Django (1966)

The original Django (1966) is a spaghetti western that obviously Tarantino paid tribute in Django Unchained taking the name, the theme song and even having original Django Franco Nero pop up in a cameo. The original Django film is itself a riff (or cash-in copycat) on A Fistful Of Dollars in that it’s based on […]

The Swimmer (1968)

I’d always wanted to see The Swimmer (1968) on the basis of its rather unique story: a man decides to swim home through all the suburban pools in his neighbourhood. Based on a short story by John Cheever, Burt Lancaster gives a brilliant, captivating performance as the strapping man brimming with confidence in only his […]

Sanjuro (1962)

I didn’t realise there was a sequel to Yojimbo, which reunites director Akira Kurosawa with actor Toshiro Mifune as the wandering hero. So I was in the mood for the 90 minute samurai movie, Sanjuro (1962; Tsubaki Sanjūrō) where Mifune’s character gets mixed up with helping nine younger samurai trying to release their uncle from […]

Youth Of The Beast (1963)

Always great when a film from an older decade feels contemporary in its energy. Youth Of The Beast (1963; Yajū no seishun) is very snappy and vibrant, a Yazuka gangster movie about a mysterious stranger Joe (Joe Shishido – who I only discovered now had cheek implants to help his career and thus his very […]

The Firemen’s Ball (1967)

I picked up a copy of The Firemen’s Ball (1967) last year on a whim, which is a recently restored print, purchased maybe after the passing of director Milos Forman and realising I’d not seen any of his pre-America films made in his home country of Czechoslovakia. This 71-minute film about a chaotic ball organised […]