DIGITAL DOWNLOADS & DVD RELEASES by George Savvides
WHO YOU THINK I AM
The delectable Juliette Binoche excels yet again in this intense psychological drama that builds up like a thriller. Safy Nebbou’s intriguing film tells the story of Claire (Binoche), a 50-year-old divorced teacher of literature living in Paris with two children, who creates a fake Facebook profile posing as a 24-year-old using a stunning photograph of a young beauty in order to spy on her lover Ludo. But when he declines her request to become a friend, Claire then approaches Ludo’s best friend Alex (Francois Civil) instead…
This kind of story is usually associated with older men where they become predators and spy on young women but now it’s good to see the plot develop from a female perspective. Binoche is almost unrecognisable as the middle aged woman desperate to recapture her youth even with a fake identity. She finds great satisfaction in exercising her powers and control this peculiar situation even without encountering her “victim” who increasingly becomes more obsessed with her. Rising star Civil, recently seen as the lead in THE WOLF’S CALL, is also excellent as the frustrated young man desperate to meet the obscure object of his desire.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Hollywood remakes this – ideally with Binoche reprising her role but then again it would also fit Julianne Moore like a glove. (Curzon Home Cinema)
VILLAIN
Richard Burton is Vic Dakin, the vicious anti-hero in Michael Tuchner’s fully restored 1971 crime thriller. He is a sadistic, gay and very dangerous East End gangster modelled on Ronnie Kray. Dakin is also much feared amongst the underworld especially now that he begins to blackmail Members of Parliament, but his main focus remains in pulling off a heist with a tough gang that includes his bisexual lover Wolf Lissner (Ian McShane).
The writing team of Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais is mostly identified with comedy but here it creates a violent and very believable criminal world of London in the early seventies.
Burton is a towering presence and shares an uncompromising relationship with McShane -quite daring for its time. Quentin Tarantino was probably inspired by an early scene of this in developing the cutting of the ear sequence in RESERVOIR DOGS. (Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Studio Canal’s Vintage Classics Collection).
BUSTER KEATON: 3 FILMS (Volume 2)
Give yourself a treat and get this terrific trilogy of Buster Keaton’s silent films from the twenties beautifully restored in stunning 4K and unmissable! (Blu-Ray from Eureka)
THE NAVIGATOR: A much loved Keaton classic made in 1924 co-directed with Donald Crisp. Buster plays Rollo Treadway, a care-free wealthy man who on a sudden impulse decides to marry Betsy O’Brien (Kathryn McGuire) and go to Honolulu for their honeymoon. His butler books the trip before Rollo even proposes and he is still determined to travel even after Betsy rejects his proposal, He goes to the harbour but boards the wrong ship, the Navigator…
It is a delightful film superbly filmed with perfectly choreographed gags on the ship. Keaton works magnificently with McGuire in this hilarious comedy which also predates KING KONG in some way. It is worth seeing not just for the classic underwater sequence where Keaton swordfights with a swordfish which has to be seen to be believed!
SEVEN CHANCES: A perfectly crafted comedy directed by Keaton (1925) in which he also plays Jimmy Shannon, a young man who one day totally out of the blue receives news that he will inherit seven million dollars on condition that he marries by 7pm on his 27th birthday. As it happens, it is the same day and time is running out…
It is such an inventive comedy with so many classic moments especially in the climactic sequences where Jimmy is chased by 500 women and a myriad of falling rocks.
BATTLING BUTLER: In this 1926 classic, Buster plays another spoiled prat called Butler who, in his attempt to impress the family of the country girl he loves, pretends to be the unbeatable boxing champion “Battling Butler”…
Another utterly mesmerising film from the king of the comedy, the “great stone face” icon. The film also boasts classic boxing sequences which inspired even Martin Scorsese when he was preparing for RAGING BULL!
THE IRON MASK
The premise of this international (Russian/Chinese/USA) co-production with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan in cameo roles, who also act as producers may sound good on paper, but overall it is badly executed, poorly scripted and appallingly dubbed. Oleg Shepchenko’s direction ends up being like Russian salad with a mixture of acting styles.
The action takes place in the 18th century and follows the story of Jonathan Green (Jason Flemyng), an English cartographer who travels to China in order to map the Russian Far East after he receives an order from Peter the Great…
It is a dull affair with the sole exception of a visually spectacular climactic sequence involving the princesses and a dragon king but that comes far too late to save the day. (Digital HD from Signature Entertainment)
ACCELERATION
This action thriller is filmed like a comic strip with not much character development but with a feisty heroine in Natalie Burn whose Rhona Zvocki kicks ass and breaks necks with great abandon. Rhona has only 24 hours to find her son who is being kept hostage by Vladik Zorich (Dolph Lundgren), a notorious crime lord in seedy Los Angeles but time is running out…
Directors Michael Merino and Daniel Zirilli put more emphasis on the action sequences rather than clarifying the plot and fleshing out their characters. Probably a vanity project for Burn, who also acts as producer and casting director. She is a strong presence and delivers the goods but overall, she needs a better script than this. (iTunes, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Sky Store, Virgin Media)
THE GRAND BIZARRE
This marks the feature film debut of avant garde filmmaker Jodie Mack. Her lively documentary is a clever amalgam of fabrics and textiles from around the world as if taken from a busy international market. Her imaginative imagery is never static – it keeps on evolving in the most unexpected ways and is perfectly complimented by a bizarre soundtrack also composed by Mack.
A hypnotic experience ideal for insomniacs! (MUBI)
