing to obey Harry, even...
“A Comedy Of Errors”
By Raymond Benson
Alastair Sim was a national treasure in Great Britain, a comic actor who never failed to make one smile or outright guffaw. His Scrooge proved that he could also take a serious turn as well. This reviewer likens him to an early sort of John Cleese—an irreverent player who could do irony, surrealism, farce, wicked delight, and pure outrageousness within the confines of a somewhat realistic human being of a character.
As the star of The Green Man (1956), Sim plays an assassin named Harry Hawkins. Yes, that’s right, Alastair Sim is a mad bomber who takes it upon himself to get rid of the pompous blowhards in Britain, whether they be boring politicians or unctuous professors. He even has a Peter Lorre-like assistant, McKechnie (John Chandos), who is willing to obey Harry, even...
- 6/25/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Retro-active: The Best From The Cinema Retro Archives
“The Lady Vanishes One More Time”
By Raymond Benson
The Criterion Collection has issued a Blu-ray upgrade to a previous winning DVD release—Carol Reed’s World War II suspense adventure, Night Train to Munich. It’s a terrific example of the fine cinema Britain was managing to produce even while at war. Released there in August of 1940, the country was already in the conflict, although the Blitz had not yet occurred.
What’s more striking is its resemblance to Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes (1938) in tone, setting, and even characters. Marketing pushes at the time suggested that Night Train to Munich was a “sequel” to Vanishes, which was an extremely popular movie on both sides of the Atlantic. Night Train is not a sequel, though—it’s more of a remake.
Somebody at the studio must have thought they needed...
“The Lady Vanishes One More Time”
By Raymond Benson
The Criterion Collection has issued a Blu-ray upgrade to a previous winning DVD release—Carol Reed’s World War II suspense adventure, Night Train to Munich. It’s a terrific example of the fine cinema Britain was managing to produce even while at war. Released there in August of 1940, the country was already in the conflict, although the Blitz had not yet occurred.
What’s more striking is its resemblance to Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes (1938) in tone, setting, and even characters. Marketing pushes at the time suggested that Night Train to Munich was a “sequel” to Vanishes, which was an extremely popular movie on both sides of the Atlantic. Night Train is not a sequel, though—it’s more of a remake.
Somebody at the studio must have thought they needed...
- 3/27/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
“An Alastair Sim Quartet”
By Raymond Benson
Alastair George Bell Sim, popularly known as Alastair Sim, was one of those great British actors famous for his remarkable facial features, physical presence, and vocal delivery. Primarily a renowned stage performer from the 1930s to the 1970s, Sim also made several films—mostly comedies, because he could do “irony” as well as, say, Alec Guinness. Sim is perhaps best-known for his definitive Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, but his work portraying acerbic and sarcastic characters in other pictures in the late 40s and through the 50s, is outstanding.
The impressive Film Movement label has released this 4-disk package that highlights a quartet of notable Alastair Sim appearances in what are deemed to be among the best post-war “very British” comedies. This was a time when Ealing Studios, for example, was making its mark in the genre.
“An Alastair Sim Quartet”
By Raymond Benson
Alastair George Bell Sim, popularly known as Alastair Sim, was one of those great British actors famous for his remarkable facial features, physical presence, and vocal delivery. Primarily a renowned stage performer from the 1930s to the 1970s, Sim also made several films—mostly comedies, because he could do “irony” as well as, say, Alec Guinness. Sim is perhaps best-known for his definitive Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, but his work portraying acerbic and sarcastic characters in other pictures in the late 40s and through the 50s, is outstanding.
The impressive Film Movement label has released this 4-disk package that highlights a quartet of notable Alastair Sim appearances in what are deemed to be among the best post-war “very British” comedies. This was a time when Ealing Studios, for example, was making its mark in the genre.
- 5/14/2020
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Staring down his prey with sunken eyes and a sinister smile, Alastair Sim was the fiend Charles Addams never got around to drawing. Sim was a quick-change artist who didn’t need makeup to transform from a grasping monster into your favorite uncle – it’s why he remains the greatest interpreter of Ebenezer Scrooge. Whether playing a cold-blooded assassin in The Green Man or a kindly army chaplain in Folly to be Wise he understood as well as anyone why the masks of tragedy and comedy are intertwined.
Sim is one of those figures who’s been consigned to the history books for decades. But by releasing a Blu ray set of the great man’s comedies in 2020, Film Movement Classics, like Scrooge, hasn’t lost their senses – they’ve come to them.
Alastair Sim’s School for Laughter
Blu ray
Film Movement Classics
1954, ’60, ’51, ’47 / 1.67:1, 1.37:1 / 86, 97, 93, 82 min.
Starring Alastair Sim,...
Sim is one of those figures who’s been consigned to the history books for decades. But by releasing a Blu ray set of the great man’s comedies in 2020, Film Movement Classics, like Scrooge, hasn’t lost their senses – they’ve come to them.
Alastair Sim’s School for Laughter
Blu ray
Film Movement Classics
1954, ’60, ’51, ’47 / 1.67:1, 1.37:1 / 86, 97, 93, 82 min.
Starring Alastair Sim,...
- 4/25/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Why does CineSavant write so many positive reviews, even for films not commonly thought of as even being ‘good?’ Well, I’m about to offend committed fans of this Hayley Mills thriller… it bothered me in such basic ways that I had to watch it twice to make sure I hadn’t missed something important. Hayley Mills loves Hywel Bennett, a poor boy who gets a chance at the good life. But are they going to be victimized by envious relations, murderous gypsies, a deranged architect? The big superduper plus here is the film’s original music score by Bernard Herrman, one of his last.
Endless Night
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1972 / Color B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 100 min. / / Street Date , 2020 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring: Hayley Mills, Hywel Bennett, Britt Ekland, Per Oscarsson, George Sanders, Lois Maxwell, Patience Collier, Ann Way, Leo Genn, Shirley Jones (voice).
Cinematography: Harry Waxman...
Endless Night
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1972 / Color B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 100 min. / / Street Date , 2020 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring: Hayley Mills, Hywel Bennett, Britt Ekland, Per Oscarsson, George Sanders, Lois Maxwell, Patience Collier, Ann Way, Leo Genn, Shirley Jones (voice).
Cinematography: Harry Waxman...
- 2/18/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Mill Creek and Kit Parker have raided the Columbia vault once again in search of Noir Gold from the ‘fifties. Their selection this time around has a couple of prime gems, several straight crime thrillers and domestic jeopardy tales, and also a couple of interesting Brit imports. They aren’t really ‘Noir’ either, but they’re still unexpected and different. The top title is Don Siegel’s incomparable The Lineup, but also on board is a snappy anti-commie epic by André De Toth. Get set for a lineup of impressive leading ladies: Diana Dors, Arlene Dahl, Anita Ekberg — and the great Colleen Dewhurst as a card-carrying Red!
Noir Archive 9-Film Collection Volume 3
The Shadow on the Window, The Long Haul, Pickup Alley, The Tijuana Story, She Played with Fire, The Case Against Brooklyn, The Lineup, The Crimson Kimono, Man on a String
Blu-ray
Mill Creek / Kit Parker
1957 -1960 / B&w...
Noir Archive 9-Film Collection Volume 3
The Shadow on the Window, The Long Haul, Pickup Alley, The Tijuana Story, She Played with Fire, The Case Against Brooklyn, The Lineup, The Crimson Kimono, Man on a String
Blu-ray
Mill Creek / Kit Parker
1957 -1960 / B&w...
- 9/10/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Modern spy movies have nothing on this Brit thriller produced just as war broke out -- Rex Harrison, Margaret Lockwood and Paul Henried clash with Nazi agents, and risk a daring escape to Switzerland. The witty screenplay is by the writers of Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes and the director is Carol Reed, in terrific form. Night Train to Munich Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 523 1940 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 95 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September, 2016 / Starring Margaret Lockwood, Rex Harrison, Paul von Hernried, Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne, James Harcourt, Felix Aylmer, Roland Culver, Raymond Huntley, Fritz (Frederick) Valk. Cinematography Otto Kanturek Film Editor R. E. Dearing Written by Sidney Gilliat, Frank Launder story by Gordon Wellesley Produced by Edward Black Directed by Carol Reed
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Alfred Hitchcock's successful series of 1930s spy chase thrillers -- The Man Who Knew Too Much; The 39 Steps --...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Alfred Hitchcock's successful series of 1930s spy chase thrillers -- The Man Who Knew Too Much; The 39 Steps --...
- 9/9/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Every week we dive into the cream of the crop when it comes to home releases, including Blu-ray and DVDs, as well as recommended deals of the week. Check out our rundown below and return every Tuesday for the best (or most interesting) films one can take home. Note that if you’re looking to support the site, every purchase you make through the links below helps us and is greatly appreciated.
A Bigger Splash (Luca Guadagnino)
Despite a loose script that justifies little, Italian director Luca Guadagnino’s follow-up feature to his glorious melodrama I Am Love is a sweaty, kinetic, dangerously unpredictable ride of a film. One is frustrated by the final stroke of genius that never came, but boy was it fun to spend two hours inside such a whirlwind of desires, mind games, delirious sights and sounds. Based on the 1969 French drama La piscine (The Swimming Pool...
A Bigger Splash (Luca Guadagnino)
Despite a loose script that justifies little, Italian director Luca Guadagnino’s follow-up feature to his glorious melodrama I Am Love is a sweaty, kinetic, dangerously unpredictable ride of a film. One is frustrated by the final stroke of genius that never came, but boy was it fun to spend two hours inside such a whirlwind of desires, mind games, delirious sights and sounds. Based on the 1969 French drama La piscine (The Swimming Pool...
- 9/6/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
A few years ago the editors of Shadowlocked asked me to compile a list of what was initially to be, the ten greatest movie matte paintings of all time. A mere ten selections was too slim by a long shot, so my list stretched considerably to twenty, then thirty and finally a nice round fifty entries. Even with that number I found it wasn’t easy to narrow down a suitably wide ranging showcase of motion picture matte art that best represented the artform. So with that in mind, and due to the surprising popularity of that 2012 Shadowlocked list (which is well worth a visit, here Ed), I’ve assembled a further fifty wonderful examples of this vast, vital and more extensively utilised than you’d imagine – though now sadly ‘dead and buried’ – movie magic.
It would of course be so easy to simply concentrate on the well known, iconic,...
It would of course be so easy to simply concentrate on the well known, iconic,...
- 12/28/2015
- Shadowlocked
'Saint Joan': Constance Cummings as the George Bernard Shaw heroine. Constance Cummings on stage: From sex-change farce and Emma Bovary to Juliet and 'Saint Joan' (See previous post: “Constance Cummings: Frank Capra, Mae West and Columbia Lawsuit.”) In the mid-1930s, Constance Cummings landed the title roles in two of husband Benn W. Levy's stage adaptations: Levy and Hubert Griffith's Young Madame Conti (1936), starring Cummings as a demimondaine who falls in love with a villainous character. She ends up killing him – or does she? Adapted from Bruno Frank's German-language original, Young Madame Conti was presented on both sides of the Atlantic; on Broadway, it had a brief run in spring 1937 at the Music Box Theatre. Based on the Gustave Flaubert novel, the Theatre Guild-produced Madame Bovary (1937) was staged in late fall at Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre. Referring to the London production of Young Madame Conti, The...
- 11/10/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
★★★★☆Some films could only have been made in England, during a certain era and with a particular cast. The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954) - newly released by StudioCanal to mark its sixtieth anniversary - is one such film. Though its popularity led to a string of sequels throughout the 1950s and 60s - as well as an unfortunate revival in 2007 - it is the original film, directed by Frank Launder and starring Alistair Sim, George Cole and Joyce Grenfell, which remains the archetypal celluloid visualisation of artist Ronald Searle's comic creation. It's the new term at St. Trinian's - the girl's public school in the heart of England's home-counties, where anyone, other than the pupils themselves, fears to go.
- 4/29/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Jean Kent: British film star and ‘Last of the Gainsborough Girls’ dead at 92 (photo: actress Jean Kent in ‘Madonna of the Seven Moons’) News outlets and tabloids — little difference these days — have been milking every little drop from the unexpected and violent death of The Fast and the Furious franchise actor Paul Walker, and his friend and business partner Roger Rodas this past Saturday, November 30, 2013. Unfortunately — and unsurprisingly — apart from a handful of British publications, the death of another film performer on that same day went mostly underreported. If you’re not "in" at this very moment, you may as well have never existed. Jean Kent, best known for her roles as scheming villainesses in British films of the 1940s and Gainsborough Pictures’ last surviving top star, died on November 30 at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, England. The previous day, she had suffered a fall at her...
- 12/4/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
(Gerhard Lamprecht, 1931, BFI, U)
The versatile German writer Erich Kästner (1899-1974) was a lifelong pacifist following his military service in the first world war, and as a result of his anti-Nazism he was banned from publishing during the Third Reich. His most famous book was and remains Emil and the Detectives, the children's adventure classic that appeared in 1929 and was filmed in 1931 with a script by Billy Wilder and (uncredited) Emeric Pressburger.
The film tells the story of Emil, a lower-middle-class lad from a small provincial town who makes his first visit to Berlin to stay with his grandmother and bring her hard-earned money from his mother, a hairdresser. On the train Emil is robbed by a suave criminal (played by the celebrated character actor Fritz Rasp), whom he pursues across Berlin assisted by a gang of kids from all over the town. It's a lively, funny, exciting tale of...
The versatile German writer Erich Kästner (1899-1974) was a lifelong pacifist following his military service in the first world war, and as a result of his anti-Nazism he was banned from publishing during the Third Reich. His most famous book was and remains Emil and the Detectives, the children's adventure classic that appeared in 1929 and was filmed in 1931 with a script by Billy Wilder and (uncredited) Emeric Pressburger.
The film tells the story of Emil, a lower-middle-class lad from a small provincial town who makes his first visit to Berlin to stay with his grandmother and bring her hard-earned money from his mother, a hairdresser. On the train Emil is robbed by a suave criminal (played by the celebrated character actor Fritz Rasp), whom he pursues across Berlin assisted by a gang of kids from all over the town. It's a lively, funny, exciting tale of...
- 9/7/2013
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Gary Oldman on why his character Bex from the 1989 movie The Firm says everything about the Thatcher years
Maggie at the movies
There isn't a section of society or the media that hasn't reflected on what Margaret Thatcher meant. Film, football, sport, cookery – they've all weighed in with their Thatcher memories when, it seems to me, all we're really doing is basically remembering the 1980s. The nation has become a nostalgia radio station, like a giant Capital Gold, over the past week. Still, I'm not going to let that stop Trash going off on one. Maggie, we know, cared little for the arts — why should she, when every play, film or standup comedian was basically slagging her off? Hate figure she may have been, but it didn't half make for a lively antagonism for writers and directors. Don't we miss having such a big target these days? The only equivalent...
Maggie at the movies
There isn't a section of society or the media that hasn't reflected on what Margaret Thatcher meant. Film, football, sport, cookery – they've all weighed in with their Thatcher memories when, it seems to me, all we're really doing is basically remembering the 1980s. The nation has become a nostalgia radio station, like a giant Capital Gold, over the past week. Still, I'm not going to let that stop Trash going off on one. Maggie, we know, cared little for the arts — why should she, when every play, film or standup comedian was basically slagging her off? Hate figure she may have been, but it didn't half make for a lively antagonism for writers and directors. Don't we miss having such a big target these days? The only equivalent...
- 4/13/2013
- by Jason Solomons
- The Guardian - Film News
James Marsh's gripping thriller takes us deep into the bitterly divided world of 90s Northern Ireland
The director of the gripping Belfast-set thriller Shadow Dancer, James Marsh, and its screenwriter, Tom Bradby, both have one foot in fact and the other in fiction. Marsh is best known for his imaginative feature-length documentaries, Man on Wire, which won an Oscar in 2009, and Project Nim, as well as his TV film Red Riding: 1980. The TV journalist and novelist Bradby reported from Northern Ireland for ITN in the 1990s, the setting of Shadow Dancer, the first of his six thrillers. Their film centres on the perennially interesting relationship between the spy or informer or undercover agent and the person in authority who controls them. The characters are trapped between the complicated moral realities around them and the fictions that fate imposes on them, and the situation goes back at least as far...
The director of the gripping Belfast-set thriller Shadow Dancer, James Marsh, and its screenwriter, Tom Bradby, both have one foot in fact and the other in fiction. Marsh is best known for his imaginative feature-length documentaries, Man on Wire, which won an Oscar in 2009, and Project Nim, as well as his TV film Red Riding: 1980. The TV journalist and novelist Bradby reported from Northern Ireland for ITN in the 1990s, the setting of Shadow Dancer, the first of his six thrillers. Their film centres on the perennially interesting relationship between the spy or informer or undercover agent and the person in authority who controls them. The characters are trapped between the complicated moral realities around them and the fictions that fate imposes on them, and the situation goes back at least as far...
- 8/25/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
James Marsh's gripping thriller takes us deep into the bitterly divided world of 90s Northern Ireland
The director of the gripping Belfast-set thriller Shadow Dancer, James Marsh, and its screenwriter, Tom Bradby, both have one foot in fact and the other in fiction. Marsh is best known for his imaginative feature-length documentaries, Man on Wire, which won an Oscar in 2009, and Project Nim, as well as his TV film Red Riding: 1980. The TV journalist and novelist Bradby reported from Northern Ireland for ITN in the 1990s, the setting of Shadow Dancer, the first of his six thrillers. Their film centres on the perennially interesting relationship between the spy or informer or undercover agent and the person in authority who controls them. The characters are trapped between the complicated moral realities around them and the fictions that fate imposes on them, and the situation goes back at least as far...
The director of the gripping Belfast-set thriller Shadow Dancer, James Marsh, and its screenwriter, Tom Bradby, both have one foot in fact and the other in fiction. Marsh is best known for his imaginative feature-length documentaries, Man on Wire, which won an Oscar in 2009, and Project Nim, as well as his TV film Red Riding: 1980. The TV journalist and novelist Bradby reported from Northern Ireland for ITN in the 1990s, the setting of Shadow Dancer, the first of his six thrillers. Their film centres on the perennially interesting relationship between the spy or informer or undercover agent and the person in authority who controls them. The characters are trapped between the complicated moral realities around them and the fictions that fate imposes on them, and the situation goes back at least as far...
- 8/25/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
On top of a mesmerising plot, perfect casting and the greatest comic duo in British cinema, this comedy thriller derives special urgency from the troubled times in which it was made
Hitchcock and railways go together like a locomotive and tender. He loved them, they figure significantly in his work and never more so than in The Lady Vanishes. Much of what happens could only take place on a railway line – passengers delayed together by an avalanche; classes compartmentalised; strangers trapped together as they're transported across a continent; an engine driver killed in crossfire; a carriage disconnected and shunted on to a branch line; an intrepid hero struggling from one carriage to another outside a fast-moving train as other locomotives rush by; clues in the form of a name traced in the steam on a window, and the label on a tea packet briefly adhering to another window; and above...
Hitchcock and railways go together like a locomotive and tender. He loved them, they figure significantly in his work and never more so than in The Lady Vanishes. Much of what happens could only take place on a railway line – passengers delayed together by an avalanche; classes compartmentalised; strangers trapped together as they're transported across a continent; an engine driver killed in crossfire; a carriage disconnected and shunted on to a branch line; an intrepid hero struggling from one carriage to another outside a fast-moving train as other locomotives rush by; clues in the form of a name traced in the steam on a window, and the label on a tea packet briefly adhering to another window; and above...
- 7/24/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
The novelist relishes Hitch's prewar comedy adapted by Gilliat and Launder because it both satirises and celebrates the English stiff upper lip
It might not be his best film, but Hitchcock never made anything warmer or more lovable than this. I must have seen it 20 or 30 times and can't imagine ever growing tired of it.
Kudos to his collaborators, first of all. Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat's screenplay is sharper than anything written for Hitchcock's other British films (or his American films, come to that – except possibly for North by Northwest) and you could make a strong case for regarding it as a Launder and Gilliat film rather than a Hitchcock one, if authorship has to be decided. That sometimes endearing indifference to nuances of dialogue and characterisation that marks even some of Hitchcock's best films is nowhere to be found here: the edgy banter between Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood really sparkles.
It might not be his best film, but Hitchcock never made anything warmer or more lovable than this. I must have seen it 20 or 30 times and can't imagine ever growing tired of it.
Kudos to his collaborators, first of all. Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat's screenplay is sharper than anything written for Hitchcock's other British films (or his American films, come to that – except possibly for North by Northwest) and you could make a strong case for regarding it as a Launder and Gilliat film rather than a Hitchcock one, if authorship has to be decided. That sometimes endearing indifference to nuances of dialogue and characterisation that marks even some of Hitchcock's best films is nowhere to be found here: the edgy banter between Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood really sparkles.
- 6/16/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
Chicago – Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Lady Vanishes” isn’t one of his most heralded films. You don’t hear it mentioned on most lists of the best works of arguably the most influential director who ever lived. And yet it was the third film chosen for The Criterion Collection and has now been given the upgrade and joined the esteemed Blu-ray ranks of the most important collection in the history of home entertainment. If you’re unfamiliar with this witty, delightful gem of a thriller, there’s no other way to experience it for the first time. And if you’re a fan of Hitchcock’s more famous films, do yourself a favor by checking out one of his earliest.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
“The Lady Vanishes” had actually been in production with a different director when Alfred Hitchcock came on board mostly to satisfy his British contract before heading to the States.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
“The Lady Vanishes” had actually been in production with a different director when Alfred Hitchcock came on board mostly to satisfy his British contract before heading to the States.
- 12/19/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
After ten years, eight films and countless articles celebrating both, it’s all over. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 has apparated into cinemas, broken records all over the place, and now there’s nothing left to do but watch it over and over and over again. Possibly in 3D.
But when you come out of the coma induced by the sudden realisation that yes, you really are ten years older than you were when The Philosopher’s Stone came out, you may want to watch a different film. Here are some suggestions for ways to plug that Potter-shaped hole in your heart.
(Just in case you are one of the three fans in the world who haven’t seen it yet, there are some Deathly Hallows 2 spoilers below).
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (dir. Ronald Neame, 1969)
Professor McGonagall has always suffered from never having quite enough screen-time,...
But when you come out of the coma induced by the sudden realisation that yes, you really are ten years older than you were when The Philosopher’s Stone came out, you may want to watch a different film. Here are some suggestions for ways to plug that Potter-shaped hole in your heart.
(Just in case you are one of the three fans in the world who haven’t seen it yet, there are some Deathly Hallows 2 spoilers below).
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (dir. Ronald Neame, 1969)
Professor McGonagall has always suffered from never having quite enough screen-time,...
- 7/20/2011
- by Juliette Harrisson
- SoundOnSight
It might look rather old school today, but St Trinian's was once a subversive force in British cinema
I blame Harry Potter. I blame him for a lot of stuff: for the resurrection of those weedy Cs Lewis novels, for inducting a generation of new readers through the door marked "Fantasy", and I even blame him for the new generation of St Trinian's movies, which should have remained where they belonged and made most sense: in sexually repressed, austerity-ridden 1950s England.
Remove the hussies and hoydens of St Trinian's – referred to in the last St film as "Hogwarts for pikeys" – from that context and they deteriorate into anachronism, like National Service comedies or Carry On films made after 1969. They belong to a period when public schools, which educated only a minuscule percentage of Britons, seemed so much part of the national psyche that the entire country was familiar with their strange,...
I blame Harry Potter. I blame him for a lot of stuff: for the resurrection of those weedy Cs Lewis novels, for inducting a generation of new readers through the door marked "Fantasy", and I even blame him for the new generation of St Trinian's movies, which should have remained where they belonged and made most sense: in sexually repressed, austerity-ridden 1950s England.
Remove the hussies and hoydens of St Trinian's – referred to in the last St film as "Hogwarts for pikeys" – from that context and they deteriorate into anachronism, like National Service comedies or Carry On films made after 1969. They belong to a period when public schools, which educated only a minuscule percentage of Britons, seemed so much part of the national psyche that the entire country was familiar with their strange,...
- 12/12/2009
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
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