With Easter upon us, Tom Jolliffe looks back at The Long Good Friday… The season of Chocolate eggs is upon us, and whilst anyone pondering seasonal viewings tied to the Easter may be looking at Faith-based cinema, there’s also another film that is intrinsically tied to Easter… The Long Good Friday. Coming at a transitional […]
Handmade Films: A Legacy of British Cult Cinema
Tom Jolliffe takes a look back at George Harrison’s production company, Handmade Films… Often dubbed the quiet one of the Beatles, George Harrison is well known for the huge cultural impact he had on music in his time with the fab four. As far as musical phenomenons go, there’s a select pantheon for the most […]
Cinema of 1980: Blockbusters Take Over
Tom Jolliffe looks back at 1980, a key turning point in cinema… After a decade that began with an overwhelming air of pessimist cinema, the end of the 70’s would mark the beginnings of a significant turn around in box office tastes. By 1980 Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were household names. Star Wars, Jaws […]
A Celebration of Janus Films
Tom Jolliffe takes a look at Janus Films, the iconic distributors of arthouse and World Cinema… It’s not often we as film goers pay much focus on film distributors. We all know the biggies. Those images that precede the big tent pole blockbusters almost seep into our synapses without much notice. Warner Bros., Universal, Disney, […]
The Essential Helen Mirren Films
Tom Jolliffe looks at the essential Helen Mirren films… A British Icon, Mirren has been working since the 60’s and has an array of cult films under her belt, as well as a consistent recognition from the major awards. Never less than stellar, Mirren is an inspiration to aspiring actors. She’s successfully jumped between indie, […]
The Essential British Films
Tom Jolliffe on the essential British films… Article 50 is due to drop soon. Britain flies the Euro coop. With that in mind, and more importantly because any time is a good time to acknowledge it, I thought I would list my essential British films. I’ve collated a list of not only my favourites, but […]
Blu-ray Review – The Long Good Friday (1980)
The Long Good Friday, 1980. Directed by John Mackenzie. Starring Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Dave King, Pierce Brosnan, Eddie Constantine, Paul Barber, Derek Thompson, Brian Hall, Alan Ford, Kevin McNally, P.H. Moriarty, Karl Howman, Bryan Marshall. SYNOPSIS: A ruthless English gangster’s empire starts to fall after a series of bombings over the Easter weekend. Britain […]