1973
**
Semi-documentary about famous frauds and fakers, including artist Emyr de Hory, writer Clifford Evans and Howard Hawks.
Welles' film is quite unlike any other, and although it's flawed, it's full of unusual content dazzlingly presented, with lots of incredibly fast cutting, saturated with the great man's unique personality. There's so much to take in that one viewing is barely enough, and tricks come thick and fast on every level, that it can't be easily dismissed as merely showing off; even the verbose end sequences between Welles and Kodar have a rich and iconic look to them - they're just some of the many images that stick in the mind.
Dir: Orson Welles
Stars: Orson Welles, Oja Kodar
F1
2025
*
An older race driver returns to the tough world of Formula One.
This could have been made by AI. Everything in it is so familiar it's laughable: the character types, the narrative beats, the structure, the dialogue, the performances, how the races go... and yet it somehow got rewarded with a Best Film Oscar nomination. Yes it's technically astonishing, looks fantastic and will likely thrill those who enjoy seeing cars driving fast, but for those of us who can't stand Formula One, or prefer original and innovatively crafted movies, this is a never-ending endurance.
Dir: Joseph Kosinski
Stars: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Javier Bardem, Kerry Condon
THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS
1989
0
Two piano players who do the club circuit take on a female vocalist but tensions arise.
Simple drama which may have been more pleasant if made 30 years previously.
Dir: Steven Kloves
Stars: Jeff Bridges, Michelle Pfeiffer, Beau Bridges
THE FABULOUS JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH
1977
0
Victorians take off on a quest to burrow into the Earth and find very strange things there.
Curious but not enthralling take on Jules Verne from Spain, it shows some lively things - dinosaurs, a King Kong-type etc - but doesn't get its characters to particularly interact with them. Not unwatchable but not worth going out of your way for.
Dir: Juan Piquer Simon
Stars: Kenneth More, Pep Munne, Ivonne Sentis, Frank Brana
THE FACE AT THE WINDOW
1939
**
In 1880s France, a murderer is on the loose.
Juicy horror with a well crafted script, one of this star's best barnstormers.
Dir: George King
Stars: Tod Slaughter, John Warwick, Aubrey Mallalieu
FACE OF A STRANGER
1964
*
A convict just out of jail impersonates his former cellmate.
Reasonable example of one of the later Edgar Wallace Mysteries, with a slightly harder edge than before and a trick or two up its sleeve. As ever it showcases the country before it had been 'enriched' by diversity.
Dir: John Moxey
Stars: Jeremy Kemp, Rosemary Leach, Bernard Archard, Philip Locke
THE FACE OF FU MANCHU
1965
*
Fu Manchu, long thought dead, appears to be responsible for a series of strangulations in London.
First and best of the Lee Fu Manchu movies, this looks more expensive than it was, with some lively open-air set pieces tinged with eccentricity. Other parts of it plod a bit.
Dir: Don Sharp
Stars: Christopher Lee, Nigel Green, Karin Dor, Howard Marion-Crawford, James Robertson Justice
FACE/OFF
1997
**
An undercover agent takes on the physical appearance of the criminal he is pursuing.
Preposterous action thriller which you can’t help but get caught up in.
Dir: John Woo
Stars: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Nick Cassavetes
FACES OF DEATH
1978
**
Documentary purporting to show scenes of real-life death.
A notorious movie banned in several countries, it claims to have virtuous motives but certainly doesn't - it's as exploitative as it gets and thoroughly, revoltingly fascinating to watch.
Dir: John Alan Schwartz
Stars: Michael Carr (as Dr Francis B Gross)
FACES OF DEATH II
1981
0
Sequel which features avalanches, failed stunt-driving, animal research and primitive African tribes.
Briefer and less full-blooded follow-up which lacks the first one's impact.
Dir: John Alan Schwartz
Stars: Michael Carr (as Dr Francis B Gross)
FACES OF DEATH III
1985
0
This time round there's death by crocodile, falling from a window, torture in El Salvador and what happens to unlucky rabbits.
Much of this is faked or 'recreated', stripping the film of its basic point.
Dir: John Alan Schwartz
Stars: Michael Carr (as Dr Francis B Gross)
FACES OF DEATH IV
1990
0
The last of the 'proper' Faces series - the ones that followed were mostly direct-to-video compilations of the first four films - although that does not mean any sort of quality. This entry is partly genuine, mostly faked (it's generally clear which) and not edifying, mostly only for sick puppies.
Dir: John Alan Schwartz
Stars: James B Schwartz
FACTOTUM
2005
**
An alcoholic writer drifts from one job and one bar to another.
Mordantly amusing, blackly comic Bukowski adaptation which successfully captures the bleary, ambling mood of the source material.
Dir: Bent Hamer
Stars: Matt Dillon, Lili Taylor, Marisa Tomei
FADE TO BLACK
1980
*
A lonely movie geek kills his enemies in the manner of scenes from his favourite films.
Quite a bright idea for a horror movie, with some fun for film buffs.
Dir: Vernon Zimmerman
Stars: Dennis Christopher, Tim Thomerson, Mickey Rourke
FADING GIGOLO
2013
0
A florist is persuaded to bed rich women for cash.
You'll rarely see a browner looking movie than this droning, autumnal comic drama which, despite a few witty lines from Allen, surely has little appeal to those who aren't fans of the underwhelming director/star or, perhaps, Jewish.
Dir: John Turturro
Stars: Woody Allen, John Turturro, Liev Schreiber, Vanessa Paradis, Sharon Stone
FAHRENHEIT 11/9
2018
*
Documentary about Donald Trump winning the 2016 election and other perceived things wrong with the USA.
After predictable lambasting of the 45th president, this film goes down an unexpected avenue, highlighting the scandal of lead in the water in Flint, Michigan (though Moore makes the Republican connection), as well as firing shots at Obama, Hillary Clinton and others. It characterises his rambling, scattershot approach, which is arguably less effective than many of his previous polemics - there's less humour too. A world-weary Moore also massively over-does it on the Hitler comparisons, along with a lack of clarity and balance that blunts the sometimes valid points he is seeking to make. All said and done, a non-American looking on would be forgiven for thinking, 'I'm glad I'm not American - that is one screwed up country!'
Dir: Michael Moore
FAHRENHEIT 451
1966
*
In the future, an oppressive state orders books to be burned but a fireman begins to question the command.
Slimly plotted 1984-esque sci-fi which moves slowly but is fitfully effective.
Dir: Francois Truffaut
Stars: Oskar Werner, Julie Christie, Cyril Cusack, Anton Diffring
FAHRENHEIT 9/11
2004
*
Documentary looking at the after-effects of the attack on the World Trade Centre, notably the Americans' decision to invade Iraq.
Hardly worthy of being discussed as much as it was, this polemic makes a salient point or two but badly lacks focus and descends into lengthy mawkishness. Well worth reading is the great Christopher Hitchens's essay on its absurdities and contradictions.
Dir/Narrator: Michael Moore
FAIL-SAFE
1964
***
A series of human and computer errors sends a squadron of American bombers to destroy Moscow.
Thoroughly gripping, persuasive and harrowing nuclear thriller.
Dir: Sidney Lumet
Stars: Dan O'Herlihy, Walter Matthau, Henry Fonda, Larry Hagman
THE FAIRY
2011
0
A hotel clerk's life is given pizzazz by a visiting fairy.
Excessively whimsical comedy which tires the patience after a while. Largely silent, it's of limited appeal and very silly.
Dir: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, Bruno Romy
Stars: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, Philippe Martz
FAIRY TALES
1978
0
A prince turning 21 goes on a quest to find his true love.
Pitiful sexy musical of most appeal to those not legally old enough to see it; cheap, padded and desperate.
Dir: Harry Hurwitz
Stars: Don Sparks, Sy Richardson, Irwin Corey
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER
1950
0
A man at a gentlemen's club reads a horror story.
Cheap and strange British version of Poe which plays out like a bad dream; or a bit like an Andy Milligan film without the gore and reams of dialogue. At least the actors in the main story don't give quite as flat line readings as those in the bookends do.
Dir: Ivan Barnett
Stars: Gwen Watford, Kaye Tendeter, Irving Steen
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER
1960
*
The inhabitants of an old mansion appear to have been afflicted with a deadly curse.
The movie that started the Corman/Poe cycle retains most of its qualities, including the ever-wonderful Price's succulent performance, opulent visuals and different scary house moods - in the film's last half hour we get, in succession, psychedelia, thunder and lighting and then a fiery climax. It's a slim, measured, confined piece with just four actors, but still vital viewing for Corman/Poe fans, who should invest in the extras-heavy 2013 Blu-ray.
Dir: Roger Corman
Stars: Vincent Price, Mark Damon, Myrna Fahey, Harry Elerbe
THE FALLEN IDOL
1948
**
A young boy thinks he may have witnessed a murder involving the butler who looks after him.
Astute drama/thriller that builds and builds after an unassuming start and has many clever touches, including the askew shooting from a child's perspective and the 'schizophrenia' of the characters as they deal with the child and then with adult situations. A sharp little film, albeit not as sharp as a Hitchcock, though the ideas of truth and falsity causing different types of difficulty are interesting.
Dir: Carol Reed
Stars: Ralph Richardson, Michele Morgan Sonia Dresdel, Bobby Henrey
FALLING DOWN
1993
**
An unemployed defence worker lashes out at the society he sees as collapsing.
Offbeat thriller which could have been very bad indeed, but grips thanks to its unusualness, witty script and deft characterisations.
Dir: Joel Schumacher
Stars: Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, Barbara Hershey, Tuesday Weld, Frederic Forrest
THE FALLOW FIELD
2009
0
A man wakes in a field with no memory of the past few days.
This is a semi-professional horror so it should be judged as one, but even on that level it doesn't follow through on a promising first 20 minutes and soon tries the patience. The lead is a wet blanket, it's much too slow and it rarely conveys a sense of menace.
Dir: Leigh Dovey
Stars: Steve Garry, Michael Dacre
FANTASIA
1940
***
A collection of animated interpretations of great classical music works.
One of the most dazzlingly original films of its time, and one with an 'art house' feel, which may lead to fidgeting among the youngsters. The best parts are the Sorcerer's Apprentice, the origins of the Earth and the dance of the hippos, which marry glorious music with tremendous animation.
Dir: James Algar et al
Narrator: Deems Taylor
THE FANTASIST
1984
*
A Dublin woman is targeted by what may be a serial killer.
Strange, intermittently interesting thriller with a well hidden murderer.
Dir: Robin Hardy
Stars: Moira Harris, Christopher Cazenove, Timothy Bottoms
FANTASM
1976
0
Nine short erotic stories introduced by a bungling professor: Beauty Parlour, Card Game, Wearing The Pants, The Girls, Fruit Salad, Mother’s Darling, Black Velvet, After School, Blood Orgy (one further story, Nightmare Alley, is missing from the UK DVD release).
A huge hit in its native Australia, this is a mixed collection of vignettes - none especially deep or meaningful of course - which are sometimes titillating and sometimes not so appealing. The 'best' ones are probably the early ones, like Beauty Parlour and Card Game, and the worst ones Black Velvet and the weird, brief Blood Orgy. Director Franklin, here working under a pseudonym, later went on to the loftier heights of films like Psycho 2.
Dir: Richard Franklin (as Richard Bruce)
Stars: John Holmes, Uschi Digard, Rene Bond, Serena
FANTASM COMES AGAIN
1977
0
Two journalists leaf through sexy confessions sent in by readers: Silence Please, Workout, Double Feature, Going Up?, Straw Dolls, The Good Old Gang At The Office, The Kiss Of Life, Family Reunion, Overdrive, True Confession.
Sequel with less humour and even less script, but an undeniably titillating collection of generous-breasted ladies relaxed about baring all. It’s interesting to compare these Australian sauce flicks to ones being made in Britain at the time – they’re a bit stronger and have more male nudity and less prudish attitudes, which gives them a more vigorous charge.
Dir: Colin Eggleston
Stars: Tom Thumb, Michael Barton, Herb Layne, Uschi Digard, Mary Gavin, Christine De Schaffer, Serena
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM
2016
*
A writer travels to 1920s New York deal with wizards and strange creatures.
More nonsense to be lapped up by Harry Potter fans, this is a CGI-fest with as little insight into the human condition as we usually get from JK Rowling. It looks pretty but is awkwardly paced, has a whiff of self-indulgence and is a tad yawnsome for those not fully on-board with all the Hogwarts stuff.
Dir: David Yeates
Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Colin Farrell
THE FANTASTIC FOUR
1994
0
Reed Richards and his friends become super-powered in a space mishap.
A film that was never intended to be released (the company needed to make it to retain the rights), it's a jolly good thing it wasn't because it's terrible: looking like it was shot in the back of a broom cupboard, the script, acting and special effects could most kindly be called 'limited'. The very final scene, with the 'hand' waving out of the car, is a corker.
Dir: Oley Sassone
Stars: Alex Hyde-White, Jay Underwood, Rebecca Staab, Michael Bailey Smith, Joseph Culp
FANTASTIC FOUR
2005
*
A group of astronauts gain superpowers after exposure to radiation.
The Marvel superheroes are finally properly brought to the big screen, and the result is not-too-difficult to digest froth. It’s a little by-the-numbers but not objectionably so, with the most valid criticism probably being that they spend most of the movie establishing the team in an effort to set up a franchise, and the climactic battle is rather brief. But the four leads are fairly likeable and Alba looks incredible.
Dir: Tim Story
Stars: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon
Sequel: 4 – Rise Of The Silver Surfer (qv)
FANTASTIC FOUR
2015
0
Scientists gain special powers and use them to fight nascent threat Doctor Doom.
Not quite as terrible as many made out, this pointless superhero reboot is nevertheless weirdly confined and oddly structured - it essentially doesn't have a middle. There are decent bits but it's mostly misguided and glum.
Dir: Josh Trank
Stars: Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B Jordan, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell
FANTASTIC MR FOX
2009
0
A well-dressed fox causes unending problems for local farmers.
Roald Dahl's children's classic has been turned into a horribly Americanised and weirdly obnoxious stop-motion animation full of the director's usual infuriating twitches; the result is a film that has little appeal to children or adults.
Dir: Wes Anderson
Voices: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe
FANTASTIC PLANET
1973
**
On a far-away planet, humanoids are kept in slavery by their giant, blue alien masters.
A quietly important moment in the history of sci-fi animation, this slim, simple feature has a look (and sound) all of its own, and charms with its imaginative visuals, which are something like a cross between Salvador Dali and Yellow Submarine. The American dub version, with plaintively spoken dialogue, actually enhances the film’s otherwordly nature.
Dir: Rene Laloux
Voices: Jennifer Drake, Eric Baugin, Jean Topart, Jean Valmont
FANTASTIC VOYAGE
1966
*
A submarine of scientists is shrunk and injected into the body of a wounded diplomat.
Ludicrous but cheery romp with iridescent special effects.
Dir: Richard Fleischer
Stars: Raquel Welch, Stephen Boyd, Donald Pleasence, Edmond O'Brien
FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD
1967
*
In 19th century Wessex, a headstrong woman is loved by three different men.
Long, dour, well shot Hardy adaptation, not its director's most satisfactory work.
Dir: John Schlesinger
Stars: Julie Christie, Terence Stamp, Peter Finch, Alan Bates, Freddie Jones
A FAREWELL TO ARMS
1932
*
During World War One an American soldier falls for the English nurse who is caring for him.
Hemingway's novel becomes little more than a romance in wartime but is well enough done for what it is; it's a shame, though, that the years have diminished the print somewhat, so the once admired cinematography now looks very murky indeed.
Dir: Frank Borzage
Stars: Gary Cooper, Helen Hayes, Adolphe Menjou
FARGO
1996
***
A man's plan to have his wife kidnapped and held to ransom goes horribly wrong.
Blackly comic thriller that succeeds because of its nicely sketched characters, stark locations and gently twisting plot.
Dir: Joel Coen
Stars: Frances McDormand, William H Macy, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare
THE FARMER'S WIFE
1928
0
A widowed farmer's attempts to take a new bride run into difficulties.
Simple, light-hearted comic drama with padding despite its short length.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Stars: Jameson Thomas, Lillian Hall-Davis, Gordon Harker
FASCINATION
1979
0
A thief takes refuge at a house only inhabited by two beautiful women who may be vampires.
Languid erotic horror that might have worked with a better script and sharper editing – as it is, it’s a tiresome experience, even if you have sympathy for this director.
Dir: Jean Rollin
Stars: Franca Mai, Brigitte Lahaie, Jean-Marie Lemaire, Fanny Magier
FAST FOOD NATION
2006
*
The lives of those connected with the local burger restaurant, including illegal Mexican immigrants, anti-meat protestors and serving staff.
While not as incisive as funny as the tobacco industry-bashing Thank You For Smoking (qv) - the multi-character approach can lead to vague, meandering scenes and strands that fizzle out - this adaptation of a forceful, well-researched non-fiction book is at least a genuine attempt to make an original form of polemic and to reflect the real America, complete with an excellent cast.
Dir: Richard Linklater
Stars: Greg Kinnear, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Bruce Willis, Kris Kristofferson, Avril Lavigne
THE FAST LADY
1962
*
A cyclist learns to drive a car in order to get a girl.
Bright comedy with a grumpy lead, filled with many familiar faces and topped off with an inventive car chase.
Dir: Ken Annakin
Stars: James Robertson Justice, Leslie Phillips, Stanley Baxter, Julie Christie, Dick Emery
FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH
1982
**
Adventures of a group of high school students in southern California.
A little gem, an unnervingly accurate portrayal of American youth which mixes much-better-than-usual characterisation with broad comedy to beguiling effect.
Dir: Amy Heckerling
Stars: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates
FATAL ATTRACTION
1988
**
A married man's one-night stand turns out to be a psycho.
Glossy revamp of Play Misty For Me that proved sexy and suspenseful enough to sell a lot of tickets.
Dir: Adrian Lyne
Stars: Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer, Fred Gwynne
THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS
1967
*
A professor and his slow-witted apprentice seek bloodsuckers and help a lady in distress.
Slow moving spoof, more handsome than funny.
Dir: Roman Polanski
Stars: Sharon Tate, Roman Polanski, Alfie Bass, Jack MacGowran, Fiona Lewis, Ronald Lacey
FEET FIRST
1930
***
A shoe salesman pretends to a girl he is a leather tycoon.
Constantly funny star vehicle that culminates in a thrilling episode on the side of a building.
Dir: Clyde Bruckman
Stars: Harold Lloyd, Barbara Kent, Henry Hall
FELICITY
1979
0
A girl is anxious to lose her virginity and does so in Hong Kong.
An English language Emmanuelle which, initially at least, is a titillating and honest exploration of a young woman’s nascent sexual quest but then becomes content to merely dish up ambling sex and travelogue sequences.
Dir: John D Lamond
Stars: Glory Annen, Chris Milne, Joni Flynn
FELLOW TRAVELLER
1989
0
In the 1950s, a Hollywood script-writer flees America to escape McCarthyism.
Muddled drama with limited ambitions.
Dir: Philip Saville
Stars: Ron Silver, Hart Bochner, Imogen Stubbs
FEMALE AGENTS
2008
*
In World War Two, five women are enlisted to rescue a geologist who has been captured by the Nazis while doing preparatory work for the D-day landings.
Pretty sound Resistance drama, not as tangy as Verhoeven’s Black Book, but a respectably sober documentation of honest and grim self-sacrifice for the greater good, enlivened by some proficient action set-pieces. It ends on a characteristically sombre note, with a dedication to ‘women who fought against Nazi barbarity’.
Dir: Jean-Paul Salome
Stars: Sophie Marceau, Julie Depardieu, Marie Gillain, Deborah Francois
FEMALE CONVICT SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41
1972
0
A band of women prisoners escape from their hell-hole jail.
Nasty, screechy slice of exploitation that’s painful viewing despite some arty visual flourishes.
Dir: Shunya Ito
Stars: Meiko Kaji, Fumio Watanabe, Kayoko Shiraishi
FEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPION
1972
*
A woman plots revenge on the policeman who put her in prison, as well as the officers and convicts who mistreat her.
As ‘women in prison’ exploitation flicks go, one of the better ones thanks to skilful production design and cinematography, if not its unconvincing physical effects. Cruelty drops from its every pore as does a cool, proto-feminist attitude, and it’s credited with influencing a whole genre (along with Quentin Tarantino) and starting a series; narratively it’s a little wonky but has flashes of freewheeling audacity.
Dir: Shunya Ito
Stars: Meiko Kaji, Rie Yokoyama, Isao Natsuyagi
FEMALE PRISONER #701 SCORPION: BEAST STABLE
1973
0
Police hunt down a violent female criminal.
The third in the series is less trashy than its predecessors and also slower and more boring; it’s difficult to empathise with a heroine who’s a near-mute Japanese woman who wears exactly the same expression the entire time.
Dir: Shunya Ito
Stars: Meiko Kaji, Mikio Narita, Reisen Lee
FEMME FATALE
2002
*
An international female con artist struggles to escape her past.
De Palma’s arty demi-French thriller is vastly over-stylised and often confusing but not without merit; potential viewers are advised to seek the film on DVD which, thanks to its extensive extras, makes sense of the director’s vision.
Dir: Brian De Palma
Stars: Rebecca Romijn, Antonio Banderas, Peter Coyote
FENCES
2106
**
In the Fifties, a black garbage collector takes out his frustrations at his failure on his family.
This is a play, not a movie: it's been transferred so straight from the Broadway stage you almost expect an interval to buy ice cream. What it is, is an actors' showcase, and not a cinematic experience, although there are things to appreciate if you can empathise with, and understand, the characters. Things became more absurd when it was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars; one suspects that had much to do with the voting jury being 'rigged' after the previous year's inane race controversy.
Dir: Denzel Washington
Stars: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson, Jovan Adepo
FESTEN
1995
****
Dark family truths are uncovered on the 60th birthday of the patriarch.
The first Dogme 95 film, one in which their daring approach to movie-making makes for a riveting, delightfully different slice of cinema.
Dir: Thomas Vinterberg
Stars: Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen, Thomas Bo Larsen
FEVER PITCH
1997
*
An obsessive football fan finds that a new lady in his life is as unpredictable as his team.
Slight adaptation of a wonderful, perceptive non-fiction book, cheaply done, but with familiar pleasures for football fans (especially Arsenal ones).
Dir: David Evans
Stars: Colin Firth, Ruth Gemmell, Neil Pearson
A FEW GOOD MEN
1992
**
An army lawyer defends two Marines against a charge of murder at the US base in Guantanamo Bay.
This military courtroom drama may be a trifle corny and melodramatic but its later scenes provide a great clash of two heavyweight actors whose characters are representing both sides of the argument about how much licence we should give authority in a free society. Quite a demanding film but a highly professional one.
Dir: Rob Reiner
Stars: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Pollak
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
1971
*
In pre-revolutionary Russia, a peasant Jew with five daughters struggles to adapt to a changing world.
Monumentally tedious demi-musical which surely only has minority appeal; its milieu can't be meaningful to most. Topol gives a hearty performance and it's visually impressive (if a little murky), but it's three pretty heavy-going hours, likely reminding many of misspent bank holidays in front of a chunky TV.
Dir: Norman Jewison
Stars: Topol, Norma Crane, Leonard Frey, Molly Picon
THE FIFTH MISSILE
1986 (TV)
0
A submarine captain is stricken by a toxin that makes him hallucinate and attack a Russian sub.
Bland would-be suspenser, overlong for its purpose.
Dir: Larry Peerce
Stars: Robert Conrad, Sam Waterson, Richard Roundtree
50 FIRST DATES
2004
*
A vet in Hawaii falls in love with a woman who forgets everything when she goes to sleep every night.
Silly and not especially funny but not hateable comedy whose agreeable locations and very cute female lead provide pleasant relief from the occasional toilet humour and selection of weird characters, many of whom don't really click. It's no Groundhog Day, but it'll do.
Dir: Peter Segal
Stars: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Rob Schneider, Dan Akyroyd
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY
2015
0
A young woman comes under the spell of an eccentric billionaire with a penchant for BDSM.
This film couldn't fail to be a hit, with a huge publicity machine and a bestselling book behind it, but it isn't very good. It isn't terrible, it's not ridiculously cheesy, it's just quite bland, a bit meh, and despite focusing relentlessly on the two leads it doesn't make us feel anything for them. 'Grey' is right: this is an overly tame, not nearly dramatic enough relationship drama which should have been more titillating, more fiery and more worthy of its fame.
Dir: Sam Taylor-Johnson
Stars: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan
FIGHT CLUB
1999
*
An office employee and a soap salesman build a global organisation to help vent male aggression.
The premise is unconvincing, the satirical targets are misguided, the action is unattractive and overblown, and the film as a whole is massively overrated.
Dir: David Fincher
Stars: Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf
FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE
1977
*
Three sadistic criminals on the run hole up in a black family’s house.
Not as exciting as it looks on the poster or video cover: many shots are held far too long, sometimes making it appear like a theatrical production, and a fatal lack of characterisation ensures the final events are much less affecting than they could have been. Its hateful, aggressive tone makes a re-release in Britain unlikely (but not impossible).
Dir: Robert A Endelson
Stars: William Sanderson, Robert Judd, Catherine Peppers
THE FIGHTER
2010
*
A boxer manages to achieve success despite his wayward family.
Based on real life, this is a moderately compelling drama that finishes in familiar boxing picture style but isn't as affecting as some because we've struggled to invest in Wahlberg's character - perhaps the actor's under-performance is to blame, but he is rather eclipsed by Bale's over-performance (that man would kill himself if he thought the role demanded it). The scenario's not especially attractive but conceits like the HBO documentary and Sugar Ray Leonard give it a bit of zing.
Dir: David O Russell
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo
THE FIGHTING DEVIL DOGS
1938 (serial)
0
The US marine corps battle a villain who uses electricity as a weapon.
Weak serial that doesn't stay long in the memory.
Dir: John English, William Witney
Stars: Lee Powell, Bruce Bennett, Eleanor Stewart
THE FIGHTING KENTUCKIAN
1949
0
In 1812, a Kentucky rifleman comes to the aid of Napoleonic soldiers in danger of losing their land.
Dull and rather confusing star Western which sees a rare solo appearance by Oliver Hardy – he fits in quite well and his scenes with Wayne are among the better ones in the movie. But not a ‘classic’, in spite of what the DVD box says.
Dir: George Waggner
Stars: John Wayne, Vera Ralston, Philip Dorn, Oliver Hardy
FIGURES IN A LANDSCAPE
1972
0
Two escaped convicts go on the run in a Latin American country.
There are only two principal characters in this film, which is probably a greater number than the number of people that could sit through this slice of extreme tedium.
Dir: Joseph Losey
Stars: Robert Shaw, Malcolm McDowell, Roger Lloyd-Pack
FILMED IN SUPERMARIONATION
2014
**
Documentary about the TV puppet shows of Gerry Anderson, notably Torchy, The Battery Boy, The Adventures Of Twizzle, Four Feather Falls, Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons, Joe 90 and The Secret Service.
An affectionate portrait full of nice people chatting about a time when they created quality children's television on often limited resources; there's a reasonable balance of archive footage and talking heads, humour is not absent, and its access and anecdotes make it likely that it will become the authoritative film on a subject that many feel nostalgic towards.
Dir: Stephen La Riviere
FILMWORKER
2017
**
Documentary about Leon Vitali, an actor who went on to faithfully and doggedly work for Stanley Kubrick from Barry Lyndon onwards.
An interesting tale of the sacrifices some will make in life when they are lucky enough to find a cause that is compelling enough to get submerged in. There are some good anecdotes about Kubrick's later films, but we never get anywhere nearer knowing more about him, or even what really drove Vitali.
Dir: Tony Zierra
THE FILTH AND THE FURY
1998
**
Documentary charting the rise of the Sex Pistols.
Enjoyable account of punk’s prime movers which gets its approach to the subject about right. The group are all interviewed in semi-darkness.
Dir: Julien Temple
Stars: The Sex Pistols
FILTHY GORGEOUS: THE BOB GUCCIONE STORY
2013
*
Documentary about the man who created Penthouse magazine.
Functional biography that adopts a hagiographic attitude to its subject; what's here is okay, but there was surely a lot more that could have been said.
Dir: Barry Avrich
FINAL ANALYSIS
1991
*
A psychiatrist has an affair with a woman who has a violent Mob husband.
Standard thriller which tries hard to be Hitchcockian.
Dir: Phil Joanou
Stars: Richard Gere, Kim Basinger, Uma Thurman, Eric Roberts
FINAL APPOINTMENT
1954
0
A reporter investigates threats against a retired army officer.
One of the many B-features the director made before moving into Hammer horror, this is a knotty little mystery that passes the time but isn't remarkable.
Dir: Terence Fisher
Stars: John Bentley, Eleanor Summerfield, Hubert Gregg
THE FIRST POWER
1990
0
The spirit of a dead killer returns to plague the cop who caught him.
Watchable but silly and derivative thriller with the star obviously too young to have achieved his ranking.
Dir: Robert Resnikoff
Stars: Lou Diamond Phillips, Tracy Griffith, Jeff Kober
A FISH CALLED WANDA
1988
**
Four people commit an armed robbery then try to double-cross each other for the loot.
Commercially successful farce which benefits from Cleese’s intricately worked out plot and carefully drawn characters, but has elements that may be hilarious to some and not to others (Vietnam, Otto, the dogs) plus an off-putting barrage of foul language and an anti-English undercurrent.
Dir: Charles Crichton
Stars: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin
FIST OF FURY
1972
**
A young fighter seeks vengeance for the death of his teacher.
The pacing is uncertain, but this low budget Bruce Lee vehicle does show him at his most charismatic, dynamic and brutal - as well as being able to play the fool as the telephone repair man. As a tale of how violence begets violence, it's very effective, despite being a tad overlong.
Dir: Wei Lo
Stars: Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, James Tien
FITZCARRALDO
1982
**
A man becomes obsessed with building an opera house in the middle of the Peruvian jungle.
Strange and lyrical study of a man who won't give up.
Dir: Werner Herzog
Stars: Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, Jose Lewgoy
FIVE
1951
0
After a nuclear explosion, there is only a small band of survivors left on Earth.
The first post-nuclear drama is extremely glum (but then that's quite fitting), portentous, talky and a little absurd. It's shot with some eerie quality but is not particularly engaging.
Dir: Arch Oboler
Stars: Susan Douglas, William Phipps, James Anderson, Charles Lampkin, Earl Lee
FIVE DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON
1970
0
A group of people on an isolated island are murdered one after another.
As so often with Bava, another lesson in how not to make a movie – if you want to create a suspense thriller try to make it clear what the heck’s going on, make each murder memorable, try and write some proper dialogue, don’t have all the females in the cast practically identical, don’t have totally inappropriate music frequently playing, and don’t shoot it in a way that looks like you wish you were rather on holiday. A hazy shambles.
Dir: Mario Bava
Stars: William Berger, Ira Furstenberg, Edwige Fenech, Maurice Poli
FIVE EASY PIECES
1971
**
An oil rigger returns home to comfort his dying father.
Cultish drama from the Easy Rider school, providing a perfect part for its star.
Dir: Bob Rafelson
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Billy Green Bush
FIVE GOLDEN DRAGONS
1967
0
An American in Hong Kong gets involved in a crime syndicate.
Terrible crime drama in which a camp leading man encounters thugs who go on wearisomely long chases, gorgeous girls who blink when they're dead, singers who will not stop singing and an extremely confusing plot. Essentially, everything's wrong, including inappropriate music scores, but the footage of Sixties Hong Kong is nice (although many of the residents stare at the camera).
Dir: Jeremy Summers
Stars: Robert Cummings, Margaret Lee, Rupert Davies, Klaus Kinski, Maria Rohm, Christopher Lee
FIVE HAVE A MYSTERY TO SOLVE
1964 (serial)
*
The Famous Five are drawn to a small island where trouble’s afoot.
Enid Blyton’s winsome creations on the big screen, albeit a low-budget six-part serial made by the Children’s Film Foundation. It’s cute enough if not exactly good, with the plot somewhat repetitive, as the kids are captured and escape and captured and escape, but picky criticism is probably pointless.
Dir: Ernest Morris
Stars: David Palmer, Darryl Read, Amanda Coxell, Paula Boyd, Michael Balfour
FIVE ON A TREASURE ISLAND
1957 (serial)
**
A group of young adventurers find gold but get into difficulties.
Probably the purest, most natural Blyton adaptation put on the screen, perhaps due to being made when the books were in their pomp; it's certainly performed with good-natured enthusiasm and has so much outside shooting - mostly at Corfe Castle in Dorset - you can almost taste the Fifties air. Not surprisingly it's repeating itself before the end but in general it's ripping stuff for those who grew up on Blyton's books in more innocent times - episode six even has some real tension with the underwater swim.
Dir: Gerald Landau
Stars: Rel Grainer, Richard Palmer, Gillian Harrison, John Baily
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
2009
*
A young man who believes in love falls for a girl called Summer, who is not certain it truly exists.
Smartly written and directed romantic comedy with an insouciant cuteness and several quirks (like the non-linear structure) but not much depth – we don’t get under the skin of the two main characters and all others are just sketched in. The girl actress’s performance is better than the boy’s.
Dir: Marc Webb
Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel
FIVE STAR FINAL
1931
**
Sleazy journalists destroy a family to get a good story.
Influential newspaper drama which hasn't lasted too badly, although its stage origins are obvious and many of the actors appear to think they're still on a stage. Its theme may still resonate with many, there is the odd cinematic flourish and some of the dialogue retains its crackle.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Stars: Edward G Robinson, Boris Karloff, Marian Marsh, HB Warner
THE 5,000 FINGERS OF DR T
1953
*
Dr T plans to enslave children to play his piano 24 hours a day.
Weird fantasy, the first major proof that Dr Seuss was difficult to adapt for the screen, although there are stunning dream sequences.
Dir: Roy Rowland
Stars: Hans Conried, Tommy Rettig, Peter Lind Hayes
FIVE TO ONE
1963
*
Crooks hatch a convoluted plan to relieve a bookie of his money.
Not very likeable but reasonably well done Edgar Wallace Mystery, more rewarding if you can follow its complications. A young John Thaw is good and there's a Billy Liar poster.
Dir: Gordon Flemyng
Stars: John Thaw, Lee Montague, Ingrid Hafner, Brian McDermott
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
2006
**
The story of the soldiers who were framed in an iconic photograph hoisting up the American flag after the battle of Iwo Jima.
While proficiently made and constantly watchable, Eastwood’s film smacks of liberal hand-wringing and suffers from a basic flaw in its structure – it wasn’t a bad thing that the soldiers toured America raising money in the form of war bonds, it was a good thing. And the chance to inject a racial angle must have delighted the maker also.
Dir: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, John Benjamin Hickey
THE FLAMINGO KID
1984
0
A troubled teenager finds solace at a beach club.
Desperately ordinary comedy drama with a sleepy star.
Dir: Garry Marshall
Stars: Matt Dillon, Richard Crenna, Jessica Walter
FLASH GORDON
1936 (serial)
*
Three earthlings visit the planet Mongo to thwart the dastardly schemes of Emperor Ming the Merciless.
Once the preserve of Saturday's kids, now an artefact for old film fans, this is crazy nonsense done with a straight face, and all the better for it.
Dir: Frederick Stephani
Stars: Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton
FLASH GORDON
1980
*
A football hero and friends travel across the universe to face a wicked villain.
Energetic revamp of the old serials with a fair measure of fun – it’s pretty corny stuff, and the special effects have long been bettered, but its heart is in the right place.
Dir: Mike Hodges
Stars: Sam J Jones, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow, Topol, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed, Peter Wyngrade, Richard O'Brien, Suzanne Danielle
FLASH GORDON’S TRIP TO MARS
1938 (serial)
*
When a deadly ray hits Earth, Flash once again goes to battle perpetrator Ming the Merciless.
The planet Mars, it turns out, is an oxygenated globe home to five or so different races, all of whom meet up with Flash on one of the rare occasions he can stop dashing about. Creaky sci-fi suffused with nostalgia.
Dir: Ford Beebe, Robert F Hill
Stars: Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Frank Shannon
FLAT TWO
1962
0
A crooked businessman is found dead.
Edgar Wallace Mystery which asks the viewer to consume such large amounts of information more or less constantly that there's little chance to actually enjoy the film.
Dir: Alan Cooke
Stars: John Le Mesurier, Jack Watling, Bernard Archard, Barry Keegan
FLATLINERS
1990
*
Medical students bring themselves close to death as part of ghoulish experiments.
Visually impressive thriller that has an interesting premise but becomes fragmented and hysterical.
Dir: Joel Schumacher
Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin
FLAVIA THE HERETIC
1974
0
A 15th century nun rebels against her superiors.
A rather boring and confusing film that is nevertheless one of the classier entries into Seventies exploitation cinema – scenes of mutilation and torture ensure that its audience has been wider than just those with an interest in religious history.
Dir: Gianfranco Mingozzi
Stars: Florinda Bolkan, Maria Casares, Claudio Cassinelli
FLESH + BLOOD
1986
*
A band of medieval mercenaries take revenge on a lord who has betrayed them.
Bawdy costume drama in deliciously bad taste, it lives up to its title alright.
Dir: Paul Verhoeven
Stars: Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Burlinson
FLESH AND FANTASY
1943
*
Three supernatural stories are read at a club.
Amicus would make such things their raison d'etre; this early fantasy compendium is a mixed bag: the first story just passes muster, the second (an Oscar Wilde tale) is predictable but enjoyable, while the third one meanders somewhat.
Dir: Julien Duvivier
Stars: Edward G Robinson, Charles Boyer, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Cummings
THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS
1959
*
In old Edinburgh, surgeon Dr Robert Knox gets body snatchers Burke and Hare to bring him fresh cadavers.
Hearty horror with a strong sense of period and place; good performances, too.
Dir: John Gilling
Stars: Peter Cushing, Donald Pleasence, June Laverick
FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN
1974
0
Baron Frankenstein plans to create a new race of humans out of body parts.
Warhol's loose interpretation is notable for some outrageous gore but aside from that it flaps – it’s pleasingly trashy but somewhat dull, and Kier and Van Vooren’s one-note, angry performances soon grate.
Dir: Paul Morrissey
Stars: Udo Kier, Joe Dallesandro, Monique van Vooren
FLESH GORDON
1974
0
Emperor Wang the Perverted of the planet Porno fires his sex ray at Earth - Flesh Gordon, Dale Ardent and Professor Flexi-Jerkoff go to stop him.
Famous sex spoof toned down for theatrical release; it does the job as an affectionate take-off of the old serials as well as being a moderately funny, cheapo sexy romp.
Dir: Michael Benveniste, Howard Ziehm
Stars: Jason Williams, Cindy Hopkins, Joseph Hudgins
FLESH GORDON 2
1990
0
Flesh Gordon is kidnapped by a group of space cheerleaders hoping to use him to save their planet.
The original had become a minor cult by the time this came out, but this sequel is less of a success. There's more of an emphasis on comedy than sex and post-pub males are likely to be its main audience.
Dir: Howard Ziehm
Stars: Vince Murdocco, Robyn Kelly, Tony Travis
FLETCH
1985
0
An ace reporter is approached by a man who asks the reporter to murder him.
Surprisingly thickly plotted star comedy which one keeps watching without too much enthusiasm.
Dir: Michael Ritchie
Stars: Chevy Chase, Joe Don Baker, Tim Matheson, M Emmet Walsh, Geena Davis
THE FLIGHT OF DRAGONS
1982 (V)
0
A young writer journeys back in time to an era where wizards and dragons roam the land.
Cartoon in a similar mould to Bakshi's Lord Of The Rings (qv) but with less depth and inferior animation.
Dir: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr
Voices: Victor Buono, John Ritter, Bob McFadden, James Earl Jones
FLIGHT OF THE DOVES
1971
*
Two children are pursued across Ireland by an avaricious relative.
Shot on the Emerald Isle in bright, unreal colour, this junior adventure gives Moody a plum part as a master of disguises; storywise it's a little drawn out, and the tone varies somewhat (some seriousness, some songs, some slapstick), but it's an agreeable enough matinee with a different feel. Willie Rushton's performance is not one its plus points, though.
Dir: Ralph Nelson
Stars: Ron Moody, Jack Wild, Dana, Dorothy McGuire, Stanley Holloway
FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR
1986
*
A boy somehow jumps forward in time eight years.
Fair family sci-fi with similarities to Explorers (qv).
Dir: Randal Kleiser
Stars: Joey Cramer, Paul Reubens, Veronica Cartwright, Sarah Jessica Parker
FLIGHT TO MARS
1951
*
Astronauts fly to Mars to discover an underground civilisation there.
There's just something about Fifties sci-fi that makes it irresistible, despite, or perhaps because of, the naive, nonsensical storylines, absurd science and primitive special effects. This economical effort is wonderfully ropey, but its unreal Cinecolor, long-legged Martian ladies in tiny miniskirts and good attitude more than make up for its chatting and limited sets.
Dir: Lesley Salander
Stars: Cameron Mitchell, Arthur Franz, Marguerite Chapman, Virginia Huston
FLIRTATION WALK
1934
0
A private falls for the general's daughter.
The sort of film that was popular at the time, it now seems amazing that this was nominated for Best Picture Oscar, as it's not much more than a slight, trivial musical comedy.
Dir: Frank Borzage
Stars: Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Pat O'Brien, Ross Alexander
THE FLOOD
1963
0
Children are stranded in East Anglia after massive downpours.
Plucky CFF antics with plenty of location shooting; a little twee but of fair heart.
Dir: Frederic Goode
Stars: Waveney Lee, Ian Ellis, Christopher Ellis, Leslie Hart
FLOOD!
1976 (TV)
0
After several weeks of heavy rainfall, a dam bursts its banks and threatens a small town.
Low budget disaster movie, awful on every level.
Dir: Earl Bellamy
Stars: Robert Culp, Barbara Hershey, Richard Basehart, Carol Lynley, Roddy McDowall
FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC
1987
0
A conniving mother and grandmother lock their children in an attic.
Crass rubbish with a risible script (why don’t the kids at least try and escape?) and paper-thin characterisation, performed by actors who have the same qualities as wood.
Dir: Jeffrey Bloom
Stars: Victoria Tennant, Kristy Swanson, Louise Fletcher
FLUTTERING HEARTS
1927
0
A man helps a rich father who is being blackmailed.
Trying short, one rather tiresome sequence after another. Hardy was on the verge on his fruitful team-up with Laurel at this stage.
Dir: James Parrott
Stars: Charley Chase, Martha Sleeper, Oliver Hardy
THE FLY
1958
***
A scientist steps into his new teleportation device but unfortunately there is also a fly present in the chamber.
Vastly enjoyable horror hokum that's pleasingly disgusting. After all these years the novelty of its bold strangeness may have worn off a little but certain scenes retain their power, including the multi-image of the woman screaming, the scientist and his new insectoid hand, and the fly with the human head caught in the spider's web.
Dir: Kurt Neumann
Stars: Vincent Price, David Hedison, Patricia Owens, Herbert Marshall
THE FLY
1987
**
A scientist begins to transform into a hideous fly-like creature after an experiment goes horribly wrong.
Icky remake which continues Cronenberg's obsession with diseases of the flesh, this ultimately proved more commercial than his other work thanks to its thriller acrobatics.
Dir: David Cronenberg
Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, David Cronenberg
THE FLY II
1989
0
The son of the human fly scientist appears to be afflicted by a similar condition.
Popcorn sequel [to a remake] in a very different style, just an assembly of commercial components, including over-the-top gore.
Dir: Chris Walas
Stars: Eric Stoltz, Daphne Zuniga, John Getz
THE FLYING DEUCES
1939
*
Ollie joins the Foreign Legion to forget a girl and Stan comes along too.
A long way behind Way Out West, this comedy demonstrates that the boys were not invincible, and time was beginning to tarnish their shine. Old plot ideas are reworked, routines vary in their effectiveness and the production isn't especially plush but there are bright moments, including Stan playing the bed as a harp, the sneeze in the cupboard and the final scene with Ollie reincarnated as a horse, which brings a sometimes faltering picture to a happy conclusion (the flying sequences just before that don't work at all).
Dir: A Edward Sutherland
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Jean Parker, James Finlayson, Charles Middleton
FLYING ELEPHANTS
1927
0
Warring cavemen battle over the same girl.
Loosely constructed comedy short in which Stan and Ollie only briefly meet.
Dir: Frank Butler
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Tiny Sandford
THE FOG
1979
*
A killer fog containing zombie-like ghosts comes to a Californian fishing town.
Silly but tolerable horror with some effective shocks.
Dir: John Carpenter
Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Adrienne Barbeau, Janet Leigh, John Houseman
FOG ISLAND
1945
0
A man invites people who have wronged him to his holiday home in order to extract retribution.
Implausible old dark house antics in which the action takes place over one disarranged night; the actors struggle in their underwritten parts.
Dir: Terry O Morse
Stars: George Zucco, Lionel Atwill, Jerome Cowan, Sharon Douglas
FOOTBALL CRAZY
1974
0
An international football referee eventually goes mad.
Dizzy Italian farce notable for Joan Collins speaking without Joan Collins' voice.
Dir: Luigi Filippo D'Amico
Stars: Joan Collins, Lando Buzzanca, Gabriella Pallotta
THE FOUR MUSKETEERS
1974
*
D'Artagnan joins the Musketeers in their fight against Rochefort.
Sequel to Lester's Three Musketeers (although they were slyly shot as one); some lively escapades abound.
Dir: Richard Lester
Stars: Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, Richard Chamberlain, Michael York, Frank Finlay, Christopher Lee, Geraldine Chaplin, Faye Dunaway, Roy Kinnear, Simon Ward
4 - RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER
2007
*
The Fantastic Four come up against a being from space, the Silver Surfer, whose powers are coveted by Dr Doom.
A children's film and one which does its job; after several extremely long, po-faced and 'dark' superhero films (Batman Begins and Superman Returns being the worst culprits) it is quite refreshing to see one that is brief, sweet-natured and light-hearted. The special effects are as good as any of its bigger cousins.
Dir: Tim Story
Stars: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Lawrence Fishburne
FOUR ROOMS
1995
0
Four stories from four hotel rooms, linked by a bellboy: The Missing Ingredient, The Wrong Man, The Misbehavers, The Man From Hollywood.
Pretty much a complete failure. Story one, despite some attractive female visages, is pointless and banal; story two is deadening further; story three only gets a laugh right at the end; story four isn't too endearing, with Tarantino ill-fitting as star and lazy as director, but its pay-off is good, a sort of foreshadowing of the climaxes of Inglourious Basterds and Once Upon A Time ... In Hollywood. The film is glued together by Roth, giving one of the worst, most mannered, most irritating performances ever seen at the movies.
Dir: Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Tim Roth, Madonna, Jennifer Beals, Antonio Banderas, Quentin Tarantino, Bruce Willis
FOUR SIDED TRIANGLE
1952
*
A man develops the replica of a woman whom he loves but cannot have.
Daft sci-fi drama done straight, largely pedestrian and shallow, with hints of better things; makers Hammer - with Fisher - would film their superior, full-blooded Frankenstein movie a few years after this.
Dir: Terence Fisher
Stars: Barbara Payton, James Hayter, Stephen Murray, John Van Eyssen
FOUR TIMES THAT NIGHT
1972
0
Different people give their accounts of what happened on a certain night.
An attractive idea which doesn’t lead to a good film because of leaden scripting.
Dir: Mario Bava
Stars: Daniela Giordano, Brett Halsey, Dick Randall
FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL
1994
**
A man is drawn to an American woman that he keeps meeting at social functions.
Comedy that hit the box office jackpot and does manage to be funny and telling, although its political correctness can be a little tiresome.
Dir: Mike Newell
Stars: Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, Simon Callow, John Hannah, Kristin Scott Thomas
FOUR WHEELED TERROR
1924
0
The winner of a car race will earn a businessman's daughter's hand.
Silent comedy short notable for some impressive car stunts and a droll Ku Klux Klan joke.
Dir: Larry Semon, Noel M Smith
Stars: Larry Semon, Oliver Hardy
4D MAN
1959
*
A scientist gains the power to pass through objects - but at a great cost.
This fanciful sci-fi might have worked better at an hour's length - a deadly romantic subplot swamps it, particularly in the first half. The score is bizarrely inappropriate too, but there are visual and visceral pleasures as Lansing stalks his town with his new power. Gotta love Fifties US sci-fi.
Dir: Irwin S Yeaworth Jr
Stars: Robert Lansing, Lee Meriwether, James Congdon
THE FOURTH MAN
1983
***
A troubled writer meets a beautiful young woman who may have a disturbing past.
The last of Verhoeven's films made in the Netherlands before moving to Hollywood is the best from the country's finest director, an enigmatic, blasphemous, layered mystery thriller which is madly outrageous, but in a controlled manner, and a lot better than Basic Instinct to boot. A very clever film that hasn't dated.
Dir: Paul Verhoeven
Stars: Jeroen Krabbe, Renee Soutendijk, Thom Hoffman
THE FOURTH PROTOCOL
1987
*
A British agent attempts to stop the Russians from causing an explosion that will shatter the relationship between Britain and the USA.
Competent espionage thriller that's a little ponderous at times - some scenes and characters could surely have been excised - but nicely builds towards a climax where the two stars finally meet. Overall a pretty decent Frederick Forsyth adaptation that is now something of a time capsule thanks to its depiction of Cold War shenanigans and Eighties Britain.
Dir: John Mackenzie
Stars: Michael Caine, Pierce Brosnan, Ned Beatty, Joanna Cassidy, Julian Glover, Michael Gough, Anton Rodgers, Ray McAnally, Ian Richardson
THE FOURTH SQUARE
1961
0
Rich people are being relieved of their jewels.
One of those Edgar Wallace Mysteries that is somewhat exhausting, an hour of fast talking and furious plotting.
Dir: Allan Davis
Stars: Conrad Phillips, Miriam Karlin, Barrie Ingham, Edward de Souza
FREE SOLO
2018
***
Documentary about Alex Honnold, who attempts to climb 3,000 ft Yosemite mountain El Capitan Wall with no ropes or safety gear.
A testament to what human beings are capable of, this vertiginous, frequently dazzling slice of film-making has a truly remarkable person at its centre - even if it's because his amygdala is not fully developed (thereby making him 'braver') he still has to train hard and plan meticulously. The debut screening at UK cinemas was followed by a Q&A session, but no one asked 'do you fear death or dying?'
Dir: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
THE FRENCH CONNECTION
1971
***
A pair of NYC cops stumble onto a drug smuggling job with a French connection.
Fresh and vital police thriller shot in the gutter, innovative in structure and style.
Dir: William Friedkin
Stars: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey, Tony Lo Bianco
FRENCH DRESSING
1964
*
A sexy French film star brings some glamour to a rainy British seaside resort.
Ken Russell's first feature film is a curious little thing, a melding of various styles and techniques - silent movie slapstick, Hard Day's Night-type quirkiness and even imagery which wouldn't be out of place in TV's The Prisoner a few years later - with nods to British traditionalism and French liberation, plus much else besides. It doesn't wholly coalesce into a satisfying whole, in part because of underwritten characters and some irritating performances (especially Booth and Pringle), but there's enough here to make it an intriguing part of the director's eccentric career.
Dir: Ken Russell
Stars: James Booth, Marisa Mell, Roy Kinnear, Alita Naughton, Bryan Pringle
A FRENCH MISTRESS
1960
0
A sexy new French teacher causes havoc at a private boys’ school.
Tiresome farce: at first the pupils and staff are aghast that a woman is coming to teach at their school (the temerity!), then everybody fancies her when she arrives, then there’s the possibility that a relationship could be incestuous, then there’s the predictable wrapping up. They didn’t have many years left to make movies with ‘sexist’ plots like this.
Dir: Roy Boulting
Stars: Cecil Parker, Agnes Laurent, Ian Bannen, James Robertson Justice, Raymond Huntley, Thorley Walters, Irene Handl, Edith Sharpe, Kenneth Griffith
FRENZY
1972
****
London is menaced by a serial killer who uses a necktie in his murders.
Hitchcock's first British film in years is an undervalued classic, being a supremely crafted and shot thriller that ranks among his most enthralling efforts. While being by some distance his most hard-edged effort, it also overflows with humour and has many excellent sequences in the master’s best manner, including the potato truck, the ‘unviewed’ murder and the climactic scenes. The London of the early Seventies is captured in its richness and makes one be eternally grateful that Hitch came back to his homeland to make one more movie.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Stars: Jon Finch, Barry Foster, Anna Massey, Alec McCowen, Billie Whitelaw, Bernard Cribbins, Vivien Merchant, Jean Marsh
FREQUENCY
2000
0
Thanks to an atmospheric phenomenon, a man warns his father, 30 years ago, that he is about to die in an accident.
Risible mix of sci-fi, action, sentimentality and mystery, with too much baseball and noise and too many American-isms and cigarettes - and far too much plot.
Dir: Gregory Hoblit
Stars: Dennis Quaid, James Caviezel, Shawn Doyle
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TIME TRAVEL
2009
0
Three boozers discover that their local’s gents cause them to travel in time.
Painfully cheap comedy unable to provide laughs or thrills.
Dir: Gareth Carrivick
Stars: Chris O’Dowd, Marc Wootton, Dean Lennox Kelly, Anna Faris
THE FRESHMAN
1925
**
A college boy tries to boost his popularity by becoming a football player.
Valuable record of the star's talents; Lloyd's work retains a definite freshness.
Dir: Fred C Newmeyer, Sam Taylor
Stars: Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Brooks Benedict
FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH
1933
**
The stories of three people who are involved in a bus crash.
Influential compendium, a beguiling mix of comedy and drama.
Dir: Victor Saville
Stars: Jessie Matthews, Sonnie Hale, Edmund Gwenn
FRIDAY THE 13TH
1980
*
A summer camp which was the scene of murders several years before is re-opened... soon the killings start again.
The starting point of the franchise that took the Halloween formula, added inventive and bloody slayings and made a few trillion dollars in the process; number one is difficult to judge in the blur of subsequent episodes, but is one of the better ones, with a few scary scenes and teenagers who seem slightly less dumb than their successors, who arguably had more knowledge of masked serial killers. Viewed 30 years later it seems remarkably mild in comparison with modern-day horror films – the pace is moderate, some of the kills are offscreen, there’s almost no nudity and no one swears.
Dir: Sean S Cunningham
Stars: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Kevin Bacon, Ari Lehman
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2
1981
*
Thought to have drowned, Jason Voorhees returns to exact his revenge on the unknowing campers of Crystal Lake.
Not much changes for the second film, least of all the plot; we can take small consolation from the fact that most of the slasher imitation movies that limped out around this time were actually a lot worse than this chain.
Dir: Steve Miner
Stars: Amy Steel, John Furey, Warrington Gillette
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3
1982
*
Jason continues his killing spree using an array of weapons.
The same recipe, mixed with gruesome expertise, with 3D, which adds an amusing twist, as Jason thrusts his weapons of mass destruction towards the camera.
Dir: Steve Miner
Stars: Dana Kimmell, Paul Kratka, Richard Brooker
FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER
1984
*
Jason meets a young man who may be able to stop his reign of terror.
Foolish solo trips, skinny-dipping, gory shocks - the usual stuff, but not quite as tedious as it soon would be.
Dir: Joseph Zito
Stars: Kimberly Beck, Erich Anderson, Ted White
FRIDAY THE 13TH: A NEW BEGINNING
1985
0
A halfway house for troubled teens is attacked by a killer.
Perhaps when the series really began to try the patience - this offers nothing new and provokes only groans and muttering.
Dir: Danny Steinmann
Stars: Anthony Barrile, Melanie Kinnaman, Dick Wieand
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 6: JASON LIVES
1987
0
Jason's mentor accidentally brings him back to life.
Tedious entry into a series that had already gone on for too long; goofy attempts at humour only highlight the paucity of quality.
Dir: Tom McLoughlin
Stars: Thom Mathews, Jennifer Cooke, C J Graham
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 7: THE NEW BLOOD
1988
0
Jason is accidentally released from his watery grave by a girl with psychic powers.
The same old stuff given a silly new gimmick, but at least it's something different.
Dir: John Carl Buechler
Stars: Kane Hodder, Lar Park-Lincoln, Susan Jennifer Sullivan
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 8: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN
1989
0
The hockey-masked killer continues his killing spree in New York.
A change of scenery does not mean a change of plot in this worn out franchise.
Dir: Rob Hedden
Stars: Todd Shaffer, Tiffany Paulsen, Kane Hodder
Sequel: Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday (qv)
FRIDAY THE 13TH
2009
*
A reboot of the series, with Jason still killing young visitors to Camp Crystal.
If you wait long enough the same things will always come back around, here with a little more technical expertise, extra profanity and victims with slightly more acumen than before. It is what it is, an adequate time-passer for those who like their modern horror full of gore, unpleasant males and beautiful females, although a tad more invention would have been welcome.
Dir: Marcus Nispel
Stars: Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Amanda Righetti, Travis Van Winkle, Derek Mears
FRIENDLY PERSUASION
1956
*
The life of a Quaker family during the American Civil War.
A moderately authentic slice of period life, quite nicely done if long and leisurely. It probably gets its portrayal of the rights and wrongs of pacifism about right.
Dir: William Wyler
Stars: Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Anthony Perkins, Richard Eyer
FRIENDS
1971
*
Two young teenagers run off together in France.
Yes, it's syrupy - with syrupy songs to match - but this mildly controversial drama is quite endearing in its fantasy-like depiction of young love, and would never be made today for a variety of reasons.
Dir: Lewis Gilbert
Stars: Sean Bury, Anicee Alvina
FRIGHT
1971
*
A babysitter endures a terrifying evening.
Surprisingly dark and nasty psychosexual horror, heavy with the atmosphere of something horrible in the village, it is effective in parts but rarely varies its pitch and has an overlong final section, where it really does become quite unsettling - one wonders what effect it had on the young boy in it. The stunning George gives an intense performance that apparently got her the Straw Dogs role.
Dir: Peter Collinson
Stars: Susan George, Honor Blackman, George Cole, Ian Bannen, Dennis Waterman
FRIGHT NIGHT
1985
*
A teenager learns that his next door neighbour is a vampire.
Admissible horror with some spectacularly gory special effects.
Dir: Tom Holland
Stars: Chris Sarandon, Roddy McDowall, William Ragsdale
FRIGHT NIGHT PART 2
1990
*
Charley and Peter Vincent battle all kinds of vampires.
Entertaining sequel with a nice line in gore.
Dir: Tommy Lee Wallace
Stars: Roddy McDowall, William Ragsdale, Traci Lind
THE FRIGHTENED CITY
1961
0
London gangsters go to war over protection money.
Talkative, tightly knotted, tortuous thriller bolstered by the two leads but hampered by parochial plotting.
Dir: John Lemont
Stars: Herbert Lom, Sean Connery, John Gregson, Alfred Marks, Yvonne Romain, Kenneth Griffith
FRIGHTMARE
1974
**
An old woman who is a cannibal is released from an asylum; gruesome killings soon begin.
Highly effective horror with a real air of uneasiness and nastiness, rich in that squalid but homely atmosphere that some Seventies films basked in. Probably exploitation expert Walker’s greatest achievement, it benefits from well drawn characters, gory jolts and a brilliant, full-blooded performance from Sheila Keith as the OAP killer.
Dir: Pete Walker
Stars: Rupert Davies, Sheila Keith, Deborah Fairfax, Paul Greenwood, Kim Butcher
LE FRISSON DES VAMPIRES
1970
0
A honeymooning couple make the mistake of stopping at a castle full of vampires.
Tatty trash, appallingly dubbed. The trouble is that it becomes progressively less interesting as it goes, so that by the end you’re praying for release from it.
Dir: Jean Rollin
Stars: Sandra Julien, Jean-Marie Durand, Jacques Robiolles
FRITZ THE CAT
1971
*
A streetwise cat quits college to get involved in counter-culture.
Dated adult cartoon which shocked at the time but now just looks shoddy.
Dir: Ralph Bakshi
Voices: Skip Hinnant
FRIVOLOUS LOLA
1998
*
In rural 1950s Italy, a young couple struggle to put off making love until their wedding night.
Tinto Brass in full force - a highly erotic, ripe, ribald film shot in a way to delight all fans of the female form.
Dir: Tinto Brass
Stars: Anna Ammirati, Patrick Mower, Mario Parodi
FROGS
1972
0
Malevolent wildlife threatens a Florida family.
Laughable horror in which the director seems to think he is chilling us to the bone by endlessly showing footage of frogs and other creatures sitting there glowering – the human beings in it are no more interesting. From the world’s most boring ever opening credits (not to mention the title), you know this is a no-hoper.
Dir: George McCowan
Stars: Ray Milland, Sam Elliott, Joan Van Ark
FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM
1987
0
A historian relates horror stories to a reporter.
Four darkly lit tales with unsympathetic characters, pulled together by Price in his last horror film. It's certainly not among his best.
Dir: Jeff Burr
Stars: Vincent Price, Clu Gulager, Terry Kiser
FROM BEDROOMS TO BILLIONS
2014
*
Documentary detailing the growth and development of computer games in the UK from the late 1970s onwards.
A valuation of an industry worth valuing, one that has brought pleasure to millions and has demonstrated the ingenuity of the British (it's a pleasantly patriotic film), this vigorous and devoted if never cinematic crowd-funded doc crams a dizzying amount of talking heads into its two and a half hour running time - indeed, its relentlessness is a bit much. A little shorter might have been welcome, but there were two follow-ups, concerning Amiga and PlayStation. Younger viewers may gaze on in disbelief over what we had to do to make computers play games, not all that long ago.
Dir: Anthony Caulfield, Nicola Caulfield
FROM BEYOND
1987
0
Scientist unwittingly open the door to a hostile parallel universe.
Boring, laughable and sick semi-sequel to Re-Animator.
Dir: Stuart Gordon
Stars: Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree
FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE
1973
*
Four tales of terror: The Gate Crasher, An Act Of Kindness, The Elemental and The Door.
Amicus's final horror anthology is a mixed bag, but most of the tales feature neat twists; the first is an underwritten variant on Little Shop Of Horrors, the second extremely creepy and the highlight, the third a middling comedy with enjoyable performances, and the fourth simplistic dialogue-lite fare.
Dir: Kevin Connor
Stars: Peter Cushing, David Warner, Donald Pleasence, Angela Pleasence, Ian Bannen, Diana Dors, Ian Carmichael, Nyree Dawn Porter, Margaret Leighton, Ian Ogilvy, Lesley-Anne Down
FROM HAND TO MOUTH
1919
*
A young man rescues a heiress from kidnappers.
Lively Lloyd short which picks up the pace as it goes. There sure were a lot of cops on the streets in those days!
Dir: Alf Goulding
Stars: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Snub Pollard
FROM HELL
2001
*
A drug-addicted policemen investigates the crimes of Jack The Ripper.
Fresh treatment of the old tale, a mix of modern frissons and a slow place. Not bad if you're in the mood.
Dir: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes
Stars: Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Ian Holm, Robbie Coltrane, Ian Richardson, Jason Flemyng, Katrin Cartlidge
FROM HELL IT CAME
1957
0
A wrongfully executed Prince returns as a vengeful tree stump.
Ripe example of how delightfully bad some 1950s low budget monster movies could be.
Dir: Dan Milner
Stars: Tod Andrews, Tina Carver, Linda Watkins
FROM HERE TO ETERNITY
1953
***
Passion and violence on a Hawaiian soldiers base in 1941.
Sometimes soapy but refreshingly grown up drama whose mood is surprisingly nihilistic for a big Hollywood production. The performances embolden it, particularly those of Lancaster and Clift; Sinatra's seems over-praised - he makes an unconvincing drunk.
Dir: Fred Zinnemann
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed, Ernest Borgnine
THE FROZEN LIMITS
1939
0
Penniless half-wits head out in search of gold, but are too late.
This Crazy Gang offering may no longer offer many laughs for any but the infatuated, but the breathless ensemble comic playing remains impressive.
Dir: Marcel Varnel
Stars: Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Eric Clavering, Moore Marriott, Bernard Lee
FROZEN SCREAM
1975
0
Mad scientists are turning people into zombies in order for them to attain immortality.
One of the very worst video nasties, which is saying something: the actors are more lifeless than zombies, even those who aren’t meant to be them, the soundtrack is hysterical and everything else is truly awful too - even the end credits go at a slug’s pace. Favourite moment has to be the woman waking up screaming and the doctor saying to her: ‘Ah good, you’re awake.’
Dir: Frank Roach
Stars: Renee Harmon, Lynne Kocol, Wolf Muser
THE FRUIT IS RIPE
1977
0
A promiscuous young lady has a good time in Greece.
Slight German sauce with attractive visuals - both female and location shaped - but not a lot of tasty story to chow down on.
Dir: Sigi Rothemund
Stars: Betty Verges, Claus Richt, Olivia Pascal
THE FRUIT MACHINE
1988
0
Two gay teenagers go on the run after witnessing a murder.
Extraordinarily dire hodge-podge of lefty ideas which doesn’t work at all - the viewer watches its sordid events unfold in a state of disbelief.
Dir: Philip Saville
Stars: Emile Charles, Tony Forsyth, Robert Stephens, Robbie Coltrane
FRUSTRATION
1971
0
A sexually repressed woman has dangerous visions.
‘Frustration’ may well be what the viewer feels, as this slow, uneventful drama meanders to its non-conclusion, with occasional interjections of nudity and, make no mistake, politics.
Dir: Jose Benazeraf
Stars: Jose Benazeraf, Michel Lemoine
THE FUGITIVE
1993
**
A doctor, unjustly accused of killing his wife, must find the real murderer while evading the police.
Overlong and unbelievable but reasonably engrossing version of the old TV series.
Dir: Andrew Davis
Stars: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Julianne Moore, Joe Pantoliano
FULL CIRCLE
1976
0
A woman whose child has died is haunted by a malicious ghost.
The very opposite of ‘uplifting’, this bleak chiller is slow, enclosed and mournful - only the score keeps it from disappearing altogether.
Dir: Richard Loncraine
Stars: Mia Farrow, Keir Dullea, Tom Conti, Peter Sallis
FULL METAL JACKET
1987
***
Young Americans head to Vietnam after a tough training schedule.
Absorbing war drama with an especially powerful first half, as the recruits are put through their paces by the brilliantly acerbic Ermey. As with much of Kubrick's work, it gets better as the years pass.
Dir: Stanley Kubrick
Stars: Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, R Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio
THE FULL MONTY
1997
**
A group of unemployed Sheffield men become male strippers.
One of those little British films which unexpectedly becomes a huge domestic and international success, this agreeable comic drama is an easily digestible watch that doesn't get overly mired in social comment.
Dir: Peter Cattaneo
Stars: Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Addy, William Snape, Paul Barber
FUN WITH DICK AND JANE
2005
**
When a couple lose their jobs, they turn to crime to make ends meet.
Fresh, sharp updating of the 1976 comedy, keen to make some points about Bush's America, it is consistently funny and, as ever, the male lead is worth every cent of his salary.
Dir: Dean Parisot
Stars: Jim Carrey, Tea Leoni, Alec Baldwin, Richard Jenkins
FUNERAL IN BERLIN
1967
*
A British agent is sent to Berlin to receive a Communist defector, but all is not as it seems.
Intriguing if eventually perplexing sequel to The Ipcress File.
Dir: Guy Hamilton
Stars: Michael Caine, Guy Doleman, Paul Hubschmid
THE FUNHOUSE
1981
0
Four teenagers spending the night in a carnival funhouse are menaced by a deformed man in a mask.
Unsatisfactory horror with most of the first half spent looking around the carnival and the latter part throwing out any kind of subtlety that occasionally preceded it.
Dir: Tobe Hooper
Stars: Elizabeth Berridge, Shawn Carson, Jeanne Austin
FUNNY COW
2017
**
A tough working class woman manages to make it as a stand-up comedian.
We have to take on trust the fact that this woman is a great comedian as we only get to see her properly in action the once, briefly, as the film mainly concentrates on grim northern lives and struggles - in fact it sometimes slips into cliche. Narrative-wise it's a bit all over the place, and what point it's making is a little unclear (just that life is bloody tough?), but Peake gives a gutsy performance and the recreation of the Seventies working man's club scene is a pleasure to behold (try not to laugh when you 'shouldn't').
Dir: Adrian Shergold
Stars: Maxine Peake, Stephen Graham, Paddy Considine, Alun Armstrong, Tony Pitts
FUNNY GAMES
1997
**
Two psychotic young men take a family hostage and force them to play sadistic ‘games’ with one another.
Intriguing, sometimes painful to watch satire (rather than thriller), whose quirks include direct-to-camera addresses and a sequence where the action is rewound.
Dir: Michael Haneke
Stars: Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Muhe, Arno Frisch
FUNNY GIRL
1968
*
The story of stage entertainer Fanny Brice, with the emphasis on her love life.
More of a film for a female audience, this unsurprising biopic starts off with lively musical numbers but soon settles for romance, and the pace it moves at isn't too pulse-racing; it did, however, give Streisand her big break.
Dir: William Wyler
Stars: Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford, Anne Francis, Walter Pidgeon
FUNNYMAN
1994
0
A family are slaughtered by a demonic jester.
Crud horror comic, a truly dire attempt at a laddish, north of England-type picture; plotless, incoherent, lazy, stupid and incompetent.
Dir: Simon Sprackling
Stars: Christopher Lee, Tim James, Benny Young, Ed Bishop
THE FURTHER PERILS OF LAUREL AND HARDY
1967
*
Extracts from mainly Laurel and Hardy silent comedies, including Angora Love, Should Married Men Go Home?, Early To Bed and That’s My Wife.
Possibly the least essential of the Youngson compilations, if only because Stan and Ollie really hit the heights when they got into talkies. Plus, the other comedians’ material seems a little out of place.
Dir: Robert Youngson
Narrator: Jay Jackson. Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy
FURTHER UP THE CREEK
1958
0
A crafty seaman hatches a plan to make money from a voyage to Africa.
This sequel’s plot is much too forced to allow the action to surprise or amuse, and most of its running time is taken up with people shouting at one another, with Howerd’s character particularly irritable; it also feels very claustrophobic.
Dir: Val Guest
Stars: David Tomlinson, Frankie Howerd, Shirley Eaton, Lionel Jeffries, Thora Hird, David Lodge
FURY
1936
***
A man is wrongfully jailed and then persecuted by a mob.
A classic to be sure, an unusually structured and superbly shot drama that appears to be a bitter indictment of small-town America but is more likely Lang’s condemnation of fascist Germany; this is his first US film.
Dir: Fritz Lang
Stars: Spencer Tracy, Sylvia Sidney, Walter Abel, Bruce Cabot
THE FURY
1978
*
A man with powerful psychic abilities is kidnapped by officials.
The director showing off, and while things don't make a lot of sense, the pyrotechnics are entertaining enough.
Dir: Brian De Palma
Stars: Kirk Douglas, John Cassavetes, Carrie Snodgress, Amy Irving
FURY AT SMUGGLERS' BAY
1960
*
In 17th century Cornwall, a village squire puts together a band of men to combat smugglers.
Familiar yarn which fails to grab - you want to like it but the story just isn't very strong: it never begins to draw you in, and Cushing is given little to do. It looks a bit like some period Hammer films, but they were usually better.
Dir: John Gilling
Stars: Peter Cushing, Bernard Lee, John Fraser, Liz Fraser
FUTTOCKS END
1969
*
A lecherous Lord holds a weekend get together at his country home.
Pleasant, titillating comedy short along Benny Hill lines, but never quite as funny as you hope it will be.
Dir: Bob Kellett
Stars: Ronnie Barker, Michael Hordern, Roger Livesey, Richard O'Sullivan
F/X: MURDER BY ILLUSION
1986
*
A movie special effects man is hired to fake a real-life mob killing, but finds his own life in danger.
Mostly sprightly thriller with some fascinating snippets about movie special effects.
Dir: Robert Mandel
Stars: Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, Diane Venora
F/X2
1991
*
Special effects man Rollie attempts to track down a cop killer.
Far-fetched but jaunty thriller which might have made even more of its trick-laden premise.
Dir: Richard Franklin
Stars: Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, Rachel Ticotin
FYRE
2019
**
Documentary about Fyre, a musical festival in the Bahamas that went horribly wrong because of abysmal planning.
A tale of our times: a group of rich millennials who were enticed by what they had seen online, wanting to make a play on social media about being at the festival, and then met grim reality. The film tells the story of Billy McFarland, who was behind the huge fraud, and his hubris and deceit take the breath away - others, namely his staff, elicit more sympathy. Different viewers will take different things from it, but few will complain that they haven't got their money's worth.
Dir: Chris Smith
THE FABELMANS
2022
**
A keen young filmmaker grows up in post-war Arizona before moving to California.
Spielberg had been wanting to make an autobiographical film for many years, and when he finally did audiences were not as drawn to it as he hoped; that's not too much of a surprise - it perhaps lacks a hook for general audiences or non-cinephiles. It is a solid picture, though, lovingly shot, painstakingly recreated, adeptly performed and with much to say about life and life's entwined relationship with celluloid, with the Blow Up influenced scenes probably the best example of this. Is it a mite self-indulgent, affected and self-satisfied? Possibly, but only a mite.
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Judd Hirsch, Seth Rogen
THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS
1989
0
Two piano players who do the club circuit take on a female vocalist but tensions arise.
Simple drama which may have been more pleasant if made 30 years previously.
Dir: Steven Kloves
Stars: Jeff Bridges, Michelle Pfeiffer, Beau Bridges
THE FABULOUS JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH
1977
0
Victorians take off on a quest to burrow into the Earth and find very strange things there.
Curious but not enthralling take on Jules Verne from Spain, it shows some lively things - dinosaurs, a King Kong-type etc - but doesn't get its characters to particularly interact with them. Not unwatchable but not worth going out of your way for.
Dir: Juan Piquer Simon
Stars: Kenneth More, Pep Munne, Ivonne Sentis, Frank Brana
THE FACE AT THE WINDOW
1939
**
In 1880s France, a murderer is on the loose.
Juicy horror with a well crafted script, one of this star's best barnstormers.
Dir: George King
Stars: Tod Slaughter, John Warwick, Aubrey Mallalieu
THE FACE BEHIND THE MASK
1941
*
A new arrival to America has his life ruined when he is disfigured.
Pretty effective melodrama with the unique Lorre well cast as the man who has more of an American Nightmare than an American Dream; its bleak tale takes into grim hotels (there is a great little sequence showing advertisements for ever cheaper beds), a mask that leans into horror, and a memorable climax in the desert.
Dir: Robert Florey
Stars: Peter Lorre, Evelyn Keyes, Don Beddoe
FACE OF A STRANGER
1964
*
A convict just out of jail impersonates his former cellmate.
Reasonable example of one of the later Edgar Wallace Mysteries, with a slightly harder edge than before and a trick or two up its sleeve. As ever it showcases the country before it had been 'enriched' by diversity.
Dir: John Moxey
Stars: Jeremy Kemp, Rosemary Leach, Bernard Archard, Philip Locke
THE FACE OF DARKNESS
1976
0
A politician enlists the undead to get a draconian act through Parliament.
Rather dreary and pretentious little oddity, with a wee bit of earthy power, an independent, small-scale production that might have some viewers thinking of Only Fools And Horses and Grange Hill whenever they clock a couple of the actors. Impossible to see for 45 years, in 2021 it was finally released on the Short Sharp Shocks Vol 2 DVD, on the same disc as The Dumb Waiter (qv), poorly done but quite amusing public information film Hangman, and the appalling The Rape Of Lilith.
Dir: Ian FH Lloyd
Stars: Lennard Pearce, John Bennett, David Allister, Gwyneth Powell
THE FACE OF FU MANCHU
1965
*
Fu Manchu, long thought dead, appears to be responsible for a series of strangulations in London.
First and best of the Lee Fu Manchu movies, this looks more expensive than it was, with some lively open-air set pieces tinged with eccentricity. Other parts of it plod a bit.
Dir: Don Sharp
Stars: Christopher Lee, Nigel Green, Karin Dor, Howard Marion-Crawford, James Robertson Justice
FACE/OFF
1997
**
An undercover agent takes on the physical appearance of the criminal he is pursuing.
Preposterous action thriller which you can’t help but get caught up in.
Dir: John Woo
Stars: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Nick Cassavetes
FACES
1968
0
A man leaves his wife, who then takes a young lover.
More near unwatchable dramatics from Cassavetes, a selection of almost random scenes featuring alien people yelling and acting in an odd manner; yet some critics enjoy this. Shame about Cassavetes: he was so good in Rosemary's Baby (made the same year).
Dir: John Cassavetes
Stars: John Marley, Gena Rowlands, Lynn Carlin, Seymour Cassel
FACES OF DEATH
1978
**
Documentary purporting to show scenes of real-life death.
A notorious movie banned in several countries, it claims to have virtuous motives but certainly doesn't - it's as exploitative as it gets and thoroughly, revoltingly fascinating to watch.
Dir: John Alan Schwartz
Stars: Michael Carr (as Dr Francis B Gross)
FACES OF DEATH II
1981
0
Sequel which features avalanches, failed stunt-driving, animal research and primitive African tribes.
Briefer and less full-blooded follow-up which lacks the first one's impact.
Dir: John Alan Schwartz
Stars: Michael Carr (as Dr Francis B Gross)
FACES OF DEATH III
1985
0
This time round there's death by crocodile, falling from a window, torture in El Salvador and what happens to unlucky rabbits.
Much of this is faked or 'recreated', stripping the film of its basic point.
Dir: John Alan Schwartz
Stars: Michael Carr (as Dr Francis B Gross)
FACES OF DEATH IV
1990
0
The last of the 'proper' Faces series - the ones that followed were mostly direct-to-video compilations of the first four films - although that does not mean any sort of quality. This entry is partly genuine, mostly faked (it's generally clear which) and not edifying, mostly only for sick puppies.
Dir: John Alan Schwartz
Stars: James B Schwartz
LE FACTEUR DE SAINT-TROPEZ
1985
0
A postman tries to stop a casino being built in Saint-Tropez.
When the lovely words 'Saint-Tropez' are in the title you perk up, but you'll likely soon perk down not long into this misfiring comedy with a lead character who's an eco-bore. There are all sorts of unfunny bits in the random plot line, although the ambience and setting are pleasant.
Dir: Richard Balducci
Stars: Paul Preboist, Marion Game, Henri Genes
FACTOTUM
2005
**
An alcoholic writer drifts from one job and one bar to another.
Mordantly amusing, blackly comic Bukowski adaptation which successfully captures the bleary, ambling mood of the source material.
Dir: Bent Hamer
Stars: Matt Dillon, Lili Taylor, Marisa Tomei
FADE TO BLACK
1980
*
A lonely movie geek kills his enemies in the manner of scenes from his favourite films.
Quite a bright idea for a horror movie, with some fun for film buffs.
Dir: Vernon Zimmerman
Stars: Dennis Christopher, Tim Thomerson, Mickey Rourke
FADING GIGOLO
2013
0
A florist is persuaded to bed rich women for cash.
You'll rarely see a browner looking movie than this droning, autumnal comic drama which, despite a few witty lines from Allen, surely has little appeal to those who aren't fans of the underwhelming director/star or, perhaps, Jewish.
Dir: John Turturro
Stars: Woody Allen, John Turturro, Liev Schreiber, Vanessa Paradis, Sharon Stone
FAHRENHEIT 11/9
2018
*
Documentary about Donald Trump winning the 2016 election and other perceived things wrong with the USA.
After predictable lambasting of the 45th president, this film goes down an unexpected avenue, highlighting the scandal of lead in the water in Flint, Michigan (though Moore makes the Republican connection), as well as firing shots at Obama, Hillary Clinton and others. It characterises his rambling, scattershot approach, which is arguably less effective than many of his previous polemics - there's less humour too. A world-weary Moore also massively over-does it on the Hitler comparisons, along with a lack of clarity and balance that blunts the sometimes valid points he is seeking to make. All said and done, a non-American looking on would be forgiven for thinking, 'I'm glad I'm not American - that is one screwed up country!'
Dir: Michael Moore
FAHRENHEIT 451
1966
*
In the future, an oppressive state orders books to be burned but a fireman begins to question the command.
Slimly plotted 1984-esque sci-fi which moves slowly but is fitfully effective.
Dir: Francois Truffaut
Stars: Oskar Werner, Julie Christie, Cyril Cusack, Anton Diffring
FAHRENHEIT 9/11
2004
*
Documentary looking at the after-effects of the attack on the World Trade Centre, notably the Americans' decision to invade Iraq.
Hardly worthy of being discussed as much as it was, this polemic makes a salient point or two but badly lacks focus and descends into lengthy mawkishness. Well worth reading is the great Christopher Hitchens's essay on its absurdities and contradictions.
Dir/Narrator: Michael Moore
FAIL-SAFE
1964
***
A series of human and computer errors sends a squadron of American bombers to destroy Moscow.
Thoroughly gripping, persuasive and harrowing nuclear thriller.
Dir: Sidney Lumet
Stars: Dan O'Herlihy, Walter Matthau, Henry Fonda, Larry Hagman
THE FAIRY
2011
0
A hotel clerk's life is given pizzazz by a visiting fairy.
Excessively whimsical comedy which tires the patience after a while. Largely silent, it's of limited appeal and very silly.
Dir: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, Bruno Romy
Stars: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, Philippe Martz
FAIRY TALES
1978
0
A prince turning 21 goes on a quest to find his true love.
Pitiful sexy musical of most appeal to those not legally old enough to see it; cheap, padded and desperate.
Dir: Harry Hurwitz
Stars: Don Sparks, Sy Richardson, Irwin Corey
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER
1950
0
A man at a gentlemen's club reads a horror story.
Cheap and strange British version of Poe which plays out like a bad dream; or a bit like an Andy Milligan film without the gore and reams of dialogue. At least the actors in the main story don't give quite as flat line readings as those in the bookends do.
Dir: Ivan Barnett
Stars: Gwen Watford, Kaye Tendeter, Irving Steen
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER
1960
*
The inhabitants of an old mansion appear to have been afflicted with a deadly curse.
The movie that started the Corman/Poe cycle retains most of its qualities, including the ever-wonderful Price's succulent performance, opulent visuals and different scary house moods - in the film's last half hour we get, in succession, psychedelia, thunder and lighting and then a fiery climax. It's a slim, measured, confined piece with just four actors, but still vital viewing for Corman/Poe fans, who should invest in the extras-heavy 2013 Blu-ray.
Dir: Roger Corman
Stars: Vincent Price, Mark Damon, Myrna Fahey, Harry Elerbe
THE FALLEN IDOL
1948
**
A young boy thinks he may have witnessed a murder involving the butler who looks after him.
Astute drama/thriller that builds and builds after an unassuming start and has many clever touches, including the askew shooting from a child's perspective and the 'schizophrenia' of the characters as they deal with the child and then with adult situations. A sharp little film, albeit not as sharp as a Hitchcock, though the ideas of truth and falsity causing different types of difficulty are interesting.
Dir: Carol Reed
Stars: Ralph Richardson, Michele Morgan Sonia Dresdel, Bobby Henrey
FALLING DOWN
1993
**
An unemployed defence worker lashes out at the society he sees as collapsing.
Offbeat thriller which could have been very bad indeed, but grips thanks to its unusualness, witty script and deft characterisations.
Dir: Joel Schumacher
Stars: Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, Barbara Hershey, Tuesday Weld, Frederic Forrest
THE FALLOW FIELD
2009
0
A man wakes in a field with no memory of the past few days.
This is a semi-professional horror so it should be judged as one, but even on that level it doesn't follow through on a promising first 20 minutes and soon tries the patience. The lead is a wet blanket, it's much too slow and it rarely conveys a sense of menace.
Dir: Leigh Dovey
Stars: Steve Garry, Michael Dacre
FALSTAFF (CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT)
1965
**
Prince Hal must decide on his loyalty to his father, King Henry IV, or to Sir John Falstaff.
Welles said this was his favourite of his own films, which may have much to do with his ebullient portrayal of one of Shakespeare's greatest characters - he feels like a living icon in it, while the way it is shot, brilliantly, in black and white, and all dialogue dubbed in later, gives it a strange, unique feel. For many audiences, a lack of understanding of dialogue and plot may mean that this is not near the top of their list of favourite Welles films.
Dir: Orson Welles
Stars: Orson Welles, Keith Baxter, John Gielgud, Margaret RutherfordFAMILY BUSINESS
1989
0
A young man starts going down the path to criminality that his father and grandfather have already been down.
Directionless and unsympathetic drama which veers between comedy, caper and tragedy and hits the target with none of them.
Dir: Sidney Lumet
Stars: Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman, Matthew Broderick
FAMILY LIFE
1972
**
A 19-year-old girl with schizophrenia suffers a breakdown that wrecks the family.
Painfully realistic drama with scenes and mannerisms we can all identify with.
Dir: Ken Loach
Stars: Sandy Ratcliff, Bill Dean, Grace Cave
FAMILY PLOT
1976
**
A fake medium is hired by an ageing widow to find her nephew.
The final film of Hitchcock’s incomparable career is a curious one: talkative, complex, unusually light-hearted in tone, devoid of big stars and looking a little like a TV movie. Donald Spoto's essay on it deepens appreciation, pointing out its structural cleverness, but there's no doubt that this is one of the master's weaker efforts, a picture that doesn't exert an iron grip and has no truly outstanding set-pieces. It's just all a little odd really, but kudos to Hitch for making his 53rd film completely different to the preceding 52.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Stars: Bruce Dern, Barbara Harris, William Devane, Karen Black
THE FAMILY WAY
1966
*
A newly-wed couple discover the difficulties of family life.
Mildly depressing but reasonably compelling slice of 1960s realism.
Dir: Roy Boulting
Stars: Hayley Mills, Hywel Bennett, John Mills, Wilfred Pickles, Liz Fraser
THE FAN
1981
0
A record salesman is obsessed with an actress to the point of neurosis.
Mechanical psycho thriller.
Dir: Edward Bianchi
Stars: Lauren Bacall, James Garner, Maureen Stapleton, Michael Biehn
FANNY
1932
**
Following Marius (qv), Fanny finds herself with child and faced with a great dilemma.
The second of Pagnol's Marseilles trilogy is a little less restricted in setting than the first but the characters are just as garrulous and emotional; it's French people yelling at each other but it's pretty good stuff - everyone can act and it never becomes soapy, capturing real feelings and something that was in the air there and then.
Dir: Marc Allegret
Stars: Raimu, Pierre Fresnay, Orane Demazis, Fernand Charpin
FANNY
1961
**
In 1920s Marseilles a young man considers going to sea and leaving his true love behind.
A story that had been filmed for the cinema before and adapted as a stage musical, this non-musical version is luscious looking (and sounding), and has a story that absorbs, even if it's sometimes told in a somewhat lumbering fashion. Chevalier's Panisse, with his love for Caron's 50-years-younger Fanny, seems a bit creepy nowadays, but this is generally a warm and pleasing production.
Dir: Joshua Logan
Stars: Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Charles Boyer, Horst Bucholz
FANNY AND ALEXANDER
1982
***
A rich widow with two children makes the mistake of marrying a puritanical Bishop.
Bergman’s final proper film is an opulent, unique drama made with incredible care which encompasses much more than can be assessed in just one viewing - the definite essay on the film has probably yet to be written. Released to the cinema in a three-hour version, there is also the five-hour television version, which can try the patience, but the sequences at the Bishop’s house remain riveting.
Dir: Ingmar Bergman
Stars: Gunn Walgren, Ewa Froling, Jarl Kulle, Erland Josephson
1989
0
A young man starts going down the path to criminality that his father and grandfather have already been down.
Directionless and unsympathetic drama which veers between comedy, caper and tragedy and hits the target with none of them.
Dir: Sidney Lumet
Stars: Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman, Matthew Broderick
FAMILY LIFE
1972
**
A 19-year-old girl with schizophrenia suffers a breakdown that wrecks the family.
Painfully realistic drama with scenes and mannerisms we can all identify with.
Dir: Ken Loach
Stars: Sandy Ratcliff, Bill Dean, Grace Cave
FAMILY PLOT
1976
**
A fake medium is hired by an ageing widow to find her nephew.
The final film of Hitchcock’s incomparable career is a curious one: talkative, complex, unusually light-hearted in tone, devoid of big stars and looking a little like a TV movie. Donald Spoto's essay on it deepens appreciation, pointing out its structural cleverness, but there's no doubt that this is one of the master's weaker efforts, a picture that doesn't exert an iron grip and has no truly outstanding set-pieces. It's just all a little odd really, but kudos to Hitch for making his 53rd film completely different to the preceding 52.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Stars: Bruce Dern, Barbara Harris, William Devane, Karen Black
THE FAMILY WAY
1966
*
A newly-wed couple discover the difficulties of family life.
Mildly depressing but reasonably compelling slice of 1960s realism.
Dir: Roy Boulting
Stars: Hayley Mills, Hywel Bennett, John Mills, Wilfred Pickles, Liz Fraser
THE FAN
1981
0
A record salesman is obsessed with an actress to the point of neurosis.
Mechanical psycho thriller.
Dir: Edward Bianchi
Stars: Lauren Bacall, James Garner, Maureen Stapleton, Michael Biehn
DER FAN
1982
*
A girl takes her hero worship for a pop star too far.
As bleak and nihilistic as they come, this strange and unlovely film chills the blood with its portrait of a young female obsessed with a celebrity, and the Teutonic frankness of the period allows it to fully disconcert. The plot is slim, the pace is slow, but that's the point.
Dir: Eckhart Schmidt
Stars: Desiree Nosbusch, Bodo Staiger, Simone Brahmann
FANNY
1932
**
Following Marius (qv), Fanny finds herself with child and faced with a great dilemma.
The second of Pagnol's Marseilles trilogy is a little less restricted in setting than the first but the characters are just as garrulous and emotional; it's French people yelling at each other but it's pretty good stuff - everyone can act and it never becomes soapy, capturing real feelings and something that was in the air there and then.
Dir: Marc Allegret
Stars: Raimu, Pierre Fresnay, Orane Demazis, Fernand Charpin
FANNY
1961
**
In 1920s Marseilles a young man considers going to sea and leaving his true love behind.
A story that had been filmed for the cinema before and adapted as a stage musical, this non-musical version is luscious looking (and sounding), and has a story that absorbs, even if it's sometimes told in a somewhat lumbering fashion. Chevalier's Panisse, with his love for Caron's 50-years-younger Fanny, seems a bit creepy nowadays, but this is generally a warm and pleasing production.
Dir: Joshua Logan
Stars: Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Charles Boyer, Horst Bucholz
FANNY AND ALEXANDER
1982
***
A rich widow with two children makes the mistake of marrying a puritanical Bishop.
Bergman’s final proper film is an opulent, unique drama made with incredible care which encompasses much more than can be assessed in just one viewing - the definite essay on the film has probably yet to be written. Released to the cinema in a three-hour version, there is also the five-hour television version, which can try the patience, but the sequences at the Bishop’s house remain riveting.
Dir: Ingmar Bergman
Stars: Gunn Walgren, Ewa Froling, Jarl Kulle, Erland Josephson
FANNY HILL
1964
0
An innocent young woman is enticed into a London brothel.
How many punters has this disappointed over the years? The juxtaposition of the words 'Russ Meyer' and 'Fanny Hill' does not in fact make for a pleasurable viewing experience, rather a tedious film with realms of dialogue and much stupid slapstick. Fanny is obviously dubbed, gratingly, and it's mostly shot in a small studio. With no colour and no nudity, this is one of the worst versions of the delectable book - thank goodness the promised sequel never arrived.
Dir: Russ Meyer
Stars: Leticia Roman, Miriam Hopkins, Alexander D'Arcy
FANNY HILL
1983
*
The amorous adventures of a 18th century woman of pleasure.
The first adaptation of John Cleland’s novel to properly show the couplings described on the printed page, this is juicy and pretty well-mounted, benefiting from a distinguished supporting cast (although Reed and White aren’t exactly on top form) and a sumptuous Miss Hill. It has a humorous vibe and a rollicking spirit.
Dir: Gerry O'Hara
Stars: Lisa Foster, Shelley Winters, Oliver Reed, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Barry Stokes
FANNY HILL
1983
*
The amorous adventures of a 18th century woman of pleasure.
The first adaptation of John Cleland’s novel to properly show the couplings described on the printed page, this is juicy and pretty well-mounted, benefiting from a distinguished supporting cast (although Reed and White aren’t exactly on top form) and a sumptuous Miss Hill. It has a humorous vibe and a rollicking spirit.
Dir: Gerry O'Hara
Stars: Lisa Foster, Shelley Winters, Oliver Reed, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Barry Stokes
Next there was a 1995 Playboy video of the story, directed by Valentine Palmer and starring Cheryl Dempsey, which has no dialogue, only voiceover narration; it's medium-grade, soft porn stuff.
FANTASIA
1940
***
A collection of animated interpretations of great classical music works.
One of the most dazzlingly original films of its time, and one with an 'art house' feel, which may lead to fidgeting among the youngsters. The best parts are the Sorcerer's Apprentice, the origins of the Earth and the dance of the hippos, which marry glorious music with tremendous animation.
Dir: James Algar et al
Narrator: Deems Taylor
THE FANTASIST
1984
*
A Dublin woman is targeted by what may be a serial killer.
Strange, intermittently interesting thriller with a well hidden murderer.
Dir: Robin Hardy
Stars: Moira Harris, Christopher Cazenove, Timothy Bottoms
FANTASM
1976
0
Nine short erotic stories introduced by a bungling professor: Beauty Parlour, Card Game, Wearing The Pants, The Girls, Fruit Salad, Mother’s Darling, Black Velvet, After School, Blood Orgy (one further story, Nightmare Alley, is missing from the UK DVD release).
A huge hit in its native Australia, this is a mixed collection of vignettes - none especially deep or meaningful of course - which are sometimes titillating and sometimes not so appealing. The 'best' ones are probably the early ones, like Beauty Parlour and Card Game, and the worst ones Black Velvet and the weird, brief Blood Orgy. Director Franklin, here working under a pseudonym, later went on to the loftier heights of films like Psycho 2.
Dir: Richard Franklin (as Richard Bruce)
Stars: John Holmes, Uschi Digard, Rene Bond, Serena
FANTASM COMES AGAIN
1977
0
Two journalists leaf through sexy confessions sent in by readers: Silence Please, Workout, Double Feature, Going Up?, Straw Dolls, The Good Old Gang At The Office, The Kiss Of Life, Family Reunion, Overdrive, True Confession.
Sequel with less humour and even less script, but an undeniably titillating collection of generous-breasted ladies relaxed about baring all. It’s interesting to compare these Australian sauce flicks to ones being made in Britain at the time – they’re a bit stronger and have more male nudity and less prudish attitudes, which gives them a more vigorous charge.
Dir: Colin Eggleston
Stars: Tom Thumb, Michael Barton, Herb Layne, Uschi Digard, Mary Gavin, Christine De Schaffer, Serena
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM
2016
*
A writer travels to 1920s New York deal with wizards and strange creatures.
More nonsense to be lapped up by Harry Potter fans, this is a CGI-fest with as little insight into the human condition as we usually get from JK Rowling. It looks pretty but is awkwardly paced, has a whiff of self-indulgence and is a tad yawnsome for those not fully on-board with all the Hogwarts stuff.
Dir: David Yeates
Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Colin Farrell
THE FANTASTIC FOUR
1994
0
Reed Richards and his friends become super-powered in a space mishap.
A film that was never intended to be released (the company needed to make it to retain the rights), it's a jolly good thing it wasn't because it's terrible: looking like it was shot in the back of a broom cupboard, the script, acting and special effects could most kindly be called 'limited'. The very final scene, with the 'hand' waving out of the car, is a corker.
Dir: Oley Sassone
Stars: Alex Hyde-White, Jay Underwood, Rebecca Staab, Michael Bailey Smith, Joseph Culp
FANTASTIC FOUR
2005
*
A group of astronauts gain superpowers after exposure to radiation.
The Marvel superheroes are finally properly brought to the big screen, and the result is not-too-difficult to digest froth. It’s a little by-the-numbers but not objectionably so, with the most valid criticism probably being that they spend most of the movie establishing the team in an effort to set up a franchise, and the climactic battle is rather brief. But the four leads are fairly likeable and Alba looks incredible.
Dir: Tim Story
Stars: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon
Sequel: 4 – Rise Of The Silver Surfer (qv)
FANTASTIC FOUR
2015
0
Scientists gain special powers and use them to fight nascent threat Doctor Doom.
Not quite as terrible as many made out, this pointless superhero reboot is nevertheless weirdly confined and oddly structured - it essentially doesn't have a middle. There are decent bits but it's mostly misguided and glum.
Dir: Josh Trank
Stars: Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B Jordan, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell
FANTASTIC MR FOX
2009
0
A well-dressed fox causes unending problems for local farmers.
Roald Dahl's children's classic has been turned into a horribly Americanised and weirdly obnoxious stop-motion animation full of the director's usual infuriating twitches; the result is a film that has little appeal to children or adults.
Dir: Wes Anderson
Voices: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe
FANTASTIC PLANET
1973
**
On a far-away planet, humanoids are kept in slavery by their giant, blue alien masters.
A quietly important moment in the history of sci-fi animation, this slim, simple feature has a look (and sound) all of its own, and charms with its imaginative visuals, which are something like a cross between Salvador Dali and Yellow Submarine. The American dub version, with plaintively spoken dialogue, actually enhances the film’s otherwordly nature.
Dir: Rene Laloux
Voices: Jennifer Drake, Eric Baugin, Jean Topart, Jean Valmont
FANTASTIC VOYAGE
1966
*
A submarine of scientists is shrunk and injected into the body of a wounded diplomat.
Ludicrous but cheery romp with iridescent special effects.
Dir: Richard Fleischer
Stars: Raquel Welch, Stephen Boyd, Donald Pleasence, Edmond O'Brien
FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD
1967
*
In 19th century Wessex, a headstrong woman is loved by three different men.
Long, dour, well shot Hardy adaptation, not its director's most satisfactory work.
Dir: John Schlesinger
Stars: Julie Christie, Terence Stamp, Peter Finch, Alan Bates, Freddie Jones
THE FAREWELL
2019
**
A Chinese-American woman travels back to China to visit her dying grandmother, who isn't being told of her illness.
An accomplished and often charming drama which says a lot about families - you feel you are immersed in the everyday business of this one - and the modern-day experience of emigrants in a well-connected world; it's most intriguing to have a peer into modern-day China (it doesn't look as bad as you expect, but then it wouldn't, would it?). A well-judged mix of sentiment and humour, it's a non-showy movie with a big heart.
Dir: Lulu Wang
Stars: Awkwafina, Shuzhen Zhao, X Mayo
A FAREWELL TO ARMS
1932
*
During World War One an American soldier falls for the English nurse who is caring for him.
Hemingway's novel becomes little more than a romance in wartime but is well enough done for what it is; it's a shame, though, that the years have diminished the print somewhat, so the once admired cinematography now looks very murky indeed.
Dir: Frank Borzage
Stars: Gary Cooper, Helen Hayes, Adolphe Menjou
FARGO
1996
***
A man's plan to have his wife kidnapped and held to ransom goes horribly wrong.
Blackly comic thriller that succeeds because of its nicely sketched characters, stark locations and gently twisting plot.
Dir: Joel Coen
Stars: Frances McDormand, William H Macy, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare
THE FARMER'S WIFE
1928
0
A widowed farmer's attempts to take a new bride run into difficulties.
Simple, light-hearted comic drama with padding despite its short length.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Stars: Jameson Thomas, Lillian Hall-Davis, Gordon Harker
FASCINATION
1979
0
A thief takes refuge at a house only inhabited by two beautiful women who may be vampires.
Languid erotic horror that might have worked with a better script and sharper editing – as it is, it’s a tiresome experience, even if you have sympathy for this director.
Dir: Jean Rollin
Stars: Franca Mai, Brigitte Lahaie, Jean-Marie Lemaire, Fanny Magier
FAST FOOD NATION
2006
*
The lives of those connected with the local burger restaurant, including illegal Mexican immigrants, anti-meat protestors and serving staff.
While not as incisive as funny as the tobacco industry-bashing Thank You For Smoking (qv) - the multi-character approach can lead to vague, meandering scenes and strands that fizzle out - this adaptation of a forceful, well-researched non-fiction book is at least a genuine attempt to make an original form of polemic and to reflect the real America, complete with an excellent cast.
Dir: Richard Linklater
Stars: Greg Kinnear, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Bruce Willis, Kris Kristofferson, Avril Lavigne
THE FAST LADY
1962
*
A cyclist learns to drive a car in order to get a girl.
Bright comedy with a grumpy lead, filled with many familiar faces and topped off with an inventive car chase.
Dir: Ken Annakin
Stars: James Robertson Justice, Leslie Phillips, Stanley Baxter, Julie Christie, Dick Emery
FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH
1982
**
Adventures of a group of high school students in southern California.
A little gem, an unnervingly accurate portrayal of American youth which mixes much-better-than-usual characterisation with broad comedy to beguiling effect.
Dir: Amy Heckerling
Stars: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates
FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!
1965
0
Three wicked go-go dancers cause trouble in the desert.
It has a memorable title and some zippy dialogue, but Meyer's one-note film - possibly his best - is still unattractive and nihilistic, with a general feeling of meaninglessness. Its unusualness and outrageousness ensured a cult following.
Dir: Russ Meyer
Stars: Tura Satana, Haji, Lori Williams
FAT CITY
1972
*
A down-on-his-luck boxer attempts a comeback.
Very different to Rocky, which had empathetic characters and a feel-good vibe, this is a grim, deliberately passion-free drama that chronicles existences that bump along the bottom in the US - which is something that will turn on few audiences. Keach is battered literally in the ring and figuratively out of it, while Tyrrel's character is obnoxious and screechy. It doesn't go anywhere, and that seems to be the point (the closing scene is especially a nothing one).
Dir: John Huston
Stars: Stacy Keach, Jeff Bridges, Susan Tyrrel, Candy Clark
1988
**
A married man's one-night stand turns out to be a psycho.
Glossy revamp of Play Misty For Me that proved sexy and suspenseful enough to sell a lot of tickets.
Dir: Adrian Lyne
Stars: Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer, Fred Gwynne
THE FATHER
2020
****
An elderly man with dementia loses his grip on reality.
Many film adaptations of plays suffer because they can't shake off their theatrical origins, but here's one that is all the better for its limited settings and characters, because they convey all this man now has left in his world - and the concept itself is masterful, as we the audience experience 'reality' as he experiences it. It's a subtle and super idea, given full depth by the quality of the performances, especially Hopkins, who deservedly won another Oscar in the winter of his career. A movie to be richly recommended, particularly for those who have knowledge of dementia - or, indeed, any adult who has a parent.
Dir: Florian Zeller
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss, Olivia Williams, Imogen Poots, Rufus Sewell
FATHER BROWN
1954
**
A detective vicar investigates stolen art.
Gratifying comic thriller with a splendid cast.
Dir: Robert Hamer
Stars: Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Peter Finch, Cecil Parker, Bernard Lee, Sid James
FATHER DEAR FATHER
1973
*
A divorced father has problems with his two grown-up daughters.
One of the better movie versions of a Seventies sitcom, this is essentially a series of minor misunderstandings, many of which are quite clever and amusing - in fact, the film has a nice, gentle, good-humoured vibe, with 'just right' performances. The milkman's last scene is especially hilarious.
Dir: William G Stewart
Stars: Patrick Cargill, Natasha Pyne, Ann Holloway, Richard O'Sullivan
FATHER OF THE BRIDE
1950
**
A father has many worries about his daughter getting married.
Highly professional comedy with a particularly ebullient lead performance; a film which should be seen by all people who find themselves in this situation. There are quirky bits, poignant bits and a really well done nightmare sequence.
Dir: Vincent Minnelli
Stars: Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, Elizabeth Taylor, Don Taylor, Leo G Carroll
FATHOM
1967
0
A glamorous spy goes on a dangerous mission.
Lightweight espionage adventure.
Dir: Leslie H Martinson
Stars: Raquel Welch, Anthony Franciosa, Donald Fraser, Richard Briers
FAUST
1926
*
An old man sells his soul to the devil in exchange for a day of youth.
Rather hard-going silent fantasy which was more accessibly filmed in years to come; yes, much of the imagery is impressive, but it’s almost 90 years old, so the movie struggles to do it justice.
Dir: FW Murnau
Stars: Gosta Ekman, Emil Jannings, Camilla Horn
FAUST: LOVE OF THE DAMNED
2001
0
An artist sells his soul to the devil in order to get revenge on his adversaries.
Trashy horror, a cross between A Nightmare On Elm Street and a bizarre witchcraft movie; a couple of memorably gory set pieces can't redeem it.
Dir: Brian Yuzna
Stars: Mark Frost, Jeffrey Combs, Isabel Brook
THE FAVOURITE
2018
*
Queen Anne's new maid attempts to replace Lady Sarah as her closest confidant.
A strange enterprise, a sort of period film with C-words, or a Peter Greenaway tribute without his gusto, this has a bit of chilly charm that endeared it to the awards types. It also has an air of self-importance, isn't as funny as it thinks, is difficult to connect with emotionally, and the conclusion is underwhelming, but it's well shot and very well acted.
Dir: Yorgos Lanthimos
Stars: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult
FEAR
1990
*
A psychic who helps police solve murders discovers that a killer has the same talent.
Passable lightweight thriller with a less than credulous climax.
Dir: Rockne S O'Bannon
Stars: Ally Sheedy, Lauren Hutton, Michael O'Keefe
FEAR AND DESIRE
1953
*
Four soldiers are trapped behind enemy lines.
Kubrick's first, a pencilling in of themes he would later develop more successfully, including in Full Metal Jacket more than 30 years later. This is a raw but intelligent film, well photographed and ripe with under-the-surface meditations, often hinting at the darkness within the soul - narratively it perhaps loses its grip towards the end, but it's essential viewing for Kubrick fans, and that should be all who love cinema.
Dir: Stanley Kubrick
Stars: Frank Silvera, Kenneth Harp, Paul Mazursky, Stephen Coit
NB The director also made three documentary shorts, Flying Padre (1951), Day Of The Fight (1951) and The Seafarers (1953), all of which are of minor interest.
FEAR CHAMBER
1968
0
Scientists discover a living rock that feeds off fear.
One of the four Mexican quickies Karloff made at the end of his life, this a bizarre mess but it does at least have a winning, sleazy idea at its centre: lithesome females are delivered to the horrible 'thing' so it can communicate with the boffins. Incoherent and incompetent - but sometimes visually attention-grabbing - it's often obvious that Karloff isn't even in the same room as those he's speaking to; he's also sat down or lying down virtually all the time.
Dir: Jack Hill, Juan Ibanez
Stars: Boris Karloff, Julissa, Carlos East, Isela Vega
FEAR IN THE NIGHT
1972
**
A young woman recovering from a nervous breakdown moves with her husband to a boys' school, but is terrorised by a mysterious one-armed man.
Attractively shot, moderately budgeted suspenser that leans towards pedestrian, but makes hay in its final ingenious plot unravelling - although it is a little unbelievable. Geeson's character is perhaps the weakest link, very weak and feeble, and you'd be unlikely to see another like her nowadays.
Dir: Jimmy Sangster
Stars: Judy Geeson, Ralph Bates, Peter Cushing, Joan Collins
FEAR IS THE KEY
1972
0
A man seeks those who killed his family.
After an absurd amount of car action in the first half hour, this settles down to be a dry, humourless and confusing thriller which fails to make the viewer care about its characters.
Dir: Michael Tuchner
Stars: Barry Newman, Suzy Kendall, John Vernon, Ben Kingsley
FATHER BROWN
1954
**
A detective vicar investigates stolen art.
Gratifying comic thriller with a splendid cast.
Dir: Robert Hamer
Stars: Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Peter Finch, Cecil Parker, Bernard Lee, Sid James
FATHER DEAR FATHER
1973
*
A divorced father has problems with his two grown-up daughters.
One of the better movie versions of a Seventies sitcom, this is essentially a series of minor misunderstandings, many of which are quite clever and amusing - in fact, the film has a nice, gentle, good-humoured vibe, with 'just right' performances. The milkman's last scene is especially hilarious.
Dir: William G Stewart
Stars: Patrick Cargill, Natasha Pyne, Ann Holloway, Richard O'Sullivan
FATHER OF THE BRIDE
1950
**
A father has many worries about his daughter getting married.
Highly professional comedy with a particularly ebullient lead performance; a film which should be seen by all people who find themselves in this situation. There are quirky bits, poignant bits and a really well done nightmare sequence.
Dir: Vincent Minnelli
Stars: Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, Elizabeth Taylor, Don Taylor, Leo G Carroll
FATHOM
1967
0
A glamorous spy goes on a dangerous mission.
Lightweight espionage adventure.
Dir: Leslie H Martinson
Stars: Raquel Welch, Anthony Franciosa, Donald Fraser, Richard Briers
FAUST
1926
*
An old man sells his soul to the devil in exchange for a day of youth.
Rather hard-going silent fantasy which was more accessibly filmed in years to come; yes, much of the imagery is impressive, but it’s almost 90 years old, so the movie struggles to do it justice.
Dir: FW Murnau
Stars: Gosta Ekman, Emil Jannings, Camilla Horn
FAUST: LOVE OF THE DAMNED
2001
0
An artist sells his soul to the devil in order to get revenge on his adversaries.
Trashy horror, a cross between A Nightmare On Elm Street and a bizarre witchcraft movie; a couple of memorably gory set pieces can't redeem it.
Dir: Brian Yuzna
Stars: Mark Frost, Jeffrey Combs, Isabel Brook
THE FAVOURITE
2018
*
Queen Anne's new maid attempts to replace Lady Sarah as her closest confidant.
A strange enterprise, a sort of period film with C-words, or a Peter Greenaway tribute without his gusto, this has a bit of chilly charm that endeared it to the awards types. It also has an air of self-importance, isn't as funny as it thinks, is difficult to connect with emotionally, and the conclusion is underwhelming, but it's well shot and very well acted.
Dir: Yorgos Lanthimos
Stars: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult
FEAR
1990
*
A psychic who helps police solve murders discovers that a killer has the same talent.
Passable lightweight thriller with a less than credulous climax.
Dir: Rockne S O'Bannon
Stars: Ally Sheedy, Lauren Hutton, Michael O'Keefe
FEAR AND DESIRE
1953
*
Four soldiers are trapped behind enemy lines.
Kubrick's first, a pencilling in of themes he would later develop more successfully, including in Full Metal Jacket more than 30 years later. This is a raw but intelligent film, well photographed and ripe with under-the-surface meditations, often hinting at the darkness within the soul - narratively it perhaps loses its grip towards the end, but it's essential viewing for Kubrick fans, and that should be all who love cinema.
Dir: Stanley Kubrick
Stars: Frank Silvera, Kenneth Harp, Paul Mazursky, Stephen Coit
NB The director also made three documentary shorts, Flying Padre (1951), Day Of The Fight (1951) and The Seafarers (1953), all of which are of minor interest.
FEAR CHAMBER
1968
0
Scientists discover a living rock that feeds off fear.
One of the four Mexican quickies Karloff made at the end of his life, this a bizarre mess but it does at least have a winning, sleazy idea at its centre: lithesome females are delivered to the horrible 'thing' so it can communicate with the boffins. Incoherent and incompetent - but sometimes visually attention-grabbing - it's often obvious that Karloff isn't even in the same room as those he's speaking to; he's also sat down or lying down virtually all the time.
Dir: Jack Hill, Juan Ibanez
Stars: Boris Karloff, Julissa, Carlos East, Isela Vega
FEAR IN THE NIGHT
1972
**
A young woman recovering from a nervous breakdown moves with her husband to a boys' school, but is terrorised by a mysterious one-armed man.
Attractively shot, moderately budgeted suspenser that leans towards pedestrian, but makes hay in its final ingenious plot unravelling - although it is a little unbelievable. Geeson's character is perhaps the weakest link, very weak and feeble, and you'd be unlikely to see another like her nowadays.
Dir: Jimmy Sangster
Stars: Judy Geeson, Ralph Bates, Peter Cushing, Joan Collins
FEAR IS THE KEY
1972
0
A man seeks those who killed his family.
After an absurd amount of car action in the first half hour, this settles down to be a dry, humourless and confusing thriller which fails to make the viewer care about its characters.
Dir: Michael Tuchner
Stars: Barry Newman, Suzy Kendall, John Vernon, Ben Kingsley
FEAR NO MORE
1961
*
A woman is framed for murder, and that's only the start of her problems.
'Let's make the lady think she's mad' thriller which starts at a gallop and later stretches credulity; not bad for its budget. It has a strangely easy-to-forget title.
Dir: Bernard Wiesen
Stars: Mala Powers, Jacques Bergerac, John Harding
THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS
1967
*
A professor and his slow-witted apprentice seek bloodsuckers and help a lady in distress.
Slow moving spoof, more handsome than funny.
Dir: Roman Polanski
Stars: Sharon Tate, Roman Polanski, Alfie Bass, Jack MacGowran, Fiona Lewis, Ronald Lacey
FEET FIRST
1930
***
A shoe salesman pretends to a girl he is a leather tycoon.
Constantly funny star vehicle that culminates in a thrilling episode on the side of a building.
Dir: Clyde Bruckman
Stars: Harold Lloyd, Barbara Kent, Henry Hall
FELICITY
1979
0
A girl is anxious to lose her virginity and does so in Hong Kong.
An English language Emmanuelle which, initially at least, is a titillating and honest exploration of a young woman’s nascent sexual quest but then becomes content to merely dish up ambling sex and travelogue sequences.
Dir: John D Lamond
Stars: Glory Annen, Chris Milne, Joni Flynn
FELLOW TRAVELLER
1989
0
In the 1950s, a Hollywood script-writer flees America to escape McCarthyism.
Muddled drama with limited ambitions.
Dir: Philip Saville
Stars: Ron Silver, Hart Bochner, Imogen Stubbs
FEMALE AGENTS
2008
*
In World War Two, five women are enlisted to rescue a geologist who has been captured by the Nazis while doing preparatory work for the D-day landings.
Pretty sound Resistance drama, not as tangy as Verhoeven’s Black Book, but a respectably sober documentation of honest and grim self-sacrifice for the greater good, enlivened by some proficient action set-pieces. It ends on a characteristically sombre note, with a dedication to ‘women who fought against Nazi barbarity’.
Dir: Jean-Paul Salome
Stars: Sophie Marceau, Julie Depardieu, Marie Gillain, Deborah Francois
FEMALE CONVICT SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41
1972
0
A band of women prisoners escape from their hell-hole jail.
Nasty, screechy slice of exploitation that’s painful viewing despite some arty visual flourishes.
Dir: Shunya Ito
Stars: Meiko Kaji, Fumio Watanabe, Kayoko Shiraishi
FEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPION
1972
*
A woman plots revenge on the policeman who put her in prison, as well as the officers and convicts who mistreat her.
As ‘women in prison’ exploitation flicks go, one of the better ones thanks to skilful production design and cinematography, if not its unconvincing physical effects. Cruelty drops from its every pore as does a cool, proto-feminist attitude, and it’s credited with influencing a whole genre (along with Quentin Tarantino) and starting a series; narratively it’s a little wonky but has flashes of freewheeling audacity.
Dir: Shunya Ito
Stars: Meiko Kaji, Rie Yokoyama, Isao Natsuyagi
FEMALE PRISONER #701 SCORPION: BEAST STABLE
1973
0
Police hunt down a violent female criminal.
The third in the series is less trashy than its predecessors and also slower and more boring; it’s difficult to empathise with a heroine who’s a near-mute Japanese woman who wears exactly the same expression the entire time.
Dir: Shunya Ito
Stars: Meiko Kaji, Mikio Narita, Reisen Lee
FEMME FATALE
2002
*
An international female con artist struggles to escape her past.
De Palma’s arty demi-French thriller is vastly over-stylised and often confusing but not without merit; potential viewers are advised to seek the film on DVD which, thanks to its extensive extras, makes sense of the director’s vision.
Dir: Brian De Palma
Stars: Rebecca Romijn, Antonio Banderas, Peter Coyote
FENCES
2106
**
In the Fifties, a black garbage collector takes out his frustrations at his failure on his family.
This is a play, not a movie: it's been transferred so straight from the Broadway stage you almost expect an interval to buy ice cream. What it is, is an actors' showcase, and not a cinematic experience, although there are things to appreciate if you can empathise with, and understand, the characters. Things became more absurd when it was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars; one suspects that had much to do with the voting jury being 'rigged' after the previous year's inane race controversy.
Dir: Denzel Washington
Stars: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson, Jovan Adepo
FERRARI
2023
*
In 1957, carmaker Enzo Ferrari wrestles with problems with his firm and his wife.
Some knowledge of the true-life story would be advantageous before viewing this, because it's hesitant to clearly spell out what's going on a lot of the time; what it's easier to ascertain is that this is a curious mixture of a movie for the boys with some material that seems to come from a more feminine perspective (the extensive focus on Ferrari's women), along with plenty about business dealings. While the racing sequences are well shot - and the best moment of the film is the stunning, brutal crash towards the end - there aren't that many of them, and we are not particularly attached to the men driving them (or their women, who nevertheless get plenty of screen time), it's an odd, slowish picture in which the races are hard to follow, Driver is driven and Cruz is always angry and overacts, while the time and place are well captured. And the cars are great to look at (and obvious death traps). Who was this flick's main target audience, though?
Dir: Michael Mann
Stars: Adam Driver, Penelope Cruz, Shailene Woodley
FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF
1987
**
A student is determined to take the day off school no matter what.
Lively celebration of the spirit of youth and the individual, made with inventiveness and vigour, although sometimes a little glib and knowing; the best sequence is the joyous 'Twist And Shout' singalong. Possibly, enjoyment is now curtailed a bit because we know of Jones' conviction for paedophilia.
Dir: John Hughes
Stars: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones
FESTEN
1995
****
Dark family truths are uncovered on the 60th birthday of the patriarch.
The first Dogme 95 film, one in which their daring approach to movie-making makes for a riveting, delightfully different slice of cinema.
Dir: Thomas Vinterberg
Stars: Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen, Thomas Bo Larsen
FEVER PITCH
1997
*
An obsessive football fan finds that a new lady in his life is as unpredictable as his team.
Slight adaptation of a wonderful, perceptive non-fiction book, cheaply done, but with familiar pleasures for football fans (especially Arsenal ones).
Dir: David Evans
Stars: Colin Firth, Ruth Gemmell, Neil Pearson
A FEW GOOD MEN
1992
**
An army lawyer defends two Marines against a charge of murder at the US base in Guantanamo Bay.
This military courtroom drama may be a trifle corny and melodramatic but its later scenes provide a great clash of two heavyweight actors whose characters are representing both sides of the argument about how much licence we should give authority in a free society. Quite a demanding film but a highly professional one.
Dir: Rob Reiner
Stars: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Pollak
THE FICTION MAKERS
1968
*
The Saint pretends to be a female author who has a male pseudonym, who is wanted by a man who set up a crime organisation based on her novels.
A compilation of two episodes of the long-running The Saint TV series, released to cinemas. The plot is silly, and it was never going to look like a proper movie, but it's undemanding matinee pleasantness refreshingly free of agenda, with a Rififi type heist near the end. To hyphenate or to not hyphenate?
Dir: Roy Ward Baker
Stars: Roger Moore, Sylvia Sims, Justine Lord, Kenneth J Warren
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
1971
*
In pre-revolutionary Russia, a peasant Jew with five daughters struggles to adapt to a changing world.
Monumentally tedious demi-musical which surely only has minority appeal; its milieu can't be meaningful to most. Topol gives a hearty performance and it's visually impressive (if a little murky), but it's three pretty heavy-going hours, likely reminding many of misspent bank holidays in front of a chunky TV.
Dir: Norman Jewison
Stars: Topol, Norma Crane, Leonard Frey, Molly Picon
FIDDLERS THREE
1944
0
Two Tars and a Wren visit Stonehenge in a thunderstorm and are zapped back in time to Ancient Rome.
Archaic musical comedy of minor interest to chroniclers of British fantasy cinema. Largely studio-bound and a bit of trial for non-acolytes, the bit that survives best is the climax with the lions.
Dir: Harry Watt
Stars: Tommy Trinder, Frances Day, Sonnie Hale, Francis L Sullivan
A FIELD IN ENGLAND
2013
0
Deserters from the English Civil War face more hell in the shape of a mysterious Irishman.
Weird supernatural drama that's an acquired taste: shot on a low budget in black and white in rural England, it's difficult to warm to and wilfully obtuse. Released simultaneously at the cinema, on disc and on television, those who didn't pay for it were luckiest.
Dir: Ben Wheatley
Stars: Reece Shearsmith, Michael Smiley, Julian Barratt, Peter Ferdinando
FIELD OF DREAMS
1989
**
A corn farmer hears voices telling him to build a baseball diamond in his field.
The plot doesn't stand up to close examination but it isn't meant to; a good-natured fairy tale about hope over expectation.
Dir: Phil Alden Robinson
Stars: Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, Ray Liotta, James Earl Jones, Burt Lancaster
THE FIEND
1972
0
A religious maniac goes around killing prostitutes and 'impure' women.
Crackpot horror which doesn't really hang together, with misplaced songs and little suspense; its sleaziness isn’t quite enough to hold the interest.
Dir: Robert Hartford-Davis
Stars: Ann Todd, Patrick Magee, Tony Beckley, Suzanna Leigh, David Lodge, Ronald Allen
FIEND WITHOUT A FACE
1957
*
A scientist experimenting with telekinetic powers succeeds in creating a new form of life.
Watchable shocker with good, gory stop-motion effects.
Dir: Arthur Crabtree
Stars: Marshall Thompson, Michael Balfour, Kim Parker
THE FIENDISH PLOT OF DR FU MANCHU
1980
0
Fu Manchu searches for the elixir of life.
Weedy spoof with the star near the end of his time.
Dir: Piers Haggard, Peter Sellers
Stars: Peter Sellers, Helen Mirren, David Tomlinson, Sid Caesar, John Le Mesurier, Burt Kwouk
THE FIFTH CORD
1971
0
A dipsomaniac journalist looks into murders that are being committed on a Tuesday.
Well shot but dull and confusing giallo which gives you nothing to care about. A couple of sequences which really should thrill – the crippled woman trying to escape and the final fight – simply don’t.
Dir: Luigi Bazzoni
Stars: Franco Nero, Silvia Monti, Wolfgang Preiss, Edmund Purdom
THE FIFTH ELEMENT
1997
*
Three hundred years in the future, a taxi driver inadvertently saves the world.
A curious film which must have confounded expectations, whatever they might have been: it’s colourful, different and imaginative, but the humour is sometimes a little goofy and it goes on for too long. Maybe it needs another viewing.
Dir: Luc Besson
Stars: Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Mila Jovovich, Chris Tucker, Luke Perry
A FIELD IN ENGLAND
2013
0
Deserters from the English Civil War face more hell in the shape of a mysterious Irishman.
Weird supernatural drama that's an acquired taste: shot on a low budget in black and white in rural England, it's difficult to warm to and wilfully obtuse. Released simultaneously at the cinema, on disc and on television, those who didn't pay for it were luckiest.
Dir: Ben Wheatley
Stars: Reece Shearsmith, Michael Smiley, Julian Barratt, Peter Ferdinando
FIELD OF DREAMS
1989
**
A corn farmer hears voices telling him to build a baseball diamond in his field.
The plot doesn't stand up to close examination but it isn't meant to; a good-natured fairy tale about hope over expectation.
Dir: Phil Alden Robinson
Stars: Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, Ray Liotta, James Earl Jones, Burt Lancaster
THE FIEND
1972
0
A religious maniac goes around killing prostitutes and 'impure' women.
Crackpot horror which doesn't really hang together, with misplaced songs and little suspense; its sleaziness isn’t quite enough to hold the interest.
Dir: Robert Hartford-Davis
Stars: Ann Todd, Patrick Magee, Tony Beckley, Suzanna Leigh, David Lodge, Ronald Allen
FIEND WITHOUT A FACE
1957
*
A scientist experimenting with telekinetic powers succeeds in creating a new form of life.
Watchable shocker with good, gory stop-motion effects.
Dir: Arthur Crabtree
Stars: Marshall Thompson, Michael Balfour, Kim Parker
THE FIENDISH PLOT OF DR FU MANCHU
1980
0
Fu Manchu searches for the elixir of life.
Weedy spoof with the star near the end of his time.
Dir: Piers Haggard, Peter Sellers
Stars: Peter Sellers, Helen Mirren, David Tomlinson, Sid Caesar, John Le Mesurier, Burt Kwouk
THE FIFTH CORD
1971
0
A dipsomaniac journalist looks into murders that are being committed on a Tuesday.
Well shot but dull and confusing giallo which gives you nothing to care about. A couple of sequences which really should thrill – the crippled woman trying to escape and the final fight – simply don’t.
Dir: Luigi Bazzoni
Stars: Franco Nero, Silvia Monti, Wolfgang Preiss, Edmund Purdom
THE FIFTH ELEMENT
1997
*
Three hundred years in the future, a taxi driver inadvertently saves the world.
A curious film which must have confounded expectations, whatever they might have been: it’s colourful, different and imaginative, but the humour is sometimes a little goofy and it goes on for too long. Maybe it needs another viewing.
Dir: Luc Besson
Stars: Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Mila Jovovich, Chris Tucker, Luke Perry
THE FIFTH FLOOR
1978
0
A woman is wrongly sent to an insane asylum.
Films in which a person is unjustly imprisoned walk a fine line between infuriating the audience and gaining their sympathy - this one possibly veers into the former, as it's quite annoying that the lady can't escape - even the cops won't listen to her! Well enough done in its own way, it still hits a few low points, like the mental patients disco dancing in a long sequence, while Hopkins is suitably repugnant as the abusive staff member (with his colleagues bizarrely accommodating).
Dir: Howard Avedis
Stars: Dianne Hull, Bo Hopkins, Patti D'Arbanville, Robert Englund
THE FIFTH MISSILE
1986 (TV)
0
A submarine captain is stricken by a toxin that makes him hallucinate and attack a Russian sub.
Bland would-be suspenser, overlong for its purpose.
Dir: Larry Peerce
Stars: Robert Conrad, Sam Waterson, Richard Roundtree
50 FIRST DATES
2004
*
A vet in Hawaii falls in love with a woman who forgets everything when she goes to sleep every night.
Silly and not especially funny but not hateable comedy whose agreeable locations and very cute female lead provide pleasant relief from the occasional toilet humour and selection of weird characters, many of whom don't really click. It's no Groundhog Day, but it'll do.
Dir: Peter Segal
Stars: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Rob Schneider, Dan Akyroyd
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY
2015
0
A young woman comes under the spell of an eccentric billionaire with a penchant for BDSM.
This film couldn't fail to be a hit, with a huge publicity machine and a bestselling book behind it, but it isn't very good. It isn't terrible, it's not ridiculously cheesy, it's just quite bland, a bit meh, and despite focusing relentlessly on the two leads it doesn't make us feel anything for them. 'Grey' is right: this is an overly tame, not nearly dramatic enough relationship drama which should have been more titillating, more fiery and more worthy of its fame.
Dir: Sam Taylor-Johnson
Stars: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan
FIGHT CLUB
1999
*
An office employee and a soap salesman build a global organisation to help vent male aggression.
The premise is unconvincing, the satirical targets are misguided, the action is unattractive and overblown, and the film as a whole is massively overrated.
Dir: David Fincher
Stars: Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf
FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE
1977
*
Three sadistic criminals on the run hole up in a black family’s house.
Not as exciting as it looks on the poster or video cover: many shots are held far too long, sometimes making it appear like a theatrical production, and a fatal lack of characterisation ensures the final events are much less affecting than they could have been. Its hateful, aggressive tone makes a re-release in Britain unlikely (but not impossible).
Dir: Robert A Endelson
Stars: William Sanderson, Robert Judd, Catherine Peppers
THE FIGHTER
2010
*
A boxer manages to achieve success despite his wayward family.
Based on real life, this is a moderately compelling drama that finishes in familiar boxing picture style but isn't as affecting as some because we've struggled to invest in Wahlberg's character - perhaps the actor's under-performance is to blame, but he is rather eclipsed by Bale's over-performance (that man would kill himself if he thought the role demanded it). The scenario's not especially attractive but conceits like the HBO documentary and Sugar Ray Leonard give it a bit of zing.
Dir: David O Russell
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo
THE FIGHTING DEVIL DOGS
1938 (serial)
0
The US marine corps battle a villain who uses electricity as a weapon.
Weak serial that doesn't stay long in the memory.
Dir: John English, William Witney
Stars: Lee Powell, Bruce Bennett, Eleanor Stewart
THE FIGHTING KENTUCKIAN
1949
0
In 1812, a Kentucky rifleman comes to the aid of Napoleonic soldiers in danger of losing their land.
Dull and rather confusing star Western which sees a rare solo appearance by Oliver Hardy – he fits in quite well and his scenes with Wayne are among the better ones in the movie. But not a ‘classic’, in spite of what the DVD box says.
Dir: George Waggner
Stars: John Wayne, Vera Ralston, Philip Dorn, Oliver Hardy
FIGURES IN A LANDSCAPE
1972
0
Two escaped convicts go on the run in a Latin American country.
There are only two principal characters in this film, which is probably a greater number than the number of people that could sit through this slice of extreme tedium.
Dir: Joseph Losey
Stars: Robert Shaw, Malcolm McDowell, Roger Lloyd-Pack
FILMED IN SUPERMARIONATION
2014
**
Documentary about the TV puppet shows of Gerry Anderson, notably Torchy, The Battery Boy, The Adventures Of Twizzle, Four Feather Falls, Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons, Joe 90 and The Secret Service.
An affectionate portrait full of nice people chatting about a time when they created quality children's television on often limited resources; there's a reasonable balance of archive footage and talking heads, humour is not absent, and its access and anecdotes make it likely that it will become the authoritative film on a subject that many feel nostalgic towards.
Dir: Stephen La Riviere
FILMWORKER
2017
**
Documentary about Leon Vitali, an actor who went on to faithfully and doggedly work for Stanley Kubrick from Barry Lyndon onwards.
An interesting tale of the sacrifices some will make in life when they are lucky enough to find a cause that is compelling enough to get submerged in. There are some good anecdotes about Kubrick's later films, but we never get anywhere nearer knowing more about him, or even what really drove Vitali.
Dir: Tony Zierra
FILTH
2013
***
A bigoted, junkie cop attempts to solve a murder while undergoing all manner of personal problems.
A Trainspotting for its times, made with a huge amount of energy, often funny and exhilarating, with a super, magnetic lead performance; it packs lots of terrific, excoriating scenes into its compact running time. It certainly won't be for everyone but it's a dark treat for those who can take it, and has added tang when one considers the woke politics of Scotland in the decade after it was made.
Dir: Jon S Baird
Stars: James McAvoy, Eddie Marsan, Jamie Bell, Imogen Poots
THE FILTH AND THE FURY
1998
**
Documentary charting the rise of the Sex Pistols.
Enjoyable account of punk’s prime movers which gets its approach to the subject about right. The group are all interviewed in semi-darkness.
Dir: Julien Temple
Stars: The Sex Pistols
FILTHY GORGEOUS: THE BOB GUCCIONE STORY
2013
*
Documentary about the man who created Penthouse magazine.
Functional biography that adopts a hagiographic attitude to its subject; what's here is okay, but there was surely a lot more that could have been said.
Dir: Barry Avrich
FINAL ANALYSIS
1991
*
A psychiatrist has an affair with a woman who has a violent Mob husband.
Standard thriller which tries hard to be Hitchcockian.
Dir: Phil Joanou
Stars: Richard Gere, Kim Basinger, Uma Thurman, Eric Roberts
FINAL APPOINTMENT
1954
0
A reporter investigates threats against a retired army officer.
One of the many B-features the director made before moving into Hammer horror, this is a knotty little mystery that passes the time but isn't remarkable.
Dir: Terence Fisher
Stars: John Bentley, Eleanor Summerfield, Hubert Gregg
THE FINAL CONFLICT
1981
*
Damien Thorne, now the ambassador of Great Britain, aims to slay his future divine enemy.
Number three in The Omen series offers more ludicrous nonsense, here without the celebrity deaths and with even more overt religiosity, notably at the (floppy) finale. The way the hapless monks try and fail to kill Damien is reminiscent of the assassins going after Clouseau in The Pink Panther Strikes Again. In terms of gory deaths there are one or two that stick in the memory - and the build-up to them remains a little unnerving - so the mad farrago is at least rarely boring.
Dir: Graham Baker
Stars: Sam Neill, Rossano Brazzi, Don Gordon, Lisa Harrow
THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
1980
*
A modern aircraft carrier is thrown back in time to 1941 near Hawaii, just hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour.
'So what?' is the eventual reaction to this initially promising fantasy which takes its idea nowhere.
Dir: Don Taylor
Stars: Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, Katharine Ross, James Farentino
FINAL EXAM
1981
0
A killer picks off the students at a college in North Carolina.
Wretched Halloween rip-off, badly written and directed.
Dir: Jimmy Huston
Stars: Cecile Bagdadi, Joel S Rice
THE FINAL PROGRAMME
1973
0
In the tattered future, scientists plan to create a new type of human being.
Jumbled, pretentious and stilted sci-fi for genre addicts only. Almost completely incomprehensible, it's a failed attempt at a cult film which may occasionally look striking but doesn't make the viewer give even half a damn about what's going on.
Dir: Robert Fuest
Stars: Jon Finch, Jenny Runacre, Hugh Griffith, Patrick Magee, Sterling Hayden, Julie Ege
FINDERS KEEPERS
1984
0
Complications ensue when a scam artist pretends a coffin contains his dead pal.
Should-have-been-better comedy with a mix of broad and dry humour that doesn't gel - the director was a strange one for this sort of thing. Many of the characters don't work either, including the lead - perhaps he should have been replaced by Jim Carrey, here in a small but memorable performance.
Dir: Richard Lester
Stars: Michael O'Keefe, Beverly D'Angelo, Louis Gossett Jr, Pamela Stephenson, Jim Carrey
FINDING NEMO
2003
**
The father of a young fish searches the oceans for his lost offspring.
Pleasant, familiar Pixar thrills with the obligatory outstanding animation.
Dir: Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich
Voices: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush
FINDING NEVERLAND
2004
**
J M Barrie finds the inspiration to write Peter Pan after he takes a group of children who have lost their father under his wing.
A charming picture which takes parts of Barrie's life and metamorphoses them into a hymn to hope and imagination, it is made with a light touch and may well reduce many viewers to tears.
Dir: Marc Forster
Stars: Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Dustin Hoffman, Radha Mitchell
FINGERS AT THE WINDOW
1942
*
Chicago is menaced by an axe murderer.
Lively thriller with a fairly successful melding of chills and chortles.
Dir: Charles Lederer
Stars: Lew Ayres, Basil Rathbone, Laraine Day
FINIAN’S RAINBOW
1968
0
A leprechaun searches for a magic crock of gold.
Tedious musical that appears to last for weeks.
Dir: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Fred Astaire, Petula Clark, Tommy Steele, Don Francks
THE FINISHING TOUCH
1928
*
Stan and Ollie build a house in one day.
Obvious but enjoyable tomfoolery, with gags including Ollie continually swallowing nails (which is rather unpleasant), a bird that lands on the just constructed house, causing it to partly collapse, and the hats being knocked off near the end. It's the boys as blundering workmen and it's not bad, though they would considerably nuance things in the following decade.
Dir: Clyde Bruckman, Leo McCarey
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Edgar Kennedy
FIRE
1977 (TV)
0
A convict starts a fire in a forest to cover his escape, but the blaze goes out of control and threatens to destroy a small mountain community.
Dispiriting demi-disaster movie from the Irwin Allen stable.
Dir: Earl Bellamy
Stars: Ernest Borgnine, Vera Miles, Patty Duke
FIRE AND ICE
1982
*
A young warrior rescues a beautiful girl from the clutches of an evil ruler.
Impressively animated sword and sorcery cartoon with rousing highlights.
Dir: Ralph Bakshi
Voices: Randy Norton, Cynthia Leake, Steve Sandor
FIRE MAIDENS FROM OUTER SPACE
1956
0
A team of astronauts land on a moon of Jupiter to find it populated with beautiful young women looking for mates.
Infamous Brit sci-fi with all cylinders firing at minimum thrust.
Dir: Cy Roth
Stars: Anthony Dexter, Paul Carpenter, Susan Shaw
FIRE: TRAPPED ON THE 37TH FLOOR
1991 (TV)
0
A blaze breaks out in an LA skyscraper office block.
Routine disaster movie which attempts to excuse its relative lack of drama by claiming to be based on a true story.
Dir: Robert Day
Stars: Lee Majors, Lisa Hartman, Peter Scolari
FIREBIRD 2015 AD
1980
0
In the future, rebellion breaks out when the US government outlaws the use of petrol.
Lame sci-fi about the same standard as an American TV movie.
Dir: David M Robertson
Stars: Darren McGavin, Doug McClure, George Touliatos
FIREFOX
1982
0
A pilot is sent into the Soviet Union on a mission to steal a prototype jet fighter.
Unthrilling thriller with shaky special effects.
Dir: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Freddie Jones, Warren Clarke, Ronald Lacey, Nigel Hawthorne
FIRES WERE STARTED
1943
*
A typical day and night for London firemen in the Blitz.
Morale-boosting, semi-fictional docudrama using real people in manufactured but realistic situations; it’s a picture of some significance but not among its writer-director’s best works because there’s not enough content for its length.
Dir: Humphrey Jennings
Stars: Philip Dickson, George Gravett, Fred Griffiths
1981
*
Damien Thorne, now the ambassador of Great Britain, aims to slay his future divine enemy.
Number three in The Omen series offers more ludicrous nonsense, here without the celebrity deaths and with even more overt religiosity, notably at the (floppy) finale. The way the hapless monks try and fail to kill Damien is reminiscent of the assassins going after Clouseau in The Pink Panther Strikes Again. In terms of gory deaths there are one or two that stick in the memory - and the build-up to them remains a little unnerving - so the mad farrago is at least rarely boring.
Dir: Graham Baker
Stars: Sam Neill, Rossano Brazzi, Don Gordon, Lisa Harrow
THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
1980
*
A modern aircraft carrier is thrown back in time to 1941 near Hawaii, just hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour.
'So what?' is the eventual reaction to this initially promising fantasy which takes its idea nowhere.
Dir: Don Taylor
Stars: Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, Katharine Ross, James Farentino
FINAL DESTINATION
2000
*
A student has a premonition that his class's plane will crash, and is thrown off it. He and others are thrown off it, it does crash, but that isn't the end of their terror.
Starts well, doesn't quite fulfil its potential; maybe it would have been better with adults rather than kids? Scrapes a star because it started a long series.
Dir: James Wong
Stars: Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith
1981
0
A killer picks off the students at a college in North Carolina.
Wretched Halloween rip-off, badly written and directed.
Dir: Jimmy Huston
Stars: Cecile Bagdadi, Joel S Rice
THE FINAL PROGRAMME
1973
0
In the tattered future, scientists plan to create a new type of human being.
Jumbled, pretentious and stilted sci-fi for genre addicts only. Almost completely incomprehensible, it's a failed attempt at a cult film which may occasionally look striking but doesn't make the viewer give even half a damn about what's going on.
Dir: Robert Fuest
Stars: Jon Finch, Jenny Runacre, Hugh Griffith, Patrick Magee, Sterling Hayden, Julie Ege
FINDERS KEEPERS
1984
0
Complications ensue when a scam artist pretends a coffin contains his dead pal.
Should-have-been-better comedy with a mix of broad and dry humour that doesn't gel - the director was a strange one for this sort of thing. Many of the characters don't work either, including the lead - perhaps he should have been replaced by Jim Carrey, here in a small but memorable performance.
Dir: Richard Lester
Stars: Michael O'Keefe, Beverly D'Angelo, Louis Gossett Jr, Pamela Stephenson, Jim Carrey
FINDING NEMO
2003
**
The father of a young fish searches the oceans for his lost offspring.
Pleasant, familiar Pixar thrills with the obligatory outstanding animation.
Dir: Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich
Voices: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush
FINDING NEVERLAND
2004
**
J M Barrie finds the inspiration to write Peter Pan after he takes a group of children who have lost their father under his wing.
A charming picture which takes parts of Barrie's life and metamorphoses them into a hymn to hope and imagination, it is made with a light touch and may well reduce many viewers to tears.
Dir: Marc Forster
Stars: Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Dustin Hoffman, Radha Mitchell
FINGERS AT THE WINDOW
1942
*
Chicago is menaced by an axe murderer.
Lively thriller with a fairly successful melding of chills and chortles.
Dir: Charles Lederer
Stars: Lew Ayres, Basil Rathbone, Laraine Day
FINIAN’S RAINBOW
1968
0
A leprechaun searches for a magic crock of gold.
Tedious musical that appears to last for weeks.
Dir: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Fred Astaire, Petula Clark, Tommy Steele, Don Francks
THE FINISHING TOUCH
1928
*
Stan and Ollie build a house in one day.
Obvious but enjoyable tomfoolery, with gags including Ollie continually swallowing nails (which is rather unpleasant), a bird that lands on the just constructed house, causing it to partly collapse, and the hats being knocked off near the end. It's the boys as blundering workmen and it's not bad, though they would considerably nuance things in the following decade.
Dir: Clyde Bruckman, Leo McCarey
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Edgar Kennedy
FIRE
1977 (TV)
0
A convict starts a fire in a forest to cover his escape, but the blaze goes out of control and threatens to destroy a small mountain community.
Dispiriting demi-disaster movie from the Irwin Allen stable.
Dir: Earl Bellamy
Stars: Ernest Borgnine, Vera Miles, Patty Duke
FIRE AND ICE
1982
*
A young warrior rescues a beautiful girl from the clutches of an evil ruler.
Impressively animated sword and sorcery cartoon with rousing highlights.
Dir: Ralph Bakshi
Voices: Randy Norton, Cynthia Leake, Steve Sandor
FIRE MAIDENS FROM OUTER SPACE
1956
0
A team of astronauts land on a moon of Jupiter to find it populated with beautiful young women looking for mates.
Infamous Brit sci-fi with all cylinders firing at minimum thrust.
Dir: Cy Roth
Stars: Anthony Dexter, Paul Carpenter, Susan Shaw
FIRE: TRAPPED ON THE 37TH FLOOR
1991 (TV)
0
A blaze breaks out in an LA skyscraper office block.
Routine disaster movie which attempts to excuse its relative lack of drama by claiming to be based on a true story.
Dir: Robert Day
Stars: Lee Majors, Lisa Hartman, Peter Scolari
FIREBIRD 2015 AD
1980
0
In the future, rebellion breaks out when the US government outlaws the use of petrol.
Lame sci-fi about the same standard as an American TV movie.
Dir: David M Robertson
Stars: Darren McGavin, Doug McClure, George Touliatos
FIREFOX
1982
0
A pilot is sent into the Soviet Union on a mission to steal a prototype jet fighter.
Unthrilling thriller with shaky special effects.
Dir: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Freddie Jones, Warren Clarke, Ronald Lacey, Nigel Hawthorne
FIRES WERE STARTED
1943
*
A typical day and night for London firemen in the Blitz.
Morale-boosting, semi-fictional docudrama using real people in manufactured but realistic situations; it’s a picture of some significance but not among its writer-director’s best works because there’s not enough content for its length.
Dir: Humphrey Jennings
Stars: Philip Dickson, George Gravett, Fred Griffiths
THE FIRM
2009
0
Young male Londoners get heavily involved in football violence.
The director may be on familiar territory but this is weirdly underpowered and underwhelming stuff, with little drive or passion; the protagonists, in their colourful tracksuits that no one wore at that time, are also very short on menace. A real misfire.
Dir: Nick Love
Stars: Paul Anderson, Calum MacNab, Daniel Mays, Doug AllenFIRST BLOOD
1982
*
A Vietnam vet begins a one-man war on a small town's police force after being abused by them.
Silly but enjoyable thriller which found a big audience.
Dir: Ted Kotcheff
Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy
THE FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
1978
*
In Victorian England, a master criminal makes elaborate plans to steal a shipment of gold from a moving train.
Slow but sure crime caper with careful period recreation.
Dir: Michael Crichton
Stars: Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland, Lesley-Anne Down, Michael Elphick
FIRST MAN
2018
*
Neil Armstrong trains to be an astronaut and becomes the first man on the Moon.
Downbeat, dour, measured biopic in which the slightly dull star is a perfect fit for the taciturn Armstrong, here choosing his pursuit as a way to get over the death of his daughter. We wonder whether his wife was really the picture of constant unhappiness and angst presented, but generally speaking it's historically accurate, sometimes painstakingly so. Slowly paced and low on thrills, it nevertheless provides some superbly shot flight sequences and eventually imparts the notion that Armstrong and his colleagues were true heroes - and heroes do not have to be emotional and loud.
Dir: Damien Chazelle
Stars: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Corey Stoll
FIRST MAN INTO SPACE
1958
0
A test pilot is infected by meteor dust that turns him into a monster.
Moderate sci-fi which moves at an unhurried pace.
Dir: Robert Day
Stars: Marshall Thompson, Marla Landi, Robert Ayres, Roger Delgado
FIRST MEN IN THE MOON
1964
*
Victorian astronauts travel to the moon.
Agreeably batty sci-fi romp, very much all over the place.
Dir: Nathan Juran
Stars: Edward Judd, Martha Hyer, Lionel Jeffries
1982
*
A Vietnam vet begins a one-man war on a small town's police force after being abused by them.
Silly but enjoyable thriller which found a big audience.
Dir: Ted Kotcheff
Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy
THE FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
1978
*
In Victorian England, a master criminal makes elaborate plans to steal a shipment of gold from a moving train.
Slow but sure crime caper with careful period recreation.
Dir: Michael Crichton
Stars: Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland, Lesley-Anne Down, Michael Elphick
FIRST MAN
2018
*
Neil Armstrong trains to be an astronaut and becomes the first man on the Moon.
Downbeat, dour, measured biopic in which the slightly dull star is a perfect fit for the taciturn Armstrong, here choosing his pursuit as a way to get over the death of his daughter. We wonder whether his wife was really the picture of constant unhappiness and angst presented, but generally speaking it's historically accurate, sometimes painstakingly so. Slowly paced and low on thrills, it nevertheless provides some superbly shot flight sequences and eventually imparts the notion that Armstrong and his colleagues were true heroes - and heroes do not have to be emotional and loud.
Dir: Damien Chazelle
Stars: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Corey Stoll
FIRST MAN INTO SPACE
1958
0
A test pilot is infected by meteor dust that turns him into a monster.
Moderate sci-fi which moves at an unhurried pace.
Dir: Robert Day
Stars: Marshall Thompson, Marla Landi, Robert Ayres, Roger Delgado
FIRST MEN IN THE MOON
1964
*
Victorian astronauts travel to the moon.
Agreeably batty sci-fi romp, very much all over the place.
Dir: Nathan Juran
Stars: Edward Judd, Martha Hyer, Lionel Jeffries
THE FIRST OF THE FEW
1942
*
In between the wars, aircraft designer RJ Mitchell revolutionises plane design, culminating in the birth of the Spitfire, so vital in World War Two.
Made in the middle of the mighty conflict, this is astute propaganda and a decent yarn, wonderfully English in a way that would disappear in the decades to come: it shows folk proud of their country and thinking it worth defending. There are a fair few impressive flying sequences. How tragic and ironic that the patriotic Howard would be shot down in-flight by the Nazis not long after this film was released.
Dir: Leslie Howard
Stars: Leslie Howard, David Niven, Rosamund John, Roland Culver
THE FIRST POWER
1990
0
The spirit of a dead killer returns to plague the cop who caught him.
Watchable but silly and derivative thriller with the star obviously too young to have achieved his ranking.
Dir: Robert Resnikoff
Stars: Lou Diamond Phillips, Tracy Griffith, Jeff Kober
FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS
1960
0
After an alien artefact found on Earth is claimed to be from Venus, an international space crew journeys to the planet to investigate.
Those who are fans of watching a diverse crew of astronauts (it gives 2020s Hollywood movies a run for their money in that sense, if not in others) yak-yakking in their small interplanetary craft will be pleased with this one. Things pick up a little when we get to Venus, but this badly dubbed Soviet-era sci-fi is stiff and humourless.
Dir: Kurt Maetzig
Stars: Yoko Tani, Oldrich Lukes, Ignacy Machowski
A FISH CALLED WANDA
1988
**
Four people commit an armed robbery then try to double-cross each other for the loot.
Commercially successful farce which benefits from Cleese’s intricately worked out plot and carefully drawn characters, but has elements that may be hilarious to some and not to others (Vietnam, Otto, the dogs) plus an off-putting barrage of foul language and an anti-English undercurrent.
Dir: Charles Crichton
Stars: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin
FIST OF FURY
1972
**
A young fighter seeks vengeance for the death of his teacher.
The pacing is uncertain, but this low budget Bruce Lee vehicle does show him at his most charismatic, dynamic and brutal - as well as being able to play the fool as the telephone repair man. As a tale of how violence begets violence, it's very effective, despite being a tad overlong.
Dir: Wei Lo
Stars: Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, James Tien
A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS
1964
**
An itinerant gunfighter plays two rival families against each other.
Leone's unofficial remake of Yojimbo (qv) was perhaps surpassed by some of his later work (although he only directed another five movies after this one), but it is an extremely stylish, vibrant and distinct film, one that launched its director and star, and led to international fame for the spaghetti western. Composer Ennio Morricone and Leone were a match made in heaven, and no one in the universe could have played the part better than Eastwood did; his character's execution of revenge in the picture's final third is particularly thrilling.
Dir: Sergio Leone
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volonte, Marianne Koch, Joseph Egger
A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE
1971
*
A Mexican bandit and an Irish explosives expert join forces to cause mayhem.
Massively stretched out Western from Leone - most scenes go on for twice as long as they should do, with the slow-motion sequences even more agonising. Yes of course there's vast style and a kooky score from Morricone, but dollars in the fist turns out to be preferable to dynamite. Are there more people killed in this movie than any other one? Are there many films with lead characters as unpleasant?
Dir: Sergio Leone
Stars: Rod Steiger, James Coburn, Romolo Valli
1982
**
A man becomes obsessed with building an opera house in the middle of the Peruvian jungle.
Strange and lyrical study of a man who won't give up.
Dir: Werner Herzog
Stars: Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, Jose Lewgoy
FIVE
1951
0
After a nuclear explosion, there is only a small band of survivors left on Earth.
The first post-nuclear drama is extremely glum (but then that's quite fitting), portentous, talky and a little absurd. It's shot with some eerie quality but is not particularly engaging.
Dir: Arch Oboler
Stars: Susan Douglas, William Phipps, James Anderson, Charles Lampkin, Earl Lee
FIVE DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON
1970
0
A group of people on an isolated island are murdered one after another.
As so often with Bava, another lesson in how not to make a movie – if you want to create a suspense thriller try to make it clear what the heck’s going on, make each murder memorable, try and write some proper dialogue, don’t have all the females in the cast practically identical, don’t have totally inappropriate music frequently playing, and don’t shoot it in a way that looks like you wish you were rather on holiday. A hazy shambles.
Dir: Mario Bava
Stars: William Berger, Ira Furstenberg, Edwige Fenech, Maurice Poli
FIVE EASY PIECES
1971
**
An oil rigger returns home to comfort his dying father.
Cultish drama from the Easy Rider school, providing a perfect part for its star.
Dir: Bob Rafelson
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Billy Green Bush
FIVE GOLDEN DRAGONS
1967
0
An American in Hong Kong gets involved in a crime syndicate.
Terrible crime drama in which a camp leading man encounters thugs who go on wearisomely long chases, gorgeous girls who blink when they're dead, singers who will not stop singing and an extremely confusing plot. Essentially, everything's wrong, including inappropriate music scores, but the footage of Sixties Hong Kong is nice (although many of the residents stare at the camera).
Dir: Jeremy Summers
Stars: Robert Cummings, Margaret Lee, Rupert Davies, Klaus Kinski, Maria Rohm, Christopher Lee
FIVE HAVE A MYSTERY TO SOLVE
1964 (serial)
*
The Famous Five are drawn to a small island where trouble’s afoot.
Enid Blyton’s winsome creations on the big screen, albeit a low-budget six-part serial made by the Children’s Film Foundation. It’s cute enough if not exactly good, with the plot somewhat repetitive, as the kids are captured and escape and captured and escape, but picky criticism is probably pointless.
Dir: Ernest Morris
Stars: David Palmer, Darryl Read, Amanda Coxell, Paula Boyd, Michael Balfour
FIVE ON A TREASURE ISLAND
1957 (serial)
**
A group of young adventurers find gold but get into difficulties.
Probably the purest, most natural Blyton adaptation put on the screen, perhaps due to being made when the books were in their pomp; it's certainly performed with good-natured enthusiasm and has so much outside shooting - mostly at Corfe Castle in Dorset - you can almost taste the Fifties air. Not surprisingly it's repeating itself before the end but in general it's ripping stuff for those who grew up on Blyton's books in more innocent times - episode six even has some real tension with the underwater swim.
Dir: Gerald Landau
Stars: Rel Grainer, Richard Palmer, Gillian Harrison, John Baily
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
2009
*
A young man who believes in love falls for a girl called Summer, who is not certain it truly exists.
Smartly written and directed romantic comedy with an insouciant cuteness and several quirks (like the non-linear structure) but not much depth – we don’t get under the skin of the two main characters and all others are just sketched in. The girl actress’s performance is better than the boy’s.
Dir: Marc Webb
Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel
FIVE STAR FINAL
1931
**
Sleazy journalists destroy a family to get a good story.
Influential newspaper drama which hasn't lasted too badly, although its stage origins are obvious and many of the actors appear to think they're still on a stage. Its theme may still resonate with many, there is the odd cinematic flourish and some of the dialogue retains its crackle.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Stars: Edward G Robinson, Boris Karloff, Marian Marsh, HB Warner
THE 5,000 FINGERS OF DR T
1953
*
Dr T plans to enslave children to play his piano 24 hours a day.
Weird fantasy, the first major proof that Dr Seuss was difficult to adapt for the screen, although there are stunning dream sequences.
Dir: Roy Rowland
Stars: Hans Conried, Tommy Rettig, Peter Lind Hayes
FIVE TO ONE
1963
*
Crooks hatch a convoluted plan to relieve a bookie of his money.
Not very likeable but reasonably well done Edgar Wallace Mystery, more rewarding if you can follow its complications. A young John Thaw is good and there's a Billy Liar poster.
Dir: Gordon Flemyng
Stars: John Thaw, Lee Montague, Ingrid Hafner, Brian McDermott
THE FIXER UPPERS
1935
**
Stan and Ollie meet a woman distraught over her husband's neglect so formulate a plan to make him jealous by her being caught in a clinch with Ollie.
A vastly superior semi-remake of 1927's Slipping Wives which includes some precious inane dialogue from Stan ('If you had a face like mine, you'd punch me right in the nose!') and Ollie near his best too. The wintry setting is cosy, the supporting cast typically wonderful, the gags all work, the plot is nicely developed, and the whole 20 minutes another example of how Laurel and Hardy made the world a better place.
Dir: Charley Rogers
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Mae Busch, Charles Middleton, Arthur Housman
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
2006
**
The story of the soldiers who were framed in an iconic photograph hoisting up the American flag after the battle of Iwo Jima.
While proficiently made and constantly watchable, Eastwood’s film smacks of liberal hand-wringing and suffers from a basic flaw in its structure – it wasn’t a bad thing that the soldiers toured America raising money in the form of war bonds, it was a good thing. And the chance to inject a racial angle must have delighted the maker also.
Dir: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, John Benjamin Hickey
THE FLAME BARRIER
1958
0
A woman enlists men to help find her husband who is missing in the jungle, and they come across something otherworldly.
This B-picture mostly consists of the usual kind of jungle trek - encountering nasty beasties and the like - and then goes all sci-fi for its last ten minutes or so. It doesn't make much sense, but it does its job as an undemanding curio.
Dir: Paul Landres
Stars: Arthur Franz, Kathleen Crowley, Robert Brown
FLAMING CREATURES
1963
0
Transvestites and other eccentric people get together for some 'fun'.
The Truman Show, Oliver!, A Kind Of Loving and Sexy Beast are not included in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, but this strange, 43-minute long amateur-fest featuring body parts and directionless, random behaviour, is. Curious. While it has a sort of off-kilter energy and is heartily committed to being subversive, one's glad it's not any longer.
Dir: Jack Smith
THE FLAMINGO KID
1984
0
A troubled teenager finds solace at a beach club.
Desperately ordinary comedy drama with a sleepy star.
Dir: Garry Marshall
Stars: Matt Dillon, Richard Crenna, Jessica Walter
FLASH GORDON
1936 (serial)
*
Three earthlings visit the planet Mongo to thwart the dastardly schemes of Emperor Ming the Merciless.
Once the preserve of Saturday's kids, now an artefact for old film fans, this is crazy nonsense done with a straight face, and all the better for it.
Dir: Frederick Stephani
Stars: Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton
FLASH GORDON
1980
*
A football hero and friends travel across the universe to face a wicked villain.
Energetic revamp of the old serials with a fair measure of fun – it’s pretty corny stuff, and the special effects have long been bettered, but its heart is in the right place.
Dir: Mike Hodges
Stars: Sam J Jones, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow, Topol, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed, Peter Wyngrade, Richard O'Brien, Suzanne Danielle
FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE
1940 (serial)
*
Flash and company journey to the planet Mongo to find an antidote for Ming's Purple Death.
Last of the Flash/Crabbe series is more of the same, more than ever playing like the inspiration for Star Wars, particularly The Empire Strikes Back; there are certainly a pleasing array of non-human baddies, the pick of which may be the jerky killer robots, with an honourable mention for the backward-speaking rock men. It pretty much does its job, even though its job was never much more than keeping kids quiet for a short time. Flash himself is a thoroughly decent chap; a reduction in the number of other on-screen characters might have been an idea - it's definitely overmanned.
Dir: Ford Beebe, Ray Taylor
Stars: Buster Crabbe, Carol Hughes, Charles Middleton, Anne Gwynne
FLASH GORDON’S TRIP TO MARS
1938 (serial)
*
When a deadly ray hits Earth, Flash once again goes to battle perpetrator Ming the Merciless.
The planet Mars, it turns out, is an oxygenated globe home to five or so different races, all of whom meet up with Flash on one of the rare occasions he can stop dashing about. Creaky sci-fi suffused with nostalgia.
Dir: Ford Beebe, Robert F Hill
Stars: Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Frank Shannon
FLAT TWO
1962
0
A crooked businessman is found dead.
Edgar Wallace Mystery which asks the viewer to consume such large amounts of information more or less constantly that there's little chance to actually enjoy the film.
Dir: Alan Cooke
Stars: John Le Mesurier, Jack Watling, Bernard Archard, Barry Keegan
FLATLINERS
1990
*
Medical students bring themselves close to death as part of ghoulish experiments.
Visually impressive thriller that has an interesting premise but becomes fragmented and hysterical.
Dir: Joel Schumacher
Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin
FLAVIA THE HERETIC
1974
0
A 15th century nun rebels against her superiors.
A rather boring and confusing film that is nevertheless one of the classier entries into Seventies exploitation cinema – scenes of mutilation and torture ensure that its audience has been wider than just those with an interest in religious history.
Dir: Gianfranco Mingozzi
Stars: Florinda Bolkan, Maria Casares, Claudio Cassinelli
FLESH + BLOOD
1986
*
A band of medieval mercenaries take revenge on a lord who has betrayed them.
Bawdy costume drama in deliciously bad taste, it lives up to its title alright.
Dir: Paul Verhoeven
Stars: Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Burlinson
THE FLESH AND BLOOD SHOW
1972
0
Actors rehearsing a show at a seaside theatre are killed off by a knifeman.
Too-dark shocker done at a languid pace, lacking in the frissons one might have hoped for. Steve Chibnall, in his excellent book The Cult Films of Pete Walker, makes a good case for it, though, arguing that its themes and motifs are intelligently assembled; nevertheless, it is overlong and sluggish, even if its 'flesh' is titillating and it goes for amusingly gimmicky 3D for its flashback denouement. It's impossible to dislike, really, with the out-of-season seaside resort giving it some atmosphere.
Dir: Pete Walker
Stars: Jenny Hanley, Ray Brooks, Luan Peters, Candace Glendenning, Robin Askwith
FLESH AND FANTASY
1943
*
Three supernatural stories are read at a club.
Amicus would make such things their raison d'etre; this early fantasy compendium is a mixed bag: the first story just passes muster, the second (an Oscar Wilde tale) is predictable but enjoyable, while the third one meanders somewhat.
Dir: Julien Duvivier
Stars: Edward G Robinson, Charles Boyer, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Cummings
THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS
1959
*
In old Edinburgh, surgeon Dr Robert Knox gets body snatchers Burke and Hare to bring him fresh cadavers.
Hearty horror with a strong sense of period and place; good performances, too.
Dir: John Gilling
Stars: Peter Cushing, Donald Pleasence, June Laverick
FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN
1974
0
Baron Frankenstein plans to create a new race of humans out of body parts.
Warhol's loose interpretation is notable for some outrageous gore but aside from that it flaps – it’s pleasingly trashy but somewhat dull, and Kier and Van Vooren’s one-note, angry performances soon grate.
Dir: Paul Morrissey
Stars: Udo Kier, Joe Dallesandro, Monique van Vooren
FLESH GORDON
1974
0
Emperor Wang the Perverted of the planet Porno fires his sex ray at Earth - Flesh Gordon, Dale Ardent and Professor Flexi-Jerkoff go to stop him.
Famous sex spoof toned down for theatrical release; it does the job as an affectionate take-off of the old serials as well as being a moderately funny, cheapo sexy romp.
Dir: Michael Benveniste, Howard Ziehm
Stars: Jason Williams, Cindy Hopkins, Joseph Hudgins
FLESH GORDON 2
1990
0
Flesh Gordon is kidnapped by a group of space cheerleaders hoping to use him to save their planet.
The original had become a minor cult by the time this came out, but this sequel is less of a success. There's more of an emphasis on comedy than sex and post-pub males are likely to be its main audience.
Dir: Howard Ziehm
Stars: Vince Murdocco, Robyn Kelly, Tony Travis
FLETCH
1985
0
An ace reporter is approached by a man who asks the reporter to murder him.
Surprisingly thickly plotted star comedy which one keeps watching without too much enthusiasm.
Dir: Michael Ritchie
Stars: Chevy Chase, Joe Don Baker, Tim Matheson, M Emmet Walsh, Geena Davis
THE FLIGHT OF DRAGONS
1982 (V)
0
A young writer journeys back in time to an era where wizards and dragons roam the land.
Cartoon in a similar mould to Bakshi's Lord Of The Rings (qv) but with less depth and inferior animation.
Dir: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr
Voices: Victor Buono, John Ritter, Bob McFadden, James Earl Jones
FLIGHT OF THE DOVES
1971
*
Two children are pursued across Ireland by an avaricious relative.
Shot on the Emerald Isle in bright, unreal colour, this junior adventure gives Moody a plum part as a master of disguises; storywise it's a little drawn out, and the tone varies somewhat (some seriousness, some songs, some slapstick), but it's an agreeable enough matinee with a different feel. Willie Rushton's performance is not one its plus points, though.
Dir: Ralph Nelson
Stars: Ron Moody, Jack Wild, Dana, Dorothy McGuire, Stanley Holloway
FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR
1986
*
A boy somehow jumps forward in time eight years.
Fair family sci-fi with similarities to Explorers (qv).
Dir: Randal Kleiser
Stars: Joey Cramer, Paul Reubens, Veronica Cartwright, Sarah Jessica Parker
FLIGHT TO MARS
1951
*
Astronauts fly to Mars to discover an underground civilisation there.
There's just something about Fifties sci-fi that makes it irresistible, despite, or perhaps because of, the naive, nonsensical storylines, absurd science and primitive special effects. This economical effort is wonderfully ropey, but its unreal Cinecolor, long-legged Martian ladies in tiny miniskirts and good attitude more than make up for its chatting and limited sets.
Dir: Lesley Salander
Stars: Cameron Mitchell, Arthur Franz, Marguerite Chapman, Virginia Huston
FLIRTATION WALK
1934
0
A private falls for the general's daughter.
The sort of film that was popular at the time, it now seems amazing that this was nominated for Best Picture Oscar, as it's not much more than a slight, trivial musical comedy.
Dir: Frank Borzage
Stars: Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Pat O'Brien, Ross Alexander
THE FLOOD
1963
0
Children are stranded in East Anglia after massive downpours.
Plucky CFF antics with plenty of location shooting; a little twee but of fair heart.
Dir: Frederic Goode
Stars: Waveney Lee, Ian Ellis, Christopher Ellis, Leslie Hart
FLOOD!
1976 (TV)
0
After several weeks of heavy rainfall, a dam bursts its banks and threatens a small town.
Low budget disaster movie, awful on every level.
Dir: Earl Bellamy
Stars: Robert Culp, Barbara Hershey, Richard Basehart, Carol Lynley, Roddy McDowall
FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC
1987
0
A conniving mother and grandmother lock their children in an attic.
Crass rubbish with a risible script (why don’t the kids at least try and escape?) and paper-thin characterisation, performed by actors who have the same qualities as wood.
Dir: Jeffrey Bloom
Stars: Victoria Tennant, Kristy Swanson, Louise Fletcher
FLUTTERING HEARTS
1927
0
A man helps a rich father who is being blackmailed.
Trying short, one rather tiresome sequence after another. Hardy was on the verge on his fruitful team-up with Laurel at this stage.
Dir: James Parrott
Stars: Charley Chase, Martha Sleeper, Oliver Hardy
THE FLY
1958
***
A scientist steps into his new teleportation device but unfortunately there is also a fly present in the chamber.
Vastly enjoyable horror hokum that's pleasingly disgusting. After all these years the novelty of its bold strangeness may have worn off a little but certain scenes retain their power, including the multi-image of the woman screaming, the scientist and his new insectoid hand, and the fly with the human head caught in the spider's web.
Dir: Kurt Neumann
Stars: Vincent Price, David Hedison, Patricia Owens, Herbert Marshall
THE FLY
1987
**
A scientist begins to transform into a hideous fly-like creature after an experiment goes horribly wrong.
Icky remake which continues Cronenberg's obsession with diseases of the flesh, this ultimately proved more commercial than his other work thanks to its thriller acrobatics.
Dir: David Cronenberg
Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, David Cronenberg
THE FLY II
1989
0
The son of the human fly scientist appears to be afflicted by a similar condition.
Popcorn sequel [to a remake] in a very different style, just an assembly of commercial components, including over-the-top gore.
Dir: Chris Walas
Stars: Eric Stoltz, Daphne Zuniga, John Getz
THE FLYING DEUCES
1939
*
Ollie joins the Foreign Legion to forget a girl and Stan comes along too.
A long way behind Way Out West, this comedy demonstrates that the boys were not invincible, and time was beginning to tarnish their shine. Old plot ideas are reworked, routines vary in their effectiveness and the production isn't especially plush but there are bright moments, including Stan playing the bed as a harp, the sneeze in the cupboard and the final scene with Ollie reincarnated as a horse, which brings a sometimes faltering picture to a happy conclusion (the flying sequences just before that don't work at all).
Dir: A Edward Sutherland
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Jean Parker, James Finlayson, Charles Middleton
FLYING ELEPHANTS
1927
0
Warring cavemen battle over the same girl.
Loosely constructed comedy short in which Stan and Ollie only briefly meet.
Dir: Frank Butler
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Tiny Sandford
THE FOG
1979
*
A killer fog containing zombie-like ghosts comes to a Californian fishing town.
Silly but tolerable horror with some effective shocks.
Dir: John Carpenter
Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Adrienne Barbeau, Janet Leigh, John Houseman
FOG ISLAND
1945
0
A man invites people who have wronged him to his holiday home in order to extract retribution.
Implausible old dark house antics in which the action takes place over one disarranged night; the actors struggle in their underwritten parts.
Dir: Terry O Morse
Stars: George Zucco, Lionel Atwill, Jerome Cowan, Sharon Douglas
THE FOOD OF THE GODS
1976
0
On a Canadian island, folk battle hideously enlarged animals.
From early scenes involving former boy preacher Marjoe facing giant chickens, you know this is going to be quite something, yet you're taken aback by its sheer relentlessness, its devotion to its man vs creatures scrapping - there's little craft, and no room for nuance, pause or reflection. The special effects might be better than in the same director's Empire Of The Ants (qv) but they're still pretty rubbish, and because we never really believe these humans are facing, say, giant rats - and boy, are there are a lot of rats in this film - we can't get particularly invested.
Dir: Bert I Gordon
Stars: Marjoe Gortner, Pamela Franklin, Ralph Meeker, Ida Lupino
FOOLISH WIVES
1922
**
A con artist pretends he is Russian nobility to seduce women.
The story behind this epic production - originally called 'salacious junk' by Variety - is quite something, a true Hollywood real-life Babylon, and much of this glorious excess comes across on screen, with the viewer feeling like they could well be in Monte Carlo. It's unsurprising that it originally ran nearly seven hours - the restored version runs 142 minutes, which means the pacing varies and some scenes last too long (and some are just not there), so perhaps the best version is the 117-minute one, the one originally released. It's high camp and flawed of course, but its off-kilter nature, dark depths and unhinged self confidence, exemplified by the director/star, make it a significant picture. He obviously had a sense of humour, too - an actress in it reads a book entitled 'Foolish Wives' by Erich von Stroheim.
Dir: Erich von Stroheim
Stars: Erich von Stroheim, Rudolph Christians, Niss DuPont, Mae Busch
FOOTBALL CRAZY
1974
0
An international football referee eventually goes mad.
Dizzy Italian farce notable for Joan Collins speaking without Joan Collins' voice.
Dir: Luigi Filippo D'Amico
Stars: Joan Collins, Lando Buzzanca, Gabriella Pallotta
THE FOOTBALL FACTORY
2004
*
A young Londoner lives for drink, women and football violence.
John King wrote several books about football hooliganism, and they were quite enjoyable in a rough sort of way; this is an adaptation of one of them, but it falters. Many scenes just don't work (especially those featuring the grandpa, which weirdly curdle the film), characters barely behave in believable ways, and the whole enterprise lacks a compulsive drive or any powerhouse brutality. It wants to be Irvine Welsh and Guy Ritchie rolled into one but ends up a rather formless blob, which is a shame; it's reasonably watchable, though, and it inevitably has its supporters.
Dir: Nick Love
Stars: Danny Dyer, Frank Harper, Tamer Hassan, Roland ManookianFOOTLIGHT PARADE
1933
**
A theatre impresario has the idea of putting three different shows on every evening.
Exuberant 'let's put on a show' musical: the first half is scatty and busy, concerned with the backstage stuff, the second features three show-stopping routines, with the 'By A Waterfall' sequence being a stunning display of Busby Berkeley water-based choreography that is the result of hundreds of human beings assembling in an incredibly impressive way - and has there ever been such a huge collection of lovely women in one place? The whole film has enough energy to power a city, and it has a real pre-Code tanginess.
Dir: Lloyd Bacon
Stars: James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell
FOOTLOOSE
1984
0
A boy comes to a small town where dancing has been banned - he attempts to change this.
Queasy, underachieving musical made in the wake of Flashdance.
Dir: Herbert Ross
Stars: Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest, Chris Penn, Sarah Jessica Parker
FOOTSTEPS
1973
*
A young woman going for a swim is menaced by a stranger.
Neat little chiller.
Dir: Alan Parker
Stars: Gemma Jones, Don Henderson
FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE
1926
*
A young millionaire accidentally funds a new mission.
The star in typically athletic and resourceful form, with sturdy support from the ever lugubrious Noah Young. Nicely paced and quite funny.
Dir: Sam Taylor
Stars: Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Noah Young
FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO
2007
*
Documentary about gay people who have suffered because of the teachings of the Bible.
In a sense this is more a pro-gay film than an anti-religion one, and its resolution seems to suggest that religion can comfortably accommodate gay lifestyles - but this is unlikely to be so easy in many instances, particularly away from the West or Christianity. As something to watch it has value and interest but it does go on for too long - perhaps they should have focused on one less family.
Dir: Daniel Karslake
FOR THE LOVE OF ADA
1972
0
An elderly married couple have an anniversary party planned for them.
Film version of a popular sitcom that has to be one of the mildest and uneventful British pictures ever made: tiny, trivial incidents abound in an almost surreal fashion, and anyone who isn't familiar with the TV series, or British culture in the early Seventies, will be totally dumbfounded at what's before their eyes. The people are mostly quite nice is all that can be said for it.
Dir: Ronnie Baxter
Stars: Irene Handl, Wilfred Pickles, Jack Smethurst, Arthur English
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
1943
*
During the Spanish Civil War, an American helps Republicans blow up a strategically important bridge.
Handsome but slow, long and boring drama that doesn't work as a romance or a historical piece - the pace is way off and it's unforgivably portentous. And Bergman really doesn't suit that hairstyle.
Dir: Sam Wood
Stars: Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Akim Tamiroff
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
1981
**
James Bond searches for a lost encryption device which has fallen into enemy hands.
Easily digestible spy adventure which is none the worse for being less showy than its immediate predecessors. Certain elements don't strike the right note - Moore's dalliances with Johnson for the first time markedly show him up as an ageing star, and the 'disco' soundtrack hasn't aged well - but the variety of action paints a picture of a production team with little else on their minds than to give the audience a good time, surely a commendable sentiment. The comedic bookends are a nice touch too.
Dir: John Glen
Stars: Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Topol, Julian Glover, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Cassandra Harris, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, Geoffrey Keen
THE FORBIDDEN
1966
*
Mondo movie which includes a London club of virgin strippers, fatal revenge in Sweden, near-riots in California, an erotic Nazi act, a murderess in France and more.
A real ragbag of stuff, most totally faked, with an emphasis on the undressed or undressing female - the episode which pretends to be an advert for a self-defence club is the apogee of these approaches, and fakery is also exemplified by the French writing on the wall of the 'London' club. But who cares, because this is a wickedly enjoyable time capsule, the sort of film they made, or could make, in this way for only a decade or so; it's certainly vastly preferable to anything by Jean-Luc Godard.
Dir: Benjamin Andrews, Lee Frost
Narrator: Bob Cresse
FORBIDDEN BEACH
1985
0
A boy is deeply unhappy when his widowed mother takes a lover.
It's clear from the opening minutes that this is not a director skilled at his art, and that's a shame, because the theme has real promise, but most opportunities to go edgier, sexier or sleazier are spurned. There is not the necessary depth in the scripting either.
Dir: Enrique Gomez Vadillo
Stars: Sasha Montenegro, Jose Alonso, Jaime Garza, Oscar Alejandro
FORBIDDEN GAMES
1952
*
After her parents are killed by German bombers, a little orphan girl goes to live with a rural farming family.
There are many beautiful, lyrical moments in this acclaimed film, but as a whole it fails to grip, and the characters aren't perhaps as sympathetic as expected. The emphasis on religion, true to life as it may be, nevertheless irks a little.
Dir: Rene Clement
Stars: Georges Poujouly, Brigitte Fossey, Amedee
FORBIDDEN PARIS
1970
0
Mondo-style documentary featuring taxidermy on a dog, a man who wears a radiation suit, a transvestite wedding, a nude bet, a 'vampire', wannabe Nazis and more.
Despite some bizarre content, this sadly this never really catches fire - perhaps a sententious narration from an English speaker was required. There are many cheekier and more arresting mondo movies.
Dir: Jean-Louis Van-Belle
FORBIDDEN PLANET
1956
***
A starship crew lands on a planet where the colonisers from Earth have been virtually wiped out.
Inventive, intelligent and enjoyable sci-fi reworking of The Tempest, further enhanced by impressive special effects.
Dir: Fred M Wilcox
Stars: Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Robby the Robot
FORBIDDEN WORLD
1982
*
A genetic experiment breaks loose and starts slaughtering members of a scientific group.
Sexed-up Alien copy that's cheesy fun.
Dir: Allan Holzman
Stars: Jesse Vint, Dawn Dunlap, June Chadwick
FORCE MAJEURE
2014
***
A Swedish family skiing in the Alps threaten to be torn apart by a happening on the slopes.
A small incident seeds the whole narrative of this interesting film, one which explores issues around masculinity, individual perception and the difficulties of co-existence: it stylishly does so in long, distant takes, often against beautiful natural scenery, and is something of a triumph in terms of quality drama, although it may be too long and slow for some (perhaps there's too much of the couple's friends). Skiers might well get something from it, too.
Dir: Ruben Ostlund
Stars: Johannes Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Kristofer Hivju, Fanni Metelius
1984
0
A boy comes to a small town where dancing has been banned - he attempts to change this.
Queasy, underachieving musical made in the wake of Flashdance.
Dir: Herbert Ross
Stars: Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest, Chris Penn, Sarah Jessica Parker
FOOTSTEPS
1973
*
A young woman going for a swim is menaced by a stranger.
Neat little chiller.
Dir: Alan Parker
Stars: Gemma Jones, Don Henderson
FOOTSTEPS IN THE FOG
1955
**
A housemaid discovers that her employer has murdered his wife and uses it to her advantage.
Agreeable period thriller that never comes near Hitchcock standards but constantly twists and turns and is nicely shot – in Technicolor – in fog and posh drawing rooms. With the supplement of a solid cast, this is the sort of film that’s ideal for cosy autumnal afternoon viewing.
Dir: Arthur Lubin
Stars: Stewart Granger, Jean Simmons, Bill Travers, Belinda Lee, Ronald Squire, Finlay Currie, William Hartnell
FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE
1965
**
Two bounty hunters team up to track down an outlaw.
The man with no name - who has a name - returns in this assured if occasionally slightly boring spaghetti Western which says a lot about male pride and ego and how we work out where we are in the status market. Not as brilliant as The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, it's nevertheless a skilled piece of filmmaking, albeit unrealistic - is it that Westerns are literally the most unrealistic of any genre, with their sharp shooters and milieus?! But it probably doesn't matter.
Dir: Sergio Leone
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volonte
1926
*
A young millionaire accidentally funds a new mission.
The star in typically athletic and resourceful form, with sturdy support from the ever lugubrious Noah Young. Nicely paced and quite funny.
Dir: Sam Taylor
Stars: Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Noah Young
FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO
2007
*
Documentary about gay people who have suffered because of the teachings of the Bible.
In a sense this is more a pro-gay film than an anti-religion one, and its resolution seems to suggest that religion can comfortably accommodate gay lifestyles - but this is unlikely to be so easy in many instances, particularly away from the West or Christianity. As something to watch it has value and interest but it does go on for too long - perhaps they should have focused on one less family.
Dir: Daniel Karslake
FOR THE LOVE OF ADA
1972
0
An elderly married couple have an anniversary party planned for them.
Film version of a popular sitcom that has to be one of the mildest and uneventful British pictures ever made: tiny, trivial incidents abound in an almost surreal fashion, and anyone who isn't familiar with the TV series, or British culture in the early Seventies, will be totally dumbfounded at what's before their eyes. The people are mostly quite nice is all that can be said for it.
Dir: Ronnie Baxter
Stars: Irene Handl, Wilfred Pickles, Jack Smethurst, Arthur English
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
1943
*
During the Spanish Civil War, an American helps Republicans blow up a strategically important bridge.
Handsome but slow, long and boring drama that doesn't work as a romance or a historical piece - the pace is way off and it's unforgivably portentous. And Bergman really doesn't suit that hairstyle.
Dir: Sam Wood
Stars: Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Akim Tamiroff
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
1981
**
James Bond searches for a lost encryption device which has fallen into enemy hands.
Easily digestible spy adventure which is none the worse for being less showy than its immediate predecessors. Certain elements don't strike the right note - Moore's dalliances with Johnson for the first time markedly show him up as an ageing star, and the 'disco' soundtrack hasn't aged well - but the variety of action paints a picture of a production team with little else on their minds than to give the audience a good time, surely a commendable sentiment. The comedic bookends are a nice touch too.
Dir: John Glen
Stars: Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Topol, Julian Glover, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Cassandra Harris, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, Geoffrey Keen
THE FORBIDDEN
1966
*
Mondo movie which includes a London club of virgin strippers, fatal revenge in Sweden, near-riots in California, an erotic Nazi act, a murderess in France and more.
A real ragbag of stuff, most totally faked, with an emphasis on the undressed or undressing female - the episode which pretends to be an advert for a self-defence club is the apogee of these approaches, and fakery is also exemplified by the French writing on the wall of the 'London' club. But who cares, because this is a wickedly enjoyable time capsule, the sort of film they made, or could make, in this way for only a decade or so; it's certainly vastly preferable to anything by Jean-Luc Godard.
Dir: Benjamin Andrews, Lee Frost
Narrator: Bob Cresse
FORBIDDEN BEACH
1985
0
A boy is deeply unhappy when his widowed mother takes a lover.
It's clear from the opening minutes that this is not a director skilled at his art, and that's a shame, because the theme has real promise, but most opportunities to go edgier, sexier or sleazier are spurned. There is not the necessary depth in the scripting either.
Dir: Enrique Gomez Vadillo
Stars: Sasha Montenegro, Jose Alonso, Jaime Garza, Oscar Alejandro
FORBIDDEN GAMES
1952
*
After her parents are killed by German bombers, a little orphan girl goes to live with a rural farming family.
There are many beautiful, lyrical moments in this acclaimed film, but as a whole it fails to grip, and the characters aren't perhaps as sympathetic as expected. The emphasis on religion, true to life as it may be, nevertheless irks a little.
Dir: Rene Clement
Stars: Georges Poujouly, Brigitte Fossey, Amedee
FORBIDDEN PARIS
1970
0
Mondo-style documentary featuring taxidermy on a dog, a man who wears a radiation suit, a transvestite wedding, a nude bet, a 'vampire', wannabe Nazis and more.
Despite some bizarre content, this sadly this never really catches fire - perhaps a sententious narration from an English speaker was required. There are many cheekier and more arresting mondo movies.
Dir: Jean-Louis Van-Belle
FORBIDDEN PLANET
1956
***
A starship crew lands on a planet where the colonisers from Earth have been virtually wiped out.
Inventive, intelligent and enjoyable sci-fi reworking of The Tempest, further enhanced by impressive special effects.
Dir: Fred M Wilcox
Stars: Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Robby the Robot
FORBIDDEN WORLD
1982
*
A genetic experiment breaks loose and starts slaughtering members of a scientific group.
Sexed-up Alien copy that's cheesy fun.
Dir: Allan Holzman
Stars: Jesse Vint, Dawn Dunlap, June Chadwick
FORCE MAJEURE
2014
***
A Swedish family skiing in the Alps threaten to be torn apart by a happening on the slopes.
A small incident seeds the whole narrative of this interesting film, one which explores issues around masculinity, individual perception and the difficulties of co-existence: it stylishly does so in long, distant takes, often against beautiful natural scenery, and is something of a triumph in terms of quality drama, although it may be too long and slow for some (perhaps there's too much of the couple's friends). Skiers might well get something from it, too.
Dir: Ruben Ostlund
Stars: Johannes Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Kristofer Hivju, Fanni Metelius
FORCE OF EVIL
1948
*
An unethical lawyer ropes his brother into a seedy business enterprise.
Flinty crime drama better shot and performed than many, with a mildly off putting but (for its purposes) obviously necessary cynicism about money-making; its persistent chatter might also wear some viewers down. Possibly worthy of a second viewing.
Dir: Abraham Polonsky
Stars: John Garfield, Thomas Gomez, Beatrice Pearson, Marie WindsorFOREIGN CORRESPONDENT
1940
***
On the eve of World War 2, an American reporter tries to expose enemy agents in London.
Engrossing, ambitious, sprawling Hitchcock adventure with scores of splendid sequences including an assassination amongst umbrellas, an attempted murder at Westminster Cathedral and a plane crash at sea. As propaganda goes, pretty thrilling, with terrific, lavish set design and fine casting right down to the small roles; one of the top pictures of 1940.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Stars: Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall, George Sanders, Albert Bassermann, Robert Benchley, Edmund Gwenn
FOREST OF FEAR
1980
0
Hippies are turned into murderous zombies by a chemical sprayed on the forest where they are growing marijuana.
Waste-of-time horror movie, lame in every respect. A video nasty that would easily be an uncut 18 nowadays.
Dir: Charles McCrann
Stars: Charles McCrann, Beverly Shapiro, John Amplas
THE FORGOTTEN
2014
0
A boy who goes to live with his father on a deserted council estate starts to hear terrifying noises from the next door.
Welcome to miserablia: unhappy characters traipse around a desperate landscape, their faces pinched and their words clipped, as a mystery arises that intermittently intrigues but never grabs. A drab, dour, crepuscular ghost story with narrow appeal.
Dir: Oliver Frampton
Stars: Clem Tibber, Shaun Dingwall, Elarica Johnson, James Doherty
FORREST GUMP
1994
**
A simpleton becomes an American hero from the 1950s onwards.
A curious, simplistic movie that kind of works, although its point is frustratingly unclear.
Dir: Robert Zemeckis
Stars: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Sally Field, Gary Sinese
THE FORSAKEN
2001
0
A man driving through the desert gets involved in vampires.
This is almost a good film in many ways, but manages to just miss on all of them; there are a few decent ingredients, mostly culled en masse from other films like Near Dark, but it just doesn’t hang together, and it’s hampered by poor editing, excessive profanity and an absence of strong actors. Throwing a load of stuff at the wall and hoping it’ll stick, when you haven’t really got the budget or the talent, will usually result in something unsatisfactory.
Dir: JS Cardone
Stars: Kerr Smith, Brendan Fehr, Izabella Miko
FORT TI
1953
0
In 1759 rangers defend their territory against Indians.
Feeble 3D western that throws everything but the kitchen sink at the camera.
Dir: William Castle
Stars: George Montgomery, Joan Vohs, Irving Bacon
THE FORTUNE COOKIE
1966
**
A crooked lawyer persuades his brother-in-law to feign a serious injury.
Wilder's usually worth watching and this is a suitably mordant and humorous entertainment, if a little heavy going at times.
Dir: Billy Wilder
Stars: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ron Rich
48 HRS
1982
*
A tough cop teams up with a smart-alec criminal to track down a killer.
Watchable melodrama enlivened by Murphy's motormouth turn.
Dir: Walter Hill
Stars: Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole
45 MINUTES FROM HOLLYWOOD
1926
0
A young man visiting Hollywood gets caught up in a bank robbery.
Scatterbrain, frenetic comedy of no interest save being only the second time Laurel and Hardy appeared in a film together; Laurel's brief footage is much faded, picture-wise.
Dir: Fred Guiol
Stars: Glenn Tryon, Oliver Hardy, Rube Clifford, Stan Laurel
49TH PARALLEL
1941
***
A group of Nazis attempt to make their way through Canada to the US after their U-boat runs aground.
Although there are stodgy patches (the first half hour is particularly slow), this is one of the best British propaganda films of the Second World War, highly unusual and often tense and cinematic, with especially strong performances by the actors playing the Germans (Olivier, by contrast, is awful as a French-Canadian).
Dir: Michael Powell
Stars: Eric Portman, Richard George, Leslie Howard, Laurence Olivier, Finlay Currie, Anton Walbrook, Raymond Massey
42ND STREET
1933
**
At the last moment, a chorus girl has to replace the star on a Broadway musical.
Dated but seminal musical which culminates in a stunningly shot and choreographed finalé.
Dir: Lloyd Bacon
Stars: Warner Baxter, Babe Daniels, Ginger Rogers
FOUL PLAY
1978
**
A shy librarian and a bumbling cop have various adventures while getting mixed up in a mystery.
Likeable comic thriller pastiche with plentiful action and a sympathetic lead.
Dir: Colin Higgins
Stars: Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, Burgess Meredith, Rachel Roberts, Dudley Moore, Brian Dennehy
THE FOUNDER
2016
**
The story of Ray Kroc, who turned two brothers' fast food restaurant into a global empire.
Your politics may dictate how much you like this biopic, as it tells the tale of how capitalism can be made to work effectively and how ensuring a business is successful involves persistence, sacrifice and, sometimes, deviousness. It largely ploughs a middle furrow, though, neither condemning nor eulogising Kroc for his actions, and that's in its favour. There are some nice performances, the period is well created, but it could have been a bit sharper, a bit more pointed, a bit more meaty.
Dir: John Lee Hancock
Stars: Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Linda Cardellini
THE FOUNTAINHEAD
1949
*
An idealistic architect will not compromise in his work.
One of the weirdest big studio movies of the Forties, Ayn Rand's adaptation of her own philosophical manifesto doorstop is an intense, exhausting diatribe with a mass of dialogue that never seems in the slightest bit natural, often mouthed by zombie-like figures. It almost plays like some sort of sketch from an Eighties comedy show about a thriller or soap opera in which everyone is bizarrely obsessed with architecture. There's a lot to say about this deranged (but not dismissible) enterprise, and IMDb users do not hold back in their opinions.
Dir: King Vidor
Stars: Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal, Raymond Massey, Kent Smith
4 CLOWNS
1970
**
Comedy clips from yesteryear featuring Laurel and Hardy (in Two Tars, Their Purple Moment, Double Whoopee, Big Business, The Second Hundred Years and Putting Pants On Philip), the excellent Charley Chase (in Limousine Love, and others) and Buster Keaton (in the spiffing Seven Chances, nearly in full).
Sadly the last of the Youngson compilations, perhaps not the very best, but still of great value.
Dir: Robert Youngson
Narrator: Jay Jackson
FOUR DAUGHTERS
1938
*
A music-loving father has four daughters, who are beginning to discover the opposite sex.
Mostly innocuous and light-hearted romantic drama that gains a little grit through Garfield, who appears to have come from another, better film. Hugely popular in its day, a little worn now, watching it is a bit like being the guest at a pleasant party you're not really into.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Stars: Claude Rains, John Garfield, Jeffrey Lynn, Gale Page, May Robson
FOUR DIMENSIONS OF GRETA
1972
0
A man searches for a girl who has been drawn into the strip clubs of London.
Slack mix of comedy, sex and thrills, given an allure at the time thanks to the promise of lots of big boobs in 3D – the girls certainly look good but the 3D doesn’t; it’s practically black and white and very fuzzy. Things don’t improve with a pedestrian plot and a limply handled climax.
Dir: Pete Walker
Stars: Tristan Rogers, Karen Boyer, Alan Curtis, Robin Askwith, Leena Skoog, Felicity Devonshire, Jane Cardew
THE FOUR FEATHERS
1939
***
A disgraced British officer seeks to help his former colleagues by carrying out missions disguised as an Arab.
Splendid old adventure in rich colour, it celebrates the bonds of friendship and loyalty. Inevitably less striking than it once was, at the time it must have seemed a remarkable, sophisticated film, a massive technical leap forward from the biggest movies of just a few years before.
Dir: Zoltan Korda
Stars: Ralph Richardson, John Clements, C Aubrey Smith, June Duprez
FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET
1972
0
A musician's friends are killed and he is framed for the murders.
Rather boring, vague thriller with a few flashy touches typical of its director; but it now has a dated air.
Dir: Dario Argento
Stars: Michael Brandon, Mimsy Farmer, Bud Spencer
THE FOUR HUNDRED BLOWS
1959
*
A schoolboy forever getting into scrapes lands in trouble with the law.
Truffaut in his first film chose to look back at his childhood, and the result is a mild examination of delinquency, neither particularly surprising or moving, although some critics have felt otherwise.
Dir: Francois Truffaut
Stars: Jean-Pierre Leaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Remy
FOUR IN THE MORNING
1965
*
Unhappy stories intertwine in London early one morning down by the Thames.
Miserabilist drama clearly influenced by the French New Wave; but the two couples' tales are not hugely riveting, particularly the verbose Dench one, which all seems a bit EastEnders (as would be). There is some historical interest, though, and the photography is effective - particularly memorable are the scenes in the mausoleum.
Dir: Anthony Simmons
Stars: Ann Lynn, Judi Dench, Norman Rodway, Brian Phelan
1940
***
On the eve of World War 2, an American reporter tries to expose enemy agents in London.
Engrossing, ambitious, sprawling Hitchcock adventure with scores of splendid sequences including an assassination amongst umbrellas, an attempted murder at Westminster Cathedral and a plane crash at sea. As propaganda goes, pretty thrilling, with terrific, lavish set design and fine casting right down to the small roles; one of the top pictures of 1940.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Stars: Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall, George Sanders, Albert Bassermann, Robert Benchley, Edmund Gwenn
FOREST OF FEAR
1980
0
Hippies are turned into murderous zombies by a chemical sprayed on the forest where they are growing marijuana.
Waste-of-time horror movie, lame in every respect. A video nasty that would easily be an uncut 18 nowadays.
Dir: Charles McCrann
Stars: Charles McCrann, Beverly Shapiro, John Amplas
THE FORGOTTEN
2014
0
A boy who goes to live with his father on a deserted council estate starts to hear terrifying noises from the next door.
Welcome to miserablia: unhappy characters traipse around a desperate landscape, their faces pinched and their words clipped, as a mystery arises that intermittently intrigues but never grabs. A drab, dour, crepuscular ghost story with narrow appeal.
Dir: Oliver Frampton
Stars: Clem Tibber, Shaun Dingwall, Elarica Johnson, James Doherty
FORREST GUMP
1994
**
A simpleton becomes an American hero from the 1950s onwards.
A curious, simplistic movie that kind of works, although its point is frustratingly unclear.
Dir: Robert Zemeckis
Stars: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Sally Field, Gary Sinese
THE FORSAKEN
2001
0
A man driving through the desert gets involved in vampires.
This is almost a good film in many ways, but manages to just miss on all of them; there are a few decent ingredients, mostly culled en masse from other films like Near Dark, but it just doesn’t hang together, and it’s hampered by poor editing, excessive profanity and an absence of strong actors. Throwing a load of stuff at the wall and hoping it’ll stick, when you haven’t really got the budget or the talent, will usually result in something unsatisfactory.
Dir: JS Cardone
Stars: Kerr Smith, Brendan Fehr, Izabella Miko
FORT TI
1953
0
In 1759 rangers defend their territory against Indians.
Feeble 3D western that throws everything but the kitchen sink at the camera.
Dir: William Castle
Stars: George Montgomery, Joan Vohs, Irving Bacon
THE FORTUNE COOKIE
1966
**
A crooked lawyer persuades his brother-in-law to feign a serious injury.
Wilder's usually worth watching and this is a suitably mordant and humorous entertainment, if a little heavy going at times.
Dir: Billy Wilder
Stars: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ron Rich
48 HRS
1982
*
A tough cop teams up with a smart-alec criminal to track down a killer.
Watchable melodrama enlivened by Murphy's motormouth turn.
Dir: Walter Hill
Stars: Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole
45 MINUTES FROM HOLLYWOOD
1926
0
A young man visiting Hollywood gets caught up in a bank robbery.
Scatterbrain, frenetic comedy of no interest save being only the second time Laurel and Hardy appeared in a film together; Laurel's brief footage is much faded, picture-wise.
Dir: Fred Guiol
Stars: Glenn Tryon, Oliver Hardy, Rube Clifford, Stan Laurel
49TH PARALLEL
1941
***
A group of Nazis attempt to make their way through Canada to the US after their U-boat runs aground.
Although there are stodgy patches (the first half hour is particularly slow), this is one of the best British propaganda films of the Second World War, highly unusual and often tense and cinematic, with especially strong performances by the actors playing the Germans (Olivier, by contrast, is awful as a French-Canadian).
Dir: Michael Powell
Stars: Eric Portman, Richard George, Leslie Howard, Laurence Olivier, Finlay Currie, Anton Walbrook, Raymond Massey
42ND STREET
1933
**
At the last moment, a chorus girl has to replace the star on a Broadway musical.
Dated but seminal musical which culminates in a stunningly shot and choreographed finalé.
Dir: Lloyd Bacon
Stars: Warner Baxter, Babe Daniels, Ginger Rogers
FOUL PLAY
1978
**
A shy librarian and a bumbling cop have various adventures while getting mixed up in a mystery.
Likeable comic thriller pastiche with plentiful action and a sympathetic lead.
Dir: Colin Higgins
Stars: Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, Burgess Meredith, Rachel Roberts, Dudley Moore, Brian Dennehy
THE FOUNDER
2016
**
The story of Ray Kroc, who turned two brothers' fast food restaurant into a global empire.
Your politics may dictate how much you like this biopic, as it tells the tale of how capitalism can be made to work effectively and how ensuring a business is successful involves persistence, sacrifice and, sometimes, deviousness. It largely ploughs a middle furrow, though, neither condemning nor eulogising Kroc for his actions, and that's in its favour. There are some nice performances, the period is well created, but it could have been a bit sharper, a bit more pointed, a bit more meaty.
Dir: John Lee Hancock
Stars: Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Linda Cardellini
THE FOUNTAINHEAD
1949
*
An idealistic architect will not compromise in his work.
One of the weirdest big studio movies of the Forties, Ayn Rand's adaptation of her own philosophical manifesto doorstop is an intense, exhausting diatribe with a mass of dialogue that never seems in the slightest bit natural, often mouthed by zombie-like figures. It almost plays like some sort of sketch from an Eighties comedy show about a thriller or soap opera in which everyone is bizarrely obsessed with architecture. There's a lot to say about this deranged (but not dismissible) enterprise, and IMDb users do not hold back in their opinions.
Dir: King Vidor
Stars: Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal, Raymond Massey, Kent Smith
4 CLOWNS
1970
**
Comedy clips from yesteryear featuring Laurel and Hardy (in Two Tars, Their Purple Moment, Double Whoopee, Big Business, The Second Hundred Years and Putting Pants On Philip), the excellent Charley Chase (in Limousine Love, and others) and Buster Keaton (in the spiffing Seven Chances, nearly in full).
Sadly the last of the Youngson compilations, perhaps not the very best, but still of great value.
Dir: Robert Youngson
Narrator: Jay Jackson
1938
*
A music-loving father has four daughters, who are beginning to discover the opposite sex.
Mostly innocuous and light-hearted romantic drama that gains a little grit through Garfield, who appears to have come from another, better film. Hugely popular in its day, a little worn now, watching it is a bit like being the guest at a pleasant party you're not really into.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Stars: Claude Rains, John Garfield, Jeffrey Lynn, Gale Page, May Robson
FOUR DIMENSIONS OF GRETA
1972
0
A man searches for a girl who has been drawn into the strip clubs of London.
Slack mix of comedy, sex and thrills, given an allure at the time thanks to the promise of lots of big boobs in 3D – the girls certainly look good but the 3D doesn’t; it’s practically black and white and very fuzzy. Things don’t improve with a pedestrian plot and a limply handled climax.
Dir: Pete Walker
Stars: Tristan Rogers, Karen Boyer, Alan Curtis, Robin Askwith, Leena Skoog, Felicity Devonshire, Jane Cardew
THE FOUR FEATHERS
1939
***
A disgraced British officer seeks to help his former colleagues by carrying out missions disguised as an Arab.
Splendid old adventure in rich colour, it celebrates the bonds of friendship and loyalty. Inevitably less striking than it once was, at the time it must have seemed a remarkable, sophisticated film, a massive technical leap forward from the biggest movies of just a few years before.
Dir: Zoltan Korda
Stars: Ralph Richardson, John Clements, C Aubrey Smith, June Duprez
FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET
1972
0
A musician's friends are killed and he is framed for the murders.
Rather boring, vague thriller with a few flashy touches typical of its director; but it now has a dated air.
Dir: Dario Argento
Stars: Michael Brandon, Mimsy Farmer, Bud Spencer
THE FOUR HUNDRED BLOWS
1959
*
A schoolboy forever getting into scrapes lands in trouble with the law.
Truffaut in his first film chose to look back at his childhood, and the result is a mild examination of delinquency, neither particularly surprising or moving, although some critics have felt otherwise.
Dir: Francois Truffaut
Stars: Jean-Pierre Leaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Remy
FOUR IN THE MORNING
1965
*
Unhappy stories intertwine in London early one morning down by the Thames.
Miserabilist drama clearly influenced by the French New Wave; but the two couples' tales are not hugely riveting, particularly the verbose Dench one, which all seems a bit EastEnders (as would be). There is some historical interest, though, and the photography is effective - particularly memorable are the scenes in the mausoleum.
Dir: Anthony Simmons
Stars: Ann Lynn, Judi Dench, Norman Rodway, Brian Phelan
FOUR LIONS
2010
**
Young British Muslims plan jihad.
While not a likeable film this will possibly go on to be seen as an important one that painted a vivid portrait of where the UK was at this time, and how it had been utterly transformed by immigration over the previous half century. Typical of its creator, it finds humour in what could barely be a grimmer subject matter (Morris's Brass Eye was a brilliant TV series that did similar) and astutely treads a careful line; in any other hands it would have been a disaster and never released.
Dir: Chris Morris
Stars: Riz Ahmed, Nigel Lindsay, Kayvan Novak, Adeel Akhtar
THE FOUR MUSKETEERS
1974
*
D'Artagnan joins the Musketeers in their fight against Rochefort.
Sequel to Lester's Three Musketeers (although they were slyly shot as one); some lively escapades abound.
Dir: Richard Lester
Stars: Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, Richard Chamberlain, Michael York, Frank Finlay, Christopher Lee, Geraldine Chaplin, Faye Dunaway, Roy Kinnear, Simon Ward
4 - RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER
2007
*
The Fantastic Four come up against a being from space, the Silver Surfer, whose powers are coveted by Dr Doom.
A children's film and one which does its job; after several extremely long, po-faced and 'dark' superhero films (Batman Begins and Superman Returns being the worst culprits) it is quite refreshing to see one that is brief, sweet-natured and light-hearted. The special effects are as good as any of its bigger cousins.
Dir: Tim Story
Stars: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Lawrence Fishburne
FOUR ROOMS
1995
0
Four stories from four hotel rooms, linked by a bellboy: The Missing Ingredient, The Wrong Man, The Misbehavers, The Man From Hollywood.
Pretty much a complete failure. Story one, despite some attractive female visages, is pointless and banal; story two is deadening further; story three only gets a laugh right at the end; story four isn't too endearing, with Tarantino ill-fitting as star and lazy as director, but its pay-off is good, a sort of foreshadowing of the climaxes of Inglourious Basterds and Once Upon A Time ... In Hollywood. The film is glued together by Roth, giving one of the worst, most mannered, most irritating performances ever seen at the movies.
Dir: Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Tim Roth, Madonna, Jennifer Beals, Antonio Banderas, Quentin Tarantino, Bruce Willis
FOUR SIDED TRIANGLE
1952
*
A man develops the replica of a woman whom he loves but cannot have.
Daft sci-fi drama done straight, largely pedestrian and shallow, with hints of better things; makers Hammer - with Fisher - would film their superior, full-blooded Frankenstein movie a few years after this.
Dir: Terence Fisher
Stars: Barbara Payton, James Hayter, Stephen Murray, John Van Eyssen
THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE
1959
0
A family curse involves men inexplicably losing their heads.
Gruesome little B-horror with dollops of semi-memorable imagery - the henchman with the string coming from his face, the spinning skulls, the villain with the 'blackbody' (as opposed to blackface, but they'd probably still throw the book at him for it nowadays)... Bonkers stuff for midnight showings and costless YouTube watches.
Dir: Edward L Cahn
Stars: Eduard Franz, Henry Daniell, Valerie French, Grant Richards
FOUR TIMES THAT NIGHT
1972
0
Different people give their accounts of what happened on a certain night.
An attractive idea which doesn’t lead to a good film because of leaden scripting.
Dir: Mario Bava
Stars: Daniela Giordano, Brett Halsey, Dick Randall
FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL
1994
**
A man is drawn to an American woman that he keeps meeting at social functions.
Comedy that hit the box office jackpot and does manage to be funny and telling, although its political correctness can be a little tiresome.
Dir: Mike Newell
Stars: Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, Simon Callow, John Hannah, Kristin Scott Thomas
FOUR WHEELED TERROR
1924
0
The winner of a car race will earn a businessman's daughter's hand.
Silent comedy short notable for some impressive car stunts and a droll Ku Klux Klan joke.
Dir: Larry Semon, Noel M Smith
Stars: Larry Semon, Oliver Hardy
4D MAN
1959
*
A scientist gains the power to pass through objects - but at a great cost.
This fanciful sci-fi might have worked better at an hour's length - a deadly romantic subplot swamps it, particularly in the first half. The score is bizarrely inappropriate too, but there are visual and visceral pleasures as Lansing stalks his town with his new power. Gotta love Fifties US sci-fi.
Dir: Irwin S Yeaworth Jr
Stars: Robert Lansing, Lee Meriwether, James Congdon
THE FOURTH MAN
1983
***
A troubled writer meets a beautiful young woman who may have a disturbing past.
The last of Verhoeven's films made in the Netherlands before moving to Hollywood is the best from the country's finest director, an enigmatic, blasphemous, layered mystery thriller which is madly outrageous, but in a controlled manner, and a lot better than Basic Instinct to boot. A very clever film that hasn't dated.
Dir: Paul Verhoeven
Stars: Jeroen Krabbe, Renee Soutendijk, Thom Hoffman
THE FOURTH PROTOCOL
1987
*
A British agent attempts to stop the Russians from causing an explosion that will shatter the relationship between Britain and the USA.
Competent espionage thriller that's a little ponderous at times - some scenes and characters could surely have been excised - but nicely builds towards a climax where the two stars finally meet. Overall a pretty decent Frederick Forsyth adaptation that is now something of a time capsule thanks to its depiction of Cold War shenanigans and Eighties Britain.
Dir: John Mackenzie
Stars: Michael Caine, Pierce Brosnan, Ned Beatty, Joanna Cassidy, Julian Glover, Michael Gough, Anton Rodgers, Ray McAnally, Ian Richardson
THE FOURTH SQUARE
1961
0
Rich people are being relieved of their jewels.
One of those Edgar Wallace Mysteries that is somewhat exhausting, an hour of fast talking and furious plotting.
Dir: Allan Davis
Stars: Conrad Phillips, Miriam Karlin, Barrie Ingham, Edward de Souza
THE FOURTH VICTIM
1971
*
Suspicions are raised when a man has his third wife die on him; he then starts courting a fourth.
Mostly intriguing thriller that gets rather confusing near the end as more twists are introduced. An Italian-Spanish production but shot on location in an attractive rural England, it nevertheless has that distinctive (partly dubbed?) verbal sound, cadences and all, plus a few visual twitches typical of the giallo genre. Not bad, not terrific.
Dir: Eugenio Martin
Stars: Michael Craig, Caroll Baker, Miranda Campa, Jose Luiz Lopez VazquezTHE FOX
1967
**
Two women living a remote existence in Canada are bothered by an unexpected male visitor.
Well-evoked wintry settings and sound performances help ground this drama about the complexity of human feelings and relationships - it's hilarious/irritating to see millennials review this and try to fit DH Lawrence's wisdom into their narrow, curated, 21st century identity boxes. The metaphors may be obvious but that doesn't make them any less vivid.
Dir: Mark Rydell
Stars: Sandy Dennis, Anne Heywood, Keir Dullea
THE FOX AND THE HOUND
1981
*
Two childhood animal friends are driven apart.
Probably particularly good for younger children, this Disney animation is dramatically patchy but builds towards an affecting climax that brings home its central message about friendship. Perhaps deep down it is making a point about, say, people who are pulled apart by different religions.
Dir: Ted Berman, Richard Rich, Art Stevens
Voices: Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, Pearl Bailey, Jack Albertson
FOXY BROWN
1974
0
A forthright black woman tracks down the mobsters who killed someone close to her.
A not especially remarkable revenge thriller that has gained more attention than most due to its voluptuous star and its perceived important role in the blaxploitation genre. What surprises is that it's not as slick, furious or, indeed, black as you expect it to be - and the script and cast is decidedly second rate, while the fights are largely pretty poor. But it has its moments and isn't too hard to endure.
Dir: Jack Hill
Stars: Pam Grier, Antonio Fargas, Peter Brown, Terry Carter
FRA DIAVOLO
1933
**
Stan and Ollie become manservants to a bandit.
The boys' first operatic lampoon; their footage might have been more extensive (as might James Finlayson’s), and it moves slowly, but there are hilarious moments, including the attempted hanging, the rampaging bull and the ‘spiffed’ scene.
Dir: Hal Roach, Charley Rogers
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Dennis King
FRAGMENT
1965
0
In wintry London, a man and a woman have a fling.
The director's first work, an obtuse short; all that's interesting now is the location shooting and the score.
Dir: Norman J Warren
Stars: Michael Craze, Simon Brent, Maureen Roche
FRAGMENT OF FEAR
1970
*
A reformed drug addict investigates his aunt's murder.
Slightly curdled thriller which heaps up a whirl of confusing nightmares and paranoia; not a complete success thanks to its defiant postmodernism, but interesting. It's a shame that Hemmings' character isn't terribly sympathetic and that the ending is much more frustrating than satisfying - it's like Blow-Up without the zeitgeist-capturing vibe.
Dir: Richard C Sarafian
Stars: David Hemmings, Gayle Hunnicutt, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Flora Robson, Daniel Massey, Arthur Lowe
FRANCIS
1949
*
A talking horse helps a soldier out.
Daft, simple, harmless farce which led to a series and, later on, the Mister Ed show.
Dir: Arthur Lubin
Stars: Donald O'Connor, Patricia Medina, Zasu Pitts
FRANCIS IN THE HAUNTED HOUSE
1956
0
The talking mule helps solve an inheritance murder mystery.
Witless, laughless comedy with curious underlying violence. The last in the Francis series.
Dir: Charles Lamont
Stars: Mickey Rooney, Virginia Welles, David Janssen
FRANK
2014
**
A young musician joins a band who have as leader a man who always wears a giant fibreglass head.
Once you get over the disappointment at the fact that this isn't a biography of the late northern comedian Frank Sidebottom (only inspired by him), you are likely to be immersed in the mystery of this highly unusual film, one which presents strange behaviour in a straightforward way. The sequences in Ireland go on a little too long, and you constantly wonder whether it would be at all engaging if it wasn't for Frank's fake head, but it's such a well-executed and quirky project that you can't help but find favour with it; some of the music is curiously alluring too.
Dir: Leonard Abrahamson
Stars: Domhnall Gleeson, Michael Fassbender, Maggie Gyllenhaal
FRANK AND I
1984
0
In Victorian times, a girl on the run meets a kindly gentleman.
Fanny Hill-type erotica with absurdities - note how long it takes the chap to work out the pretty young thing isn't a boy.
Dir: Gerard Kikoine
Stars: Jennifer Inch, Christopher Pearson, Sophie Favier
FRANKENHOOKER
1990
0
After losing his fiancée in a tragic lawnmower accident, a medical school dropout decides to bring her back to life.
Wacky comedy borrowing ideas from Re-Animator (qv), but to little effect.
Dir: Frank Henenlotter
Stars: James Lorinz, Joanne Ritchie
FRANKENSTEIN
1931
****
An obsessed scientist assembles a being from different body parts, but it develops a mind of its own and turns against him.
Seminal horror which retains the power to chill and is essential viewing for anyone interested in the history of fright cinema; notably skilful sequences include the grave robbing, the little girl in the pond and the entrance of the monster. A great film, and one that helped launch the fascinating careers of the star - who here has never been better - and the director. Viewed now it's quite surprising how much of the running time is taken up by non-horror material.
Dir: James Whale
Stars: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Dwight Frye
1981
*
Two childhood animal friends are driven apart.
Probably particularly good for younger children, this Disney animation is dramatically patchy but builds towards an affecting climax that brings home its central message about friendship. Perhaps deep down it is making a point about, say, people who are pulled apart by different religions.
Dir: Ted Berman, Richard Rich, Art Stevens
Voices: Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, Pearl Bailey, Jack Albertson
FOXY BROWN
1974
0
A forthright black woman tracks down the mobsters who killed someone close to her.
A not especially remarkable revenge thriller that has gained more attention than most due to its voluptuous star and its perceived important role in the blaxploitation genre. What surprises is that it's not as slick, furious or, indeed, black as you expect it to be - and the script and cast is decidedly second rate, while the fights are largely pretty poor. But it has its moments and isn't too hard to endure.
Dir: Jack Hill
Stars: Pam Grier, Antonio Fargas, Peter Brown, Terry Carter
FRA DIAVOLO
1933
**
Stan and Ollie become manservants to a bandit.
The boys' first operatic lampoon; their footage might have been more extensive (as might James Finlayson’s), and it moves slowly, but there are hilarious moments, including the attempted hanging, the rampaging bull and the ‘spiffed’ scene.
Dir: Hal Roach, Charley Rogers
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Dennis King
FRAGMENT
1965
0
In wintry London, a man and a woman have a fling.
The director's first work, an obtuse short; all that's interesting now is the location shooting and the score.
Dir: Norman J Warren
Stars: Michael Craze, Simon Brent, Maureen Roche
FRAGMENT OF FEAR
1970
*
A reformed drug addict investigates his aunt's murder.
Slightly curdled thriller which heaps up a whirl of confusing nightmares and paranoia; not a complete success thanks to its defiant postmodernism, but interesting. It's a shame that Hemmings' character isn't terribly sympathetic and that the ending is much more frustrating than satisfying - it's like Blow-Up without the zeitgeist-capturing vibe.
Dir: Richard C Sarafian
Stars: David Hemmings, Gayle Hunnicutt, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Flora Robson, Daniel Massey, Arthur Lowe
FRANCES
1982
*
The life of Frances Farmer, a beautiful movie star of the 1930s who suffered from mental problems.
The very opposite of uplifting, this is a bleak, despairing and depressing biopic with no winners: Farmer was clearly a mentally fragile individual and the treatment she received from those who wielded power, whether it be in Hollywood or, especially, in public health, was abominable - as the film progresses, you just get angry at the madness that is playing out in front of you, although that may in part be due to the movie's inability to explain why she was like she was, and what her 'crimes' were (what were they?). Even if you don't know the real-life story, you can predict that as it progresses little cheer is on its way. Committed acting (especially from Lange) and careful period recreation give it weight.
Dir: Graeme Clifford
Stars: Jessica Lange, Sam Shepard, Kim Stanley
FRANCIS
1949
*
A talking horse helps a soldier out.
Daft, simple, harmless farce which led to a series and, later on, the Mister Ed show.
Dir: Arthur Lubin
Stars: Donald O'Connor, Patricia Medina, Zasu Pitts
FRANCIS IN THE HAUNTED HOUSE
1956
0
The talking mule helps solve an inheritance murder mystery.
Witless, laughless comedy with curious underlying violence. The last in the Francis series.
Dir: Charles Lamont
Stars: Mickey Rooney, Virginia Welles, David Janssen
FRANK
2014
**
A young musician joins a band who have as leader a man who always wears a giant fibreglass head.
Once you get over the disappointment at the fact that this isn't a biography of the late northern comedian Frank Sidebottom (only inspired by him), you are likely to be immersed in the mystery of this highly unusual film, one which presents strange behaviour in a straightforward way. The sequences in Ireland go on a little too long, and you constantly wonder whether it would be at all engaging if it wasn't for Frank's fake head, but it's such a well-executed and quirky project that you can't help but find favour with it; some of the music is curiously alluring too.
Dir: Leonard Abrahamson
Stars: Domhnall Gleeson, Michael Fassbender, Maggie Gyllenhaal
FRANK AND I
1984
0
In Victorian times, a girl on the run meets a kindly gentleman.
Fanny Hill-type erotica with absurdities - note how long it takes the chap to work out the pretty young thing isn't a boy.
Dir: Gerard Kikoine
Stars: Jennifer Inch, Christopher Pearson, Sophie Favier
FRANKENHOOKER
1990
0
After losing his fiancée in a tragic lawnmower accident, a medical school dropout decides to bring her back to life.
Wacky comedy borrowing ideas from Re-Animator (qv), but to little effect.
Dir: Frank Henenlotter
Stars: James Lorinz, Joanne Ritchie
FRANKENSTEIN
1931
****
An obsessed scientist assembles a being from different body parts, but it develops a mind of its own and turns against him.
Seminal horror which retains the power to chill and is essential viewing for anyone interested in the history of fright cinema; notably skilful sequences include the grave robbing, the little girl in the pond and the entrance of the monster. A great film, and one that helped launch the fascinating careers of the star - who here has never been better - and the director. Viewed now it's quite surprising how much of the running time is taken up by non-horror material.
Dir: James Whale
Stars: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Dwight Frye
FRANKENSTEIN
2025
**
Is this the best version of Mary Shelley's book? In some ways, possibly. Certainly technically and visually, perhaps the best acted, with the best special effects - and it emphasises the grimness of the original story, for better or worse. It's long, it's intelligent, it's festooned with awards, it's very del Torro, it's a salient example of modern horror cinema.
Dir: Guillermo del Torro
Stars: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth
FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL
1974
0
Baron Frankenstein continues his bizarre experiments while hiding out in an asylum.
Dour final chapter in Hammer's Frankenstein cycle, adding little to the series. Some of the surgical detail seems a bit too much, the budget is obviously low (witness the model shots of the building's exterior) and the plot isn't that fresh - Cushing, and completism, are the main reasons to watch.
Dir: Terence Fisher
Stars: Peter Cushing, Shane Briant, Madeline Smith, David Prowse, Patrick Troughton
FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN
1966
*
The Baron transplants the soul of a hanged man into a reconstructed, now beautiful young woman.
Fourth in Hammer's series does things differently, with variable results: the story is not a little bizarre and convoluted, for long periods taking the focus away from the mad scientists to a pitiable couple and a trio of crudely caricatured thugs, and then gets even stranger with soul transference and sex swap. One of the studio's more modestly budgeted Frankenstein films, it's under-powered but not intolerable (few Hammer horrors are).
Dir: Terence Fisher
Stars: Peter Cushing, Susan Denberg, Thorley Walters, Robert Morris, Peter Blythe
FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN
1943
**
The Wolf Man seeks Dr Frankenstein in the hope that he will be able to cure him.
Solid sequel to The Wolf Man, the first film to unite Universal monsters.
Dir: Roy William Neill
Stars: Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr, Lionel Atwill, Dwight Frye
FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED
1969
0
Frankenstein attempts the first ever brain transplant.
Squalid and not particularly entertaining Hammer horror in which the Baron is a lot more evil than even he should be.
Dir: Terence Fisher
Stars: Peter Cushing, Veronica Carlson, Freddie Jones, Simon Ward, Thorley Walters
FRANKENSTEIN 1970
1958
0
A descendant of Dr Frankenstein invites a TV crew into his castle to finance his latest experiments.
Very flat and flabby horror which attempts to mix the gothic with the atomic age but doesn't succeed: Karloff is hammy, the setting restrictive, the plot slim, the thrills threadbare. Twenty-eight years after the original classic, this is one bland and obscure movie.
Dir: Howard W Koch
Stars: Boris Karloff, Tom Duggan, Jana Lund
FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY
1974 (TV)
*
Three-hour tramp through the familiar material (and hardly a 'true story' or even a faithful rendition of the book) which boasts strong production and cast but not much excitement. It must have seemed a good idea at the time.
Dir: Jack Smight
Stars: James Mason, David McCallum, Jane Seymour, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Tom Baker, Agnes Moorehead
FRANKENSTEIN 2000
1992
0
A woman in a coma uses psychic powers to raise a dead man to slay those who abused her.
Slow moving shocker with moments of hilarity.
Dir: Joe D'Amato
Stars: Donald O'Brien, Cinzia Monreale
FRANKENSTEIN UNBOUND
1990
0
A scientist from the future finds himself in 1817 Switzerland with Dr Frankenstein.
Based on an imaginative if ludicrous book (by Brian Aldiss), this bizarre tale marked Corman's final directorial fling, but lacks the cheeky charm of his older pictures.
Dir: Roger Corman
Stars: John Hurt, Raul Julia, Bridget Fonda, Nick Brimble
FRANTIC
1988
*
While in Paris on a conference, a doctor's wife suddenly and mysteriously disappears.
Competently handled Hitchcock homage somewhat lacking in twists and suspense.
Dir: Roman Polanski
Stars: Harrison Ford, Emmanuelle Seigner, Betty Buckley
FRANTZ
2016
**
In the aftermath of World War One, a young German widow notices than a Frenchman is placing flowers on her fiance's grave.
Elegant, measured mystery drama that immaculately creates a time and place; it tells a strange story of people lying to one another because they have to.
Dir: Francois Ozon
Stars: Paula Beer, Pierre Niney, Ernst Stotzner
FRATERNITY VACATION
1985
0
Teens set their sights on seducing a certain beautiful girl.
Terrible teen comedy which does pretty much everything wrong for a film in its genre. Do anything in the world except watch this film.
Dir: James Frawley
Stars: Tim Robbins, Stephen Geoffreys, Sheree J Wilson
FREAKONOMICS
2010
*
Documentary which draws unexpected conclusions about human behaviour from the study of statistics.
The book is essential reading, this film version less so, especially for non-US viewers, but those coming to it fresh may have their attention grabbed by the quirky and sometimes thought-provoking findings that are trotted out. It might have been an idea to have an extra chapter (the one on why drug dealers live with their mothers) and reduced the length of the Sumo and ninth-graders ones, which go on for far too long.
Dir: Morgan Spurlock et al
FREAKS
1932
***
A trapeze artists agrees to marry a midget circus performer, but her motives are not pure.
It's remarkable that this film was ever made, especially at this time: it deserves credit for being a completely unique picture, and although the actual dialogue and story may be a little clunky it still exerts a strange hold, capped by a still disturbing final scene (although most prints now feature a softer one for the conclusion). The hour-long feature on its making on recent DVD releases is also well worth a watch.
Dir: Tod Browning
Stars: Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, Olga Baclanova, Harry Earles
FREAKSHOW
1988
0
A strange showman presents four gruesome tales to cinema patrons.
Feeble horror portmanteau which painfully stretches out what few ideas for drama it has. Story one (about a drug dealer) is particularly guilty of this, story two (about a pizza delivery man meeting female vampires) is bizarrely dreadful and unerotic, story three (about a dead girl who's not dead) is maybe the best of a bad lot, and story four (about zombies attacking a golf course) is a stupid comedy; even the framing device of this dud is weird and confused.
Dir: Constantino Magnatta
Stars: Audrey Landers, Peter Read, Dean Richards, Will Korbut
FREAKY FAIRY TALES
1986
0
A babysitting uncle tells his charges three horror stories: Peter And The Witches, Little Red Runninghood and Goldi Lox And The Three Baers (sic).
Asinine horror compendium; the first tale is over-gruesome, the second plain odd and the third an unsuccessful comedy.
Dir: Jeffrey Delman
Stars: Scott Valentine, Nicole Picard, Matt Mitler
FREAKY FRIDAY
1976
0
A mother and her daughter switch personalities.
Dismissible Disney variation on an old theme, this pretty much writes itself, then throws a long car chase in at the end to pad things out.
Dir: Gary Nelson
Stars: Jodie Foster, Barbara Harris, John Astin, Dick Van Patten
FREDDIE OF THE JUNGLE
1981
0
A female reporter joins the search for a showbiz star missing in the jungle.
Terrible tat you can't wait to end. It's a very Spanish mix of childlike stuff and sexy stuff.
Dir: Sebastian Almeida, Jois W Konski
Stars: Victoria Vera, Frankie Mann, Frank Brana
FREDDY VS JASON
2003
0
Freddy Krueger uses masked killer Jason Voorhees to terrorise kids so he can then do the same himself.
A melding of two franchises aimed squarely at fans and unlikely to disappoint them; violent mayhem is the order of the day, with some creative special effects thrown in.
Dir: Ronny Yu
Stars: Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, Kelly Rowland
FREDDY’S DEAD: THE FINAL NIGHTMARE
1991
*
Freddy Krueger returns to menace Springwood's last surviving teenager.
This episode admits the series has been little but a big joke, and is thus a tongue-in-cheek romp with scenes of inanity and a 3D climax, introduced in an especially groan-inducing manner.
Dir: Rachel Talalay
Stars: Robert Englund, Lisa Zane, Shon Greenblatt
FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL
1974
0
Baron Frankenstein continues his bizarre experiments while hiding out in an asylum.
Dour final chapter in Hammer's Frankenstein cycle, adding little to the series. Some of the surgical detail seems a bit too much, the budget is obviously low (witness the model shots of the building's exterior) and the plot isn't that fresh - Cushing, and completism, are the main reasons to watch.
Dir: Terence Fisher
Stars: Peter Cushing, Shane Briant, Madeline Smith, David Prowse, Patrick Troughton
FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN
1966
*
The Baron transplants the soul of a hanged man into a reconstructed, now beautiful young woman.
Fourth in Hammer's series does things differently, with variable results: the story is not a little bizarre and convoluted, for long periods taking the focus away from the mad scientists to a pitiable couple and a trio of crudely caricatured thugs, and then gets even stranger with soul transference and sex swap. One of the studio's more modestly budgeted Frankenstein films, it's under-powered but not intolerable (few Hammer horrors are).
Dir: Terence Fisher
Stars: Peter Cushing, Susan Denberg, Thorley Walters, Robert Morris, Peter Blythe
FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN
1943
**
The Wolf Man seeks Dr Frankenstein in the hope that he will be able to cure him.
Solid sequel to The Wolf Man, the first film to unite Universal monsters.
Dir: Roy William Neill
Stars: Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr, Lionel Atwill, Dwight Frye
FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED
1969
0
Frankenstein attempts the first ever brain transplant.
Squalid and not particularly entertaining Hammer horror in which the Baron is a lot more evil than even he should be.
Dir: Terence Fisher
Stars: Peter Cushing, Veronica Carlson, Freddie Jones, Simon Ward, Thorley Walters
FRANKENSTEIN 1970
1958
0
A descendant of Dr Frankenstein invites a TV crew into his castle to finance his latest experiments.
Very flat and flabby horror which attempts to mix the gothic with the atomic age but doesn't succeed: Karloff is hammy, the setting restrictive, the plot slim, the thrills threadbare. Twenty-eight years after the original classic, this is one bland and obscure movie.
Dir: Howard W Koch
Stars: Boris Karloff, Tom Duggan, Jana Lund
FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY
1974 (TV)
*
Three-hour tramp through the familiar material (and hardly a 'true story' or even a faithful rendition of the book) which boasts strong production and cast but not much excitement. It must have seemed a good idea at the time.
Dir: Jack Smight
Stars: James Mason, David McCallum, Jane Seymour, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Tom Baker, Agnes Moorehead
FRANKENSTEIN 2000
1992
0
A woman in a coma uses psychic powers to raise a dead man to slay those who abused her.
Slow moving shocker with moments of hilarity.
Dir: Joe D'Amato
Stars: Donald O'Brien, Cinzia Monreale
FRANKENSTEIN UNBOUND
1990
0
A scientist from the future finds himself in 1817 Switzerland with Dr Frankenstein.
Based on an imaginative if ludicrous book (by Brian Aldiss), this bizarre tale marked Corman's final directorial fling, but lacks the cheeky charm of his older pictures.
Dir: Roger Corman
Stars: John Hurt, Raul Julia, Bridget Fonda, Nick Brimble
FRANTIC
1988
*
While in Paris on a conference, a doctor's wife suddenly and mysteriously disappears.
Competently handled Hitchcock homage somewhat lacking in twists and suspense.
Dir: Roman Polanski
Stars: Harrison Ford, Emmanuelle Seigner, Betty Buckley
FRANTZ
2016
**
In the aftermath of World War One, a young German widow notices than a Frenchman is placing flowers on her fiance's grave.
Elegant, measured mystery drama that immaculately creates a time and place; it tells a strange story of people lying to one another because they have to.
Dir: Francois Ozon
Stars: Paula Beer, Pierre Niney, Ernst Stotzner
FRATERNITY VACATION
1985
0
Teens set their sights on seducing a certain beautiful girl.
Terrible teen comedy which does pretty much everything wrong for a film in its genre. Do anything in the world except watch this film.
Dir: James Frawley
Stars: Tim Robbins, Stephen Geoffreys, Sheree J Wilson
FREAKONOMICS
2010
*
Documentary which draws unexpected conclusions about human behaviour from the study of statistics.
The book is essential reading, this film version less so, especially for non-US viewers, but those coming to it fresh may have their attention grabbed by the quirky and sometimes thought-provoking findings that are trotted out. It might have been an idea to have an extra chapter (the one on why drug dealers live with their mothers) and reduced the length of the Sumo and ninth-graders ones, which go on for far too long.
Dir: Morgan Spurlock et al
FREAKS
1932
***
A trapeze artists agrees to marry a midget circus performer, but her motives are not pure.
It's remarkable that this film was ever made, especially at this time: it deserves credit for being a completely unique picture, and although the actual dialogue and story may be a little clunky it still exerts a strange hold, capped by a still disturbing final scene (although most prints now feature a softer one for the conclusion). The hour-long feature on its making on recent DVD releases is also well worth a watch.
Dir: Tod Browning
Stars: Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, Olga Baclanova, Harry Earles
FREAKSHOW
1988
0
A strange showman presents four gruesome tales to cinema patrons.
Feeble horror portmanteau which painfully stretches out what few ideas for drama it has. Story one (about a drug dealer) is particularly guilty of this, story two (about a pizza delivery man meeting female vampires) is bizarrely dreadful and unerotic, story three (about a dead girl who's not dead) is maybe the best of a bad lot, and story four (about zombies attacking a golf course) is a stupid comedy; even the framing device of this dud is weird and confused.
Dir: Constantino Magnatta
Stars: Audrey Landers, Peter Read, Dean Richards, Will Korbut
FREAKY FAIRY TALES
1986
0
A babysitting uncle tells his charges three horror stories: Peter And The Witches, Little Red Runninghood and Goldi Lox And The Three Baers (sic).
Asinine horror compendium; the first tale is over-gruesome, the second plain odd and the third an unsuccessful comedy.
Dir: Jeffrey Delman
Stars: Scott Valentine, Nicole Picard, Matt Mitler
FREAKY FRIDAY
1976
0
A mother and her daughter switch personalities.
Dismissible Disney variation on an old theme, this pretty much writes itself, then throws a long car chase in at the end to pad things out.
Dir: Gary Nelson
Stars: Jodie Foster, Barbara Harris, John Astin, Dick Van Patten
FREDDIE OF THE JUNGLE
1981
0
A female reporter joins the search for a showbiz star missing in the jungle.
Terrible tat you can't wait to end. It's a very Spanish mix of childlike stuff and sexy stuff.
Dir: Sebastian Almeida, Jois W Konski
Stars: Victoria Vera, Frankie Mann, Frank Brana
FREDDY VS JASON
2003
0
Freddy Krueger uses masked killer Jason Voorhees to terrorise kids so he can then do the same himself.
A melding of two franchises aimed squarely at fans and unlikely to disappoint them; violent mayhem is the order of the day, with some creative special effects thrown in.
Dir: Ronny Yu
Stars: Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, Kelly Rowland
FREDDY’S DEAD: THE FINAL NIGHTMARE
1991
*
Freddy Krueger returns to menace Springwood's last surviving teenager.
This episode admits the series has been little but a big joke, and is thus a tongue-in-cheek romp with scenes of inanity and a 3D climax, introduced in an especially groan-inducing manner.
Dir: Rachel Talalay
Stars: Robert Englund, Lisa Zane, Shon Greenblatt
FREE GUY
2021
*
A bank teller discovers he is a non-playable-character in a videogame.
A melange of Wreck-it Ralph and The Truman Show, with bits of others, like Ready Player One and Groundhog Day, thrown in, this is a clever but vastly overstretched fantasy that absolutely lacks the warmth and heart of Jim Carrey's classic - if you consider that much of its audience may be gamers this perhaps shouldn't be too surprising (and Reynolds is predictably oleaginous). Its message of individualism is clear, but there are messy diversions.
Dir: Shawn Levy
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Taika Waititi, Lil Rel Howery
FREE SOLO
2018
***
Documentary about Alex Honnold, who attempts to climb 3,000 ft Yosemite mountain El Capitan Wall with no ropes or safety gear.
A testament to what human beings are capable of, this vertiginous, frequently dazzling slice of film-making has a truly remarkable person at its centre - even if it's because his amygdala is not fully developed (thereby making him 'braver') he still has to train hard and plan meticulously. The debut screening at UK cinemas was followed by a Q&A session, but no one asked 'do you fear death or dying?'
Dir: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
THE FRENCH CONNECTION
1971
***
A pair of NYC cops stumble onto a drug smuggling job with a French connection.
Fresh and vital police thriller shot in the gutter, innovative in structure and style.
Dir: William Friedkin
Stars: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey, Tony Lo Bianco
FRENCH DRESSING
1964
*
A sexy French film star brings some glamour to a rainy British seaside resort.
Ken Russell's first feature film is a curious little thing, a melding of various styles and techniques - silent movie slapstick, Hard Day's Night-type quirkiness and even imagery which wouldn't be out of place in TV's The Prisoner a few years later - with nods to British traditionalism and French liberation, plus much else besides. It doesn't wholly coalesce into a satisfying whole, in part because of underwritten characters and some irritating performances (especially Booth and Pringle), but there's enough here to make it an intriguing part of the director's eccentric career.
Dir: Ken Russell
Stars: James Booth, Marisa Mell, Roy Kinnear, Alita Naughton, Bryan Pringle
A FRENCH MISTRESS
1960
0
A sexy new French teacher causes havoc at a private boys’ school.
Tiresome farce: at first the pupils and staff are aghast that a woman is coming to teach at their school (the temerity!), then everybody fancies her when she arrives, then there’s the possibility that a relationship could be incestuous, then there’s the predictable wrapping up. They didn’t have many years left to make movies with ‘sexist’ plots like this.
Dir: Roy Boulting
Stars: Cecil Parker, Agnes Laurent, Ian Bannen, James Robertson Justice, Raymond Huntley, Thorley Walters, Irene Handl, Edith Sharpe, Kenneth Griffith
FRENZY
1972
****
London is menaced by a serial killer who uses a necktie in his murders.
Hitchcock's first British film in years is an undervalued classic, being a supremely crafted and shot thriller that ranks among his most enthralling efforts. While being by some distance his most hard-edged effort, it also overflows with humour and has many excellent sequences in the master’s best manner, including the potato truck, the ‘unviewed’ murder and the climactic scenes. The London of the early Seventies is captured in its richness and makes one be eternally grateful that Hitch came back to his homeland to make one more movie.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Stars: Jon Finch, Barry Foster, Anna Massey, Alec McCowen, Billie Whitelaw, Bernard Cribbins, Vivien Merchant, Jean Marsh
FREQUENCY
2000
0
Thanks to an atmospheric phenomenon, a man warns his father, 30 years ago, that he is about to die in an accident.
Risible mix of sci-fi, action, sentimentality and mystery, with too much baseball and noise and too many American-isms and cigarettes - and far too much plot.
Dir: Gregory Hoblit
Stars: Dennis Quaid, James Caviezel, Shawn Doyle
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TIME TRAVEL
2009
0
Three boozers discover that their local’s gents cause them to travel in time.
Painfully cheap comedy unable to provide laughs or thrills.
Dir: Gareth Carrivick
Stars: Chris O’Dowd, Marc Wootton, Dean Lennox Kelly, Anna Faris
THE FRESHMAN
1925
**
A college boy tries to boost his popularity by becoming a football player.
Valuable record of the star's talents; Lloyd's work retains a definite freshness.
Dir: Fred C Newmeyer, Sam Taylor
Stars: Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Brooks Benedict
FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH
1933
**
The stories of three people who are involved in a bus crash.
Influential compendium, a beguiling mix of comedy and drama.
Dir: Victor Saville
Stars: Jessie Matthews, Sonnie Hale, Edmund Gwenn
FRIDAY THE 13TH
1980
*
A summer camp which was the scene of murders several years before is re-opened... soon the killings start again.
The starting point of the franchise that took the Halloween formula, added inventive and bloody slayings and made a few trillion dollars in the process; number one is difficult to judge in the blur of subsequent episodes, but is one of the better ones, with a few scary scenes and teenagers who seem slightly less dumb than their successors, who arguably had more knowledge of masked serial killers. Viewed 30 years later it seems remarkably mild in comparison with modern-day horror films – the pace is moderate, some of the kills are offscreen, there’s almost no nudity and no one swears.
Dir: Sean S Cunningham
Stars: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Kevin Bacon, Ari Lehman
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2
1981
*
Thought to have drowned, Jason Voorhees returns to exact his revenge on the unknowing campers of Crystal Lake.
Not much changes for the second film, least of all the plot; we can take small consolation from the fact that most of the slasher imitation movies that limped out around this time were actually a lot worse than this chain.
Dir: Steve Miner
Stars: Amy Steel, John Furey, Warrington Gillette
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3
1982
*
Jason continues his killing spree using an array of weapons.
The same recipe, mixed with gruesome expertise, with 3D, which adds an amusing twist, as Jason thrusts his weapons of mass destruction towards the camera.
Dir: Steve Miner
Stars: Dana Kimmell, Paul Kratka, Richard Brooker
FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER
1984
*
Jason meets a young man who may be able to stop his reign of terror.
Foolish solo trips, skinny-dipping, gory shocks - the usual stuff, but not quite as tedious as it soon would be.
Dir: Joseph Zito
Stars: Kimberly Beck, Erich Anderson, Ted White
FRIDAY THE 13TH: A NEW BEGINNING
1985
0
A halfway house for troubled teens is attacked by a killer.
Perhaps when the series really began to try the patience - this offers nothing new and provokes only groans and muttering.
Dir: Danny Steinmann
Stars: Anthony Barrile, Melanie Kinnaman, Dick Wieand
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 6: JASON LIVES
1987
0
Jason's mentor accidentally brings him back to life.
Tedious entry into a series that had already gone on for too long; goofy attempts at humour only highlight the paucity of quality.
Dir: Tom McLoughlin
Stars: Thom Mathews, Jennifer Cooke, C J Graham
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 7: THE NEW BLOOD
1988
0
Jason is accidentally released from his watery grave by a girl with psychic powers.
The same old stuff given a silly new gimmick, but at least it's something different.
Dir: John Carl Buechler
Stars: Kane Hodder, Lar Park-Lincoln, Susan Jennifer Sullivan
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 8: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN
1989
0
The hockey-masked killer continues his killing spree in New York.
A change of scenery does not mean a change of plot in this worn out franchise.
Dir: Rob Hedden
Stars: Todd Shaffer, Tiffany Paulsen, Kane Hodder
Sequel: Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday (qv)
FRIDAY THE 13TH
2009
*
A reboot of the series, with Jason still killing young visitors to Camp Crystal.
If you wait long enough the same things will always come back around, here with a little more technical expertise, extra profanity and victims with slightly more acumen than before. It is what it is, an adequate time-passer for those who like their modern horror full of gore, unpleasant males and beautiful females, although a tad more invention would have been welcome.
Dir: Marcus Nispel
Stars: Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Amanda Righetti, Travis Van Winkle, Derek Mears
FRIENDLY PERSUASION
1956
*
The life of a Quaker family during the American Civil War.
A moderately authentic slice of period life, quite nicely done if long and leisurely. It probably gets its portrayal of the rights and wrongs of pacifism about right.
Dir: William Wyler
Stars: Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Anthony Perkins, Richard Eyer
FRIENDS
1971
*
Two young teenagers run off together in France.
Yes, it's syrupy - with syrupy songs to match - but this mildly controversial drama is quite endearing in its fantasy-like depiction of young love, and would never be made today for a variety of reasons.
Dir: Lewis Gilbert
Stars: Sean Bury, Anicee Alvina
FRIGHT
1971
*
A babysitter endures a terrifying evening.
Surprisingly dark and nasty psychosexual horror, heavy with the atmosphere of something horrible in the village, it is effective in parts but rarely varies its pitch and has an overlong final section, where it really does become quite unsettling - one wonders what effect it had on the young boy in it. The stunning George gives an intense performance that apparently got her the Straw Dogs role.
Dir: Peter Collinson
Stars: Susan George, Honor Blackman, George Cole, Ian Bannen, Dennis Waterman
FRIGHT NIGHT
1985
*
A teenager learns that his next door neighbour is a vampire.
Admissible horror with some spectacularly gory special effects.
Dir: Tom Holland
Stars: Chris Sarandon, Roddy McDowall, William Ragsdale
FRIGHT NIGHT PART 2
1990
*
Charley and Peter Vincent battle all kinds of vampires.
Entertaining sequel with a nice line in gore.
Dir: Tommy Lee Wallace
Stars: Roddy McDowall, William Ragsdale, Traci Lind
THE FRIGHTENED CITY
1961
0
London gangsters go to war over protection money.
Talkative, tightly knotted, tortuous thriller bolstered by the two leads but hampered by parochial plotting.
Dir: John Lemont
Stars: Herbert Lom, Sean Connery, John Gregson, Alfred Marks, Yvonne Romain, Kenneth Griffith
FRIGHTMARE
1974
**
An old woman who is a cannibal is released from an asylum; gruesome killings soon begin.
Highly effective horror with a real air of uneasiness and nastiness, rich in that squalid but homely atmosphere that some Seventies films basked in. Probably exploitation expert Walker’s greatest achievement, it benefits from well drawn characters, gory jolts and a brilliant, full-blooded performance from Sheila Keith as the OAP killer.
Dir: Pete Walker
Stars: Rupert Davies, Sheila Keith, Deborah Fairfax, Paul Greenwood, Kim Butcher
LE FRISSON DES VAMPIRES
1970
0
A honeymooning couple make the mistake of stopping at a castle full of vampires.
Tatty trash, appallingly dubbed. The trouble is that it becomes progressively less interesting as it goes, so that by the end you’re praying for release from it.
Dir: Jean Rollin
Stars: Sandra Julien, Jean-Marie Durand, Jacques Robiolles
FRITZ THE CAT
1971
*
A streetwise cat quits college to get involved in counter-culture.
Dated adult cartoon which shocked at the time but now just looks shoddy.
Dir: Ralph Bakshi
Voices: Skip Hinnant
FRIVOLOUS LOLA
1998
*
In rural 1950s Italy, a young couple struggle to put off making love until their wedding night.
Tinto Brass in full force - a highly erotic, ripe, ribald film shot in a way to delight all fans of the female form.
Dir: Tinto Brass
Stars: Anna Ammirati, Patrick Mower, Mario Parodi
FROGS
1972
0
Malevolent wildlife threatens a Florida family.
Laughable horror in which the director seems to think he is chilling us to the bone by endlessly showing footage of frogs and other creatures sitting there glowering – the human beings in it are no more interesting. From the world’s most boring ever opening credits (not to mention the title), you know this is a no-hoper.
Dir: George McCowan
Stars: Ray Milland, Sam Elliott, Joan Van Ark
FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM
1987
0
A historian relates horror stories to a reporter.
Four darkly lit tales with unsympathetic characters, pulled together by Price in his last horror film. It's certainly not among his best.
Dir: Jeff Burr
Stars: Vincent Price, Clu Gulager, Terry Kiser
FROM BEDROOMS TO BILLIONS
2014
*
Documentary detailing the growth and development of computer games in the UK from the late 1970s onwards.
A valuation of an industry worth valuing, one that has brought pleasure to millions and has demonstrated the ingenuity of the British (it's a pleasantly patriotic film), this vigorous and devoted if never cinematic crowd-funded doc crams a dizzying amount of talking heads into its two and a half hour running time - indeed, its relentlessness is a bit much. A little shorter might have been welcome, but there were two follow-ups, concerning Amiga and PlayStation. Younger viewers may gaze on in disbelief over what we had to do to make computers play games, not all that long ago.
Dir: Anthony Caulfield, Nicola Caulfield
FROM BEYOND
1987
0
Scientist unwittingly open the door to a hostile parallel universe.
Boring, laughable and sick semi-sequel to Re-Animator.
Dir: Stuart Gordon
Stars: Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree
FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE
1973
*
Four tales of terror: The Gate Crasher, An Act Of Kindness, The Elemental and The Door.
Amicus's final horror anthology is a mixed bag, but most of the tales feature neat twists; the first is an underwritten variant on Little Shop Of Horrors, the second extremely creepy and the highlight, the third a middling comedy with enjoyable performances, and the fourth simplistic dialogue-lite fare.
Dir: Kevin Connor
Stars: Peter Cushing, David Warner, Donald Pleasence, Angela Pleasence, Ian Bannen, Diana Dors, Ian Carmichael, Nyree Dawn Porter, Margaret Leighton, Ian Ogilvy, Lesley-Anne Down
FROM HAND TO MOUTH
1919
*
A young man rescues a heiress from kidnappers.
Lively Lloyd short which picks up the pace as it goes. There sure were a lot of cops on the streets in those days!
Dir: Alf Goulding
Stars: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Snub Pollard
FROM HELL
2001
*
A drug-addicted policemen investigates the crimes of Jack The Ripper.
Fresh treatment of the old tale, a mix of modern frissons and a slow place. Not bad if you're in the mood.
Dir: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes
Stars: Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Ian Holm, Robbie Coltrane, Ian Richardson, Jason Flemyng, Katrin Cartlidge
FROM HELL IT CAME
1957
0
A wrongfully executed Prince returns as a vengeful tree stump.
Ripe example of how delightfully bad some 1950s low budget monster movies could be.
Dir: Dan Milner
Stars: Tod Andrews, Tina Carver, Linda Watkins
FROM HERE TO ETERNITY
1953
***
Passion and violence on a Hawaiian soldiers base in 1941.
Sometimes soapy but refreshingly grown up drama whose mood is surprisingly nihilistic for a big Hollywood production. The performances embolden it, particularly those of Lancaster and Clift; Sinatra's seems over-praised - he makes an unconvincing drunk.
Dir: Fred Zinnemann
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed, Ernest Borgnine
FROM ROGER MOORE WITH LOVE
2024
**
Documentary about the life of the second James Bond, featuring previously unseen home movie footage and interviews with Moore's family and friends.
Moore comes across incredibly well in this film, and what a marvellous life he seemed to have; the conceit of having Coogan narrate in the voice of the star works well, and the 80-minute running time ensures it doesn't outstay its welcome. It's pleasant to watch such a sunny, angst-free documentary; strange that they titled it in imitation of a Connery Bond film, though.
Dir: Jack Cocker
Narrator: Steve Coogan
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
1963
***
SPECTRE attempts to lure James Bond to his death in revenge for him defeating Dr No.
One of the smartest and snappiest Bond movies, an enjoyable adventure that future instalments would often find difficult to emulate. It's very much a spy film, action doesn't take up a big chunk of the running time, and the tension is built quite slowly and cleverly, leading to well shot sequences on the Orient Express and the chase across land and water. All was falling neatly into place in the franchise, with the debut of Q and title credits featuring a dancing woman.
Dir: Terence Young
Stars: Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Pedro Armendariz, Robert Shaw, Lotte Lenya, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell
FROM SOUP TO NUTS
1928
*
Stan and Ollie wait tables at a swanky dinner party, with predictably chaotic results.
Early star pairing with a plot that was more successfully reworked as part of A Chump At Oxford; here the boys' familiar characteristics are in embryonic form, and Stan doesn't seem 'nice' enough.
Dir: Edgar Kennedy
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Tiny Sandford
FROM THE ASHES
2011
**
Documentary about England’s Ashes triumph of 1981, thanks to the likes of Ian Botham and Bob Willis.
Somewhat better than the director’s similarly sport-based One Night In Turin (qv), this is a fairly well-told story of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. A contemporary BBC documentary did about as good a job (albeit turning it into one long Botham promo), but this is solid enough, inevitable quibbles about selection of material and action aside.
Dir: James Erskine
Narrator: Tom Hardy
FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON
1958
0
In 19th century America, a scientist discovers an effective power source which may be able to get him to the moon.
Very slow-moving fantasy with stupid science.
Dir: Byron Haskin
Stars: Joseph Cotten, George Sanders, Debra Paget
THE FRONT
1976
*
At the height of McCarthyism, a restaurant worker is used as a front for blacklisted writers to submit their work.
Formerly blacklisted talents (many of the actors, the writer, director and producer) got together to make this less-than-biting take on the 1950s witch hunts that struggles to make the viewer truly care about the characters' fates.
Dir: Martin Ritt
Stars: Woody Allen, Zero Mostel, Michael Murphy
THE FRONT PAGE
1931
*
An editor attempts to persuade one of his top newsmen to stay in the job.
Exhausting newspaper drama consisting of a group of men talking quickly and loudly to each other in very small rooms; a minor cinematic milestone (no pun intended), but not very appealing.
Dir: Lewis Milestone
Stars: Adolphe Menjou, Pat O'Brien, Mary Brian, Edward Everett Horton
FROST/NIXON
2008
**
British television interviewer David Frost attempts to extract a ‘confession’ out of disgraced former President Richard Nixon in a series of 1977 interviews.
Hollywood doing its usual job of fictionalising history, but when it’s done as slickly as this, with a stand-out performance from Langella, you can almost forgive it.
Dir: Ron Howard
Stars: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Sam Rockwell, Kevin Bacon, Matthew Macfadyen, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall, Toby Jones
FROZEN
2013
**
A princess tries to help her sister, who is cursed with the power to make everything wintry.
Likely to be a Christmas favourite for years to come, this is a perfectly tailored product for the younger generation (especially girls), with terrific visuals, ebullient songs (one in particular...), a story with a little depth and a few laugh-out-loud moments. A very nice movie.
Dir: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Voices: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad
FROZEN ALIVE
1964
0
A scientist with an unstable wife falls in love with his lab assistant and puts himself into deep freeze.
Unbelievably inert soap opera with a dash of sci-fi, one of the most inactive and verbose films you could ever have the misfortune to see.
Dir: Bernard Knowles
Stars: Mark Stevens, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy
THE FROZEN DEAD
1966
0
A scientist keeps Nazi soldiers in suspended animation in the hope that he will find brains to be transplanted into them.
Lurid but lame horror which moves at a snail's pace.
Dir: Herbert J Leder
Stars: Dana Andrews, Anna Palk, Phillip Gilbert
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
1963
***
SPECTRE attempts to lure James Bond to his death in revenge for him defeating Dr No.
One of the smartest and snappiest Bond movies, an enjoyable adventure that future instalments would often find difficult to emulate. It's very much a spy film, action doesn't take up a big chunk of the running time, and the tension is built quite slowly and cleverly, leading to well shot sequences on the Orient Express and the chase across land and water. All was falling neatly into place in the franchise, with the debut of Q and title credits featuring a dancing woman.
Dir: Terence Young
Stars: Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Pedro Armendariz, Robert Shaw, Lotte Lenya, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell
FROM SOUP TO NUTS
1928
*
Stan and Ollie wait tables at a swanky dinner party, with predictably chaotic results.
Early star pairing with a plot that was more successfully reworked as part of A Chump At Oxford; here the boys' familiar characteristics are in embryonic form, and Stan doesn't seem 'nice' enough.
Dir: Edgar Kennedy
Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Tiny Sandford
FROM THE ASHES
2011
**
Documentary about England’s Ashes triumph of 1981, thanks to the likes of Ian Botham and Bob Willis.
Somewhat better than the director’s similarly sport-based One Night In Turin (qv), this is a fairly well-told story of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. A contemporary BBC documentary did about as good a job (albeit turning it into one long Botham promo), but this is solid enough, inevitable quibbles about selection of material and action aside.
Dir: James Erskine
Narrator: Tom Hardy
FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON
1958
0
In 19th century America, a scientist discovers an effective power source which may be able to get him to the moon.
Very slow-moving fantasy with stupid science.
Dir: Byron Haskin
Stars: Joseph Cotten, George Sanders, Debra Paget
THE FRONT
1976
*
At the height of McCarthyism, a restaurant worker is used as a front for blacklisted writers to submit their work.
Formerly blacklisted talents (many of the actors, the writer, director and producer) got together to make this less-than-biting take on the 1950s witch hunts that struggles to make the viewer truly care about the characters' fates.
Dir: Martin Ritt
Stars: Woody Allen, Zero Mostel, Michael Murphy
THE FRONT PAGE
1931
*
An editor attempts to persuade one of his top newsmen to stay in the job.
Exhausting newspaper drama consisting of a group of men talking quickly and loudly to each other in very small rooms; a minor cinematic milestone (no pun intended), but not very appealing.
Dir: Lewis Milestone
Stars: Adolphe Menjou, Pat O'Brien, Mary Brian, Edward Everett Horton
FROST/NIXON
2008
**
British television interviewer David Frost attempts to extract a ‘confession’ out of disgraced former President Richard Nixon in a series of 1977 interviews.
Hollywood doing its usual job of fictionalising history, but when it’s done as slickly as this, with a stand-out performance from Langella, you can almost forgive it.
Dir: Ron Howard
Stars: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Sam Rockwell, Kevin Bacon, Matthew Macfadyen, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall, Toby Jones
FROZEN
2013
**
A princess tries to help her sister, who is cursed with the power to make everything wintry.
Likely to be a Christmas favourite for years to come, this is a perfectly tailored product for the younger generation (especially girls), with terrific visuals, ebullient songs (one in particular...), a story with a little depth and a few laugh-out-loud moments. A very nice movie.
Dir: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Voices: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad
FROZEN ALIVE
1964
0
A scientist with an unstable wife falls in love with his lab assistant and puts himself into deep freeze.
Unbelievably inert soap opera with a dash of sci-fi, one of the most inactive and verbose films you could ever have the misfortune to see.
Dir: Bernard Knowles
Stars: Mark Stevens, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy
THE FROZEN DEAD
1966
0
A scientist keeps Nazi soldiers in suspended animation in the hope that he will find brains to be transplanted into them.
Lurid but lame horror which moves at a snail's pace.
Dir: Herbert J Leder
Stars: Dana Andrews, Anna Palk, Phillip Gilbert
THE FROZEN GHOST
1945
0
A hypnotist retires to a wax museum after a member of the public dies on his stage.
The fourth Inner Sanctum film, as before with the same pre-credits intro speech delivered by a disembodied head in a crystal ball (David Hoffman), followed - again, as before - by a talky, studio-bound mystery with horror and supernatural tinges, and the leading man irresistible to the opposite sex. The plot is quite bizarre, as are some of the brief bursts of action, which makes it slightly endearing (also, as before).
Dir: Harold Young
Stars: Lon Chaney Jr, Evelyn Ankers, Milburn Stone, Martin Kosleck
THE FROZEN LIMITS
1939
0
Penniless half-wits head out in search of gold, but are too late.
This Crazy Gang offering may no longer offer many laughs for any but the infatuated, but the breathless ensemble comic playing remains impressive.
Dir: Marcel Varnel
Stars: Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Eric Clavering, Moore Marriott, Bernard Lee
FROZEN SCREAM
1975
0
Mad scientists are turning people into zombies in order for them to attain immortality.
One of the very worst video nasties, which is saying something: the actors are more lifeless than zombies, even those who aren’t meant to be them, the soundtrack is hysterical and everything else is truly awful too - even the end credits go at a slug’s pace. Favourite moment has to be the woman waking up screaming and the doctor saying to her: ‘Ah good, you’re awake.’
Dir: Frank Roach
Stars: Renee Harmon, Lynne Kocol, Wolf Muser
THE FRUIT IS RIPE
1977
0
A promiscuous young lady has a good time in Greece.
Slight German sauce with attractive visuals - both female and location shaped - but not a lot of tasty story to chow down on.
Dir: Sigi Rothemund
Stars: Betty Verges, Claus Richt, Olivia Pascal
THE FRUIT MACHINE
1988
0
Two gay teenagers go on the run after witnessing a murder.
Extraordinarily dire hodge-podge of lefty ideas which doesn’t work at all - the viewer watches its sordid events unfold in a state of disbelief.
Dir: Philip Saville
Stars: Emile Charles, Tony Forsyth, Robert Stephens, Robbie Coltrane
FRUSTRATION
1971
0
A sexually repressed woman has dangerous visions.
‘Frustration’ may well be what the viewer feels, as this slow, uneventful drama meanders to its non-conclusion, with occasional interjections of nudity and, make no mistake, politics.
Dir: Jose Benazeraf
Stars: Jose Benazeraf, Michel Lemoine
THE FUGITIVE
1993
**
A doctor, unjustly accused of killing his wife, must find the real murderer while evading the police.
Overlong and unbelievable but reasonably engrossing version of the old TV series.
Dir: Andrew Davis
Stars: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Julianne Moore, Joe Pantoliano
FULL BODY MASSAGE
1995 (TV)
0
A wealthy woman is visited by a new masseur, and they chat about life.
It's difficult to know what to make of this strange film, a two-hander talk piece with one of the people happening to be naked for most of it. Those expecting erotica may have come away slightly disappointed, those after a thought-provoking art movie may have been dissatisfied too, as the chat feels rambling and undirectional - it's a curious choice for once esteemed Roeg. Perhaps not such a curious choice for Brown...
Dir: Nicolas Roeg
Stars: Mimi Rogers, Bryan Brown
FULL CIRCLE
1976
0
A woman whose child has died is haunted by a malicious ghost.
The very opposite of ‘uplifting’, this bleak chiller is slow, enclosed and mournful - only the score keeps it from disappearing altogether.
Dir: Richard Loncraine
Stars: Mia Farrow, Keir Dullea, Tom Conti, Peter Sallis
FULL METAL JACKET
1987
***
Young Americans head to Vietnam after a tough training schedule.
Absorbing war drama with an especially powerful first half, as the recruits are put through their paces by the brilliantly acerbic Ermey. As with much of Kubrick's work, it gets better as the years pass.
Dir: Stanley Kubrick
Stars: Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, R Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio
THE FULL MONTY
1997
**
A group of unemployed Sheffield men become male strippers.
One of those little British films which unexpectedly becomes a huge domestic and international success, this agreeable comic drama is an easily digestible watch that doesn't get overly mired in social comment.
Dir: Peter Cattaneo
Stars: Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Addy, William Snape, Paul Barber
FUN FOR THREE
1974
0
A countess has nefarious designs on a pretty young girl.
Delirious Franco filth with all of his psychoses on display - those who know his stuff will know instantly what this is like. The crazy characters, the clipped, minimal dialogue (which AI now translates), the extensive nudity. He was surely a man who enjoyed his job but the weird thing is that although he adored eroticism he was usually pretty bad at making things as erotic as they could be.
Dir: Jess Franco
Stars: Alice Arno, Robert Woods, Howard Vernon, Lina Romay
FUN WITH DICK AND JANE
2005
**
When a couple lose their jobs, they turn to crime to make ends meet.
Fresh, sharp updating of the 1976 comedy, keen to make some points about Bush's America, it is consistently funny and, as ever, the male lead is worth every cent of his salary.
Dir: Dean Parisot
Stars: Jim Carrey, Tea Leoni, Alec Baldwin, Richard Jenkins
FUNERAL IN BERLIN
1967
*
A British agent is sent to Berlin to receive a Communist defector, but all is not as it seems.
Intriguing if eventually perplexing sequel to The Ipcress File.
Dir: Guy Hamilton
Stars: Michael Caine, Guy Doleman, Paul Hubschmid
THE FUNHOUSE
1981
0
Four teenagers spending the night in a carnival funhouse are menaced by a deformed man in a mask.
Unsatisfactory horror with most of the first half spent looking around the carnival and the latter part throwing out any kind of subtlety that occasionally preceded it.
Dir: Tobe Hooper
Stars: Elizabeth Berridge, Shawn Carson, Jeanne Austin
FUNNY COW
2017
**
A tough working class woman manages to make it as a stand-up comedian.
We have to take on trust the fact that this woman is a great comedian as we only get to see her properly in action the once, briefly, as the film mainly concentrates on grim northern lives and struggles - in fact it sometimes slips into cliche. Narrative-wise it's a bit all over the place, and what point it's making is a little unclear (just that life is bloody tough?), but Peake gives a gutsy performance and the recreation of the Seventies working man's club scene is a pleasure to behold (try not to laugh when you 'shouldn't').
Dir: Adrian Shergold
Stars: Maxine Peake, Stephen Graham, Paddy Considine, Alun Armstrong, Tony Pitts
FUNNY GAMES
1997
**
Two psychotic young men take a family hostage and force them to play sadistic ‘games’ with one another.
Intriguing, sometimes painful to watch satire (rather than thriller), whose quirks include direct-to-camera addresses and a sequence where the action is rewound.
Dir: Michael Haneke
Stars: Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Muhe, Arno Frisch
FUNNY GIRL
1968
*
The story of stage entertainer Fanny Brice, with the emphasis on her love life.
More of a film for a female audience, this unsurprising biopic starts off with lively musical numbers but soon settles for romance, and the pace it moves at isn't too pulse-racing; it did, however, give Streisand her big break.
Dir: William Wyler
Stars: Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford, Anne Francis, Walter Pidgeon
FUNNYMAN
1994
0
A family are slaughtered by a demonic jester.
Crud horror comic, a truly dire attempt at a laddish, north of England-type picture; plotless, incoherent, lazy, stupid and incompetent.
Dir: Simon Sprackling
Stars: Christopher Lee, Tim James, Benny Young, Ed Bishop
THE FURTHER PERILS OF LAUREL AND HARDY
1967
*
Extracts from mainly Laurel and Hardy silent comedies, including Angora Love, Should Married Men Go Home?, Early To Bed and That’s My Wife.
Possibly the least essential of the Youngson compilations, if only because Stan and Ollie really hit the heights when they got into talkies. Plus, the other comedians’ material seems a little out of place.
Dir: Robert Youngson
Narrator: Jay Jackson. Stars: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy
FURTHER UP THE CREEK
1958
0
A crafty seaman hatches a plan to make money from a voyage to Africa.
This sequel’s plot is much too forced to allow the action to surprise or amuse, and most of its running time is taken up with people shouting at one another, with Howerd’s character particularly irritable; it also feels very claustrophobic.
Dir: Val Guest
Stars: David Tomlinson, Frankie Howerd, Shirley Eaton, Lionel Jeffries, Thora Hird, David Lodge
FURY
1936
***
A man is wrongfully jailed and then persecuted by a mob.
A classic to be sure, an unusually structured and superbly shot drama that appears to be a bitter indictment of small-town America but is more likely Lang’s condemnation of fascist Germany; this is his first US film.
Dir: Fritz Lang
Stars: Spencer Tracy, Sylvia Sidney, Walter Abel, Bruce Cabot
THE FURY
1978
*
A man with powerful psychic abilities is kidnapped by officials.
The director showing off, and while things don't make a lot of sense, the pyrotechnics are entertaining enough.
Dir: Brian De Palma
Stars: Kirk Douglas, John Cassavetes, Carrie Snodgress, Amy Irving
FURY AT SMUGGLERS' BAY
1960
*
In 17th century Cornwall, a village squire puts together a band of men to combat smugglers.
Familiar yarn which fails to grab - you want to like it but the story just isn't very strong: it never begins to draw you in, and Cushing is given little to do. It looks a bit like some period Hammer films, but they were usually better.
Dir: John Gilling
Stars: Peter Cushing, Bernard Lee, John Fraser, Liz Fraser
FURY OF THE CONGO
1951
0
Jungle Jim protects some horses from naughty men after their glands.
More jungle claptrap with our pal Jim, here dealing with a floppy-looking giant spider, falling in quicksand (as usual) and lots of sandstorms; at least this shows that a lot of it was shot outdoors. At time of writing, it's remarkably on 6.3/10 on IMDb.
Dir: William Berke
Stars: Johnny Weissmuller, Sherry Moreland, William Henry, Lyle Talbot
FUTTOCKS END
1969
*
A lecherous Lord holds a weekend get together at his country home.
Pleasant, titillating comedy short along Benny Hill lines, but never quite as funny as you hope it will be.
Dir: Bob Kellett
Stars: Ronnie Barker, Michael Hordern, Roger Livesey, Richard O'Sullivan
FUTUREWORLD
1976
*
Suspicious reporters visit theme park Futureworld to investigate rumours of there being something very wrong going on there.
Sequel to Westworld whose plot veers into Seventies conspiracy territory, it's watchable enough with its plot that's so outlandish you just have to accept it, while not providing as much enjoyment as the first film; there's a general feeling that this is a director more suited to TV being slightly out of his depth. Brynner is crowbarred in for a return in a bizarre sort of dream sequence. Not unendearing but inferior to its predecessor in most respects.
Dir: Richard T Heffron
Stars: Peter Fonda, Blythe Danner, Arthur Hill, Yul Brynner
F/X: MURDER BY ILLUSION
1986
*
A movie special effects man is hired to fake a real-life mob killing, but finds his own life in danger.
Mostly sprightly thriller with some fascinating snippets about movie special effects.
Dir: Robert Mandel
Stars: Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, Diane Venora
F/X2
1991
*
Special effects man Rollie attempts to track down a cop killer.
Far-fetched but jaunty thriller which might have made even more of its trick-laden premise.
Dir: Richard Franklin
Stars: Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, Rachel Ticotin
FYRE
2019
**
Documentary about Fyre, a musical festival in the Bahamas that went horribly wrong because of abysmal planning.
A tale of our times: a group of rich millennials who were enticed by what they had seen online, wanting to make a play on social media about being at the festival, and then met grim reality. The film tells the story of Billy McFarland, who was behind the huge fraud, and his hubris and deceit take the breath away - others, namely his staff, elicit more sympathy. Different viewers will take different things from it, but few will complain that they haven't got their money's worth.
Dir: Chris Smith
