Reviews

Make no mistake Rising Damp is the best t.v comedy of the 70's and of all-time! The programme revolves around the most lecherous, cantankerous, nasty, racist, rude mannered person you are ever likely to see on British television. Yet despite all this it's hard not to feel sorry for landlord Rupert Rigsby (played to perfection by the late Leonard Rossiter) as you certainly get the feeling that he is a victim a circumstance and this leads to his sometimes tactless approach to life.

Rigsby was very much in love with Miss Jones (one of his tenants) and this led to some of the show's most hilarious scenes with him trying and failing miserably to get her attention romantically. Thankfully the scriptwriters didn't go the same way that most most forthcoming American t.v shows would go with the two leads eventually getting together after many mishaps (Moonlighting, 6 Million dollar man and Lois and Clark to name but few) as this would have done to rising damp what it did to them (effectively killed them off).

Another key part of the programme was the relationship between Phillip (Don Warrington playing a fellow tenant at rigsby's flat) and rigsby. Phillip used to flirt like mad with Miss Jones (mainly to annoy Rigsby) and miss Jones adored Phillip whilst Rigsby was always left being sidelined but still defiant and trying everything in his power to come between them. Also living in rigsby's place of residence Was Alan (played superbly by the late Richard Beckinsale who died far too young) who was a student with many opposing views to rigsby's. This led to many great comedic arguments (mainly about the permissive society) between them and created some of the programme's greatest moments (and there were many). A semi-regular character was next door neighbour Spooner an ex-army boxer who also from time to time would but rigsby in his place. All in all this is a fantastic ensemble comedy with marvellous spot on performances from the main leads and is a comedy that should be treasured for years to come.

George and Mildred (the 1st and best spin-off off man about the house) was the story of the ropers (the landlord's from man about the house) and their move to a much posher area. Next door live the fourmile's Ann, Geoffery and their irritating little boy Tristram. The fourmile's are a very posh family (especially the rather pompous Geoffery) and are usually one the receiving end of one of Georges scams.

George and Mildred was produced at a time when the class structure in the U.K was very much still in existence and enjoyed poking fun at the middle class style 'tory twits' as George would say that were in existence at the time. The main battle was always between Geoffrey and George and always ended up with a minor victory for George.

That though was the series strong point. The acting was nothing short of superb and the programme spawned a further M.A.T.H spin-off the rather dire robin's nest which examined what had happened to robin Tripp but the sad news was that Yootha Joyce Died on August 26th 1980 from liver failure before filming a sixth series. Her character was easily the strongest in the show and the way she always had the upper hand on George was hilarious. Recent repeats on digital show that the comedy hasn't dated and is still as fresh as ever. All 5 series are available on the network DVD label.

Man about the house is a true situation comedy in every sense of the word. The comedy concerns a character called Robin Tripp (played by the great Richard O' Sullivan) who finds himself after a wild party, ending up at the home of two ladies called Jo and Chrissy. Ironically the party was held to say goodbye to their old flatmate. The obvious ends up happening as he moves in.

Man about the house was a pre-cursor to Cooke and Mortimer's spin off show George and Mildred which featured the 2 characters who were landlords to Jo, Chrissy and Robin. These two characters would actually turn out to be the linchpins of man about the house with Mildred (the late and much missed Yootha Joyce) in particular getting some of the best lines of the series. A semi-regular character was Larry (Doug Fisher) a useless person who was always on the scrounge and only ever came round when he wanted to borrow something (and never to return it).

The American's did a version called three's company but it doesn't stand a chance when compared to this far funnier original. Thames took a risk in producing a comedy about a man sharing a flat with 2 women at a very conservative time but they should worry as the ratings at the time suggest that around 20 million people just wanted to watch a good old fashioned bit of comedy with inspired casting and a sharp script. What a pity modern comedy can't reach that high standard.

This programme is available on network DVD

It is very rare that I see a film that me and my parants both have the same opinion on but once upon a time in America is one of those rare times. The story is a true study of betrayal, greed, corruption and violence in all its ugly forms yet its message is simple NEVER BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS AS YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN THEY'LL COME AND GET YOU! The acting is magnificent with the central character noodles played by both Robert De Niro and Scott Tiler (playing him during childhood) being every inch the despicable little swine but yet still creating a character that rather strangely you can warm too. The film features a stellar cast including Eliabeth McGovern, Joe Pesci, James woods and tuesday weld in a tale that twists and turns but all the way though makes perfect sense. The people in this film are nasty pieces of work and you can understand why noodles does what he does but you can also understand why people dislike him (largely because he is after them all). There are not one but 2 scenes of rape in the film (1 on Weld and the other McGovern) and these just go to show the utter vileness of the characters (there's also a memorable scene in a garage).

What Sergio Leone managed to do in this his final film is to create a society where the gangster rules (as in deed was very much the case in America during that time period) but he also puts you there in the thick of it with them and makes you hope for the happy ending which you inevitably don't get. A true masterpiece.

I remember as a little 8 year old boy sitting down at my sisters and watching a dodgy pirate video of a well advertised film called E.T. The picture was jumping all over the place and hard to watch like most most pirated videos but through all that even as a little boy I could see how magical this film was.

Its essentially a film that appeals to the child in all of us and is about someone who is reaching out to be loved and cared for though despite being classed as different in a world that from time to time treats people with disdain just for being different. The story concerns a young boy named Elliot and his family who's live's are transformed when an alien being enters their lives having crash landed on earth. The story is then essentially about the aliens attempts to return home and this results in one of the saddest endings in cinema history (if you haven't seen it yet you'll need Kleenex) but E.T preaches nothing to no-one except to say that people (or in this case aliens!) should never be treated with disgust just because they are different. It is one of the best films I will ever see in my lifetime and though Henry Thomas's career has curtailed since it not only introduced us to Drew Barrymore but it also helped the careers of many of its stars and on the 20th anniversary DVD there is a great documentary that backs this up. All in all excellent.

I saw boogie nights with 4 friends on its initial release in 1998. Never before have we all seen such a pointless film. The film concerns the 1970's porn industry and a young guy named dirk diggler (must have took half a brain cell to think of that name) and his struggles to make some money from it. The film at about 2 1/2 hours is far too long and bores you to tears (1 friend fell asleep and started snoring) at the end of the film and this proves how universally hated by the cinema audience this film was when one person shouted "thank f--- its over!" and got universal applause.

This film is amazingly bad with dreadful acting (even from heather graham, burt reynolds and mark whalberg) and the most boring script in the world ever and I know several other people have slated it too (most of them on this site).

The film is that bad that even Burt Reynolds apparently has distanced himself from it which I don't blame him for. If an actor does that then that means even he thinks its s---. This is total utter trash and I cant even think of any saving graces which is unusual as even with some of the worst films i've seen I can find at least one. Ahh got 1, yes it does have a saving grace and thats that eventually after all the tedium it finishes and thank F--- for that!

In 1965 the a young writer named Peter Watkins wrote a drama for the bbc called the war game. Concerning nuclear war and its after effects it was banned for 20 years as the beeb felt it was too sensitive to show. 1984 arrives (as does the cold war) and the beeb decides its time to challenge the viewer like never before and through their play for today strand produced the most groundbreaking piece of television drama ever, Threads. Writing a review about this film is quite a challenge. When i was 11 years old and just beginning to understand this world and all its complexities the BBC aired a drama that still to this day knows how to shock and inform. 'Threads by Barry Hines' were the words that greeted us at the start of a title sequence that began innocently enough with a view of Sheffield's bustling industrial estate giving us little warning of the horrors to come.

Threads takes us through a roller-coaster ride and for the BBC to screen it in 1984 at the height of the cold war was a very brave move indeed from a corporation that still to this day dares to push open the envelope and produce dramas that not only entertain you but also make you think. Far, far, far better than the American effort called The day after threads seeks to tell a story about the terrifying subject of nuclear war without resorting to sentimentality (there is, after all no sentimentally attached to a nuclear attack) and Hollywood style mush.

The story starts with Ruth and Jimmy, a young couple contemplating marriage to each other against the backdrop of a conflict between Britain, the U.S and Russia. As hostilities rise between the warring parties an all out nuclear strike is launched on the U.K. It then firstly becomes a story about Ruth (by this time pregnant) and her battle to find out if Jimmy survives the attack and then secondly a story about how Britain would cope with a nuclear war.

Believe you me this film is about as scary as it gets when describing the after-effects and does not shy away from putting them straight in your face. The NHS would be stretched to breaking point as is clearly shown in one of the most disturbing scenes in the film, Law and order may as well not exist as looters and thieves run riot, food supplies would be critically low (so therefore you would have to work for it with those who worked the hardest getting to eat while others starve to death) and any body born after the attack would most likely be born with a mental abnormality (Ruth has a daughter with a mental health problem).

Nuclear war is rarely touched upon in film-making as the producers of such films have to be so accurate with this subject matter as no other subject causes such debate. Trust me threads knocked the door down the day after just followed it in.

P.S Eventually the war game was shown (along with a repeat of threads) on bbc one in 1985.

I 1st encountered this film about 4 years ago on a pirate video (I now have a NTSC uncut Video) and was amazed. There are many films out there that claim to have a message but none are so powerful as this one. The message is to any potential rapists "sometimes they fight back!" and boy does this woman do so. I have no inclination towards raping someone but if I did I would be put off by the events in this film. Its a clever film in that just when you think it shows the rapists as the stronger characters it turns it around and shows you not only the victim as the stronger person but how the victim feels towards her attackers afterwards (in no uncertain terms).

This being a movie the heroine gets to do what every raped woman would love to do, extract her revenge on her attackers and this is the films strength as it shows how raping a woman can be easily done but just as easily revenged. It really is a classic film that should be in every revenge flick fans collection (DONT BUY THE U.K VERSION THOUGH AS ITS CUT BY 7 MINS 2 SECONDS! THIS IS THE BEST ADVERT FOR A MULTIREGION DVD PLAYER EVER AS THE U.S VERSION IS UNCUT!).

Perverts will be disappointed as the scenes are clearly not there for titillation but to bring home the horrors of this most horrible crime. The second rape is particularly terrifiying as it takes place with her being held over a rock. Its scenes like this that are the film's strength in that not once do you see any close up's (which would imply that the rape was there for sheer titilation) the filming of these scenes is done entirely from a distance so instead of glorifying it, it shows the full look of terror on the woman's face.

The film then takes on a different meaning as after she is raped again at home it becomes a story of the aforementioned revenge. This is where some of the best scenes in the film occur. It certainly is a film that you will never forget. A bona-fide horror classic but one with a message that needs to be listened to.