Archive for the ‘Cultural issues’ Category
A review of the 1956 classic western “The Searchers”
June 8th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
This is a stromg candidate for the best western ever made and it pairs two of the giants of the genre, director John Ford and actor John Wayne, who worked together on eight of Ford’s sound westerns. The story opens in Texas in 1868, but the lengthy narrative proceeds over five years and the location […]
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A review of the classic 1959 film “Hiroshima, Mon Amour”
June 6th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
It took me many decades to catch this French-language film set largely in the Japanese city that was the first to suffer the atomic bomb and, by then, I’d visited Hiroshima and its Peace Museum twice, so the work had a special resonance for me. This was the first feature film by Alain Resnais, previously […]
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A review of the classic 1959 film”Some Like It Hot”
June 6th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
Although at the time of its release, it was controversial in some quarters and not universally supported by critics, audiences immediately adored it and still do, making “Some Like It Hot” one of the best-loved comedies of all time. In many ways, this is a Billy Wilder movie because he co-wrote the witty screenplay and […]
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A review of the best-selling novel “There Are Rivers In The Sky” by Elif Shafak
June 4th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
I had not heard of this book, or even of the Turkish-British author, before the novel was gifted to me by a good female friend, but I found it a thoroughly enjoyable read and a really impressive piece of work. Following a introduction set in Ancient Mesopotamia, the hugely ambitious narrative features three characters from […]
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A review of the 1972 classic film “The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie”
June 2nd, 2026 by Roger Darlington
An odd title for a very odd film, but then this French-language work was co-written and directed by the Mexican surrealist Luis Buñuel. Three upper middle-class couples try repeatedly to sit down for a meal together, only to be frustrated by an absurd number and nature of interruptions. Out of such seemingly quotidian material, Buñuel […]
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A review of the 1991 classic film “The Silence Of The Lambs”
May 25th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
When this film was first released, it shocked audiences and, to this day, it is still chilling to watch. An adaptation of the bestselling novel by Thomas Harris, it portrays the efforts of new FBI recruit Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) to track down an elusive serial killer with the unlikely aid of imprisoned serial killer […]
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A review of the 1954 classic film”A Star Is Born”
May 25th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
This story has been told four time in films but this is the classic version of the musical. A male star whose career has peaked acts as mentor to a rising female star whose success soon outshines his. In this case, it is film star Norman Maine (James Mason) who befriends singer, dancer and actor […]
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A review of the latest episode of the “Star Wars” saga:”The Mandalorian And Grogu”
May 24th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
I’ve been a “Star Wars” fan since we release of what we now call “A New Hope” in 1977, so I wasn’t going to miss this 12th contribution to the cinematic canon. However, if (like me) you haven’t been following the development of the franchise on Disney+ streaming TV series, you might welcome a bit […]
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A review of the 1953 classic film “From Here To Eternity”
May 20th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
Based on a best-selling novel by James Jones, a 950-page work of the same title, this film is a gritty account of life on a US army base in Hawaii in 1941, just prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Although very much toned down from the scandalous book, this cinematic adaptation was still […]
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A review of “Kokuho”, the most successful Japanese film ever
May 19th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
Since the early 17th century, Japanese culture has featured a form of theatre known as kabuki which mixes dramatic performance with traditional dance. Although the original version was performed by a female troupe, the art form soon developed into its present all-male form after women were banned from performing in kabuki theatre and the men who perform the […]
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