8 1/2 (15)

Italian classic 8 1/2 is released on Blu-ray and remastered DVD today.

8 1/2 (15) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

In 2013, the question for Italian director Federico Fellini’s seminal work 8 1/2 is does it stand up to it’s reputation as an iconic masterpiece?  The answer is a hearty yes, if your cinematic vocabulary hasn’t solely been taught by hobbits and terminators.  Though coolly influential and often breathtaking, 8 1/2 belongs to a bygone era and culture of filmmaking.

The fantastical episodes that make up this celluloid tapestry follow film director Guido Anselmi, a cypher for Fellini himself, struggling to find the reason behind his next film, which is already underway.  He thought he had something important to say, but now that he’s started saying it he’s not so sure.  Harried by colourful characters including a producer who doesn’t care what decisions Guido makes as long as he makes them, a mistress plagued by sudden fevers and a wife with the questionable gift of always seeing through her husbands lies, Guido retreats ever further from reality and hides in a fantasy world made of memories and wishes.

Marcello Mastroianni plays Guido, a handsome and elusive dreamer, mysteriously quiet on the outside, a swirling pool of confused ideas inside - the personification of still waters running deep.  Anouk Aimée is disarming as Guido’s troubled wife Luisa, Sandra Milo fantastically portrays the director’s forbidden lover as a hilarious caricature of a rich married woman capitalising on her voluptuousness, and Claudia Cardinale ignites the screen as a movie star who Guido casts as his dream woman, also called Claudia.

Gianni Di Venanzo’s black and white cinematography certainly stands the test of time, dazzling with inventive and adventurous camerawork right from frame one.  Likely alienating to present day audiences however, are techniques such as the use of an old Italian tradition of dubbing all the dialogue in post production, whereby the actors are filmed mouthing nonsensical lines, leaving no hope for lip-synced dialogue!

Fellini’s use of cinematic language, grammar and technique to wrestle with his own demons, and his use of craft to rediscover his muse, are mightily personified by Guido, an artist who feels an alien in an industry populated by shallow moneymakers and divas, an industry he depends on for his art as much as he tries to escape from it.  Fellini’s brazen honesty in committing these internal and private thoughts into a very public piece of art still makes for a potent sucker punch of entertainment.

Fifty years on, much of the homage critics lay at Fellini’s feet when 8 1/2 first hit a silver screen in the glorious gloom of a Cannes cinema, is undoubtedly still deserved.  Technical mastery, daring honesty and dispassionate liberality are intrinsic to the identity of 8 1/2, one of the few films still snapping at Citizen Kane’s heels as one of the greatest works of art created by a filmmaker.

DVD & Blu-ray extras: ‘Lost Sequence - Fellini on Fellini’ 50 minute documentary, Interview with Lina Wertmuller, Tribute to Fellini, Theatrical Trailers

A Late Quartet (15)

The exquisite debut from Yaron Zilberman is out on DVD and Blu-ray next week.

A Late Quartet (15) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

A Late Quartet is a model of class, directed with confidence, acted to perfection and boasting a rare and potent classical soundtrack.  First time director Yaron Zilberman explores the subculture of classical musicians, their dreams, passions and the intimacy fanned by their intense working relationships.

The Fugue Quartet have toured the world for a quarter century, garnering fame and critical acclaim.  Their lives are thrown into turmoil when cellist Peter Mitchell (Christopher Walken) announces that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and won’t be able to play with them much longer.  As the group faces the touchy dilemma of who to replace him with and when, old rivalries rear their heads and the quartet’s future looks bleak.

As first violin, Mark Ivanir’s character Daniel leads the quartet, and if there were an equivalent position among the foursome of thespians it must be Walken, soaring at the top of his game, all but devouring the screen with his powerful presence.  Like their instruments the actors are finely tuned, their emotions no less exquisite and true than the notes played on their strings.  It’s a master class in acting, a real joy watch.  Philip Seymour Hoffman is typically brilliant, and Catherine Keener is a minor revelation, as she is in every film in which she appears.

The script by Zilberman and Seth Grossman occasionally flirts with the wrong side of melodrama, but the direction and acting keep things heartfelt.  Zilberman shows the signs of a far more experienced filmmaker than he actually is, this being his first narrative film; his only previous cinematic work is the 2004 documentary Watermarks, about an Austrian Jewish womens’ swimming team in the 1930s.  The word ‘versatile’ comes to mind.

The director compares the way the characters handle their personal struggles, with the way in which a quartet must plough on through a difficult piece of music.  The Fugue choose Beethoven’s infamously challenging String Quartet No. 14 for their climactic performance, and though Peter arguably faces the grimmest trial of all, it’s his steadiness and wisdom that the others must look to if they are to have a chance of pulling through with their beloved quartet intact.

One of the most affecting insights the film brings is of the respect that the musicians have for each other’s talent, despite the differences and betrayals raging on behind the scenes.  The sacrifices they make out of commitment to the belief that it is more special to be part of the whole than to be recognised individually, is refreshing in an age that at all costs celebrates the importance of taking care of number one.

Zilberman’s delicate tale of ego, sex, sickness and music will delight music and film fans alike.  There are moments it’s obvious the actors aren’t really playing their instruments, but that’s a small flaw in a first rate film that offers a poignant and heartbreaking perspective on the world of classical musicians.

Blu-ray & DVD extras: Theatrical Trailer

Billy Liar (12)

A personal favourite, the iconic British comedy Billy Liar is released in the UK on Blu-ray and DVD today to celebrate it's 50th anniversary.

Billy Liar (12) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

Oscar winning director John Schlesinger, best known for Midnight Cowboy (1969) had an early triumph in 1963 with Billy Liar, a challenger for the following year’s Dr. Strangelove as the funniest film ever made.  Tom Courtenay stars as the eponymous hero, a compulsive liar with two fiancées on the go and a vivid imagination in which he is ruler of his own country, ‘Ambrosia’.

Alive with humour and charm, the film feels decades ahead of it’s time in terms of cinematic inventiveness, with Schlesinger announcing himself as a powerful and innovative filmmaker.  The script by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, adapted from Waterhouse’s novel, warmly presents what is now a slice of history: the inner workings of a post-war English town.  The story is of the awkward but inevitable rise of a new generation, born from the freedom of a country victorious after the Second World War and kicking against the creativity-stifling recovery period that followed.

Billy holds a job as a file clerk at the local undertakers, but his ambitions lie elsewhere.  He believes he has what it takes to catch the attention of his favourite comic actor, London based Danny Boon.  The scene in which Billy prepares to tell his boss what he really wants to do in life is genuinely sidesplitting, and one of the most memorable in the film.

Courtenay makes palpable Billy’s frustration at being trapped in such a closed community, with a family who’s aspirations reach no further than his mother’s hopes of having her favourite song played on the radio (something unlikely to happen since Billy forgot to post her request letter).  It’s impossible not to root for him to escape to London and take on the world.

The only person who truly knows Billy is not one of his duo of brides to be, but the alluring free spirit Liz (a young Julie Christie).  She alone is wise to Billy’s playful but alienating penchant to fib, and she disarms him into revealing his vulnerabilities and even inviting her to help govern his beloved Ambrosia.  “I turn over a new leaf everyday” Billy confides in her, “but the blotches soak through.”  She is the perfect foil for Billy’s character, and challenges him to take action and strike out.  Billy’s fantasies however are as much fuelled by guilt at not doing right by his family as they are by his ego, and his loyalties become divided.

Fifty years on Billy Liar remains as irresistible as its titular rogue, and for anyone who can relate to the tension he feels between going his own way and supporting his bewildered but loving family, it’s a film destined to hold a special place in their heart.

Blu-ray extras: Remembering Billy Liar with Tom Courtenay and Helen Fraser, Interview with Richard Ayoade, A look through the Keith Waterhouse Archive with British Library Curator Zoe Wilcox, Interview with Saint Etienne’s Bob Stanley, Stills Gallery, Trailer

Army of Shadows (12)

The restored French classic L'armée des ombres is re-released on Blu-ray this Monday.

Army of Shadows (12) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

Having been critically panned on release in France in 1969 and subsequently denied a theatrical run in the US, after a thorough restoration over thirty five years later, Army of Shadows has finally found recognition.  It is director Jean-Pierre Melville’s final word on the French resistance in wartime France, of which he himself was a member.

Lino Ventura plays Philippe Gerbier, a chief in the French resistance in German occupied France, 1942.  We first meet Gerbier on his way to a prison camp, having been betrayed by one of his subordinates.  From here Melville unravels a harrowing tale of ethical dilemmas, split loyalties and courage of a type that only those who lived through such times can fully comprehend.

A bleak portrait is painted of life for the resistance members, one of near futility as their efforts seem to consist almost solely of evading capture and risking their lives with no reliable way of knowing who to trust, only to find out that the powers that be consider them of little use against the German war machine.  Melville poses questions such as whether ones own life has any value in the grand scheme of things, particularly if one feels of little use to anyone alive.  The tension between personal friendships and loyalty to a cause is also explored, leaving you with unsettlingly ambiguous thoughts that hint at the kinds of things that kept the resistance members awake at night.

Melville’s typically sparse and minimalist mise-en-scène reinforces the chillingly matter of fact atmosphere.  Characters pace through scenes, their footsteps echoing as the camera lingers in a way that leaves the audience room for a quiet sobriety of thought, of a kind that the fast cutting and handheld camerawork of more recent war films can only dream.

Éric Demarsan’s haunting score is evocative of Cold War-esque melancholy secrecy.  The icy strings and poignant piano melody weave a non-specific yet memorable soundscape to reflect the troubled and cagey characters.  The performances throughout are superbly restrained and affecting, particularly those of Ventura in the lead and Simone Signoret as resistance member Mathilde, a character whose personal ethical hell is perhaps the most sympathetic.

While slow and intellectually demanding, like a ponderous game of chess, Army of Shadows remains a treasure trove for anyone looking for a vivid and challenging insight into the experiences of the French resistance, told in a beautiful cinematic style which is now sadly all but forgotten.

Blu-ray extras: Army of Shadows - The Hidden Side of the Story (Documentary), Booklet on the movie written by Ginette Vincendeau (Professor and Film Critic)

Short Circuit (PG)

This 80s classic was my favourite film when I was about 6, and it's out on Blu-ray and DVD today!

Short Circuit (PG) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

Eighties cult classic Short Circuit is pure daft fun.  Packed with goofy American humour and anchored by a warm hearted moral about the universality of morality, the movie is a childhood favourite for many and sure to become one for generations to come.

‘Number Five’ begins existence as a lifeless robot, built to do the army’s bidding and act as a cutting edge military deterrent.  Suddenly lightening strikes (literally), flooding consciousness through his circuits and gifting him with a squeaky voice and instantaneous lust for life.  The now living machine sets off on a hyper-curious exploration of the world, initially oblivious to the panicking armed forces hot on his tail.

Newton Crosby is Number Five’s charming genius inventor, modestly portrayed by a subdued Steve Guttenburg, and Ben Jebituya is his stereotypical nerdy assistant-cum-sidekick, who is to prone to making arguably excessively racy jokes for a PG rated film.

The onscreen oestrogen and obligatory love interest comes in the shape of Stephanie Speck, an animal loving, UFO believing pseudo-hippy.  Her heart is won by Number Five’s malice-free nature, and they enjoy a dance in front of director John Badham’s own Saturday Night Fever, playing on the television. Ally Sheedy fills Speck’s character with no small measure of irresistibility, delivering a spritely and memorable performance in a film where for the most part the best actor is the robot.

Though patchy in quality, the script is nothing if not upbeat and much mirth is to be had from Number Five’s zany and surreal one-liners (“Hey, laser-lips, your mama was a snowblower”)!  Director John Badham’s life affirming mid-career effort is heavily indebted to Steven Spielberg's far superior E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, released four years previously.  Upon discovering Number Five outside her house, Speck even thinks he is an alien, and is delighted as he swiftly picks up human ways.  The film does however carve it’s own unique spot in eighties movie history, with an impressive character design crowned with ingeniously emotive ‘eyebrows’.

Anyone with at least one working eyeball will notice the plain-as-day similarities between Number Five and WALL-E, with their caterpillar perambulators and binocular optics.  Pixar’s Andrew Stanton stated that he ‘may have been subconsciously influenced’ by Short Circuit, presumably using the subconscious as a metaphor for tracing paper.  The bottom line of the matter is of course that Short Circuit came first, but WALL-E is the better film.

It won’t move your soul, unless you’re under five, and it won’t teach you anything new, unless you know less than a dead piece of metal, but Short Circuit is mostly harmless escapism fit for all the family (bar a few blue gags).  It’s worth a look, and the kids will love it.

Blu-ray & DVD extras: Commentary by director John Badham and writers S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock, Original theatrical trailer, ‘The Creation of Number 5’, Cast and crew interviews, Behind the scenes featurette

Room 237 (15)

This curious documentary about arguably the greatest horror film of all time is out in cinemas today!

Room 237 (15) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

Some films stay with you forever, and ever, and ever.  So reads the cleverly referential tagline for Room 237, a whistle stop tour of nine conspiracy theories surrounding Stanley Kubrick’s horror masterpiece, The Shining.  Many films have been pored over in search of hidden meanings, but apparently none more so than Kubrick’s ode to terror, with interpretations ranging from the bizarre (it’s really about the moon landings!) to the almost believable.

Documentary filmmaker and horror fanatic Rodney Ascher has assembled a film that essentially consists of audio interviews accompanied by visuals from Kubrick’s films.  There is also the occasional filler footage, which is largely unimaginative and borderline amateurish.  This is kept to a minimum however, and Kubrick’s peerless imagery is allowed to speak for itself, making Room 237, more than anything else, a reminder of how breathtaking Kubrick’s cinematography is.

The soundtrack is an array of tributes to 1970s horror music, which works for the film but isn’t quite on topic, as The Shining featured an innovative mix of contemporary classical music and Wendy Carlos’ dread inspiring electronic compositions.  Few of the interviewees are notable, all apparently experts in very obscure fields (hermetic and alchemical traditions for example!), the exception being ABC news correspondent Bill Blakemore, one of the few contributors with anything bordering on plausible to say.

The so called ‘hidden meanings’ are mostly absurd to the point of being comical.  Ascher presents his subject matter with tongue-in-cheek, pokerfaced gravity, helping make the film palatable to a wider audience as a humourous insight into the minds of conspiracy theorists.  One theory stands out as being true however, as The Shining is to an extent a metaphorical allegory of the genocide of the Native Americans.  Throwing a little truth into the mix of madness makes the audience sensitive to the possibility that there might be shreds of truth in the other explorations, helping to keep you engaged and open minded with the thought that Room 237 might not just be a kaleidoscope of rambling nutters.

Die Hard film buffs and Kubrick devotees will get the most out of the film, as it directly appeals to the obsessive mindset of the kind of cineaste who likes nothing more than to slip film quotes into conversation, or to tell you that in Casablanca nobody ever actually says “Play it again, Sam”.  The market for this film isn’t quite that limited however, as conspiracy theories are brain food for some and outlandish entertainment for others.  Ascher’s film cleverly taps both these points of view, making it an amusing curiosity for all.  Even if you can’t swallow the ideas presented there is still fun to be had.  Now why not read this review backwards and find out what it was really about.

Hitch & Welles

My timely article on two of the greatest directors of all time!

Hitch & Welles

Alfred Hitchcock.  Orson Welles.  Two names that instantly inspire admiration, mystery and fascination in the heart of any self-respecting cineaste.  How could they ever be compared?  Welles’ titanic achievement Citizen Kane suffered a rude awakening recently at the hands of Hitchcock’s psychological masterpiece Vertigo, when the latter was voted the greatest film of all time in Sight & Sound’s once a decade poll of directors and critics, ending Kane’s unprecedented fifty year reign.  What better occasion could there be to explore these two universally lauded filmmakers than that?

Hitch

Alfred Hitchcock, affectionately referred to as Hitch, is well known as ‘The Master of Suspense’ because he directed a wealth of tension filled thrillers.  He is quoted as saying “Always make the audience suffer as much as possible”, and from the agonising and eerie tension of his best films like The Birds and Rear Window, to the non-stop chases of his apparently ‘lesser’ films such as Saboteur and Torn Curtain, the man certainly knew how to put his punters through the mill.

He was raised Catholic in the then largely Protestant London, and there is a well known story of how at the age of five his father sent him to a police station with a note, which he handed to an officer, who promptly locked him in a cell for five to ten minutes saying, “This is what we do to naughty boys”.  Who knows what terrible act of mischief Hitch had committed to deserve such a harrowing punishment, but we can be almost certain that he never did it again!  From the outset he felt an outsider, afraid to do wrong and yet fascinated by those who commit evil.  This fed into his films, giving them a distinctly voyeuristic flavour as he often forced his audience into the perspective of an unseen outsider looking in, an innocent bystander bearing witness to all sorts of heinous doings.  His penchant for the macabre and a dark and sometimes perverse sense of humour stemmed from his formative years, leading Hitch to effectively psychoanalyse himself for more than five decades via his chosen form of expression.

Among his technical innovations is the now overused Hitchcock Zoom, also known as the Vertigo Effect, as it was pioneered specifically for that film, to exaggerate the perception of depth and to produce vertigo-like giddiness in the viewer.  And if you think that 3D is a recent invention then think again: Hitchcock was an early pioneer of the device, using it with striking restraint in Dial M for Murder.

His legacy is immeasurable.  From pioneering cinematic grammar and techniques to fighting for cinemas legitimacy as a worthy art form, and with countless major directors citing him as an influence there is no telling what cinema today would be like had that Bobby kept poor Hitch locked up forever.

A film about his time making Psycho is in the works, for which renowned actors the world over vied for the chance to play him.  The simply titled ‘Hitchcock’ is due out in 2013, with Anthony Hopkins landing the prize role.  Amazingly, despite all his success and influence Hitchcock never won an Oscar.  Perhaps Hopkins will win one on his behalf!

Welles

Consistently voted the greatest director of all time, both by fellow director’s and his adoring critics, in his day Orson Welles was one of the most obviously talented but famously frustrated filmmakers in Hollywood.  Terry Gilliam excepted, no director is better known for having his artistic visions thwarted at every turn (post-Kane of course), usually due to studio re-edits or lack of funding.  From his butchered masterpiece The Magnificent Ambersons, to perhaps his most famous unfinished project, Don Quixote (making more comparisons to Gilliam inevitable, see Lost in La Mancha) Welles’ filmography contains far more films than are actually available to view in a finished form.  Were there such a thing as a no strings attached limitless budget, who knows what other influential masterworks the man could have unleashed on the world.

Though born into an affluent family, Welles learnt self-reliance and to work hard from an early age.  His parents separated when he was four, and at the age of ten he ran away from home with his half-sister Marjorie, only to be found a week later busking with song and dance.  Welles’ creativity and passion for performance flourished as he later staged his own plays during his early teen years at school, and he soon found work as a theatre actor, with a particular flair for Shakespeare.  By the mere age of twenty he was also working as a radio actor, during which time he met many of the collaborators with whom he would soon begin his film career.

For his debut - and best - feature film in 1941, Welles was granted for the first and only time the holy grail of every film director: total artistic control.  That film was Citizen Kane, the legendary picture that as of 2012 is supposedly inferior only to Vertigo!  It is an embellished exposé of the life of William Randolph Hearst, a powerful newspaper baron and sometime politician.  The twenty five year old Welles’ first feature length film was in many ways decades ahead of it’s time, making it’s mark forever on the way films are made.  Welles’ ingenious innovations spanned every department, from the way depth of field is used in cinematography to lighting techniques that allowed sets to have ceilings.

Welles may have changed cinema forever, but he was still never able to make as big a splash as he had the potential to.  Sometimes it was his own fearless impulsivity that left his work open to tinkering (the studio reworked the ending of The Magnificent Ambersons while he was AWOL in South America).  His brilliance spilled over into everything he turned his hand to, and he died the envy of everyone and anyone with an admiration for the art of moving pictures.

Alfred Hitchcock.  Orson Welles.  Rather than attempt the impossible and compare the two, we can be glad they were both blessed with the opportunity to make such good movies, and us with the chance to see them.  It’s meaningless to call the one ‘better’ than the other, and at the end of the day such polls are there to renew awareness of these must-see classics.  To borrow from Citizen Kane’s audacious tagline, ‘they’re terrific!’

(This article was originally written for FilmJuice.com and can be found here).

Les Enfants du Paradis (PG)

Timeless classic of French cinema, available on Blu-ray and DVD from Monday 17th September.

Les Enfants du Paradis (PG) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

Voted ‘The best French film ever made’ by the French Film Academy, this stunningly restored edition of Les Enfants du Paradis (1945) is a sumptuous cinematic treat.  Garance, a courtesan and actress iconically played by Arletty, one of the great beauties of the twentieth century, is pursued by four very different yet equally amorous gents.

Principal among them and the only one for whom Garance has any reciprocal feeling, is the unappreciated but brilliant mime-artist Baptiste.  At their first meeting, the mime uses his performance skills to demonstrate Garance’s innocence when she is falsely accused of pickpocketing.  Their paths diverge however when Baptiste hesitates in wooing her, and they each settle for loveless relationships whilst longing that their paths might cross again.

Jean-Louis Barrault plays Baptiste, a character modelled on real life nineteenth century mime-artist Jean-Gaspard Deburau, whom Barrault had been fascinated by ever since hearing how he had beaten a street-boy to death for taunting him in front of his family.  The other male characters are largely also based on real people, such as intellectual criminal Pierre-François Lacenaire, who stakes his own claim to Garance’s heart.  The romance is a catalyst allowing these disparate characters to be explored in one story.

Director Marcel Carné is known for his affinity with the working classes, and though Les Enfants du Paradis is about the theatre, it is also about the paying masses on who’s dreams and fantasies actors and writers live.  The cheap-ticket holding common folk are even affectionately referred to as ‘the gods’, as their laughs and gasps at whatever drama unfolds on stage is acknowledged as the theatre’s true lifeblood.  The balconies where these ‘gods’ are seated were referred to colloquially as ‘paradis’, hence the actors are their dependent offspring.

The Oscar nominated script by Jacques Prévert is a soul-searching, despairing treasure-trove of wit and humour, with dazzling dialogue full of memory-branding lines.  The soft, abstract-shadow filled cinematography is an interesting contrast to the razor-sharp imagery that is in fashion today, and Maurice Thiriet’s fabulously restored score is a frenzy of orchestral emotion.

Many will likely be daunted at the prospect of an old black and white French film that runs over three hours and takes place largely in the confines of a theatre setting, but anyone who gives it a half a chance is sure to have their hearts won over.  It is unashamedly melodramatic but uproariously entertaining, not to mention technically dazzling and even something of a miracle, given that it was shot during the years of France’s Nazi occupation.

The anguish filled finale is every bit as much a sledgehammer to the heart as those of better known dark classics like The Third Man and Brazil.  At one point a character muses “Audiences want something new... novelty, what does that mean?”  Les Enfants du Paradis could be that something for present day audiences, a rediscovered relic of cinema from another time and place.

Blu-ray & DVD extras: Theatre, Love and War: Making Les Enfants du Paradis, Once Upon a Time... Les Enfants du Paradis, The Restoration, The Restoration - Before and After, Trailer

Dexter Fletcher's Directing Tips - Part II

Here are actor/director Dexter Fletcher's concluding top five tips from his exclusive workshop on how to direct a movie!  (Picture: Dexter Fletcher as Bytes' Boy in The Elephant Man [1980]).

6. Keep your crew happy - everyone is important

“Most people on a film set do it because they are genuinely passionate about film, and on the long days you’ve got to help them remember that.”

Fletcher kept his crew happy by being inclusive, acknowledging their contributions and respecting their passion.  “Even the lowly runner does a job and it’s an important one,” he said, “it’s about remembering that.”

Don’t take anyone for granted, a happy crew is a hardworking crew.  It also helps to feed them well and keep the coffee flowing!  Coffee is the oil that keeps the human machinery of many a crew running efficiently.

7. Take risks - just do it!

If you’re not taking risks, then you probably won’t get anywhere as a filmmaker.  In many ways, choosing to be a filmmaker in the first place is a risk!  “Of course take risks,” said Fletcher, “but calculated ones.”

So how can a director use this philosophy of risk taking to get the most out of their cast and crew?  “It’s about pushing other people to take risks.  Ask [your actors and director of photography] to do stuff that they feel out on a limb on, but ultimately gaining their trust and making them take a risk that you’re in control of.  That’s the calculated risk, you’re pushing people to raise their game in a way that they’ve maybe not expected to, but when they do it they go ‘wow’ and they deliver, because it’s about your faith in what other people can do.”

8. Collaborate - be open to suggestions

One of the key features of being an effective director is knowing how to put the talent at hand to maximum use.  It’s all too easy to be precious and thereby stunt productivity, so remember that ‘collaborate’ is a word used by filmmakers again and again to explain what makes a truly creative team.

Dexter Fletcher is no exception, and spoke plenty on the topic of collaborating, “Heads of department are there because they’ve achieved a lot and understand a lot about what it is that they do, and so it’s okay to defer to other people.  It’s part of the collaborative nature of it.  You can say ‘no’, but it’s okay to ask the question and find out what other people think.”

9. Be prepared - know your project inside out

There’s no excuse for a director, especially writer-directors not to know their story better than anybody else.  On set, you always need to know the context of the scene you’re shooting at a given moment.  As Fletcher put it, “You’ve got to be aware of what it is that you’re shooting, what went before it, what’s going to come after it.”

But how can you achieve such a level of preparation and intimacy with the material?  “The preparation is a natural part of it, I don’t think I was really even aware of it [directing Wild Bill], I was just involved with absolutely everything all the way along the line.”

Full immersion in the script and hands on involvement with every department are core elements of the director’s job and preparation.

10. Let things go - edit brutally!

Once you’ve made your film and the stress (and thrill!) of the shoot is over, then it’s time to sit down and piece it together in the edit suite.  Have you ever wondered why DVD and Blu-rays so often include ‘deleted scenes’ as a bonus feature?  It doesn’t matter how much time you sweated getting the perfect light for that scene you’re in love with... if it doesn’t move the story forward then it has got to go.  Said Fletcher: “You’ve got to be brutal, you’ve got to be able to [ask] is it furthering the story?”

This can be painful, and it’s usually helpful if the director and editor and not the same person, because then the editor is able to look at the film objectively and suggest cuts to the director, persuading them to wave even choice material goodbye.  Fletcher is all too familiar with this, “There’s whole sections of Wild Bill that I just cut out because it wasn’t moving the story along.  It doesn’t matter how you feel personally about something, you’ve got to try and be as impersonal about it as you can when it comes to the edit.  It feels brutal at the time, but it’s about being practical and making the best film that you can.”

Of course it’s up to you what stays in the film and what gets left on the cutting room floor, but it might be wise to bear Fletcher’s final thoughts in mind when you’re splicing and dicing your first film: “Nobody cares what you love.  What [the audience] care about is whether they go to the cinema, watch the film and are entertained.”

Ask yourself, ‘am I making this film for myself, or for the audience?’  If you’re Steven Spielberg and answered the latter, then well done!  You’ve got a bright future.  And if you’re Quentin Tarantino and answered the former, then well done to you too!  Some director’s styles are more commercial than others, and these are just tips after all... food for thought for filmmakers.

Now go make your movie!  And don’t forget the ‘kick in the nuts’ shot...

Wild Bill is out now on Blu-ray and DVD, check out the trailer!

(This article was originally written for FilmJuice and can be found here).

Dexter Fletcher's Directing Tips - Part I

Earlier this month I had the privilege of interviewing veteran British actor Dexter Fletcher at the prestigious St. Ermin's Hotel in London.  He began his career as a child actor in classics such as Bugsy Malone and The Elephant Man, before progressing to adult roles in the likes of Band of Brothers and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.  He recently made his impressive directorial debut with the critically acclaimed low budget gangster drama Wild Bill, after the success of which he claims to have caught ‘the directing bug’ and is already hard at work helming his next project.  As a filmmaker I was keen to learn from his experience, and here I'll share the first half of his top ten directing tips.  Check back soon for the rest!  Wild Bill was released on Blu-ray and DVD on the 23rd July.  (Picture: Dexter Fletcher as SSgt. John Martin in Band of Brothers).

1. Settle on a project - what story do you want to tell and why?

“Filmmaking is storytelling” said Fletcher, and it is a fact that most budding filmmakers have a million and one ideas floating around their heads, but lack the decisiveness to settle on one and put the time and work into making it happen.  Fletcher had some helpful thoughts on how to overcome this common problem, “Choosing projects is about whether there’s a story in there that [you] can connect to and want to tell, because then you’re telling a story that means something to you.”

Filmmaking is far too much hard work to bother with if you don’t care about the story you’re telling!  Find material you connect with and go for it.

2. Be aware you’re making a product - how can you sell it?

Many fresh faced filmmakers want their work to be 100% Krzysztof Kieślowski and 0% James Cameron, and then wonder why they can’t find an audience, let alone make a living!  Depending on the balance of art and commercial viability in your personal dreams as a moviemaker, you might want to rethink that balance depending on where you see yourself in ten years: still working at Blockbuster and sharing your weekend passion projects with friends and family, or wining and dining with Brad and Angelina on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith 4!  There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be auteur, but even the best know they need to make a buck.

Some words of wisdom from Fletcher, “The art takes care of itself to a large extent, it’s the commerciality that you need to keep half an eye on.  You’re not just here to be an auteur and make an artistic piece of film that no one’s going to want to see... what’s the point of doing that?  Think about what’s going to be good in the trailer!  There’s a guy getting kicked in the balls in my film, it wasn’t my first choice but I was talking to an editor of trailers once and he’s like, ‘always the shot they want is someone getting kicked in the nuts.’  It’s a great trailer shot because everyone goes ‘ooh!’  It gets a response.  It seems kind of mercenary and calculated but there’s nothing wrong with it, you are making a product.”

3. Cast big names - what have you got to lose?

“Start with Brad Pitt and work your way down!” joked Fletcher, but he was serious too.  Apparently the first thing most investors asked about Wild Bill was ‘who’s in it?’  Make no mistake, star power counts.  Case in point, Gemma Arterton was originally cast in Wild Bill but couldn’t make it at the last minute.  Would the film have done bigger business at the box office had she made it?  You’d better believe it.  But how can directors yet to make their debut hope to cast known stars in their shoestring budget labours of love?  “The great thing about our industry is that the people who are involved in it genuinely love film...” said Fletcher, “if you’ve got a good script and a good story that you believe in, and a great opportunity for an actor to do something different, then you’ve got nothing to lose by asking them.  What I tried to do was offer great actors the chance to do something different.  If they love it and respond they’ll turn up for a sandwich and a good scene.”

There are plenty of examples of big name actors lending their talents to low budget productions for purely art’s sake, (see John Hurt in the 2011 short film Sailcloth).  So pick up the phone and make the call, because if you’ve got a top script the talent’s not as hard to tap as you think.

4. Get lucky - live in hope!

So many things have to go exactly right for a film to be made that it’s a miracle every time one is finished.  With that in mind, anyone who has made a film deserves respect for seeing the project through to the end (yes, even Uwe Boll), but one thing that never hurts is a little luck.  “Any moment you can get lucky!” said Fletcher.

Be it luck or divine providence, unplanned moments of brilliance can give your film a unique edge, and they do happen!  One such moment occurred on the set of Wild Bill, resulting in a shot of which Fletcher is especially proud: a paper aeroplane is thrown from high up a block of flats... the camera follows it perfectly as it soars through the air for twenty seconds plus.  It is a sensational shot.  However, such events cannot be bargained on, and Fletcher reminds us to be realistic, “Where there’s no luck, then adaptability is going to be the next option.”

5. Work hard and be flexible - roll with the punches

“Obviously there’re no guarantees for [luck] so you also have to work hard” said Fletcher.  A large part of walking the walk as a filmmaker is having the passion and commitment to put in the blood, sweat and long hours it takes to see a project through to completion.  Make no mistake, there can be just as much pressure on set as fun and then some, and it is true that when the going gets tough the tough get going.  “Save the stress for when you get home” continued Fletcher, acknowledging the pressure that he sometimes felt on the set of Wild Bill.  “You’re going to hit bumps and roadblocks all the way and it’s about making sure you can keep things moving.”

Don’t give up then, even when there are fraying tempers.  Just remember that if you keep your head, and aren’t afraid to improvise solutions, then everyone will be friends again by the end of the day.  Prime example, unexpected snow in London prevented Fletcher from shooting a crucial scene as planned.  Did he panic?  Far from it!  He improvised a swift relocation and shot the scene in a cafe instead.  It might sound like a compromise, but sometimes a spanner in the works can lead to an even more effective outcome than originally planned.  Let it happen, roll with it!  Just make sure that as much of the heart of your script makes it to the screen as possible.  The rest is peripheral.

To be concluded!  Meanwhile why not check out the trailer for Wild Bill.

(This article was originally written for FilmJuice and can be found here).

A Bronx Tale (15)

Brilliant mob film from Robert De Niro, out on Blu-ray Monday 18th!

A Bronx Tale (15) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

It’s a tragic truth that Robert De Niro’s rich and enthralling directorial debut A Bronx Tale is one of the lesser seen gangster pictures.  Upon release in 1993 it sorely under-performed at the box office (having Jurassic Park to compete with), and has since fallen behind such titans as Goodfellas and The Godfather as far as must-see mafia movies go.  This month’s welcome Blu-ray re-release is a chance to right this wrong, and put this mighty work back where it belongs with the best of the best.

We meet Bronx-dwelling Italian American Calogero at the age of nine.  He’s a typical school kid, memorising baseball trivia and testing his parents’ boundaries.  He develops a curiosity for local mob boss Sonny, who hangs out on the corner of his street, and he tries to sneak peaks at him at the bar next door, which his parents have deemed strictly out of bounds.  De Niro plays Calogero’s father Lorenzo, a hardworking and honest ‘stand up guy’, to use the vernacular.  When his son’s fascination with the gangster develops into a father-son-like relationship, Lorenzo becomes all the more protective, which in turn drives Calogero further away from him.  Sonny even gives the boy a new name, ‘C’, and soon C finds himself earning more than his father by running seemingly harmless errands for his new mentor.

As a director De Niro simultaneously pays homage to Martin Scorsese, from who he clearly learnt so much, and sets himself apart as something new and different.  He takes Scorsese’s energetic and wild style but gives it a twist, removing the darkness and injecting a child-like playfulness, perfectly suited to a story told from a child’s point of view.  As well as playing Sonny, Chazz Palminteri adapted the script from his own play, which premiered in 1990 to critical acclaim.  The story offers an unusual and refreshing perspective on the often over-glamourised world of mobster life, with C struggling to figure out whether Sonny is the tough guy and his father the sucker, or vice versa.

The soundtrack gives A Bronx Tale extra heart and soul; a dizzying selection of Doo-wop and rock n’ roll making the film every bit as operatic and exhilarating as any of Scorsese’s.  The cinematography is authentic and beautiful, and with a couple of small exceptions the performances are more than worthy.  The conclusion, featuring an apt cameo played to wise-guy perfection, is just the cherry on top of a really scrumptious celluloid cake.

If you’re a gangster flicks junky, or fancy a game of ‘spot the Sopranos actor’, then you can’t miss this film.  The script is elegant in structure, sparkling in dialogue and heartfelt in message, leaving very little to criticise amongst the riches to recommend.  Now if that’s not an offer you can’t refuse I don’t know what is.

Blu-ray extras: Making of, Trailer

Brassed Off (15)

Classic British film from 1996 just re-released on Blu-ray and DVD!

Brassed Off (15) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

Brassed Off is one of the best British films of the nineties, perhaps second only to Trainspotting in terms of homespun cinematic genius.  Set in the fictional South Yorkshire village of Grimley (obviously intended as the real life Grimethorpe, where much of the film was shot, and which at the time was the poorest village in the UK) the film follows a local miners’ brass band as they face financial hardships, and struggle for motivation when it comes to work, family and even the will to live, let alone keeping up their music.

Pete Postlethwaite’s star has hardly shone brighter than it does here.  He plays bandleader Danny, whose coal-filled lungs are only one of a number of problems threatening the existence of the band, the primary one being the imminent closure of the village pit, should its workers vote for redundancy over a financial viability review.  All the musicians are agreed: should the pit close and they lose their jobs, then they will disband forever. Music is first and foremost in Danny’s heart however, and he spurs the jaded men on to compete in the National Brass Band Championships, eyeing the final at the Royal Albert Hall with anticipated pride.

Director Mark Herman (The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas) expertly guides his audience on a journey of emotional highs and lows, making it impossible not to be cheering the band on as they fight to stay together and compete in the nationals.  The political message is mostly of the non-preachy kind, making it easy to sympathise with the trials of these men who face losing their jobs in the pits, with the script being loosely based on recent historical fact.

The weakest subplot is the romance between Andy and Gloria, played by Ewan McGregor and Tara Fitzgerald.  Thankfully this thread of the story is not overplayed, and more time is given to the gut wrenchingly emotional subplot that follows Danny’s son, Phil, who is locked in a downward spiral as he loses everything near and dear to him.  Even his dignity is left in tatters, as he has to resort to performing as a clown for children’s parties to keep the wolf from the door (barely).  Stephen Tompkinson fills the role with such intensity that you can’t but watch his scenes with gritted teeth.  Seeing him fume in full costume, red nose, baggy trousers and all is a sight to behold, and almost as painfully funny as it is moving.  The script takes this character to dark places indeed, only perhaps going too far during a climactic rampage in a Church.

The drama is woven between montages scored with sublime brass music, all performed by the actual Grimethorpe Brass Band.  This lends the film a warmth and gives it great character, but the montages get a little repetitive after the fourth or fifth one.

With hearty music that gets the blood going, irresistible English humour, tiptop performances and a powerful message, Brassed Off is a magnificent film and well worth a revisit.

Blu-ray extras: Theatrical trailer, Interviews, Subplots, Biographies, Photo Library

Black Hangar Studios

And now for something completely different!  Well, a little bit different.  I had the pleasure of visiting a new film studio outside London a few weeks back, and this piece of writing was the result:

Black Hangar Studios
(This article on FilmJuice.com)

Black Hangar Studios offers a beacon of hope to all those jaded by the apparent, and often misleading news proclaiming the waning of the British film industry.  From the closure of the UK Film Council to the only recently reversed doom of Twickenham Studios, the morale of British filmmakers has of late taken hit after hit.  But fear not!  Raise your weary heads and take a look at the new hope thundering its way onto the scene: the bold and exciting Black Hangar Studios is open for business.

Further dark tidings on the British celluloid shores included the government’s disappointing decision to block the planned expansion of Pinewood Studios back in January, which would have created almost one thousand jobs.  Black Hangar aims to fly right in the face of such grim events; even before its official opening on the 3rd of May, business was booming (this year’s Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was one of the first productions on site), so much so that completion of the Basingstoke based studios’ brand new facilities had to be postponed, as filmmakers couldn’t resist the services on offer.

The project was conceived and funded by a group of private investors, who saw an opportunity in the UK to offer a top quality studio to rival even the long-established major studios.  Value for money is one of the facility’s primary objectives, as the investors realised that the host of talented filmmakers resident in the British Isles needed a reason to perk up, and keep making movies in good old Blighty.  Underlining the infectiously positive vibe of this new venture, Black Hangar’s CEO Carole Siller said, “I don’t think there is a threat to the industry here, the UK has great film technicians.”

The main studio, as one would expect, is a former aircraft hangar (yes, it is black).  With 32,000 square feet of studio space, and a 5,000 square foot outdoor water tank, the studios can cater for a wide range of needs.  ‘Flexibility’ was one of the watchwords when the studios were designed (by filmmakers, reassuringly) with the site also featuring a complex of offices, kitchens, screening rooms and multifunction spaces, enabling clients to use the facilities however best suits their needs.

The impressive water tank has two shooting platforms for filming either under or above water, and the main studio is more than large enough to accommodate multiple sets, enabling a full feature film or television series production to be wrapped on site.

Situated at Lasham Airfield, a mere forty minutes from Central London, clients can, with permission, access aircraft landing facilities to bring in the stars.  Additionally, the range of local World War Two era buildings could save legwork for a client’s location department.

The real icing on the cake though, and a real bonus for productions, is the on-site team of renowned filmmaking professionals.  From legendary special effects supervisor Digby Milner (Star Wars, Harry Potter) to award-winning art director Simon Lamont (Casino Royale, The Dark Knight) any customer of Black Hangar Studios will be able to draw upon decades of experience and expertise to ensure their productions are completed to an impeccable standard.

The studios offer a refreshingly positive outlook on what some have cynically called a dying UK film industry.  With business certain to take off before you can say “Digby’s your uncle”, plans to expand and a business model designed to keep costs down and professionals employed, Black Hangar looks set to earn a place in filmmakers’ hearts and film history in no time.


http://www.blackhangarstudios.com/