"For discerning adults who like to read about rewarding movies on DVD."
[site under construction: updated daily with analytical DVD criticism in regions 1(USA), 2(UK) and 4(Australia)]
LATEST INTERACTIVE FEATURES
Rationalism & Christianity in Popular Cinema
At first it was sacrilegious, then it was an allegory; but in contemporary Hollywood, it was turned into religious propaganda at its most blatant, posing the question - should the Hollywood blockbuster be used to push a religious agenda? Wider Screenings examines this issue in a feature article Hollywood Christianizes Rationalist Myth, exposing the real agenda behind the recent Will Smith hit I am Legend. In addition is a review of a new documentary that indicts the Catholic Church as wholly complicit in systematic child rape and its cover-up, Deliver Us from Evil. And added to the Wider Screenings DVD Review Archive are two horror movies which attempt to subvert Christian belief - The Wicker Man and The Believers - as well as a rationalist Western cum Vietnam War allegory which reveals the complete failure of Christian morality as a relevant world view in America's heritage - Ulzana's Raid - and the self-proclaimed "science fantasy" that had Creationists in an uproar when it was screened in the American Bible Belt, Quest for Fire; while in cinemas now is the hilarious Choke, in which a man who may (or may not) be Jesus Christ's half-clone throws himself into a sexual addiction.
Film Censorship and the Australian Library
The censorship of pornography in Australia is creating a situation whereby the Australian library is forced to compromise its ethics and abide by government moralizing. Wider Screenings examines the issue of whether pornography should be collected in the library, Australian or otherwise in Pornography and the Future of the Australian Library... a Report. AND: added to the DVD Review Archive is a review of the uncut film Caligula, banned in Australia by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) in deference to Christian wowsers.
POST 9-11 TERRORISM IN
CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN FILM
Robert Cettl's forthcoming book from McFarland Press, provisionally titled Terrorism in American Cinema is an outline of the evolution of the terrorist film as a subgenre and a filmography of all major terrorist-themed films pre- and post- 9-11. Terrorist films as a genre were off limits on American cinema screens in the immediate years of the War on Terror, with The Hamburg Cell denied distribution in the USA, but 2007 saw the release of a number of high-profile terrorist-themed films: A Mighty Heart, Rendition, Lions for Lambs, Vantage Point, Taxi to the Dark Side, Civic Duty, Death of a President, and Charlie Wilson's War. Together these films demonstrate American cinema's readiness to finally address the ethical dilemmas of foreign policy in the War on Terror and hold the outgoing "lame duck" George Bush Presidency to account for their actions and their compromises. The blend of political intrigue, even dissent, and thrilling action explored in this 2007 re-surgence of terrorist cinema continues in the all-new 2008 Body of Lies and Traitor. But these films reflected the American purpose, the Jihadist perspective being given an ironic twist in Infinite Justice, examining the Islamic view as much as the American AND: newly added to the DVD Review Archive in advance of the forth-coming Wider Screenings book are several pre 9-11 terrorist films of undoubted interest, including two films about Italy's Red Brigades - Year of the Gun and Devil in the Flesh (infamous as the first time a respected actress performed oral sex on camera) - and the film that effectively began the US cinema of terrorism, Black Sunday.
LATEST DIRECTOR IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Adrian Lyne (from humble beginnings in advertising, Lyne rose to become one of Hollywood's most popular examiners of American marital monogamy in such hits as Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal and Unfaithful). read more
COMING SOON
Righteous Kill: acting icons Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino combine for the first time since Heat... for Christmas cinema release
Planet of the Apes as Rationalist Myth: how concerns about race in America led to the neglect of what was American film's first rationalist, atheist sci-fi epic
Softcore Porn Star Revealed: an in-depth interview with Seduction Cinema's most popular cult soft-core actress Misty Mundae
UNDER CONSTRUCTION: Sections for Comedy, Drama, Science Fiction / Fantasy, Horror / Thriller, Action / Adventure, Western, Exploitation / Cult, Documentary, Romance, Classic Hollywood and Adult film on DVD.
NEW SECTION NOW OPEN: Horror / Thriller (classic, new releases, Asian)
AVAILABLE IN BOOKSTORES NOW: SERIAL KILLER CINEMA - AN ANALYTICAL FILMOGRAPHY WITH AN INTRODUCTION
The release of Silence of the Lambs in 1991, which swept the major Academy Awards categories, legitimized the serial killer movie, a genre that dates back as far as the silent era. From Absence of the Good to Zodiac Killer, this reference work allows a detailed study of the development of the serial killer film as a distinct genre with its own character types, narrative patterns and styles. An introduction outlines the historical evolution of this film genre and covers the whole range of cinematic interpretations from the response to Jack the Ripper and other real life serial killers through the late 1960s to the current state of the genre. Arranged alphabetically by title, the filmography covers over 500 feature films and select television movies. Each entry contains a listing of the film’s main credits, a synopsis of the film, a summary of the film’s respective merits and a discussion of how they fit into the themes and structures outlined in the introduction.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION: A fully interactive section devoted to the forthcoming book from Inkstone Press Australian Film Tales.
The Oldest Operating Drive-In in Australia at Coober Pedy, SA
In celebration of a century of Aussie cinema is a book dedicated to the great Australian movie anecdote, from silent era classics to the the latest happenings in the Australian film industry. As a web supplement to the book will be an interactive section with DVD reviews, biographical information, rare photographs, book extracts and exclusive interviews (beginning with Eros Foundation chairman Robbie Swan on the history of adult film censorship in Australia AND independent horror filmmaker Stuart Simpson on Oz's exploitation, cult and horror scene on the occasion of the first ever Australian Horror Convention... with exclusive photographs).
AVAILABLE IN BOOKSTORES NOW: The Inkstone Trilogy - Film Tales, Film Talk and Film Tags: a Wealth of Movie Information for the Age of DVD
All major motion pictures featured in Film Tales, Film Talk and Film Tags are available on DVD. Some of them are reviewed within the Wider Screenings website, with interactive links to book extracts. example
DVDs have enabled the 'average' person to experience movies deeper and more intimately than ever before. Whether in front of the camera or behind, Film Tales gives you the inside; the low-down; the scoop and the stories behind the movies; the stars, writers, directors and producers.
Film Talk is for those who not only find fun and pleasure in movie quotes but also satisfaction and enjoyment in discovering just a little bit more about the movies, both those they love and those they are perhaps yet to see. Quoting the movies is what this book is all about. "Can you dig it?"
Until now, there has been no guide to taglines, no collection dedicated to celebrating this peripheral art of the movie: Film Tags. Film taglines are everywhere. They appear on posters, on promotion and are often marketed so that they become a part of the movie itself. "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" is an example of a tagline that has both become so identified with a popular movie and yet so catchily distinctive as to take on a life beyond the movie. Both well-known and lesser-known movies have been chosen for inclusion here: a journey through the world of film from the perspective of the tagline. "He's the last man on Earth any woman needs - but every woman wants."
Packed full of fascinating facts and tantalizing trivia Film Tales, Film Talk and Film Tags add even more joy to your movie enjoyment.
"An absolute must for any movie buff." How to Win a Free Signed Copy of Film Talk
AS FEATURED IN NO LIMITS MAGAZINE IN NEWSAGENCIES AUSTRALIA-WIDE.