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Locked-Down Cinema
Film reviews of all the films I should have seen but didn't...
What do you do if you receive a Christmas present that is a membership to the British Film Institute when there's a pandemic on...?
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"Une Chambre En Ville", Dir: Jacques Demy, 1982
Jacques Demy's 1982 film "Une Chambre En Ville" (Eng: "A Room In The Town") qualifies it to be "Late Demy"...
Ravi Swami
Jan 15, 20225 min read
"Peau d'âne" / "Donkey Skin", Dir: Jacques Demy, 1970
I discovered that "Donkey Skin" was as much of a commercial success as Demy's earlier films...
Ravi Swami
Jan 3, 20225 min read
"Summit of The Gods" & "Tokyo Godfathers", Dir: Patrick Imbert, 2021, Dir: Satoshi Kon, 2003
Two films that fall under the blanket term of being "Anime", one French and the other Japanese..
Ravi Swami
Dec 12, 20214 min read
A Bit About Biopics...
Love them or hate them, biopics can vary enormously when they invariably focus on cultural "icons"...
Ravi Swami
Nov 28, 20214 min read
"Les Bonnes Femmes", Dir : Claude Chabrol, 1960
I knew of Claude Chabrol as a director of the French New Wave but had not watched any of his films upon to this point...
Ravi Swami
Oct 31, 202110 min read
"Subway" Dir: Luc Besson, 1985
The film opens with a furious breakneck car chase through Paris as Fred is being pursued by the gangster's henchmen..
Ravi Swami
Oct 23, 20216 min read
"La Haine", Dir: Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995
"La Haine" came up as highly recommended on Apple+ as a breakthrough film for its' director, Mathieu Kassovitz, and for the subject matter..
Ravi Swami
Sep 25, 20214 min read
"Lions Love...& Lies", Dir: Agnes Varda, 1969
Varda used actors who would not normally be cast in Hollywood films and there really is a strong "Withnail & I" comedic vibe...
Ravi Swami
Aug 31, 20215 min read
"La Grande Bouffe", Dir: Marco Ferreri, 1973
I watched Marco Ferrari's 1973 film "La Grande Bouffe" (Eng: "The Blow-Out", though it translates more accurately as "The Big Feast")..
Ravi Swami
Jul 30, 20215 min read
"Rififi", "Bob Le Flambeur", "Big Deal On Madonna St", Dir: Dassin, Melville, Monicelli, '55,'56,'58
As per usual, I watched these three films - all first-time viewings - out of chronological order...
Ravi Swami
Jul 26, 20216 min read
"Les Amants", Dir: Louis Malle, 1958 & "Adua and Her Friends", Dir: Antonio Pietrangeli, 1960
There's nothing particularly thematic to connect these two films that I watched recently, one on BFI Player and the other via Amazon Prime..
Ravi Swami
May 23, 20219 min read
"Touchez Pas Au Grisbi", Dir: Jacques Becker, 1954
All becomes a little clearer with the English title of "Hands Off The Loot", which is a loose translation...
Ravi Swami
May 13, 20214 min read
A Duo of Rohmer Shorts, 1962, 1964
Currently curated on Criterion Channel is a series of early formative Éric Rohmer shorts and I find myself irresistibly drawn to his films..
Ravi Swami
Apr 12, 20213 min read
A Pair Of Shorts - Martin Scorcese & Chantal Akerman, 1974 , 1968
Tucked away in amongst a series of shorts on the theme of films made in a single location...
Ravi Swami
Apr 11, 20213 min read
"The Green Ray", Dir: Éric Rohmer, 1986
As usual I'm not taking much notice of the intended sequence of Éric Rohmer's films in his "Comedies & Proverbs" series...
Ravi Swami
Mar 16, 20213 min read
"The Testament of Orpheus", Dir: Jean Cocteau, 1960
The last of Cocteau's "Orphic Trilogy" and following on from "Orpheus" which was preceded by two decades with "The Blood of a Poet"..
Ravi Swami
Mar 7, 20214 min read
"Orpheus" - Dir: Jean Cocteau, 1950
Based on the Greek myth of Orpheus, the film is a contemporary (to the early 1950's) re-telling of the story of the poet/musician Orpheus..
Ravi Swami
Feb 23, 20213 min read
"Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne", Dir: Robert Bresson, 1945
The films of Robert Bresson came highly recommend by a friend..
Ravi Swami
Feb 18, 20213 min read
"Judex", Dir: Georges Franju, 1963
The film is a remake of an earlier film directed by Louis Feuillade, an early 20th Century filmmaker..
Ravi Swami
Feb 13, 20215 min read
"Model Shop", Dir: Jacques Demy, 1969.
As a flashback to earlier in lockdown, I'm re-visiting films that featured as a passing mention in previous blog posts
Ravi Swami
Feb 7, 20214 min read
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Thanks for your interest in Lockdown Cinema. For more information, feel free to get in touch and I will get back to you soon! - Ravi
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