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MrSwanny
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Judy & Punch (2019)
More fun than digging up worms !
Stay right to the end credits. The most telling comparison is between the reactions of the primary school children to a punch a judy show at the end which mirror that of the bawdy theatre audience at the start of this deliciously subversive twist in the tale. The reactions are the same and that's the point. The elements of the fable appeal to all and the more comically violent and horryfying the better. The social and political commentary is somewhat in your face but that doesn't detract from the central theme. We are all still children at heart...and children like yukkiness whether in the woods or at the hearthside. Great fun...see it !
Forty Guns (1957)
A vital starting point for all cult western fans.
I came across this gem by chance after half a lifetime of devotion to the spaghetti westerns of Leone and an unshakeable belief that Once Upon a Time in the West is the greatest Western of all. Suddenly the genre makes a lot more sense. From the fantastic opening shots as Stanwyk and her 40 thieves bear down on Sullivan and his brothers, to the numerous murderous shots which come out of nowhere, to the nihilistic pronouncements of all the major characters the overwhelming impression is that all the great modern westerns were paying homage to Forty Guns in a hefty way. Even the musical moments are strangely effective. The funeral song is a haunting hint of the musical "theme" which accompanies Claudia Cardinale's walk through the station in Once Upon a Time. Add to that the smoking sexuality of a mature Stanwyk and some of the best double entendres going and this is 76 minutes of economic, cult Western heaven. Don't miss it , Clint's tension building walks down "Main street" took their first steps here !