This work unravels the meanings that Gothic held for its many reinventors – from the political uses of Gothic history in the 17th century to Barry and Pugin’s ‘Houses of Parliament’ in the 19th century. The book examines the influence of Gothic as a dominant cultural and architectural force.

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A movie that proved a fine swansong for Humphrey Bogart, The Harder They Fall is a gripping drama set against a background of fixed boxing matches. Not so much about the fights as the exploitation of the sport, the film is based on a novel by Budd Schulberg, whose Oscar-winning screenplay for On the Waterfront (1954) helped turn Rod Steiger into a star. Here Steiger delivers an equally bravura performance as the chillingly corrupt manager, Nick Benko, a man who will do anything to turn a buck. Bogart meanwhile is outstanding as unemployed sports writer Eddie Willis, hired against his better judgement to promote a no-hope Argentinean boxer, Toro Moreno (Mike Lane).

Powerfully written, if built around the unlikely premise of building a 10th-rate fighter into a world-class contender, the drama is essentially a battle for Willis’s soul as he is torn between money and conscience. Though the scenes with Bogart and Steiger facing off are the strongest and a veritable masterclass of hardboiled characterisation, Mark Robson, who also helmed the Kirk Douglas boxing classic Champion (1949), directs with a convincingly dirty realism, the final punishing and bloody match a clear influence on Scorsese’s Raging Bull (1980).

On the DVD: The Harder They Fall‘s anamorphic 1.77:1 transfer is excellent with only one brief scene showing any significant print damage. Burnett Guffey’s noir-ish black-and-white cinematography looks sharp and fresh as the day it was shot, with only minimal grain. The mono sound is strong and clear, without a hint of distortion or compression. The only extra is a scored gallery of posters and lobby cards from other Bogart films available on Columbia. There are dubbed versions in French, German, Spanish and Italian, and a plethora of subtitle options. –Gary S Dalkin

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Dark Nights Over Neo-Tokyo A Life in the Shadows Among Generations: Film Noir and Cyberpunk – A Comparison using a Cyberpunk Film Canon

Cyberpunk and film noir have never been explicitly compared before. Therefore, the most thrilling part of this research is to enter virgin soil with the basic question: Does cyberpunk contain clearly recognizable elements of film noir? This complex question leads to a detailed examination: Firstly, the definitions of film noir and cyberpunk used in this work are presented. Secondly, a cyberpunk film canon including the most important films must be developed to enter this sub genre. Finally, the film canon is compared with defining elements of film noir. The results give conclusions as to the importance of the revolutionary character of film noir depending on the strength of influence on the authors and directors of cyberpunk. But can cyberpunk be described as: Film Noir + Science Fiction? In order to check the truth behind that thesis, you will undergo a little time travel from the 1940s through Los Angeles in 2019 until the dark age in which machines misuse us humans as batteries. Put on your trodes and dive into the gloomy world of cyberpunk.

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Amazon.co.uk Review
A milestone of the silent film era and one of the first “art films” to gain international acclaim, this eerie German classic from 1919 remains the most prominent example of German expressionism in the emerging art of the cinema. Stylistically, the look of the film’s painted sets–distorted perspectives, sharp angles, twisted architecture–was designed to reflect (or express) the splintered psychology of its title character, a sinister figure who uses a lanky somnambulist (Conrad Veidt) as a circus attraction. But when Caligari and his sleepwalker are suspected of murder, their novelty act is surrounded by more supernatural implications. With its mad-doctor scenario, striking visuals, and a haunting, zombie-like character at its centre, Caligari was one of the first horror films to reach an international audience, sending shock waves through artistic circles and serving as a strong influence on the classic horror films of the 1920s, 30s, and beyond. It’s a museum piece today, of interest more for its historical importance, but The Cabinet of Dr Caligari still casts a considerable spell. –Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Das Cabinet Des Dr Caligari

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