An outstanding three-part BBC4 series that looks at how the Art Nouveau movement flourished in the burgeoning cities of Europe at the end of the 19th century. Aired March-April 2012.

Episode 1: Paris
BBC cultural correspondent Stephen Smith explores the delicious objects of Parisian Art Nouveau. He delves into the city’s Bohemian past to learn how some of the 19th century’s most glamorous and controversial figures inspired this extraordinary movement. Revealing the story behind Alphonse Mucha’s sensual posters of actress Sarah Bernhardt, looking at the exquisite jewellery designer Renee Lalique and visiting iconic art nouveau locations such the famous Maxim’s restaurant, the programme builds a picture of fin-de-siecle Paris.Read More »

Eduard Artemiev – Tarkovsky movies OST (Solaris-The Mirror- Stalker)

Eduard Artemiev

In the latter part of the 1950’s, the engineer and mathematician Yevgeniy Murzin had a problem. He had just realized his life long dream of constructing music synthesizer (then called “ANS”) but knew no musician with sufficient imagination to explore its vast potential. In 1960, upon meeting 22-year-old Edward Artemyev, a recent graduate of the Moscow conservatoire, Murzin immediately felt he had found what he was searching for in the young composer, who embraced the new instrument and quickly mastered its many subtleties. Artemyev has since composed numerous works varying from electronic avant-garde to film music. He is probably best known for his collaboration with A. Tarkovskiy composing music for his films: “SOLARIS” in 1972, “THE MIRROR” in 1975 and “STALKER” in 1979; and with such filmmakers as Andrei Mikhalkov-Kontchalovskiy and Nikita Mikhalkov.Read More »

Second feature film by German-Turkish director Thomas Arslan (Ferien, Aus der Ferne), and a rough diamond of the first generation of the so-called ‘Berlin School’. Can is a young and smart upstart; he dreams of a small family but the money that fuels this dream comes from the streets. Can is a dealer, he works for Hakan who is supplying the kids in his neighbourhood with drugs. And while Can struggles to get control over his life he sees his girl friend, the mother of his kid, leaving and himself increasingly surrounded by false friends. On top of it, a cop (Birol Ünel, the male lead from Fatih Akin’s “Gegen die Wand) is on his back trying to persuade Can to work undercover for the police. The more Can attempts to free himself, the deeper he sinks into a life he never aspired to.Read More »

The original, one and only Debbie (Bambi Woods) is back and better than ever. This time, Deb and her pals do most of their scoring off the field when they take up employment at the hottest bordello in the West! You’ll cheer their erotic acrobatics as they lead their clients from one wild encounter to another… And you can be sure that the balls flying in this tape aren’t only on the playing field.Read More »

Synopsis:
Yekta, 11 years old, is born and still lives in a mysterious, castle-like house, at the shore of the Bosphorus, together with her lame seagull, her spinster aunt, Nukhet Seza, and her grandfather, Sirri, paralyzed and bedridden, following the death of his son and bride. The bedroom of her mother is the place where Yekta takes shelter in, to daydream and hide her secrets. All she knows about her mother is that she had left one day in a little boat on the Bosphorus and that she would never return.Read More »

It began as a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between two of the greatest icons of the fantasy genre: Controversial animator Ralph Bakshi (director of FRITZ THE CAT, WIZARDS and the original THE LORD OF THE RINGS) and legendary illustrator Frank Frazetta (creator of the iconic CONAN THE BARBARIAN, VAMPIRELLA and Edgar Rice Burroughs book covers). It became – and remains – one of the most startling animation epics of all time. Now experience a world unlike any ever seen, where savage warriors, horrific monsters and luscious maidens battle for the soul of a civilization in a time of good and evil, pleasure and pain.Read More »

At an Austrian boys’ boarding school in the early 1900s, shy, intelligent Törless observes the sadistic behavior of his fellow students, doing nothing to help a victimized classmate—until the torture goes too far. Adapted from Robert Musil’s acclaimed novel, Young Törless launched the New German Cinema movement and garnered the 1966 Cannes Film Festival International Critics’ Prize for first-time director Volker Schlöndorff.

Quote:

Considered a classic film as it was the first film to put the then New German Film firmly on the (international) map. Also a classic because it was Schlöndorf’s first feature and it is still thought highly of. To be sure, this is a beautiful film to watch with its superb black-and-white cinematography; Schlondörf’s direction makes it into a well paced and staged, stylish film. But I never liked the film; recent re-viewing confirmed my feelings.Read More »

Mertkan has a simple life in Istanbul: ‘working’ as an office-boy in his dad’s construction company, hanging out with his male friends in malls and discos, cruising with his dad’s 4-wheel drive at night. There is no urgency for him to find a meaning to this emptiness. When he meets Gul, a Kurdish girl from Eastern Turkey, putting herself through university by working as a waitress, Mertkan has a chance to change the futility of his life. But his father opposes his connection with ‘those people who only want to divide our country’ and reminds Mertkan that ‘we are all Turkish and we are all Muslims’. Insidiously Mertkan bows to the social values of the ‘Majority’ when faced with a choice, and becomes the ‘proper man’ his dad wanted him to be.Read More »

“Trojan is released from jail and goes straight back to his profession as a criminal. He gets hold of a weapon and looks out for new jobs. In just a few takes, Thomas Arslan sets up the anonymous world of his gangster protagonist by falling back on motifs and characters from the genre. The backroom of a car workshop, parking lots, furnished apartments. One meets men and women who distrust each other because they are all out to line their own pockets. The setting changes constantly, with surveillance and chase scenes providing a dynamic narrative rhythm. Since crime makes up Trojan’s daily existence, the film concentrates entirely on the technical nature of a life outside the law. The reduced and clear-cut images – shot with a Red camera 
– highlight the exact sequence of events. In the Shadows (Im Schatten) is a genre film that focuses consistently on the mechanics and external process of a crime. It develops a sense of great suspense, without burdening its figures with personal stories. Each hand movement has to be right.”
(From the Berlinale Forum catalogue – by Anke Leweke)Read More »