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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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"The Naked City", Dir: Jules Dassin, 1948
I would put it alongside "Lovers and Lollipops" and "The Thief" as examples of films that use the locations of late 1940's and 1950's N.Y..
Ravi Swami
Aug 1, 20213 min read
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"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
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"Shin Godzilla", Dir: Hideaki Anno & Shinji Higuchi, 2016
Plot-wise the film follows the same general trajectory as the 1954 film - Godzilla rises from the ocean depths...
Ravi Swami
Jul 29, 20214 min read
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"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
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"The 10th Victim", Dir: Elio Petri, 1965
The film opens with shots of modernist buildings in New York as a woman (Ursula Andress in a brown wig) is being pursued...
Ravi Swami
Jul 18, 20214 min read
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"Visions of Eight", Dir: Various, 1972
"Visions Of Eight" on Criterion Channel, is a film made up of 8 very individual films by noted directors.
Ravi Swami
Jul 14, 20212 min read
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"Il Sorpasso", Dir: Dino Risi, 1962
I stumbled on this film by chance and was instantly hooked by the preview featuring two men in an open-topped sports car..
Ravi Swami
Jul 13, 20214 min read
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"Big Trouble In Little China", Dir: John Carpenter, 1986
John Carpenter's 1986 film "Big Trouble In Little China" falls into that latter category of "seen before, I'll watch it again"...
Ravi Swami
Jul 5, 20213 min read
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"Boccaccio 70", Dir: Fellini, De Sica, Visconti, Monicelli, 1962- Part#2
As promised in Part #1 of a review of "Boccaccio 70", and since I felt each film in the portmanteau deserved a separate review..
Ravi Swami
Jul 3, 20216 min read
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"Boccaccio 70", Dir: Fellini, De Sica, Visconti, Monicelli, 1962- Part#1
With a running time of over 3 hours, I would normally have given "Boccaccio 70" a wide berth..
Ravi Swami
Jun 29, 20214 min read
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"Marriage Italian Style" / "Matrimonia All'italiana", Dir: Vittorio De Sica, 1964
I've reviewed Pietro Germi's "Divorce Italian Style" in an earlier post and it makes sense to check out "Marriage Italian Style"..
Ravi Swami
Jun 25, 20217 min read
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"Godzilla V Megalon", Dir: Jun Fukuda, 1973
Criterion Channel includes a number of Godzilla / Giant Monster - or "Kaiju" - films, along with documentary extras..
Ravi Swami
Jun 18, 20217 min read
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"March's Child" / "Nata Di Marzo", Dir: Antonio Pietrangeli, 1956
Anyone stumbling on my lockdown cinema blog will be immediately aware of the film posters that feature prominently...
Ravi Swami
Jun 12, 20217 min read
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"Cinema Paradiso", Dir: Giuseppe Tornatore, 1988
Giuseppe Tornatore's much lauded and garlanded film about a love affair with cinema, "Cinema Paradiso"..
Ravi Swami
Jun 4, 20217 min read
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"La Visita" / "The Visit", Dir: Antonio Pietrangeli, 1963
"La Visita" stars Sandra Milo as "Pina" - by this point a regular in Pietrangelo's films - with the French actor François Périer as "Adolfo"
Ravi Swami
May 29, 20216 min read
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"The Bachelor"/ "Lo Scapolo", Dir: Antonio Pietrangeli, 1955
I came across his 1955 "Commedia All'Italiana" film starring Alberto Sordi, an actor most associated with the genre...
Ravi Swami
May 29, 20213 min read
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"The Invisible Man v The Human Fly", Dir: Mitsuo Murayama, 1957
Available to view on Amazon Prime, "The Invisible Man v The Human Fly", directed by Mitsuo Murayama and produced by the Daiei company...
Ravi Swami
May 24, 20215 min read
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"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
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"The Magnificent Cuckold", Dir: Antonio Pietrangeli, 1964
It's probably fair to say that I've become a little addicted to "Commedia Al'Italiana" as I discover the vast output of the genre..
Ravi Swami
May 19, 20213 min read
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"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
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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
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London, United Kingdom

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