Eureka! … Since 1981

The first day of Autumn…

With summer now officially out of the way we can concentrate on Autumn releases.

This season we have a great bunch of releases – to start we have 2 films from award winning director Maurice Pialat Police and L’Enfance-nue (Naked Childhood) the first L’Enfance-nue [Naked Childhood] – One of the earth-shaking feature debuts in the history of cinema, provides a perspective on growing-up that rejects both sentimentality and modish cynicism. Its unflinching, but also warmly accommodating, outlook on childhood attracted François Truffaut to take on the role as co-producer of Pialat’s film — which, ironically, exists as much as a response to Truffaut’s own debut The 400 Blows as that film was to the ‘cinema of childhood’ that came before the New Wave.

By the same director – Police – delivers on the raw promise of its title, insofar as much of its action qualifies as an insistently ‘procedural’ descent into the Paris drugs underworld. But the hyper-real route that the film takes to arrive there, before veering into a zone of dangerous emotional play, contributes to a disorienting, adventurous, and ultimately tremendously exciting experience unlike any ‘police-thriller’ ever before conceived.

Directed by Rocco De Villers on a meagre budget of $15,000 – The highly controversial and poignant Pure Race – When friends Tony Anderson (Fred Hunting) and Carl Fields (Gregory C. Haynes) experience car trouble on their way home from college, they unsuspectingly stumble upon a neo-Nazi militia. Before long, Tony and Carl have become prey in a deadly game of cat and mouse and must overcome their own prejudice to survive.

We also have 2 great TV series for the whole family to enjoy:

Lemur Street – From the makers of Meerkat Manor, Lemur Street is an animal soap opera exploring two warring gangs of lemurs who live as neighbours on the tropical island paradise of Madagascar. The gangs are each made up of about 20 ring-tailed lemurs, both ruled by a dominant female and their lives are packed with drama, infighting and bullying as they jostle for dominance. Roving opportunistic males trying to join the troop, babies and juveniles causing havoc and the constant threat of boa constrictors, eagles, hawks and territory wars ensure our lemurs lives are full of colour.

Maid Marian and her Merry Men – Complete Series 1-4 Box Set – Maid Marain and her Merry Men was consistently number 1 in the children’s TV ratings throughout its four series, partly because it was popular with children of all ages, but also because it became “must see” viewing for students and young adults. It was popular with the critics too, winning a Bafta, an RTS Award and the International Prix Jeunesse. This perfectly conceived historical farce is witty, warm and stylish. An excellent cast and faultless writing has drawn comparisons to Blackadder, Red Dwarf, and The Young Ones. It is one of those rare programmes made for and enjoyed by both children and adults and has secured a huge fan-base in the seventeen years since the first series was initially transmitted.

In October 3 classics. – The Clouded Yellow – Starring Trevor Howard and Kenneth More, This action-packed thriller ranks alongside Hitchcock’s great British thrillers. When ex-spy David Somers takes a low-profile job in the country cataloguing a butterfly collection, he finds that dangerous work continues to pursue him. David grows fond of his employer’s niece, a fragile, fey young woman named Sophie. When Sophie is framed for the murder of Hick – the spiteful handyman, he becomes embroiled in a murder mystery and goes underground with the beautiful suspect. The fugitives stay one step ahead of the police until the breathless climax.

The Benny Goodman Story – The music of Benny Goodman comes to life in this wonderful musical biography of the famed King of Swing. Featuring all the outstanding songs and instrumentals made famous by the immortal clarinetist, the story follows the innovative musician from his childhood in Chicago to his historic concert at Carnegie Hall in 1938. Steve Allen (Casino, The Player), Oscar winning actress Donna Reed (It’s a Wonderful Life, From Here to Eternity, Dallas) and Sammy Davis, Sr. star in this unforgettable tribute to Goodman and his music with performances by the original Benny Goodman Quartet (Gene Krupa, Teddy Wilson, Ben Pollack, Edward “Kid” Ory and Lionel Hampton) along with Harry James, Martha Tilton and Ziggy Elman. The priceless soundtrack highlights Goodman himself with classic renditions of “Sing, Sing, Sing”, “One O’ Clock Jump”, “Stompin’ At The Savoy”, “Moonglow”, “Goody, Goody” and many more.

And last but by no means least – The Horses Mouth stars Alec Guinness In Ronald Neame’s film of Joyce Cary’s classic novel, Alec Guinness transforms himself into one of cinema’s most indelible comic figures: the somewhat vulgar but dedicated painter in search of his artistic vision, Gulley Jimson. As the ill-behaved Jimson searches for a perfect canvas, he determines to let nothing come between himself and the realization of his exalted vision. A perceptive examination of the struggle of artistic creation, The Horse’s Mouth is also Neame’s comic masterpiece.

Posted 22 September 2008, 1:51 AM