Camden Film Fair Pick-Ups

Picked up these four DVDs and the latest issue of The Dark Side at the Camden Film Fair today.

I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang DVD

I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG is an all-time classic and one of my favourite films so I was delighted to get this on DVD at last. Looking forward to seeing this especially with the commentary from film historian Richard B. Jewell.


Time After Time DVD

TIME AFTER TIME is a little schlocky, but it's a fun film. Malcolm McDowell as H.G. Wells and David Warner as Jack the Ripper: what more could you want?


Anita DVD

ANITA is one I bought on a whim. It was inexpensive and, let's face it, the cover picture is great!


Naughty Nurses of the 1970s DVD Collection

NAUGHTY NURSES OF THE 1970s features 'The Nurses' (1971) and 'Sue Prentiss, R.N.' (1975). Bought this because Annie Sprinkle is featured in the second film. I'm bracing myself for the usual dreadful sound and vision that is to be expected with these grindhouse features.


The Dark Side (issue 158)
 

Book Review: The Moon Field by Judith Allnatt

When George, an eighteen year old postman, finds out that the girl he has lost his heart to loves another, his life changes forever. This is the day he gets drunk for the first time; the day he is shamfully scammed out of his week's pay; the day he decides, along with some new pals, that he will enlist in the army and serve in the ongoing Great War.

Judith Allnatt's novel is beautifully written. It's divided into three sections detailing events before, during and after George's army sojourn. The descriptive prose provides some glorious scenic detail of the idyllic rural north west of England as well as the harrowing brutality of trench life (and death).

For me, the novel started to run out of steam in its final third and I found the ending to be a little awkwardly realised. Overall, though, this is an enthralling read and is warmly recommended.

 

Christmas 2013 DVDs

Better late than never: DVDs that were given to me for Christmas 2013.

Kick-Ass and Kick-Ass 2 DVD set

Enjoyed the first Kick-Ass enormously. Haven't yet seen the sequel, but with no Nicolas Cage, I'm already thinking it's not going to be as good. However, I won't really know until I watch it. must try to keep an open mind. On the plus side, Hit Girl is there!

 

Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor DVD

Yes, it's a bit silly, but I still loved it. Even more so on second viewing. Matt Smith, David Tennant, John Hurt and Billie Piper are all excellent. Clearly, you're never going to please everyone with an anniversary story: there's always going to be something that'll irk you. For me, I've never much liked the Zygons and I wasn't looking forward to their reappearance in the show. However, this is an entertaining romp and is a story that I'll more than happily return to.

Trouble with the Curve DVD

I've always liked baseball movies and this was no exception. Clint Eastwood plays a baseball scout who is slowly losing his sight. Despite this, he is not convinced that the next big hitter that his club are itching to sign is all he's cracked up to be. His daughter, played by Amy Adams, reluctantly joins him on the road. Good performances all round. However, the rushed resolution to the romantic sub-plot was a little grating.






An Adventure in Space and Time DVD

Back to Doctor Who with Mark Gatiss' superb drama about the beginning of our favourite show and, specifically, about the first actor to play the Doctor, William Hartnell. A real treat for the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.

Man of Steel DVD

Although I like super-hero films, I'm not a huge Superman fan. He just has too many super powers for my liking. I'm still looking forward to seeing this reboot, though as it seems to have been well received.


Picture Post

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Magazines

50 Years of Doctor Who (front cover)

 





50 Years of Doctor Who (back cover)

Perhaps a little pricey at £9.99 but 50 Years of Doctor Who is a beautifully laid out publication packed with informative articles about each actor playing the Doctor in the television series (including Peter Capaldi) along with articles about scripting for each incarnation. The magazine is edited by Marcus Hearn and contributors include Andrew Cartmel, Jonathan Rigby and Chris Bentley. There's also an interview with Mark Gatiss, writer of the excellent An Adventure in Space and Time.





Doctor Who Magazine issue 467 (envelope front cover)

 

 

Doctor Who Magazine issue 467 (front cover)

 

Doctor Who Magazine comes in a neat package for its souvenir issue. Priced at £7.99, its contents are contained in an illustrated sturdy envelope. It almost feels wrong to break the seal, but it has to be done. Inside we have our regular DWM goodness with reviews, letters, comic strip and time team. And then there are the features with quite a bit focusing on the show's early days. There's the first part of an in-depth article about Anthony Coburn, writer of the very first story and a look at that story's early drafts. 

As for the present era, there's a preview of 'The Day of the Doctor' as well as interviews with Matt Smith and David Tennant together and Jenna Coleman. Tons of stuff to read, really. Great stuff!

 

 

 

 

Tucked away inside our envelope is this treat. The first anniversary of 'Doctor Who' was celebrated in this 1964 issue of DWM. Not a spoof. No, sir. And the back cover:

 

 

 

It's all in the cards with this artwork and info with a card for each Doctor also in the DWM envelope.

 

 

 

50 Amazing Years of the Doctor





At £3.99 and not towing the party line is 50 Amazing Years of the Doctor from horror magazine, 'The Dark Side'. This is an unashamedly nostalgic look back at the show and features a great interview with Tom Baker. Also among the goodies here is Marcus Hearn who talks about his new book 'The Vault' and a look at the two films featuring Peter Cushing as Doctor Who.









Diversions DVD

Diversions DVD front cover
 

Train journeys. Boring, eh? Imogene (Heather Deeley) thinks so. She's handcuffed to another woman: prisoner and escort en route to jail. Imogene's fellow passengers are a young man proffering an apple and an older man absorbed in Vampirella magazine. There's only one thing to do to while away the hours: fantasize! All aboard the Sex Express!






 

 

Now, I know what you're thinking, but I can tell you that no sex takes place on the train. This, after all, is British Rail in the 1970s. There's plenty going on inside Imogene's head, though; and some of it is pretty eye watering.



 

Diversions is the hardcore version of British filmmaker Derek Ford's Sex Express under which title it was released in the U.K. to little acclaim. However, the hardcore sequences added for the overseas markets take the film up a level. It was not unusual for British sex films of this era to have spicier content added to them for foreign consumption, but these would often be outsourced. Derek Ford was rare in that he directed the whole shebang.

 



Diversions DVD menu

Alpha Blue's DVD release features a heavily scarred print full of pock marks and green lines along with some heavily distorted sound in places. The film itself still packs a punch with some of its controversial content.

Lead actress Heather Deeley seems to be something of an elusive lady these days with reports of a descent into drug use widely reported but beyond that, little is known. Her performance in Diversions is remarkable and hints at what might have been.

See Gav Crimson's blog for more on Diversions and Heather Deeley.

Diversions DVD back cover

 



 

Some Photos

Just some photos I took with my new camera today.