Luchino Visconti directs Antonio Arcidiacono, Giuseppe Arcidiacono and Venera Bonaccorso in this classic of Italian Neo-Realism where a family of fishermen try to become independent from the price fixing wholesalers.

I watched the for A-Level Film Studies as a teenager. 2 and a half hours of misery. Slow misery. Yet also a perfect example of the Neo Realist movement. On location filming. Non actors approximating roles that reflect their day to day lives. Politically critical of the unfair imbalances of unchecked capitalism. But also… we just aren’t used to lingering on failure in cinema. Fall and rise? Sure. But Visconti holds steadfast on the ruin of their fortunes and the unravelling of the family. A lot of people are impressed that an aristocrat’s son, born into wealth and privilege, made such a work with a beating Communist heart. I’m not so persuaded. I see a movie whose ultimate message is “Stay in your lane.” Otherwise the community will shun you, the masters will mock you, your house will be lost and your sister will become a whore. Don’t try, don’t struggle, don’t break free. Pessimism rather than realism, possibly pessimism with a vested interest in the status quo. Still… a very beautiful process movie (Mediterranean fishing as graft and risk) and surprisingly well acted given the amateur one-time-only cast.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Ossessione (1943)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/ and my own Substack https://substack.com/@edinburghlaughterbulletin

Wayne Wang directs Wood Moy, Marc Hayashi and Laureen Chew in this American indie where two cab drivers search San Francisco’s Chinatown for the mysterious Chan, who disappeared with their $4000.

Slight but reaching in a lot of directions, this is admirable stuff, often pleasurable too. A mystery with only missing clues and where the best witness is hidden behind a door. Pretty smart. Wang uses the quest as a delivery system to meet lots of Chinese Americans, sketching a community and celebrating some big personalities. There are naturalistic, humorous interludes between the cab drivers… clearly close friends but with a generation gap and differing philosophical outlooks. This is slowly becoming a ‘forgotten film’ which is a shame as it should deeply satisfy fans of Cassevetes and especially early Jarmusch.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Permanent Vacation (1980)

Penny Marshall directs Whoopi Goldberg, Stephen Collins and Carol Kane in this comedy thriller where a computer whiz who works at a New York bank inadvertently receives a coded message from a British spy.

My sister and I had this taped off the telly as kids so therefore watched it on repeat. Both the comedy and the espionage elements are pretty thin but Whoopi cooks. This is her vehicle and she knows it. There’s a couple of tasty trailer moments (Whoopi pretends to be a Supreme, Whoopi is dragged around the streets of New York in a stolen phone booth) but they rarely make much sense within the greater humdrum plotting. If you don’t have the nostalgia for this that I clearly do then knock off a couple of points.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Burgular (1987)

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Georges Méliès directs Victor André, Bleuette Bernon and Brunnet in this iconic early cinematic sci-fi short.

Undeniably cute and manic. 50 years before space travel was a reality the only thing this predicts correctly is the parades. Tumbling aliens. Lunar sleepovers. Scantily clad lady stars. We are gonna shoot a cannon of old professors straight into your eye, you stupid moon! Watched the colourised version (made from an old colour print) with French synth pop band Air’s soundtrack (which is pretty decent). Beyond it’s historical import, this is a breezy lark.

8

Perfect Double Bill: Metropolis (1927)

Phil Alden Robinson directs Robin Williams, Mila Kunis and Peter Dinklage in this dark comedy where a New Yorker who cannot suppress his rage is told he has 90 minutes to live.

Lots of cameos in this. Will sadly be remembered as the film where Robin Williams’ character attempts to commit suicide just before he did so in real life. It doesn’t have a lot else going for it frustratingly.

4

Perfect Double Bill: Short Time (1990)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/ and my own Substack https://substack.com/@edinburghlaughterbulletin

Doug Liman directs Matt Damon, Casey Affleck and Hong Chau in the buddy heist comedy.

A nice Eighties throwback that filled an evening with soft Elmore Leonard-esque posturing, a quickly sketched romance and one decent car chase. The on-location shoot made up for the 21st century digital flatness and the streaming service deep pockets budget was spaffed on a gold standard support cast. It ain’t Midnight Run but you could do a lot worse on a Tuesday night.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Wolfs (2024)

Edward Dmytryk directs Humphrey Bogart, Van Johnson and Fred MacMurray in this naval drama where a U.S. minesweeper captain shows signs of mental instability that jeopardises the ship.

Pretty average film that just happens to include Bogie’s best ‘against type’ acting turn. The final half hour of tribunals has the air of A Few Good Men and ends things on a high.

6

Perfect Double Bill: The Bedford Incident (1965)

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Oliver Stone directs Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez and Nick Nolte in this neo-noir where a drifter is asked to kill a rich man’s sexy young wife.

You’ve seen this movie before. John Dahl made it about five times (all better) in the Nineties. Just never with a cast of so many A-Listers and award whores. Does it make for a better movie? No, the unfettered overkill often sinks it. Stone fucks the frame with such constant ferocity that Michael Bay, Spike Lee and Tony Scott would all agree he is being a bit excessive. Most of the little quirky subplots go nowhere. Once we get down to the formulaic third act there are no surprises and then it drags it’s feet. Nasty, fascinating, not the stamp of anyone involved’s talents.

5

Perfect Double Bill: Natural Born Killers (1994)

Hayao Miyazaki directs Sumi Shimamoto, Mahito Tsujimura and Hisako Kyôda in this Japanese anime where warring kingdoms battle it out over a toxic forest.

Epic adventure. Gargantuan insects rule over a forbidden zone. A brave princess flies around on a glider trying to keep the peace. Steampunk battalions plot mass destruction. Really stirring stuff, often uncommonly beautiful.

9

Perfect Double Bill: Porco Rosso (1992)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/ and my own Substack https://substack.com/@edinburghlaughterbulletin

Jason Reitman directs Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott and Cory Michael Smith and Tim Fehlbaum directs Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro and Leonie Benesch in this pair of historical behind-the-scenes recreations of Seventies TV live broadcasts that were ground breaking.

Claustrophobia. Ticking clocks. Looming deadlines. Murphy’s Law. If there was an unrecognised movie sub genre that has been kicking about since the late 50s it would be The Pressure Cooker. Ordinary people trying to achieve extraordinary goals while everything around the becomes an obstacle. Sidney Lumet was the pioneer of the form with everything from 12 Angry Men through Fail Safe to Dog Day Afternoon. Recently the Safdies’ have popularised the tropes with Good Time and Uncut Gems. Or maybe Birdman? Or Captain Phillips? Or the Charlie Work episode of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia… The camera stalks, the walls close in, and for every ingenious, improvised solution there is a Chekov’s gun waiting to go off at the worst possible time.

Two films have been released in the U.K. within a space of a week which seem to ride this growing trend and set in the same milieu; live television. Saturday Night aims for “real time”-ish comedy drama. Cramming all the legends, tall tales and bad behaviour into the 90 minutes before the first SNL sketch was put on air. It is a race against the clock, a clash of egos and a watershed moment. Very much a lionisation of what Lorne Michael’s achieved with very little backing from the NBC suits. This era of US comedy is my hot sauce and the casting is really keyed in, especially the lad they get to play Chevy Chase. The female performers are a still sidelined but the always welcome Rachel Sennott is given a pumped up writer’s role. I had high hopes for this and, a little inevitable mawk aside, Reitman did the business even if it never quite blew me away.

Far more effective is the comparatively dry apolitical drama of September 5. Sure any film about Palestinian militants killing Israeli athletes is going to be an ethical hot potato to juggle. Fehlbaum’s talky ensemble film walks the line tightly by focussing on the analogue solutions to reporting this knife edge situation to the world. 16mm film is raced across police lines, phone lines are soldered to microphone wires, ID cards forged and time on the sole satellite has to be bartered for in hourly shifts. All by a sports broadcasting team with minimal hard news experience. You get a true sense of modern reporting coming together in the lunges of inspiration and desperation. I was completely gripped. Was that day truly the first time a TV channel ident was used?

7/8