Viewings: May 2022

May had some absolute bangers; both old and new. The biggest film highlights mostly consisted of Nordic extravaganzas: Robert Eggers' The Northman was the type of Hollywood style movie I've been craving for in what feels like forever; Hanna Bergholm's Hatching was an incredibly impressive directorial debut; and Eskil Vogt's The Innocents was an enthralling spin on today's never evending capeshit. Other first time viewings which I enjoyed a lot were Things to Come, Witchhammer, Alison's Birthday and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954).

In non-film entertainment: the B.F.I's online panel discussion on New French Extremity was an entertaining glossary on the movement.

Hyped for Phil Tippet's Mad God finally being released next month.

Film:

Things to Come (William Cameron Menzies, 1936)* 

The Seventh Commandment (Irvin Berwick, 1961)*

Witchhammer (Otakar Vávra, 1970)*

The Big Doll House (Jack Hill, 1971)

Sweet Sugar (Michel Levesque, 1972)

Frightmare (Pete Walker, 1974)

The Witch Who Came from the Sea (Matt Cimber, 1976)*

That Sinking Feeling (Bill Forsyth, 1979)*

Alison's Birthday (Ian Coughlan, 1981)*

Death Wish II (Michael Winner, 1982)

One Deadly Summer (Jean Becker, 1983)*

The Initiation (Larry Stewart & Peter Crane (uncredited), 1984)

The Killer Is Still Among Us (Camillo Teti, 1986)

House Party (Reginald Hudlin, 1990)

Mr. Bean's Holiday (Steve Bendelack, 2007)

New York Ninja (John Liu & Kurtis Spieler, 2021)*

Everything Everywhere All at Once (Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, 2022)*

Hatching (Hanna Bergholm, 2022)*

The Cellar  (Brendan Muldowney, 2022)*

The Innocents (Eskil Vogt, 2022)*

The Northman (Robert Eggers, 2022)*

Television:

Nineteen Eighty-Four (Rudolph Cartier, 1954)*

First Tuesday -Season 8; Episode 12 - Paul Sykes: At Large (Nick Lord, 1990)* 

*First time viewings.

Dada Debaser Notes:

• Matt Cimber's The Witch Who Came from the Sea is another grail film I can finally tick off the watch list. For whatever the reason, it just didn't click for me. Giving it another shot at a later date.
• Ralph Richardson as a Mad Max style post-apocalyptic warlord ruler in futuristic England (the 1970s), was one of my favourite parts from the Things to Come. Loved the future tech designs, too.
  
• Didn't realise this Frightmare easter egg until now, but the film that Deborah and Graham were watching at the cinema was La Grande Bouffe (1973). 
• Hats off to Talking Pictures TV for having The Seventh Commandment, a delightfully sleazy noir being broadcast on a Sunday afternoon. Great alternative to the kid-friendly and chick flick shite that's usually on around that time.
  
• Full Force deserved their own House Party spin-off movie, imo.
• The hilariously suggestive girl/candle artwork for The Initiation is the only memorable thing relating to the film. Much prefer The Dorm That Dripped Blood (1982) - aka Pranks, the other slasher with Daphne Zuniga appearing in it.
• Not seen the uncut version of Death Wish II before. The assault on the maid is way more graphic than I originally remember it being. Doubt I'll ever get my hands on the fabled Greek VHS version, but one can hope. One of the best Bronson lines in that film.
  
• Might have been a little too long, but the plot twist revelations in One Deadly Summer kept me hooked throughout. First class performance from Isabelle Adjani (in her daisy dukes), too.
• Carson Clay's Playback Time, as featured in Mr. Bean's Holiday is a completely on point derision of pretentious film makers.
  
• Derivative and unoriginal as The Cellar was, I dug the finale and the obvious homage to Lucio Fulci's classic The Beyond.