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

Paracinema #4

by Kimberly Lindbergs | November 21, 2008

Categories | News, Alfred Hitchcock

The new issue of Paracinema Magazine has just become available and it’s a doozy! It contains a terrific indepth study of Hitchcock’s Vertigo as well as pieces on Takashi Miike’s Ichi The Killer, Melvin Van Peebles’ Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song and Jacques Tourneur’s The Leopard Man. There are also lengthy articles on the films of Gaspar Noe and a look at Skate Cinema: From Memory Screen to Gummo. I was especially impressed with Seth Watter’s piece on Eastern European Cinema and Its Discontents: Nazism and the Aesthetic of Excess since it’s an area I’m deeply interested in and horror fans like myself should enjoy James McCormick’s history of the rise and fall of Nunsploitation films.

I’m especially grateful that the magazine decided to highlight Cinebeats in its ongoing Dawn of the Blog column. They were very generous with their praise and I can’t thank them enough. From the magazine:

The focus of Cinebeats is not just on the films themselves , but also on the icons that brought them to life. From Lucio Fulci to Ann-Margret, Kimberly’s coverage of the people who made the “platinum age” great is expansive. No one genre is focused on and nothing is ignored. The posts are informative and often touching as Lindbergs unpologetically infuses her memories and personal attachments into her film writings.”

They know how to make a girl blush!

When I first started Cinebeats there weren’t many bloggers writing about ’60s and ’70s era films and those that did often took a tongue-in-cheek approach to reviewing genre movies. A lot has changed in the last 3 years, but I’m really happy that I decided to start blogging since it has helped me focus on my writing more and I’ve met some terrific people in the process. I never expected that Cinebeats would be mentioned in a magazine featuring a cover image of one of my favorite directors, but I’d be a liar if I said that it didn’t make my day. As a matter of fact, it made my week!

If you’re interested in picking up a copy of the new issue of Paracinema Magazine you can purchase it from select retailers or order it directly online. For more information please visit the official Paracinema Magazine site.