Episode Twenty Nine - Island of Lost Souls

We return with a look at Erle C. Kentons Island of Lost Souls with special guest James Marsh.

From Masters of Cinema:

''Originally rejected by the BBFC on its initial release for being “against nature”, this first and best screen adaptation of H. G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau is a taboo-flaunting, blood-curdling spectacular, and one of Hollywood’s wildest, most notorious, pre-Code pictures.

Shipwrecked and adrift, Edward Parker finds himself a guest on Dr. Moreau’s isolated South Seas island, but quickly discovers the horrifying nature of the doctor’s work and the origin of the strange forms inhabiting the isle: a colony of wild animals reworked into humanoid form via sadistic surgical experiments. Furthermore, Parker quickly begins to fear his own part in the doctor’s plans to take the unholy enterprise to a next level.

Featuring a peerlessly erudite and sinister performance by Charles Laughton as the diabolical doctor, a sterling appearance by Bela Lugosi as the half-beast-half-man “Sayer of the Law”, and sensationally atmospheric cinematography by the great Karl Struss (Murnau’s Sunrise, Mamoulian’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Island of Lost Souls now returns to claim a central position among the most imaginative and nightmarish fantasies from Hollywood’s golden age of horror. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Kenton’s film on Blu-ray and DVD for the first time in the UK, a celebration of the film’s 80th anniversary.''

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Episode Twenty Eight - Q4 2014 Roundup

It Q4 new release roundup time along with a few off the cuff discussions about some random topics. Enjoy!

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Episode Twenty Seven - For all Mankind

We return with special guest Marilyn Ferdinand to discuss Al Reinert's For All Mankind.

From Masters of Cinema:

''During the Apollo lunar missions from 1968 to 1972, those onboard were given 16mm cameras and told to film anything and everything they could, in space, in orbit, and on the surface of the moon itself. Two decades later, filmmaker Al Reinert went into the NASA vaults to create this extraordinary compendium of their journeys and experiences.

Assembled from hundreds of hours of the astronauts’ own footage, with a soundtrack made up of their memories and a specially composed score by Brian Eno, the film takes the form of one journey to the moon and back again, building with elegant simplicity and exquisite construction to create an overpowering vision of human endeavour and miraculous experience.

At once intimate and awe-inspiring, For All Mankind is a genuinely mesmerising first-hand document of one of the high points of the 20th century. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present this beautiful high-definition restoration of the film for its UK home viewing première in a comprehensive, director-approved special edition.''

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Episode Twenty Six - Simon Killer

On Episode 26 of the Masters of Cinema Cast Joakim and Tom discuss Antonio Campos's 2012 film Simon Killer.

From Masters of Cinema:

'A deeply disturbing character study of a handsome and sociopathic American in Paris, writer-director Antonio Campos’s Simon Killer hones further the psychological perceptiveness and keen filmmaking craft exhibited in Campos’s acclaimed feature debut Afterschool. Brady Corbet (Melancholia, Thirteen, Martha Marcy May Marlene) plays Simon, a recent college graduate full of promise and potential, who goes to Paris to begin a trip around Europe following a break-up with a long-time girlfriend.

An outsider adrift upon a profound sense of loss, Simon takes solace in the company of Victoria (Mati Diop of35 Shots of Rum), a beautiful, young, and mysterious prostitute — and their fateful journey begins…Emotionally compelling and visually stunning, Simon Killer is an examination of casual brutality, profane sexuality, alienation, and desperation, all cut to a killer soundtrack that underscores the borderline psychotic fervor of Simon’s descent. '

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Episode Twenty Five - F for Fake

Its fair to say that Orson Welles didn't have a great deal of luck when it came to Hollywood. If his films weren't being reedited without his permission they were being shelved and cancelled all around him. Eventually moving to Europe Welles could have spent the rest of his life sulking; only he had better things to do, make more films.

F  for Fake is something of an oddity even by Welles' standards. A kind of film within a film, F for Fake is an exploration of art and film itself and before anyone says anything no it is not pretentious.

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Episode Twenty Four - Q3 2014 Roundup

We return with a look at the Quarter Three 2014 releases and a brief duscussion as to why booing at Cannes is really, really annoying.

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Episode Twenty Three - Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse

We return with the second of Fritz Lang's Mabuse trilogy with a look at Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse. As ever we have enlisted some help to help us sound more intelligent and it is with great pleasure that Jaime Christley joins us to discuss the film and to drop the bombshell that Ministry of Fear is actually a good film!

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