Fascinating Artworks Scotland on BBC2, Shirley Manson meets artist Douglas Gordon. X Factor "valium for the masses" say Gordon, spot-on mate 5 hours ago
Following three hugely successful national tours and two acclaimed capacity seasons at The Queen’s Theatre in London’s West End, JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit will be playing at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre on Tuesday 23 and from Thursday 25 to Sunday 28 March.
Bilbo Baggins, a quiet and contented Hobbit, has his life turned upside down when he is chosen by Gandalf the Sorcerer to join Thorin Oakenshield, exiled King of the Dwarves, on his quest to reclaim their kingdom and treasure.
With the aid of magic and illusion, audiences will join Gandalf as he leads Bilbo and his Dwarf companions on a frightening but magical journey, a journey from which they might never return! A journey to hunt for the powerful hidden treasure that simply must be found and given back to its rightful owners.
Travel with them through the Misty Mountains, through wind, rain, hail and thunderstorms narrowly escaping gourmandising Trolls, vicious Goblins, avaricious wolves, and spiteful Giant Spiders. Finally Bilbo must face the guardian of the treasure, the most feared and deadly dragon of them all, Smaug…
Females in contemporary Japanese Cinema are the subject of Girls on Film, an upcoming season at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse cinema, running from Wednesday 10 to Sunday 14 March.
As the cineam’s website notes, following last year’s Reality Fiction: Japanese Films Inspired by Actual Events season, this year’s Japan Foundation annual touring film programme looks at contemporary Japanese cinema made for, about, and in some cases by, women.
Women have continuously been at the centre of Japanese cinema, with notable examples being films by Kenji Mizoguchi and Mikio Naruse, and even the animation works of Hayao Miyazaki. In the world of Japanese cinema, female characters embrace “more dramatic possibilities” since they have ìmuch stronger feelings than menî as Shochiku company president, Shiro Kido, once described.
Following recent tours of one-time hit BBC TV series Dad’s Army and Allo ‘Allo, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais’ Porridge comes to Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre from Tuesday 9 – Saturday 13 March.
Written for stage by the original creators, the cast of 15 is led by Shaun Williamson, best known for his role as Barry Evans in EastEnders. The role of Godber, originally played by the late Richard Beckinsale has been taken by Daniel West.
Edinburgh’s Cameo cinema will have a special screening of new environmental documentary Dirty Oil on Monday 15 March, accompanied by a live panel discussion beamed in by satellite.
Building on the current appetite for environmental films examining issues around natural resources and pollution, Dirty Oil takes viewers deep behind the scenes into the strip-mined world of Alberta, Canada, where the vast and toxic Tar Sands deposit supplies the U.S. with the majority of its oil.
Through the eyes of scientists, ‘big oil’ officials, politicians, doctors, environmentalists and aboriginal citizens directly affected by ‘the largest industrial project on the planet today’, the filmmakers journey to both sides of the border to see the irreversible toll this ‘black gold rush’, fuelled by America’s addiction to oil, is taking on our planet.
Perhaps best described as the “anti-Bond”, David Callan was for six years one of the more unique portrayals of the career spy on British television, an embittered man for whom bloodshed was to be avoided where possible and loyalty to Her Majesty was almost a thorn in his side.
Professional killer Callan (Edward Woodward) stalks the shadows of British espionage in these remaining episodes from series one and two, including the atmospheric pilot, Magnum for Schneider.
Sent on each mission-of-the-week by the mysterious Hunter and both helped and hindered by fellow spy Meares (Peter Bowles and Anthony Valentine), Callan is drawn into the sort of situations where a conscience is left at the door.
I’m not entirely sure why this is being screened for one night only at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse (a new print perhaps?), but the chance to see Sergio Leone’s 1968 Western, Once Upon a Time in the West, is one to be grabbed.
From its tense opening moments which take place at a railway station through to its violent shoot-outs, it’s a film with a superb cast – Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Jason Robards – and gorgeous soundtrack by Ennio Morricone, the film was made to be seen on the big screen.
This week sees the release of two classic films from Masters of Cinema that demand the attention of cinephiles everywhere: Fritz Lang’s 1931 thriller M and Douglas Sirk’s 1956 drama There’s Always Tomorrow: and I’ve got copies of each to give away on the blog. Read more »
Some glitz and spectacle is coming to Edinburgh this Thursday, 25 February, as Europe’s queen of burlesque, Immodesty Blaize, brings her new film Burlesque Undressed to town.
The film is described as “a lavish and dazzling journey right into the heart of the art-form, featuring a compelling mix of live performance, interviews from burlesque stars past and present, captivating music and all-round show-stopping entertainment.”
I recently caught a screening of the film and found it quite enlightening, the decision to focus on performers past and present offering a history of the art of burlesque.
In The Beauty Queen of Leenane, coming to Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre from Fri 19 February – Saturday 13 March, Martin McDonagh delivers a twisted and comic tale of a mother and daughter trapped in a small village in Galway.
Maureen lives a lonely life, with only her mother Mag for company, tending to her every need, putting up with years of insults (and doling out a few of her own).
When a chance comes along to find love and make a new life for herself Maureen sees an opportunity to escape. Mag has other ideas though, and her interference sets in motion a chain of misunderstandings and betrayals, heart- breaking tragedy and dark, dark humour.
Grant Gillies reviews the Traverse theatre’s latest production.
4 out of 5 stars
The Traverse continue to push at the boundaries of cutting edge theatre with their latest fulfilling offering, What We Know, written and directed by Pamela Carter.
The play is split into three distinct parts: Life before death; the ensuing chaos that surrounds the removal of a loved one; and the return to integration as normality falls as fragile as snow.
On entering the theatre, the picture portrayed is one of blissful interaction, smells and dialogue blending together in a natural flow. Normality and mundane tasks such as preparing a meal accentuate the love between the two characters of Lucy (Kate Dickie) and Jo (Paul Thomas Hickey).
The writing perfectly captured the strength of love between the two, right up until Jo was quickly removed from the scene, when everything changed. One minute he was there and the next he was gone. Normal to abnormal. Life to death.
In the midst of this grey storm of confusion, as Lucy struggles to come to terms with Jo simply disappearing from her life, the arrival of a young stranger, played by Lorn McDonald, was unexpected and slightly absurd. It worked, just.
Fans of the 1960s spy genre rejoice: The Avengers Complete Series Three is out now on DVD, a chance to relive the early years of the programme which in many ways defined Sixties television and still stands up today as the epitome of cool.
Over in my review of the series I noted that, while the programme may be best remembered for its later John Steed/Emma Peel episodes which took the world by storm, these Honor Blackman-era adventures show glimpses of what was to come and deserve a place on any discerning genre TV fan’s shelf.
With Patrick Macnee as John Steed and Blackman as Mrs Gale, the world of espionage never looked better.
Thanks to those nice people over at Optimum Home Entertainment I have two copies of the series to give away. Retailing at £42.98 online, as well as 26 episodes, the set comes with commentaries, photo galleries, episode introductions, scripts for every episode and various other goodies. And they look gorgeous.
To be in with a chance to win just answer the following question:
Finally settling into its groove after a bumpy first two seasons, The Avengers hit its stride with series three, Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman’s rapport, along with some of the most interesting scripts in the programmes long history, making it must-see TV circa 1963.
Best remembered for its glorious colour episodes and mad-scientist-of-the-week stories that would typify the later Emma Peel years, in this third series The Avengers was still being made in monochrome and harked back to the grittier tales told in series two, though elements of its future oddness start to creep into the frame.
From Steed being put on trial for murder to the creation of double agents, nuclear weapon theft to mind games for Mrs Gale, the plots veer from the mundane to the strange on a regular basis, episodes such as The Man With Two Shadows, Mandrake and Don’t Look Behind You typical of the style the production team seemed keen to replicate in later series.
Stars Macnee and Blackman have a certain swagger about them this year, no doubt buoyed by the programme’s success in the real world which would soon see them just as much a part of the Sixties scene as The Beatles and Carnaby Street.
Following our preview of this Saturday’s one-off screening of über-cult movie The Room at Edinburgh’s Cameo cinema, you now have a chance to receive two free tickets to witness “the world’s best worst film”.
Released in 2003 by writer/director/producer and actor Tommy Wiseau, The Room cost $6 million to make and centres on Johnny (Wiseau) whose girlfriend is cheating on him with best friend, Mark.
As Edinburgh prepares to host yet another cult film event, Ross Maclean steps into The Room…
The history of cinema is littered with self-financed personal projects and noble failures. When producer/writer/director/actor Tommy Wiseau plunged an alleged $7m into funding his debut feature, who knew it would be so awful? Or so enduringly popular?
To call The Room bad is to do it a disservice. It transcends ‘bad’ to become an all-encompassing onslaught of ridiculous scripting, woeful acting, cringe-inducing sex scenes, frequent non-sequiturs, bad dubbing and over-earnest melodrama.
Nominally a relationship drama, Wiseau himself plays Johnny, a gentle soul, betrayed by his girlfriend and best friend. If you’ve never seen or heard Wiseau, picture the result of a failed intensive breeding program between Sylvester Stallone and a Na’vi, with an indefinable accent approximating a tranquilised Arnie, dressed like a guest at a goth wedding.
It’s not hard to see why Tommy has gained a cult following – here’s a sample of what to expect:
Shamelessly swiping elements of amateur Christmas pantomime, silent slapstick sketches and those Morcambe and Wise plays which always ended in disaster, Spymonkey add enough of their own exuberance to the Moby Dick legend to ensure it feels as fresh as a sea breeze.
Introduced as being a production of the Compagnie Toby Parks, a motley crew of actors seemingly culled from the offcuts of regional rep companies, this version of Herman Melville’s (no relation) novel is one for our recession hit times.
Parks, a luvvie of the highest order, is intent on giving his audience the best show possible, even if it means the ship much of the play is set on and around is a slightly rickety effort.
Narrated by Ishmael (Aitor Basauri) in a strong Spanish accent (he’s difficult to understand so that the audience will pay attention more), we’re then introduced to the cast of four: Toby Park, Petra Massey and Stephan Kreiss.
Continuing the low budget theme, pub signs double as table tops, a metal pole becomes a mast and the quartet of actors don various iffy costumes to portray a number of characters.
Shown a few years back on the UK’s finest television station, BBC Four, Reichenbach Falls was heavily promoted at the time as being developed from an original idea by author Ian Rankin but written by James Mayor.
Now the 75-minute film is about to get a cinema screening on Thursday 25 February, courtesy of Edinburgh’s Filmhouse cinema as part of their occasional Made in Edinburgh season.
The story revolves around Edinburgh copper Jim Buchan (Alex Newman) who’s on the hunt for his arch enemy The Monkey, while still hoping he can reconcile with his ex-wife (Laura Fraser) who is now in love with Buchan ex-best friend Jack Harvey (Alistair Mackenzie).
Stephen Mallatratt’s adaptation of Susan Hill’s best selling novel The Woman in Black comes to Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre from Monday 15 – Saturday 20 February.
Said to combine the power and intensity of live theatre with a cinematic quality inspired by the world of film noir, audiences are provided with “an evening of unremitting drama as they are transported into a terrifying and ghostly world.”
A lawyer obsessed with a curse that he believes has been cast over him and his family by the spectre of a Woman in Black, engages a sceptical young actor to help him tell his terrifying story and exorcise the fear that grips his soul.
Northern Ballet Theatre’s Wuthering Heights returns to Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre from Thursday 11 to Saturday 13 March.
A creative collaboration between composer Claude-Michel Schönberg and NBT Artistic Director David Nixon, the production is inspired by Emily Bronte’s 1847 novel.
The ballet was created in 2002 when Claude-Michel Schönberg, known throughout the musical-theatre world for his West End hits Les Miserables, Miss Saigon and Martin Guerre, made contact with David Nixon within weeks of his arrival at NBT.
One of the greatest love stories in the world, the ballet focuses on the powerful bond that grows between Catherine Earnshaw and the foundling Heathcliff; their lives inexorably linked for eternity in a darkly haunting tale, as bleak and beautiful as the Yorkshire moors that surround them.
Another cult movie event is on its way to Edinburgh, courtesy of the Jekyll & Hyde pub and Cult Fiction Movies: an evening in the company of David Hess, star of the infamous video nasty Last House on the Left on Sunday 14 March, from 6pm.
Also in attendance will be Giovanni Lombardo Radice, star of Cannibal Ferox, House on the edge of the Park (Alongside David), City of the Living Dead and many more. Finally, actress Catriona Maccoll, who starred in numerous italian horror films by the director Lucio Fulci, will be the final guest.
There will be movie showings in the crypt bar all evening with intros from Hess himself, who will be partaking in a Q&A session on the balcony section of the pub along with an opportunity to get your favourite movies signed.
The event will be brought to a close with Hess playing a live set featuring songs from the soundtrack of Last House originally composed by the actor.
I’ve not run too many giveaways on this blog…and this is no exception as it’s actually being carried out via Twitter. I have a copy of Pontypool, one of my favourite films of 2009, to give away on DVD and Blu-ray.
Set in the small, snowy Canadian town of Pontypool, the movie centres on radio DJ Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie) as he and his colleagues battle zombies from the confines of their underground studio.
In my review I said “Pontypool is something of a grower, an always entertaining little film which stays in the memory long after you’ve seen it and improves with age, which is more than can be said for some of its flashier counterparts.” I also quoted a few other reviews when it seemed Pontypool needed help at the box office.
