The Four Feathers
Directed by: Zoltán Korda
Written by: R. C. Sherriff
Starring: John Clements, Ralph Richardson, C. Aubrey Smith, June Duprez

Billed as a sort of adventure film, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from The Four Feathers. Even though the tale has been told on film multiple times, I went in to it knowing nothing about the story and was pleasantly surprised.

The film is set in the 1890’s during the Mahdist War. I won’t claim to have heard of this particular war previous to this film, nor will I act as any sort of expert on the background of this conflict (something to do with the British colonization of Africa). The lead character, Harry Faversham (played by John Clements) was brought up in a family rooted in military history. He’s a member of the British Army but resigns on the eve of a massive deployment to Khartoum. His decision is considered an act of cowardice, even in the eyes of his fiancee Ethne (June Duprez). Once the soldiers depart on their mission, Harry receives an envelope — sent by three of his friends — containing three white feathers; a symbol of cowardice. He then admits the accusations are true and decides to attempt to redeem himself in the eyes of his fiancee and his fellow soldiers. Harry heads to Egypt and disguises himself as a Sangali native, with plans to infiltrate enemy forces. When his friends run into trouble, he intervenes in an attempt to rescue them and to atone for the abandonment of his duties and the betrayal of his fellow soldiers. While it might take some time to get going, The Four Feathers is a great adventure film with some beautiful action set pieces featuring hundreds of soldiers clashing on-screen in some pretty epic battle sequences. It also boasts some stunning technicolor photography, which garnered the film an Oscar nomination for best cinematography.

Read the rest of this entry »

As someone who worked in the video game industry for three years or so (and is still friends with a lot of people who continue to work on games), I always thought that a documentary on the making of a video game would be pretty interesting. Having experienced it first hand, I can attest to the long hours and stress that goes into creating a product that attempts to bring art, storytelling, and technology together in a fresh and exciting way. Canadian filmmakers James Swirsky and Lisanne Pajot’s decided to document this process in their film Indie Game: The Movie, which looks at the journey of the indie video game developer. Here’s the synopsis:

Indie Game: The Movie is a feature documentary about video games, their creators and the craft. The film follows the dramatic journeys of video game developers as they create and release their games to the world.

The film tells the emotional story of friends Edmund McMillen & Tommy Refenes, as they craft their first Xbox game: “Super Meat Boy”. It follows Phil Fish, the creator of the highly-anticipated game: “FEZ”. After 4 years of working in near solitude, Phil reveals his opus to the public for the first time. And, the film tells the surprising story of one of the highest-rated video games of all time:”Braid”.

The film is about making video games, but at its core, it’s about the creative process, and exposing yourself through your work.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Rules of the Game
Directed by: Jean Renoir
Written by: Jean Renoir
Starring: Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor, Roland Toutain, Jean Renoir

This week I finally caught up with a movie that many consider to be one of the greatest films in the history of cinema; Jean Renoir’s The Rules of the Game. While I’m not sure it would top my own personal list of all-time favourites, it’s certainly a fantastic piece of cinema that’s full of humour, drama, and some wonderful characters.

Read the rest of this entry »

Fanny and Alexander
Directed by: Ingmar Bergman
Written by: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Börje Ahlstedt, Pernilla Allwin, Allan Edwall, Ewa Fröling, Bertil Guve

I was faced with a dilemma when I finally sat down to watch Ingmar Bergman’s epic 1982 family drama, Fanny and Alexander. Not unlike his “Scenes From a Marriage”, Criterion’s wonderful blu ray set contains two versions of the film: the 3 hour theatrical cut and the original five and a half hour TV miniseries. Which version do I watch? I’ve always hated being forced to make such choices and now that DVD and blu ray have afforded filmmakers the option to release various director’s cuts and unrated versions, it seem to happen all too often. Luckily, this situation seemed a little more clear cut. Obviously if Bergman shot and released a five hour version, THAT was the complete version. So that’s where I started.

Read the rest of this entry »

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
Directed by: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Written by: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Starring: Paolo Bonacelli, Giorgio Cataldi, Umberto P. Quintavalle

This Christmas season, tell that special someone you love them with the gift that keeps on giving: Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom on blu ray! If you’re concerned the intense scenes of sexual sadism, torture, and murder are too much of a downer for the holidays, just remember that it’s nothing more than a parable, intended to comment on fascism and mindless complacency under the rule of overzealous figures of authority.

Read the rest of this entry »

Harakiri
Directed by: Masaki Kobayashi
Written by: Shinobu Hashimoto
Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Rentaro Mikuni, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita

Masaki Kobayashi’s Harakiri is a sort of anti-samurai film that explores honour and moral decency within the strict adherence to a centuries old code. Kobayahsi’s criticisms hurled towards this authoritative body is just as relevant now as it was in Edo period Japan. The result is a film that plays with the audience as it peels back the layers, strategically revealing plot revelations that tantalize the audience, creating a truly engrossing cinematic experience.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is it people! The second and final episode of the Movie Organization Manifesto is about to change the way you think about movies. This time around we revisit the contentious topic of genre sorting within a DVD collection and whether or not the simplicity pure alphabetization sucks the enjoyment out of life. We also introduce some new and exciting organizational concepts such as ‘the seasonal shelf’ and the always controversial ‘juicing’. Finally, we do our best to answer your listener emails and help a few friendly folks resolve some frustrating roadblocks faced on their quest for the perfect collection. Se7en before Seabiscuit? Numeric vs. Alpha-Numeric? In the immortal words of Judge Mills Lane: “Let’s get it on and get it decided!”

» Download the MP3 (70 MB)
» View the show notes
» Vote for us on Podcast Alley!
» Rate us on iTunes!

Subscribe to the podcast feed:

If….
Directed by: Lindsay Anderson
Written by: David Sherwin
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, David Wood, Richard Warwick, Robert Swann

Lindsay Anderson’s 1968 film If…. sets a counterculture revolution within the walls of an English public school, creating an allegorical fantasy which reflects the volatile atmosphere of the time. Featuring a pre-Clockwork Orange Malcolm McDowell, comparisons to Kubrick’s masterpiece aren’t totally misguided. Both films are populated with rebellious youths and flashes of ultra-violence, but Anderson’s approach is a less austere look at aggression as a means of change rather than simply a way to curb boredom.

Read the rest of this entry »

Cul-de-sac
Directed by: Roman Polanski
Written by: Roman Polanski and Gérard Brach
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Françoise Dorléac, Lionel Stander

Roman Polanski’s darkly goofy Cul-de-sac is a defining moment in the filmmaker’s career, dropping a style gauntlet that would shape his future filmography and define the term ‘Polanski-esque’. He twists comedy and suspense into a fresh, thrilling, and manic cinematic experience that proves one thing; tough willed men eat eggs raw and weak willed men boil them.

Read the rest of this entry »

High and Low
Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
Written by: Ryuzo Kikushima, Hideo Oguni and Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Kyoko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi, Tatsuya Nakadai

With the summer blockbuster season wrapping up and a quarter of the year to go, it may be too early to pick a favourite movie of 2011. However, of all the classic films I’ll get around to watching for the first time this year, I can comfortably say that Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low will likely be my favourite. I arrived a little late to this party, but it’s never too late to catch up with great cinema and what better way to do so than with a blu ray release by the Criterion Collection? This film is definitely a buy.

Read the rest of this entry »

As we’re starting to wrap up the Canadian theatrical release of Beauty Day, I thought I’d share two new clips for those of you who haven’t had a chance to check out the film. For those who don’t know, the film chronicles the life and times of Ralph Zavadil, aka Cap’n Video. His cable access television show, The Cap’n Video Show, ran from 1990 to 1995, spawning a small but loyal cult following. Each week Ralph performed a series of idiotic and occasionally dangerous stunts, challenging the sensibilities of his small Southern Ontario audience. Now, almost 20 years later, Ralph decides to revisit the Cap’n to shoot a 20th birthday special for the very same Cable station that cancelled him 15 years earlier.

The first clip (embedded at the top of this post) features Ralph and his pal Robert shooting a skit for the Cap’n Video 20th Birthday Special. After the jump, you’ll find a second clip highlighting one of Cap’n Video’s classic skits, “Clothesline Skiing”. I’ve also revealed a brand new alternate poster for the film, designed by the amazing Ken Taylor. We’re hoping that both posters might be available for sale sometime soon. Beauty Day will air on HBO Canada starting September 19th, and will hopefully find its way outside of Canada in the near future. Now have a look at the rest of the content after the jump!

Read the rest of this entry »

People on Sunday
Directed by: Robert Siodmak & Edgar G. Ulmer
Written by: Billy Wilder, Robert Siodmak & Curt Siodmak
Starring: Erwin Splettstößer, Brigitte Borchert, Wolfgang von Waltershausen

In the late 1920’s, a group of young filmmakers would marry documentary techniques with fiction to create People on Sunday, a silent film utilizing non-actors to tell a scripted story about a relaxing weekend in pre-Hitler Berlin. The project is considered a work of genious by many and jumpstarted the long and illustrious careers of those involved, including a young Billy Wilder. When tracing the lineage of the French New Wave and New Hollywood eras of filmmaking, you’re likely to end up coming across this seminal piece of German cinema.

Read the rest of this entry »