FEATURED POSTS

10 Questions with Shane Briant

The talented British' born actor Shane Briant made his screen debut in the Hammer horror film Demons of the Mind. Since then he's gone on to appear in over 60 films and television productions including Straight On Till Morning (1972), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973), The Mackintosh Man (1973), Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974), Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974), The Naked Civil Servant (1975) and Lady Chatterley's Lover (1981). Currently Briant is focusing his attention on writing fiction and he has recently completed a psychological thriller called Worst Nightmares that will be released May 12th. I've admired his film work for many years so I was thrilled to get the opportunity to ask Shane Briant a few questions about his early movies and current writing projects. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

The Girl On a Motorcycle (1968)

The talented director and cinematographer Jack Cardiff has passed away at the age of 94. As the tributes start to roll out from various news sites and film blogs its become clear to me that most people regard Jack Cardiff as a great cinematographer and have little regard or knowledge of his directing contributions, which is a shame. Cardiff was a brilliant photographer and his groundbreaking contributions to cinematography are well worth celebrating. But his impressive work as a director on films like the wonderful D.H. Lawrence adaptation Sons and Lovers (1960), the entertaining spy thriller The Liquidator (1965), the excellent erotic drama The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968) and the effective horror film The Mutations (1974) is also worthy of applause. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

Favorite DVD Releases of 2008

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but overall 2008 was somewhat of a lackluster year for new Region 1 DVD releases of '60s and '70s era films when compared to the previous two years (See: 2006 and 2007). Some of my favorite DVD companies such as BCI Eclipse and most recently New Yorker Films have folded. Boutique DVD companies are releasing fewer products and what is being released is often of questionable quality. With the failing economy and the rise in popularity of Blu-ray discs, it seems like the number of new worthwhile DVD releases might continue to drop dramatically in 2009. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

Resurrecting Yusaku Matsuda

Toru Murakawa's Resurrection of the Golden Wolf (aka Yomigaeru kinrô; 1979) is a wildly uneven Japanese crime film that left me wishing it had been helmed by another director. The film's script was adapted from a popular novel by Haruhiko Ooyabu and directors like Seijun Suzuki have had great success turning Ooyabu's hard-boiled fiction into films, but Toru Murakawa doesn't have Suzuki's eye for detail or his pop art sensibility. Resurrection of the Golden Wolf runs much too long and the dramatic filler weighs down the action, but even with its flaws the movie still keeps your attention thanks to the star performance of Yusaku Matsuda. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

We Are Controlling Transmission

This year analog broadcasting is coming to an end. On June 12th 2009 television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch permanently to digital. Digital broadcasting promises to provide viewers with a sharper picture and more diverse programming options, but this unavoidable change is forcing millions of people to buy new television sets or opt for getting a converter box that will often cost them $40 or more. I feel for these people because I didn't have complete cable TV Access or a digital television myself until 2007. READ MORE

6 Comments »

  1. Jeremy says; November 19, 2007 @ 5:54 am

    I pretty much agree with all your thoughts here. I would love to see a good print of it someday though, as my VHS suffers from the same quality issues yours does…
    I just love Marianne. She is so incredibly talented and lovely. I wish she could have made more films in this period, but I am glad to have the ones she did.

  2. Keith says; November 19, 2007 @ 9:32 am

    It’s been quite awhile since I’ve seen this film. The video was of poor quality. I would love to see a good version of this on dvd. I really enjoyed this film, especially because of Marianne Faithful. The woman definitely went through some rough times in her life. She really shined here. What a beauty who owned this film. I do wish she would have made more films back then.

  3. steve Langton says; November 19, 2007 @ 1:42 pm

    Great to see this one get a mention. As you say, Weeks can’t sustain the moments of unease he does sometimes achieve, but it’s well worth repeat viewings for several disquieting scenes and for Faithfull. I was lucky enough to see this lady deliver a reading from one of her books in a HMV store some years ago, and it was very moving to hear her describe various parts of her life with The Stones. It would be nice if Weeks’ film sees light of day on DVD, so I can retire my dvdr which I guess was taken from a tape of a BBC broadcast.

  4. Jonathan Lapper says; November 19, 2007 @ 2:05 pm

    I appear to be the only one here who hasn’t seen this but I’d like to. Despite the general agreement that the direction is lackluster and the film doesn’t hold up well I am very forgiving with ghost stories in general as I love them so much. Besides, it would be a treat to see Marianne Faithfull in this, as she is immensely likable. Maybe it will pop up on tv at some point.

  5. cinebeats says; November 20, 2007 @ 10:15 am

    Since the film seems to have a decent fanbase it’s a shame that it’s not available on DVD. It seems like a lot of British horror films are overlooked by DVD companies and I hope that changes in the future.

    I hope you get the chance to see it sometime Jonathan! As a ghost story, it’s rather interesting.

  6. Mark Russell says; May 27, 2009 @ 3:27 am

    Ghost Story is a really atmospheric film. I reminds me very much like something written by M.R. James…I first saw it around Christmas 1978 and thought it was great. I have seen it several times since. The actors are great and the end is memorable. Hopefully it will be releases on DVD.


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  • Cinebeats chronicles one woman's love affair with '60s & '70s era cinema. Or as she likes to call it, cinema's Platinum Age! Blog design, updates and all original content is provided by Kimberly Lindbergs. She can be reached by email at:
    kimberly@cinebeats.com