December 30, 2015 Italian film distribution in the ‘golden age’ At its heart, film-making in Italy during the golden age of Italian cinema was – despite the claims of auteur directors proclaiming their artistry…
December 23, 2015 The Butterfly Room The Butterfly Room is a hodge-podge of genre references and clichés which – although decently made – has very little to say about present day Italy (partially because it follows the annoying recent trend of Italian films being shot and set in America).
December 20, 2015 The Playgirls and the Vampire The Playgirls and the Vampire is a modest, but rather agreeable, entry in the Italian Gothic canon. Released in the same year as Mario Bava’s superlative Black Sunday, it has none of the bravado (or perverse undertones) of that production…
December 11, 2015 Metro Manila Every so often a low budget British film comes along which manages to confound expectations; they get decent reviews, but at the same time cricits hold back on their praise because these are not films made in the Mike Leigh / Ken Loach / retro kitchen sink tradition.