Zoomer 1971

Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie Des Grauens (1922)

2012-02-07T23:18:00.000Z

MindFlesh (2008)

2012-02-07T00:30:00.000Z

MindFlesh is the second full length feature from the director of London Voodoo (2004), Robert Pratten, and is described as, "a psycho-sexual horror/thriller about obsession."

Chris Jackson is a taxi driver with a childhood trauma. The trauma has made him a portal for obsessions to pass from the mind to the physical world and hence disrupt the world's multiple planes of reality. Extraterrestrials that police the universe threaten to kill Chris' friends unless he conquers his past.

Based on William Scheinman's novel White Light the film relocates the setting from San Francisco to London. MindFlesh treads similar ground to David Cronenberg's early work but with Buddhist sensibilities. If that sounds like an unlikely combination, well it is, but somehow the film all hangs together well.

Reviewers have commented that the film is, "complete mind fuck that is not afraid to take the viewer to some unexpected places," (www.eatmybrains.com) while Total Film described it as, "mean, cruel and breathtaking..."

At a lean 75 minutes the film doesn't outstay it's welcome, and in spite of the short running time Pratten builds the tension slowly and effectively. There are images and moments in MindFlesh that will linger with you long after the projector bulb has been extinguished.

Kill Baby Kill (1966)

2012-02-06T23:49:00.001Z

Nightmare Castle (1965)

2012-02-06T23:00:00.000Z

The Last Post by Axelle Carolyn

2012-02-04T02:06:00.000Z

An old lady in a retirement home is visited by a stranger no one else seems able to see.

Written and directed by Axelle Carolyn.

Starring Jean Marsh, Kimberley Nixon and Darren Bransford.

Cine-Excess VI: Call For Papers

2012-02-01T12:32:00.003Z

Over the last 5 years, the Cine-Excess International Film Conference and Festival has brought together leading scholars and critics with global cult filmmakers. Cine-Excess comprises of a 3 day conference alongside plenary talks, filmmaker interviews and 5-7 UK theatrical premieres of up and coming cult releases. The event also features its own dedicated DVD label, with recent releases including the official UK Blu-ray release of Dario Argento’s Suspiria (1977). More recently, Cine-Excess staff assisted with the new director’s cut of Ruggero Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust (1979), in conjunction with UK distributor Shameless Films.

Previous guests of honour to the annual Cine-Excess event have included John Landis (An American Werewolf in London, The Blues Brothers, Trading Places), Roger Corman (The Masque of the Red Death, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Intruder, The Wild Angels, Bloody Mama), Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, King of the Ants, Stuck), Brian Yuzna (Society, Beyond Re-Animator, The Dentist), Dario Argento (Deep Red, Suspiria, Inferno) Joe Dante (The Howling, Gremlins, The Hole), Franco Nero (Django, Keoma, Die Hard II), Vanessa Redgrave (Blow Up, The Devils, Julia) and Ruggero Deodato (Last Cannibal World, Cannibal Holocaust, House on the Edge of the Park). Previous keynotes to Cine-Excess have included Sir Christopher Frayling (Head of the Arts Council), Professor Mark Jancovich (University of East Anglia), Professor Martin Barker (University of Wales, Aberystwyth), Matt Hills (University of Cardiff), Professor Jeffrey Sconce (Northwestern University), Professor Chris Jenks (Brunel University) and Professor Richard Dyer (Kings College, London.)

Papers from Cine-Excess III are currently being developed into the book Screening the Undead to be published by I.B. Tauris. A peer-reviewed Cine-Excess E-Journal is also being launched in Autumn 2012, and will publish a selection of papers from the event on a twice yearly basis.

Cine-Excess IV focuses on global adaptations of cult narratives, genres, themes and icons across a broad range of media and fiction formats. From pulp novels into pulp horror films and recent big budget blockbuster remakes of marginal midnight movies, to nationally defined interpretations of the pre-established extreme, the cult image remains a fascinating index of adaptation, whose wide array of remakes, renditions and realisations frequently reveals fascinating issues of nation and narrative, as well cultural, regional and historical distinction.

In order to investigate this concept further, Cine-Excess VI will consider global case-studies of cult adaptation, with a particular focussing on differing national and narrative conceptions of the outlandish and the extreme. The event will consider the concept of adaptation in its broad theoretical remit, focusing on a range of cult re-mediations across a wide range of written and visual media, including film, television, literature, games, comics, and digital media. Proposals are welcomed on, but not limited to, the following topics and areas:

Pulped Priming: Cult Renditions from Literature to Film and Beyond
The Art and Atrocity of Adaptation: Studies of Cult Narrative and Style
Violence, Vengeance and the Seductive: Cult Cycles From Culture to Culture
The Years Without Lead: Historical Trauma, Sexuality and the Euro-Extreme
Eugenics and Exploitation: Adapting National Fears Through the Cult Image
Harlots, Howlers and Hobos: Case-Studies in Canadian Excess
Trans-European Excess: Cult Controversies from the European Margins
Gimmie Slaughter: Celluloid Adaptations of the Mansion Cult
Skin Flicks and Perverse Surgery: From Eyes Without a Face to The Human Centipede and Beyond
Outback Outrages: Recent Renditions of the Australian Extreme
From Nazi to ‘Nastisploitation’: Cult Adaptations of Filmic Fascism
Institutional Excess: Exploitation Outfits from Troma Films to The Asylum
DIY Cults: Fan Films and Subcultures of Adaptation
Adaptation as Arousal: Erotic Renditions of Film and Literature
Female Avengers: Controversial Cult Femmes Across Cultural Borders
The Devil Within Her: The Cult Possession Movie Across National Boundaries
Adapting Excess: Case Studies of the Cult Performer
The Trans-Global Extreme: Adapting the Iconography of Weird World Cinema
Islamic Exploitation Cinema: Race, Religion and Cult Iconography
Grindhouse Grooves: From Visuals to Vinyl
Last Screenplay on the Left: Blockbuster Renditions of the Extreme
Look Back in Ankara: Turkish Trash Cinema Traditions
Sun, Sex and Sadism: Case Studies in ‘Greeksploitation’
Cult Across Categories: Multimedia Re-mediations of the Marginal
Chrome, Metal and Cult: Cult Biker, Cop and Gangs from Cinema to TV

We welcome individual paper submissions, panels and roundtable proposals. Please send a 300-word abstract and a short (one page) C.V. by Wednesday 21st March 2012 to:

Xavier Mendik
Director of Cine-Excess
The School of Arts
Brunel University
Uxbridge
Middlesex
UB8 3PH
United Kingdom
xavier.mendik@brunel.ac.uk

Filippo Del Lucchese
Co-Director of Cine-Excess
The School of Social Science
Brunel University
Uxbridge
Middlesex
UB8 3PH
United Kingdom
filippo.dellucchese@brunel.ac.uk

For further information and regular updates on the event (including information on guests and screenings) please visit www.cine-excess.co.uk

Behold The Man by Michael Moorcock (1966)

2012-01-27T04:14:00.001Z

Michael Moorcock's Behold Then Man is an astonishing novella. Originally published in 1966, in the publication New Worlds, it tells the tale of Karl Glogauer a time traveller who travels back in time to from 1971 to 28 AD in the hope of meeting the historical Jesus of Nazareth.

Glogauer is badly injured and his time machine damaged during his trip and is discovered by John the Baptist and a group of Essenes who ask him to lead them in a revolt against the Romans, believing him to be a magus. He panics when John asks to be baptised by him, and runs into the desert to pursue his quest to discover the real Jesus.

He succeeds in locating Jesus, but his discovery does not fit the picture painted in the Bible by any stretch of the imagination. As he is deeply invested in the historical portrait of Jesus and his ideas, Glogauer begins repeating any parables he can recall and gathering his own followers - even using tricks of psychology to simulate miracles - and becomes known himself as Jesus of Nazareth. Eventually, he is overcome by the role and decides that he must follow the path to it's logical conclusion and engineers his own crucifixion.

Moorcock's narrative is structured around two timelines - one that deals with the 28AD setting and one that described Karl's life in the 20th century and really asks the question, what is more important actual historical truth of Christ or the mythology of Christ? Or to put it another way, is it more important for faith that Jesus existed or that the story of Jesus exists? Glogauer may be seen to fall on the side of the latter - to him it is so important that Jesus' thoughts and ideas as he knows them are passed on to generations that he takes the role himself to ensure that this happens.

The book may be seen as blasphemous, but at the same time I feel that it is an important and challenging work that asks readers to examine their own faith and relationship to belief. In this way it can happily sit alongside other works that tread that fine line, such as Nicos Kazantzakis novel The Last Temptation (1953) and Martin Scorcese's 1988 film adaption The Last Temptation of Christ.

The Last House On The Left (2009)

2012-01-24T00:00:00.000Z

The title The Last House On The Left has particular resonance for British horror fans. Until very recently Wes Craven's cult classic 1972 original remained unavailable in it's uncut form having been one of the many films to fall victim of the notorious video nasties debacle of the 1980s. Craven's Last House On The Left was a film that divided critical opinion with some critics praising it's unflinching analysis and depiction of violence and it's results (inspired by Craven's disgust at the sanitised news reports of real life violence in Vietnam), while others saw it as merely low budget exploitation trash.

Loosely inspired by Ingmar Bergman's 1960 arthouse classic The Virgin Spring (itself based on a 13th century Swedish ballad named Töres dotter i Wänge) the film tells the story of two young girls who are abducted, raped and murdered by a gang who are on the run. When their car breaks down the gang unwittingly seek refuge at a house belonging to the parents of one of their victims. As the narrative progresses the parents, after discovering their daughter's fate, take their brutal revenge.

With the spate of horror remakes that have been hitting our screens in recent years it is not surprising that story of The Last House On The Left was recycled, what is surprising is that in many ways it surpasses the original - although once again such confrontational material has sharply divided opinion.

Produced by Wes Craven and directed by Dennis Iliadis, the remake takes the key elements of the original and effectively reworks them to startling effect. Rather than follow the route of other recent horror remakes by using flashy music video style editing The Last House On The Left takes it's time to build up it's characters, also favouring long takes to build suspense rather than relying on jump cuts. The ever reliable John Murphy contributes an excellent score, and the cast all turn in performances of a quality that is completely unexpected in a horror remake.

The narrative has been changed in a number of ways that reduce the sheer nihilistic bleakness of the original, but the changes do not detract from the overall shocking effect - although a short postscript involving a microwave does threaten to destabilise the taught narrative that has preceeded it.

It should be emphasised that this film, like the original, is not meant to entertain but to raise questions about our individual capacity for violence and the thin veil of respectability and control that prevents the vast majority of us from acting on our worse impulses. The film's challenge (and tagline), "If bad people hurt someone you love, how far would you go to hurt them back?" is one that each viewer must confront when viewing this disturbing and thought provoking film.

The Woman (2011)

2012-01-23T00:00:00.000Z

Lucky McKee's The Woman has been causing controversy ever since its eventful premiere and Q&A session at the Sundance Film Festival where there were numerous walk outs, faintings, and one particularly irate audience member calling for the film to be banned (there is plenty of footage on YouTube if you want to seek it out). McKee's film has been praised by some as a gritty and disturbing look at misogyny, while others have mistaken the film itself as an exercise in misogyny (presumably by those unable to grasp the concept of portraying something as a means of examining and critiquing it).

A follow up to The Offspring, The Woman sees Pollyanna McIntosh reprise her role as the titular feral woman, captured by local hunter Chris Cleek (Sean Bridgers), and imprisoned in his cellar under the guise of civilising her. His family go along with this, but gradually things begin to go seriously awry as real intentions become clearer leading to a brutal and bloody showdown (with a real out-of-the-blue twist).

The Woman is certainly not easy viewing but it is intelligent, well written and thought provoking. Pollyanna McIntosh's performance is simply stunning, and she is ably supported by the rest of the cast including McKee regular Angela Bettis. This is a brilliant example of horror challenging the viewer and examining a very real issue in society. If you read McIntosh's character as the repressed anger of Bettis' abused and subjugated housewife then this is clearly a powerful examination of the effects of domestic violence - taken further through the implication that the son is being groomed to inherit the same attitude as his father thus continuing the cycle.

Not an easy film to recommend without advising caution, but without doubt one of the best horror films to emerge last year.

Top Five Classics

2012-01-22T15:01:00.000Z

Ever downloaded an ebook of a public domain classic from iBooks to find that it is virtually unreadable thanks to formatting and spelling problems? Well, I recently came across a handful of publications from Top Five Books that are just amazing in terms of presentation - and still available free of charge.

Top Five Classics is a line of free eBook editions of foundational English-language works, beautifully designed and formatted for eReaders, including illustrations when available, and carefully proofread for digital devices.

The series began in November 2011, and by January 3, 2012, the first five titles had been downloaded more than 260,000 times on iTunes. Titles planned for release in 2012 include works by Mark Twain, Charlotte Brontë, Washington Irving, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, James Joyce, Jane Austen, and E.M. Forster.

These editions really are worth taking the time to download, and each includes a brief and informative introduction. Titles currently available are:

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Could it be that Sherlock Holmes has finally met his match in the villainous Professor Moriarty? Quite possibly. The only way to know for certain is to read the climactic story "The Final Problem" from this collection of Sherlock Holmes tales.

In this second compilation of stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (following The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes), we learn about Holmes' first-ever investigation in "The Gloria Scott"; meet his older, smarter (and fatter and lazier) brother, Mycroft; and are introduced to the most evil criminal mastermind in English literature, Professor Moriarty.

Including all twelve stories that originally appeared in the Strand Magazine, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes contains some of the greatest mysteries the world's greatest detective and Dr. Watson ever encountered. This digital edition from Top Five Books also includes a short introduction, author bio, and all 98 of the original illustrations by Sidney Paget.

Download The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes from iBooks

Dracula by Bram Stoker

This free digital edition of Dracula by Bram Stoker features the original text, along with Stoker's short story, "Dracula's Guest," beautifully realized for eReaders and including several full-color maps and historical illustrations.

Told in a series of first-person missives and reports, and set in 1890s Transylvania and England, Dracula is the source of every vampire story told since, the founding text of the entire genre. Count Dracula, as Jonathan Harker, Lucy Westenra, Mina Murray, and Dr. Abraham Van Helsing learn, is a dangerous and powerful creature who's lived for hundreds of years and possesses powers no mortal can claim. Bent on creating legions of Un-Dead followers in populous London, Dracula must be stopped—but how?

This eBook also includes a brief introduction and author bio.

Download Dracula from iBooks

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Great Expectations is Charles Dickens's beloved, autobiographical tale of a poor boy haunted by a dark secret and harboring grand hopes for his future as a gentleman. Pip, the story's narrator, takes us through his early life—from his brush with an escaped convict on the marshes of southeast England to his exposure to genteel society through the warped old Miss Havisham and her icy protégé, the alluring young Estella. Apprenticed to the blacksmith, the tender-hearted Joe, Pip's fortunes change dramatically thanks to a mysterious benefactor, and he must figure out what is real and what is false as he navigates his new world, while never quite escaping his old. Considered by many to be Dickens's greatest work, Great Expectations will transport you, move you, and stay with you forever.

Beautifully yet simply formatted, carefully edited, and featuring more than 30 illustrations from the artists who realized the first serialized chapters and many of the early book editions of Great Expectations, this free digital edition is the definitive eBook version of the Dickens classic.

Includes a short biography of Charles Dickens and an addendum of his originally conceived ending.

Download Great Expectations from iBooks

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

This free digital edition of Dickens's immortal holiday classic, A Christmas Carol, includes the original color illustrations by John Leech, as well as another 20 woodcut engravings by Sol Eytinge Jr. from the 1869 American edition by Ticknor & Fields. Beautifully designed and carefully proofed for digital publication, the eBook also includes a short introduction and bio.

Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly old curmudgeon who spurns Christmas as a "humbug," is given the chance to redeem himself through the intervention of four Spirits on Christmas Eve—the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. The story not only reformed Scrooge, it transformed the way we celebrate the Holiday itself. If reading Dickens's most beloved story doesn't put you in the true spirit of Christmas, you may very well be beyond hope.

As Scrooge's nephew Fred said, "I have always thought of Christmas time...as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys."

Or as Tiny Tim put it more succinctly, "God bless us every one!"

Download A Christmas Carol from iBooks

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Considered by many to be the first true English novel, Robinson Crusoe is the original castaway story—one man shipwrecked on a desert island with little but his wits and the available resources to sustain him. Written in 1719 by Daniel Defoe and based in part on the true-life accounts of actual marooned sailors of his day, the book was an immediate success and spawned a new form of storytelling.

This free digital edition from Top Five Books includes 28 color plates by N.C. Wyeth and others, and another 17 black-and-white illustrations by artists from editions published from the 18th to the early 20th century.

Also featuring an introduction and brief author bio, this version of Robinson Crusoe holds treasures for readers young and old alike.

Download Robinson Crusoe from iBooks

Star Wars Uncut: Director's Cut (2011)

2012-01-21T00:15:00.001Z

In 2009, thousands of Internet users were asked to remake Star Wars: A New Hope into a fan film, 15 seconds at a time. Contributors were allowed to recreate scenes from Star Wars however they wanted. Within just a few months Star Wars Uncut grew into a wild success. The creativity that poured into the project was unimaginable.

Star Wars Uncut has been featured in documentaries, news features and conferences around the world for its unique appeal. In 2010 it won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Creative Achievement In Interactive Media.

Finally, the crowd-sourced project has been stitched together and put online for your streaming pleasure. The "Director's Cut" is a feature-length film that contains hand-picked scenes from the entire StarWarsUncut.com collection…

Five Great Albums From 2011

2012-01-20T00:28:00.000Z

There were some awesome albums released in 2011. Here are five of my favourites. I'm not going to review them so check them out for yourselves and let me know what you think...

Opeth - Heritage

Blackfield - Welcome To My DNA

Peter Murphy - Ninth

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials

Punishment Park (1971)

2012-01-20T00:00:00.000Z

'Under the provision of Title 2 of the 1950 Internal Security Act, also known as the McCarran Act, the President of the United States of America is still authorized, without further approval by Congress to determine an event of insurrection within the United States and to declare the existence of an "internal security emergency". The President is then authorized to apprehend and detain each person as to whom there is reasonable ground to believe probably will engage in certain future acts of sabotage. Persons apprehended shall be given a hearing, without right of bail, without the necessity of evidence and shall then be confined to places of detention.' (Opening Narration to Punishment Park)

Originally released in May 1971 Peter Watkins' Punishment Park is one of the most provocative pseudo documentaries ever committed to celluloid, and one that remains as relevant nearly forty years later.

Set in a US detention camp the film follows separate narrative strands as two groups of American students are tried and convicted of subversive activities against the state - primarily organising protests and dodging the draft. They are all sentenced to lengthy penal terms but given the choice of taking part in the Punishment Park which gives them the chance to avoid their prison sentences. The Punishment Park is revealed to be a three day race across the blazing Californian desert to reach an American flag before being apprehended by a pursuing force of police and National Guards.

The narratives are woven together as a BBC documentary following one group through the sentencing tribunal, and the other through the Punishment Park itself. Needless to say the latter are brutalised and slaughtered in a cat and mouse game that is rigged from the start, and the former are last seen accepting to enter the game in the vain hope of avoiding their sentence.

Brilliantly shot by a crew of eight (using just one camera) and nearly entirely improvised by the cast, the documentary style is utterly convincing.

Since it's original controversial release the film was rarely seen until it recently resurfaced on DVD. To say that it remains a deeply unsettling and provocative piece of subversive Seventies cinema would be something of an understatement. The film depicts the US as a paranoid, out-of-control superpower where voices of dissent are swiftly silenced through the invocation of the 'Internal Security Act.'

In the original 1971 Press Kit it says, "Punishment Park takes place tomorrow, yesterday or five years from now." One only needs to consider recent political history, The Patriot Act and Guantanamo Bay to realise that this is a staggeringly prescient work of art clearly highlighting the similarities between the political landscape of the early Seventies and the present.

The Devils (1971)

2012-01-19T23:12:00.000Z

The late, great Ken Russell's The Devils is one of the few films that is still controversial over forty years after its original release. While other notorious films released the same year such as A Clockwork Orange and Straw Dogs are now freely available in pristine uncut versions, The Devils has remained notable due to its lack of availability (except via dubious unofficial releases). However, the BFI are soon to rectify that with the first British DVD release of the film on 19 March 2012.

Based on the true events described in Aldous Huxley's The Devils of Loudun the film tells the tale of Father Urbain Grandier, a priest burnt at the stake for witchcraft, and the political machinations that led to his downfall. It is a story about the sacrificing of an individual by the state to further its own agenda, and was regarded by Russell as his only overtly political film.

In century Loudun the city is left under the protection of Father Grandier following the death of . When emmissaries of Cardinal Richelieu arrive and begin demolising the town walls, Grandier stands up to them claiming the King has previously decreed that Loudun's walls should be preserved.

Meanwhile in order to satisfy her own sexual obsessions the head of the local convent, Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave), asks for Grandier to become the convent's new confessor. When Grandier refuses and secretly marries another woman, Madeline De Brou (Gemma Jones), Sister Jeanne is driven insane with jealousy.

When Father Mignon, the newly appointed confessor, visits the conventshe informs him of Grandier's marriage and affairs, and also inadvertently accuses Grandier of witchcraft and of possessing her. This is then used as a pretext to charge Grandier with witchcraft.

Oliver Reed delivers the best performance of his career as the doomed priest, with equally effective performances being delivered by Redgrave and Michael Gothard (as witchfinder Father Barre).

It is not difficult to see why The Devils caused such a storm of controversy on its initial release, even in its truncated form (until recently the film was missing several key sequences removed before its release - these have recently been rediscovered and a full version has been screened theatrically at the BFI).

The Devils is a shocking portrayal of the power of the state over the individual. If the viewer is able to see beyond the hysterical naked nuns cavorting possessed around the convent, and the brutal violence of Grandier's torture and burning, the film is a masterpiece of design (Derek Jarman's sets are incredible) and direction.

It's a shame that the BFI are only releasing the original UK theatrical cut on DVD, it is still great that Ken Russell's thought provoking film is going to see the light of day again (a pleasure slightly tempered by his recent passing). The extras promised make the double disc set look like an essential purchase for fans of quality, if controversial, cinema including:

A filmed introduction with director Ken Russell
Audio commentary with Ken Russell, Mark Kermode, Mike Bradsell and Paul Joyce
Hell on Earth (Paul Joyce, 2002, 48 mins): documentary exploring the film’s production and the controversy surrounding its original release
Director of the Devils (1971, 21 min): documentary featuring candid Ken Russell interviews and unique footage of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies recording his celebrated film score
Original on-set footage with commentary by editor Mike Bradsell
Amelia and the Angel (Ken Russell, 1958, 30 mins): Ken Russell’s short film, a delightful mix of religious allegory and magical fantasy
Original UK & US trailers
Fully illustrated booklet featuring new essays and notes from Mark Kermode, Craig Lapper (BBFC), Sam Ashby and others.

Caligula (1979)

2012-01-18T22:35:00.000Z

I have to admit that I have developed a bit of an unhealthy obsession with this film recently, after spending time working my way through Arrow Films incredible four disc Imperial Edition on DVD. Although Arrow Video have since issued a Blu-Ray release, the Imperial Edition must still rank as the definitive edition of this notorious film with three different cuts of the film (including the explicit uncut version), and a raft of extra features (notably separate commentaries from Malcolm McDowell and Helen Mirren, and a revealing interview with Tinto Brass).

Caligula is a film that you either love or hate - while no masterpiece it is a classic example of out-of-control filmmaking with a controversial production history that easily matches its over-the-top content. Written by Gore Vidal, directed by Tinto Brass, produced by Bob Guccione and starring Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud, John Steiner and Paolo Bonacelli it is a two-and-a-half hour mix of historical fact, fantasy, extravagance, violence and pornography. With tales of the writer demanding for his name to be removed from the credits, the director being locked out of the editing suite while the producer inserted hardcore footage that had been clandestinely filmed, and just about everyone wondering what the Hell they had got themselves into the story of the film is far too long to get into here.

In terms of the film itself, Caligula tells the tale of Rome's third emperor, Gaius Caesar Germanicus (Caligula being a nickname meaning 'Little Boots'), who ruled from 16 March AD 37 to 24 January AD 41 and is often regarded and portrayed as an insane tyrant, famous for making his horse a senator, prostituting the wives of his senators, having an incestuous relationship with his sister and virtually bankrupting the empire. The film begins with Caligula being summoned to Capri by the ailing Emperor Tiberius, where he is aided in seizing power by his friend Macro (Guido Mannari), and follows his descent into madness and immorality before he is assassinated by the Praetorian Guard (along with his wife and child).

McDowell turns in an astonishing performance as Caligula portraying the Emperor not as an insane tyrant, but as an out-of-control child whose behaviour becomes more-and-more excessive as he gains power. He is ably supported by O' Lucky Man co-star Helen Mirren as his wife Caesonia.

Tinto Brass' direction is workmanlike, and his use of three cameras to simultaneously capture the action maintains an immediacy and continuity missing in many productions. However, it is difficult to tell what his original vision was as the film was so heavily reworked prior to release by Guccione (the inserted hardcore footage is glaringly out of kilter with the rest of the film).

The set design by Fellini regular Danilo Donati is astonishing. It looks as if no expense was spared on the production with some truly extravagant, and cavernous, sets. Of particular note is the infamous killing machine that decapitates Caligula's dissentors - a great example of fantastical design that bears no relation to reality but is accepted in the context of such an excessive film.

Caligula is an almost hallucinogenic viewing experience. Its content makes me wary about issuing any recommendations, and it certainly isn't for anyone of a nervous disposition or who is easily offended. But if you are feeling brave why not take a look, and if you want to avoid the most explicitly pornographic scenes you could always try the Alternative Cut included with the Imperial Edition that replaces the hardcore footage it with alternative shots (the original cut Theatrical Version is also included but loses over 50 minutes of footage and is best avoided).

The Gollancz SF Masterworks Series

2012-01-16T22:41:00.001Z

While having a bit of a tidy up at home I recently found a stack of old SF Masterworks titles and it got me thinking about what an awesome series it was.

The series was originally published by Gollancz as a means of getting a number of classics Science Fiction titles back in print. The series was initially published between 1999 and 2009 (the first 73 titles from Joe Haldeman's The Forever War to Philip K. Dick's The Man In The High Castle) before being relaunched in March 2010.

So with my rediscovered titles, and a fair few available at the local library, I thought that it would be interesting to read as many of these as possible and review them as I go.

Below is a full list of titles. Many of these are out-of-print, and seem to fetch crazy prices on the secondhand market. But Gollancz are in the process of republishing a number of these, along with issuing further titles. I have included links for anyone interested in starting or completing their own collection.

The original numbered titles (1999 to 2009) are:

The Forever War - Joe Haldeman | Buy Online
I Am Legend - Richard Matheson | Buy Online
Cities in Flight - James Blish | Buy Online
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick | Buy Online
The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester | Buy Online
Babel-17 - Samuel R. Delany | Buy Online
Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny | Buy Online
The Fifth Head of Cerberus - Gene Wolfe | Buy Online
Gateway - Frederik Pohl | Buy Online
The Rediscovery of Man - Cordwainer Smith | Buy Online
Last and First Men - Olaf Stapledon | Buy Online
Earth Abides - George R. Stewart | Buy Online
Martian Time-Slip - Philip K. Dick | Buy Online
The Demolished Man - Alfred Bester | Buy Online
Stand on Zanzibar - John Brunner | Buy Online
The Dispossessed - Ursula K. Le Guin | Buy Online
The Drowned World - J. G. Ballard | Unavailable
The Sirens of Titan - Kurt Vonnegut | Buy Online
Emphyrio - Jack Vance | Buy Online
A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick | Buy Online
Star Maker - Olaf Stapledon | Buy Online
Behold the Man - Michael Moorcock | Buy Online
The Book of Skulls - Robert Silverberg | Buy Online
The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds - H. G. Wells | Unavailable
Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes | Buy Online
Ubik - Philip K. Dick | Buy Online
Timescape - Gregory Benford | Buy Online
More Than Human - Theodore Sturgeon | Buy Online
Man Plus - Frederik Pohl | Buy Online
A Case of Conscience - James Blish | Buy Online
The Centauri Device - M. John Harrison | Buy Online
Dr. Bloodmoney - Philip K. Dick | Buy Online
Non-Stop - Brian Aldiss | Buy Online
The Fountains of Paradise - Arthur C. Clarke | Buy Online
Pavane - Keith Roberts | Buy Online
Now Wait for Last Year - Philip K. Dick | Buy Online
Nova - Samuel R. Delany | Buy Online
The First Men in the Moon - H. G. Wells | Unavailable
The City and the Stars - Arthur C. Clarke | Buy Online
Blood Music - Greg Bear | Buy Online
Jem - Frederik Pohl | Buy Online
Bring the Jubilee - Ward Moore | Buy Online
VALIS - Philip K. Dick | Buy Online
The Lathe of Heaven - Ursula K. Le Guin | Buy Online
The Complete Roderick - John Sladek | Buy Online
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said - Philip K. Dick | Buy Online
The Invisible Man - H. G. Wells | Unavailable
Grass - Sheri S. Tepper | Buy Online
A Fall of Moondust - Arthur C. Clarke | Buy Online
Eon - Greg Bear | Buy Online
The Shrinking Man - Richard Matheson | Buy Online
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch - Philip K. Dick | Buy Online
The Dancers at the End of Time - Michael Moorcock | Buy Online
The Space Merchants - Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth | Buy Online
Time Out of Joint - Philip K. Dick | Buy Online
Downward to the Earth - Robert Silverberg | Buy Online
The Simulacra - Philip K. Dick | Buy Online
The Penultimate Truth - Philip K. Dick | Buy Online
Dying Inside - Robert Silverberg | Buy Online
Ringworld - Larry Niven | Buy Online
The Child Garden - Geoff Ryman | Buy Online
Mission of Gravity - Hal Clement | Buy Online
A Maze of Death - Philip K. Dick | Buy Online
Tau Zero - Poul Anderson | Buy Online
Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C. Clarke | Buy Online
Life During Wartime - Lucius Shepard | Buy Online
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang - Kate Wilhelm | Buy Online
Roadside Picnic - Arkady and Boris Strugatsky | Buy Online
Dark Benediction - Walter M. Miller, Jr. | Buy Online
Mockingbird - Walter Tevis | Buy Online
Dune - Frank Herbert | Buy Online
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein | Buy Online
The Man in the High Castle - Philip K. Dick | Buy Online

New titles issued since the 2010 relaunch (not numbered) are:

Inverted World - Christopher Priest | Buy Online
Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut | Unavailable
The Island of Dr Moreau - H.G. Wells | Buy Online
Childhood's End - Arthur C. Clarke | Buy Online
The Time Machine - H.G. Wells | Buy Online
Dhalgren - Samuel R. Delany | Buy Online
Helliconia - Brian Aldiss | Buy Online
The Food of the Gods - H.G. Wells | Buy Online
The Body Snatchers - Jack Finney | Buy Online
The Female Man - Joanna Russ | Buy Online
Arslan - M.J. Engh | Buy Online
The Difference Engine - William Gibson and Bruce Sterling | Buy Online
The Prestige - Christopher Priest | Buy Online
Greybeard - Brian Aldiss | Buy Online
Sirius - Olaf Stapledon | Buy Online
Hyperion - Dan Simmons | Buy Online
City - Clifford Simak | Buy Online
Hellstrom's Hive - Frank Herbert | Buy Online
Of Men and Monsters - William Tenn | Buy Online
RUR and The War with the Newts - Karel Čapek | Buy Online
The Affirmation - Christopher Priest | Buy Online
Floating Worlds - Cecelia Holland | Buy Online
Rogue Moon - Algis Budrys | Buy Online

Forthcoming titles announced so far are as follows:

Dangerous Visions - Harlan Ellison (ed.) (Feb. 2012) | Pre-order Online
Odd John - Olaf Stapledon (March 2012) | Pre-order Online
The Fall of Hyperion - Dan Simmons (April 2012) | Pre-order Online
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (May 2012) | Pre-order Online
The War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells (July 2012) | Pre-order Online
Synners - Pat Cadigan (Aug. 2012) | Pre-order Online
Ammonite - Nicola Griffith (Sept. 2012) | Pre-order Online
Sarah Canary - Karen Joy Fowler (Sept. 2012) | Pre-order Online
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley (Oct. 2012) | Pre-order Online
The Continuous Catherine Mortenhoe - D.J. Compton (Oct. 2012) | Pre-order Online
Selected Short Fiction - Connie Willis (Nov. 2012) | Pre-order Online
Riddley Walker - Russell Hoban (Nov. 2012) | Pre-order Online
Take Back Plenty - Colin Greenhand (Dec. 2012) | Pre-order Online
The Invisible Man - H.G. Wells (Dec. 2012) | Pre-order Online

So, plenty of reading to keep me going then! I won't be going completely OCD and trying to read them in order, but if you are interested in following my progress and checking out the reviews then please bookmark this post as I'll be posting links here.

Van Halen 'Tattoo' (2012)

2012-01-13T22:21:00.000Z

So the good news is Van Halen are back! But how does the new single stack up?

I must admit I have mixed feeling about this one. It's pretty catchy, but I'm not sure it is the stellar return that people seem to have been expecting.

Still, make your own mind up by checking out the video below...

13 Assassins (2010)

2012-01-04T23:00:00.000Z

13 Assassins is one of the latest offerings from Japan's most prolific director Takeshi Miike, best known in the West for his classic romantic torture tale Audition (1999). Essentially a remake of Eiichi Kudo's 1963 actioner, Miike's film brings the samurai film back to the screen in style.

In Nineteenth Century Japan, the age of the samurai is fading. Out-of-control Lord Matsudaira Naritsugu rapes and kills without conscience or mercy. No one can intervene as he is the former Shogun's son and current Shogun's younger brother. After a party wronged by Naritsugu publicly commits seppuku, a trusted older samurai, Shinzaemon, is secretly hired to assassinate him.

The first half of the film slowly builds as Shinzaemon gathers together band of eleven samurai to undertake the assassination. Preparations, training and planning unfold at a measured pace building up to the start of the mission.

Several of the assassins are sent to acquire the help of a town to block Naritsugu's passage in order to force his route to their advantage. While the remaining samurai travel to the town they encounter a hunter who helps them navigate their way when they become lost, and becomes the thirteenth assassin.

When Naritsugu arrives at the town with an escort of over two hundred bodyguards, as opposed to the seventy the assassins were expecting, a running battle erupts through the city streets.

This final forty-five minute battle sequence is where Miike really excels. Bloody and brilliantly staged, the action does not let up until there are just two men left standing.

Fans of Kurosawa and the classic Lone Wolf and Cub series will find much to enjoy in 13 Assassins, while fans of Miike get to see the director claim yet another genre for his own.

Solar Lottery by Philip K. Dick (1955)

2012-01-01T11:31:00.000Z

Solar Lottery was Philip K. Dick's first published novel, and while it lacks some of the stylings of his more renowned novels it does introduce a number of themes that would become deeply ingrained in his body of work.

Set in the year 2203, the novel takes place in a future where the head of Government (or Quizmaster)is chosen according to a totally random lottery. The whole process of selection, and the assignment of a nominated assassin also chosen at random, is also a form of mass entertainment. The Quizmaster must use a squad of telepathics bodyguards to foil the assassin and so gain the respect of the people. When Ted Benteley is tricked into swearing an unbreakable oath of allegiance to outgoing Quizmaster, Reese Verrick, he unwittingly finds himself playing an integral part in a plot to assassinate the new Quizmaster, Leon Cartwright. In order to confuse the Quizmaster's telepathic bodyguards, Verrick's supporters create an android called Keith Pellig which can be controlled by the minds of a number of volunteers - by regularly switching minds Verrick and his team are essentially able to break any telepathic connection made by the bodyguards.

The publication of Solar Lottery was a bit of a double edged sword for Dick. He had originally approached publishers with a number of non-science fiction manuscripts, but due to his previous success with a string of short science fiction stories these were continually rejected. So while he was getting his first novel published, he was also being drawn back into the science fiction 'ghetto' that he wanted to distance himself from as a serious writer. In his lifetime Dick remained regarded as a pulp science fiction author, and it was only after his death that his work was radically re-evaluated and given the cultural and critical importance that it has today.

The novel was originally published in the US as part of a back-to-back science fiction double partnered with The Big Jump by Leigh Brackett. It eventually appeared in a slightly revised version under the title World Of Chance in the UK in 1956. Reading the book now it seems pretty ahead of its time in terms of its narrative and concepts - you have to wonder what contemporary readers must have made of it in 1955.

The narrative is fast-paced but a little disjointed. However, there is much evidence of what would become familiar themes of Dick's including androids, paranoia, telepathy, and corporate and government conspiracies. The only element that does not gel is a sketchy subplot concerning a team of Leon Cartwright's followers travelling to the far reaches of the solar system in search of a mysterious cult figure named John Preston.

Though not great starting point for first time Dick readers, Solar Lottery has all the hallmarks of a fledgeling novelist trying to find their feet in a longer format and should be sought out by anyone interested in his earlier writing.