- Vidor: The Big Parade 8/10
- De Ossario: Tombs of the Blind Dead 7/10
- McCarey: Duck Soup 10/10
- Rättö: Samurai Rauni Reposaarelainen 8/10
- Argento: Tenebre 9/10
- Franco: Secret Diary of Nymphomaniac 5/10
- Sollima: Revolver 8/10
- Sahakyan: Aurora’s Sunrise 6/10
- Harron: American Psycho 6/10
- Mankiewicz: Dragonwyck 7/10
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Bloody wonderful fun as always…
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a motion picture for the entire family!
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Met Ian McCulloch on his home turf in Scotland last year. Hilarious guy with great stories about Fulci and this film.
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Wow…Really glad that you got to do that, Dean. I’ve been a fan of Ian McCulloch since he appeared in one of my favourite TV series, ‘Survivors’. I thought he was excellent in that. It must have been great talking to him about working with Fulci.
I believe that, for several years, Ian was a bit ‘embarrassed’ about having appeared in ‘Zombie’. Had he softened his opinion towards it when you met him?
Good for you, amigo.
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Yeah he does loads of conventions and has certainly embraced the film and us fans.
The best part was asking him about working with Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton in Where Eagles Dare 
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One of my all-time favourite films…sheer escapism and boys-own high-adventure. Great to see the scene where Ian McCulloch is briefly chatting with Richard Burton about how cold it is…
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Hidden John Carpenter gem, clearly inspired by Hitchcock’s “Rear Window”. His storytelling ability and visual prowess as a director is on full display here with an excellent performance by Lauren Hutton.
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Just finished watching Zorro (1975). An entertaining film with a goofy soundtrack by Guido & Maurizio de Angelis. Alain Delon was f*cking beautiful 
Shame I hadn’t discovered him earlier until now that he’s dead 
Rest in peace, Zorro
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I’m not sure if I’ve seen the film but I have the soundtrack on vinyl which is quite good.
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I’ve made a start on 1949 recently and focused on some of the biggest mainstream hits of the year. plus a Marx Bros flick 
All the King’s Men (Rossen) 7/10
Samson & Delilah (De Mille) 6/10
Jolson Sings Again (Levin) 4/10
Adam’s Rib (Cukor) 7/10
Love Happy (Miller) 5/10
All the King’s Men swept the Oscars that year and still holds up as a decent political drama and is actually pretty relevant in our days of populist self promoting politicians. Jolson Sings Again was the biggest box office hit of the year and is pretty pointless stuff now. Possibly one of the most meta of films as it’s story is essentially the build up and then making of it’s own prequel. Most meta moment? Larry Parks playing Al Jolson meeting Larry Parks playing himself while watching Larry Parks play Al Jolson on screen. 
Samson & Delilah I think was the film that started the whole biblical epic cycle that ran into the fifties and eventually led to the Italian peplum flicks. Goes on far too long but at it’s best features Victor Mature being the pain faced muscle guy he was born to play. Hedy Lamarr is fine as Delilah but I much prefer Vic with Susan Hayward in the Robe films. Adam’s Rib is a good example of Hepburn & Tracey in their heyday and is still worth a watch.
Love Happy is a sad ghost of the greatness the Marx Brothers used to be in the 30s. One too many films to fix Chico’s gambling debts sadly and an example of how you really can get too much Harpo. This is essentially his film and it needs more from the others to keep the mix right.
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Black Veil for Lisa (uncut version). Pretty solid early almost-Giallo.
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Before Anthony Hopkins in ‘Silence of the Lambs’ (1991), there was the original Hannibal Lecter, played by Brian Cox, in the 1986 film of…
I watched it last night. Directed by Michael Mann, it was engaging enough throughout, with William Peterson playing the lead investigator, who spent a lot of the film trying to get in to the killer’s mind-set. His increasing anguish throughout the film was disturbing to watch, but a testament to Peterson’s acting abilities.
Not so much about Hannibal Lecter, but an entirely different killer - aptly named ‘The Tooth Fairy’ - played most excellently by Tom Noonan.
Brian Cox didn’t appear much as Hannibal, but when he did, he exhibited all the brooding excellence that has made him such a fine, popular character actor.
Worth a watch…
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Manhunter is fucking fantastic. Mann at his rawest, untamedest
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First time watch for me, and I’m impressed, especially after finding many Japanese Samurai ‘classics’ a chore to sit through … This one has none of the over the top theatrical acting style, which I find a big turn off … Highly recommended.
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Yeah, it’s a good one all right.
And due for a rewatch for me
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Best film ever made. Its counterpart ‘Requiem for a Gringo’ ain’t bad either 
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