Prepare for a night of silhouette animation from the 50s courtesy of the undisputed master of the art, Lotte Reiniger. Hitting your shamefully unworthy TVs from 8.30pm, Sky Arts presents a selection of the most popular short films from the German animator.
If you simply can’t wait that long, dry your weeping eyes and watch the video below or click here to find out more –
The French Film Festival has ended for another year and the majority of this nation’s population can resume celebrating movies of a more British nature – and by that I exclusively mean dodgy gangster movies starring Vinnie Jones, sickeningly sweet romantic comedies with Hugh Grant, and edgy explorations of hooligan culture featuring Robert Carlyle as a ‘proper nuttah’ (oh, remember the days when he was Hamish MacBeth?).
Just because the banner-wavers of French cinema have left our shores, it doesn’t mean you should have to miss out on some excellent movies of a decidedly continental flavour.
Ecoute le Temps (also known by the English title of Fissures) is being shown tonight on Sky Arts. The film follows the story of Charlotte, a sound engineer who discovers that her equipment can pick up voices from the past – read more.
The popular image of the sleazy, power-hungry, temperamental Hollywood agent owes much to Lew Wesserman. His rise to the heights of the industry and subsequent fall through corruption and association with organised crime is the stuff of legend – read more.
I am always wary of any TV show that promises to “change the way you view celebrities”. Interestingly, if I was to encounter a programme promising to change the way I perceived ponds, I might be quite intrigued…
Despite this, the prospect of seeing the former US secretary of state, Madeline Albright meeting up with fellow ‘creative visionary’, actor Ashley Judd, is just too bizarre to pass up – read more.
Japanese cinema has been shocking audiences with horrifying efficiency since long before Anna Friel snogged another girl in Brookside (remember the fuss over that?).
Red Angel, the 1966 classic directed by Yasuzo Masumura, is set during the Sino-Japanese war of 1939 and tells the story of a young military nurse who is raped by her patients and sent to the front line for daring to complain. Assigned to a demoralised unit, she falls in love with an impotent morphine-addicted surgeon and…seriously, is that not engrossing enough for you?
Why do these Japanese films have blurbs that are more exciting than an entire Hollywood movie? – read more.
Some people consider Charlie Chaplin the funniest man that ever lived. Personally, I just don’t get the attraction and am more likely to be scratching my head in bewilderment than slapping my thigh in amusement to his particular form of comedy.
I do, however, believe that comedy is an art form and, in this case, the films of such a polarising character should be debated as strongly as any piece of artwork. So what do you think? Was Chaplin a genius or simply over-rated? – read more.
French cinema has always enjoyed a deeper level of respect from the British population than you would probably expect. Strangely, such acceptance is not extended to films made from other European countries – Germany, is a notable example. It’s possible that the historical links between France and Britain has facilitated this connection, or maybe it’s simply because French films are damn sexy. As an example, check out Emmanuelle Beart in this provocative classic – read more.
We don’t know how this bypassed the attentions of the Daily Mail-reading, Union Jack-toting, anti-French brigade, but the annual celebration of cheese-eating, surrender-monkey cinema has reached its 16th year in the UK.
That’s right, mes amis. If you can detect a faint whiff of garlic in the air, it’s because the French Film Festival UK has invaded our shores with the typically-French intention of mocking our dainty, English sensibilities and seducing our spouses. That’s just the price we pay for the chance to see a sample of engrossing films from across the channel before they’re picked up by Hollywood and re-made with all the subtlety of a flatulent Walrus wearing a drum-kit trying to sneak out to the toilet while at a poetry reading.
The festival kicks off on the 7th March but if you need your fix before then, Sky Arts are broadcasting classic and contemporary French films over the month which include films starring Mission Impossible’s Emmanuelle Béart and Asterix’s Gérard Depardieu (yes, I could have picked a better film from Monsieur Depardieu’s filmography, but that movie was so awful it deserves special attention).
Before Jim Carrey and The Mask made having a demon-possessed helm viciously affix itself to your face cool, there was Onibaba - the erotic-horror film from 1964 directed by Kaneto Shindo. Set in 14th-century Japan, it makes you wonder why British period dramas are never this awesome – read more.
Although it may seem hard to believe, once upon a time, American cinema was taken seriously. This was long, long ago, before character development and story were given a back seat to explosive set pieces, tired stereotypical characters, and pointless re-hashings of great movies that came from the earlier period before everything turned rubbish. Laugh at the misplaced optimism of these directors from the 70s, as they talk about American cinema’s last, great Cultural Revolution – read more.
Tim Burton may currently be holding the monopoly on alluringly creepy, stop-frame animation, but connoisseurs of the art form would consider his work in this field a typically watered-down, Hollywood-ised imitation. So, if you loved A Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride, you’ll love these freaky short films… – read more.
If you’ve yet to suggest to your neighbours that a collective farm would be the perfect way to escape the shackles of your greedy, capitalist overlords, you haven’t seen enough animated Soviet propaganda. I’ve always been absorbed by the stark style that emerged from the Soviet era, and the surreal concepts behind some of these propaganda films are extraordinary. For example, what happens when eager Bolsheviks export the revolution to Mars? – read more.
Further to the news that the Government are in talks with four of the UK’s biggest internet service providers, BT, Tiscali, Orange and Virgin Media, to try and catch those who illegally download films and TV programmes, we think it’s time to take a look at the legal alternatives of downloading.
Sky Arts have their own legal downloading service where you can download the latest programmes for less a bottle of coke, check it out here
If you haven’t seen these Soviet-era, anti-American propaganda animations, you need to get back to that gulag where you belong. Presenting several short films from the early-30s to the late-70s, this series is one of the more unique offerings on TV at the moment. Check out how little the criticisms of America have changed over the years… read more.
As if Sunday’s weren’t miserable enough, Sky Arts are showing one of Mike Leigh’s early films Meantime before you head off to bed. Originally shown in 1983, Leigh’s tale of Dole queue drudgery is just the thing to watch before waking up to a cheery Monday morning slog. Read more.
If you can detect a faint whiff of garlic in the air, it’s because the French Film Festival UK has invaded our shores with the typically-French intention of mocking our dainty, English sensibilities and seducing our spouses. That’s just the price we p
