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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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Surfing the New Wave...Chabrol, Malle and Varda, '58, '63, '65
Surfing The New Wave :
"Le Beau Serge", Claude Chabrol, "The Fire Within", Louis Malle, "Le Bonheur", Agnes Varda.
Ravi Swami
Feb 7, 20225 min read
A Clutch of Rohmer's...1963-1972
I'm always up for a dose of Eric Rohmer's carefully observed films about the dynamics of relationships that spanned 3 decades..
Ravi Swami
Jan 31, 20224 min read
"Love In The City", Dir's: Various (Fellini, Antonioni), 1953
"Love In The City" (Italian: "Amore in Citta") uses a similar faux-documentary style broken down into chapters...
Ravi Swami
Jan 31, 20224 min read
"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
"Minnal Murali", Dir: Basil Joseph, 2021
"Minnal Murali" (Eng: "Lightning Murali") premiered this December on Netflix is a Malayalam language superhero film from South India..
Ravi Swami
Dec 29, 20219 min read
"Peking Man", Dir: Meng Hua Ho, 1977
As oddities go, you can't get odder than "Peking Man" ("The Mighty Peking Man" / "Goliathon" in the U.S) from the renowned Shaw Bros studio.
Ravi Swami
Dec 20, 20215 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
"Harold & Maud", Dir: Hal Ashby, 1971
It also depends on watching a film whose effect might linger until the next morning, as is the case "Harold & Maud"...
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
"The Snake Girl & The Silver-Haired Witch", Dir: Noriaki Yuasa, 1968
In terms of atmosphere and tone it could have sprung from the hand of Alfred Hitchcock, with it's moodily lit interiors...
Ravi Swami
Nov 14, 20216 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
"Belladonna Of Sadness", Dir: Eiichi Yamamoto, 1973
Controversial, daring, misogynistic, stylish and often deeply disturbing are the words that come to mind after watching the film.
Ravi Swami
Oct 22, 20213 min read
"100 Spook Stories / 100 Monsters", Dir: Kimiyoshi Yasuda, 1968
Arrow's title is "100 Spook Stories" (Japanese: Yōkai Hyaku Monogatari) and it is variously titled depending upon the region..
Ravi Swami
Oct 22, 20213 min read
"Drunken Angel", Dir : Akira Kurosawa, 1948
Akira Kurosawa's 1948 film "Drunken Angel" marked the first of several collaborations with the actor Toshiro Mifune..
Ravi Swami
Oct 16, 20214 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
"That Darn Cat", Dir: Robert Stevenson, 1965
Launched with the hugely successful "Pollyanna", Mills soon found herself cast with top billing in a slew of Disney films..
Ravi Swami
Sep 19, 20214 min read
"DaiMajin", Dir: Kimiyoshi Yasuda, 1966
The success of "Daimajin" resulted in it being the first in a trilogy, which are all available to view on the Apple TV streamer..
Ravi Swami
Sep 7, 20214 min read
"Zazie Dans Le Metro", Dir: Louis Malle, 1960
Zazie (Catherine Demongeot) herself is a bit of a disfunctional tearaway who wastes no time in trying to explore Paris herself...
Ravi Swami
Sep 6, 20213 min read
Contact
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
Subscribers are welcome, but if you have nothing sensible to add in comments, you will be deleted.
London, United Kingdom
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