2006
*
A professor is sucked into a murder investigation that leads to the core of Christianity.
Hyped movie version of a bestseller and a right load of guff; what's unforgivable is not so much the mumbo jumbo but that it's so totally uncinematic. Nothing thrills, whether it's the talking heads or the few action set pieces, and there's not a real person on show.
Dir: Ron Howard
Stars: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tatou, Ian McKellen, Paul Bettany, Jean Reno
DADDY’S GONE A-HUNTING
1969
*
A mentally disturbed man stalks a woman who once aborted the child he had fathered.
Suspenseful thriller controversially tackling the subject of abortion.
Dir: Mark Robson
Stars: Carol White, Paul Burke, Mala Powers
DAD’S ARMY
1971
*
At the start of World War 2, Walmington-on-Sea forms its own Home Guard.
The main appeal of the film of the TV series is seeing the lovely characters in action rather than following the patchwork story.
Dir: Norman Cohen
Stars: Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier, Clive Dunn, John Laurie, James Beck, Arnold Ridley, Ian Lavender, Liz Fraser, Bill Pertwee
DAD'S ARMY
2016
0
An attractive female spy comes to Walmington-on-Sea to get secrets for the Nazis - the Home Guard must stop her.
Pointless and mainly disastrous attempt to refashion one of Britain's most beloved sitcoms: the problems are various, but the chief one is that's it just quite flat and rarely funny - even those viewers approaching it with generosity will struggle to raise many titters. Only Toby Jones manages to really breathe individual life into his well-known character, although one of the reasons the others struggle (besides being, well, not the original actors) is that they don't get that much screen time - as is the way of things in 2016, the piece has been extensively feminised, with way too much time being devoted to female characters. This mild, misfiring comedy, which has some pleasing visual palettes, deserves to be forgotten, and probably will be.
Dir: Oliver Parker
Stars: Toby Jones, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Bill Nighy, Michael Gambon, Tom Courtenay, Blake Harrison, Daniel Mays, Bill Paterson, Mark Gatiss, Ian Lavender, Frank Williams, Sarah Lancashire, Felicity Monatgu, Alison Steadman
DALEKS: INVASION EARTH 2150AD
1966
*
Doctor Who and crew arrive in a future London that has been invaded by Daleks.
More opened out than its predecessor, Dr Who And The Daleks, and of course with a bigger budget than the TV series, this sci-fi adventure is still too obvious and corny for all but unfussy children. The main pleasures to be got from it now are the high colour and the 'Sixties-isms'.
Dir: Gordon Flemyng
Stars: Peter Cushing, Bernard Cribbins, Andrew Keir, Roberta Tovey
DALLAS BUYERS CLUB
2013
**
After he is diagnosed with Aids, a man attempts to secure life-prolonging drugs that were at the time not approved for use in the USA.
An issue film that's solid drama, especially vigorous in the first two thirds, electrified by a career-best performance from the lead.
Dir: Jean-Marc Vallee
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto, Denis O'Hare
THE DAM BUSTERS
1954
***
In World War 2, British scientists work to develop a bouncing bomb that can destroy German dams and flood their industrial base.
Intelligible and absorbing account of wartime heroism, it never fails to stir the emotions; both parts of the film - the first half showing the development of the plan, the second showing it carried out - swell the heart with pride at the diffident derring-do of the English. Genuinely the sort of film they don't - or can't - make nowadays, not least because a dog called Nigger is given a pint of beer.
Dir: Michael Anderson
Stars: Richard Todd, Michael Redgrave, Ursula Jeans, Charles Carson
DAMAGE
1992
**
A politician falls madly in love with his son's fiancée.
Well-observed tale of obsession, pretty compelling, though sometimes teetering on the edge of absurdity.
Dir: Louis Malle
Stars: Jeremy Irons, Juliette Binoche, Miranda Richardson, Rupert Graves, Ian Bannen
DAMIEN: OMEN TWO
1978
*
Thirteen-year-old Damien destroys those who stand in his devilish way.
The first Omen movie got away with being silly by the strength of its acting and direction, not to mention its lusty spirit, but here none of those things are evident, so, despite some memorable moments, this comes across as merely daft.
Dir: Don Taylor
Stars: William Holden, Lee Grant, Jonathan Scott-Taylor, Lew Ayres
DAMNATION ALLEY
1977
*
After World War Three, a group of survivors drive across the desert in search of others.
Cheap looking sci-fi that’s quite fun to watch, if only because most of the ordeals the group face – badly matted scorpions, ‘killer’ cockroaches, hairy hobos – are so silly. Both dialogue and performances are bland, but the simple, accessible plot and the distinctive central vehicle are reasonably appealing.
Dir: Jack Smight
Stars: George Peppard, Jan-Michael Vincent, Dominique Sanda, Jackie Earle Haley
THE DAMNED
1963
**
Scientists are helping to create radioactive children in a seaside town.
Unusual sci-fi with inventive ideas, a little portentous perhaps, and almost like two separate films stitched together, but one that should be applauded for having ambition and trying something a little different - the Dorset locations help give it an invigorating air, aiding its curious atmosphere.
Dir: Joseph Losey
Stars: Oliver Reed, Shirley Anne Field, Macdonald Carey, Kenneth Cope, James Villiers
THE DAMNED: DON'T YOU WISH THAT WE WERE DEAD
2015
*
Documentary about the ups and downs in the career of punk rock group The Damned.
Fans are well serviced by this film that presents a picture of a disorderly musical unit that has splintered and un-splintered several times, with contributions from the many members of the group, a group that had a handful of great songs but, despite what they might think, is not up there with the top bands of the era such as The Clash and The Sex Pistols (for all the Pistols' flaws). More footage from the 1970s might have been welcome, but this is a watchable story of chaos and creation, with a strong culturally English feel.
Dir: Wes Orshoski
THE DAMNED UNITED
2009
*
Eccentric but successful football manager Brian Clough has a tumultuous 44 days in charge of Leeds United.
It probably won’t mean much to those with no interest in football, but this is a decent drama that captures the rigours of the 1970s game particularly well. It appears to present Clough as a much lesser manager without Peter Taylor, but considering it’s so full of inaccuracies attention perhaps shouldn’t be too focused on this: there are other things for fans of football and the era to enjoy.
Dir: Tom Hooper
Stars: Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney, Jim Broadbent, Stephen Graham
DANCER IN THE DARK
2000
**
An East European woman who is going blind goes to America to work hard and save money for her young son, but it is not like a Hollywood musical, as she expected.
An incredibly strange and grim film that will polarise audiences; of course there is great intelligence at work, but the use of a wholly manipulative plot line to hang its ideas on is a little dubious. Gradually compelling but not quite as triumphant as the director’s The Idiots or Breaking The Waves (both qv).
Dir: Lars Von Trier
Stars: Bjork, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Peter Stormare, Joel Grey
DANCES WITH WOLVES
1990
***
A soldier in the American Civil War becomes integrated with a tribe of Red Indians.
Gargantuan but compelling revisionist western that is all too keen to show the Indians in the best possible light and the Americans in the worst possible one. Sweepingly shot scenes like the buffalo run are truly cinematic.
Dir: Kevin Costner
Stars: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, Rodney A Grant
THE DANCING MASTERS
1943
0
Stan and Ollie open a ballet school.
Haphazardly plotted Laurel and Hardy comedy which largely reworks old routines to lesser effect - but not their worst film.
Dir: Malcolm St Clair
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Margaret Dumont
DANDY DICK
1935
*
A vicar attempts to raise money for his church steeple by putting all his savings on a horse.
One of Hay's earliest films sees his seedy persona at foetal stage, and the script is a little underdeveloped too.
Dir: William Beaudine
Stars: Will Hay, Nancy Burne, Esmond Knight
DANGER: DIABOLIK
1967
**
The authorities struggle to foil a masked master criminal.
What this movie does right is to decide to be a ‘pure’ adaptation of the comic strip – so it doesn’t give a stuff for logical plot or characterisation, instead concentrating on glorious images of beautiful people, costumes, action and pop paraphernalia. It’s not perfect but it’s one of Bava’s best.
Dir: Mario Bava
Stars: John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli, Adolfo Celi, Terry-Thomas
DANGER ROUTE
1967
0
An 'eliminator' for the British secret service has various adventures.
Glum spy thriller which resembles a Bond film without the humour or budget.
Dir: Seth Holt
Stars: Richard Johnson, Carol Lynley, Barbara Bouchet, Sylvia Sims, Gordon Jackson, Diana Dors, Maurice Denham, Sam Wanamaker
DANGEROUS CARGO
1977
0
There is a mutiny on a Greek trade ship.
Awful rubbish with almost no redeeming features. What is this actually about?
Dir: Kostas Karagiannis
Stars: Kostas Karagiorgis, Nikos Verlekis, Deborah Shelton
DANGEROUS LIAISONS
1988
*
In 18th century aristocratic France, a man bets his ex-lover he can seduce an honourable woman.
Literate but rather stiff period thriller.
Dir: Stephen Frears
Stars: Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Keanu Reeves, Uma Thurman, Peter Capaldi
DANGEROUS MISSION
1954
0
A woman who has witnessed a mob killing is afraid to testify and tries to become anonymous in a National Park - but villainy is on her trail.
Slim, conventional thriller pepped up by 3D. Not great.
Dir: Louis King
Stars: Victor Mature, Piper Laurie, Vincent Price, William Bendix
DANNY COLLINS
2015
0
An ageing pop star is presented with an encouraging letter John Lennon sent to him many years before that he never knew existed.
Nothing rings true about this comic drama that has a vaguely intriguing premise that it does little with except cue in a sentimental family tale, complete with 'cute' kid and son with an illness. Most of the actors don't fit their parts, Pacino's singing voice is dreadful and the best parts of it - the John Lennon tunes on the soundtrack - aren't heard enough.
Dir: Dan Fogelman
Stars: Al Pacino, Christopher Plummer, Annette Bening, Jennifer Garner, Bobby Cannavale
DANNY JONES
1971
0
A young Welsh labourer falls for an upper class girl while he is working at the local girls’ school.
Moderately paced, small scale drama whose appeal will depend on what the viewer thinks of the three main characters, who to most would appear to behave rather strangely. The girl, in particular, is not at all likeable, coming across as a wingeing harridan and ignorant brat who somewhat spoils the film, although the score has a good try too.
Dir: Jules Bricken
Stars: Len Jones, Jane Carr, Frank Finlay
DANTE’S INFERNO
1935
*
A carnival owner becomes too arrogant and suffers visions of himself in hell.
The stunning sequence set in hell, which got the movie so much attention, is from an Italian silent picture, and the story, seemingly a rejection of the American way of life, is unpersuasive, but there are signs of style at hand.
Dir: Harry Lachman
Stars: Spencer Tracy, Claire Trevor, Rita Hayworth
DARBY O’GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE
1959
*
An Irishman full of blarney discovers a leprechaun king and some hidden gold.
Disney fantasy with some charm and excellent special effects.
Dir: Robert Stevenson
Stars: Sean Connery, Albert Sharpe, Janet Munro, Jimmy O'Dea
DAREDEVIL
2002
*
A blind lawyer is also a costumed superhero.
While hardly in Spider-Man's class, this is a half-decent Marvel comic adaptation with some boisterous action - Bullseye is particularly lively. The film looks like it was cut down from a greater length and is rather too keen to promise a sequel.
Dir: Mark Steven Johnson
Stars: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Colin Farrell, Michael Clarke Duncan
DAREDEVILS OF THE RED CIRCLE
1939 (serial)
*
Three stuntmen attempt to foil the plans of the mysterious 39013.
Actionful serial that cares not a jot about sense.
Dir: John English, William Witney
Stars: Bruce Bennet, Charles Middleton, Charles Quigley
THE DARK
2005
0
A couple in rural Wales appear to lose their daughter in tragic circumstances.
Welsh horror films about sheep don't come along very often thankfully, and this one is a right load of tosh which degenerates into a risible, confusing mess.
Dir: John Fawcett
Stars: Maria Bello, Sean Bean, Sophie Stuckey
DARK ANGEL
1989
*
A tough cop comes face to face with an alien force on his beat.
Slick, lively sci-fi with some talent evident.
Dir: Craig R Baxley
Stars: Dolph Lundgren, Brian Benben, Michael J Pollard
DARK CRIMES
2016
0
A troubled policeman investigates a murder that is similar to incidents in a book.
Grey, gloomy, almost comically downbeat thriller, quite the darkest ever made by Jim Carrey, who has never turned in a performance like this before (whereas Gainsbourg makes a habit of appearing in weird, sexually twisted movies) - whether he makes it worth watching is debatable; dialogue delivery is, to say the least, halting, everything about it - everything - is pensive, and the conclusion is limp.
Dir: Alexandros Avranas
Stars: Jim Carrey, Marton Csokas, Charlotte Gainsbourg
THE DARK CRYSTAL
1982
*
In an alien world, a crystal is sought to prevent the planet falling into chaos.
Fantasy somewhat restricted by its exclusive use of puppets, and now appearing rather quaint.
Dir: Jim Henson, Frank Oz
Voices: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Kathryn Mullen, Dave Goelz
DARK ENEMY
1984
*
Following a nuclear war, children hide in a farmhouse for fear of what they might see outside.
Reasonable offering from the Children's Film Foundation team, but suffering from a slow start and lack of originality.
Dir: Colin Finbow
Stars: David Haig, Douglas Storm, Martin Laing
THE DARK HALF
1993
0
A writer attempts to 'kill off' his pseudonym - but the pseudonym isn't very happy about it.
Tepid horror flick in which the sparks fail to fly.
Dir: George A Romero
Stars: Timothy Hutton, Amy Madigan, Michael Rooker
THE DARK KNIGHT
2008
***
A dangerous terrorist, The Joker, turns Gotham City against Batman.
A massive movie in every sense of the word, this rich, bleak film assuredly ticks many boxes: truly spectacular action; an involved, layered plot; intriguing moral themes; slick direction. Ledger’s uncompromising performance certainly outdoes Bale’s (his Bruce Wayne is dull and his Batman hilariously guttural), and he is backed by a solid cast who are aware that this is no ordinary superhero fare.
Dir: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
2012
**
Gotham City is attacked by a terrorist named Bane whom Batman struggles to contain.
The final part of the trilogy is almost exactly as you expect: very well made, muscular, wintery, intense, modern, convoluted and with silly voices for the superpowered types. Hard to fault technically, it features spectacular scenes of destruction and builds to an epic climax, but it's not a journey that you can embark on lightly.
Dir: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, Matthew Modine
THE DARK MIRROR
1946
*
A woman suspected of murdering her doctor boyfriend has an identical twin sister who may be psychotic.
Good but not great thriller in part harmed by it often being unclear which sister is which; on the plus side, it shows confident use of early split-screen techniques.
Dir: Robert Siodmak
Stars: Olivia de Havilland, Lew Ayres, Thomas Mitchell
DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW
1983 (TV)
0
A wrongfully killed man exacts revenge on those who murdered him from beyond the grave.
TV thriller which sets up intriguing plot points but doesn't satisfactorily follow them through.
Dir: Frank De Felitta
Stars: Charles Durning, Robert F Lyons, Claude Earl Jones
DARK PLACES
1973
0
A scheming couple hide some stolen loot in a haunted house.
Inert horror which wastes a good cast and suffers from a very flat climax.
Dir: Don Sharp
Stars: Christopher Lee, Joan Collins, Robert Hardy, Herbert Lom, Jane Birkin, Jean Marsh
THE DAMNED UNITED
2009
*
Eccentric but successful football manager Brian Clough has a tumultuous 44 days in charge of Leeds United.
It probably won’t mean much to those with no interest in football, but this is a decent drama that captures the rigours of the 1970s game particularly well. It appears to present Clough as a much lesser manager without Peter Taylor, but considering it’s so full of inaccuracies attention perhaps shouldn’t be too focused on this: there are other things for fans of football and the era to enjoy.
Dir: Tom Hooper
Stars: Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney, Jim Broadbent, Stephen Graham
DANCER IN THE DARK
2000
**
An East European woman who is going blind goes to America to work hard and save money for her young son, but it is not like a Hollywood musical, as she expected.
An incredibly strange and grim film that will polarise audiences; of course there is great intelligence at work, but the use of a wholly manipulative plot line to hang its ideas on is a little dubious. Gradually compelling but not quite as triumphant as the director’s The Idiots or Breaking The Waves (both qv).
Dir: Lars Von Trier
Stars: Bjork, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Peter Stormare, Joel Grey
DANCES WITH WOLVES
1990
***
A soldier in the American Civil War becomes integrated with a tribe of Red Indians.
Gargantuan but compelling revisionist western that is all too keen to show the Indians in the best possible light and the Americans in the worst possible one. Sweepingly shot scenes like the buffalo run are truly cinematic.
Dir: Kevin Costner
Stars: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, Rodney A Grant
THE DANCING MASTERS
1943
0
Stan and Ollie open a ballet school.
Haphazardly plotted Laurel and Hardy comedy which largely reworks old routines to lesser effect - but not their worst film.
Dir: Malcolm St Clair
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Margaret Dumont
DANDY DICK
1935
*
A vicar attempts to raise money for his church steeple by putting all his savings on a horse.
One of Hay's earliest films sees his seedy persona at foetal stage, and the script is a little underdeveloped too.
Dir: William Beaudine
Stars: Will Hay, Nancy Burne, Esmond Knight
DANGER: DIABOLIK
1967
**
The authorities struggle to foil a masked master criminal.
What this movie does right is to decide to be a ‘pure’ adaptation of the comic strip – so it doesn’t give a stuff for logical plot or characterisation, instead concentrating on glorious images of beautiful people, costumes, action and pop paraphernalia. It’s not perfect but it’s one of Bava’s best.
Dir: Mario Bava
Stars: John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli, Adolfo Celi, Terry-Thomas
DANGER ON DARTMOOR
1980
*
Three children encounter an escaped convict on Dartmoor, and other problems besides.
Cute, canny little drama from the Children's Film Foundation, entirely typical of their output, which may not have been as 'cool' as Hollywood blockbusters to the kids, but were probably better for them. It's amusing to think that just eight years before this minor fare, Foster was starring for Hitchcock (and it's quite fun to imagine at the beginning of the film that it's his character from Frenzy!). A comforting movie showcasing a different England.
Dir: David Eady
Stars: Barry Foster, Patricia Hayes, Debby Salter, Marcus Evans
DANGER ROUTE
1967
0
An 'eliminator' for the British secret service has various adventures.
Glum spy thriller which resembles a Bond film without the humour or budget.
Dir: Seth Holt
Stars: Richard Johnson, Carol Lynley, Barbara Bouchet, Sylvia Sims, Gordon Jackson, Diana Dors, Maurice Denham, Sam Wanamaker
DANGEROUS CARGO
1977
0
There is a mutiny on a Greek trade ship.
Awful rubbish with almost no redeeming features. What is this actually about?
Dir: Kostas Karagiannis
Stars: Kostas Karagiorgis, Nikos Verlekis, Deborah Shelton
DANGEROUS LIAISONS
1988
*
In 18th century aristocratic France, a man bets his ex-lover he can seduce an honourable woman.
Literate but rather stiff period thriller.
Dir: Stephen Frears
Stars: Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Keanu Reeves, Uma Thurman, Peter Capaldi
DANGEROUS MISSION
1954
0
A woman who has witnessed a mob killing is afraid to testify and tries to become anonymous in a National Park - but villainy is on her trail.
Slim, conventional thriller pepped up by 3D. Not great.
Dir: Louis King
Stars: Victor Mature, Piper Laurie, Vincent Price, William Bendix
DANNY COLLINS
2015
0
An ageing pop star is presented with an encouraging letter John Lennon sent to him many years before that he never knew existed.
Nothing rings true about this comic drama that has a vaguely intriguing premise that it does little with except cue in a sentimental family tale, complete with 'cute' kid and son with an illness. Most of the actors don't fit their parts, Pacino's singing voice is dreadful and the best parts of it - the John Lennon tunes on the soundtrack - aren't heard enough.
Dir: Dan Fogelman
Stars: Al Pacino, Christopher Plummer, Annette Bening, Jennifer Garner, Bobby Cannavale
DANNY JONES
1971
0
A young Welsh labourer falls for an upper class girl while he is working at the local girls’ school.
Moderately paced, small scale drama whose appeal will depend on what the viewer thinks of the three main characters, who to most would appear to behave rather strangely. The girl, in particular, is not at all likeable, coming across as a wingeing harridan and ignorant brat who somewhat spoils the film, although the score has a good try too.
Dir: Jules Bricken
Stars: Len Jones, Jane Carr, Frank Finlay
DANTE’S INFERNO
1935
*
A carnival owner becomes too arrogant and suffers visions of himself in hell.
The stunning sequence set in hell, which got the movie so much attention, is from an Italian silent picture, and the story, seemingly a rejection of the American way of life, is unpersuasive, but there are signs of style at hand.
Dir: Harry Lachman
Stars: Spencer Tracy, Claire Trevor, Rita Hayworth
DARBY O’GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE
1959
*
An Irishman full of blarney discovers a leprechaun king and some hidden gold.
Disney fantasy with some charm and excellent special effects.
Dir: Robert Stevenson
Stars: Sean Connery, Albert Sharpe, Janet Munro, Jimmy O'Dea
DAREDEVIL
2002
*
A blind lawyer is also a costumed superhero.
While hardly in Spider-Man's class, this is a half-decent Marvel comic adaptation with some boisterous action - Bullseye is particularly lively. The film looks like it was cut down from a greater length and is rather too keen to promise a sequel.
Dir: Mark Steven Johnson
Stars: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Colin Farrell, Michael Clarke Duncan
DAREDEVILS OF THE RED CIRCLE
1939 (serial)
*
Three stuntmen attempt to foil the plans of the mysterious 39013.
Actionful serial that cares not a jot about sense.
Dir: John English, William Witney
Stars: Bruce Bennet, Charles Middleton, Charles Quigley
THE DARK
1979
0
Los Angeles is stalked by a seven-foot alien that decapitates its victims and shoots laser beams from its eyes.
Infirm and odd horror with no competence to speak of. It switches between scenes of the monster killing people with terrible special effects and cops wandering round the place wondering what to do about it.
Dir: John 'Bud' Cardos
Stars: William Devane, Cathy Lee Crosby, Richard Jaeckel
THE DARK
2005
0
A couple in rural Wales appear to lose their daughter in tragic circumstances.
Welsh horror films about sheep don't come along very often thankfully, and this one is a right load of tosh which degenerates into a risible, confusing mess.
Dir: John Fawcett
Stars: Maria Bello, Sean Bean, Sophie Stuckey
DARK ANGEL
1989
*
A tough cop comes face to face with an alien force on his beat.
Slick, lively sci-fi with some talent evident.
Dir: Craig R Baxley
Stars: Dolph Lundgren, Brian Benben, Michael J Pollard
DARK CRIMES
2016
0
A troubled policeman investigates a murder that is similar to incidents in a book.
Grey, gloomy, almost comically downbeat thriller, quite the darkest ever made by Jim Carrey, who has never turned in a performance like this before (whereas Gainsbourg makes a habit of appearing in weird, sexually twisted movies) - whether he makes it worth watching is debatable; dialogue delivery is, to say the least, halting, everything about it - everything - is pensive, and the conclusion is limp.
Dir: Alexandros Avranas
Stars: Jim Carrey, Marton Csokas, Charlotte Gainsbourg
THE DARK CRYSTAL
1982
*
In an alien world, a crystal is sought to prevent the planet falling into chaos.
Fantasy somewhat restricted by its exclusive use of puppets, and now appearing rather quaint.
Dir: Jim Henson, Frank Oz
Voices: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Kathryn Mullen, Dave Goelz
DARK ENEMY
1984
*
Following a nuclear war, children hide in a farmhouse for fear of what they might see outside.
Reasonable offering from the Children's Film Foundation team, but suffering from a slow start and lack of originality.
Dir: Colin Finbow
Stars: David Haig, Douglas Storm, Martin Laing
THE DARK EYES OF LONDON
1939
*
Several men die in odd circumstances, and the trail appears to lead to mysterious insurance salesman Dr Orloff.
One of the better British horror films of the 1930s, this astutely brings over Lugosi from the US, somewhere near his peak, and gives him plenty to do; the Edgar Wallace-inspired mystery is creepy (and 'horrific' enough to get it the then new H certificate), while we get a beautiful blonde (Gynt) and a scary thug (Walter, a Shakespearean actor) and some gruesome bits. The cast is solid, although the American is superfluous. Not too bad overall, considering its age.
Dir: Walter Summers
Stars: Bela Lugosi, Hugh Williams, Greta Gynt, Wilfred Walter
THE DARK HALF
1993
0
A writer attempts to 'kill off' his pseudonym - but the pseudonym isn't very happy about it.
Tepid horror flick in which the sparks fail to fly.
Dir: George A Romero
Stars: Timothy Hutton, Amy Madigan, Michael Rooker
THE DARK KNIGHT
2008
***
A dangerous terrorist, The Joker, turns Gotham City against Batman.
A massive movie in every sense of the word, this rich, bleak film assuredly ticks many boxes: truly spectacular action; an involved, layered plot; intriguing moral themes; slick direction. Ledger’s uncompromising performance certainly outdoes Bale’s (his Bruce Wayne is dull and his Batman hilariously guttural), and he is backed by a solid cast who are aware that this is no ordinary superhero fare.
Dir: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
2012
**
Gotham City is attacked by a terrorist named Bane whom Batman struggles to contain.
The final part of the trilogy is almost exactly as you expect: very well made, muscular, wintery, intense, modern, convoluted and with silly voices for the superpowered types. Hard to fault technically, it features spectacular scenes of destruction and builds to an epic climax, but it's not a journey that you can embark on lightly.
Dir: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, Matthew Modine
THE DARK MIRROR
1946
*
A woman suspected of murdering her doctor boyfriend has an identical twin sister who may be psychotic.
Good but not great thriller in part harmed by it often being unclear which sister is which; on the plus side, it shows confident use of early split-screen techniques.
Dir: Robert Siodmak
Stars: Olivia de Havilland, Lew Ayres, Thomas Mitchell
DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW
1983 (TV)
0
A wrongfully killed man exacts revenge on those who murdered him from beyond the grave.
TV thriller which sets up intriguing plot points but doesn't satisfactorily follow them through.
Dir: Frank De Felitta
Stars: Charles Durning, Robert F Lyons, Claude Earl Jones
DARK PLACES
1973
0
A scheming couple hide some stolen loot in a haunted house.
Inert horror which wastes a good cast and suffers from a very flat climax.
Dir: Don Sharp
Stars: Christopher Lee, Joan Collins, Robert Hardy, Herbert Lom, Jane Birkin, Jean Marsh
DARK PRINCE: THE TRUE STORY OF DRACULA
2000 (TV)
0
Vlad the Impaler becomes a hero in Romania for holding back the Ottomans.
Not really a horror film, more a horribly boring 'historical' movie that is only marginally 'true', even if it does explore the fact that these valiant Europeans stopped the land from being overrun by Muslim hordes. Sadly it's muddy looking, bitty and just not very interesting - while Daltrey playing a king is something that should never happen. Bring back the 'false' Dracula.
Dir: Joe Chappelle
Stars: Rudolf Martin, Jane March, Christopher Brand, Roger DaltreyTHE DARK SIDE OF LOVE
1985
0
A shy 16-year-old and his sister have an unusual relationship.
Mildly intriguing erotic drama, a little silly but developed quite nicely.
Dir: Salvatore Samperi
Stars: Monica Guerritore, Lorenzo Lena, Gianfranco Manfredi
DARK STAR
1974
**
Four astronauts in deep space wrestle with a runaway alien.
A neat little movie which brought its director to prominence, it has a fresh and inventive feel that belies its amateur origins.
Dir: John Carpenter
Stars: Brian Narelle, Cal Kuniholm, Dan O'Bannon
1985
0
A shy 16-year-old and his sister have an unusual relationship.
Mildly intriguing erotic drama, a little silly but developed quite nicely.
Dir: Salvatore Samperi
Stars: Monica Guerritore, Lorenzo Lena, Gianfranco Manfredi
DARK STAR
1974
**
Four astronauts in deep space wrestle with a runaway alien.
A neat little movie which brought its director to prominence, it has a fresh and inventive feel that belies its amateur origins.
Dir: John Carpenter
Stars: Brian Narelle, Cal Kuniholm, Dan O'Bannon
DARK TOWER
1987
0
A tower block appears to contain a malevolent presence.
Awful mess of a horror film whose only half-decent scene comes right at the start. It's sad to see Francis's name attached to it (he apparently left half way through).
Dir: Freddie Francis, Ken Wiederhorn
Stars: Michael Moriarty, Jenny Agutter, Carol Lynley, Kevin McCarthy
DARK VICTORY
1939
*
A socialite discovers she hasn't long to live.
Popular in its day but now dated in a variety of ways, this slightly awkward drama of varying performances keeps going but is always way behind most of the other Best Film Oscar nominees of that year.
Dir: Edmund Goulding
Stars: Bette Davis, George Brent, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Humphrey Bogart, Ronald Reagan, Henry Travers
THE DARKER SIDE OF TERROR
1979 (TV)
0
A scientist clones himself and finds his wife prefers it to him.
Mix of Frankenstein and Jekyll And Hyde, perfunctorily presented.
Dir: Gus Trikonis
Stars: Robert Forster, Adrienne Barbeau, Ray Milland
DARKEST HOUR
2017
**
Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister in May 1940, the time of Britain's greatest ever crisis.
Oldman gives the performance of a lifetime as one of the greatest people who ever lived in this solid war biopic which naturally massages the truth a little (the slightly corny London Underground sequence is probably not true) but successfully conveys not just Churchill's wit and wisdom, but the peril facing western civilisation in those grim times. It's almost but not quite as moving as Nolan's Dunkirk (qv), which should perhaps be watched in a double-bill with this.
Dir: Joe Wright
Stars: Gary Oldman, Ben Mendelsohn, Stephen Dillane, Lily James, Kristin Scott Thomas
DARKLANDS
1996
0
A reporter investigates a Druid cult.
Painfully awful tat shot in flat and dismal television style.
Dir: Julian Richards
Stars: Craig Fairbrass, Jon Finch, Rowena King
DARKMAN
1990
**
A hideously scarred scientist takes revenge on the crooks who made him like that.
Pure comic book wackiness, a notable precursor to the director's Spider-Man films.
Dir: Sam Raimi
Stars: Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, Larry Drake
DARKROOM
1988
0
A killer happens upon a lonely farmhouse.
Promising screamer which degenerates into just another killer on the loose feature.
Dir: Terrence O'Hara
Stars: Aarin Teich, Jill Pierce, Jeffrey Arbaugh
DARLING
1965
*
A beautiful model climbs to the top of the industry but struggles to find happiness.
Somewhat dated in terms of narrative and technique, this slightly tiresome character study was a big success in its day.
Dir: John Schlesinger
Stars: Laurence Harvey, Dirk Bogarde, Julie Christie, Brian Wilde
D.A.R.Y.L
1986
0
A couple adopt a perfect child who turns out to be a robot.
Empty-headed sci-fi keen on sentimentality.
Dir: Simon Wincer
Stars: Mary Beth Hurt, Michael McKean, Kathryn Walker, Colleen Camp, Barret Oliver
DATELINE DIAMONDS
1965
0
The manager of a pop band gets caught up in a diamond theft.
Curious little movie that could only have been made at this particular time in this particular place, it has a basic crime plot adorned by musical performances from the likes of the Small Faces and Kiki Dee. Harmless enough, and probably of interest to students of the era, it features some healthy location footage of Sixties London, always good to see.
Dir: Jeremy Summers
Stars: William Lucas, Kenneth Cope, Harold Shampan, Patsy Rowlands
DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS
1971
**
At a deserted seaside hotel, a young couple find their stay disturbed by a Hungarian countess and her young protégé.
Elegant, chilly and erotic horror which sticks in the memory.
Dir: Harry Kumel
Stars: John Karlen, Delphine Seyrig, Danielle Ouimet
DAUGHTERS OF SATAN
1972
0
A man buys a painting featuring a figure who resembles his wife; strange things begin to happen.
A fair idea for a horror hampered by flabby direction but at least made a little different by being shot in the Philippines. Fairly painless nonsense with a few nice 'n' sleazy scenes.
Dir: Hollingsworth Morse
Stars: Tom Selleck, Barra Grant, Tani Guthrie
DAVID BRENT: LIFE ON THE ROAD
2016
**
Shot by documentary makers, a sales rep goes on a small tour with his band around the Berkshire area.
The film spin-off from BBC series The Office is by and large a success. While there could have been more laughs, there are many that are loud and long, as Gervais's beautifully realised character stumbles over the ethnic and gender minefields of modern life while desperately trying to be liked - he's a classic creation, and the film taps into a vein of British miserablia, here one of economy hotels, motorways and dismal office work. There's an undercurrent of melancholy, not to mention cruelty and tragedy, and while the sentimental conclusion won't be to everyone's liking (nor will the film) it does enrich the character and make a positive point about pursuing your dreams. Overall a very watchable movie, with a cluster of great scenes and even some catchy songs, that may get even better with time.
Dir: Ricky Gervais
Stars: Ricky Gervais, Ben Bailey, Tom Bennett
DAVID COPPERFIELD
1934
***
A boy loses his father, then his mother, but eventually finds happiness.
Superb Dickens adaptation featuring a host of amusing eccentrics juicily portrayed by a distinguished cast.
Dir: George Cukor
Stars: Freddie Bartholomew, Frank Lawton, W C Fields, Basil Rathbone, Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Una O'Connor, Elsa Lanchester
DAVID HOLZMAN'S DIARY
1967
0
A filmmaker decides to make a film of his life.
A micro-budgeted art film pretending to be a documentary, neither especially interesting or enlightening (some dialogue sequences go on interminably), claimed by some pretentious critics to be revelatory, and ahead of its time (a 'mockumentary'). Maybe it gives a reasonable insight into the underground New York scene at the time, and listen out for the final piano chord of the Beatles' 'A Day In The Life'.
Dir: Jim McBride
Stars: LM Kit Carson, Eileen Dietz, Louise Levine
DAWN OF THE DEAD
1979
***
A band of fighters engage the marauding undead in a shopping mall.
Brighter and more expansive sequel to Night Of The Living Dead which gives free reign to the thrilling, bloody mayhem taking place in the mall, a superbly chosen location as it adds to the feeling of a boyish fantasy made real. Besides the gleeful gore it's also a film with deeper themes, not just the much noted satire of consumerism, but the way it more subtly hints that it can be a sudden descent from being in control, from being one of the elite, to finding yourself at the bottom (a zombie bite is what does it here). There are numerous versions of the picture, but most are hugely energetic and satisfyingly raw.
Dir: George A Romero
Stars: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H Reiniger, Gaylen Ross
DAWN OF THE DEAD
2004
**
The remake of the best of the original Dead films (and the best remake of the original Dead films) is at times as exciting as the original, and is certainly a good deal more slickly shot, but suffers from the modern problem of unlikeable characters being uncivil to each other and swearing approximately every five seconds. The zombies in it are so fast they could probably make the Olympics.
Dir: Zack Snyder
Stars: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, Mekhi Phifer
DAWN OF THE MUMMY
1981
0
Fashion models disturb the tomb of a mummy and revive an ancient curse.
Squalid horror rubbish mostly filmed in darkness and frequently using boring long shots. The 1980s British video release represented the nadir of idiotic censorship.
Dir: Frank Agrama
Stars: Brenda King, Barry Sattels, George Peck
DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
2014
0
Apes and humans battle for dominance over one another.
This feels like a compendium of what there is to dislike about many modern Hollywood blockbusters, with its grey palette, ubiquitous CGI (all those apes - meaning that there is an unbreakable empathy barrier between us and the characters), violence and deadly earnestness. It's a vastly less enjoyable film than its predecessor, Rise.
Dir: Matt Reeves
Stars: Gary Oldman, Andy Serkis, Keri Russell, Jason Clarke
THE DAY AFTER
1983 (TV)
**
A nuclear strike devastates life in Kansas.
This famous TV movie, along with the BBC's Threads (and 1966's withdrawn The War Game), was one of the era's biggest cultural comments on the threat of nuclear war - and it was not a little terrifying. Viewed now it stands up as a well made, well acted, far from trivial drama that shows a surprising amount of 'the day before' and has still impactful scenes when the bomb drops. Did it do more harm than good, though? Perhaps the debate goes on.
Dir: Nicholas Meyer
Stars: Jason Robards, JoBeth Williams, Steve Guttenberg, John Lithgow
A DAY AT THE BEACH
1970
0
An alcoholic takes his estranged daughter to the beach on a miserable wet day.
Gloomy, inconsequential curio lost for many years but thankfully rediscovered, if only because Roman Polanski wrote the screenplay and Peter Sellers has a cameo (he’s credited as A Queen). It does seem like a bit of a throwaway, however, the lead character being an all too real tedious drunk idiot – with Burns possibly miscast in the part. And why would the mother actually allow this man to take her daughter out?
Dir: Simon Hesera
Stars: Mark Burns, Beatrice Edney, Fiona Lewis, Peter Sellers, Graham Stark
A DAY AT THE RACES
1937
**
The Marx Brothers attempt to win on the horses.
Hit and miss star comedy - the high spots are sublime, the low spots are deadly dull.
Dir: Sam Wood
Stars: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Maureen O'Sullivan, Margaret Dumont
DAY FOR NIGHT
1973
**
The making of a movie is fraught with difficulties, including an unstable female lead.
An interesting insight behind the scenes of the movies, this likeable film has a novel, fresh feel to it and benefits from a sprightly score. It suffers slightly in the dubbed version.
Dir: Francois Truffaut
Stars: Jacqueline Bisset, Valentina Cortese, Dani, Francois Truffaut
THE DAY IT CAME TO EARTH
1979
0
A glowing meteor falls into a pool used by students to bathe.
Plan 9 From Outer Space-standard twaddle, almost entirely peopled by nerds, inept from start to finish.
Dir: Harry Thomason
Stars: Wink Roberts, Roger Manning
THE DAY MARS INVADED EARTH
1962
0
Martians duplicate human beings.
This doesn't exactly live up to its dramatic title. While it has a promising idea it does very little with it and rambles inconsequentially - the talent just isn't there.
Dir: Maury Dexter
Stars: Kent Taylor, Marie Windsor, William Mims
DAY OF THE ANIMALS
1976
0
Hikers face animals gone wild because of the depletion of the ozone layer.
The Birds by another name, and after a promising start this degenerates into a standard Irwin Allen-type runaround.
Dir: William Girdler
Stars: Christopher George, Leslie Nielsen, Lynda Day George
DAY OF THE DEAD
1985
0
A small group of soldiers and scientists hide in an underground bunker as the world above is overrun by zombies.
More Romero zombies on the loose, but to lesser effect than before largely thanks to its confined setting and repellent characters.
Dir: George A Romero
Stars: Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, Joseph Pilato
THE DAY OF THE DOLPHIN
1973
0
Trained, intelligent dolphins are stolen and used in an assassination attempt.
Hollow, weak-kneed oddity whose appeal to anyone is unclear.
Dir: Mike Nichols
Stars: George C Scott, Paul Sorvino, Fritz Weaver
THE DAY OF THE JACKAL
1973
****
The Jackal, an international assassin, meticulously plots to shoot General De Gaulle.
Brilliant adaptation of Frederick Forsyth's bestseller, made with maturity and sophistication; it methodically but stylishly tracks both the would-be assassin and the authorities who are trying to prevent him from carrying out his mission. It's tight, economic, detailed, suspenseful and classy, and the absence of music is wise. Its cast of distinguished English and French actors makes you respect it greatly, while it beautifully captures the feel of the Europe of the time (there's plenty of verite footage), helping this quietly thrilling film become a classic that endures.
Dir: Fred Zinnemann
Stars: Edward Fox, Michael Lonsdale, Terence Alexander, Tony Britton, Maurice Denham, Cyril Cusack, Derek Jacobi
THE DAY OF THE LOCUST
1974
*
In 1930s Hollywood, an art director is distracted by a wannabe starlet who also gets attention from a sociopathic accountant.
A nightmarish vision of Hollywood, almost literally in the final 15 minutes - before that we see a collection of dysfunctional people trying to survive in that strange and fascinating town. In a way it's surprising that a film so critical of the movie industry would have been given such a big budget, which is evident in the atmospheric cinematography and the authentic recreations of the fashions, the architecture and the cars; story-wise it somehow manages not to be especially riveting (perhaps because it feels quite dreamlike, and the characters are unsympathetic), with only the major set-pieces perking the viewer up. Not a total success, but not a total failure.
Dir: John Schlesinger
Stars: Donald Sutherland, Karen Black, William Atherton, Burgess Meredith
THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS
1962
*
A meteor shower blinds most of the population, enabling giant plants to attack Earth.
Uneven but effective sci-fi in which the plants are scarier when partially hidden or shot in darkness.
Dir: Steve Sekely
Stars: Howard Keel, Nicole Maurey, Janette Scott, Kieron Moore
THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE
1961
**
Nuclear explosions cause the Earth to topple off its axis and hurtle towards the sun.
Mature, effective sci-fi, tautly made with an eye for realism, it doesn't succeed in everything it tries to do - for instance, the rat-a-tat American style dialogue is all well and good but comes to a halt when a non-actor (former newsman Arthur Christiansen in a major part) steps in, and the special effects illustrating the changing climate vary in quality - but it crackles with vibrant urgency and is different to any British film that had preceded it. With a less one-note lead and a tad less chat it would have been better still.
Dir: Val Guest
Stars: Edward Judd, Janet Munro, Leo McKern
THE DAY THE EARTH MOVED
1974 (TV)
0
A pair of aerial photographers predict that an earthquake is about to hit a small desert town, but nobody believes him.
Low budget TV movie with some modicum of competence.
Dir: Robert Michael Lewis
Stars: Jackie Cooper, Stella Stevens, Cleavon Little, Beverly Garland
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
1951
***
An alien lands on Earth to warn the human race that it must try to live in peace.
One of the finest sci-fi movies of the 1950s (and what a decade for sci-fi that was) retains its vitality decades later thanks to its atmospheric photography, palpable air of tension and its honest conviction in its message. A well-crafted film that has time for meaningful moments between ordinary people, emphasising its humanity.
Dir: Robert Wise
Stars: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe
THE DAY THE FISH CAME OUT
1967
*
A Greek island becomes the centre for international activity when a mysterious object is dropped there.
Weird stuff (comedy? sci-fi? odyssey?) with homosexual overtones, too long and too sluggish in story development to gain many fans, but at least a bit different. And not as tortuous as the director's previous film, Zorba The Greek.
Dir: Michael Cacoyannis
Stars: Tom Courtenay, Sam Wanamaker, Colin Blakely, Candice Bergen, Ian Ogilvy
DAY THE WORLD ENDED
1956
0
After a nuclear war, an unlikely group of people find themselves trapped in the middle of nowhere while battling an ugly mutant.
If you want to make a low budget movie, then an end of the world movie is ideal...
Dir: Roger Corman
Stars: Richard Denning, Lori Nelson, Mike Connors
THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED
2001
0
A school psychologist investigates the death of a student's mother and finds the boy believes he is the son of an alien.
Fifty per cent The Sixth Sense, fifty per cent creature feature, one hundred per cent miss-able.
Dir: Terence Gross
Stars: Nastassja Kinski, Randy Quaid, Bobby Edner
DAYS OF HEAVEN
1978
*
At the turn of the century, a farm labourer persuades his woman to marry a dying landowner for his money.
The story and the dialogue, which comes in fitful murmurs, take a back seat to the moody cinematography here, which is fine if you like elegiac pictures but not if you're in search of a complete cinematic experience.
Dir: Terrence Mallick
Stars: Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shephard
DAYS OF THRILLS AND LAUGHTER
1961
***
Compilation of silent film comedies and thrillers in which the material is variable but frequently inspired; in fact, these Youngson compilations are possibly the best way to enjoy silent movies.
Dir: Robert Youngson
Narrator: Jay Jackson. Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charles Chaplin, Harry Langdon, Ben Turpin, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Boris Karloff, Douglas Fairbanks, Harry Houdini, Charley Chase, Snub Pollard, Mack Sennett
DAYS OF THUNDER
1989
0
A hot-tempered driver enters the high-pressure world of Nascar racing.
Top Gun, only with boring car races; a very small fry.
Dir: Tony Scott
Stars: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid
DAY THE WORLD ENDED
1956
0
After a nuclear war, an unlikely group of people find themselves trapped in the middle of nowhere while battling an ugly mutant.
If you want to make a low budget movie, then an end of the world movie is ideal...
Dir: Roger Corman
Stars: Richard Denning, Lori Nelson, Mike Connors
THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED
2001
0
A school psychologist investigates the death of a student's mother and finds the boy believes he is the son of an alien.
Fifty per cent The Sixth Sense, fifty per cent creature feature, one hundred per cent miss-able.
Dir: Terence Gross
Stars: Nastassja Kinski, Randy Quaid, Bobby Edner
DAYS OF HEAVEN
1978
*
At the turn of the century, a farm labourer persuades his woman to marry a dying landowner for his money.
The story and the dialogue, which comes in fitful murmurs, take a back seat to the moody cinematography here, which is fine if you like elegiac pictures but not if you're in search of a complete cinematic experience.
Dir: Terrence Mallick
Stars: Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shephard
DAYS OF THRILLS AND LAUGHTER
1961
***
Compilation of silent film comedies and thrillers in which the material is variable but frequently inspired; in fact, these Youngson compilations are possibly the best way to enjoy silent movies.
Dir: Robert Youngson
Narrator: Jay Jackson. Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charles Chaplin, Harry Langdon, Ben Turpin, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Boris Karloff, Douglas Fairbanks, Harry Houdini, Charley Chase, Snub Pollard, Mack Sennett
DAYS OF THUNDER
1989
0
A hot-tempered driver enters the high-pressure world of Nascar racing.
Top Gun, only with boring car races; a very small fry.
Dir: Tony Scott
Stars: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid
DAYTIME REVOLUTION
2024
*
Documentary about the time in February 1972 when John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-hosted an American daytime TV chat show with Mike Douglas.
The minutiae that Beatles docs are getting into! This film may have limited appeal but it does what it does fairly well, even if its remit is quite minor. Of most interest to Beatles fans will be the times John talks about the group and his earlier life; aside from that we get a glimpse of early 1970s American political culture and television - Douglas is a good host and his easy-going programme (unwittingly?) explores non-cosy subjects with radical leftists like Jerry Rubin, Bobby Seale and Ralph Nader, plus Chuck Berry (great scenes), George Carlin (less so) and many others, including a macrobiotic chef. Lennon's charisma (and grace) is evident, Ono does some kooky stuff and there are a few welcome songs (like Attica State, Imagine and It's So Hard) from the main attraction; it's a necessary watch for some of us.
Dir: Erik Nelson
DAZED AND CONFUSED
1994
**
The adventures of students on the last day of school, in May of 1976.
Evocative coming-of-age drama, finely observed and perceptively scripted.
Dir: Richard Linklater
Stars: Jason London, Rory Cochrane, Matthew McConaughey, Milla Jovovich
DE PALMA
2015
**
Documentary featuring film director Brian De Palma talking about the films he has made over the last 50 years, including Carrie, Dressed To Kill, Casualties Of War and Snake Eyes (all qv).
Valuable insight into the talented if erratic filmmaker's mind, edited down from 30 hours of footage. While we don't glean too much about the man himself we get some juicy anecdotes and learn a lot about his techniques, some of which have made for superlative cinema - and that makes us want to go and watch many of these films again.
Dir: Noah Baumbach, Jake Paltrow
THE DEAD
1988
*
A family gathers for Christmas dinner, and their meeting brings up emotional reminiscences.
Lengthened version of Joyce's short story with more humour, but still not a film for broad commercial consumption.
Dir: John Huston
Stars: Anjelica Huston, Dan O'Herlihy, Donal McCann
DEAD AGAIN
1991
*
A Los Angeles private detective investigates a woman with amnesia who has visions of murder.
Light thriller with humour, not a complete success but generally agreeable.
Dir: Kenneth Branagh
Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Andy Garcia, Emma Thompson, Robin Williams
DEAD & BURIED
1981
*
A sheriff investigates when the dead appear to be coming back to his life in his town.
Muddled and uneven it may be, but this small scale horror conjures up a creepy atmosphere and delivers a few effective shocks, including the final twist.
Dir: Gary Sherman
Stars: James Farentino, Melody Anderson, Jack Albertson, Dennis Redfield, Robert Englund
DEAD CALM
1989
*
A couple sailing in the Pacific come across a ship with one survivor - but he is not all he seems.
Despite some tense sequences this has a feeling of predictability and 'we-have-been-here-before'.
Dir: Phillip Noyce
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill, Billy Zane
DEAD CERT
2010
0
London gangsters run into problems with Romanian vampires when they open a lapdancing club on sacred ground.
Cheap hybrid of gangsters and horror that never really goes anywhere or cuts loose; the director’s mediocrity shines through, although he has enlisted a half-decent cast.
Dir: Steven Lawson
Stars: Craig Fairbrass, Dexter Fletcher, Steven Berkoff, Billy Murray, Lisa McAllister, Jason Flemyng
THE DEAD DON’T DIE
1974 (TV)
*
In the 1930s, a sailor trying to prove that his brother was wrongly executed for murder is drawn into the world of the occult.
Lively horror which takes many unexpected turns.
Dir: Curtis Harrington
Stars: George Hamilton, Ray Milland, Ralph Meeker, Reggie Nalder
DEAD END
1937
*
A rich and poor neighbourhood co-exist uneasily alongside one another.
Boisterous, flawed adaptation of a play about the gap between rich and poor, its first half is unstimulating and irritating, as kids you'd happily see in jail prance about the 'stage', but later on it draws its other plot strands together in a more cinematic fashion, and feels less uneven drama-wise.
Dir: William Wyler
Stars: Sylvia Sidney, Joel McCrea, Humphrey Bogart, Wendy Barrie
DEAD END
2003
*
A father driving his family to a relative's decides to take a short cut, which turns out to be a ghastly mistake.
Like a revved-up version of 1973's Voices (qv), but more successful; a winning combination of frights and laughs, tightly handled.
Dir: Jean-Baptiste Andrea, Fabrice Canepa
Stars: Ray Wise, Lin Shaye, Amber Smith
DEAD HEAT
1988
*
When a cop is killed he comes back as a zombie and attempts to avenge his death.
Movies don't come much more 'eighties-ish' than this one, or more cheesy, but it's quite a good-natured slice of trash with a few memorable sequences, most notably when the dead animals come back to life in the Chinese restaurant. Most of the actors just look like cheap 'n' crummy versions of proper actors, but at least we get Price, in one of his last roles.
Dir: Mark Goldblatt
Stars: Treat Williams, Joe Piscopo, Lindsay Frost, Darren McGavin, Vincent Price
DEAD LUCKY
1987 (TV)
0
When a man wins big on the football pools, he decides to give half of it away to deserving causes.
Inconceivable, half-baked thriller, full of holes.
Dir: Barbara Rennie
Stars: Nicholas Farrell, Phil Davis, Harriet Bagnall
DEAD MAN
1995
0
In the Old West, an accountant turns into a killer.
Pretentious and puzzling drama with unpleasant moments of extreme violence, it often bores, especially after Depp goes on the run. Slow and strange, it suffers from a lazy, intrusive musical score by Neil Young, which Roger Ebert astutely said was like a guitar being dropped on the floor.
Dir: Jim Jarmusch
Stars: Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Lance Henriksen, Robert Mitchum
DEAD MAN'S CHEST
1965
*
A prank goes wrong and appears to end in murder.
The very last of the Edgar Wallace Mystery second features (all qv), films that showcased British filmmaking efficiency and sometimes delivered a better experience than the main feature, while never being able to provide the textures and moral complexities of, say, Hitchcock. This isn't a bad way to go out, and is somewhat unusual, with some unusual personalities, but never quite builds up a head of steam - perhaps some odd behaviour from various characters blunts it.
Dir: Patrick Dromgoole
Stars: John Thaw, Ann Firbank, John Meillon
DEAD MAN'S EYES
1944
*
After an artist is blinded an old man offers his eyes to him if he dies; he is then killed, and the artist is suspected.
Third in the Inner Sanctum series, possibly one of the better ones, with an agreeably ludicrous plot that as usual follows Chaney's anguished character as he suffers all sorts of trials and tribulations. Actress Acquanetta is rubbish and at least one scene with a 'blind' Chaney doesn't make sense, but all are committed to making the most of a moderate budget. Top tip: do not store two identical bottles next to one another on a shelf when one of them contains eyewash and the other acid.
Dir: Reginald Le Borg
Stars: Lon Chaney Jr, Jean Parker, Paul Kelly, Thomas Gomez
DEAD MAN'S SHOES
2004
***
A soldier takes bloody revenge on the thugs who terrorised his retarded brother.
A heady mix of grim horror, jet black comedy and urban realism, this art house thriller won't be for everyone - some of the heavily accented speech is tough to understand and elements of the story are disturbing to watch - but it remains compelling, powered by Considine's magnetic lead performance; it's a shame that some of the other performances are semi-professional, and that some dialogue appears to be heavily improvised. Still, a distinct and bracing film.
Dir: Shane Meadows
Stars: Paddy Considine, Gary Stretch, Toby Kebbell, Stuart Wolfenden
DEAD MEN DON’T WEAR PLAID
1982
*
A private eye investigates the death of a prominent cheese scientist.
Adroit comedy that mixes Martin in with old movie stars to mainly amusing effect.
Dir: Carl Reiner
Stars: Steve Martin, Rachel Ward. Archive footage: Alan Ladd, Barbara Stanwyck, Ray Milland, Ava Gardner, Burt Lancaster, Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Bette Davis
DEAD MEN WALK
1943
0
The evil twin of a physician returns from the grave to plague his brother.
Poverty Row horror (shot in under a week) with a weird take on vampirism, making for something a tad different. Small-fry stuff which should be watched, if at all, on double-speed on YouTube for a better experience.
Dir: Sam Newfield
Stars: George Zucco, Mary Carlisle, Nedrick Young, Dwight Frye
DEAD OF NIGHT
1945
***
An architect is caught in a recurring nightmare of scary tales: Hearse Driver, Christmas Party, The Haunted Mirror, Golfing Story and The Ventriloquist's Dummy.
Splendid horror anthology with varied and easily digestible stories, the most effective of which involves the malevolent ventriloquist’s dummy (the second best is possibly Hearse Driver), although the circular climax is particularly effective too. Golfing Story is perhaps the weakest, but it allows for a pause for breath before the magnificent final instalment, which has not lost its power.
Dir: Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer
Stars: Mervyn Johns, Michael Redgrave, Roland Culver, Googie Withers, Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne
DEAD OF NIGHT
1974
*
A soldier killed in Vietnam somehow returns home, but is a little strange.
Effectively spooky horror story, a sort of anti-war ‘Monkey’s Paw’ that has many fans; there’s not really that much meat on its bones but there is some memorable imagery and a suitably blank performance by Backus as the taciturn zombie.
Dir: Bob Clark
Stars: John Marley, Lynn Carlin, Richard Backus
DEAD OF NIGHT
1977 (TV)
*
Three spooky tales: Second Chance, No Such Thing As A Vampire and Bobby.
None of the stories are particularly earth-shattering but nor are they complete write-offs: the first is like My First Back To The Future, the second has little atmosphere but a canny twist and the third offers up some decent scares in a prototypical horror scenario.
Dir: Dan Curtis
Stars: Ed Begley Jr, Patrick Macnee, Horst Buchholz, Joan Hackett, Lee Montgomery
DEAD OF WINTER
1987
**
An actress is lured to a remote mansion for a screen-test, but soon discovers she is actually a prisoner in the middle of a blackmail plot.
Stylish suspenser made by people who understand the genre.
Dir: Arthur Penn
Stars: Mary Steenburgen, Roddy McDowall, Jan Rubes
DEAD POETS SOCIETY
1989
**
An inspiring teacher changes the life of two of his students.
Acclaimed drama which will move the non-cynical.
Dir: Peter Weir
Stars: Robin Williams, Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard
THE DEAD POOL
1989
0
Harry Callahan discovers a secret contest to murder local celebrities, which includes himself as a target.
Fifth and last in the Dirty Harry series goes over familiar ground, but with less verve and slightly shaky morals.
Dir: Buddy Van Horn
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Liam Neeson, Patricia Clarkson, Jim Carrey
DEAD RINGERS
1988
*
A gynaecologist with a twin brother seduces women then when he tires of them, passes them on to his brother.
Cold, unconventional drama with disturbing detail, a personal but not inaccessible film from the director.
Dir: David Cronenberg
Stars: Jeremy Irons, Genevieve Bujold, Barbara Gordon
DEAD WOOD
2007
0
Four people camping in the woods meet a mysterious Asian woman and things start going wrong.
Very much like a film school effort, this supernatural horror is just too ambling and aimless to stir the emotions, with the actors unable to add any oompf to the illogical and leisurely script.
Dir: David Bryant, Sebastian Smith, Richard Stiles
Stars: Emily Juniper, Fergus March, John Samuel Worsey
THE DEAD ZONE
1983
**
The survivor of a road accident discovers he has psychic powers.
Compelling thriller which benefits from a strong cast and dexterous direction.
Dir: David Cronenberg
Stars: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, Martin Sheen
DEADLIER THAN THE MALE
1967
0
Agent Bulldog Drummond pursues a master criminal who uses beautiful women to do his nasty deeds.
The pulp action hero first seen in 1920 turned into a James Bond type superhero - okay in spots, and the giant chess death match is inventive.
Dir: Ralph Thomas
Stars: Richard Johnson, Elke Sommer, Nigel Green, Suzanna Leigh, Laurence Naismith, Leonard Rossiter
Sequel: Some Girls Do (qv)
THE DEADLY BEES
1966
0
A pop star holidaying on a farm comes to realise that it is breeding killer bees.
The first in the bee picture genre! But a movie of entirely routine plot development.
Dir: Freddie Francis
Stars: Suzanna Leigh, Guy Doleman, Frank Finlay, Michael Ripper
DEADLY BLESSING
1981
0
A widow is terrorised by members of an Amish-like community who believe she is 'the incubus'.
Confusing and boring horror enlivened by the odd well-engineered shock.
Dir: Wes Craven
Stars: Ernest Borgnine, Maren Jesnsen, Sharon Stone, Jeff East
THE DEADLY DREAM
1971 (TV)
*
A man has recurring dreams about being marked for murder.
Intriguing thriller which makes the most of its incredulous premise.
Dir: Alf Kjellin
Stars: Lloyd Bridges, Janet Leigh, Don Stroud
THE DEADLY FEMALES
1976
0
A group of women go around killing people they feel deserve it.
More Winter madness that’s a remarkable watch in many ways, none of them anything to do with decent cinema – there is absolutely zero technique on show here, as the director presents one long, uncut verbose scene after another, with barely a dose of drama or suspense evident. Often it’s difficult to guess who the people on screen are. Its period charms and its oddness are its appeal, including its pretentious inserts of newspaper front pages, presumably meant to convey civilisation’s descent into savagery.
Dir: Donovan Winter
Stars: Tracy Reed, Bernard Holley, Heather Chasen, Rula Lenska
DEADLY FRIEND
1987
0
After his friend is killed, a boy scientist implants robot microchips into her brain to save her.
Ridiculous and laughable horror, a kind of bizarre sewing together of Short Circuit and Frankenstein.
Dir: Wes Craven
Stars: Kristy Swanson, Matthew Laborteaux, Michael Sharrett
DEADLY INSTINCTS
1997
0
A female alien lands on Earth near an all-girl campus in Boston.
Not a film which does much to get you to think, this low budgeter's monster is marginally more convincing than its apparent American setting (it was shot in the Isle of Man), though it later gets bogged down underground, which could be anywhere. It needs to be tighter - and trashier, probably - to work.
Dir: Paul Matthews
Stars: Todd Jensen, Samantha Janus, Oliver Tobias, Kadamba Simmons
DEADLY RUN
1982
0
A private eye tracks a beautiful woman who robs and kills rich men.
Absurd, sketchy thriller with anachronisms like the girl never noticing she’s been followed or the fact that she never alerts the authorities.
Dir: Claude Miller
Stars: Michel Serrault, Isabelle Adjani, Guy Marchand
THE DEADLY SPAWN
1983
0
Slimy alien creatures fall to Earth and attack New Jersey residents.
A horror flick a man shot in his house after getting funding from pals, hence production values that make porno flicks look lavish, ropey sound recording and a simplistic - and quite slow - plot. But it's gained something of a cult following thanks to its genre-drunk pluckiness, with plenty of audacious, gory sequences that smack of confidence but not overconfidence. The monsters do work and the spirit is willing.
Dir: Douglas McKeown
Stars: Charles George Hildebrandt, Tom DeFranco, Richard Lee Porter
DEADLY STRANGERS
1974
*
A girl takes a ride from a strange young man while there is a maniac on the loose.
Overstretched, incredulous thriller with as many plot holes as red herrings, it's cannily shot on the roads of wintry 1974 England, but has one basic fault: if you know there's a twist coming (and you should suspect there is one) you will undoubtedly guess it.
Dir: Sidney Hayers
Stars: Hayley Mills, Simon Ward, Sterling Hayden, Peter Jeffrey
DEADPOOL
2016
**
A mercenary diagnosed with cancer tries a rogue experiment that gives him super-healing powers; he puts on an outfit and calls himself Deadpool.
Amusing, subversive superhero movie in which the obnoxious Reynolds is perfectly cast as the profane, wise-cracking lead character who frequently breaks the fourth wall to spirited effect. Actionful, glib, meta, scabrous and snappy, it's one of the fresher offerings of its genre and has appeal to both teenage boys and sci-fi-immersed nerds.
Dir: Tim Miller
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, TJ Miller, Brianna Hildebrand
DEADPOOL 2
2018
***
Deadpool tries to stop villainous time traveller Cable from killing Firefist, a mutant Cable knows will cause disaster.
An even better movie than its predecessor, this further labour of love for Reynolds squeezes an extraordinary amount of erudite comic book and pop culture references in, and most of them are funny (check out IMDb's Trivia section on the film); its bigger budget also affords some blinding action sequences and a larger roster of superpowered beings: Juggernaut is a particular boon. It dabbles with excess constantly, but surely this confident and caffeinated film is the way to do superhero flicks (for adults, anyway).
Dir: David Leitch
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Zazie Beetz
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
2024
*
Deadpool recruits a variant of Wolverine to save his universe from extinction.
Some will love this film, some will hate it - each opinion is valid. Mega Marvel fans will enjoy its meta-on-steroids approach, while the rest of us might think it deeply glib and facetious, while also falling back on the lazy multiverse idea, which means that nothing really matters: nothing matters either because many characters can't die or be injured, rendering much of its action redundant. It's also way too long and the potty-mouthed chat gets tiresome, Wolverine's particularly, and there's something unpleasing about the way it delights in getting other superheroes to swear too. Despite all of its faults and its insincere feel, there is nevertheless a lot of snappy dialogue, especially from Deadpool, and the action is technically excellent, albeit nasty.
Dir: Shawn Levy
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Matthew Macfadyen
DEADTIME STORIES
1985 (V)
0
A babysitting uncle tells his charges three horror stories: The Curse, Man's Best Friend and True Believer.
A trio of terrible and unsympathetic tales from television show The Hitchhiker, packaged together for video release in Britain (see also Scream Show; for the Jeffrey Delman film, see Freaky Fairy Tales).
Dir: Phillip Noyce, Carl Schenkel
Stars: Harry Hamlin, Jennifer Cooke, Tom Skerritt
DEALERS
1988
0
A young stockbroker fights corruption in the market and in his firm.
Wall Street with lip gloss; it hilariously sensationalises its dry subject.
Dir: Colin Bucksey
Stars: Paul McGann, Rebecca De Mornay, Derrick O'Connor
DEAR GOD NO!
2011
0
A gang of murderous bikers meet their match in a Bigfoot creature.
A film with something to offend everybody, this cancerous lump of celluloid tries to be a modern-day grindhouse picture but as it's even more appallingly made and acted than most Seventies efforts it can be safely ignored. Some scenes presumably gave the BBFC a headache.
Dir: James Bickert
Stars: Jett Bryant, Madeline Brumby, Paul McComiskey
DEAR MARGERY BOOBS
1977
0
A pervert writes to a sex columnist.
Weak cartoon which doesn't go anywhere.
Dir: Bob Godfrey
DEATH AND THE MAIDEN
1995
*
A woman is convinced that her guest is a man who once tortured her for the government.
Polanski doing what used to be his forté, this is a slightly disappointing confined psychological thriller - there isn’t really enough plot.
Dir: Roman Polanski
Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, Stuart Wilson
DEATH AT BROADCASTING HOUSE
1934
0
An actor is murdered live on air during a production of a radio play.
As a whodunit this doesn't really succeed because it's impossible to guess who the killer is, and all the suspects are pretty vaguely sketched in anyway, but as a historical artifact it has some value, giving as it does an insight into the early days of radio where dancing girls performed in full costume and the presenters all wore evening dress.
Dir: Reginald Denham
Stars: Ian Hunter, Austin Trevor, Mary Newland, Jack Hawkins, Donald Wolfit
DEATH AT LOVE HOUSE
1976 (TV)
0
A husband becomes obsessed by a long-dead film star.
Chiller above average by small-screen standards.
Dir: E W Swackhamer
Stars: Robert Wagner, Kate Jackson, John Carradine, Dorothy Lamour, Joan Blondell
DEATH CRUISE
1974 (TV)
0
Couples on a luxury liner are being picked off by a killer.
Routine suspenser which livens up towards the end.
Dir: Ralph Senensky
Stars: Edward Albert, Kate Jackson, Richard Long
DEATH IN VENICE
1971
**
In 1911, a composer stays in at a Venice hotel to find some peace but becomes strangely attracted to a boy also staying there.
A picture to spark partisan feelings, a dialogue-lite meditation on the hopeless quest for perfection which looks and sounds gorgeous but is dramatically lacking, no matter what the director's supporters might claim. It is, however, oddly hypnotic for those in the right mood.
Dir: Luchino Visconti
Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Bjorn Andresen
THE DEATH KISS
1932
*
An actor is murdered on set in front of the rolling camera.
Not-too-bad thriller quickie that’s raised above average by its unusual framing structure, some ambitious roving camerawork and a few imaginative splashes of colour; the script is also fairly brisk, although it gets a little confusing as it develops, and the cast is decent too.
Dir: Edwin L Marin
Stars: David Manners, Adrienne Ames, Bela Lugosi, John Wray
DEATH LINE
1972
*
Passengers on the London Underground are abducted by a man who lives in the tunnels.
One of the more interesting British horror films of its era, unusually structured - we get long scenes of wordless activity in the tunnels as the camera prowls through the scenes of decay and dismemberment (with a blinking 'corpse' at one point) and then long scenes of dialogue with the police (which slightly resemble similar scenes in Hitchcock's Frenzy), all coated with a deliciously brown and sleazy Seventies-ness. Surprisingly violent and bleak, it's not a complete success as a movie but holds charms for those who like the unusual along with the Tube in days gone by (it was shot at Aldwych, not Russell Square, which explains the incorrect 'To District Line' signs).
Dir: Gary Sherman
Stars: Donald Pleasence, Norman Rossington, David Ladd, Sharon Gurney, Christopher Lee
DEATH OF A SALESMAN
1985 (TV)
*
An aging travelling salesman recognises that his life is empty.
Just like sitting in the theatre watching it, this 'American classic' is sometimes a slog but the performances are strong and the message resonant.
Dir: Volker Schlondorff
Stars: Dustin Hoffman, John Malkovich, Kate Reid
DEATH OF AN ANGEL
1951
0
In a country village, a doctor's wife is murdered and he is the main suspect.
This relatively early Hammer production is a flavourless murder mystery.
Dir: Charles Saunders
Stars: Patrick Barr, Jane Baxter, Katie Johnson
THE DEATH OF THE INCREDIBLE HULK
1990 (TV)
0
David Banner takes part in experiments designed to destroy the Hulk.
The title is a giveaway, though it fails to say the film is also a trite spy story.
Dir: Bill Bixby
Stars: Bill Bixby, Lou Ferrigno, Elizabeth Gracen
DEATH ON THE NILE
1978
**
Hercule Poirot investigates the murder of a rich heiress on a Nile steamer.
Enjoyable mystery which makes good use of exotic locations and its starry cast.
Dir: John Guillermin
Stars: Peter Ustinov, Jane Birkin, Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, Jon Finch, Olivia Hussey, George Kennedy, Angela Lansbury, Simon MacCorkindale, David Niven, Maggie Smith
DEATH RACE 2000
1975
**
In the near future, a brutal cross-country car race sees the entrants get points for running pedestrians down.
Vintage Corman cheapie, his ultimate mix of low budget sex and violence.
Dir: Paul Bartel
Stars: David Carradine, Sylvester Stallone, Simone Griffeth
DEATH SHIP
1980
0
Survivors of a shipwreck clamber aboard a mysterious black ship which proceeds to slaughter them one by one.
Dull horror which takes all kinds of silly twists and turns.
Dir: Alvin Rakoff
Stars: George Kennedy, Richard Crenna, Sally Ann Howes
DEATH SHOCK
1981 (V)
0
When their car breaks down, a group of friends take refuge in an old house where black magic is being practised.
Just a blue movie marketed as a horror, and quite possibly the worst film in this entire catalogue.
Dir: Steve Perry, Frank Thring
Stars: Linzi Drew, Frank Thring
DEATH TRAP
1962
0
A woman is sceptical when her sister's cause of death is given as suicide.
Knotty Edgar Wallace Mystery with so much packed into its hour you can hardly breathe. Barbara Windsor has a small part, first appearing in the shower - although you can see she's actually wearing something.
Dir: John Moxey
Stars: Albert Lieven, Barbara Shelley, John Meillon, Kenneth Cope
DEATH TRAP
1976
0
The insane owner of a hotel in the swamps kills those he dislikes and feeds them to his pet crocodile.
Noisy, utterly predictable horror, an incompetent juxtaposition of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho.
Dir: Tobe Hooper
Stars: Neville Brand, Mel Ferrer, Robert Englund
DEATH VALLEY
1982
0
A family come face to face with a serial killer in California's Death Valley.
Routine shocker with the title location not utilised fully.
Dir: Dick Richards
Stars: Paul Le Mat, Catherine Hicks, Wilford Brimley
DEATH WARMED UP
1984
0
A man who as a child was hypnotised to kill his parents goes after the scientist who experimented on him.
Gory horror with flashes of style but an uncompelling whole.
Dir: David Blyth
Stars: Michael Hurst, Margaret Umbers
DEATH WEEKEND
1976
0
A dentist and his latest female visitor are targeted by thugs.
One of many Seventies films in which a gang of scumbags terrorise the middle class, this is not an entertaining watch in the least, but how could it be? It stretches a simple idea very, very far.
Dir: William Fruet
Stars: Brenda Vaccaro, Don Stroud, Chuck Shamata
DEATH WISH
1974
**
After his wife is killed by street thugs, an architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad.
Talk about a theme that struck a chord with many city dwellers. Which is why this became one of Winner's biggest hits (and led to four sequels and a remake) - it's certainly not a great film, poorly paced, flabby and thinly characterised, but it does have a primevally appealing story which lends itself to some charged action scenes. Bronson's face remains just as immobile in every one of them.
Dir: Michael Winner
Stars: Charles Bronson, Hope Lange, Vincent Gardenia, Steven Keats
DEATH WISH 2
1981
*
Paul Kersey punishes the thugs who murdered his daughter and housekeeper.
More fun and games with everyone's favourite vigilante (who, not withstanding his bloodthirsty quest for vengeance here, appears to be reasonably carefree), this ups the violence and sleaze to dizzy levels, resulting in a movie that is delightfully trashy. Yes it's artless, with sledgehammer script and direction, but it's tempting to praise it because so many po-faced critics pick on it. Best line: 'Where the hell were you guys? Giving out parking tickets?'
Dir: Michael Winner
Stars: Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Vincent Gardenia, Anthony Franciosa
DEATH WISH 3
1986
*
A crooked policeman recruits Kersey to battle a gang of criminals terrorising a neighbourhood.
Ever more violent sequel particularly aimed at delinquents.
Dir: Michael Winner
Stars: Charles Bronson, Deborah Raffin, Martin Balsam
THE DEATHS OF IAN STONE
2007
0
A man appears to be gruesomely murdered each day.
Supernatural thriller of a little promise that descends into a morass of piffle.
Dir: Dario Piana
Stars: Mike Vogel, Jaime Murray, Christina Cole
DEATHSPORT
1978
0
Different tribes get caught up in a deadly futuristic sport.
Terrible SF adventure in which each element – direction, scripting, photography, acting – attempt to outdo each other for awfulness. It tries a little bit of Mad Max, a little bit of Star Wars, all on a budget, with exploitation elements thrown in, and the result will turn off all but the most drunk drive-in customer.
Dir: Allan Arkush, Nicholas Niciphor
Stars: David Carradine, Claudia Jennings, Richard Lynch
DEATHSTALKER
1983
0
A warrior seeks the three powers of creation.
Frisky sword and sorcery number which a better director might have made more of, it somehow spawned several sequels.
Dir: James Sbardellati
Stars: Rick Hill, Barbi Benton, Richard Brooker
DEATHSTALKER II
1987 (V)
0
Deathstalker helps a princess battle her enemies.
Sword and sorcery comedy laid on with a shovel; acting negligible.
Dir: Jim Wynorski
Stars: John Terlesky, Monique Gabrielle, John Lazar
DEATHSTALKER III
1990
0
Deathstalker is pitted against an evil wizard.
One of the last gasps of a briefly busy genre, this effort was unlikely to bring a revival about.
Dir: Alfonso Corona
Stars: John Allen Nelson, Carla Herd, Terri Treas
DEATHTRAP
1982
*
A playwright plots a murder.
Clever if not totally convincing thriller, a little shabby looking, adapted from a long-running Broadway play.
Dir: Sidney Lumet
Stars: Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve, Dyan Cannon, Irene Worth
LOS DEBUTANTES
2004
*
Two brothers get involved with a stripper and her unpredictable boss.
If this Tarantino wannabe thriller had been snappier it could have been a minor classic, but it goes on for way too long before the dramatic conclusion, and cool status is reduced by the sartorial look of the gents involved - that of C&A in the 1970s.
Dir: Andres Waissbluth
Stars: Antonella Rios, Nestor Cantillana, Juan Pablo Miranda
DECEIVED
1992
0
A woman discovers unwelcome facts about her dead husband.
Thriller which sticks to the beaten track, failing to create anything more than perfunctory thrills.
Dir: Damian Harris
Stars: Goldie Hawn, John Heard, Damon Redfern
DECISION BEFORE DAWN
1951
*
The US Army recruits German spies to go behind Nazi lines.
Very well made wartime suspenser with particularly impressive location shooting - but somehow never quite riveting or deeply involving.
Dir: Anatole Litvak
Stars: Oskar Werner, Richard Basehart, Gary Merrill, Hildegard Knef
DECONSTRUCTING HARRY
1997
**
A novelist struggles with writer's block and the problems he causes for his family and friends.
Darker, more profane territory for Woody in which he examines the meaning of reality and the value of art through a series of ripe vignettes of good variety; it's hard to take him as the nasty type but this is another rewarding film in his admirable canon. The way it's done makes it fresh and vital, from the fantasy sequences to the irregular structure to the jump cuts to the numerous contributions from the outstanding cast; it also has some of Allen's most honest, near-the-knuckle assessments of himself.
Dir: Woody Allen
Stars: Woody Allen, Kirstie Alley, Billy Crystal, Judy Davis, Bob Balaban, Elisabeth Shue, Demi Moore, Robin Williams, Mariel Hemingway, Amy Irving, Julie Kavner, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobey Maguire, Richard Benjamin
THE DEEP
1977
0
A couple discover a wreck in the waters of Bermuda but run into unscrupulous treasure hunters.
Violence mixed with many, many underwater scenes (sometimes the two mix) in a film that outstays its welcome - but it has a big welcome, with Bisset's famous wet t-shirt scenes. It could only be downhill from there, and it is, as little that stirs occurs.
Dir: Peter Yates
Stars: Nick Nolte, Jacqueline Bisset, Robert Shaw, Louis Gossett Jr, Eli Wallach
DEEP BLUE SEA
1999
*
A group of scientists on an isolated research facility become the bait as intelligent sharks fight back against being experimented on.
Mindlessly enjoyable shocker that moves at a fair pace, like the sharks.
Dir: Renny Harlin
Stars: LL Cool J, Samuel L Jackson, Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows
DEEP END
1970
**
A 15-year-old working at a swimming baths develops a thing for an older female co-worker.
One of the most original films to come out of Britain in the 1970s, this genuinely strange, twisted drama builds into a dark tale of obsession, with all sorts of audacious scenes that must have come from the mind of an imaginative and daring filmmaker (and one who was mates with Polanski). By the end it all sagaciously coheres and the viewer is satiated though unlikely to quickly forget its cold clamminess, sordidness and naturalistic performances.
Dir: Jerzy Skolimowski
Stars: John Moulder-Brown, Jane Asher, Diana Dors, Christopher Sandford, Burt Kwouk
DEEP RED
1975
*
A musician witnesses the murder of a famous psychic, and then teams up with a reporter to find the killer.
Confusing thriller with an overload of trickery and symbolism, executed in campy style.
Dir: Dario Argento
Stars: David Hemmings, Daria Nicolodi, Gabriele Lavia
DEEP RIVER SAVAGES
1972
0
A photographer in a rain forest falls captive to the primitive people who live there.
A 'video nasty' that the DPP tried and failed to secure a prosecution on, hence handing it instant notoriety. As usual with these 'hardcore horrors' it ends up being pretty tedious.
Dir: Umberto Lenzi
Stars: Ivan Rassimov, Me Me Lai, Ong Ard
DEEP SEA
2006
***
Documentary looking at life in the sea.
Brilliantly shot short which demands to be seen in 3D at Imax theatres, where its otherworldliness can be appreciated in full.
Dir: Howard Hall
Narrators: Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet
THE DEER HUNTER
1978
***
Three young factory workers from Pennsylvania go to fight in Vietnam.
Powerful study of the awfulness of war, this movie, pretty much the first about Vietnam, is a curious beast: absurdly overlong, much of it is simply boring - a good deal of the wedding, for instance - but what it does do is really get under the skin of the small community it portrays, while the Russian roulette sequences are unbearably tense and disturbing. Its imagery is often remarkable, and it also has that theme tune, elements which helped it win Best Picture and allowed the director to become even more indulgent on his next picture.
Dir: Michael Cimino
Stars: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, John Cazale, John Savage
THE DEFIANT ONES
1958
**
Two escaped convicts chained together, one black, one white, struggle to get along.
Solid thriller with moralising, well shot and acted; important for its time and certainly better than the film that won Best Picture that year, Gigi.
Dir: Stanley Kramer
Stars: Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, Theodore Bikel, Charles McGraw, Lon Chaney Jr
DELIRIUM
1979
0
An ex-soldier hired to catch wrongdoers goes crazy and starts killing people.
A dingy and plodding film that’s a strange mix of horror and thriller; it’s further handicapped by ropey flashback ‘war’ footage and the use of the theme from the BBC’s Mastermind.
Dir: Peter Maris
Stars: Turk Cekovsky, Debi Shanley, Terry Ten Brock
DELIRIUM
1987
0
The publisher of a girlie magazine finds all her models are being murdered.
Silly giallo that doesn’t quite work despite some juicy ingredients, including a couple of imaginative kills.
Dir: Lamberto Bava
Stars: Serena Grandi, Daria Nicolodi, George Eastman, Sabrina Salerno
DELICATESSEN
1992
**
The landlord of an apartment building creates cannibalistic meals for his odd tenants.
Highly original whimsy brimming with imagination, presented with maximum style.
Dir: Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Stars: Dominique Pinon, Marie-Laure Dougnac, Jean-Claude Dreyfus
THE DELINQUENTS
1989
0
In small-town 1950s Australia, a boy and a girl fall in love much to the disapproval of their parents.
Contrived, old fashioned weepy which may be liked by those in the mood.
Dir: Chris Thomson
Stars: Kylie Minogue, Charlie Schlatter, Rosemary Harris
DELIVERANCE
1972
***
A group of friends go on an ill-fated river-rafting journey.
Engaging thriller about unwanted city folk, a theme Boorman returned to in The Emerald Forest.
Dir: John Boorman
Stars: Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox
DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE
1992
**
A cemetery worker constantly has to deal with the dead returning to life.
Essentially a triumph of style over content: this bizarre and highly original zombie film is visually imaginative – the camera is put in everything from a burnt out TV to a decapitated head – but erratic script-wise, reaching the two thirds mark and having little idea how to progress the story (or what story to progress). It gets all too silly and lasts far too long, although its ambition can’t be faulted.
Dir: Michele Soavi
Stars: Rupert Everett, Anna Falchi, Fabiana Formica
DEMENTED
1980
0
A woman is left in a precarious mental state after a gang-rape.
Grotty low-budget thriller which mostly consists of the female lead wailing in her excruciating tones while the action takes place in a beer light; limited, to say the least.
Dir: Arthur Jeffreys
Stars: Sallee Young, Harry Reems, Deborah Alter
DEMENTIA 13
1963
0
A family gather at a remote Irish castle but one of their number is an axe murderer.
Patchy horror whodunit which offers some evidence of the director's raw talent, largely visually rather than what he does (or doesn't do) with the shaky script. Magee's presence lends it extra gravitas.
Dir: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: William Campbell, Luana Anders, Patrick Magee
DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS
1954
*
A Greek slave is sentenced to be one of Caligula's gladiators.
Decent sequel to The Robe with slightly more emphasis on the hero's sexual temptations.
Dir: Delmer Daves
Stars: Victor Mature, Susan Hayward, Michael Rennie, Anne Bancroft, Ernest Borgnine
THE DEMON
1981
0
A cop with ESP tries to track down a woman killer.
Woebegone horror, hopeless in every way imaginable, impossible to watch without doing something else at the same time.
Dir: Percival Rubens
Stars: Jennifer Holmes, Cameron Mitchell, Craig Gardner
DEMON SEED
1977
0
A scientist's powerful computer rapes his wife.
Chilly sci-fi that over-extends itself.
Dir: Donald Cammell
Stars: Julie Christie, Fritz Weaver
DEMONIACS
1974
0
A group of sailors are haunted by two women whom they have attacked and abused.
Unusual horror with the air of a dream, but like a dream it doesn't go anywhere and ambles after a while. There are some striking images though, not least those involving nudity.
Dir: Jean Rollin
Stars: Joelle Coeur, John Rico, Lieva Lone, Patricia Hermenier
THE DEMONS
1972
0
A witch is burned at the stake and swears her daughters will seek revenge for her death.
The director demonstrates his usual inability to construct a proper narrative here, and the result is a horror that’s deeply uninteresting from scene to scene, even those with sex and torture in them. At least those who catch the heavily cut versions have less to endure.
Dir: Jess Franco
Stars: Anne Libert, Britt Nichols, Doris Thomas, Howard Vernon
DEMONS
1986
0
A group of people are locked in a theatre with ravenous demons for company.
Claustrophobic and unpleasant horror mainly set in the dark.
Dir: Lamberto Bava
Stars: Urbano Barberini, Natasha Hovey
DEMONS OF THE MIND
1971
*
A baron keeps his teenage children locked up for fear that they are insane.
An attempt by Hammer to do something a little different, this gloomy, almost completely humourless tale, is rather like some of the stuff the revived company put out in the 21st century. It doesn't fully realise its ambitions, but the ambition is there: a quality cast does what it can with choppy, sometimes confusing material; as close as to an arty film that the studio produced, it was not surprising that it failed to find much of an audience. The company should have noted that the most entertaining bits of it are those with sex and violence.
Dir: Peter Sykes
Stars: Robert Hardy, Shane Briant, Gillian Hills, Patrick Magee, Yvonne Mitchell, Paul Jones, Michael Hordern
DENIAL
2016
***
Holocaust denier David Irving takes Penguin Books to court for calling him a liar.
Gripping account of an important legal event, not especially cinematic but an absorbing watch because of the case (which it quotes from verbatim) and the wider issues surrounding it. Well-performed and staged, it inevitably sends the viewer straight to the internet to check out the real-life facts.
Dir: Mick Jackson
Stars: Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Spall, Andrew Scott
THE DENTIST
1996
*
When his wife is unfaithful, a demented dentist takes it out on his patients.
A horror film just waiting to have been made, this is a fair effort, with some nasty fun to be had in the unfortunate mouths and elsewhere. But the ultimate dentist shocker perhaps still has to arrive.
Dir: Brian Yuzna
Stars: Corbin Bernsen, Linda Hoffman, Michael Stadvec, Ken Foree
DENTIST IN THE CHAIR
1960
0
A burglar accidentally steals dentist equipment and tries to sell it to a dentist school.
Middling comedy with a silly plot and silly situations but the odd piquant line. Similar to the Doctor series, Monkhouse isn't bad but Connor is as irritating as he often was in these days.
Dir: Don Chaffey
Stars: Bob Monkhouse, Kenneth Connor, Peggy Cummins, Eric Barker
DENTIST ON THE JOB
1961
0
A toothpaste maker employs two newly qualified dentists to promote it.
Even worse sequel, relentlessly lame and dumb; a comedy franchise based around dentistry was never going to be a goer, and not surprisingly there weren't another 28 films in the series. Monty Python And The Holy Grail, which featured it at its start, is somewhat better.
Dir: CM Pennington-Richards
Stars: Bob Monkhouse, Kenneth Connor, Shirley Eaton, Ronnie Stevens, Eric Barker
THE DEPARTED
2006
***
A cop goes undercover in a group of Irish-American criminals, while at the same time another cop on their case is really in league with the crime boss.
Unlovable but coruscating crime drama that revels in its complications; plenty to chew on, although the audience's final reaction may be along the lines of 'What was it all for?'.
Dir: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga
DEPARTURES
2008
*
An unemployed cellist takes a job preparing the dead for funerals.
This very different drama achieved much domestic success and international acclaim, but its oddness isn't particularly endearing and its sentimental lapses largely unearned.
Dir: Yojiro Takita
Stars: Masahiro Motoki, Ryoko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki
THE DEPARTED
2006
***
A cop goes undercover in a group of Irish-American criminals, while at the same time another cop on their case is really in league with the crime boss.
Unlovable but coruscating crime drama that revels in its complications; plenty to chew on, although the audience's final reaction may be along the lines of 'What was it all for?'.
Dir: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga
DEPARTURES
2008
*
An unemployed cellist takes a job preparing the dead for funerals.
This very different drama achieved much domestic success and international acclaim, but its oddness isn't particularly endearing and its sentimental lapses largely unearned.
Dir: Yojiro Takita
Stars: Masahiro Motoki, Ryoko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki
DEPORTED WOMEN OF THE SS SPECIAL SECTION
1976
0
A Nazi officer realises one of his prisoners is a woman who once spurned him.
The title alone would have the BBFC reaching for their beta-blockers, and this Nazisploitation sleaze does indeed have some savage moments, including a wince-making scene involving a vagina, a cork and some razor blades - but it also has a mournful classical soundtrack, which can be quite amusing. If it'd been 20 minutes shorter and better lit, its standing might have been higher in this extraordinary genre that was so much of its time and place (usually Italy).
Dir: Rino Di Silvestro
Stars: John Steiner, Lina Polito, Erna Schurer
DERAILROADED
2005
***
Documentary about Wild Man Fischer, a unique musician who has been mentally ill since his youth.
Fascinating tale of a man at the margins of both life and show business, made with few frills but probably all the better for it.
Dir: Josh Rubin
Stars: Wild Man Fischer
THE DESCENDANTS
2011
**
After his wife has a serious accident a man begins to learn things about her that he didn't know.
Nimbly handled drama with something to say about family and accepting others, tailor-made for the very smooth star. Even if you don't like the story (but it's a pretty good one), you can admire the Hawaiian scenery.
Dir: Alexander Payne
Stars: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Nick Krause
THE DESCENT
2005
0
Female mountaineers get stranded in a cavern full of deadly creatures.
Care to spend an hour and a half in a small, dark space with some shrieking, aggressive females? Grim, predictable horror with interchangeable characters and action.
Dir: Neil Marshall
Stars: Shauna Macdonald, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder
THE DESCENT: PART 2
2009
0
Survivor Sarah is forced by police to return to the caves, where another massacre starts.
We really didn’t need a sequel, but here it is, a wearily predictable one that’s no improvement whatsoever. Of course most of the females are dynamic fighting and killing machines and the men are pathetic or cumbersome – we expect such misrepresentation in this day and age – but there’s another serious fault with their assailants: because we don’t know how many of them there are there’s no sense of satisfying progression when each one is killed, and because they’re so devoid of humanism we can’t even sympathise with them on a ‘bad guy’ level. Plus the dialogue’s lame and the ending sucks.
Dir: Jon Harris
Stars: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Krysten Cummings
THE DESIGNATED VICTIM
1971
0
A playboy with a troublesome wife meets an eccentric Count who offers to murder her.
The director has tried to rejig Strangers On A Train and set it in a misty Venice, but he fluffs nearly every opportunity to create suspense and stuffs it full of chatter – the result is a weak thriller with an unsatisfactory climax.
Dir: Maurizio Lucidi
Stars: Tomas Milian, Pierre Clementi, Marisa Bartoli
DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN
1985
*
A bored housewife is mistaken for a free-spirited New York drifter.
Lively comedy of errors with a fresh, sexy feel.
Dir: Susan Seidelman
Stars: Rosanna Arquette, Madonna, Aidan Quinn
DESTINATION MOON
1950
*
American astronauts journey to the moon but are uncertain they have enough fuel to return to Earth.
Bright sci-fi with impressive special effects, it helped kick off the Fifties boom in the genre.
Dir: Irving Pichel
Stars: John Archer, Warner Anderson, Tom Powers
DESTINATION TOKYO
1943
*
A US submarine makes a journey into treacherous waters.
Made during World War II, this film would have had a lot more impact back then: now it seems a little routine, and the storyline could be more focused and suspenseful.
Dir: Delmer Daves
Stars: Cary Grant, John Garfield, Alan Hale, John Ridgely
DESTROY ALL MONSTERS
1968
0
Aliens take control of Earth's monsters and use them to wreck the planet.
Madcap monster extravaganza a million miles away from any sort of reality.
Dir: Ishiro Honda
Stars: Akira Kubo, Jun Tazaki
DESTRY RIDES AGAIN
1939
**
A clean-cut sheriff sorts out wrongdoers in a town in the old West.
Slightly faded in technical and narrative terms, but the famous song routines still retain great vivacity.
Dir: George Marshall
Stars: Marlene Dietrich, James Stewart, Brian Donlevy, Billy Gilbert
DERAILROADED
2005
***
Documentary about Wild Man Fischer, a unique musician who has been mentally ill since his youth.
Fascinating tale of a man at the margins of both life and show business, made with few frills but probably all the better for it.
Dir: Josh Rubin
Stars: Wild Man Fischer
THE DESCENDANTS
2011
**
After his wife has a serious accident a man begins to learn things about her that he didn't know.
Nimbly handled drama with something to say about family and accepting others, tailor-made for the very smooth star. Even if you don't like the story (but it's a pretty good one), you can admire the Hawaiian scenery.
Dir: Alexander Payne
Stars: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Nick Krause
THE DESCENT
2005
0
Female mountaineers get stranded in a cavern full of deadly creatures.
Care to spend an hour and a half in a small, dark space with some shrieking, aggressive females? Grim, predictable horror with interchangeable characters and action.
Dir: Neil Marshall
Stars: Shauna Macdonald, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder
THE DESCENT: PART 2
2009
0
Survivor Sarah is forced by police to return to the caves, where another massacre starts.
We really didn’t need a sequel, but here it is, a wearily predictable one that’s no improvement whatsoever. Of course most of the females are dynamic fighting and killing machines and the men are pathetic or cumbersome – we expect such misrepresentation in this day and age – but there’s another serious fault with their assailants: because we don’t know how many of them there are there’s no sense of satisfying progression when each one is killed, and because they’re so devoid of humanism we can’t even sympathise with them on a ‘bad guy’ level. Plus the dialogue’s lame and the ending sucks.
Dir: Jon Harris
Stars: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Krysten Cummings
DESERET
1995
*
Documentary featuring landscape shots of Utah accompanied by relevant readings from the New York Times from the 1850s to the 1990s.
Not entirely dissimilar to Patrick Keiller's London and its two follow-ups (all qv), this is obviously of limited appeal, with it perhaps having attraction to some Utah residents, especially left-leaning ones. It's a canny idea, and the photography is accomplished (of deserts, snow, empty houses, factories, rocks, roads to nowhere, a few humans, lakes, cemeteries and more), but concentration can waver at times.
Dir: James Benning
THE DESIGNATED VICTIM
1971
0
A playboy with a troublesome wife meets an eccentric Count who offers to murder her.
The director has tried to rejig Strangers On A Train and set it in a misty Venice, but he fluffs nearly every opportunity to create suspense and stuffs it full of chatter – the result is a weak thriller with an unsatisfactory climax.
Dir: Maurizio Lucidi
Stars: Tomas Milian, Pierre Clementi, Marisa Bartoli
DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN
1985
*
A bored housewife is mistaken for a free-spirited New York drifter.
Lively comedy of errors with a fresh, sexy feel.
Dir: Susan Seidelman
Stars: Rosanna Arquette, Madonna, Aidan Quinn
DESTINATION MOON
1950
*
American astronauts journey to the moon but are uncertain they have enough fuel to return to Earth.
Bright sci-fi with impressive special effects, it helped kick off the Fifties boom in the genre.
Dir: Irving Pichel
Stars: John Archer, Warner Anderson, Tom Powers
DESTINATION TOKYO
1943
*
A US submarine makes a journey into treacherous waters.
Made during World War II, this film would have had a lot more impact back then: now it seems a little routine, and the storyline could be more focused and suspenseful.
Dir: Delmer Daves
Stars: Cary Grant, John Garfield, Alan Hale, John Ridgely
DESTROY ALL MONSTERS
1968
0
Aliens take control of Earth's monsters and use them to wreck the planet.
Madcap monster extravaganza a million miles away from any sort of reality.
Dir: Ishiro Honda
Stars: Akira Kubo, Jun Tazaki
DESTRY RIDES AGAIN
1939
**
A clean-cut sheriff sorts out wrongdoers in a town in the old West.
Slightly faded in technical and narrative terms, but the famous song routines still retain great vivacity.
Dir: George Marshall
Stars: Marlene Dietrich, James Stewart, Brian Donlevy, Billy Gilbert
DETOUR
1945
**
Hitch-hiking from New York to Los Angeles, a jazz pianist gets into all sorts of trouble.
Highly effective noir told in flashback - but is it truthfully told? Is it a nightmare? The economies forced on it by the budget only make it more nightmarish, and the improbable death of one character might also lend credence to this interpretation. What it definitely is, is perfectly (ie melodramatically) acted by the leads, compelling and compact, quite distinct from most other production-line crime dramas.
Dir: Edgar G Ulmer
Stars: Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake
DEUCE BIGALOW MALE GIGOLO
2000
*
A man becomes a male gigolo after being mistaken for one.
Farrelly Brothers-inspired comedy which becomes so tasteless and absurd that the only way to survive it is to laugh.
Dir: Mike Mitchell
Stars: Rob Schneider, William Forsythe, Eddie Griffin
DEVIATION
1971
0
A couple are forced to stay over at a spooky house after they have a car accident.
After a promising start this low budget shocker has nowhere to go so settles for druggy orgies shot in a beer light.
Dir: Joseph Larraz
Stars: Karl Lanchbury, Lisbet Lundquist, Sibyla Grey
DEVIL
2010
*
Five people are trapped inside a lift, and one of them may be the devil.
Reasonably effective horror thriller which doesn't entirely confine itself completely to the lift. It provides easy to watch dramatics, but you wonder whether the supernatural elements detract from the story - maybe they do, maybe they don't.
Dir: John Erick Dowdle
Stars: Chris Messina, Caroline Dhavernas, Bokeem Woodbine
THE DEVIL BAT
1940
*
A disgruntled scientist trains a huge bat to kill his former colleagues.
Hilariously kooky horror that’s probably only being viewed today because good old Bela is in it – it’s thin and repetitive and crazy but has a certain hokey B-movie charm. The best you can say about it is that Lugosi made much worse, plus it offers a textbook example of passive-aggressive behaviour...
Dir: Jean Yarbrough
Stars: Bela Lugosi, Suzanne Kaaren, Dave O’Brien
THE DEVIL CAME FROM AKASAVA
1970
0
Agents attempt to recover a mineral that can turn metal into gold or humans into zombies.
A character sums up this mess by asking, 'I'd like to know what's going on' - the answer is, it's one of the world's worst directors working to his usual standard.
Dir: Jess Franco
Stars: Soledad Miranda, Paul Muller, Fred Williams, Howard Vernon
THE DEVIL DOLL
1936
**
A vengeful banker, imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, takes revenge on his enemies by shrinking them.
Unusual fantasy with much suspense and clever trick effects, finally leading to a sad conclusion.
Dir: Tod Browning
Stars: Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Frank Lawton
DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS
1954
0
A female alien visits the Scottish Highlands in search of a mate.
Flavourless sci-fi devoid of tension, very minor in all respects.
Dir: David MacDonald
Stars: Hugh McDermott, Hazel Court, John Laurie, Adrienne Corri
THE DEVIL HUNTER
1980
0
An actress is kidnapped and taken to an island inhabited by a ‘devil man’.
Some poor fools will see this because it’s Franco and was a video nasty, but pray, do not: it’s unbelievably abysmal in every single way. Whether it’s the cast endlessly wandering around the jungle either saying nothing or something inane, or a big naked black man with boggle eyes biting bits out of people, it’s an agonising experience.
Dir: Jess Franco
Stars: Ursula Buchfellner, Al Cliver, Burt Altman
THE DEVIL, PROBABLY
1977
0
A man becomes disgusted with the society he lives in and plans suicide.
Depressing journey into a world of despair.
Dir: Robert Bresson
Stars: Antoine Monnier, Tina Irissari
THE DEVIL-SHIP PIRATES
1963
**
In the 16th century, a pirate ship arrives in a small English coastal town.
A close cousin of the previous year's The Pirates Of Blood River, this is the better film, giving Lee a meatier role and refashioning the plot of Went The Day Well? to good effect. It's a decent yarn, told with Hammer's usual skilful economy: no wonder the company won the Queen's Award to Industry.
Dir: Don Sharp
Stars: Christopher Lee, Andrew Keir, John Cairney, Michael Ripper, Duncan Lamont
THE DEVILS
1971
**
A cardinal is pitted against a priest in the battle for control over a French town.
Probably 'enfant terrible' Ken Russell's most outrageous work, a sensationalist account of a 'true story' which includes naked nuns, people being burnt alive, worm-eaten corpses and brutal castration, its hysteria can't help but grab the attention, and the production values and performances are strong.
Dir: Ken Russell
Stars: Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave, Max Adrian, Dudley Sutton
THE DEVIL’S CHAIR
2006
0
A mental patient is coerced into reliving his horrific experience with a chair.
A cancerous lump of a movie, a rancid exercise in glorifying evil made by people with film stock but no sense of responsibility; dank, profane, stupid, loathsome, poorly acted, badly written, repellent, diseased and unwatchable.
Dir: Adam Mason
Stars: Andrew Howard, David Gant, Elize du Toit, Matt Berry, Louise Griffiths
THE DEVIL’S KISS
1974
0
A professor obsessed with the occult brings the dead back to life.
Instantly forgettable horror tat; not bloody, but bloody awful. Its better points are that it is bizarre, slow and incomprehensible.
Dir: Georges Gigo
Stars: Silvia Solar, Oliver Matthau, Evelyne Scott
THE DEVIL'S MESSENGER
1961
0
A gatekeeper of Hell is witness to three supernatural stories.
An anthology feature created by sticking together a trio of episodes of a Swedish, Twilight Zone-like series, 13 Demon Street, with cheery Chaney providing the somewhat laborious linking material. The tales are a little flat but never intolerable - story one, concerning a nasty photographer, makes sinister use of snowy landscapes; story two, about a woman frozen in ice, is suitably twisted in EC Comics style; story three, featuring a man whose death is foretold, is somewhat underfed. In fact, better production values would have souped everything up considerably.
Dir: Herbert L Strock
Stars: Lon Chaney Jr, Karen Kadler, Michael Hinn, Ralph Brown
DEVILS OF DARKNESS
1964
0
A secret vampire cult searches for victims to sacrifice.
Undistinguished horror short on shocks, atmosphere and wit.
Dir: Lance Comfort
Stars: William Sylvester, Hubert Noel, Diana Decker
THE DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND
1976
*
Boys endure the rigours of a Catholic school childhood.
The difficulties of growing up, although the masters and the students experience similar problems; sympathetic drama done in a frank style.
Dir: Fred Schepisi
Stars: Arthur Dignam, Nick Tate, Simon Burke
DEVIL'S TOWER
2014
0
A girl moves into a new tower block where sinister forces are at work.
Another cut-price British horror film made by those low on time and high on energy, this is a boisterous, batty and somewhat squalid picture whose sins will only be forgiven by those who have affection for this sort of thing.
Dir: Owen Tooth
Stars: Roxanne Pallett, Jason Mewes, Frances Ruffelle
THE DEVONSVILLE TERROR
1983
0
A new teacher arrives in a town that appears to be hiding a diabolical secret.
Bookish horror which chugs along well enough.
Dir: Ulli Lommel
Stars: Suzanna Love, Robert Walker Jr, Donald Pleasence
DEVOURING WAVES
1984
0
A shark/octopus hybrid is devouring swimmers off the Florida coast.
Workmanlike horror, a distant cousin of Jaws.
Dir: Lamberto Bava
Stars: Michael Sopkiw, Valentine Monnier
LES DIABOLIQUES
1954
***
A man is killed by his wife and mistress but his body disappears.
Excellent suspense thriller with a much copied but rarely more effectively played plot.
Dir: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Stars: Simone Signoret, Vera Clouzot, Paul Meurisse
DIAGNOSIS: MURDER
1974
*
Police suspect a psychiatrist of murdering his wife - but can find no proof.
Easily digestible, twisty murder mystery which benefits from extensive countryside location shooting and an excellent cast.
Dir: Sidney Hayers
Stars: Christopher Lee, Judy Geeson, Jon Finch, Colin Jeavons, Tony Beckley
DIAL HELP
1988
0
A psychic finds that her friends are mysteriously dying.
Bizarre supernatural shocker with some imaginative set pieces, but in the end too daft.
Dir: Ruggero Deodato
Stars: Charlotte Lewis, Marcello Modugno
DIAL M FOR MURDER
1954
****
An ex-tennis pro carries out a cunning plot to murder his wife.
Hitchcock's one-room thriller may see the master's talents slightly limited, but the ingenious script helps provide an unbeatable evening's entertainment.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Stars: Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, John Williams, Anthony Dawson, Patrick Allen
DIAL M FOR MURDER
1981 (TV)
*
The fiendishly clever play is given another spin-out with a TV budget (which should suit it) and an impressive cast. It is of course much inferior to Hitchcock’s film in every way – the opportunity to add suspense to the climactic scene where it looks like Plummer’s character may not work out the keys’ mystery is particularly badly bungled – partly thanks to a nondescript set, partly thanks to stolid camerawork, partly thanks to Angie Dickinson not being Grace Kelly, partly thanks to it just not being Hitchcock. But it’s an enjoyable watch in itself, with a near-identical script to the 1954 movie, particularly in the second half, and better than a good deal of other TV movies made at the time.
Dir: Boris Sagal
Stars: Christopher Plummer, Anthony Quayle, Angie Dickinson, Michael Parks, Ron Moody
DEUCE BIGALOW MALE GIGOLO
2000
*
A man becomes a male gigolo after being mistaken for one.
Farrelly Brothers-inspired comedy which becomes so tasteless and absurd that the only way to survive it is to laugh.
Dir: Mike Mitchell
Stars: Rob Schneider, William Forsythe, Eddie Griffin
DEVIATION
1971
0
A couple are forced to stay over at a spooky house after they have a car accident.
After a promising start this low budget shocker has nowhere to go so settles for druggy orgies shot in a beer light.
Dir: Joseph Larraz
Stars: Karl Lanchbury, Lisbet Lundquist, Sibyla Grey
DEVIL
2010
*
Five people are trapped inside a lift, and one of them may be the devil.
Reasonably effective horror thriller which doesn't entirely confine itself completely to the lift. It provides easy to watch dramatics, but you wonder whether the supernatural elements detract from the story - maybe they do, maybe they don't.
Dir: John Erick Dowdle
Stars: Chris Messina, Caroline Dhavernas, Bokeem Woodbine
THE DEVIL BAT
1940
*
A disgruntled scientist trains a huge bat to kill his former colleagues.
Hilariously kooky horror that’s probably only being viewed today because good old Bela is in it – it’s thin and repetitive and crazy but has a certain hokey B-movie charm. The best you can say about it is that Lugosi made much worse, plus it offers a textbook example of passive-aggressive behaviour...
Dir: Jean Yarbrough
Stars: Bela Lugosi, Suzanne Kaaren, Dave O’Brien
THE DEVIL CAME FROM AKASAVA
1970
0
Agents attempt to recover a mineral that can turn metal into gold or humans into zombies.
A character sums up this mess by asking, 'I'd like to know what's going on' - the answer is, it's one of the world's worst directors working to his usual standard.
Dir: Jess Franco
Stars: Soledad Miranda, Paul Muller, Fred Williams, Howard Vernon
THE DEVIL COMMANDS
1941
*
A scientist becomes obsessed with the idea of communicating with his dead wife.
Another mad scientist from Karloff, though one who has a very human desire: to talk once more to a dead loved one. A short and painless horror flick, the narration detracts from it, but it manages to conjure up some creepy scenes, most notably the ones where the corpses are sat round in what resemble diving suits. It's a shame the climax can barely be described as that.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk
Stars: Boris Karloff, Richard Fiske, Anne Revere, Amanda Duff
THE DEVIL DOLL
1936
**
A vengeful banker, imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, takes revenge on his enemies by shrinking them.
Unusual fantasy with much suspense and clever trick effects, finally leading to a sad conclusion.
Dir: Tod Browning
Stars: Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Frank Lawton
DEVIL DOLL
1964
0
A dastardly ventriloquist plots to gain an heiress' millions, with help from his little friend.
You can never say no to a scary dummy film... except when you can. While the dummy is a scary looking one, this is a mainly flattish, humourless horror, which after a promising start degenerates into a load of jaw-jaw about nothing interesting in particular. There're a few sequences that if shorn from the main feature will look great (yep, the dummy ones).
Dir: Lindsay Shonteff
Stars: Bryant Haliday, William Sylvester, Yvonne Romain, Sandra Dorne
1954
0
A female alien visits the Scottish Highlands in search of a mate.
Flavourless sci-fi devoid of tension, very minor in all respects.
Dir: David MacDonald
Stars: Hugh McDermott, Hazel Court, John Laurie, Adrienne Corri
THE DEVIL HUNTER
1980
0
An actress is kidnapped and taken to an island inhabited by a ‘devil man’.
Some poor fools will see this because it’s Franco and was a video nasty, but pray, do not: it’s unbelievably abysmal in every single way. Whether it’s the cast endlessly wandering around the jungle either saying nothing or something inane, or a big naked black man with boggle eyes biting bits out of people, it’s an agonising experience.
Dir: Jess Franco
Stars: Ursula Buchfellner, Al Cliver, Burt Altman
THE DEVIL, PROBABLY
1977
0
A man becomes disgusted with the society he lives in and plans suicide.
Depressing journey into a world of despair.
Dir: Robert Bresson
Stars: Antoine Monnier, Tina Irissari
THE DEVIL RIDES OUT
1968
*
Followers of Satan plan to sacrifice the niece of a Duke.
Hammer threw itself into this occult story with gusto (driven on by Lee) and the result isn't half bad, with the star especially committed to its strange machinations and a moderate budget more or less masked; some of its set-pieces work better than others. The thing about the occult, though, is that it's so obviously nonsense for the rational-minded.
Dir: Terence Fisher
Stars: Christopher Lee, Charles Gray, Nike Arrighi, Patrick Mower, Leon Greene, Paul Eddington
THE DEVIL-SHIP PIRATES
1963
**
In the 16th century, a pirate ship arrives in a small English coastal town.
A close cousin of the previous year's The Pirates Of Blood River, this is the better film, giving Lee a meatier role and refashioning the plot of Went The Day Well? to good effect. It's a decent yarn, told with Hammer's usual skilful economy: no wonder the company won the Queen's Award to Industry.
Dir: Don Sharp
Stars: Christopher Lee, Andrew Keir, John Cairney, Michael Ripper, Duncan Lamont
THE DEVILS
1971
**
A cardinal is pitted against a priest in the battle for control over a French town.
Probably 'enfant terrible' Ken Russell's most outrageous work, a sensationalist account of a 'true story' which includes naked nuns, people being burnt alive, worm-eaten corpses and brutal castration, its hysteria can't help but grab the attention, and the production values and performances are strong.
Dir: Ken Russell
Stars: Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave, Max Adrian, Dudley Sutton
THE DEVIL’S CHAIR
2006
0
A mental patient is coerced into reliving his horrific experience with a chair.
A cancerous lump of a movie, a rancid exercise in glorifying evil made by people with film stock but no sense of responsibility; dank, profane, stupid, loathsome, poorly acted, badly written, repellent, diseased and unwatchable.
Dir: Adam Mason
Stars: Andrew Howard, David Gant, Elize du Toit, Matt Berry, Louise Griffiths
THE DEVIL'S HAND
1961
0
After a man meets a woman he has strange visions of, he becomes involved in a cult.
Mild little horror quickie which doesn't thrill, but how could it? It chunters on in its own earnest way, with occasional unintentionally amusing occurrences. Shocking to see Batman's Commissioner Gordon on the wrong side of the law!
Dir: William J Hole Jr
Stars: Robert Alda, Linda Christian, Ariadne Welter, Neil Hamilton
THE DEVIL’S KISS
1974
0
A professor obsessed with the occult brings the dead back to life.
Instantly forgettable horror tat; not bloody, but bloody awful. Its better points are that it is bizarre, slow and incomprehensible.
Dir: Georges Gigo
Stars: Silvia Solar, Oliver Matthau, Evelyne Scott
THE DEVIL’S MEN
1976
0
A priest goes to the rescue when a satanic cult kidnaps three young people.
Grotty horror which meanders (usually in the dark) to a madcap climax involving many explosions. Made by a British production company in Greece, it at least features a decent cast and music by, curiously enough, Brian Eno, along with a bit of Mediterranean atmosphere. Available in a version with or without gore and nudity; obviously go for the former, if at all.
Dir: Costas Karagiannis
Stars: Peter Cushing, Donald Pleasence, Luan Peters, Kostas Karagiorgis
THE DEVIL'S MESSENGER
1961
0
A gatekeeper of Hell is witness to three supernatural stories.
An anthology feature created by sticking together a trio of episodes of a Swedish, Twilight Zone-like series, 13 Demon Street, with cheery Chaney providing the somewhat laborious linking material. The tales are a little flat but never intolerable - story one, concerning a nasty photographer, makes sinister use of snowy landscapes; story two, about a woman frozen in ice, is suitably twisted in EC Comics style; story three, featuring a man whose death is foretold, is somewhat underfed. In fact, better production values would have souped everything up considerably.
Dir: Herbert L Strock
Stars: Lon Chaney Jr, Karen Kadler, Michael Hinn, Ralph Brown
DEVILS OF DARKNESS
1964
0
A secret vampire cult searches for victims to sacrifice.
Undistinguished horror short on shocks, atmosphere and wit.
Dir: Lance Comfort
Stars: William Sylvester, Hubert Noel, Diana Decker
THE DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND
1976
*
Boys endure the rigours of a Catholic school childhood.
The difficulties of growing up, although the masters and the students experience similar problems; sympathetic drama done in a frank style.
Dir: Fred Schepisi
Stars: Arthur Dignam, Nick Tate, Simon Burke
DEVIL'S TOWER
2014
0
A girl moves into a new tower block where sinister forces are at work.
Another cut-price British horror film made by those low on time and high on energy, this is a boisterous, batty and somewhat squalid picture whose sins will only be forgiven by those who have affection for this sort of thing.
Dir: Owen Tooth
Stars: Roxanne Pallett, Jason Mewes, Frances Ruffelle
THE DEVONSVILLE TERROR
1983
0
A new teacher arrives in a town that appears to be hiding a diabolical secret.
Bookish horror which chugs along well enough.
Dir: Ulli Lommel
Stars: Suzanna Love, Robert Walker Jr, Donald Pleasence
DEVOURING WAVES
1984
0
A shark/octopus hybrid is devouring swimmers off the Florida coast.
Workmanlike horror, a distant cousin of Jaws.
Dir: Lamberto Bava
Stars: Michael Sopkiw, Valentine Monnier
DIABOLO MENTHE
1977
**
The lives of two sisters in early 1960s Paris.
Carefully made drama which gets under the skin of adolescence, particularly that of French girls in that time period. Brisk, observant and well shot, it's loosely structured and unsentimental, like flicking through the pages of a teenager's diary. Performances are natural and the lead is a special sort of entrancing - it's a shame she never made another film.
Dir: Diane Kurys
Stars: Eleonore Klarwein, Odile Michel, Anouk Ferjac
LES DIABOLIQUES
1954
***
A man is killed by his wife and mistress but his body disappears.
Excellent suspense thriller with a much copied but rarely more effectively played plot.
Dir: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Stars: Simone Signoret, Vera Clouzot, Paul Meurisse
DIAGNOSIS: MURDER
1974
*
Police suspect a psychiatrist of murdering his wife - but can find no proof.
Easily digestible, twisty murder mystery which benefits from extensive countryside location shooting and an excellent cast.
Dir: Sidney Hayers
Stars: Christopher Lee, Judy Geeson, Jon Finch, Colin Jeavons, Tony Beckley
DIAL HELP
1988
0
A psychic finds that her friends are mysteriously dying.
Bizarre supernatural shocker with some imaginative set pieces, but in the end too daft.
Dir: Ruggero Deodato
Stars: Charlotte Lewis, Marcello Modugno
DIAL M FOR MURDER
1954
****
An ex-tennis pro carries out a cunning plot to murder his wife.
Hitchcock's one-room thriller may see the master's talents slightly limited, but the ingenious script helps provide an unbeatable evening's entertainment.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Stars: Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, John Williams, Anthony Dawson, Patrick Allen
DIAL M FOR MURDER
1981 (TV)
*
The fiendishly clever play is given another spin-out with a TV budget (which should suit it) and an impressive cast. It is of course much inferior to Hitchcock’s film in every way – the opportunity to add suspense to the climactic scene where it looks like Plummer’s character may not work out the keys’ mystery is particularly badly bungled – partly thanks to a nondescript set, partly thanks to stolid camerawork, partly thanks to Angie Dickinson not being Grace Kelly, partly thanks to it just not being Hitchcock. But it’s an enjoyable watch in itself, with a near-identical script to the 1954 movie, particularly in the second half, and better than a good deal of other TV movies made at the time.
Dir: Boris Sagal
Stars: Christopher Plummer, Anthony Quayle, Angie Dickinson, Michael Parks, Ron Moody
THE DIAMOND
1954
0
Crooks come up with a way to make diamonds out of sugar.
The slight sci-fi element is decoration on a fairly standard police procedural which is also spruced up by some imagery intended for 3D (it was shot in 3D but never shown as such), like the scenes on the Underground escalator and in the baddies' lair. But it's just spending time in Fifties London that some of us will take most pleasure from.
Dir: Dennis O'Keefe, Montgomery Tully
Stars: Dennis O'Keefe, Margaret Sheridan, Philip Friend
DIAMOND CITY
1949
0
Diamond hunters in South Africa clash over their claimed riches.
Economical B-Western, quite neatly done, notable for early, fresh'n'fiesty performances from Dors and Blackman.
Dir: David MacDonald
Stars: David Farrar, Honor Blackman, Diana Dors, Mervyn Johns
DIAMOND SKULLS
1989
0
A group of guardsmen have to cover up a hit and run incident that occurred at the end of a night of drunkenness.
Watchable if plodding dig at the upper classes that reaches an apathetic conclusion.
Dir: Nick Broomfield
Stars: Gabriel Byrne, Amanda Donohoe, Michael Hordern, Ian Carmichael
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
1971
**
James Bond heads to Amsterdam and then Las Vegas to investigate diamond smuggling.
Even though this may be the weakest Bond film Connery made for Eon, it's still a gratifying ride, despite the leading man looking portlier and less enthusiastic than he had done before. It does things a little differently than previously, including slightly crueler violence and an American setting that doesn't exhibit cool class, but there are plenty of highlights - the fight in the lift, Bambi and Thumper, the car going vertical, the two Blofelds - that can comfortably sit on any 007 Greatest Moments compilation. It's of its time but that's no bad thing.
Dir: Guy Hamilton
Stars: Sean Connery, Jill St John, Charles Gray, Lana Wood, Jimmy Dean, Bruce Cabot, Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell
A DIARY FOR TIMOTHY
1945
**
Non-fiction film about a baby born in the closing stages of World War Two.
Perhaps Jennings’ best war-time documentary, this acts as a neat summing up of the aims of the war and the hopes for after it – what a tragedy that what followed was not a new golden age. Timothy himself became a school teacher and died at just 56 in 2000.
Dir: Humphrey Jennings
Narrator: Michael Redgrave
DIARY OF A COUNTRY PRIEST
1950
*
An unwell priest presides over an unhappy parish.
Austere character piece open to different interpretations regarding its portrayal of faith; there are rewards for the patient but the concept is beginning to look dated.
Dir: Robert Bresson
Stars: Claude Laydu, Jean Riveyre, Adrien Borel
DIARY OF A MADMAN
1963
0
A sculptor and magistrate is possessed by an evil spirit.
It's good to have a movie which features so much of Price, but for many horror fans this will be too stately, too talky, too studio-bound and too drawn out. There are, however, nice moments, such as Kovack's face appearing underneath the plaster, and one terrible one (the cross reflected in the knife). A modest pleasure for star devotees.
Dir: Reginald Le Borg
Stars: Vincent Price, Nancy Kovack, Chris Warfield
DIARY OF A NUDIST
1961
0
Reporters investigate a nudist camp.
Rib-tickling load of old twaddle, very typical of the era's nudie cutie genre, with busty, attractive girls (more attractive than you'd get at real nudist camps) covering their pubic area with towels or hats and doing very little but making it appear blissful (simply because they're naked). It's also typical Wishman: dodgy dubbing, scenes that don't match up, trite, innocent - but there are worse ways to spend 70 minutes.
Dir: Doris Wishman
Stars: Davee Decker, Norman Casserly, Dolores Carlos
THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL
2015
*
In 1970s San Francisco a teen artist loses her virginity to her mother's boyfriend.
Honest and unconventional drama about the pains and pleasures of growing up, especially if you're a creative and female; it's nicely shot, Powley is superb in the lead (you'd never guess she wasn't American), but the film may struggle to enrapture those outside its main target market.
Dir: Marielle Heller
Stars: Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgard, Kristen Wiig, Christopher Meloni
THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK
1959
**
A Jewish family hides out in an attic in Amsterdam for most of World War II.
Classy adaptation of the play of the book, a little long and mostly short on tension, but well acted and shot, and - in its own way - appropriately maddening.
Dir: George Stevens
Stars: Millie Perkins, Shelley Winters, Joseph Schildkraut, Richard Beymer
THE DIARY OF LADY M
1994
0
A nightclub singer indulges in a ménage a trois with two strangers.
Tiresome and stupid erotic drama which frequently grinds to a halt.
Dir: Alain Tanner
Stars: Myriam Mezieres, Juanjo Puigcorbe
DICK BARTON AT BAY
1950
*
Dick Barton goes after a kidnapped professor and a stolen death ray.
The last of the series, this is zippy enough but contains much that's now unintentionally funny. The lead character's perceived invincibility must have been dented by the fact that the star was dead - killed in a car accident - by the time this came out.
Dir: Godfrey Grayson
Stars: Don Stannard, Tamara Desni, Patrick Macnee
DICK BARTON SPECIAL AGENT
1948
0
The government agent battles Nazis planning on poisoning London's water supply.
The first of three Hammer adaptations of a BBC radio series, this is possibly the worst and most juvenile of them, which is saying something.
Dir: Alfred J Goulding
Stars: Don Stannard, George Ford, Gillian Maude
DICK BARTON STRIKES BACK
1949
*
Dick takes on a band of international criminals.
Cheap and cheery serial-like thriller which may have influenced, in a small way, the James Bond movies.
Dir: Godfrey Grayson
Stars: Don Stannard, Sebastian Cabot, Jean Lodge
DICK TRACY
1937
*
Dick Tracy takes on the trouble-causing Spider Gang.
This is a review of the feature version of the 15-part serial that was released in 1937, a condensed version that's full of brio and energy, a typically nutty Republic adventure in which it's easy/fun to spot where the chapters ended and started. Everyone gets into the swing of things, and young boys watching would have had a ball - now it's old fellas watching, most with affection, one would hope. It was the very first Dick Tracy production; many more would follow.
NB Viewing the serial at a later date, this viewer finds the feature preferable - it feels a bit easier to keep up with for one thing.
Dir: Alan James, Ray Taylor
Stars: Ralph Byrd, Kay Hughes, Smiley Burnette, Lee Van Atta
DICK TRACY
1990
*
Dick Tracy battles the mob while fending off female interest from Breathless Mahoney.
Hyped-up but disappointing version of the old comic strip - while the visuals are striking and the stars parade around in remarkable make-up, the gangster antics going on in front of all this are entirely routine.
Dir: Warren Beatty
Stars: Warren Beatty, Madonna, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, James Caan, Mandy Patinkin
DICK TRACY MEETS GRUESOME
1947
*
The detective encounters a criminal who utilises a gas that freezes people.
Fairly zippy capering; the last in this Tracy series has an air of good humour contrasted with a characterful villain in the form of reliable Karloff (who gets a name-check in the script) - it's significant that he is credited above Byrd.
Dir: John Rawlins
Stars: Boris Karloff, Ralph Byrd, Anne Gwynne
DICK TRACY RETURNS
1938
0
Dick Tracy attempts to bring the Stark crime family to justice.
The second Tracy serial, here viewed in its edited feature film version, is a typically brisk adventure with most of the requisite cliffhanger paraphernalia present. There are no fantastic elements but there is some invention, including the scene with the boy and the bomb. And many hats!
Dir: John English, William Witney
Stars: Ralph Byrd, Charles Middleton, Lynne Roberts, Jerry Tucker
DIE ANOTHER DAY
2002
*
James Bond investigates the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond broker.
Brosnan's Bond swansong is a slightly uncertain mix of styles - the gritty beginning and then the sci-fi antics of later in the movie - but it's pretty good, rambunctious fun not deserving of the slating it was given by some. The title tune may be one of the very worst of them all but there are plenty of compensations: fabulous locations like the Ice Palace; a couple of decent villains in Stephens and Yune; sly references to many of the previous instalments; new and mostly impressive CGI and so on. Even after all these years those baddies are still hopeless shots though.
Dir: Lee Tamahori
Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Toby Stephens, Rosamund Pike, Rick Yune, Judi Dench, John Cleese, Michael Madsen, Madonna
DIE! DIE! MY DARLING
1965
*
A young woman is terrorised by her late fiancé's demented mother who blames her for her son's death.
Too long for its slender plot, this mild horror melodrama is at least well shot (the colours in the basement are very Bava-like), and Bankhead gets her teeth into the role. Quite limited in scope, it nevertheless tries to make the most of its scenario, even if that means a sometimes uneasy balance between comedy and horror.
Dir: Silvio Narizzano
Stars: Tallulah Bankhead, Stefanie Powers, Peter Vaughan, Yootha Joyce, Donald Sutherland
DIE HARD
1988
***
A New York cop thwarts the plans of terrorists in an LA office block.
Gripping, confident thriller full of testosterone-fuelled excitement.
Dir: John McTiernan
Stars: Bruce Willis, Bonny Bedelia, William Atherton, Alan Rickman, Reginald VelJohnson
DIE HARD 2
1990
*
John McClane battles mercenaries who seize control of an airport's communications system.
Forced sequel, fun and clever in places, but contrived and far fetched.
Dir: Renny Harlin
Stars: Bruce Willis, Bonny Bedelia, William Atherton, William Sadler, Dennis Franz
DIE, MONSTER, DIE!
1965
0
A man visits his fiancée, whose scientist father is engaged in dangerous experiments.
A loose adaptation of HP Lovecraft's 'The Colour Out Of Space', which is in the main a plod round an old country house, with occasional novelties, including the colourful climax that features the monster on the rampage. It's something of a slog to get there, though. And right at the end, AIP does what it loved to do - have everything go up in flames.
Dir: Daniel Haller
Stars: Boris Karloff, Nick Adams, Suzan Farmer, Freda Jackson
DIE SCREAMING MARIANNE
1971
0
The daughter of a corrupt judge tries to escape her evil father's clutches.
Slow, soporific and confusing thriller which - curiously for this director - misses every opportunity for attention-grabbing sex and violence. About the only redeeming features now are the period trimmings and the attractive location shooting in the Algarve – along with the vibrant title sequence (Susan George go-go dancing in a bikini on a bright red background), which promises so much more than the film then delivers.
Dir: Pete Walker
Stars: Susan George, Barry Evans, Christopher Sandford, Anthony Sharp
DIEGO MARADONA
2019
**
Documentary about the rise and fall of the Argentinian soccer superstar.
The director of Senna and Amy (both qv) turns his attention to another modern icon whose story is a classic one of the perils of fame and fortune - though it should be noted that the player had an immensely successful 20-year spell as a professional. Much previously unseen footage is utilised to give a proper flavour of Maradona's time in Italy and although it doesn't uncover much that is radically new it's an absorbing take on a maverick talent, good for football fans and others.
Dir: Asif Kapadia
DIGBY: THE BIGGEST DOG IN THE WORLD
1973
0
A dog eats a bowl of Project X and grows to enormous size.
Cheerful kids' comedy let down by cheap special effects.
Dir: Joseph McGrath
Stars: Jim Dale, Spike Milligan, Norman Rossington, Milo O'Shea, Dinsdale Landen, Victor Spinetti, Bob Todd
DILEMMA
1962
0
A man comes home to find a dead person in his bathroom.
Absurd thriller with a beyond risible script (it was based on a story by the notorious Pip and Jane Baker, responsible for some of the very worst Doctor Who stories), it's like a farce but only with unintentional laughs, not intentional ones (the nuns!). An unbelievably bad film that could have justifiably finished the careers of anyone involved in it.
Dir: Peter Maxwell
Stars: Peter Halliday, Ingrid Hafner, Patricia Burke
DIMENSION 5
1966
0
An American agent with a time travel belt attempts to stop the Chinese from levelling LA.
Pretty crummy action flick which makes very little of its main gimmick; minimal talent is in evidence in general. Quite funny that they couldn't decide whether it should be called Dimension 5 or Dimension Four.
Dir: Franklin Adreon
Stars: Jeffrey Hunter, France Nuyen, Harold Sakata
DINER
1982
**
At the end of the 1950s, a group of college-age friends struggle with their imminent passage into adulthood.
Fondly created nostalgia, nicely done; highlights include the cinema scene and the test the wife-to-be has to take.
Dir: Barry Levinson
Stars: Steve Guttenberg, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Ellen Barkin, Daniel Stern
DINOSAURUS
1962
0
An undersea explosion in the Caribbean unleashes prehistoric monsters.
Low budget juvenile adventure which goes for 'confused caveman' laughs.
Dir: Irvin S Yeaworth Jr
Stars: Ward Ramsey, Paul Lukather, Kristina Hanson
THE DIRT
2019
0
The story of rock group Motley Crue.
Terrible movies about terrible rock bands are de rigueur nowadays (see Bohemian Rhapsody) and here's another one, a particularly shallow, unpleasant and talent-free one. It thinks it's capturing the licentiousness of its characters but it doesn't even really do that.
Dir: Jeff Tremaine
Stars: Douglas Booth, Iwan Rheon, Daniel Webber
DIRTY DANCING
1987
*
In the 1950s, a girl goes to a holiday camp with her parents where she falls in love with a dynamic dancer.
A filmic equivalent of a beefy Chippendale at a hen party, this highly popular musical is hard to criticise; in fact, one can grudgingly admire its old-fashioned simplicity, spirit and lively tunes.
Dir: Emile Ardolino
Stars: Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes
THE DIRTY DOZEN
1967
*
Twelve convicted murderers are trained to be let loose on the Nazis.
Famous but rather shabby action piece which reaches a reasonably exciting climax after two hours of macho posturing.
Dir: Robert Aldrich
Stars: Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, George Kennedy, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, Clint Walker
DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS
1988
**
Two con men compete against each other in a French town on the Mediterranean.
Sparkling comedy, sympathetically performed, full of delightful twists and turns.
Dir: Frank Oz
Stars: Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly, Anton Rodgers
DIRTY WORK
1933
****
Stan and Ollie are chimney sweeps wrecking the living room of a mad scientist.
Inspired chronicle of destruction with a hilarious, surreal final scene. Every single gag is worked out superbly, the pacing is immaculate, and besides the brilliance of the boys it benefits from two eccentric supporting cast members who raise a laugh every time they're on screen.
Dir: Lloyd French
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Lucien Littlefield, Sam Adams
DINER
1982
**
At the end of the 1950s, a group of college-age friends struggle with their imminent passage into adulthood.
Fondly created nostalgia, nicely done; highlights include the cinema scene and the test the wife-to-be has to take.
Dir: Barry Levinson
Stars: Steve Guttenberg, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Ellen Barkin, Daniel Stern
DINOSAURUS
1962
0
An undersea explosion in the Caribbean unleashes prehistoric monsters.
Low budget juvenile adventure which goes for 'confused caveman' laughs.
Dir: Irvin S Yeaworth Jr
Stars: Ward Ramsey, Paul Lukather, Kristina Hanson
THE DIRT
2019
0
The story of rock group Motley Crue.
Terrible movies about terrible rock bands are de rigueur nowadays (see Bohemian Rhapsody) and here's another one, a particularly shallow, unpleasant and talent-free one. It thinks it's capturing the licentiousness of its characters but it doesn't even really do that.
Dir: Jeff Tremaine
Stars: Douglas Booth, Iwan Rheon, Daniel Webber
DIRTY DANCING
1987
*
In the 1950s, a girl goes to a holiday camp with her parents where she falls in love with a dynamic dancer.
A filmic equivalent of a beefy Chippendale at a hen party, this highly popular musical is hard to criticise; in fact, one can grudgingly admire its old-fashioned simplicity, spirit and lively tunes.
Dir: Emile Ardolino
Stars: Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes
THE DIRTY DOZEN
1967
*
Twelve convicted murderers are trained to be let loose on the Nazis.
Famous but rather shabby action piece which reaches a reasonably exciting climax after two hours of macho posturing.
Dir: Robert Aldrich
Stars: Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, George Kennedy, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, Clint Walker
DIRTY HARRY
1971
****
Inspector Harry Calahan pursues a psychopath who has threatened to randomly kill inhabitants of San Francisco.
Bravura cop show with several brilliant sequences and the star in one of his defining roles; tight, brisk and uncompromising, it may have the odd absurd plot development (the killer being set free for lack of evidence) but Eastwood and Robinson’s characters are both wonderfully unstable, there’s a refreshing lack of back story for them and the whole movie is steeped in slick’n’sleazy style. The first of five Dirty Harry movies.
Dir: Don Siegel
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Andy Robinson, Harry Guardino, John Vernon, Reni Santoni
DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS
1988
**
Two con men compete against each other in a French town on the Mediterranean.
Sparkling comedy, sympathetically performed, full of delightful twists and turns.
Dir: Frank Oz
Stars: Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly, Anton Rodgers
DIRTY WORK
1933
****
Stan and Ollie are chimney sweeps wrecking the living room of a mad scientist.
Inspired chronicle of destruction with a hilarious, surreal final scene. Every single gag is worked out superbly, the pacing is immaculate, and besides the brilliance of the boys it benefits from two eccentric supporting cast members who raise a laugh every time they're on screen.
Dir: Lloyd French
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Lucien Littlefield, Sam Adams
DISAPPEARANCE
2002 (TV)
0
A family has inexplicable experiences in a desert town.
Well, this isn't the kind of family break you want: from early on things go wrong and just get worse and worse - and then there's a conclusion which doesn't exactly wrap things up in a bow. You're left asking many questions - probably that was the intention. The actors try hard as they go through the cliches and portray their characters doing some dumb things.
Dir: Walter Klenhard
Stars: Harry Hamlin, Susan Dey, Basia A'Hern
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ALICE CREED
2009
0
Two men kidnap a rich girl.
Horrible drama that neatly sums up all that is vile in modern British pop culture.
Dir: J Blakeson
Stars: Gemma Arterton, Martin Compston, Eddie Marsan
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF FLIGHT 412
1975 (TV)
0
After several aircraft disappearances, the military investigate the possibility of UFOs being responsible.
Weak documentary-style sci-fi; not for those in search of fun or facts.
Dir: Jud Taylor
Stars: Glenn Ford, Bradford Dillman, David Soul
THE DISASTER ARTIST
2017
***
An eccentric, wealthy wannabe filmmaker shoots his movie, The Room (qv), with the help of an aspiring young actor.
Highly amusing look at the bad side of Hollywood and how cash can assist the talent-free; Franco's rich performance as the bizarre, but believable, Wiseau completely makes it, and it has you wanting to see the 2003 film (it gives us a reason not to, as before the end credits we're shown scenes from the original alongside recreations). A movie about movies that's a damned good movie.
Dir: James Franco
Stars: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Ari Graynor
THE DISCARNATES
1987
0
A man meets his parents who died 12 years previously.
One eventually appreciates this ghost story's subtleties, but it's a long haul.
Dir: Nobuhiko Obayashi
Stars: Morio Kazama, Tsurutaro Kataoka
DISCIPLE OF DEATH
1972
0
A servant of Satan poses as a priest in order to get closer to young virgins he needs for human sacrifice.
Amateurish, almost invisible horror which plays like a weird bad dream.
Dir: Tom Parkinson
Stars: Mike Raven, Ronald Lacey, Stephen Bradley
DISCLOSURE
1995
*
A man is sued for sexual harassment by a former lover who is now his boss.
A jarring melding of 1990s sexual politics issues and new technology, with plenty of gobbledygook dialogue typical of its author (Michael Crichton).
Dir: Barry Levinson
Stars: Michael Douglas, Demi Moore, Donald Sutherland, Caroline Goodall
THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE
1972
**
Four friends' efforts to dine together are constantly thwarted.
The master of the surreal at his most plotless and dream-heavy, and if you're not 'in' on the joke, then you might struggle. Performances are delightful but it lasts a little too long.
Dir: Luis Bunuel
Stars: Fernando Rey, Delphine Seyrig, Stephane Audran
DISRAELI
1929
*
British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli tries to buy the Suez Canal for his country.
Moth-eaten biopic, one of the first major talkies, and boy does it talk: scene after unvaried scene sees Arliss rabbiting on - it's clear he knew the part inside out at any rate. Of a little historical interest, it can be a chore to sit through.
Dir: Alfred E Green
Stars: George Arliss, Doris Lloyd, David Torrence, Joan Bennett
DISTANT VOICES, STILL LIVES
1988
*
Life for a working class Liverpool family in the 1950s.
The director doing what would come to be his familiar thing, but like its follow-up, The Long Day Closes (qv), the actual title proves more evocative than the content - at least to the vast majority of the audience who will not have experienced this particular way of life at this particular time in history. Plotless films are rarely great films, and the surfeit of singing only makes one wonder whether The Beatles gorged on such Merseyside melodies in their formative years, as opposed to anchoring it in our affection. A film that's hard to get absorbed in, no matter how much you try.
Dir: Terence Davies
Stars: Freda Dowie, Pete Postlethwaite, Angela Walsh, Dean Williams
DISTRICT 9
2009
**
Johannesburg is the home to a camp of alien settlers; the authorities’ attempts to close it down sparks off a string of unfortunate events.
Although it contains small elements of many other movies (what doesn’t nowadays?) this is an original and vibrant sci-fi thriller that takes us on an unexpected journey, has seamless CGI and thankfully isn’t preachy. It’d be even more fun if it wasn’t for the accents and the jumpy camerawork.
Dir: Neill Blomkamp
Stars: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, Nathalie Boltt
DISTRICT 13
2004
**
A cop and a criminal join forces to stop a bomb from blowing up a crime-ridden area of Paris called District 13.
The main draw here is the spectacular physical stunt work of the stars - indeed that's what this iniquitous film appears to have been built around - but more would have been nice, rather than having to suffer the fatuous dialogue and plot.
Dir: Pierre Morel
Stars: Cyril Raffaelli, David Belle, Tony D'Amario
DISTRICT 13: ULTIMATUM
2009
**
Corrupt officials in the French government plan to obliterate certain districts of Paris – the inhabitants aim to stop them.
Slick sequel with some of the best action sequences to be seen in the cinema all year; the plot may be bobbins but the film has its heart in the right place and the two leads are thrillingly agile and ingenious.
Dir: Patrick Alessandrin
Stars: Cyril Raffaelli, David Belle, Philippe Torreton
DISTURBIA
2007
*
A teenager under house arrest becomes convinced that his neighbour is a killer.
Easily watchable thriller that updates Rear Window for the teen market and feels it necessary to abandon subtlety in the final third. But it’s efficiently shot and not an imposition on one’s time.
Dir: DJ Caruso
Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Sarah Roemer, Carrie-Anne Moss, David Morse, Aaron Yoo
DIVERSIONS
1976
0
A woman on a train journey fantasises about bizarre sexual encounters, including those involving a vampire, Nazi soldiers and Victorian ghosts.
An absolutely unique slice of British sexploitation, essentially a constantly surprising - and sometimes shocking - series of almost wordless sweaty vignettes, it has a definite grainy charm and benefits from a better than average actress in the lead role. Unlikely to ever be re-released in any form thanks to its combination of real sex and extreme sexual violence (a cut-down version entitled Sex Express was made for the home front).
Dir: Derek Ford
Stars: Heather Deeley, Derek Martin, Timothy Blackstone
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
2007
***
The true story of a fashion magazine editor who has a stroke and becomes paralysed apart from one eye, but manages to blink out a memoir of his experiences.
Remarkably, a fine film of a book thought impossible to adapt; the way it’s shot perfectly captures the main character’s locked-in syndrome, and the script adroitly manages to sidestep mawkishness and sentiment to present a tale of unflinching frankness about what it is to be a human, at the mercy of life’s vicissitudes.
Dir: Julian Schnabel
Stars: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josee Croze, Marina Hands, Max von Sydow
THE DIVORCE OF LADY X
1938
*
A barrister falls in love with a woman he thinks his client will soon be divorcing.
Handsome but dated comedy of stiff manners.
Dir: Tim Whelan
Stars: Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson
THE DIVORCEE
1930
**
After a woman discovers her husband has been unfaithful she chooses to be unfaithful too.
A controversial and risque pre-Code picture of its time, now mild milk indeed, of course, but still of interest because of its sexual politics and winding story; plus, Shearer has star quality.
Dir: Robert Z Leonard
Stars: Norma Shearer, Robert Montgomery, Chester Morris, Conrad Nagel
DJANGO UNCHAINED
2012
*
A freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from an evil plantation owner.
Tarantino's worst film so far is an unbelievably boring 'Southern' - as opposed to Western - that smacks of a director in love with himself who is absurdly indulged by those around him. Murderously long, it features one tedious chunk of dialogue after another, violence that's childishly over-the-top and performances that can most generously be described as variable: lead Foxx is completely non-dimensional. Its hateful, repellent attitude could be said to encapsulate America's long-running racial nightmare, with the irresponsible director doing his bit for white guilt - just another depressing aspect of a depressing production.
Dir: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L Jackson
DO DETECTIVES THINK?
1927
*
Two hopeless detectives are hired to guard a judge who has been threatened by an escaped convict, The Tipton Slasher.
The first film in which Laurel and Hardy appear in their familiar roles (pretty much) and guises; a fair, straightforward comedy, enlivened, as ever, by Finlayson, as well as some really interesting visual stuff, like the goat's shadow and the spooky graveyard.
Dir: Fred Guiol
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Noah Young
DO THE RIGHT THING
1991
***
Racial tensions explode on a hot day in a Brooklyn neighbourhood.
Probably Spike Lee's best film; adroitly scripted and conveying a convincing atmosphere of heat and strife.
Dir: Spike Lee
Stars: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Spike Lee, Samuel L Jackson
DOA
1949
**
A man arrives at a police station to report a murder... his own.
Felicitous film noir, original and exciting, strikingly shot on location in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Dir: Rudolph Mate
Stars: Edmond O'Brien, Pamela Britton, Beverly Garland
DOA
1981
**
Documentary featuring the stars of the punk music scene, including footage of the Sex Pistols' infamous American tour and an 'interview' with Sid Vicious.
In turns fascinating then depressing then riveting then risible then disturbing.
Dir: Lech Kowalski
Stars: The Clash, The Sex Pistols, Sham 69, Generation X
DOA
1989
*
A man is poisoned and has 24 hours to find his killer.
Remake of the 1949 film, not bad in itself, but the original is the one to go for.
Dir: Annabel Jankel, Rocky Morton
Stars: Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, Charlotte Rampling, Daniel Stern
DOC HOLLYWOOD
1991
0
A young doctor is forced to stay in what he regards as a dismal backwater.
Tiresomely predictable rom com, neither as funny nor succinct as it should be.
Dir: Michael Caton-Jones
Stars: Michael J Fox, Julie Warner, Woody Harrelson, George Hamilton, Bridget Fonda
DOC SAVAGE, MAN OF BRONZE
1975
*
In the 1930s, a superman searches for his lost father in the wilds of South America.
Fantasy adventure a little better than it is usually credited for but fatally artificial-looking and lacking in humour.
Dir: Michael Anderson
Stars: Ron Ely, Paul Gleason, William Lucking
THE DOCK BRIEF
1962
*
An inadequate lawyer represents a man who murdered his wife.
There aren't many laughs in this curio, and there's a feeling of what could have been, but it holds the attention.
Dir: James Hill
Stars: Peter Sellers, Richard Attenborough, Beryl Reid, David Lodge, Patrick Newell
THE DOCKS OF NEW YORK
1928
**
A barge worker in port saves a girl from drowning, and an unlikely romance blossoms.
In the last full year of silent films, here's one which was possibly better without spoken dialogue - its story is simple but strong, though what really elevates it is the confident photography and its sets' evocation of a murky time and place. Not a showy or spectacular movie, just a subtly accomplished one, with hints of thematic things it can't properly show.
Dir: Josef von Sternberg
Stars: George Bancroft, Betty Compson, Olga Baclanova, Clyde CookDR ALIEN
1988
0
A boy grows a fleshy antenna out of his head which makes him attractive to women.
Crude comedy which ends in cringe-making sentimentality.
Dir: David DeCoteau
Stars: Billy Jayne, Judy Landers, Olivia Barash
THE DOCTOR AND THE DEVILS
1985
0
Grave robbers supply a doctor with bodies to test on.
Failed attempt to make an old style horror film; there's neither a nostalgic feel nor much exciting going on.
Dir: Freddie Francis
Stars: Timothy Dalton, Jonathan Pryce, Twiggy, Julian Sands, Stephen Rea, Beryl Reid, Patrick Stewart
DOCTOR AT LARGE
1957
0
Dr Sparrow graduates and goes for a job at a hospital.
Affable, aimless, dated comedy short on laughs.
Dir: Ralph Thomas
Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Donald Sinden, James Robertson Justice, Shirley Eaton
DOCTOR AT SEA
1955
0
Simon Sparrow becomes a ship's doctor.
Second in the series; pleasant atmosphere, elementary jokes.
Dir: Ralph Thomas
Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Brigitte Bardot, James Robertson Justice, Maurice Denham, Geofrrey Keen, Joan Sims
DR CRIPPEN
1962
*
In turn of the century London, a doctor is accused of killing his wife to enable him to run off with his lover.
Perfunctory dramatisation of the famous case that mixes courtroom sessions with equally wordy flashbacks – a better director could have made so much more of the famous real-life material, and may have also painted a far less sympathetic picture of the bad doctor.
Dir: Robert Lynn
Stars: Donald Pleasence, Samantha Eggar, Coral Browne, Donald Wolfit, James Robertson Justice, John Arnatt
DR CYCLOPS
1940
*
A mad doctor shrinks people if they try to stop his warped experiments.
Resolute horror with special effects that still look good today.
Dir: Ernest B Schoedsack
Stars: Albert Dekker, Thomas Coley, Janice Logan
DR DOLITTLE
1967
0
A doctor who can talk to animals sets off in search of the Giant Pink Sea Snail.
Overlong musical with ordinary tunes, but some pleasures for little viewers.
Dir: Richard Fleischer
Stars: Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley, Richard Attenborough
DOCTOR FAUSTUS
1967
0
A scholar sells his soul to the devil for 24 years of pleasure.
Cheap, uncinematic adaptation of Marlowe’s marvellous play which looks like it was shot in a multi-coloured broom cupboard and was much mocked at the time. It may have been a pet project of the director/star but his stiff character displays little enthusiasm for fun or much terror at his approaching damnation.
Dir: Richard Burton, Nevill Coghill
Stars: Richard Burton, Andreas Teuber, Elizabeth Taylor, Ian Marter
DR GOLDFOOT AND THE BIKINI MACHINE
1965
0
A mad scientist disguises robots as glamorous women to do his bidding.
'Inane' and 'moronic' are the words that come to mind early on in viewing this, and they tend to stay in the mind; almost without merit, save plenty of location shooting in San Francisco.
Dir: Norman Taurog
Stars: Vincent Price, Frankie Avalon, Susan Hart
DR GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS
1966
0
Dr Goldfoot uses explosives in pretty girl form to get his way.
Shockingly bad fantasy, a low for all concerned.
Dir: Mario Bava
Stars: Vincent Price, Fabian, Franco Franchi
DR HECKYL AND MR HYPE
1980
0
An ugly doctor transforms himself into a debonair ladies' man.
Hopeless spoof, dismally scripted.
Dir: Charles B Griffith
Stars: Oliver Reed, Sunny Johnson, Jackie Coogan
DOCTOR IN CLOVER
1966
0
Dr Grimsdyke has amorous adventures in the medical field.
Tedious sixth entry in the series; plenty of familiar funny faces can't salvage it.
Dir: Ralph Thomas
Stars: Leslie Phillips, James Robertson Justice, Shirley Anne Field, Joan Sims, Fenella Fielding, Terry Scott, Alfie Bass
DOCTOR IN DISTRESS
1963
0
Sir Lancelot and Simon Sparrow both have difficulties with girls.
Wearisome comedy, like an extremely bland and uninteresting Carry On.
Dir: Ralph Thomas
Stars: James Robertson Justice, Dirk Bogarde, Samantha Eggar, Donald Houston, Dennis Price, Leo McKern
DOCTOR IN LOVE
1960
0
Doctors Burke and Hare head into the world of general practice.
Terribly mild, episodic fourth in the series; it's best when the great Robertson Justice is on screen.
Dir: Ralph Thomas
Stars: Michael Craig, James Robertson Justice, Virginia Maskell, Leslie Phillips, Joan Sims, Liz Fraser, Irene Handl, Fenella Fielding, Nicholas Parsons
DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE
1954
*
Hi-jinks among a group of medical students in London.
A riotous box office draw in its day, the first Doctor film now seems totally innocuous and a little sad to watch because so many of the cast, here playing youngsters setting out in life, are now deceased.
Dir: Ralph Thomas
Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Kenneth More, Donald Sinden, James Robertson Justice, Donald Houston, Geoffrey Keen, Joan Sims
DOCTOR IN TROUBLE
1970
0
Dr Burke stows away on a ship while pursuing a woman.
The final Doctor film thank god, this offers up nothing that the series or the Carry On movies had not done so previously.
Dir: Ralph Thomas
Stars: Leslie Phillips, Harry Secombe, James Robertson Justice, Irene Handl, Simon Dee, Robert Morley, Freddie Jones, Joan Sims, John Le Mesurier, Graham Stark
DR JACK
1922
*
A friendly doctor helps a young woman get better.
Lloyd hadn't really mastered the art of the feature by this point - there are bright moments but this is an episodic and patchy film that doesn't hang together that well.
Dir: Fred C Newmeyer
Stars: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, John T Prince
DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE
1921
*
Dr Henry Jekyll performs experiments to try and reveal the dark side of man but succeeds in unleashing his own murderous nature.
Popular early version of Stevenson's novel that sees the star frantically contorting himself in the transformation scenes.
Dir: John S Robertson
Stars: John Barrymore, Charles Lane
DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE
1931
***
The best version of the story, highly cinematic and adult in approach, distinguished by the star's splendid dual performance.
Dir: Rouben Mamoulian
Stars: Frederic March, Miriam Hopkins, Holmes Herbert
DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE
1941
*
A more refined, romantic interpretation that suffers from a slow pace and miscast male lead.
Dir: Victor Fleming
Stars: Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, Donald Crisp
DR JEKYLL & SISTER HYDE
1971
*
Dr Jekyll imbibes a potion which temporarily turns him into a woman.
Imaginative horror which manages to include not only Jekyll and Hyde but Jack the Ripper and Burke and Hare too; all fairly absurd, but quite fun to watch. There’s not really a great deal of exploration of what it’s like to change sex but its evocation of foggy Whitechapel streets offers some old-school enjoyment.
Dir: Roy Ward Baker
Stars: Ralph Bates, Martine Beswick, Gerald Sim, Lewis Fiander
1988
0
A boy grows a fleshy antenna out of his head which makes him attractive to women.
Crude comedy which ends in cringe-making sentimentality.
Dir: David DeCoteau
Stars: Billy Jayne, Judy Landers, Olivia Barash
THE DOCTOR AND THE DEVILS
1985
0
Grave robbers supply a doctor with bodies to test on.
Failed attempt to make an old style horror film; there's neither a nostalgic feel nor much exciting going on.
Dir: Freddie Francis
Stars: Timothy Dalton, Jonathan Pryce, Twiggy, Julian Sands, Stephen Rea, Beryl Reid, Patrick Stewart
DOCTOR AT LARGE
1957
0
Dr Sparrow graduates and goes for a job at a hospital.
Affable, aimless, dated comedy short on laughs.
Dir: Ralph Thomas
Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Donald Sinden, James Robertson Justice, Shirley Eaton
DOCTOR AT SEA
1955
0
Simon Sparrow becomes a ship's doctor.
Second in the series; pleasant atmosphere, elementary jokes.
Dir: Ralph Thomas
Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Brigitte Bardot, James Robertson Justice, Maurice Denham, Geofrrey Keen, Joan Sims
DOCTOR BLOOD’S COFFIN
1961
*
In a Cornish village, a scientist attempts to revive the dead.
Slight horror with a Frankenstein-type plot; if the film was dramatic as the score makes it out to be then it'd surely be the most thrilling movie of all time - as it is, it's very short on tension or suspense, with the lush Cornish landscapes the main avenue of pleasure, which surely isn't good news for a fright flick. It probably doesn't make a great deal of sense either. A few bloody surgery scenes hardly fulfil the promise of the lurid title, which likely lured a few punters in.
Dir: Sidney J Furie
Stars: Kieron Moore, Hazel Court, Ian Hunter
DR CRIPPEN
1962
*
In turn of the century London, a doctor is accused of killing his wife to enable him to run off with his lover.
Perfunctory dramatisation of the famous case that mixes courtroom sessions with equally wordy flashbacks – a better director could have made so much more of the famous real-life material, and may have also painted a far less sympathetic picture of the bad doctor.
Dir: Robert Lynn
Stars: Donald Pleasence, Samantha Eggar, Coral Browne, Donald Wolfit, James Robertson Justice, John Arnatt
DR CYCLOPS
1940
*
A mad doctor shrinks people if they try to stop his warped experiments.
Resolute horror with special effects that still look good today.
Dir: Ernest B Schoedsack
Stars: Albert Dekker, Thomas Coley, Janice Logan
DR DOLITTLE
1967
0
A doctor who can talk to animals sets off in search of the Giant Pink Sea Snail.
Overlong musical with ordinary tunes, but some pleasures for little viewers.
Dir: Richard Fleischer
Stars: Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley, Richard Attenborough
DOCTOR FAUSTUS
1967
0
A scholar sells his soul to the devil for 24 years of pleasure.
Cheap, uncinematic adaptation of Marlowe’s marvellous play which looks like it was shot in a multi-coloured broom cupboard and was much mocked at the time. It may have been a pet project of the director/star but his stiff character displays little enthusiasm for fun or much terror at his approaching damnation.
Dir: Richard Burton, Nevill Coghill
Stars: Richard Burton, Andreas Teuber, Elizabeth Taylor, Ian Marter
DR GOLDFOOT AND THE BIKINI MACHINE
1965
0
A mad scientist disguises robots as glamorous women to do his bidding.
'Inane' and 'moronic' are the words that come to mind early on in viewing this, and they tend to stay in the mind; almost without merit, save plenty of location shooting in San Francisco.
Dir: Norman Taurog
Stars: Vincent Price, Frankie Avalon, Susan Hart
DR GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS
1966
0
Dr Goldfoot uses explosives in pretty girl form to get his way.
Shockingly bad fantasy, a low for all concerned.
Dir: Mario Bava
Stars: Vincent Price, Fabian, Franco Franchi
DR HECKYL AND MR HYPE
1980
0
An ugly doctor transforms himself into a debonair ladies' man.
Hopeless spoof, dismally scripted.
Dir: Charles B Griffith
Stars: Oliver Reed, Sunny Johnson, Jackie Coogan
DOCTOR IN CLOVER
1966
0
Dr Grimsdyke has amorous adventures in the medical field.
Tedious sixth entry in the series; plenty of familiar funny faces can't salvage it.
Dir: Ralph Thomas
Stars: Leslie Phillips, James Robertson Justice, Shirley Anne Field, Joan Sims, Fenella Fielding, Terry Scott, Alfie Bass
DOCTOR IN DISTRESS
1963
0
Sir Lancelot and Simon Sparrow both have difficulties with girls.
Wearisome comedy, like an extremely bland and uninteresting Carry On.
Dir: Ralph Thomas
Stars: James Robertson Justice, Dirk Bogarde, Samantha Eggar, Donald Houston, Dennis Price, Leo McKern
DOCTOR IN LOVE
1960
0
Doctors Burke and Hare head into the world of general practice.
Terribly mild, episodic fourth in the series; it's best when the great Robertson Justice is on screen.
Dir: Ralph Thomas
Stars: Michael Craig, James Robertson Justice, Virginia Maskell, Leslie Phillips, Joan Sims, Liz Fraser, Irene Handl, Fenella Fielding, Nicholas Parsons
DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE
1954
*
Hi-jinks among a group of medical students in London.
A riotous box office draw in its day, the first Doctor film now seems totally innocuous and a little sad to watch because so many of the cast, here playing youngsters setting out in life, are now deceased.
Dir: Ralph Thomas
Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Kenneth More, Donald Sinden, James Robertson Justice, Donald Houston, Geoffrey Keen, Joan Sims
DOCTOR IN TROUBLE
1970
0
Dr Burke stows away on a ship while pursuing a woman.
The final Doctor film thank god, this offers up nothing that the series or the Carry On movies had not done so previously.
Dir: Ralph Thomas
Stars: Leslie Phillips, Harry Secombe, James Robertson Justice, Irene Handl, Simon Dee, Robert Morley, Freddie Jones, Joan Sims, John Le Mesurier, Graham Stark
DR JACK
1922
*
A friendly doctor helps a young woman get better.
Lloyd hadn't really mastered the art of the feature by this point - there are bright moments but this is an episodic and patchy film that doesn't hang together that well.
Dir: Fred C Newmeyer
Stars: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, John T Prince
DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE
1921
*
Dr Henry Jekyll performs experiments to try and reveal the dark side of man but succeeds in unleashing his own murderous nature.
Popular early version of Stevenson's novel that sees the star frantically contorting himself in the transformation scenes.
Dir: John S Robertson
Stars: John Barrymore, Charles Lane
DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE
1931
***
The best version of the story, highly cinematic and adult in approach, distinguished by the star's splendid dual performance.
Dir: Rouben Mamoulian
Stars: Frederic March, Miriam Hopkins, Holmes Herbert
DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE
1941
*
A more refined, romantic interpretation that suffers from a slow pace and miscast male lead.
Dir: Victor Fleming
Stars: Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, Donald Crisp
DOCTOR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE
1973 (TV)
0
This disaster deserves to be more famous - maybe Channel 5 will feature it in a show - as it's a bizarre attempt to turn Stevenson's story into a musical, with songs by Lionel Bart. This somehow worked brilliantly a few years before when his tunes were put into a version of Dickens' dark and sordid Oliver Twist, but here it's a risible mismatch, probably because this is a psychological horror story that deserves care. In any case the tunes are like something AI would come up with if told to write in Bart Oliver! style. There are few other redeeming features in a cramped made-for-telly production, although actors like Douglas and Pleasence do give it their best shot.
Dir: David Winters
Stars: Kirk Douglas, Susan George, Susan Hampshire, Donald Pleasence, Stanley Holloway, Michael Redgrave
1971
*
Dr Jekyll imbibes a potion which temporarily turns him into a woman.
Imaginative horror which manages to include not only Jekyll and Hyde but Jack the Ripper and Burke and Hare too; all fairly absurd, but quite fun to watch. There’s not really a great deal of exploration of what it’s like to change sex but its evocation of foggy Whitechapel streets offers some old-school enjoyment.
Dir: Roy Ward Baker
Stars: Ralph Bates, Martine Beswick, Gerald Sim, Lewis Fiander
DR JEKYLL VS THE WEREWOLF
1972
0
The wolfman seeks help from Dr Jekyll for his condition.
Bananas horror, rather like two or three movies in one, it goes back and forth on locations while Naschy tries on different monstrous guises, like when he's wandering round London's Soho looking for action in his top hat. Bad and bonkers, it's sadly hard to find an uncut print now - the sauce and blood would spice it up more - although, of course, there are probably 7,000 films you should watch before considering this one.
Dir: Leon Klimovsky
Stars: Paul Naschy, Shirley Corrigan, Jack Taylor, Mirta Miller
DR MABUSE THE GAMBLER
1922
**
International criminal Dr Mabuse aims to make a fortune and run Berlin.
Archaic fantasy melodrama of some interest to cinema historians thanks to its imaginative sets and camerawork, but now a chore to sit through, especially in its four-hour version.
Dir: Fritz Lang
Stars: Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Aud Egede Nissen
DR NO
1962
***
British secret agent 007 James Bond is sent to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of a colleague.
The first Bond movie deserves to be placed among the best of the series, as all the elements (girls, gadgets, fights, wisecracks, the big villain) are given perfect weight and everything has a fresh and feisty feel. The soon-to-be-familiar - and beefed up - template is here set out with great clarity, a detective story rather than an action blockbuster, and after all these years the film still looks fantastic, with Connery's portrayal of 007 magnificently magnetic and measured. Nowadays it almost serves as a mouth-watering appetiser for things to come.
Dir: Terence Young
Stars: Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman, Jack Lord, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell
DR PHIBES RISES AGAIN
1972
*
The disfigured doctor attempts to resurrect his dead wife in Egypt.
Sequel to The Abominable Dr Phibes, with the spicy deaths again being the movie's highlights (the best of which is the bed, the least of which is the snakes on the snooker table), although there are touches of humour and suitably bizarre visuals that boost it; its moderate pace is alleviated by impressive art direction. The not totally dissimilar Theatre Of Blood (qv) is superior to the two Phibes films.
Dir: Robert Fuest
Stars: Vincent Price, Robert Quarry, Valli Kemp, Peter Jeffrey, Fiona Lewis, John Cater, Hugh Griffith, Peter Cushing, Beryl Reid, Terry-Thomas
DR SCORPION
1978 (TV)
0
A CIA agent tracks down a criminal mastermind.
Telly James Bond clone; you'd probably enjoy life more not seeing it.
Dir: Richard Lang
Stars: Nick Mancuso, Christine Lahti, Richard Herd
DOCTOR SLEEP
2019
0
Following the events of The Shining, a now adult Danny Torrance is struggling with life and then comes up against villains with similar powers he has.
Unnecessary, flabby sequel set in many places and in many different time zones, which all detracts from what should have been a tight focus on Torrance - although McGregor, as is often, fails to convince in his role. Attempts to reference the original are particularly clod-hopping and often over-done (the naked old woman), while its earnest seriousness and unwieldy length make one soporific, wishing we were watching the original. And as ever with 2019 Hollywood, white male roles are kept to a minimum because it would never do to have too many of those sort of people.
Dir: Mike Flanagan
Stars: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran
DR STRANGE
1978 (TV)
0
A psychiatrist becomes a sorcerer extraordinaire.
Marvel Comics adaptation exhibiting some imagination but not enough oomph to lead to the hoped-for TV series.
Dir: Philip DeGuere
Stars: Peter Hooten, Clyde Kusatsu, John Mills
DOCTOR STRANGE
2016
*
After a neurosurgeon is involved in a serious car crash he journeys to the East where he discovers the Ancient One, who teaches him mystical powers.
Having used most of their best superheroes already, Marvel are now showcasing their lesser ones, and the resulting film is pretty much as you'd expect. It passes the time well enough, and some of the Inception-like special effects are great, but it's a story that hits familiar beats despite being dressed up in a different fashion to previous Marvel movies. Only a little bit magical.
Dir: Scott Derrickson
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton, Benedict Wong
DR STRANGELOVE; OR, HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB
1963
****
An insane American general sets a series of events in motion that threaten to lead to nuclear destruction.
Kubrick's gleaming satire on the absurdity of war has not been dimmed by the years and actually looks better than ever. Sellers is the pick of the performances but the whole cast gleefully join in with the countdown to apocalypse.
Dir: Stanley Kubrick
Stars: Peter Sellers, George C Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, James Earl Jones
DR TERROR’S HOUSE OF HORRORS
1965
*
Five strangers on a train are told their fortunes by a mysterious old man.
The first of Amicus’s horror compendiums, but the weakest of the lot, with a quintet of half-baked tales featuring everything from werewolves to voodoo to Triffid imitators; scenes may look colourfully unreal but all too often what’s happening in them is just not at all interesting. Add to this a couple of buffoonish non-actors, too much bad music and an irritating ‘to-be-sceptic-of-the-supernatural-is-idiocy’ air and you’ve got a very flawed film, albeit one that is far from insignificant.
Dir: Freddie Francis
Stars: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Bernard Lee, Roy Castle, Alan Freeman, Donald Sutherland, Neil McCallum
DOCTOR SYN
1937
0
The village vicar is actually a former pirate, and still a smuggler.
The lead actor is perhaps miscast in this fair but creaky yarn that was more successfully shot by Hammer some 25 years later. It's a pity the print isn't in better condition.
Dir: Roy William Neill
Stars: George Arliss, Margaret Lockwood, John Loder, Graham Moffatt
DOCTOR WHO
1996 (TV)
0
The Doctor battles The Master on the eve of the new millennium.
Unfortunate American attempt to bring back TV sci-fi's greatest character; nothing works at all. It wouldn't be until 2005 that the Doctor would properly return.
Dir: Geoffrey Sax
Stars: Paul McGann, Eric Roberts, Daphne Ashbrook, Sylvester McCoy
DR WHO AND THE DALEKS
1965
0
An eccentric inventor with a time and space machine travels to Skaro, where peaceful Thals are pitted against evil Daleks.
The look of the multi-coloured Daleks is the main attraction of this TV spin-off, which is childishly developed and consistently unconvincing. Cushing's portrayal of the time traveller manages to be almost as irritating as first Doctor William Hartnell's.
Dir: Gordon Flemyng
Stars: Peter Cushing, Roy Castle, Jennie Linden, Roberta Tovey
DOCTOR X
1932
*
An eccentric doctor engages in bizarre, murderous experiments.
Horror which switches between impressive, scary sequences and tedious, dated comic relief.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Stars: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Lee Tracy
DOCTOR ZHIVAGO
1965
**
A Russian doctor experiences the hardships of the Bolshevik Revolution.
After several epics in warm climates, Lean shot one in the cold instead, and what glorious scenery he found! The story is another matter, although it is a difficult book to film, and one feels that, if not for commercial constraints, the director would have happily made a 12-hour movie.
Dir: David Lean
Stars: Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Rod Steiger, Alec Guinness, Tom Courtenay, Ralph Richardson, Rita Tushingham, Klaus Kinski
DODSWORTH
1936
**
A marriage becomes less secure after the man gives up work.
A surprisingly mature film for Thirties Hollywood, one which looks at changing relationships in a grown-up fashion; fine performances and good dialogue assist its aims.
Dir: William Wyler
Stars: Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, Paul Lukas, Mary Astor, David Niven
DOG DAY AFTERNOON
1975
*
An incompetent robber attempts to hold up a bank.
Frenetic comic drama done in real time largely in one place, it fails to triumph because the characters are neither sympathetic nor believable, generally participating in long shouting matches with one another.
Dir: Sidney Lumet
Stars: Al Pacino, Charles Durning, John Cazale, Chris Sarandon
DOG EAT DOG
2001
*
A group of young black men accidentally kidnap the dog of a local drug dealer.
Rough around the edges comedy that has a sort of raw energy that prevents it from flagging.
Dir: Moody Shoaibi
Stars: Mark Tonderai, Nathan Constance, Alan Davies, Ricky Gervais
DOG SOLDIERS
2002
0
A military exercise in the Scottish wilderness is disrupted by werewolves.
Standard horror siege film, full of sweary, panicking soldiers being oh so serious and unpleasant in what is essentially a fantasy monster movie. Perhaps everyone forgot.
Dir: Neil Marshall
Stars: Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd, Liam Cunningham
DOG STAR MAN
1962
0
A man and his dog climb a mountain. Apparently.
Unfathomable artsiness, half an hour of oblique images with no soundtrack, and scarily, one part of several. It's good this world has proper film directors (and plumbers, electricians, miners, oil rig workers etc).
Dir: Stan BrakhageDOGHOUSE
2009
0
An all-male group on a sojourn encounter violent female zombies.
Deeply tedious, deeply awful horror ‘comedy’ that’s just as disagreeable, potty-mouthed and dispiriting as you expect it to be. Equally as horrible as the similar Lesbian Vampire Killers (qv).
Dir: Jake West
Stars: Danny Dyer, Stephen Graham, Noel Clarke, Terry Stone
2009
0
An all-male group on a sojourn encounter violent female zombies.
Deeply tedious, deeply awful horror ‘comedy’ that’s just as disagreeable, potty-mouthed and dispiriting as you expect it to be. Equally as horrible as the similar Lesbian Vampire Killers (qv).
Dir: Jake West
Stars: Danny Dyer, Stephen Graham, Noel Clarke, Terry Stone
DOGS DON'T WEAR PANTS
2019
0
After his wife dies, a strange man takes solace in BDSM.
Freaky people do freaky things for a freaky audience. Oh, just such a dismal dirge of a movie, devoid of anyone resembling a sympathetic human being.
Dir: JP Valkeapaa
Stars: Pekka Strang, Krista Kosonen, Ilona Huhta
DOGS IN SPACE
1986
**
In 1978 Melbourne, a young punk band live in a dingy, drug-addled squat.
Cacophonous slice of seediness that may only appeal to a minority but is distressingly absorbing. The title choice is a poor one – it’s the name of the band.
Dir: Richard Lowenstein
Stars: Michael Hutchence, Saskia Post, Nique Needles
A DOG'S JOURNEY
2019
**
The canine from A Dog's Purpose has further adventures, many with a troubled girl.
More of the same, except this time 'Bailey' helps a girl through life's trials and tribulations; yes, it's cynically manipulative, makes do with broad strokes and crude characterisation, and its tragedies are completely see-through, but it speaks up for perseverance, love, family life and the value of owning an animal: the most human people here are dog-lovers. Slightly older children should have a worthwhile hour and a half or so - their parents will likely be trying to hold back the tears at several cunningly crafted junctures.
Dir: Gail Mancuso
Stars: Kathryn Prescott, Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid, Betty Gilpin
A DOG'S PURPOSE
2017
**
A dog has many different lives under different owners.
Not a film for critics, but one that the average family audience should enjoy, especially those in the mood to be emotionally manipulated: for starters, the format allows the dog to die several times, which always gives the tear ducts something to do. But it's a nicely made, nicely shot picture that delivers a positive message and celebrates the animal that is truly man's best friend.
Dir: Lasse Hallstrom
Stars: Josh Gad, KJ Apa, Dennis Quaid, Britt Robertson
A DOG'S WAY HOME
2019
*
A female dog travels hundreds of miles to find her owner.
Of no relation to A Dog's Purpose, this is a formulaic Incredible Journey-type yarn with a liberal leaning, variable CGI and several scenes to make young children cry. The dog's voiceover is a bit cloying. Painless enough, it's unlikely to live too long in the memory.
Dir: Charles Martin Smith
Stars: Bryce Dallas Howard, Ashley Judd, Jonah Hauer-King
DOGVILLE
2003
**
A young woman on the run from gangsters takes refuge in a strange town.
‘Arty’ isn’t the word for this highly experimental film which is likely to polarise opinion; although much of it is hard-going, with dialogue often delivered in hushed, conspiratorial tones, the cerebral machinations behind it, along with the acting, provide intellectual nourishment. Its narrative deals in the unexpected and you probably wouldn’t want to watch it more than once.
Dir: Lars von Trier
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Ben Gazzara, Lauren Bacall, Blair Brown, James Caan, Chloe Sevigny, Philip Baker Hall, Stellan Skarsgard, Udo Kier. Narrator: John Hurt
DOING TIME ON MAPLE DRIVE
1992 (TV)
*
Grown-up children struggle to get along with their rigid parents.
Decent drama, a well written and acted story about difficulties many of us can sympathise with. Its character focus narrows in the second half, possibly to its advantage.
Dir: Ken Olin
Stars: James Sikking, Bib Besch, William McNamara, Jim Carrey
LA DOLCE VITA
1960
**
A journalist finds it difficult to tear himself away from a life of celebrities, hedonism and partying.
Even when Fellini’s opus is an endurance – which it sometimes is – there is lots going on, both in terms of acumen behind the camera and activity in front of it; the film bursts with life and unerringly captures the exciting city-based existence of those in certain sections of the media. The director’s opinion that this is a frivolous, ephemeral way to live is hammered home at too much length but there are many visual compensations along the way.
Dir: Federico Fellini
Stars: Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimee, Yvonne Furneaux, Lex Barker
DOLLS
1986
0
Various people get stuck at a strange, remote house where murderous dolls are on the loose.
Cartoonish horror with cartoonish characters, most of whom have really annoying, loud voices, whether it be the cockney women or the whining kid. The movie's only redeeming feature is the creepy dolls themselves, the focal point - otherwise it's simplistic and formulaic, a tiresome run round an old dark house over one night which goes on for way too long, even with 70-minute running time.
Dir: Stuart Gordon
Stars: Ian Patrick Williams, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Carrie Lorraine, Guy Rolfe
DOMINIQUE
1978
0
A man who recently lost his wife believes he is being haunted by her.
Les Diaboliques-inspired thriller, mechanical and dreadful, largely consisting of long shots of people staring at each other and walking around corridors.
Dir: Michael Anderson
Stars: Cliff Robertson, Jean Simmons, Jenny Agutter, Simon Ward, Ron Moody, Judy Geeson, Michael Jayston
DONA FLOR AND HER TWO HUSBANDS
1976
0
A woman's husband dies so she remarries, but the ghost of her first hubby returns to be with her.
Mysteriously a success; dreadful-looking, long-winded sex comedy, pointless in heavily edited versions.
Dir: Bruno Barreto
Stars: Sonia Braga, Jose Wilker
DONKEY PUNCH
2008
**
A drug-fuelled orgy on a boat goes horribly wrong.
One could bemoan the nasty culture that spawns films like this, but it is undeniably a compulsive and tightly handled thriller, albeit one that eventually goes over the top. The young cast are all unpleasantly proficient in their unsympathetic roles.
Dir: Olly Blackburn
Stars: Robert Boulter, Sian Breckin, Tom Burke, Julian Morris, Jaime Winstone
DONNIE DARKO
2001
**
A teenager is plagued by visions of a large rabbit that manipulates him to commit crimes.
A film rather too pleased with its own cleverness, this dark, mostly unsympathetic drama has nevertheless generated realms of internet analysis, not to mention helping to sell a lot of pop music CDs.
Dir: Richard Kelly
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Patrick Swayze, Drew Barrymore, Katharine Ross
DONOVAN’S BRAIN
1953
*
The brain of a dead millionaire is kept in a scientist's tank and forces the scientist to kill for him.
Decent, slightly flat shocker, previously filmed as The Lady And The Monster (qv). The production can't quite accentuate the horror elements - it is more comfortable with the crime elements, and prefers talk rather than action, but the intriguing germ of a plot is not totally lost in the proceedings; pity they didn't go for a darker ending, but then this was 1953. Ayres sounds a lot like Jack Lemmon, and looks a bit like him too.
Dir: Felix E Feist
Stars: Lew Ayres, Nancy Davis, Gene Evans
DON'S PARTY
1976
*
A couple throw a party on the night of the 1969 federal election, but it descends into bitterness and rancour.
An archetypal Australian film of the 1970s which probably says as much about the Oz middle class as Abigail's Party did about the British middle class; it's spiky, rude and highly-charged, and maintains interest despite its stage-based scenario.
Dir: Bruce Beresford
Stars: John Hargreaves, Pat Bishop, Graham Kennedy, Ray Barrett
DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE!
1979
0
A Vietnam veteran stalks a city finding females to slaughter.
It doesn't really matter that this horror is sleazy and scuzzy, more that it's very basic - the mix of police procedural and madman on the loose doesn't exactly break any barriers, although at least it has a sense of humour. A 'section 3' video nasty, a later UK DVD release was so shorn of nudity it may as well have been for Saudi Arabia.
Dir: Robert Hammer
Stars: James Westmoreland, Ben Frank, Flo Lawrence
DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK
1973 (TV)
*
A couple inherits an old mansion inhabited by small demon-like creatures.
This TV movie receives a lot of praise, possibly in part because it is a TV movie - if it was made for the cinema there'd likely be less adulation. It's also that many of those favourably commenting saw it when young and have pleasurable memories of being creeped out by it; and it does have good points - the lighting is colourful and imaginative and the creatures quirky and smile-worthy, even if plot development and scare mechanics are fairly rudimentary, and repetitive. The film is laudably fully committed to its outlandish story, though it perhaps struggles to finish it satisfactorily.
Dir: John Newland
Stars: Kim Darby, Jim Hutton, Barbara Anderson, William Demarest
DON'T BOTHER TO KNOCK
1952
*
An unbalanced babysitter wreaks havoc at a New York hotel.
Marvellous Monroe's first major starring part but sadly she can't make it work - it's like a smile-less version of a bedroom farce, with very little dramatic force.
Dir: Roy Ward Baker
Stars: Marilyn Monroe, Richard Widmark, Anne Bancroft, Jim Backus
DON'T BREATHE
2016
*
Burglars get more than they bargained for when they break into a blind war vet's house.
Pretty effective thriller which capitalises on its restricted setting. Silliness is not absent as the blind man appears to get less and less blind as the movie progresses.
Dir: Fede Alvarez
Stars: Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette
DON’T DRINK THE WATER
1969
0
An American family holidaying in Bulgaria are forced to take refuge in the American Embassy after being accused of spying.
Uninspired filming of Allen's play; the lines aren't funny because the lead characters aren't likeable.
Dir: Howard Morris
Stars: Jackie Gleason, Estelle Parsons, Ted Bessell
DON’T GO IN THE HOUSE
1980
*
A disturbed factory worker lures women to the home of his dead mother.
One of the slightly better ‘video nasties’, a grim cross of Maniac and Psycho that peaks early on with a wildly horrific scene involving a naked woman being set alight with a flamethrower, and then rather runs out of ideas. A few quirks, like a disco scene and the loopy finale, ensure it’s not a total dud.
Dir: Joseph Ellison
Stars: Dan Grimaldi, Robert Osth, Ruth Dardick
DON’T GO IN THE WOODS
1981
0
Campers in the woods are slain by a weapon-wielding savage.
A celebration of terribleness which offers up the very worst acting, scripting and direction, and was lucky enough to get on the banned list in the UK. The funniest scenes are the guy saying sorry to the other guy he’s just stabbed, and the unlucky chap in the wheelchair.
Dir: James Bryan
Stars: Ken Carter, Jack McClelland, Mary Gail Artz
DON’T GO NEAR THE PARK
1981
0
Two cannibals are cursed and over many years have to eat the guts of virgins.
Staggeringly lousy fantasy horror, utterly atrocious on every level, it looks like it was made up as they went along. Wretched even by video nasty standards, you’re on the floor by the time the laser beams come out of characters’ eyes.
Dir: Lawrence D Foldes
Stars: Aldo Ray, Meeno Peluce, Tamara Taylor
DON’T JUST LIE THERE, SAY SOMETHING
1973
0
A cabinet minister is puritanical in public but philandering in private.
Abysmal farce, as painful as a Neil Kinnock speech.
Dir: Bob Kellett
Stars: Brian Rix, Leslie Phillips, Joan Sims, Joanna Lumley
DON’T LOOK BACK
1967
**
Documentary following folk singer Bob Dylan on a tour on Britain.
Even if you don't care for Dylan's music, this is an absorbing film acutely observing the crazy world around the man, and its fly on the wall approach had many imitators. Watching it in the post-Spinal Tap age makes for more pleasures still.
Dir: D A Pennebaker
Stars: Bob Dylan
DON’T LOOK DOWN
2008
0
After the death of his father, a young man learns the pleasures of tantric sex.
Empty and vaguely pretentious muse which fails to be affecting. Great nudity, lousy film, some might say.
Dir: Eliseo Subiela
Stars: Antonella Costa, Leandro Stivelman
DON’T LOOK NOW
1973
***
After the death by drowning of their daughter, a married couple seek solace in Venice, but are continually haunted by the past.
Roeg’s acclaimed thriller hides its motifs and meanings in plain sight throughout the film, letting the intelligent viewer pontificate on them and attempt to complete the puzzle. As a meditation on doom in a wintry Venice, it certainly has plenty to appreciate if not exactly enjoy.
Dir: Nicolas Roeg
Stars: Donald Sutherland, Julie Christie, Hilary Mason
DON’T DRINK THE WATER
1969
0
An American family holidaying in Bulgaria are forced to take refuge in the American Embassy after being accused of spying.
Uninspired filming of Allen's play; the lines aren't funny because the lead characters aren't likeable.
Dir: Howard Morris
Stars: Jackie Gleason, Estelle Parsons, Ted Bessell
DON’T DRINK THE WATER
1994 (TV)
*
Woody Allen's own film of his play is an improvement on the previous movie version although the action still feels limited by its origins - the use of long takes sort of emphasises its theatrical nature. A big regression in quality from Allen's cinema outings, it nevertheless has a few laughs, most of the bigger ones provided by DeLuise's hopeless magician; overall, though, the plot feels dated and the characters are too exhausting to enjoy - tolerance of Allen and Kavner's bickering only goes so far.
Dir: Woody Allen
Stars: Woody Allen, Julie Kavner, Michael J Fox, Dom DeLuise, Mayim Bialik
DON’T GO IN THE HOUSE
1980
*
A disturbed factory worker lures women to the home of his dead mother.
One of the slightly better ‘video nasties’, a grim cross of Maniac and Psycho that peaks early on with a wildly horrific scene involving a naked woman being set alight with a flamethrower, and then rather runs out of ideas. A few quirks, like a disco scene and the loopy finale, ensure it’s not a total dud.
Dir: Joseph Ellison
Stars: Dan Grimaldi, Robert Osth, Ruth Dardick
DON’T GO IN THE WOODS
1981
0
Campers in the woods are slain by a weapon-wielding savage.
A celebration of terribleness which offers up the very worst acting, scripting and direction, and was lucky enough to get on the banned list in the UK. The funniest scenes are the guy saying sorry to the other guy he’s just stabbed, and the unlucky chap in the wheelchair.
Dir: James Bryan
Stars: Ken Carter, Jack McClelland, Mary Gail Artz
DON’T GO NEAR THE PARK
1981
0
Two cannibals are cursed and over many years have to eat the guts of virgins.
Staggeringly lousy fantasy horror, utterly atrocious on every level, it looks like it was made up as they went along. Wretched even by video nasty standards, you’re on the floor by the time the laser beams come out of characters’ eyes.
Dir: Lawrence D Foldes
Stars: Aldo Ray, Meeno Peluce, Tamara Taylor
DON’T JUST LIE THERE, SAY SOMETHING
1973
0
A cabinet minister is puritanical in public but philandering in private.
Abysmal farce, as painful as a Neil Kinnock speech.
Dir: Bob Kellett
Stars: Brian Rix, Leslie Phillips, Joan Sims, Joanna Lumley
DON’T LOOK BACK
1967
**
Documentary following folk singer Bob Dylan on a tour on Britain.
Even if you don't care for Dylan's music, this is an absorbing film acutely observing the crazy world around the man, and its fly on the wall approach had many imitators. Watching it in the post-Spinal Tap age makes for more pleasures still.
Dir: D A Pennebaker
Stars: Bob Dylan
DON’T LOOK DOWN
2008
0
After the death of his father, a young man learns the pleasures of tantric sex.
Empty and vaguely pretentious muse which fails to be affecting. Great nudity, lousy film, some might say.
Dir: Eliseo Subiela
Stars: Antonella Costa, Leandro Stivelman
DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT
1973
0
A nurse starts work in an asylum and finds it's not just the inmates that are mad.
Overheated and under-resourced shocker which continues in the same rambling, weird way from first second to last, full of strange characters shrieking at the top of their lungs and then sometimes getting bumped off. Cheap and hysterical, some have found some worth in it, but its lumpy pacing and confined setting are a turn off.
Dir: S F Brownrigg
Stars: Rosie Holitik, Bill McGhee, Anne MacAdams
DON’T LOOK NOW
1973
***
After the death by drowning of their daughter, a married couple seek solace in Venice, but are continually haunted by the past.
Roeg’s acclaimed thriller hides its motifs and meanings in plain sight throughout the film, letting the intelligent viewer pontificate on them and attempt to complete the puzzle. As a meditation on doom in a wintry Venice, it certainly has plenty to appreciate if not exactly enjoy.
Dir: Nicolas Roeg
Stars: Donald Sutherland, Julie Christie, Hilary Mason
DON'T LOOK UP
2021
**
Scientists try to warn the US authorities that a comet is on collision course with Earth.
A good idea for a satirical film that affords plenty of opportunities to mock the inanities of modern life, and widespread ignorance; it's almost too fizzy for its own good, overly profane, and does go on for too long. It was something of a talking point around its release and split opinion, perhaps in ways not anticipated by the makers, who surely made a fundamental mistake in the script in portraying the populace as not prone to panicking about the threat - as we learned in 2020 and 2021, people, especially the media and politicians, are absolutely prone to blind panic.
Dir: Adam McKay
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance
DON’T OPEN TILL CHRISTMAS
1984
0
A maniac is on the loose killing men who are dressed as Santa Claus.
Shoddy, hackneyed Friday The 13th-type horror which offers nothing more than a gimmicky plot.
Dir: Edward Purdom
Stars: Edward Purdom, Alan Lake, Mark Jones, Pat Astley
DON’T TALK TO STRANGE MEN
1962
*
A teenage girl answers a ringing telephone in a rural call box and is seduced by the man on the other end.
For much of its short length (65m), this moderate suspenser doesn’t offer much meat to chew on but the final quarter of an hour, mainly set in the dark and lonely environs of the phone box, is heavy with atmosphere and tension. It’s a nice film to watch in front of the fire on a cold and wet afternoon.
Dir: Pat Jackson
Stars: Christina Gregg, Janina Faye, Conrad Phillips, Dandy Nichols
DON’T TAKE IT TO HEART
1944
0
The ghost of a castle helps the inhabitants fend off the developers.
Urbane comedy with more contributions from a bevy of eccentrics than the ghost.
Dir: Jeffrey Dell
Stars: Richard Greene, David Horne, Joan Hickson, Ernest Thesiger
DON’T TORTURE A DUCKLING
1972
0
Children are being killed in an Italian village.
Boring giallo with plenty of ideas that never coalesce into a satisfying whole.
Dir: Lucio Fulci
Stars: Florinda Bolkan, Barbara Bouchet, Tomas Milian
DOOMED TO DIE
1940
0
Mr Wong investigates when a shipping magnate is shot.
The last of the five Karloff Wong movies isn't a bad little mystery but as ever with these low budget productions there's not much room for the hectic story to breathe, or for the viewer to take a rest from the twisty chatter. It's funny how many of the characters are routinely pretty rough to each other.
Dir: William Nigh
Stars: Boris Karloff, Grant Withers, Marjorie Reynolds
THE DOOR WITH SEVEN LOCKS
1940
0
An aristocrat with a penchant for torture devices imprisons a young heiress.
Creaky British murder mystery with horror touches – the contrivances of the script weigh heavily on the production’s low budget shoulders.
Dir: Norman Lee
Stars: Leslie Banks, Lilli Palmer, Romilly Lunge, Gina Malo, Richard Bird
THE DOORS
1990
**
The life of Doors lead singer Jim Morrison.
Much of this movie appears to write itself, and much of it is grimly fascinating; the star's uncanny resemblance to Morrison (which would have been a better title for the film) helps.
Dir: Oliver Stone
Stars: Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, Kevin Dillon, Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Madsen, Kathleen Quinlan
DORIAN GRAY
1970
*
A young man commits all manner of corrupt deeds but stays beautiful thanks to a picture in his attic.
Tacky but not unlikeable filming of Oscar Wilde’s great story that takes advantage of its ‘permissive society’ setting to show some sleaze (although not nearly as much as it would have had if made a few years later) while still maintaining some of Wilde’s wise words. It boasts a decent cast including two greats, some very attractive women and a physically appealing Dorian but is generally much inferior to Albert Lewin’s version - the skill required to elevate it is not there in the scripting or directing department.
Dir: Massimo Dallamano
Stars: Helmut Berger, Richard Todd, Herbert Lom, Marie Liljedahl, Margaret Lee, Maria Rohm
DORIAN GRAY
2009
**
In Victorian London a young aristocrat lives a debauched life but isn’t marked by it, thanks to a very special painting.
Similar in style to a 1970s Hammer film, this Wilde adaptation is decent, civilised entertainment that could, if anything, have shown a bit more of the debauchery but instead draws strength from some excellent performances and the epigrammatic wit of the original. It’s hard to improve on the richly enjoyable tale, but the addition of the Hall character (Lord Wotton’s daughter) is actually a good idea.
Dir: Oliver Parker
Stars: Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, Rebecca Hall, Emilia Fox, Ben Chaplin, Maryam d’Abo
DORIANA GREY
1976
0
A strange and beautiful lesbian has an identical twin locked away in an asylum.
Franco's very loose take on The Picture Of Dorian Gray is just an excuse for masses of nudity and sex (the film occasionally goes into hardcore territory) and not a huge deal else. The locations are pleasant, the music isn't bad and of course the actresses - particularly Romay - are stunning, but this isn't anything too notable.
Dir: Jess Franco
Stars: Lina Romay, Monica Swinn, Raymond Hardy, Peggy Markoff
THE DOUBLE
1963
0
A businessman is plagued by the re-emergence of a partner from long ago.
Complex and overpopulated Edgar Wallace Mystery whose main plus points are location shooting around Gatwick Airport and Brighton.
Dir: Lionel Harris
Stars: Jeannette Sterke, Alan MacNaughton, Robert Brown, Basil Henson
DOOMWATCH
1972
0
People who consume chemically affected fish turn into cannibalistic mutants.
The film version of the TV series about ecology is something of a methodical plod, a bit like a greener, less darkly brilliant version of The Wicker Man, with islanders at the other end of Britain. A nice cast and some nice shooting, but not much of a goer; if inbreeding had been the answer to its puzzle, it would have been twisted fun.
Dir: Peter Sasdy
Stars: Ian Bannen, Judy Geeson, John Paul, Simon Oates, George Sanders, Geoffrey Keen
THE DOOR WITH SEVEN LOCKS
1940
0
An aristocrat with a penchant for torture devices imprisons a young heiress.
Creaky British murder mystery with horror touches – the contrivances of the script weigh heavily on the production’s low budget shoulders.
Dir: Norman Lee
Stars: Leslie Banks, Lilli Palmer, Romilly Lunge, Gina Malo, Richard Bird
THE DOORS
1990
**
The life of Doors lead singer Jim Morrison.
Much of this movie appears to write itself, and much of it is grimly fascinating; the star's uncanny resemblance to Morrison (which would have been a better title for the film) helps.
Dir: Oliver Stone
Stars: Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, Kevin Dillon, Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Madsen, Kathleen Quinlan
DORIAN GRAY
1970
*
A young man commits all manner of corrupt deeds but stays beautiful thanks to a picture in his attic.
Tacky but not unlikeable filming of Oscar Wilde’s great story that takes advantage of its ‘permissive society’ setting to show some sleaze (although not nearly as much as it would have had if made a few years later) while still maintaining some of Wilde’s wise words. It boasts a decent cast including two greats, some very attractive women and a physically appealing Dorian but is generally much inferior to Albert Lewin’s version - the skill required to elevate it is not there in the scripting or directing department.
Dir: Massimo Dallamano
Stars: Helmut Berger, Richard Todd, Herbert Lom, Marie Liljedahl, Margaret Lee, Maria Rohm
DORIAN GRAY
2009
**
In Victorian London a young aristocrat lives a debauched life but isn’t marked by it, thanks to a very special painting.
Similar in style to a 1970s Hammer film, this Wilde adaptation is decent, civilised entertainment that could, if anything, have shown a bit more of the debauchery but instead draws strength from some excellent performances and the epigrammatic wit of the original. It’s hard to improve on the richly enjoyable tale, but the addition of the Hall character (Lord Wotton’s daughter) is actually a good idea.
Dir: Oliver Parker
Stars: Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, Rebecca Hall, Emilia Fox, Ben Chaplin, Maryam d’Abo
DORIANA GREY
1976
0
A strange and beautiful lesbian has an identical twin locked away in an asylum.
Franco's very loose take on The Picture Of Dorian Gray is just an excuse for masses of nudity and sex (the film occasionally goes into hardcore territory) and not a huge deal else. The locations are pleasant, the music isn't bad and of course the actresses - particularly Romay - are stunning, but this isn't anything too notable.
Dir: Jess Franco
Stars: Lina Romay, Monica Swinn, Raymond Hardy, Peggy Markoff
1963
0
A businessman is plagued by the re-emergence of a partner from long ago.
Complex and overpopulated Edgar Wallace Mystery whose main plus points are location shooting around Gatwick Airport and Brighton.
Dir: Lionel Harris
Stars: Jeannette Sterke, Alan MacNaughton, Robert Brown, Basil Henson
THE DOUBLE
2013
*
A discontented office worker gets a shock when his exact double begins at his workplace - and proves much more popular than him.
Kafkaesque Dostoevsky, with a dollop of Gilliam's Brazil, shot and set-dressed in accomplished fashion, with Eisenberg at his most Eisenberg as Simon, with supreme technology making his interaction with his double seamless. In the end, the story doesn't deliver all it promises, perhaps because if taken literally it's a little irksome, and there is no escape out of its tick-laden, dark, crazy world (The Man Who Haunted Himself is more fun).
Dir: Richard Ayoade
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn
DOUBLE BUNK
1960
0
Newlyweds have an adventure onboard the new houseboat they have bought.
Artificial comedy that betrays how undistinguished the director is – even with a cast like this he can’t get the laughs out, and a lot of the action seems curiously off-kilter.
Dir: C M Pennington-Richards
Stars: Ian Carmichael, Janette Scott, Sidney James, Liz Fraser, Dennis Price, Irene Handl
DOUBLE INDEMNITY
1944
****
A woman and her insurance salesman lover draw up a plan to murder her husband.
Classic film noir, brilliantly shot, scripted and acted, one of its director's masterpieces. While it may not quite have the depth of some of Hitchcock's finest pictures, its technical qualities and brooding cynicism have stood it in good stead.
Dir: Billy Wilder
Stars: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G Robinson, Byron Barr
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
1983
0
An American in London meets a young British woman and is surprised when she turns up in America years later, especially as she doesn't recognise him.
Stylishly directed thriller which badly lacks a final twist; more varied pacing might have helped too.
Dir: Ulli Lommel
Stars: Suzanna Love, Michael Evans, Bibbi Hansen
DOUBLE WHOOPEE
1929
*
Stan and Ollie cause chaos at the swanky hotel they are working at.
Slightly raggedy short with decent moments, like the Russian dignitary falling down the lift shaft - but never hilarious. This author has to disagree with the cashier at the Laurel and Hardy Museum in Ulverston who told him that their silent films like this one have as much to recommend them as their talkies.
Dir: Lewis R Foster
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Jean Harlow, Charlie Hall, Tiny Sandford
DOWN AMONG THE Z MEN
1952
0
A policeman, Bats Of The Yard, tracks down a professor's missing secret formula.
Inept teaming of The Goons; pretty appalling, like a low-rent village hall revue - the second half is particularly ramshackle. You watch and think: were Harry Secombe and Spike Milligan actually funny?
Dir: Maclean Rogers
Stars: Harry Secombe, Michael Bentine, Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers
DOWN AND OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS
1986
*
A tramp comes changes the lives of a rich Beverly Hills family.
Mildly amusing, mainly genial comedy, a remake of 1932 French film Boudu Saved From Drowning (qv).
Dir: Paul Mazursky
Stars: Nick Nolte, Bette Midler, Richard Dreyfuss, Little Richard
DOWN BY LAW
1986
*
Two wrongly imprisoned convicts meet a murderer in prison who helps them escape.
There's no question that this exhibits a distinctive style, what with its gleaming black and white cinematography and very long takes with an immobile camera, but sometimes little that's really engaging happens in those takes, or is quite irritating. It improves after a stodgy start but it's certainly an acquired taste, Benigni's demonstrative performance even more so - the two surly musicians are preferable, if distant.
Dir: Jim Jarmusch
Stars: Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni
DOWN TO EARTH
1947
0
Upset about a new Broadway musical's mockery of Greek mythology, the goddess Terpsichore comes down to earth and lands a part in the show.
Airy, whimsical musical, a follow-up to Here Comes Mr Jordan (qv), fairly tolerable.
Dir: Alexander Hall
Stars: Rita Hayworth, Larry Parks, Roland Culver, Edward Everett Horton
DOWN TOWN
1975
0
A private eye gets into trouble with a beautiful woman who may not be all she seems.
Actually one of Franco's better films - not good of course, but with a nicely sweaty, clammy atmosphere that serves its sleazy tale of private dickdom well. It's strangely watchable and, of course, terribly sexy. The director seems particularly intent on focusing in on Romay's pubic area, and why not?
Dir: Jess Franco
Stars: Jess Franco, Lina Romay, Paul Muller, Martine Stedil
DOWNFALL
1964
*
A barrister hatches a plan to deal with his troublesome wife.
Fairly solid Edgar Wallace Mystery with a little of Roald Dahl about it; as is usually the case with these productions the cast is highly professional.
Dir: John Moxey
Stars: Maurice Denham, Nadia Regin, TP McKenna
DOWNFALL
2004
***
As the Nazis' war machine begins to collapse, Adolf Hitler goes mad in his bunker.
Powerful and harrowing depiction of madness and delusion, with a striking central performance.
Dir: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Stars: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch
DOWNHILL
1927
*
A man’s life deteriorates after he is expelled from school.
Unconvincing but occasionally effective early Hitch that was probably the best shot British film of 1927 – classy moments include Novello appearing to be a waiter but actually being on stage, a Paris club revealed in its true colours by daylight and a brief upside down shot in a changing room.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Stars: Ivor Novello, Robin Irvine, Isabel Jeans, Ian Hunter
DOWNHILL
2020
**
A family skiing holiday goes wrong after an incident with a perceived avalanche.
Unfairly lambasted and publicly neglected American remake of the fine Force Majeure (qv), this was perhaps miss-marketed, with Ferrell's presence making some think it'd be a broad comedy. It isn't, it's a crisp and perceptive drama about communication breaking down - between children and parents, between man and wife, between different nationalities and more - and it says much about marriage, masculinity and middle-age. The thinning of the original's content isn't such a bad idea, and the location shooting is brighter, even if it lacks some of its predecessor's brooding depth; Louis-Dreyfus is particularly good, though.
Dir: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Stars: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Will Ferrell, Miranda Otto
DRACULA
1931
***
Count Dracula comes from Transylvania to England to seek a vampire bride.
This was always a flawed film (after a fantastic first half hour it becomes a wordy, stagey picture, chiefly because its budget was slashed) but all can be forgiven as it launched a tidal wave of Universal horrors, made Bela Lugosi a star and still remains a creepy, eerie and memorable experience, at least in part. Lugosi and Frye's performances should surely keep finding new fans throughout the ages.
Dir: Tod Browning
Stars: Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners, Dwight Frye
DRACULA
1958
***
Hammer's remake alters the story considerably and style-wise sets horror films on a new course - not to mention plotting the careers of the three fine male stars, so it deserves plaudits for that alone. Viewed by the young today it might raise more chuckles than gasps, such is the familiarity with the material, but it retains its class and there are moments in it - Dracula's demise for example - that are worthy of any era.
Dir: Terence Fisher
Stars: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling
DRACULA
1973
0
Reasonably well-staged but rather ploddy adaptation; it tells the tale pretty much exactly how you'd expect, with only Palance as the star something of an eccentricity. A TV movie in the US and released theatrically in the UK, it does a job and nothing more.
Dir: Dan Curtis
Stars: Jack Palance, Simon Ward, Nigel Davenport, Fiona Lewis, Sarah Douglas
DRACULA
1979
*
Glossy but dull version with the emphasis on romance and pretty pictures.
Dir: John Badham
Stars: Frank Langella, Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasence, Kate Nelligan, Trevor Eve
DRACULA AD 1972
1972
0
Dracula comes back to life in 1972 London where he goes after Van Helsing's descendants.
This updating proves to be a mistake from the start, as the script is pedestrian and the ‘kids’ risible.
Dir: Alan Gibson
Stars: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Stephanie Beacham, Caroline Munro
DRACULA - DEAD AND LOVING IT
1996
0
The fanged one battles it out with party pooper Van Helsing.
Astonishingly awful Brooks spoof; the script is chronically short of jokes and those that are there barely raise a smile.
Dir: Mel Brooks
Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Peter MacNicol, Mel Brooks, Lysette Anthony
DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE
1968
*
The Count attempts to make the daughter of a holy man his bride.
Unexciting Hammer horror with little new to offer.
Dir: Freddie Francis
Stars: Christopher Lee, Rupert Davies, Veronica Carlson, Barbara Ewing, Michael Ripper
DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS
1965
*
Two couples make the mistake of staying in Dracula's castle.
Fairly routine direct sequel to 1958's Dracula, with little of the [silent] Count himself - but when he does appear Lee once again proves that he's the finest of the screen Draculas. The plot is straightforward and the pace moderate, but the final third has some effective scares and the cinematographer makes the most of what he's got throughout.
Dir: Terence Fisher
Stars: Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Andrew Keir, Francis Matthews
DRACULA, PRISONER OF FRANKENSTEIN
1972
0
Doctor Frankenstein resurrects Dracula, but the Wolfman helps mess up his plans.
A film (if it can actually be called that) that makes you ask various questions: has anyone, in the history of the world, sat through all of it and had a great time? Did the distributor have the chutzpah to sell this to cinemas claiming it to be good? Who kept giving Franco the money to work? Did Dennis Price weep in a drunken stupor at the end of each day’s filming? It truly is a wretched effort, an almost dialogue-free, atrociously shot, utterly senseless pile of trash.
Dir: Jess Franco
Stars: Dennis Price, Howard Vernon, Britt Nichols
DRACULA 2000
2000
0
A group of thieves unwittingly unleash the Count on modern-day New Orleans.
Cack-handed horror, all over the place, with terrible dialogue to boot.
Dir: Patrick Lussier
Stars: Gerard Butler, Christopher Plummer, Jonny Lee Miller, Sean Patrick Thomas
DRACULA VS FRANKENSTEIN
1971
0
A descendant of Baron Frankenstein is experimenting on hippies; then Dracula turns up.
An infamous mess that plays like a strange dream; on a technical level it’s not worth criticising as everything is terrible, but bad movie fans seem to get something out of it. An uneven film, to put it mildly.
Dir: Al Adamson
Stars: J Carrol Naish, Lon Chaney Jr, Anthony Eisley, Zandor Vorkov
DRACULA’S DAUGHTER
1936
*
When bloodless corpses start appearing in London, a Hungarian countess may be to blame.
Belated follow-up to 1930's Dracula that at least tries a different approach, but is hampered by too much comic relief and the fact that all the juiciest bits take place off-screen. Holden has some presence but most of these Universal horrors inevitably don't have quite the power they once did.
Dir: Lambert Hillyer
Stars: Gloria Holden, Otto Kruger, Marguerite Churchill, Edward Van Sloan
DRACULA’S DAUGHTER
1972
0
A woman’s family appears to be cursed by Dracula.
When you’re watching a Jess Franco film you enter this strange little world in which you temporarily forget what a good film is because you’re so very, very far away from one. This one (originally known as La fille de Dracula) has characters of no substance and a void for a plot plus all the usual inadequacies – it’s only the occasional nudie bits that keep the viewer from nodding off. Why did he bother?
Dir: Jess Franco
Stars: Britt Nichols, Anne Libert, Jess Franco, Howard Vernon
DRACULA’S FIANCEE
2002
0
Vampire hunters go to work.
Intolerable garbage that mistakes nonsense for profundity; an endurance.
Dir: Jean Rollin
Stars: Cyrille Iste, Jacques Orth, Brigitte Lahaie
DRACULA’S VIRGIN LOVERS
1972
0
Four young women make the mistake of spending the night in an old deserted sanatorium.
Old-hat stuff beefed up by nubile young ladies, but not as bad a crime against cinema as many of this star’s vehicles.
Dir: Javier Aguirre
Stars: Paul Naschy, Haydee Politoff
DRACULA’S WIDOW
1989
0
A wax museum houses Vanessa, widow of the bloodsucker.
Tatty, tacky and not even erotic - a waste of time.
Dir: Christopher Coppola
Stars: Sylvia Kristel, Josef Somner, Marc Coppola
DRAGON - THE BRUCE LEE STORY
1993
*
Highly unreliable story of martial arts master and international movie star, Bruce Lee.
Silly Hollywoodised biopic missing much detail, its romantic subtext and staged fights make it seem like an addition to the Rocky series.
Dir: Rob Cohen
Stars: Jason Scott Lee, Lauren Holly, Robert Wagner
DRAGONS FOREVER
1988
0
A lawyer is hired by a chemical plant to dispose of their critics.
Not one of Jackie Chan's best.
Dir: Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, Corey Yuen
Stars: Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung Kam-Bo
DRAGONSLAYER
1981
0
A wizard and his apprentice try to save a virgin being sacrificed to a dragon.
Listless fantasy largely shot in the dark, annoyingly.
Dir: Matthew Robbins
Stars: Peter MacNichol, Caitlin Clarke, Ralph Richardson, Ian McDiarmid
THE DRAUGHTSMAN'S CONTRACT
1982
*
In 17th century England, an artist is commissioned to draw pictures of a wealthy landowner's house.
Peculiar
puzzle piece from a director who would only get weirder - and more
grotesque - as the decade went on. It has a highly distinct style
visually and dialogue-wise - all 'Mr' this, and 'Mr' that - but is so
obtuse as to be alienating, with that obtuseness (and everything else)
going on for too long. With too many wigs (and not enough thrills or
eroticism).
Dir: Peter Greenaway
Stars: Anthony Higgins, Janet Suzman, Anne-Louise Lambert, Hugh FraserDREAM DEMON
1988
0
A woman dreams of monsters who then come to life.
Over-arty horror that runs around in circles, ensuring a bored audience.
Dir: Harley Cokeliss
Stars: Jemma Redgrave, Timothy Spall, Jimmy Nail, Mark Greenstreet
DREAM DOLL
1979
0
A lonely man takes solace in a blow-up doll.
Unsympathetic cartoon short with an irritating, synthesised musical score.
Dir: Bob Godfrey
DREAM LOVER
1993
*
A man marries a girl he thinks may be too good to be a true - and he may be right.
Unconvincing thriller that keeps you watching because you're not sure where it might go next.
Dir: Nicholas Kazan
Stars: James Spader, Madchen Amick, Fredric Lehne
THE DREAM TEAM
1990
**
A group of mental patients get lost in New York.
Questions of taste may well be raised, but this is an undeniably hilarious comic yarn with some great performances.
Dir: Howard Zieff
Stars: Michael Keaton, Christopher Lloyd, Peter Boyle, Stephen Furst, Lorraine Bracco, Milo O'Shea
DREAMCHILD
1985
*
The woman who was the inspiration for Alice In Wonderland thinks back to her time with Lewis Carroll.
Engagingly original muse which lovingly creates 1930s Manhattan, young Alice's world and Carroll's fantasy landscape, in the last instance using Jim Henson's creations.
Dir: Gavin Millar
Stars: Coral Browne, Ian Holm, Peter Gallagher, Jane Asher, Shane Rimmer
THE DREAMERS
2003
*
While Paris is in the grips of youthful revolt, three students indulge in a strange, hedonistic relationship.
Bertolucci's tale of staying in when everyone else is going out is easy to enjoy, with its natural eroticism and chats about the movies, but the characters do irritate after a while and their behaviour is not always believable.
Dir: Bernardo Bertolucci
Stars: Michael Pitt, Eva Green, Louis Garrel, Anna Chancellor
DREAMGIRLS
2006
*
A trio of black female singers make it big in 1960s America.
Shallow biopic big on tunes, small on everything else. It has relentless energy but not much idea of the places it careers into.
Dir: Bill Condon
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover
DREAMS COME TRUE
1984
0
A couple learn to travel while they are dreaming.
Oddball romantic fantasy in which the elements don't gel, producing an unsatisfactory mess.
Dir: Max Kalmanowicz
Stars: Michael Sanville, Stephanie Shuford
DREAMS OF A LIFE
2011
**
Documentary which attempts to trace the life of a woman who died in her London flat and lay undiscovered for three years.
The subject matter immediately grabs you, and you demand to know: how did she die? How come she wasn’t discovered by friends, family or officials for so long? Who on earth was she anyway? Frustratingly, this film only answers some of these questions, and it’s difficult to say how much of this is deliberate, but it surely wasn’t asking too much to be told a little more than we are. The presentation is a little too flowery for its own good – all ‘buy the soundtrack’ songs, scores of talking heads interviews and dubious reconstructions – but that initial hook is enough to keep you watching, and wondering about the vicissitudes of modern existence and the state of modern-day London. Still, a narrator would have made this better.
Dir: Carol Morley
DREAMSCAPE
1984
*
A man who can enter and manipulate people's dreams is recruited by a government agency to help cure the President of the United States of his nightmares about nuclear war.
Dawdling fantasy that wastes an enticing central premise.
Dir: Joseph Ruben
Stars: Dennis Quaid, Max von Sydow, Christopher Plummer, Eddie Albert, Kate Capshaw
DRESSED TO KILL
1946
*
Why is a female criminal so keen to get hold of certain musical boxes? Holmes and Watson investigate.
The last of the Rathbone Holmes films isn't among the very best ones but still very watchable, with everything we like about the series present and correct. Even though the story doesn't make too much sense (nor does the title) it's pleasing seeing the performers going through the motions, and sad that it was Rathbone and Bruce's curtain call.
Dir: Roy William Neill
Stars: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Patricia Morison, Frederick Worlock
DRESSED TO KILL
1980
**
A prostitute who witnessed a murder is sought by the killer.
Deliberately paced suspenser with several smartly directed sequences.
Dir: Brian De Palma
Stars: Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon, Dennis Franz
THE DRESSER
1983
*
A deteriorating actor is helped through his Shakespearean roles by his devoted personal assistant.
The performances are the main thing of course, and this theatrical drama impressively recreates the feel of wartime and behind the scenes at the theatre, but actors and those who know the business are likely to be its main cheerleaders.
Dir: Peter Yates
Stars: Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay, Edward Fox, Michael Gough
DRIVE ANGRY
2011
0
A man breaks out of hell to go after the men who killed his daughter.
This should have been another Crank but it doesn’t have the courage of its own trashy convictions, lacks invention and doesn’t move at anything like the same pace – it also makes the mistake of presenting two supernatural characters who aren’t anywhere near as invincible as they should be.
Dir: Patrick Lussier
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fichtner, Billy Burke
1988
0
A woman dreams of monsters who then come to life.
Over-arty horror that runs around in circles, ensuring a bored audience.
Dir: Harley Cokeliss
Stars: Jemma Redgrave, Timothy Spall, Jimmy Nail, Mark Greenstreet
DREAM DOLL
1979
0
A lonely man takes solace in a blow-up doll.
Unsympathetic cartoon short with an irritating, synthesised musical score.
Dir: Bob Godfrey
DREAM LOVER
1993
*
A man marries a girl he thinks may be too good to be a true - and he may be right.
Unconvincing thriller that keeps you watching because you're not sure where it might go next.
Dir: Nicholas Kazan
Stars: James Spader, Madchen Amick, Fredric Lehne
THE DREAM TEAM
1990
**
A group of mental patients get lost in New York.
Questions of taste may well be raised, but this is an undeniably hilarious comic yarn with some great performances.
Dir: Howard Zieff
Stars: Michael Keaton, Christopher Lloyd, Peter Boyle, Stephen Furst, Lorraine Bracco, Milo O'Shea
DREAMCHILD
1985
*
The woman who was the inspiration for Alice In Wonderland thinks back to her time with Lewis Carroll.
Engagingly original muse which lovingly creates 1930s Manhattan, young Alice's world and Carroll's fantasy landscape, in the last instance using Jim Henson's creations.
Dir: Gavin Millar
Stars: Coral Browne, Ian Holm, Peter Gallagher, Jane Asher, Shane Rimmer
THE DREAMERS
2003
*
While Paris is in the grips of youthful revolt, three students indulge in a strange, hedonistic relationship.
Bertolucci's tale of staying in when everyone else is going out is easy to enjoy, with its natural eroticism and chats about the movies, but the characters do irritate after a while and their behaviour is not always believable.
Dir: Bernardo Bertolucci
Stars: Michael Pitt, Eva Green, Louis Garrel, Anna Chancellor
DREAMGIRLS
2006
*
A trio of black female singers make it big in 1960s America.
Shallow biopic big on tunes, small on everything else. It has relentless energy but not much idea of the places it careers into.
Dir: Bill Condon
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover
DREAMS COME TRUE
1984
0
A couple learn to travel while they are dreaming.
Oddball romantic fantasy in which the elements don't gel, producing an unsatisfactory mess.
Dir: Max Kalmanowicz
Stars: Michael Sanville, Stephanie Shuford
DREAMS OF A LIFE
2011
**
Documentary which attempts to trace the life of a woman who died in her London flat and lay undiscovered for three years.
The subject matter immediately grabs you, and you demand to know: how did she die? How come she wasn’t discovered by friends, family or officials for so long? Who on earth was she anyway? Frustratingly, this film only answers some of these questions, and it’s difficult to say how much of this is deliberate, but it surely wasn’t asking too much to be told a little more than we are. The presentation is a little too flowery for its own good – all ‘buy the soundtrack’ songs, scores of talking heads interviews and dubious reconstructions – but that initial hook is enough to keep you watching, and wondering about the vicissitudes of modern existence and the state of modern-day London. Still, a narrator would have made this better.
Dir: Carol Morley
DREAMSCAPE
1984
*
A man who can enter and manipulate people's dreams is recruited by a government agency to help cure the President of the United States of his nightmares about nuclear war.
Dawdling fantasy that wastes an enticing central premise.
Dir: Joseph Ruben
Stars: Dennis Quaid, Max von Sydow, Christopher Plummer, Eddie Albert, Kate Capshaw
DREDD
2012
*
In a violent future city, a law enforcer faces down its powerful leader.
Fairly straightforward, confined sci-fi action thriller with lovingly orchestrated ultra-violence - the relish with which this is done, along with the bleak setting, vile characters and nihilistic attitude, give it a sour and discomforting vibe. You could argue that that was the point, and this was the adaptation of the comic strip that was needed, but it doesn't exactly shout 'pleasurable viewing'.
Dir: Pete Travis
Stars: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey
DRESSED TO KILL
1946
*
Why is a female criminal so keen to get hold of certain musical boxes? Holmes and Watson investigate.
The last of the Rathbone Holmes films isn't among the very best ones but still very watchable, with everything we like about the series present and correct. Even though the story doesn't make too much sense (nor does the title) it's pleasing seeing the performers going through the motions, and sad that it was Rathbone and Bruce's curtain call.
Dir: Roy William Neill
Stars: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Patricia Morison, Frederick Worlock
DRESSED TO KILL
1980
**
A prostitute who witnessed a murder is sought by the killer.
Deliberately paced suspenser with several smartly directed sequences.
Dir: Brian De Palma
Stars: Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon, Dennis Franz
THE DRESSER
1983
*
A deteriorating actor is helped through his Shakespearean roles by his devoted personal assistant.
The performances are the main thing of course, and this theatrical drama impressively recreates the feel of wartime and behind the scenes at the theatre, but actors and those who know the business are likely to be its main cheerleaders.
Dir: Peter Yates
Stars: Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay, Edward Fox, Michael Gough
THE DRILLER KILLER
1979
0
A frustrated artist kills vagrants with a power drill.
The perceptions of this low-budget film will have been radically altered by the fact that it was banned in Britain during the video nasties hysteria, mostly because of its gory video cover (and possibly its title): those who come to it expecting a blood-spattered horror flick may come away disappointed that it's a scuzzy, arty, miserabilist drama about grotty, semi-desperate types on the New York underground scene of the time (its main achievement is capturing this vibe). This overlong flick does try the patience somewhat, even if there is some talent in evidence - and Ferrara did go on to make some better movies.
Dir: Abel Ferrara
Stars: Jimmy Laine (Abel Ferrara), Carolyn Marz, Baybi Day
DRIVE
2011
****
A stuntman and getaway driver tries to help a woman whose husband is involved with the Mob.
Stylised thriller punctuated with exciting flashes of violence; carefully crafted and beautifully shot, it seems even better now than it did on original release. Its motor purrs smoothly and we're treated to superlative sights on the way, while super-cool Gosling more than passes the MOT as the taciturn lead.
Dir: Nicolas Winding Refn
Stars: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman, Oscar Isaac, Christina Hendricks
DRIVE ANGRY
2011
0
A man breaks out of hell to go after the men who killed his daughter.
This should have been another Crank but it doesn’t have the courage of its own trashy convictions, lacks invention and doesn’t move at anything like the same pace – it also makes the mistake of presenting two supernatural characters who aren’t anywhere near as invincible as they should be.
Dir: Patrick Lussier
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fichtner, Billy Burke
DRIVE MY CAR
2021
**
A widowed actor re-examines his life.
Chilly drama with a command of grey landscapes (with a tomato red car in front of them) and the world of actors and that crossover with real life; it's long (and the opening credits take 40 minutes to appear) and measured and thoughtful, but its rapturous reception by critics in the West may have been out of proportion. Apparently the Beatles' Drive My Car was originally going to be on the soundtrack - it's difficult to imagine how such a merry tune could have been accommodated amid such gloom! Nominated for Best Film Oscar, one wonders why the Academy abruptly started acclaiming foreign language films after so many years of ignoring them - it's a little bizarre.
Dir: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Stars: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Toko Miura, Reika Kirishima
THE DRIVER
1978
**
A cop determines to catch an expert getaway driver.
Spry motorised thriller with great car chases but some deeper meaning too.
Dir: Walter Hill
Stars: Ryan O'Neal, Bruce Dern, Isabelle Adjani
DRIVING MISS DAISY
1989
*
An elderly Jewish woman reluctantly takes on a black chauffeur.
Quaint but pointed drama whose Academy Awards success appeared somewhat incongruous with its small scale ambitions; sweet and nicely played, although Tandy’s Southern accent occasionally falters.
Dir: Bruce Beresford
Stars: Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, Dan Aykroyd
DROWNING BY NUMBERS
1988
**
Three women drown their useless husbands.
One of its director's most accessible films (everything's relative...), this unique black comedy is distinguished by its luminous visuals, amazing set design and excellent performances; it may be self-indulgent but its audacity must be applauded, and parts of it stay with you for years. See if you can spot all the numbers or, even more difficult, work out what it all means.
Dir: Peter Greenaway
Stars: Joan Plowright, Juliet Stevenson, Joely Richardson, Bernard Hill, David Morrissey
DRUGSTORE COWBOY
1989
**
A drug addict descends into a life of crime.
Compelling wallow in desperate drug culture, well acted against a convincing background.
Dir: Gus Van Sant
Stars: Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, Heather Graham, James LeGros
THE DRUM
1938
*
An Indian loyal to the British Raj attempts to warn his masters about impending revolt.
Good-looking but rather boring adventure.
Dir: Zoltan Korda
Stars: Sabu, Raymond Massey, Roger Livesey, Valerie Hobson
DUAL ALIBI
1947
*
Twins at a circus get involved with nefarious types.
Clever, difficult-to-categorise drama with the usual effective performance from Lom, here aided by some adept trick photography; a decent watch for a wet Sunday afternoon.
Dir: Alfred Travers
Stars: Herbert Lom, Phyllis Dixey, Terence de Marney
DUCK SOUP
1927
*
Two itinerants hole up in a mansion while the owner is away.
Once lost, thankfully rediscovered short which seems to be the first more or less 'proper' Laurel and Hardy pairing. The remake, Another Fine Mess, is better in every respect but this isn't bad, once you get over the shock of an unshaven Ollie.
Dir: Fred Guiol
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Marcus
DUCK SOUP
1933
**
A madman becomes the leader of a tiny nation and declares war on its neighbour.
Marx Brothers features vary from moment to moment, in that half the gags are as fresh as a daisy and half are dated and corny; underpinned by its reality-free scenario, this follows that pattern, and one of the gags, the mirror sequence, is possibly their finest.
Dir: Leo McCarey
Stars: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Zeppo Marx, Margaret Dumont, Edgar Kennedy
DUFFER
1971
*
A young man flits between a kindly prostitute and an unbalanced sadist.
An incredibly strange film, a black and white drama with no dialogue, just a voiceover: it includes several disturbing scenes of deranged masochism and its air of detached oddness is likely to alienate many. But there is talent at work here, with tight control of mood and a firm belief in its own agenda.
Dir: Joseph Despins, William Dumaresq
Stars: Kit Gleave, Erna May, William Dumaresq
THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY
2014
*
Two lesbian lovers play out increasingly tense domination games.
From the (wonderfully retro) opening credits, which give credits for 'Lingerie' and 'Perfume', you know you're in for something a bit different here, but like the director's previous film, Berberian Sound Studio (qv), it doesn't quite have a satisfying pay-off to its intriguing set-up. Weirdness is the main component, with much of the content involving sexual fetishes or entomology, but it never quite pops in dramatic terms, and it's overlong; still, it's a pictorially attractive, carefully filmed (European directors of the Seventies, along with possibly Peter Greenaway and Kubrick, may be an influence) and never hackneyed.
Dir: Peter Strickland
Stars: Sidse Babett Knudsen, Chiara D'Anna
DULCIMA
1971
0
An elderly farmer falls in love with a beautiful young girl.
Offbeat non-event of a drama which simply doesn't work.
Dir: Frank Nesbitt
Stars: Carol White, John Mills, Stuart Wilson, Bernard Lee
DUMB AND DUMBER
1994
***
The cross-country adventures of two docile friends.
Comedy that pitches its humour perfectly: it's incredibly stupid and tasteless but rarely irritating, and has the courage of its convictions. Carrey is particularly marvellous.
Dir: Peter Farrelly
Stars: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Lauren Holly, Mike Starr
DUMB AND DUMBER TO
2014
**
Harry and Lloyd try to track down Harry's daughter that he has never met.
Tardy sequel which doesn't disgrace the original, being packed with moronic and gross gags that mostly tickle the funny bone (a second viewing reveals a few that weren't picked up first time); the performers very much get into the spirit of things and Carrey is still demonstrating new voices and face-pulling after all these years. One for those in the mood for supremely dumb laughs.
Dir: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly
Stars: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Rachel Melvin, Kathleen Turner
THE DUMB WAITER
1979
*
A woman is menaced by a stranger.
Quite an effective short, pretty well done, now with the added boon of the retro atmosphere of a dark London night from '79. No real twist, but a fairly effective shock ending.
Dir: Robert Bierman
Stars: Geraldine James, John White
DUMBO
1941
***
A baby elephant's gigantic ears cause him to be ridiculed.
Funny and touching cartoon in Disney's best manner of the time - it may be quite slight but many sequences have real Fantasia-like wonder to them.
Dir: Ben Sharpsteen
Voices: John McLeish, Sterling Holloway, Edward Brophy
DUNE
1984
0
In the far future, a duke is sent by the Emperor to a sand world from which comes a spice that is essential for interstellar travel.
Murky, messy sci-fi that bores rather than thrills.
Dir: David Lynch
Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Francesca Annis, Virginia Madsen, Brad Dourif
DUCK SOUP
1927
*
Two itinerants hole up in a mansion while the owner is away.
Once lost, thankfully rediscovered short which seems to be the first more or less 'proper' Laurel and Hardy pairing. The remake, Another Fine Mess, is better in every respect but this isn't bad, once you get over the shock of an unshaven Ollie.
Dir: Fred Guiol
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Marcus
DUCK SOUP
1933
**
A madman becomes the leader of a tiny nation and declares war on its neighbour.
Marx Brothers features vary from moment to moment, in that half the gags are as fresh as a daisy and half are dated and corny; underpinned by its reality-free scenario, this follows that pattern, and one of the gags, the mirror sequence, is possibly their finest.
Dir: Leo McCarey
Stars: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Zeppo Marx, Margaret Dumont, Edgar Kennedy
DUEL
1971 (TV)
***
A man driving through the Californian desert is plagued by an enormous truck that won't let him be.
Simple but highly effective suspenser that brought Spielberg to attention. It's really quite a marvel, especially for a TV movie, a stunning calling card that gets everything right: the narrative is perfectly paced (with a variety of incident), Weaver is sympathetic, the actual design of the menacing truck is grimly perfect, and the photography and editing are first class. It's man (or Mann) vs machine, it's about the atomisation of a technologically advanced society, it's arguably better, and tighter, than Jaws.
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Dennis Weaver
DUFFER
1971
*
A young man flits between a kindly prostitute and an unbalanced sadist.
An incredibly strange film, a black and white drama with no dialogue, just a voiceover: it includes several disturbing scenes of deranged masochism and its air of detached oddness is likely to alienate many. But there is talent at work here, with tight control of mood and a firm belief in its own agenda.
Dir: Joseph Despins, William Dumaresq
Stars: Kit Gleave, Erna May, William Dumaresq
THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY
2014
*
Two lesbian lovers play out increasingly tense domination games.
From the (wonderfully retro) opening credits, which give credits for 'Lingerie' and 'Perfume', you know you're in for something a bit different here, but like the director's previous film, Berberian Sound Studio (qv), it doesn't quite have a satisfying pay-off to its intriguing set-up. Weirdness is the main component, with much of the content involving sexual fetishes or entomology, but it never quite pops in dramatic terms, and it's overlong; still, it's a pictorially attractive, carefully filmed (European directors of the Seventies, along with possibly Peter Greenaway and Kubrick, may be an influence) and never hackneyed.
Dir: Peter Strickland
Stars: Sidse Babett Knudsen, Chiara D'Anna
DULCIMA
1971
0
An elderly farmer falls in love with a beautiful young girl.
Offbeat non-event of a drama which simply doesn't work.
Dir: Frank Nesbitt
Stars: Carol White, John Mills, Stuart Wilson, Bernard Lee
DUMB AND DUMBER
1994
***
The cross-country adventures of two docile friends.
Comedy that pitches its humour perfectly: it's incredibly stupid and tasteless but rarely irritating, and has the courage of its convictions. Carrey is particularly marvellous.
Dir: Peter Farrelly
Stars: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Lauren Holly, Mike Starr
DUMB AND DUMBER TO
2014
**
Harry and Lloyd try to track down Harry's daughter that he has never met.
Tardy sequel which doesn't disgrace the original, being packed with moronic and gross gags that mostly tickle the funny bone (a second viewing reveals a few that weren't picked up first time); the performers very much get into the spirit of things and Carrey is still demonstrating new voices and face-pulling after all these years. One for those in the mood for supremely dumb laughs.
Dir: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly
Stars: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Rachel Melvin, Kathleen Turner
THE DUMB WAITER
1979
*
A woman is menaced by a stranger.
Quite an effective short, pretty well done, now with the added boon of the retro atmosphere of a dark London night from '79. No real twist, but a fairly effective shock ending.
Dir: Robert Bierman
Stars: Geraldine James, John White
DUMBO
1941
***
A baby elephant's gigantic ears cause him to be ridiculed.
Funny and touching cartoon in Disney's best manner of the time - it may be quite slight but many sequences have real Fantasia-like wonder to them.
Dir: Ben Sharpsteen
Voices: John McLeish, Sterling Holloway, Edward Brophy
DUNE
1984
0
In the far future, a duke is sent by the Emperor to a sand world from which comes a spice that is essential for interstellar travel.
Murky, messy sci-fi that bores rather than thrills.
Dir: David Lynch
Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Francesca Annis, Virginia Madsen, Brad Dourif
DUNE
2021
*
The son of a noble family is entrusted with protecting the most valuable thing in the galaxy.
Did they have to do another version of this? For those who just can't connect with this universe, a very boring, long film which is hard to follow, or even want to follow. This director gives it his typical drained (and draining), dour treatment, and the star is hardly anyone's idea of a great hero. Sci-fi's answer to Lord Of The Rings.
Dir: Denis Villeneuve
Stars: Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa
DUNE: PART TWO
2024
*
Paul Atreides seeks revenge against those who destroyed his family.
Part two is much like part one - certainly those who loved the first film will probably love it, those who couldn't get on with it will not get on with this one either. It's similarly very serious, grim, detached and mostly unfathomable (to those of us who haven't read Herbert), shot through a gauze perhaps, and often using a foreign tongue and subtitles which suggests pretentiousness rather than anything else. Still, it has an epic sweep that will sweep up fans, and many of its action set-pieces are impressive.
Dir: Denis Villeneuve
Stars: Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin
DUNKIRK
1958
**
Not long after the start of World War Two, a massive naval operation is launched to get stranded Allied soldiers back to Britain from France.
One of many admirable British films of the Fifties that told stories of the not-long-ended war, this is a brave and sombre depiction of a battle against the odds, sometimes quite upsetting in its scenes of death and despair, with hugely impressive vistas of the beaches; its faults are uneven pacing, a lack of helpful information and some obvious use of stock footage. It's interesting how native cinema of this time echoed the valour and integrity shown a decade before in the fight against Nazi Germany.
Dir: Leslie Norman
Stars: John Mills, Robert Urquhart, Bernard Lee, Richard Attenborough
DUNKIRK
2017
***
Allied soldiers desperately try to escape from France back to Britain.
What Nolan does here is make a suspense thriller that's also a war movie, and what a special one it is: there are no indoor scenes, no enemy properly seen and no long dialogue sequences where the characters sit around and reflect on their lot, just a three-stranded, raw narrative that is fast and furious, shot and scored with great expertise, and edited with economy. Sure to bring a lump to the throat of most viewers, it's a precious reminder, in times in which we seem to be morally and spiritually adrift, of what national identity means, the value of brave, honourable conduct and the pitifulness of moral relativism.
Dir: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Fionn Whitehead, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy, Harry Styles
THE DUNWICH HORROR
1970
0
A warlock drugs and kidnaps a young woman.
Mostly routine horror which comes to a sudden end; the score is catchy, though, and the director at least tries for a few visual flourishes. On the whole though, it's confusing and forgettable.
Dir: Daniel Haller
Stars: Sandra Dee, Dean Stockwell, Ed Begley, Lloyd Bochner
DYING ROOM ONLY
1973 (TV)
**
After stopping at a cafe in the desert, a woman's husband suddenly mysteriously goes missing.
By television standards, an excellent suspenser, part of the alluring disappearing person genre that includes So Long At The Fair, Bunny Lake Is Missing and The Vanishing (all qv). The acting is top-drawer, especially Leachman as the determined wife, while the photography, editing and unsettling scoring are all well above average; it certainly makes you want to keep watching, even if the best scenes are the early ones inside the diner.
Dir: Philip Leacock
Stars: Cloris Leachman, Ross Martin, Ned Beatty, Dana Elcar
