Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 6th, 2003
Synopsis
In a beautiful opening shot, a plane flies across the screen at sunrise, parachuting a box tothe ground. The in the case is a ballot box, and a solider stationed on a deserted beach is to watchover the election agent who comes for the box. Together they criss-cross the island in search ofvotes, which is not the straightforward task you might think. This is very low-key satire, whereevery nuance counts for something. The extremely long, often motionless takes furtherconcentr...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 16th, 2003
Synopsis
There is no plot, as such, here. Each of the dreams has some sort of narrative, but moreimportant are the visuals and the themes (humanity and nature, nuclear power, and so forth).Dreams is not on the same level as Kurosawa’s great masterpieces (Ran, The Seven Samurai,Throne of Blood, and so on), and is not always compelling. But it is very frequently jaw-droppingly beautiful.
Audio
The music, a curious blend of eastern and western influences, sound...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 27th, 2003
Synopsis
Jia Hongsheng was a rising actor in the Chinese film scene, until drugs derailed his life. Thefilm chronicles his struggle to break his addiction to heroin, and the role his family plays in thisstruggle. What makes this film unique is that not only is the story factual, but all of the charactersare played by the actual people in question: that’s the real Jia Hongshen, those are his realparents, those are his real friends. Fascinating.
Audio
Very nic...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 14th, 2002
Synopsis
Juan is a small-time grifter. Marcos is several steps up the ladder in terms of ambition andexperience. He takes Juan under his wing, and involves him in a possible Big Score, sellingcounterfeit stamps. Can Juan trust Marcos? Can we in the audience trust anything? This superbcrime film takes great delight in making you question absolutely everything you see, and youwind up in a state of grinning paranoia. Sophisticated, fiendishly intelligent, superblyentertaining filmmaki...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 3rd, 2002
Film
Fritz Lang became one of the earliest masters of filmmaking. Known mostly for such classic silents as Metropolis and Spies, Lang delivers a startling film definitely ahead of its time with M. This is also the very first film for the talented Peter Lorre who would later shine in Corman’s Poe series, and of course, along-side Bogart in The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. M is a disturbing film that constantly assaults the viewer with stark images of a city’s underworld life. Th...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 27th, 2002
Intro
Snake & Crane Arts of Shaolin finally gets a DVD re-release with an anamorphic widescreen transfer. It is too bad that the quality of this DVD is so low.
Synopsis
“International superstar Jackie Chan (Rush Hour) stars in the film that real Kung Fu fans call the best traditional martial arts movie Jackie's ever made, Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin. Jackie is a young warrior suspected of poisoning all the Shaolin Masters, the creators of a new unbeatable fighting style cal...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 27th, 2002
Intro
Columbia-Tristar has re-released To Kill with Intrigue, along with New Fists of Fury and Snake & Crane Arts of Shaolin with a new anamorphic widescreen transfer. To Kill with Intrigue looks better than the other two releases, but still is nothing stellar on DVD.
Synopsis
“In To Kill With Intrigue, Kung Fu fans get a rare chance to see international martial arts legend Jackie Chan (Rush Hour) as a serious dramatic hero with a fighting style to match. Jackie plays a young ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 27th, 2002
Intro
It is nice to see one of Jackie Chan’s first films, New Fist of Fury, get re-released with an anamorphic widescreen transfer. Unfortunately, that is the only bonus to this disc.
Synopsis
“Jackie Chan (Rush Hour), the master of kung-fu and Chinese acrobatics, stars in this action- packed sequel to Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury. In one of his first leading roles, he displays the style that would make him an international superstar. During WWII in Japanese-occupied Taiwan, Jacki...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 26th, 2002
The sort of film it seems comes out of Hollywood only as a fluke, but emerges regularly out of Europe: the intellectual romantic comedy.
Synopsis
Camille, leading lady of an Italian-language theatre troupe, has returned to Paris for the first time in three years. Though her lover is the director Ugo, she seeks out her ex, Pierre, and her feelings are not exactly simple. Ugo, meanwhile, is searching for a rare play, and is attracted to the daughter of the woman who owns the manuscript. The set-up is...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 26th, 2001
Intro
A recent effort from director Nagisa Oshima, perhaps best known for In the Realm of the Sense, Taboo continues his elegant exploration of sexuality and dangerous passions.
Synopsis
Imagine a samurai version of Death in Venice, and you have some sense of Taboo. The year is 1865, and a militia has two new recruits. One of them, Kano, is decidedly adrogynous, and the other recruit, Tashiro, promptly falls in love with him. As time goes on, more and more members of the militia fall u...
