It is quite remarkable that Fitzcarraldo (a story of one man’s crazy obsession) got made at all. It is a story of a man determined to drag a steamship over a mountain in Peru. To film it, director Werner Herzog (himself known as a crazy obsessive) chose to drag a full size steamship over a…
Rebel Without A Cause
Rebel Without A Cause was James Dean’s second and arguably most iconic leading movie role. Nicolas Ray’s classic 1955 film was a social commentary on disaffected middle class teenagers, going through emotional trauma, and the generation gap to their parents. It was shot in the new widescreen Cinemascope format and released a month after Dean’s…
Jekyll’s Inferno
Jekyll’s Inferno (aka The Two Faces Of Dr Jekyll aka House Of Fright) is one of the very few early Hammer horrors I’ve never seen, despite it featuring Christopher Lee in a supporting role and being directed by Terence Fisher. The twist on the old Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde formula in this 1960 release…
The Terminator
“I’ll be back…!” It is one of the most famous line in cinema history, as endlessly recycled by star Arnold Schwarzenegger in his subsequent movies. James Cameron’s 1984 sci-fi was made on a limited budget compared to its sequels, but it remains for me by far the best of the Terminator series. Before Arnie started…
Horror Express
Horror Express is one of my favourite 1970s horror movies. This Spanish-British co-production stars both Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing as friendly rivals (plus Telly Savalas as a Cossack) and is set in 1906 aboard the Trans-Siberian express train. An alien monster who can move between bodies by possessing its host is on the loose….
Brazil
Terry Gilliam’ famously fought a public battle against studio meddling over Brazil, particularly regarding an enforced happy ending. Heavily influenced by both Orwell’s 1984 and Kafka, the movie stars Jonathan Pryce as a low level bureaucrat, who becomes lost between his dreams and reality in a hyper-stylised city, somewhere between film noir and Lang’s Metropolis….
Easy Rider
Easy Rider is perhaps the most famous the late 60s/early 70s wave of American counter-culture movies. Dennis Hopper’s movie was both hugely successful and influential. I saw it at the cinema years ago, but I must admit I didn’t really “dig” it. Hopper and Peter Fonda play two hippie bikers taking a road trip through…