Director - Mark Hartley
The title says it all, this is a wild, fast-paced doc about Australian b-movies from the late '60s through to the start of the '90s. Leaping through porn, car-porn, horror and comedy director Hartley obvious not only knows his subject but is head-over-heels about it. By the time the end credits roll you’ll have scribbled down a huge list of ‘must see’ films. Really entertaining.
Director - Charles Chaplin
Very funny Chaplin short (25 minutes) set at a variety show. Surprisingly Chaplin isn’t one of the acts but instead plays two different annoying characters in the audience, one in the cheap seats and one in the moneyed seats. Very good, even manages to work in a few custard pie in the face gags.
Director - Stuart Cooper
One of those ‘adapted from the stage’ films that struggles to get away from its theatre roots. John Hurt is on fire as perma-angry Malcolm, who having been thrown out of art school is determined to get back at his teacher by kidnapping him. Suffers from the usual stage adaptation problem of being very talky and trundling along quite slowly. Despite some great actors (Hurt and David Warner are both up to their usual standard), you can’t help but think they they were already way to old to be playing angry teens. The humour feels ever so dated too, the analogy between Malcolm not being able to get an erection and not being much of a political leader quickly becomes tiresome. All a bit ho-hum really, only worth a watch if you really want to see John Hurt acting his young socks off.
Director - Chris Morris
Black comedy about a hapless group of Islamic extremists determined to make their mark for Allah. Shouldn’t work, but does so by not reverting to caricature, and making the main characters into human beings instead. Very good.
Director - Joan Littlewood
The film that gave Babs Windsor her big break is this odd little London set drama. Maggie's (Windsor) husband Charlie (James Booth) returns home after a few years at sea to find that the London he left behind has changed almost beyond recognition. That’s not all that's changed while he's been away though, since Maggie has shacked up with a new bloke. The majority of the running time is given over to the cast trying to prevent Charlie from finding about Maggie's new situation. Cor blimey, luv-a-duck etc. This is good in a time capsule sort of way, but suffers from an uneven mix of bawdy comedy and kitchen sink style drama. Great cast including Roy Kinnear, Arthur Mullard and Murray Melvin make this well worth a look if you have any interest in '60s British films.
