Reviews
[JP/AT/F
SLOW MOTION (18) 84min
'A'tlirmal ti fl: DVD Hetarr; O...
mw‘nfl -
if); EDGE " Jean l u(, (3r litard doesn't make trlrns: he lrlms events. srtuatrorrs. rdeas and then pulls them together rnto some semblance of a lrnrshed product. Crrss crossrng the tale of a televrsron lrlrrrrnaker (Jacgues Dutroncl coping wrth estrangement from hrs tarnrly Wrth that of a prostitute (Isabelle lluppertl and also the story of a woman (Nathalie Bayel who Is tryrng for that hetter lrte rn the country. Godard genurnely ex; )er'rments erh the possrhrlrtres of trlrn here.
The end goal of narratrve tullrlrnent gets eschewed as Godard searches out tenuous character conneetrons. and tramrngs that (:ontarn details the vrewer could easrly miss. lntr‘rgurng. dernandrng and at trrnes even Tatr-esgue. this rerssue of one of the trlmmaker's less well known 80s lrlms rs well worth seekrng out. Extras rnclude Gooard's trlmed medrtatrons on the trlrn.
(Tony McKrbhrnl
DOCUMENTARY SEARCHING FOR THE WRONG-EYED JESUS
(E) 82 min
(Plexr Frlm DVD retarll 0...
'There‘s a church. a truck stop. a ruke rornt and a prison. It's just you typrcal Southern small town,‘ says one old man stood somewhere Just SOuth of nowhere. Eccentrrc
lrltxyw" ‘1,V\;‘:(J‘rv
.'./’,t-’lr’,‘..‘> ’l’)(,t.'tf:' far. for a ‘.e', partrr,r.la' 7' :, a'otrrr’: Ar'rer wee: south ar‘rt rts r'ra", llrtl‘m, colours P‘ace narnes are rre.er state“). and nor are those o‘ rlli‘7l‘.’l(:.‘fl:‘r’r. l)(li il‘ffir’: rletarls don't rrratte' The guest here :5. tr, sketch a picture t4, no means a complete one. but more a ‘r’flJdl diurl, of an often lllIl)()‘."(3ll‘5ll(:(l E;(>(Zr(:T,’ ‘.‘.’here the lrne pet‘s/een '.'.'ron<_;dorng and redemptron rs clearly r tr 2 run/r r
There rs. however. ar‘ over'reachrng arr ot resrlrence and detrance. and the rnusrc Whrte searches for » the bluegrass. country folk and blues that has flour‘rshed for the last century w contrnues to serve as much as a cultural srgnrtrer as rt does pure entertarnment. But thrs rsn't a tale of woe: rt's a panoramrc celehr'atron ot SOuthern culture and sprnt. sornethrng that can't he bottled. sold or preached but only experienced.
(Mark Rohertsonr
DRAMA TWENTY-FOUR EYES
(PG) 155mm
(Eureka DVD retarl) O...
Kersuke Krnoshrta‘s Iovrng look at the lrte of a drlrgent schoolteacher (Hrdeko Takamrner on a remote Japanese rslartd was. preserently enough. hrs 2-1th trlm (he went on to drrect a total of ‘12). Spannrng
the years 1928 to 19.16.
Tlt’O/lty-FOUI' Eves follows wrth warmth and a certarn lachrymose wrt (perfectly personrtred by
lea't artress rzrkr‘rrrzm-r
the .'.’)ll‘lli() Lama; .‘rt' t)7<1‘-.£,"r)f, "ant. .‘.'a‘»r.". Tor r‘mf": 71:; wr‘e Jltlwtl‘rtf‘rt.’ l.’ r'T‘M‘llt‘l} that rt '.'.' .r‘g "it/(,- tears not 0‘ Japanese aoarerrces tha" an, other post ‘.'.'ar trlnr‘ That rsr‘t 3:: sa,’ the
tears aren't we!
earned. Kircs'rrta shows‘ us tough. tragrc lites here. And It‘s not that the irlrn's style rs alu‘xays :ookrrig to invoke ‘-.1‘/eep:ng' Krnoshrta. lrke a lot of Japanese lr‘mrnakms~ respects a certanr drstance towards people's emotronal outpourrng. Yet the sentrmental rs always close to hand. lllrt; comes Wrth rs a tine booklet on the frlm by Joan lvlellen
rTony McKrhhrnl
BOX Sir l
THE ORSON WELLES COLLECTION (12) 309mm (Unrversal DVD retth COO.
Orson Welles drr'ectorral dehut Crtr/en Kane has sat perched at the top of crrtrcs' Best Film polls for decades. Although the term ‘masterprece' rnrght have lost rts sheen through r'an‘rnant overuse. thrs ehr'onrcre ot the dramatic use and tall ot a newspaper magnate has. through rts scope and aestl‘etrc
Air‘llltlrlSl ()Ol 'r l (LllUN‘
THE PASSION OF CARL THEODOR DREYER
Pasquale lannone enjoys some rare Danish cuts from a true master of
Cinema.
Despite a 46-year career which yielded 14 full features (including a handful of genuine masterpieces) Carl Theodor Dreyer (1889—1968) has, in this country, been surprisingly ill-served by DVD. In 2001, US company Criterion released an excellent three-film Dreyer Box Set which included the 1995 documentary My Metier. In the UK - where loosely comparable filmmakers such as Bresson or Ozu have enjoyed wide coverage on DVD - a larger public has hitherto been denied the opportunity to discover that there is much more to the Danish director than his much muted The Passion of
Joan of Arc (1928).
This fortnight sees the long-awaited UK release of 1925 silent Master of the House (0000 ), as well as 1943’s Day of Wrath (00000), Ordet (00000) and finally Gertrud (0000 ). These are some of the most powerful, affecting cinematic meditations on faith, spirituality and human passion. They are films that, over time, have enraptured filmmakers as diverse as Rossellini, Angelopoulos and Tarkovsky. They demand attention from anyone with their own passion for film.
‘Just as one speaks about a person’s soul,‘ Dreyer once said, ‘one may also speak of an artwork's soul. The soul reveals itself in the style, which is the artist’s device for his understanding of the material.’ It is precisely Dreyer‘s style, his aesthetic, which renders his films so daunting for many modern viewers. His stories of human suffering (the suffering of women in particular) are built through stark, austere mise-en-scene and a slow, meditative camera, creating an often unbearable emotional intensity. Dreyer asks that the viewer engage with his films‘ unique tone and rhythm. They are essential, rewarding viewing for anyone wishing to understand the aesthetic development of the cinema. I All o...‘ In r'tlo'r it) Apr BF/ Vireo DVD retar'.
amhrtron. earned rts posrtron rn the hrstori,’ oi ‘rlrn.
Immaculate perrod settrng and excellent performances rrn partrcular from Joseph Coiten and Agnes Mosr'neadr make 7 8112's The r‘vlagrtrfrcent Amoersons even, ort as rmpressrse as Kane. Take”. out o‘ Welles hands ago." completror‘ and nasal, re-ctrt r), RKO. the flrn oatals the
rrnpact oi the onset of the rndustrral age on a ‘r."./ealth',r hourgeors farnrl,.
Also sutferrng eats. thrs trme at the 'rands of Unr'xersal rrrony of rrrrnres. given tl‘at that's the company releasrrxg thrs pox set). Tours"? of Evr/ 195% rss set N the border town ot Los Robles with Welles w the scene-mur'rci‘rrng role of Hank Ournlan. a p'goteo detectrve
whose rnorall; rlulrrou') rnethorl‘. clash .'/rtl‘r those of Mencan cop Ramon Vargas (Charlton Hestorrr The celehrated openrr (3 sequence sets the tone for a rrrurk, tlrrrller T' at “s (Obit/(U) ilk“; It; V/(J‘ll‘f). orrgrr‘ral Kalkaesrtuer /r<;ror
An essentral colleenr r‘. Dsapogrrrtxrgly ’hough. the extras focus arrrro‘f. exclusw/el/ 0n Kane.
(Pasouale lannone,