Don’t worry about the ‘adult’ tag, it’s pretty tame even by sixties standards! This is such a great British sixties film even though the plot is pretty thin (boy chases girls to lose his virginity and that’s about it) and the acting is pretty standard (though I could watch Judy Geeson in just about anything, as the wonderfully camp scifi dvd of the Star Maidens on my shelf attests) but sometimes the worth of a film is much more than the obvious.
Whether it’s the shining new architecture of Stevenage (then a new town and on the BFI DVD/Bluray there’s even a documentary on said place), the appearance of the Spencer Davis Group or the groovy as fuct soundtrack involving Simon Napier Bell, the fabulous ‘gear’ as clothing was known as for a brief period before becoming the de facto code for heroin and steroids) or something totally indefinable, that’s more than the sum of its parts, whatever it is, this film has got it.
Saucer-People's comments
Over fourty years on and the penny finally drops on the ‘Wile E. Coyote’ name! Haven’t seen this episode for decades but it brought back childhood memories of fruitless searching for the Acme brand in UK shops and having hours of fun with small multicoloured rubber balls that seemed almost supernatural in their bouncing abilities.
Six minutes of time well spent! Thanks uploader!
ever since the spider (nancy) stooped writing the characters backgrounds this has turned into filler (not killer) season could probably condensed this into 8 or less episodes and left out all the drivel and would been tight writing (possibly ?)- so many series this year that have just not kept up the hype that they originally created
I agree, firing Orlando Jones who played Mr Nancy was just one of many stupid decisions but I doubt even tightning up on the number of episodes would make an iota of difference when the script writers allow dialogue like this episode’s exchange between Shadow Moon and Biliquis:
“the journey to spiritual awakening is better with french fries”.
I could not understand the season 3 detour into the woke universe until i read an interview with Ricky Whittle/Shadow Moon and it all became illuminated:
“what they did was create a writing room that was roughly 10% cisgender straight white male and the rest was female, black, Latin, native, LGBTQ, formerly incarcerated, biracial and what that does is give you authentic representation telling true stories. It’s about inclusivity, about representation and about those voices giving us the voices.”
While I applaud giving every writer a chance regardless of their race, identity or background, having the ability to tell ‘true stories’ does not automatically make them good stories and clearly the makers behind season 3 have forgotten this.
This is an excellent UK series on the forensic aspects of police investigations covering serious crimes like rape and murder. The interviews with the forensic officers and investigators are particularly revealing and the first episode of season two has a fascinating interview with one of the officers about the deep psychological consequences of these kinds of investigations.
Fake season 17 premiere episode, its the old first episode of season 16 but has an air date of April 19th 2021.
Reported it.
Monkey was my first introduction to the strange and beautiful world of Japanese television and film when it first burst onto the screens of UK television in the late 70s. There really was nothing quite like it and it still resists easy definition to this day.
The series is based upon the legendary 16th century Chinese story ‘Journey to the West’ and tells the story of Tripitaka, a monk who has been tasked by Buddha himself to undertake a journey from China to India to locate the sacred scriptures and in doing so, ushering in a golden age on Earth.
If that sounds at all dry, trust me, it’s one hell of a surreal, deranged, comedic, fantastical, mythic journey. Thanks in part to Tripitaka’s divine shape-shifting companions, Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy who are the cosmic Three Stooges, with each episode less like a linear journey and more like a mythical snakes and ladders as they encounter a variety of gods, demons and human and non-human tricksters along the way.
There is a sad post-script to the series, the actress Masako Natsume who played the male role of Buddhist monk Tripitaka (and in doing so created some gender attraction anxiety and confusion along the way!) like some western musicians, died at the young age of 27 in 1985.
I half remember a documentary on the story behind Monkey and the bringing of the series to the UK and the dubbing of it from its original Japanese to English but its a little hazy - it would be great if it did exist and wasn’t a figment of my aged imagination.
The arrogance, ego and profound insecurity of the murderer is beyond belief. To lay in wait and execute a young woman who you meet for the first time in real life at a bar, after chatting to her online for a couple of weeks, because she decides not to take it any further, is so profoundly sad and unjust.
Interesting episode that focuses on a UK double rape case that was solved decades later as a result of familial DNA. One of the victims is interviewed about the impact the rape had on her life and for anyone who thinks cold case detective work should be a low priority, I’d put yourself in her shoes as well as consider the negative psychological effect it has on perpetrators of violent crimes who had previously assumed they had got away with it.
While the book always remains unchanged on the shelf, the series is straying so far from both the original novel and the last two seasons it should for the sake of accuracy and continuity consider a name change.
While I’m as fascinated with the pantheon of the African gods and its magical systems as the next armchair occulturist, the current take seem more like a desperate and shallow attempt to capture the woke demographic than anything else.
I did enjoy Technical Boy as a shapeshifting interdimensional alien and Laura’s eviction from purgatory was the closest thing to the grand finale of my first DMT experience back in the day I’ve ever seen, but aside from that I’m feeling the cold chill of a wasted opportunity.
Excellent episode that should be sub-titled, Framed by the Killer, his fellow police officers, a fake blood splatter expert, the prosecuters and two juries. To experience the total annihilation of your family and to then spend 13 years falsely imprisoned for that crime is something beyond comprehension. The fact that he’s somehow found the inner strength and faith to continue his life leaves me in awe.
With so many true-crime shows out there, it’s inevitable you’ll miss some and Framed By The Killer nearly passed me by (so thanks for a good play list Darci). Some of the most interesting cases to watch occur when there are multiple suspects in play coupled with misdirection and the attempted framing of others. You get to see how the investigation unravelled truth from lies and the utter deviousness and callous nature of some suspects.
So far, both episodes have been fascinating and well paced as they unpack the investigation and the attempted framings (the second episode is particularly shocking in the lengths suspects will go to evade conviction).
I’d definitely recommend true crime fans check this out.
Kudos and thanks to the uploader who has shared a couple of wonderful UK Children’s Film Foundation alien themed offerings with this The Glitterball and the 1956 Supersonic Saucer film - the former, I have fond memories of and seeing The Glitterball at a very young age is yet another primary source explanation for my lifelong obsession with flying saucers/aliens and low budget science-fiction!
stops short no ending :(
Yeah it seems to be the last ten minutes that are cut off on all the hosting sites. I’ve reported it so fingers crossed some kind soul will help out.
PS> It took me a while to figure out but the best bet to get things fixed is to click on the forum tab at the top of the page, then the Front Desk and through that you’ll find the ‘Fix It’ page - then it’s just a case of providing the page link and what the problem is.
The more of us who report stuff the better it is for everyone to state the bastard obvious!
One of those quirky, whimsical Japanese films that drifts along, slowly enveloping you in its spell and reminding you of the magic of everyday life and the value of human contact. While I’ve only ever appreciated Japanese films, music and its culture from a far, as a cat lover myself, I’ve always admired their deep love of the feline which seems deeply embedded in Japanese culture.
This is definitely not a film for everyone, but if you like the off-beat, quirky, gentle style of Japanese cinema, this is one rewarding film - definitely best viewed wrapped up warm and snug on an evening or rainy day (purring companion optional). Worth it just for the scenes of the protagonist walking along the riverside, pulling her cat wagon and calling through her megaphone: rent-a-cat! rent-a-cat!
Given the current state of affairs in America right now, Punishment Park is in many ways as relevant now as it was five decades ago, if not more so. Taking its starting point as the actual Continuity of Government style laws on the statute books about the rounding up and detention of civilians in the event of a large scale breakdown of the rule of law, the director Peter Watkins imagines a dystopian future where the constitution is suspended and left wing radicals are given what amounts to a show trial with the guilty outcome a simple formality.
After the trial, the punishment is simple: lifetime imprisonment in an internment camp or a gruelling race across the desert as you pit your wits against the national guard who are hell bent on capture by any means necessary.
Along the way, questions about violence versus non-violence are raised along with a look at how a functioning police state would treat its dissidents while maintaining a veneer of law.
Peter Watkins was one of the early developers of what has become to be known as the pseudo-documentary or mockumentary with his 1965 banned for decades UK television film The War Game about the consequences of a nuclear war in Britain which caused uproar when it was broadcast.
Many of Watkins films contain parts which are totally unscripted and are ad-libbed by the actors as well as using non-actors in scenes. Punishment Park is no exception and the ‘court’ scenes in particular use these methods to spellbinding effect.
Given the possibility of civil war in America, no matter how unlikely, films like this are particularly important as they remind us about the consequences of real fascism, which at its heart is about turning people into objects and dehumanising the Other both politically , culturally and ultimately, spiritually.
Not owning a television for years, I tend to play catch-up when it comes to shows on terrestrial UK TV and so it was with ‘Back’ which I only discovered when a kind soul posted it here on PW a week ago. I was a huge fan of Mitchell & Webb’s Peep Show series from the start, so with some trepidation I dived into season one of Back. Having now caught up, it left me with the same feeling when I watched The Detectorists -it was OK, funny in places but really the praise lies in the fact that I actually watched it till the end. A glib review would suggest Back is a cross between Peep Show and Dennis Potter’s Brimstone & Treacle (while a pretentious review would suggest Peep Show and Pasolini’s Theorem).
The actors were good, I laughed in places but as the saying goes, the centre no longer holds - I can remember the total anticipation and joy when a new episode of Peep Show was broadcast and that lasted till the last series whereas with Back, it doesn’t really bother me I’m three years late to the party.
I know that along with Mitchell and Webb, we’ve all got a lot older and the entire universe of UK TV comedy (and the UK itself) has changed completely but something has definitely been lost along the way and what’s replaced it is ironically, no laughing matter. Now, when’s the next episode broadcast…
I had a lot riding on this episode and indeed the third season itself but as we are now just under a third of the way through I must admit it feels like a pale imitation of season one - even the actors seem to have lost their way.
Given the strength of the original novel and an existing blueprint of how to do it right (season one) and not so right (season two) - it’s almost inexplicable how it feels like the soul of the show is fast disappearing.
Why you would choose to have the goddess Demeter popping meds in a luxury mental hospital when roles like a cannabis farmer or entheogen biochemist or even a ‘lost’ Demeter as a Monsanto CEO would be far more rewarding.
Likewise Laura in a bargain basement take on ‘A Matter of Life and Death’ was a million miles away from her Egyptian journey through the Western Lands and her encounters with Anubis in the first season.
Made in 1982 in case you wondered - unfortunately the IMDb release date sometimes has no relation to when the film is made.
Fascinating UK true crime documentary that utilises police footage to tell the story of the 2015 disappearance of 16 year old Becky Watts. This is definitely one of those cases that will stay with you - the police interviews of the suspects and the techniques/strategies they use are really interesting and the interviews with family members are heartbreaking.
Made in 1967, The White Bus is a strange short film made by the legendary British film maker Lindsay Anderson. Originally it was envisioned as part of a trilogy of films under the title ‘Red, White And Zero’ but Anderson abandoned the project and instead went onto film ‘If…’(which should be in the top five of any list of UK sixties films) and of course If… formed part of the trilogy he did actually make along with Oh Lucky Man and Britainna Hospital.
Some of the actors he went onto regularly work with like Arthur Lowe appear in The White Bus and the film techniques he’s famous for like switching from black and white to colour can be first seen in this film. If memory serves, this is also the first film Anthony Hopkins appears in.
Note: The title ‘Red, White And Zero’ was actually used by the British Film Institute as the name of a DVD collection of his early films that they released which includes The White Bus.
Every time I see more police bodycam footage of this case it gets more disturbing. There’s a well-known sequence early on where Chris Watts and the first police responder are at a neighbour’s house watching video footage of him ‘loading’ his truck and as the footage ends, the screen jumps to television images of an animated foetus, which prompts him to mention Shannon’s pregnancy. In this documentary, the images continue a little, and straight after it cuts to an image of a skull and what looks like oil pouring all over it. With what we know about his children and unborn son’s fate, the entire sequence of images has an almost supernatural quality about them.
It’s easy to become anaesthetised to true crime stories and then one will come along that you know will stay in your thoughts - this is well worth a watch as it illustrates the best and worst humanity has to offer.
The title translates to “Chemical Weapons: An Insidious War” according to IMDb
Very spooky and very short TV film that stays in your thoughts for longer than you may care for - next to The Wicker Man, this is the very essence of Folk-Horror or should that now be Folx-Horror :)
Great documentary - a poignant story of fame, excess, despair, paranoia and redemption. Most people who are into late 20th century music will have seen archive footage of the New York Dolls and if you ever wondered what that tall guy with long blonde locks playing bass is all about then look no further - welcome to the world of the late Arthur ‘Killer’ Kane!
The first couple of episodes have to set the story arc up and introduce the new characters/plot line so in this context Episode 2 was OK with me - though there’s a lot riding on next week as I think we’re going to get a glimpse of the entire seasons trajectory.
My one big complaint is the American god awful Season 3 poster - the colours and design are just so wrong.
Another new year, with the inevitable new true-crime show and One Deadly Mistake from Oxygen kicks things off with a show focused on the single piece of evidence that helps convict a killer who would otherwise have probably never been caught. The inevitable gratuitous reenactments aside (which I hope for the victims friends and families sakes that one day this crass info-tainment goes the way of the dodo), the opening episode was pretty interesting and it is spooky how an unlikely event or set of circumstances conspires to provide a signpost to the convicted.
Never forget that Tom Hanks was on Jeffery Epstein’s private plane nicknamed “lolita express” flight logs
I think you are getting confused, he did fly on a plane but it crashed and the island he ended up on was populated not with underage girls but a volleyball called Wilson.
“I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night, alive as you or me. Says I, but Joe you’re ten years dead. I never died said he.”
Member along with Helen Keller and countless thousands of the American revolutionary union the International Workers of the World or Wobblies as they are known - an incredible songwriter as well and murdered by a firing squad in 1915 after getting falsely accused and convicted of the murder of a former policeman.
Immortalised forever in the 1930 poem ‘I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night’ by Alfred Hayes and turned into a song by Earl Robinson and sung by various folk singers, the most famous version of course sung at Woodstock by Joan Baez.
This biopic of his life is excellent - if you want a glimpse of the American left pre-intersectionality and its relevance to the concerns of the everyday human being this is one to watch.
Like The Changes, this is another 70s ecological themed UK children’s science fiction series that often gets overlooked (Raven featuring a young Phil Daniels is another). Perfect lockdown 3 TV nostalgia with some great scenes shot at Glastonbury Tor.
Sadly for us English speaking only fans of Eastern Bloc science-fiction there are still no English subtitles for this 1973 Stanislav Lem Hungarian science fiction TV series.
I’ve spent the last decade hoping some will eventually emerge so who knows - fans of Tomorrow’s People will instantly recognise the blue screen visuals and the music is pretty cool.
Excellent opening episode for season 3 and absolutely fitting and more than a little spooky how it’s exactly 20 years since the book came out, at a time when Big Tech was just learning to crawl and yet it seems almost like a blueprint for 2021:
“Distract, misdirect, make them give a fuck about what we say is important.
Your job is to provide and control the narrative.”
I don’t know if Neil has taken on a more hands on approach for this season as executive producer, but something has changed as it has that feel of the first season and while season 2 was nowhere near as bad as many suggest, I’m very optimistic about what’s to come.
The book is obviously not the series and obviously you don’t need to read it to grasp what’s going on but for fans of the series who want to augment their viewing experience, it is well worth your time.
Polish director Wojciech Has directed many films and next to The Saragossa Manuscript this is his most well-known.
At the risk of stating the complete obvious, it’s a very different film but retains that hallucinatory feel and the use of colour is exquisite.
Kudos to the uploader for giving these films a hopefully new audience and the good news for anyone who gets hooked is you can pick DVD copies of both films for very little cost on the usual auction site :)
This was one of the all time favourite films of The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia (who played a big part in the film’s restoration) and of surrealist artist/film maker Luis Bunuel and writer Neil Gaiman and into that illustrious company, it’s also one of mine.
There really is no film quite like it and perhaps like an Escher painting, it’s more accurate to say it’s a film within a film within a….
Anyway, there has been much written about the film which is based on an 1805 book titled ‘The Manuscript Found in Saragossa’ by the Polish author Count Jan Potocki (1761–1815). It’s set during the Napoleonic War and relates to earlier events that took place during the reign of King Philip.
Though that’s an accurate overview, it’s a little like saying 2001 A Space Odyssey is about a trip in outer space or A Clockwork Orange tells the story of a teenage gang of robbers - the film is about so much more and
despite owning the DVD and watching it multiple times and devouring every review about the film, it still feels like a fresh magical experience with each sitting.
Of course it’s not a film for everyone and I appreciate a black and white Polish film set in the late 1700s doesn’t sound that enticing on paper but for those who enjoy non-linear storytelling this is something special (and the ‘fan’ names I mention earlier should signal this.)
The most clear and detailed analysis of the film can be found if you do a search for “The Saragossa Manuscript, A Film by Wojciech Has
Outline by Martin Schell”. He divides his analysis into three sections - preliminary notes, outline and explanatory notes) and I’ll leave the final words to him:
“Your first viewing of this amazing film may make you feel confused, dazed, or even drowsy. It may take a second viewing for you to follow the plot enough to realize how its innermost levels interact. The story is not only very subtle, but also very humorous.”
Like millions of other UK fans of the show I sadly had to walk away from its latest incarnation as it became too painful to watch but the holiday special is as much a part of the Christmas/New Year celebrations as mince pies so despite plenty of misgivings I still felt optimistic that surely it couldn’t be that bad…
After decades of watching Doctor Who this was the first time I’d ever rooted for the Daleks!
A dark twisted tale of adolescent obsession and longing with sixties icon Jane Asher as the object of desire. This is one dark, creepy film that really draws you in and like other UK films of a similar timeframe such as Clockwork Orange, Oh Lucky Man and Don’t Look Now, it captures the post-sixties shift into darker psychological realms, plus in an excellent scene shot in the seedy underbelly of London’s Soho, you get to hear the music of the then unknown German band Can and their song Mother Sky played to great effect.Throw in fifties starlet Diana Dors in a ‘Mrs Robinson’ role and you have quite rightly a British film cult classic.
File under disturbing, creepy, high strangeness! One of my favourite UK films of the seventies where it was released with the wonderful title of ‘Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny & Girly’ (Girly is the shortened American title if my addled memory serves).
The film was ‘lost’ for many years but thank the cult films gods that a print eventually surfaced and a DVD was released - over the years word has spread and while its certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, the people who like it, really like it!
Escape back to the 1980s with one of the UK’s best loved films - a gentle comedy of adolescent love, longing and confusion set in a Scottish New Town featuring Clare Grogan of the band Altered Images.
I’m sure I speak for many who are old enough to remember the film when it first came out, that watching it evokes both nostalgia and melancholy and reminds you that films like this can never be made again.
I know I’m a little late to the Coco party but I’m so glad I finally got round to watching this hugely enjoyable family film with a great story and the psychedelic ayahuasca like animation is just stunning.
With many of us here in the UK and elsewhere unable to spend the 2020 holidays with our families, this film will be particularly poignant. I know I cried a tear or three between smiles.
One of my all time favourite films - this is definitely one sci-fi film that deserves the high strangeness award. The late great musician/philosopher/self-identified extraterrestrial Sun Ra was definitely one of a kind and while he himself disowned the film (frowning on the ‘blaxploitation’ aspects) his personality, philosophy and of course his music permeates and informs the entire film plus its probably the only time you’ll ever see a flying saucer land in Oakland :)
PS > A good film to watch back to back with “Brother From Another Planet”
The only way out of time is into space - William S. Burroughs
The video and audio on the gamovideo site are excellent - admittedly I’m watching it on a 10 inch tablet but I’m sure this is the real deal
If you have ever pondered over the nature vs nuture debate then this documentary will give you plenty to reflect upon: what starts out as a series of apparent coincidences gives way to something much darker and deliberate. Definitely one to watch.
Ku! One of the best Soviet era Russian science-fiction films - If you like the films of Terry Gilliam you are going to love the space/time hopping of Kin-dza-dza! The cinematography is incredible, at times it reminds me of The Man Who Fell To Earth and the acting is just spot on as is the dark humour which permeates the entire film.
I must have watched it a dozen times over the years and it never gets old or boring. Ku!
What American Monster does so well is humanising the victims and the ones left behind to pick up the pieces. Rather than gratuitous, badly acted reenactments, the focus is on archival footage and in-depth interviews.
All of the shows are worth watching but occasionally a particular episode like this one seems to really bring home the true fallout of a crime and how monsterous and sociopathic the perpetrator can be.
Director Richard Lester of sixties Mouse On The Moon and early Beatles films fame goes full on apocalyptic high strangeness with this sprawling surreal Goons on acid post-nuclear epic and along for the ride comes the darling of British kitchen sink drama Rita Tushingham. Imagine Threads crossed with The Meaning Of Life!
Some say that Lester made the film after been visited by the same angelic entities recorded by 16th Century magus John Dee and the film is an attempt to recreate a vision of Albion in 2021 revealed to him by these entities. Allegedly :)
If you want an insight into the always permeable boundaries between fact and fiction and where we choose to plant our conceptual flag then you could worse than watch this excellent documentary on the real life events behind the Dog Day Afternoon film and the later 2013 documentary on bankrobber John Wojtowicz called unsurprisingly ‘The Dog’.
The film-maker does an excellent job showing a more violent and negative side to John that I think he hid in the 2013 documentary and showing the parallels with his behaviour while robbing the bank in 1972, some 35 years later.
The interviews with legendary director Sidney Lumet and the scriptwriter Frank Pierson are fascinating and couple this with the interviews with John’s ex-wife and the law enforcement personnel and this could have easily been a 90/120 minute documentary.
Classic UK sixties comedy/satire as a small fictional European country accidentally creates anti-gravity fuel and along with the Americans and Russians a race is on to be the first to land on the Moon.
While most would characterise this as a gentle comedy and indeed its an all star comedic cast with Margaret Rutherford, Terry Thomas and Bernard Cribbins, however the script does have its moments such as when the American and Russian scientists accidentally reveal their Third Reich origins or the hype of the British watch worn by the astronaut played by Cribbins.
Though I remember watching this a kid on Saturday afternoons as an alternative to the horse racing on BBC2, I had only realised it was a Dick Lester film later and its amazing to think that just 7 years later via the couple of Beatles films he created The Bedsitting Room, a work of deranged genius.
Thanks Primewire gang for sharing the new WEB D/L, it’s such great quality.
Excellent sequel with the perfect follow on narrative plus so many cultural and visual gags and without giving anything away let me just say tablets, Wigasus and Thunder Sisters! (it will make sense when you watch it)
In the words of Quentin Tarantino: “…Oh My God! What A Movie!”
One of the best and much loved cult biker films of the 70s. Great storyline as a cop goes undercover into a biker gang against a backdrop of gang murders and political assassination. The acting is spot on, the cinematography is a visual feast, especially the tracking shots of endless lines of Kawasaki bikes traversing the Australian roads and finally, the soundtrack by Billy Green is just about perfect. I’ve owned the 2009 Reissue by the Finders Keepers label for years and it never gets old.