REVIEW - Il Mercenario (Sergio Corbucci, 1968)

It is quite incredible to think that Sergio Corbucci made Il Mercenario in the same year as the fantastic Il Grande Silenzio. They both superb Italian Westerns but they are very different. Il Grande Silenzio stands out in part for it's setting; the film is set in the winter, the ground thick with snow, and also for it's bleak and sombre tone. Il Mercenario setting is much more in keeping with other Westerns with sunny vistas and in stark contrast to Il Grande Silenzio the film is more upbeat with more humour and action.

Sergei Kowalski (Franco Nero), often referred to in the film as 'The Polak, is a Polish immigrant who after accepting a job from the Garcia brothers to transport some silver across the Mexican border encounters Paco (Tony Musante) and his group of revolutionaries. Paco and his gang have seized a mine and are waiting for General Garcia and his army to arrive. Unsure how to defeat them Paco agrees to pay Kowalski to help them. Kowalski is the Mercenary of the title even renegotiating his pay during fights and declaring "I'm on my side, always." Through ingenuity and a very large machine gun Kowalsi manages to force the army into retreat and the gang escape. Hot on their heels is General Garcia and Curly, played by Jack Palance, another mercenary and one who is determined to catch Kowalski and Paco. Jack Palance is fantastic as Curly (also the name of his character in the dreadful City Slicker films) managing to play the character as both camp and menacing.

Kowalski is hired full time as the military advisor for the gang and is paid handsomely for his help in the revolution. The gang go on a looting spree aided by the tactics of Kowalski. A growing obsession with money and the mercenary nature of Kowalski causes constant friction, especially with Columba, a female member, played by the beautiful Giovanna Ralli. Columba is a strong female character in a very male genre and aside from being the most moral of all the characters she is also adept at asserting her views, although often using her sexuality to get what she wants. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it is often her seducing and tricking the men rather than the other way around, again reflecting the politics of the late 60s as women became more sexually liberated and independent.


The revolution is ultimately corrupted by the influence of the mercenary Kowalski and Paco is corrupted by the money they steal, losing sight of the revolution they are supposed to be fighting. The story was originally written by Franco Solinas and Giorgio Arlorio and inspired by the Bertold Brecht's Die Ausnahme und die Regel. The film therefore has quite overtly leftist politics obviously influenced by the political climate in the sixties. The film was rumoured to have originally been directed by Gillo Pontecorvo with whom Franco Solinas had already made the breathtaking La Battaglia di Algeri. The script was rewritten though, passing through many hands, and ultimately directed by Sergio Corbucci who also rewrote some parts. Some of the politics remain but unlike the cutting and very serious political westerns such as A Bullet For The General, Il Mercenario was injected with a lot of fun and is one of few Italian Westerns that is funny without slipping into silliness.

Franco Nero is excellent as Kowalski both comedic and laconically cool, at times perhaps making the mercenary character too likeable and confusing any political message. He develops an amusing trademark, lighting his cigarette using a match struck on whatever or whoever is nearest, in one scene a woman's cleavage. There is a very comedic sequence when Curly is captured and Kowalski forces him to strip naked before sending him off into the desert. It is obvious that although Corbucci wanted to retain the politics of the original script he wanted this film to be fun. The film is an action movie with a reasonably fast paced narrative and a series of exciting action sequences culminating in the thrilling Arena scene. The action is fun rather than brutal and any brutality is dished out by Curly, including finishing off one revolutionary by placing a grenade in his mouth.

The music is a real star in this film as well, beautifully composed by Ennio Morricone, this is one of my favourite Morricone Western soundtracks. There is a wide variety of styles on the soundtrack which match the different moods of the scenes and complimenting without overpowering the action. Particularly impressive is the music from the final Arena scene which was later appropriated by Tarantino for Kill Bill Vol.2.

The narrative is told in a looped fashion as it begins with Kowalski watching Paco performing as a clown in an arena and the majority of the film is a flashback as Kowalski remembers how it was they got to this point. The film then returns to this scene for the thrilling shoot-out between Paco and Curly. This is an interesting technique but not one that I felt added that much to the film.

Il Mercenario is a fantastic Italian Western and has tons of action, humour and politics. Not perhaps Corbucci's best, my favourite is certainly Il Grande Silenzio, and not as iconic as Django, this is still a great film and should be seen by any fan of the genre. The only way to currently watch this film at home in it's original 2.35.1 aspect ratio, which is crucial to the cinematography and framing, is on the rare Japanese DVD. This DVD only has the option for English or Japanese audio but supposedly Koch Media is due to release a remastered DVD with Italian and English in late 2009 which will hopefully restore this oft ignored film to it's rightful place in the canon of Italian Westerns.

REVIEW - Akiresu to kame (Takeshi Kitano, 2008)

Akiresu to Kame (Achilles And The Tortoise) is the third and final part in a thematic trilogy of films by Takeshi Kitano, the other two being Takeshis' and Kantoku Banzai! (Glory to the Filmmaker!). Although these films have very little in common in structure, plot or characters they all represent a self-reflexive look by Kitano at what constitutes art and what it means to be an artist. In the first film Kitano explored the many facets of his character and artistic persona, the second contemplated the various styles of films that he could make and whether he should make them.The third explores 'the artist' and the art world the artist often inhabits.

Akiresu to Kame is the story of Machisu Kuramochi and his struggle to become a famous and respected artist. Machisu is born to a wealthy factory owning father, Risuke Kuramochi (played by actor and painter Akira Nakao) who is obsessed with the art world and buying artistic works by the 'next big thing'. His father is actually generally conned by a shrewd art seller who takes advantage of Risuke's lake of taste. After a visit from a up and coming artist, who praises the young Machisu's paintings, the father becomes convinced that his son will become a great painter. With all the money and power that Risuke commands his son is priveliged and does not have to worry about getting in trouble for painting in class or when Machisu is standing in front of a train to paint it the driver quickly stops shouting at him when he realises who he is. Machisu's life changes drastically though when Risuke's factory is forced to close, he is declared bankrupt and commits suicide. Machisu is sent to live with his uncle and aunt who don't know quite what to do with the art obsessed youngster.

The film follows Machisu from this young age through adolescence and art school all the way to middle age, at which point Machisu is played by Takeshi Kitano. As a young artist Machisu is actually quite good, showing promise that is never really fulfilled. He constantly visits an art buyer/critic for advice, dutifully following every suggestion to the extreme. The irony is that the art buyer actually has one of Machisu's childhood paintings hanging in the gallery, stolen when his father went bankrupt. When other artists work are suggested Machisu instantly appropriates their style often with amusing results. There are imitations of Miro, Klee, Pollock, Basquiat and many others. The truth is that unfortunately none of these are Machisu's own artistic voice and it was when he had childhood naivity, an almost ousider art mentality that he showed promise. His desire to please the art world ultimately corrupts him.

Takeshi Kitano is an artist both in the general sense, he is a respected filmmaker, author, poet and comedian but he is also a well respected painter. All the paintings included in the film were allegedly supplied by Kitano himself. These even include visual references to his other films, for instance one is a painting of the cinema from One Fine Day, Kitano's segement in the 2007 Cannes film compilation Chacun Son Cinema. Kitano is both taking a swipe at the art world but also analysing his place in the art world and how different things could be. The painting to the right is one of Kitano's own previously featured in Hana-Bi.

The film is very different in style to both Takeshis' and Kantoku Banzai! and is the most linear and stylistically conventional film that he has made in a long time. The film focuses on the main character across six decades and with a slow and meditative pace this is more akin to films such as Hana-Bi or Sonatine than his more recent films. The colour palette of the film is also muted with the paintings standing out through there vibrancy against the pale backgrounds. The lighting, camera movements and soundtrack mark the film more in a tradition of melodrama in Japanese cinema but the film is distinctly a Takeshi Kitano work. The film is often bleak but it also has moments of very dark Kitano humour. There are a series of vignettes as Machisu and his wife attempt to recreate various artist's work and these are very reminiscent of the sketches involving Asao trying to have sex in Kitano's 1995 'sex comedy' Getting Any? These scenes are comedic and with Kitano's usual incredible grasp of Pathos.

Takeshi Kitano fans will undoubtedly not be dissapointed by Akiresu to kame and many who did not enjoy Takeshis' or Kantoku Banzai! will most likely be pleasantly surprised. With the self-reflexive trilogy finished Kitano's next project is supposedly another Chanbara film, although not a sequel to Zatoichi.

REVIEW - CQ (Roman Coppola, 2001)

CQ is probably one of my favourite films and one that seems to have sadly been ignored by distributors and film critics. Directed by Roman Coppola CQ was released in 2001 and stars Jeremy Davies, as Paul, and Angela Lindvall, as Dragonfly/Valentine. Unfortunately the film is currently only available on DVD in America and although this is a shame the US DVD is a fantastic package. With a Criterion like release the DVD includes a commentary, featurettes, trailers and lots of other worthwhile extras.

CQ is a film made up of three films.The main feature is set in 1969 and surrounds Paul (Jeremy Davies), an aspiring film-maker who ends up directing a sci-fi/spy thriller called Dragonfly. Paul lives in Paris with his girlfriend Marlene (Élodie Bouchez) and in his spare time makes a documentary about his life, which he ultimately titles 69/70. The two films within the film are 69/70 and Dragonfly.

Dragonfly is the story of Agent Codename Dragonfly, played by Valentine who is played by Angela Lindvall. Codename Dragonfly is a super spy hired by various governments to steal a weapon from Mr. E (Billy Zane), the Che-esque leader of a group of revolutionaries based on the moon. The film is set in 2001 (the year of CQ's release) and is being made in 1969. Dragonfly is a love letter to a particular kind of 60s genre cinema, in particular Barbarella and Diabolik.The influence of Diabolik in particular is huge, with visual homages, the opening shower scene for instance, the soundtrack which is reminiscent of Morricone's score for Diabolik and the casting of John Phillip Law. The Dragonfly sequences look beautiful, in particular the external moon shots, and were all shot on lenses from the period and using only optical special effects and matte backgrounds. The results are an authentic feeling film and not simply a pastiche. The acting is also fantastic with Angela Lindvall clearly relishing the role of Codename Dragonfly and Billy Zane brilliantly replicating the acting style of the films CQ homages. The soundtrack by Mellow also fits the film with an incredibly catchy theme tune
to Dragonfly.

The extras on the MGM DVD include the unfinished version of Dragonfly by the first director to work on the film Andrezej, played by Gerard Depardieu, and the completed (albeit short) version directed by Paul.

The other film within the film is 69/70 and this is the complete antithesis of Dragonfly. 69/70 is also shot on equipment authentic to the time but this film is entirely shot in black and white. It is a documentary made by Paul that focuses on his personal life, his disintegrating relationship with Marlene, and his many neuroses. Also influenced by 60s cinema this film references Jim McBride's David Holzman's Diary. 69/70 is often filmed in Paul's bathroom with him talking directly to camera. His girlfriend points out that his film might just be boring. Paul is struggling for authenticity not entertainment, a crisis that bleeds into the making of Dragonfly, a film that is all about entertainment.

CQ focuses on the two films and also the growing relationship between Paul and the captivating Valentine/Dragonfly. A first time actress, she is also a successful model, Lindvall does a very good job in the dual roles of Dragonfly and Valentine. For a debut role by an untrained actress this is quite surprising as she very successfully portrays two completely different characters. On one hand she is Dragonfly, the sexy karate chopping super-spy, and on the other she is Valentine, a sweet down to earth girl caught up in a whirlwind film production. It is interesting to see Paul slowly fall for both of these women, the fictional and the real. Also wonderful in CQ is Jason Schwartzmann who almost steals every scene he is in, as the flamboyant director Felix DeMarco. Especially fantastic is a scene on the set of his latest film which includes a vampire dance sequence choreographed by Schwartzmann himself. The film is also littered with cameos and small parts played by big actors including Dean Stockwell as Paul's dad and even a cameo by Roman Coppola's sister Sofia.

The film is at the core about connections between people and how we all reach out to people. This applies to cinema as well, as Paul, like Roman is trying to reach out to his audience and make a connection with them. The title derives from the radio call signal which is a short for 'seek you'. This phrase appears on the controls in Dragonfly's spaceship. These controls mirror the editing table that Paul uses, with similar controls and screen. There is a constant overlap between the fictional worlds and the real as the film explores how people connect with eachother and also the fictional world of film.

CQ is an incredibly enjoyable film which always puts a smile on face and will hopefully not get forgotten just because of it's dreadful distribution.. The many refrences to 60s cinema and nods to the Coppola film heritage are really great for film fans but they not essential to enjoying CQ. The story and the characters stand up on their own and CQ is such a fun film from beginning to end.

Below is the trailer for the film within a film, Dragonfly. Who is Dragonfly?

REVIEW - Inglorious Bastards (Enzo G. Castellari, 1978)

So after many many years Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds (note the title change) is about to have it's premiere at Cannes 2009 and will be released worldwide this summer. It would appear from the trailers, the leaked script and various comments by Tarantino that plotwise there is not actually much similarity between the original film and his. Although he changed it slightly, it would seem that the main thing he has retained is the title. I can understand using the title; Inglorious Bastards is probably one of the greatest titles ever. It tells you what you need to know about the film and it is a title that makes you want to watch the film just to know if it lives up to it.

Ironically the original Inglorious Bastards went through a lot of title changes, originally titled Quel maledetto treno blindato (which literally translates as 'That Damned Armored Train') and was subsequently released as Deadly Mission, Hell's Heroes, The Dirty 7 and as in the poster to the left Ein Haufen verwegener Hunde (rougly translated as something like 'A Bunch of Daring Dogs'). It was also re-released by Mack Video as G.I. Bro, recut to make Fred "The Hammer" Williamson more the star of the film and with the tagline, "If you're a Kraut, he'll take you out". The film was also shown on German television with key scenes cut out, most likely in order to not cause offence, In 2008 Inglorious Bastards finally got a decent release as a three-disc special edition, including a commentary by Enzo G. Castellari. After years of watching mediocre copies of the film on dodgy VHS or imported DVDs, it was so enjoyable to see a restored 1.85:1 print, including subtitles for the German parts, something missing from all the versions I had watched previously.

1944 occupied France and a group of military prisoners are being transported to prison or worse and German planes suddenly attack the convoy giving them the chance to escape and overpower the guards. The group includes Bo Svenson as Robert Yeager and Fred Williamson as Fred Canfield and as the stars of the film they lead the group of misfits across France in an attempt to make it to Switzerland and freedom. The group travel through France along the way getting into fights with Germans and also their own side. At one point they meet up with a German Deserter called Adolf (Raimund Harmstorf) who like them doesn't really see much point in the war and just wants to get out of it and have an easy life. In a wonderfully gratuitous scene they also stumble upon a group of female Nazi soldiers bathing naked and decide to join in only for them to attack them with machine guns after seeing Fred Williamson.

The group end up being mistaken for a US special forces division arriving in France to complete a top secret mission. Rather than risk being locked up again, the group go along with this and decide to try and complete the mission in true anti-hero. They join up with a group of French resistance fighter and in order to complete the mission pose as German soldiers infiltrating a Nazi occupied castle and then a Nazi train transporting a deadly V2 rocket. This is essentially a men-on-a-mission film, similar of course to films such as The Dirty Dozen, but the mission in question does not represent the whole plot. For most of the film the plot involves a series of action orientated sequences as they travel across France leading up to the climax of the mission and the final battle.

Enzo G. Castellari is a master of action and this film delivers so much on the action. Only a few minutes seem to pass before another action sequence and the film gradually builds up pace until the final battle without a single dull moment. The action is filmed with incredible style and expertise including the first use ever of Steadicam in Italian film and a series of slow motion sequences that complement the frenetic pace brilliantly. The slow motion sequences have a balletic beauty and are a high point of the action.

The soundtrack, included on CD in the three-disc Region 1 release, is supplied by Francesco De Masi, who also supplied the music for Castellari's Bronx Warriors 2 and Lucio Fulci's The New York Ripper. The soundtrack is does not stand out much but it suits the film really well and the rousing opening theme provides audio cues picked up at crucial points in the story.

Inglorious Bastards is a violent action picture and could certainly be described as a Grindhouse film but is it is not a blood-splattered film, most of the exploitative content comes from the nudity, the colourful language used and the genre nature of the piece. Overall Inglorious is a massively entertaining film. I have rewatched it quite a lot and I find it just as fun every time, an action film through and through; if you leave your history books at the door and want to settle down to non-stop shoot outs, zip lines, Fred Williamson cigar in mouth throwing grenades and female Wehrmacht with machine-guns this the film for you.

REVIEW - Anvil! The Story of Anvil (Sacha Gervasi, 2009)

Anvil are a metal band with history. At one point in their career they were at the top of the pile with other 80s bands and played to packed out crowds. This fame and success was shortlived and Anvil now play dives to a handful of fans and can't get a recording contract, or even for anyone from the music industry to listen to them.

Sacha Gervasi's documentary is the story of this band. The documentary is a departure from the usual route taken by the recent wave of rock documentaries and instead of discussing the music and giving the viewer a history of the band in 90 minutes, Anvil! The Story of Anvil is the story of Anvil now. The film starts with a brief sequence of talking heads by notable figures in rock including Slash, Lars Ulrich, Lemmy and Tom Araya. They discuss the music and Anvil's too short moment at the top. These first few minutes made me think that this was going to be a lot of talking heads interpersed with archive footage telling the story of Anvil. The film suddenly changes tone though and shifts to the lead singer Steve 'Lips' Kudlow unloading boxes from a van in his regular day job as a Choice Childrens Catering delivery driver.

This isn't his career though, he hasn't turned his back on Anvil. Steve and his partner in Anvil, Robb Reiner, still believe in their band and believe that they deserve to be back on the top and playing to packed out crowds and headlining rock festivals across the world. They feel they were treated unfairly by their rise to the top and their then descent into near obscurity. It is Steve and Robbs determination and belief that makes the film so compelling and heartbreaking. In one scene in particular, after playing in a grotty venue in Prague the owner tries to get away without paying them and Steve loses it and grabs the guy, screaming at him that he'd just played his heart out and deserved to get paid. This scene is so sad and although Steve loses his temper pretty badly you can tell it's just his passion and self-belief being tested that leads his anger to vent. Steves anger is seen again aimed at Robb but the pair have a long freindship and this animosity quickly passes. The relationship between the pair is at the heart of the film and is something that helps endear the audience towards their cause.

The This is Spinal Tap comparison is of course inevitable and I actually think this was used as a useful marketing tool in getting people to see this film but this is not a real life Spinal Tap documentary. Personally I feel the comparisons are a lot more to do with lazy journalism and the marketing than anything to with real similarities. The film is funny in places but a lot of the film is very sad and is a real underdog story. You really want to get behind them and you will them to succeed. This leads to the climax of the film as the band are booked to play a large music festival in Japan and the tension as they get to the stage not knowing if anyone will even be watching is huge. The other filmic point of reference is probably Some Kind of Monster which the film does have similarities with in the scenes where Anvil try and record a new album. The difference is though that where Metallica ended up looking egotistical and like spoilt rock stars, the struggle for Anvil is obvious, making the album is hard. They have to borrow money from family, Steve even tries a telesales job with absolutely no success, and the tension is not about whether they will make another hit record but whether anyone will even hear it.

Stylistically the film has a lot in common with reality TV as the participants in the film are often filmed in their living rooms or going about about their daily jobs. This is not a bad thing though as this style suits the story. These are not preening Prima donnas, these are hard working guys doing something they believe in and unlike the stars of many reality TV shows these guys want to be recognised for something they are good at, something they care about. With the success of the film it looks as though Anvil will finally have more exposure and will be able to play decent venues where the owners don't try and pay them in goulash

Below is some pretty classic footage of Anvil from Tokyo in 1983 performing School of Love.

REVIEW - Caprica Pilot (Jeffrey Reiner, 2009)

Caprica is set 58 years ‘after the fall’, the fall being the apocalyptic destruction of the twelve colonies by the Cylons in the series Battlestar Galactica. This is a prequel to the four series space opera behemoth that was Ron Moore’s reimagining of Battlestar Galactica. That said I think to a new viewer or someone who did not like BSG, Caprica can stand up on its own. Ron Moore appears to have created a new series that is both part of the BSG world but knowledge of the series is not essential to enjoying Caprica. That said this 90 minute pilot is for a series not airing until 2010. Therefore if you haven’t seen BSG I urge you to dive into the box sets before Caprica hits our screens as it is a great series and will I’m sure add to the enjoyment of Caprica.

The colony Caprica that we are dropped into is definitely science fiction but is only really a world that could be 20 years in our future. Similar to the imagined world of Children of Men, this is future fiction not imagining a world beyond comprehension but one that represents the continuation of development of current technologies and of technologies currently being researched. That said in many ways Caprica feels like a period piece, with 50s styling and older seeming traditions. Characters wear Trilbies and smoke like the cast of Mad Men. This is represents an obvious aesthetic choice and one that works surprisingly well.

Caprica introduces us to the story of two families, the Graystones and the Adamas, and at the centre of these families’ two fathers who ultimately have to come to terms with great loss. Daniel Graystone loses his daughter, the gifted Zoe Graystone, in a train explosion which also kills Joseph Adamas wife and daughter. Daniel Graystone is a very talented cybernetic developer and Joseph Adama a lawyer with mob-esque links. Daniel Graystone is reminiscent of real life technological moguls/developers such as Bill Gates or Steve Jobs but a huge loss in his life leads him to push his research too far with serious consequences. Central to the plot of the pilot is the character of Zoe Graystone. We are first introduced Zoe in a club, known as a V club, accessible via a virtual reality headset designed by her father. In this club teenagers meet to indulge in various vices, there are areas for group sex, fighting, murder and a stage which has frequent ritual sacrifices. One of the great things about this pilot is the lack of exposition, we do not get an explanation of the V club, how it works, what the rules are etc but the reality is we do not really need them. The V club represents a step on from Social networking and MMORPGs, if this technology were to be developed it would quickly develop into an online outlet for desires, good or bad.

The V club also helps develop the contrasting religious attitudes in BSG/Caprica. The partying teens in the V club are polytheistic believers (similar to the Pagan traditions) and Zoe and her two friends are monotheistic believers (similar to Christian fundamentalists). At one point Zoe and her friends look out across the sea of bodies and the stage as someone is brutally ‘sacrificed’ and they despair at the debauched behaviour. This parallels the move in the west from polytheistic pagan beliefs full of debauchery to monotheistic reserved attitudes. The three move through the crowds and back into a room marked with an infinity symbol.

This room holds Zoe’s avatar, a replication of her. This is not a download of her brain but a collection of all the data that make up a person in a technologically advanced society, her driver’s license, her dental records her diaries etc, a collection of all the data that we now send out into the world. It is an interesting idea that I haven’t seen in science fiction before and is very astute in the way it draws on current trends in social networking, cloud computing and reliance on online databases for records, the way so much of our lives are now online. Could you use all this information to replicate a person’s mind? When Zoe is killed in the explosion Daniel finds out about the avatar and realises he can have his daughter back, or at least a very close approximation. He offers this option to Joseph Adama in exchange for help in some industrial espionage. As a result of all of this Daniel invents the Cylons, the cybernetic soldiers with consciousness. It is intriguing to think of what the main story of the series will probably be the rise of the Cylons, most likely used in a war between colonies (the colonies are divided by race and politics and there is no central president yet as there in BSG), the revolt of the Cylons, their defeat and banishment, and the formation of one political system governing all twelve colonies. As in BSG though this all seems to be set against a backdrop of a discussion of religious themes and a battle between monotheism and polytheism.BSG was always intriguing in it’s use of religious themes and the ideas it proposes regarding the religious beliefs that motivate actions. Ron Moore has talked at length for instance about the influence of the 9/11 attacks, the motivation of Al-Qadea and George Bush’s presidency on the formation of BSG and with the world still in the midst of religious conflict and so many people holding beliefs incompatible with the modern world and with eachother I am sure these will be a crucial themes throughout Caprica.

Caprica represents a new story and a new TV series and the direction reflects this. The camerawork is less frenetic than BSG with more use of tracking shots and stable camera set ups. The dramatic but sombre music also adds to this creating a much slower pace than BSG marking it out as even more of a character study than BSG. If BSG got people who didn’t like watching Sci-Fi watching Sci-Fi then Caprica I’m sure will win over even more fans. I look forward to the start of the Caprica series and the development of all the groundwork already laid out.

REVIEW - Dead-End Drive In (Brian Trenchard-Smith, 1986)

Crabs (Ned Manning) and his girlfriend Carmen (Natalie McCurry) arrive at a Drive-In cinema to park up and have sex whilst a trashy film plays in the background. Whilst attempting to do just that the wheels on their car, a vintage Chevy Crabs 'borrowed' from his brother, are stolen by the police. When Crabs tries to complain to the guy that runs the Drive In he's told that there's no way to get home or indeed out. It turns out that Crabs and Carmen have stumbled into a new prison set up by the Government in order to contain the troublesome teenagers that have been wrecking havoc on the roads of near future Australia.

Like Crabs the audience is not given much detail about this and gleams their information as Crabs does seeing the bizarre situation from his viewpoint.

The film is set in the near future where the roads are battle grounds as cops have lost a lot of authority and gangs of 'carboys' roam the streets stealing car parts from the many road accidents. Crabs brother Frank is a tow-truck guy, a very dangerous job, trying to beat other tow-truck guys to the scene of an accident, fighting off carboys with a wrench and bribing the uncaring police. Like many Australian genre pictures the cars are at the centre of the film, symbols of death and the collapse of society but also due to their imprisonment in the Drive In they become the teenagers homes.

The strange thing about the teenagers living in the Drive In, essentially a prison camp, is that they are pretty happy about their lot. They get junk food to eat, drugs, the pill and a steady stream of Australian exploitation classics playing on the massive screen above. The films include Turkey Shoot and The Man From Hong Kong, both also directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith, and often mirror the action in the film, so if there is a car chase in Dead-End Drive In then there is a car chase on the screen.

One of the inmates points out that outside of the Drive In he had nothing, he was unemployed, he only just managed to get one meal a day; here he has food, drugs and entertainment. There are obvious comparisons to Australia as a prison camp that criminals are thrown into and ultimately find a home. This is touched on but not really developed like a lot of the themes in Dead-End Drive In. When later in the film the Government, obviously pleased with how their prison camp is working out, decides to drop off some delinquents of different ethnicities into the camp the current occupants are not happy. They decide to form a whites-only group who meet and all aggressively want the '"non-whites" out. Again this racist subplot is only thrown into the mix and not really developed. It also complicates the sympathies of the audience as it makes the inmates very very unlikeable and very hard to care about, although maybe that was the intention.

Crabs is supposed to be the hero of the film as he seems to be the only one unhappy with their situation and desperate to get back the life he once had, a life without his girlfriend who wants to stay in the Drive In. Before they enter the Drive In we see some of Crabs' life and we see someone constantly striving to be more than he is, desperate to join his brother Frank in the tow-truck business and to match up to him physically. Unfortunately the character of Crabs is not very compelling and it seems hard to get behind him even when he ultimately attempts a breakout from the prison. This seems to be in part down to pretty poor writing and also bad acting by Ned Manning. This is a real let down as a stronger lead could have made this film a lot better.

The visuals in the film are really great and well served now on DVD with a fantastic print in 2.35:1. Overall the film is enjoyable and makes a great double bill feature (I watched it with Fair Game) but there are failings in the film and a lot of missed opportunities. There was definitely a great cult classic in there but the film doesn't quite live up to it.

REVIEW - Fair Game (Mario Andreacchio, 1986)

Fair Game is an Australian thriller from the 80s directed by Mario Andreacchio and starring Cassandra Delaney as Jessica. She runs a wildlife sanctuary in the outback of Australia, living a reasonably idyllic life with all the animals that she has rescued. This is upset by the arrival of a group of three poachers out to kill some of the animals. Jessica stands up to them which the three men take very badly and decide to torment her in order to teach her a lesson. What they didn't count on though is Jessica giving as good as she gets.

The film is follows very similar lines to rape revenge classics such as I Spit On Your Grave or Thriller: A Cruel Picture and although it does not appear that the three men rape Jessica the implication is there and one scene stands in for this in a particularly brutal way. The scene in question is probably what the film will always be remembered for. Jessica is stripped to her waist and tied to the bonnet of her tormentor's monster truck, like an animal they have caught. They then drive around as she drifts in and out of consciousness. Obviously an inspiration for Tarantino's Death Proof, in this case the tormentors are the villains in the film rather than the director, the scene is mind blowing and has to be seen to be believed. This scene in particular but also a lot of the film fits into the tradition in Australian cinema, especially in exploitative genre pictures, of cars as symbols of death and their use as weapons. This has been seen in The Cars That Ate Paris, Mad Max and many other seedy Australian B movies. Like other classic feminine heroes of genre pictures Jessica is tormented and exploited considerably in order to justify her reaping her revenge but she is feisty and strong-willed from the very beginning, representing a strong female character and even ends up attacking one of her tormentors with an household iron.

The film is a B movie but a damn good B movie; it is gripping, thought provoking and provides a compelling protagonist, a 'final girl' that the audience actually cares about. The music is at times slightly jarring and sometimes reminded me of the score from Braindead but within the context of the film and the time it was made the music is overall very fitting and creates a very suspenseful atmosphere. The cinematography is particularly good considering the obvious budget constraints with impressive use made of the stunning scenery. I wasn't surprised to find after seeing the film that the cinematographer has gone on to be very successful. The film was shot by Andrew Lesnie who was the cinematographer on films such as Lord of the Rings and I, Robot.

Fair Game is a gripping 90 minute Australian genre picture and well worth checking out, especially as, most likely due to the documentary Not Quite Hollywood, there is now a decent widescreen DVD release available.