Johnny Got His Gun (1971) Imprint Blu Ray. Review by Alan Price. There’s no doubt that writer/director Dalton Trumbo sincerely wanted to convey the futility of WW1 as experienced by a young horribly injured soldier. In theory he did. In practise he misfires.
year 2022
Poetry review – HIDING TO NOTHING: Emma Lee admires the boldness and sensitivity with which Anita Pati deals with difficult issues
Poetry review – FAREWELL PERFORMANCE: Paul McDonald looks back with pleasure on the collected later poems of Vernon Scannell
Poetry review – CENTRAL AIR: Neil Elder commends the wide appeal of George Bilgere’s poetry
Poetry review – EARTHWORKS: Mat Riches finds Stewart Carswell’s poetry both attractive and instructive
Anyone Can Whistle. Southwark Playhouse. Review by Barbara Lewis. Anyone Can Whistle opened on Broadway in April 1964 to mixed reviews and closed shortly afterwards. Nearly 60 years on, this Southwark revival deserves to run and run as Georgie Rankcom’s inspired direction does justice to Sondheim’s genius, even when in its early phase, to make musicals from the most unlikely material.
Poetry review – PHOTOVOLTAIC: Alwyn Marriage welcomes the mix of poetry and science in Sarah Watkinson’s new collection
Surrealism Beyond Borders. Review by Barbara Lewis. Surrealism has never respected borders of any kind. As a movement, it crystallised in 1924 in Paris, and, even then, some artists questioned whether they could belong to something that by definition defied easy categorisation.
Forbidden Paradise (Lubitsch) 1924. Review by Alan Price. The plot of Forbidden Paradise is a bit of fluff and the politics are a silly adventure. Yet its comedic mise – en – scene is wonderful. It’s executed by Ernst Lubitsch, one of Hollywood’s greatest directors. Billy Wilder so admired Lubitsch that he had a sign on his office wall that said “How would he have done it?”
Poetry review – VINEGAR HILL: John Forth considers Colm Tóibín’s move from prose to poetry
Coach to Vienna / The Ear (Blu Ray) Second Run 2020 /2022. Review by Alan Price. The creative partnership of director Karel Kachyna and screenwriter Jan Prochazka was one of the most remarkable to have been allowed to operate in communist Czech cinema of the 1960’s.
by Michael Bartholomew-Biggs • authors, books, poetry reviews, year 2022 • Tags: authors, books, John Forth, poetry • 0 Comments
Poetry review – IS THIS LIKE A POEM?: John Forth is reminded of Paul McLoughlin’s distinctive voice while reading this collection of posthumously published poems