The Cinemasitter

Category: Take One

  • Interview with Jeff Blyth

    I recently interviewed cameraman and director Jeff Blyth for TAKE ONE – here’s a link to the full article…

    The memorable opening sequence from THE SHINING, with the camera snaking through the air above trees and a mountain lake, was shot by Jeff Blyth, a photographer and director with over 40 years’ experience in Hollywood. With the recent re-release of Stanley Kubrick’s seminal horror, we caught up with him to find out how he got started in his career, and just how tricky it was to capture the right footage for the notoriously perfectionist director.

    Full article: Interview with Jeff Blyth | TAKE ONE

  • Review: End of Watch (2012)

    ‘Once upon a time in South Central’ states the slightly pretentious opening title card, in David Ayer’s found-footage action drama. A more accurate subtitle might be ‘The LETHAL WEAPON Project’, being a mostly by-the-numbers tale about two LAPD officers who bite off more than they can chew when they start sniffing around a drug-pedalling gang. Its only innovation is to present the story as if it had been recorded by the lead characters, and even then it drops that approach after a while, mixing in some Bourne-style shakycam action so that things stay intelligible.

    Full review: End of Watch | TAKE ONE

  • Review: The Shining (1980)

    The Shining is, paradoxically, a horror film with barely a single shocking scare throughout, and yet remains a hypnotically chilling experience. Stanley Kubrick’s classic adaptation of Stephen King’s ghost story is now on general re-release in its US version, which runs 24 minutes longer than its later European counterpart after the director took it back in to the editing suite. Whether the film benefits from the additional material is open to question, but the opportunity to see any Kubrick film on the big screen is not one to be spurned.

    Full review: The Shining | TAKE ONE

  • Who’s afraid of the big black bat?

    Here’s an article I wrote for TAKE ONE about how Batman has been re-interpreted down the years, and asks if it’s time to move on from Christopher Nolan’s take on the character:

    If Christopher Nolan’s phenomenally successful adaptations of DC’s enduring caped crusader have taught us anything, it’s that some characters belong in the shadows. Cinema audiences just can’t seem to get enough of Batman, the darkest of superheroes. In the two film franchises he has starred in so far – Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy, which concludes this month, and the original series begun by Tim Burton back in 1989 – he’s been at his most popular, and best, when literally and figuratively shrouded in darkness. Indeed, so successful was he that for years it seemed as though the only comic-book adaptations that could generate success at the box office were those whose central characters were either as morally conflicted or as psychologically scarred as Bruce Wayne. Yet the difference between these two approaches is vast: night and day, you might say. There are different flavours of dark, and, as successful as the current Batman series has been, a change of direction might now be in order.

    Full article: Who’s afraid of the big black bat? | TAKE ONE

  • Made in Britain season: all five reviews

    Made in Britain postcard

    Over the last month I’ve had a lot of fun watching the all-too-brief Made in Britain season, which saw a bunch of homegrown film gems get a big screen outing across the country. The pleasingly eclectic choices saw comedy happily rub shoulders with sci-fi and horror – genres too often overlooked when it comes to handing out cinema re-releases. It was a very real joy to experience these films in their proper habitat. The only downside was the occasional sniggering from some audience members who failed to grasp the concept that acting styles and production values change and evolve over the years.

    I propose that StudioCanal make this an annual month-long event. Not only would it be a perfect showcase for their back catalogue, it would continue to raise public awareness about the rich legacy of British cinema and provide support for those who continue to keep its flame alive.  There are after all plenty of other neglected gems that deserve a cinematic airing. More Ealing and Hammer classics of course, and I think we can all agree that Flash Gordon deserves the restoration and re-release treatment.

    Anyway, thanks to Take One I was able to view and review them all, and (as much for my benefit as yours) here are links to the complete set:

    Passport to Pimlico

    The Plague of the Zombies

    The Man Who Fell to Earth

    Hobson’s Choice

    Quatermass and the Pit

  • Review: Quatermass and the Pit (1967)

    A jewel in the crown of British science-fiction, QUATERMASS AND THE PIT remains as taut and enthralling today as it was when first released over 40 years ago. Hammer’s third and final adaptation of the classic BBC TV series from genre mastermind Nigel Kneale deals with themes not too dissimilar from those of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, released only a few months later, as well as this year’s considerably more expensive PROMETHEUS: speculating on the origins of human civilization, and how an alien race might have played a key role in our evolution. Kneale knew how to tell epic stories in a contemporary, down-to-earth way, making them not only credible but also financially feasible. This naturally made them appealing to low-budget studios like Hammer, whose earlier Quatermass movies – THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT and QUATERMASS 2 – had been instrumental in establishing its reputation as the home of horror.

    Quatermass and the Pit | TAKE ONE

  • Review: Hobson’s Choice (1954)

    A truly Great British romance as well as a deliciously unconventional romantic comedy, HOBSON’S CHOICE remains a treat nearly 60 years after it first arrived on our screens. Showing as part of the ‘Made in Britain’ season, this is arguably a story that could only have been made in this country. Its working class, northern English roots give the film a bracing texture that never allows it to become sappy or fall victim to cliché. It can also boast a trio of superb performances, led by the larger-than-life Charles Laughton, and marvellous direction from an on-the-cusp-of-greatness David Lean.

    Full review: Hobson’s Choice | TAKE ONE

  • Review: The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

    Eschewing the conventional, Nicolas Roeg’s stylish adaptation of Walter Tevis’ sci-fi novel is more often than not a rewarding experience, tempered only by occasional overindulgence. Where one might expect Hollywood spectacle the film offers abstract imagery, and instead of tugging at the heartstrings Roeg delivers sex, sex and more sex. It’s surely a film that could only have been made in the Seventies. But when it’s good, it’s great; beautifully shot, the haunting mood and tone is largely that of sadness and regret.

    Full review: The Man Who Fell to Earth | TAKE ONE

  • Review: The Plague of the Zombies (1966)

    Anyone attracted by the throat-grabbing title and hoping for lashings of brain-munching action should look elsewhere: Hammer’s undead thriller from 1966 is a much tamer affair than today’s audiences might expect. But those who are more familiar with Hammer’s full-blooded style should find much to enjoy. THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES is one of those rare zombie movies made before George A. Romero’s landmark horror opus NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD; so while there is a reasonable amount of Hammer’s trademark bright red blood, there’s certainly none of Romero’s flesh-ripping cynicism.

    Full review: The Plague of the Zombies | TAKE ONE

  • The Wonderful Worlds of Powell & Pressburger

    Following on from my review of The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, here’s a piece I wrote for Take One about its writers/producers/directors, Powell and Pressburger:

    There’s a moment in A CANTERBURY TALE (1944), one of the less celebrated films in the oeuvre of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, which neatly sums up their importance in the history of British cinema. As the film begins, a group of medieval travellers are riding down Pilgrims’ Way to Canterbury, journeying to the grave of Thomas Becket. Up above, a hawk flies through the sky as his keeper watches below. As the camera follows the bird, the film cuts from one flying object to another – the hawk becomes a Spitfire, roaring loudly through the air, watched by a soldier below; and we have travelled through 600 years of English history in the blink of an eye. Below, a modern group of pilgrims are making their way to Canterbury, but this time they are servicemen and women, making their way to their respective positions in the war effort.

    Full article: The Wonderful Worlds of Powell & Pressburger | TAKE ONE