Locked-Down Cinema

Film reviews of all the films I should have seen but didn't...

What do you do if you receive a Christmas present that is a membership to the British Film Institute when there's a pandemic on...?

"Drunken Angel", Dir : Akira Kurosawa, 1948

Ravi Swami

Oct 16, 20214 min read

"Drunken Angel", Dir : Akira Kurosawa, 1948

Akira Kurosawa's 1948 film "Drunken Angel" marked the first of several collaborations with the actor Toshiro Mifune..

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"La Haine", Dir: Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995

Ravi Swami

Sep 25, 20214 min read

"La Haine", Dir: Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995

"La Haine" came up as highly recommended on Apple+ as a breakthrough film for its' director, Mathieu Kassovitz, and for the subject matter..

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"That Darn Cat", Dir: Robert Stevenson, 1965

Ravi Swami

Sep 19, 20214 min read

"That Darn Cat", Dir: Robert Stevenson, 1965

Launched with the hugely successful "Pollyanna", Mills soon found herself cast with top billing in a slew of Disney films..

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Ravi Swami

Sep 7, 20214 min read

"DaiMajin", Dir: Kimiyoshi Yasuda, 1966

The success of "Daimajin" resulted in it being the first in a trilogy, which are all available to view on the Apple TV streamer..

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"Zazie Dans Le Metro", Dir: Louis Malle, 1960

Ravi Swami

Sep 6, 20213 min read

"Zazie Dans Le Metro", Dir: Louis Malle, 1960

Zazie (Catherine Demongeot) herself is a bit of a disfunctional tearaway who wastes no time in trying to explore Paris herself...

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"Lucky To Be A Woman", Dir: Alessandro Blasetti, 1956

Ravi Swami

Sep 5, 20213 min read

"Lucky To Be A Woman", Dir: Alessandro Blasetti, 1956

However, this is really Sophia Loren's film and she is placed center-stage as a street smart young woman...

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"Lions Love...& Lies", Dir: Agnes Varda, 1969

Ravi Swami

Aug 31, 20215 min read

"Lions Love...& Lies", Dir: Agnes Varda, 1969

Varda used actors who would not normally be cast in Hollywood films and there really is a strong "Withnail & I" comedic vibe...

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"Good Neighbor Sam", Dir: David Swift, 1964

Ravi Swami

Aug 20, 20214 min read

"Good Neighbor Sam", Dir: David Swift, 1964

There are several of her films available on the streaming service including this Jack Lemmon vehicle...

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Ravi Swami

Aug 4, 20216 min read

"Tove", Dir: Zaida Bergroth, 2020

Watching "Tove", a biopic on a formative part of the life of the children's author and creator of the "Moomins", Tove Jansson..

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"The Naked City", Dir: Jules Dassin, 1948

Ravi Swami

Aug 1, 20213 min read

"The Naked City", Dir: Jules Dassin, 1948

I would put it alongside "Lovers and Lollipops" and "The Thief" as examples of films that use the locations of late 1940's and 1950's N.Y..

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"La Grande Bouffe", Dir: Marco Ferreri, 1973

Ravi Swami

Jul 30, 20215 min read

"La Grande Bouffe", Dir: Marco Ferreri, 1973

I watched Marco Ferrari's 1973 film "La Grande Bouffe" (Eng: "The Blow-Out", though it translates more accurately as "The Big Feast")..

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"Shin Godzilla", Dir: Hideaki Anno & Shinji Higuchi, 2016

Ravi Swami

Jul 29, 20214 min read

"Shin Godzilla", Dir: Hideaki Anno & Shinji Higuchi, 2016

Plot-wise the film follows the same general trajectory as the 1954 film - Godzilla rises from the ocean depths...

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"Rififi", "Bob Le Flambeur", "Big Deal On Madonna St", Dir: Dassin, Melville, Monicelli, '55,'56,'58

Ravi Swami

Jul 26, 20216 min read

"Rififi", "Bob Le Flambeur", "Big Deal On Madonna St", Dir: Dassin, Melville, Monicelli, '55,'56,'58

As per usual, I watched these three films - all first-time viewings - out of chronological order...

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"The 10th Victim", Dir: Elio Petri, 1965

Ravi Swami

Jul 18, 20214 min read

"The 10th Victim", Dir: Elio Petri, 1965

The film opens with shots of modernist buildings in New York as a woman (Ursula Andress in a brown wig) is being pursued...

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Ravi Swami

Jul 14, 20212 min read

"Visions of Eight", Dir: Various, 1972

"Visions Of Eight" on Criterion Channel, is a film made up of 8 very individual films by noted directors.

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Ravi Swami

Jul 13, 20214 min read

"Il Sorpasso", Dir: Dino Risi, 1962

I stumbled on this film by chance and was instantly hooked by the preview featuring two men in an open-topped sports car..

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"Big Trouble In Little China", Dir: John Carpenter, 1986

Ravi Swami

Jul 5, 20213 min read

"Big Trouble In Little China", Dir: John Carpenter, 1986

John Carpenter's 1986 film "Big Trouble In Little China" falls into that latter category of "seen before, I'll watch it again"...

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"Boccaccio 70", Dir: Fellini, De Sica, Visconti, Monicelli, 1962- Part#2

Ravi Swami

Jul 3, 20216 min read

"Boccaccio 70", Dir: Fellini, De Sica, Visconti, Monicelli, 1962- Part#2

As promised in Part #1 of a review of "Boccaccio 70", and since I felt each film in the portmanteau deserved a separate review..

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"Boccaccio 70", Dir: Fellini, De Sica, Visconti, Monicelli, 1962- Part#1

Ravi Swami

Jun 29, 20214 min read

"Boccaccio 70", Dir: Fellini, De Sica, Visconti, Monicelli, 1962- Part#1

With a running time of over 3 hours, I would normally have given "Boccaccio 70" a wide berth..

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"Marriage Italian Style" / "Matrimonia All'italiana", Dir: Vittorio De Sica, 1964

Ravi Swami

Jun 25, 20217 min read

"Marriage Italian Style" / "Matrimonia All'italiana", Dir: Vittorio De Sica, 1964

I've reviewed Pietro Germi's "Divorce Italian Style" in an earlier post and it makes sense to check out "Marriage Italian Style"..

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Thanks for your interest in Lockdown Cinema. For more information, feel free to get in touch and I will get back to you soon! - Ravi

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London, United Kingdom

thenakedswami@gmail.com

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