Inglorious Basterds Review

I saw this in the soon to be demolished, but for this occasion packed, ODEON WEST END a few weeks ago. I really like this screen. Over the years I have seen things like THE NEW WORLD and THE DARK KNIGHT here. I met up with James Tully, from the ODEON in Brighton, and after a couple of lagers we settled in. The scratchy print rolled on (Tarantino has insisted on a 35mm release for this film, and the reasons will become obvious once you've seen the film) and excitement ensued.

I know Tarantino inspires huge hate and love in equal measures - I am neither a hater nor a sycophant. I think Tarantino's first three films are amazing, but I am a little tepid about KILL BILL 1, and definitely dislike KILL BILL 2 and DEATH PROOF. So I was more than skeptical going in, particularly given the awful review by Peter Bradshaw.

So first of all: the film is too long; it doesn't make much sense plot-wise; the violence is gratuitous; its moral compass is visibly off-balance; and it's the most fun I've had at the cinema in a long time.

Although the genre is World War II, Tarantino is mainly working with the Spaghetti Western conventions. And despite the action backdrop, it's in his dialogue where the sparks fly. The real star of the film isn't Brad Pitt, but Colonel Landa (in a star-making turn by Christoph Waltz) as the 'Jew-Hunter'. There is a lot less DIRTY DOZEN style scenes than you get from the marketing of the film, and most of action takes place inside a tavern and a cinema. The latter part of the film at a Parisian cinema, ranks amongst some of my favorite collection of scenes ever - probably because anything taking place in a single screen vintage movie theater immediately has my attention.

Despite the grim subject matter, there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments (as you would expect from a Tarantino flick) and the audience I saw it with clapped at the end. It seemed from my perspective like a real crowd pleaser. Apart from Pitt, the cast is full of fantastic unknowns (although Michael Fassbender is a quickly rising actor) and this all adds to the reality of it - particulary because most of the movie is in German, French and Italian - which in turn makes it even more enjoyable.

Most film critics like to play the 'identify that reference' game with QT's films, as it's a magnificent opportunity to show off their own knowledge of the cannon. While I can't identify every source, you always feel like he is using the languages of the genres he is obsessed with (Spaghetti western, World War II movies, mission movies, De Palma, etc) but not unlike a catchy pop tune, the melody is both familiar and completely fresh. Originality isn't the only virtue to value in film; superb craftsmanship and an ear for killer dialogue can carry things as well.

Don't buy into the buzz that this was not well received: it got a standing ovation at Cannes; the TIMES loved it; TOTAL FILM adores it; and even wooly liberal THE INDEPENDENT likes it. Either way, QT is one of the most exciting filmmakers working today and you should make up your own mind.

We have previews 15th and 16th August, late shows on 19th and 20th and then the film rolls on in all shows from the 21st, playing in glorious 35mm on our old projector.

John Hughes 1950-2009

John Hughes died yesterday in New York City at the age of 59. Best known for a series of teenage comedies from the 1980s like FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF, BREAKFAST CLUB, SIXTEEN CANDLES, and WEIRD SCIENCE, all massive hits, these otherwise lightweight films also touched a cultural nerve and became a genre onto themselves, endlessly referenced and imitated ever since.

His directing career ended with the massive flop CURLY SUE but his Midas touch didn't end there: he wrote and/or produced the blockbusters/franchises HOME ALONE, BEETHOVEN, FLUBBER & 101 DALMATIONS.

Personally, the films came a bit early for me to tap into the teenage angst, but FERRIS BUELLER is a seminal film in my early cinematic development. As Ferris himself said : Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

Film Quiz Part 2

ICON FILM DISTRIBUTION is the UK branch of the company Mel Gibson founded back in 1989. They have distributed films such as LOOKING FOR ERIC and Oscar winner MAN ON WIRE. Hugo Grumbar, President of Icon Film Distribution, kindly answered my five questions:

What's the best cinema in the country?
That's very difficult! Phoenix Finchley? Duke of Yorks Brighton, Curzon Mayfair?

What is your first memory of moviegoing?
STAR WARS Leicester Square

What is your weirdest/most exciting/scariest experience of moviegoing?
IRREVERSIBLE at The Other Cinema was shocking, OLD BOY or THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED at the Curzon Soho both very memorable experiences. Nothing beats THE THIRD MAN which I see on the BFI South Bank whenever it plays!

What is the film you’ve worked on you are proudest of?
Very difficult. MAN ON WIRE perhaps. LA VIE EN ROSE or maybe even 30 DAYS OF NIGHT.

What one thing could the film industry do to be more successful in the UK?
Think global NOT local

Film Quiz, Part 1

I'll be running a series of interviews with different people in the exhibition/distribution sector, always with the same five questions. Our first victim is Ben Luxford, a Brightonian and long-time Dukes customer, who previously worked at Optimum Releasing and now runs Theatrical Sales at Artificial Eye, the purveyors of top arthouse fare such as ANTICHRIST and THE CLASS, to mention just a couple.

What's your first moviegoing memory?
Being on holiday in Wales and it being too wet to do anything other than watch Masters of the Universe which I’d been stamping my feet about seeing anyhow. It was a joy. I believe this was at The Coliseum in Brecon.

Best cinema in the country?
I’m biased in saying the Duke of York's as it was my local growing up, so I have been spoilt in that respect. I’ve also spent far too many hours loitering in the Bristol Watershed, Edinburgh Filmhouse and Greenwich Picturehouse. I’m also a big fan of multiplexes such as the Arclight and Grove in Los Angeles and the UK’s Vue Cinemas in Islington, Bristol Cribbs Causeway and Shepherd’s Bush. Good seats, good sound and proper big screens. Odeon Leicester Square is always a treat as well.

Most exciting/strange/scary filmgoing experience?
I enjoyed a few years back watching the reissue of WILDSTYLE at the Duke of Yorks when all the mid-late thirty Brighton B-boys turned out in force and were breakin’ in the aisles. The opening night of JACKIE BROWN at the Dukes was one of the most electric screenings I can remember being in.

Favorite film to have been involved with?
PAN'S LABRYINTH. From the first screening in Cannes it was clear it was always going to be something very special. I was really pleased to contribute to the success of THIS IS ENGLAND as well – i’d always been a fan of Shane Meadows and thought it was about time the British public showed him some support.

Name one thing that would make the industry more succesful?
More Cinema screens.

Local Hero

David Puttnam, advertising wizard, legendary film producer and one-time head of Columbia Pictures has recently become the head of the Film Distributor's Association (FDA) and on the 20 July he addressed distributors at BAFTA.

From an exhibition perspective his views were welcome: If product is the crucial business driver, that’s only part of the story. The key to extracting value from intellectual, and recycling it back into the industry, is distribution – forging and sustaining the connection between filmmakers and their audiences, wherever they may be. Last year 531 films were released in the UK, unless there is flexibility how we will be able to tap into future audiences?

He seems to be saying distributors need to abandon their old ways of demanding all shows and respond to audience demands and work with exhibitors to ensure everyone is a winner in the industry. He also advocated more flexibility when it comes to theatrical windows (the time frame between when a film is released in cinemas to when it comes out on DVD and TV).

As an exhibitor, I like long windows (as people are more likely to come to the cinema if the film is unavailable elsewhere) but to ignore the way people consume culture these days is to bury one's head in the sand. As Puttnam says: Don’t get this wrong: the UK distribution position is not that there should be no window of theatrical exclusivity, but rather that these business decisions should be made on a case by case basis, subject to all manner of individual circumstances. So let’s sift through the evidence and see if a way forward can be found that works for everyone.

Finally, a message for the doomsayers: History shows that there has never been a time when the competitive film business was not besieged by threats and uncertainty. The halcyon days of yore were, much as they sound, always a myth. Television, video and the internet, all in their time have caused seismic shifts in the cinema world. What’s different today is that change has moved from rapid to super-rapid.

It's refreshing to hear these words from the FDA, and Puttnam is certainly someone with the respect, authority and vision to lead the sector in these turbulent times of uncertainty.

Shhhhhhh!

This week seems to be the 'shut up' week. First Eddie Mair ran a piece on Radio 4's PM show about noisy audiences, then a woman was attacked in Leeds for asking some young kids to quiet down at a screening of Harry Potter.

Just last night we had to ask two customers inside the cinema to be quiet. I should have known they were trouble when they asked if COCO BEFORE CHANEL was a really violent film. They seemed puzzled when I explained it was a biopic of the fashion icon.

In NYC, I once had a chap threaten to "meet me outside" after the film when I asked him to stop whistling at Thandie Newton in Mission Impossible 2. I stayed and watched ALL the credits.

It's definitely a cultural thing - I have witnessed screenings in America where the audience clap when the hero saves the girl - whereas in the UK no one would dare say a word. When audiences are requested to participate, they really go all out though - our infamous late night screenings of WITHNAIL & I include customers quoting the film, and playing along to the drinking game (sans lighter fluid). The Lord of the Rings Trilogy all nighter had plenty of cheers for the hobbits too.

You can hear me talk about this with Eddie Mair on today's PM around 5.45pm.

UK Box Office 31 July - 2 Aug

Harry Potter continues to dominate the UK Box Office this weekend, with neither Disney's 3D hamster adventure G-FORCE nor Sony's TAKING OF PELHAM 123 able to knock the wizard off the top spot. COCO BEFORE CHANEL opened with a high screen average and cracked the Top 10 at 9. THE HANGOVER continues its spectacular run, clocking in over £20 million so far. LAND OF THE LOST followed the failed pattern when it opened in America, and fell to number 6.

1- Harry Potter - £2,917,786
2- G-Force - £2,478,524
3- Taking of Pelham 123 - £1,784,719
4- The Proposal - £1,489,268
5- Ice Age 3 - £1,143,211
6- Land of the Lost - £642,553
7- Bruno - £612,577
8- The Hangover - £517,895
9- Coco Before Chanel - £423,268
10- Love Aaj Kal - £405,673