Daguerreotypes (1975)

Daguerreotypes (1975) is a French documentary made by Agnes Varda about the shops in her neighbourhood, specifically the street of Rue Daguerre. Documenting a time and place, Varda narrates that her interest began with the older couple who run the local perfumery/chemist. In one shot, they stare out of the shopfront window like ghosts, particularly […]

Lone Wolf And Cub: White Heaven In Hell (1974)

The final entry of the series, Lone Wolf And Cub: White Heaven In Hell (1974) has a great opening sequence of samurai assassin Ogami Itto (Tomisaburo Wakayama) and his son Daigoro (Akihiro Tomikaway) using the baby cart as a sled through a snowy landscape, backed by musician Kunihiko Murai turning in a very funky instrumental […]

Lone Wolf And Cub: Baby Cart In The Land Of Demons (1973)

When wandering assassin-for-hire Ogami Itto (Tomisabura Wakayam) is asked if he would assassinate a child and their parents, he replies, “My son and I are on the Demon Path To Hell” i.e. sure thing. Ogami Itto is no joke! He and his son Daigoro (Akihiro Tomikawa) continue to travel along the roads of feudal Japan […]

Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable (1973)

The Female Prisoner Scorpion series are a quartet of Japanese exploitation action thrillers centred around the explosive character of Nami Matsushima aka “Scorpion”, unforgettably portrayed by Meiko Kaji in an indomitable performance. Arrow Video remastered and released the movies in a box-set, and they are available to stream on Tubi – though bizarrely the second […]

Fear Is The Key (1972)

Barry Newman is best known for playing the enigmatic driver in the car chase movie Vanishing Point, and I also know him playing Peter Fonda’s security man several decades later in Steven Soderbergh’s The Limey. To see him play a tough guy role like in Fear Is The Key (1972), he is wiry and compact, […]