Reviews

For several years now, more and more Chinese films (whether in Mandarin or Cantonese) have been making their way into the phalanx of the Top 1000, i.e. The 1000 highest-grossing films of all time. To get there, a film must gross $170 million in the box office worldwide. This action hit from Hong Kong definitely achieves that with USD 211 million. The film was directed by the recently deceased Benny Chan (1961-2020).

So what does Chinese cinema offer its audience? First of all, an ordinary cops-versus-gangster thriller in which Donnie Yen as an upright police officer and Nicholas Tse as a devious villain are allowed to fight and shoot their way through half of Hong Kong. The action is first class, the plot and character drawing are not so much. Generic home cooking! Of course, ultra-evil drug dealers are being tortured and murdered here, but the suspicion that the Hong Kong (and Chinese) police might treat pro-democracy protesters in the same way remains uncomfortably persistent. The final fight between Yen and Tse, whose hairstyle is very reminiscent of Bollywood action ace Vidyut Jammwal, in a church is interesting. A statue of the Virgin Mary, the wounds of Christ and the arrowhead pointed at Saint Sebastian play an unusually Christian role. Possibly a hidden tip from director Chan, who wasn't able to fully finish his film himself.

There remains a bad aftertaste, but the sales figures speak for themselves. The money is now and will be earned in Chinese cinemas in the future.

What an entertaining action thriller!

With the Cinquecento over the Spanish Steps and through Via Condotti! A detour to the Metropolitana di Roma! Just by the way, the Italian capital of Rome still only has three subway lines because of the many ancient finds, so you have to be lucky if you come across one of the three. And then it turns out that Tom CRUISE's motorcycle jump was actually just a promotional McGuffin for the audience. Because the exceptional ride on the Orient Express is really the masterpiece of the entire film and is definitely worth seeing on its own.

Popcorn cinema at its finest!

At the time of the First World War, a Parisian father (Charles DENNER) murders wealthy women on an assembly line. The French director Claude CHABROL made this film in 1962. His later sharpness in many socially critical films already shines through, but this film still seems a bit too theatrical. The ladies who are chased down the chimney by Monsieur Landru are worth seeing: Stephane AUDRAN, Danielle DARRIEUX, Juliette MAYNIEL and Michele MORGAN. The German actress Hildegard KNEF (1925-2002) has a very special say in this. Her role is small but nice.

The previously missing French scenes have now been added to the German dubbed version. This also gives you more information about the trial against the convicted woman murderer.

Not a masterpiece, but definitely interesting for film enthusiasts!

In 1961, this remarkable British film by Guy GREEN (winner of the Cinematography OSCAR for GREAT EXPECTATIONS by David LEAN in 1948) was released in cinemas after being nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Jim Fuller (Stuart WHITMAN) is released after a three-year prison sentence and starts a new life in a strange city. He gets help from his psychoanalyst (Rod STEIGER) and an initiated boss (Donald WOLFIT, known as Hildegard KNEF's hypnotist in SVENGALI (1954)). Soon everything is going very well. He finds a furnished room with the nice, if sometimes somewhat pushy, Cartwright couple (Brenda DeBANZIE and Maurice DENHAM), gets along well at work and soon gets to know the executive secretary Ruth (Maria SCHELL) who works there. But the demons of the past don't completely let go of Jim. Severely insecure due to an unhappy childhood, he was suspected of molesting a child, for which he then had to serve a prison sentence. When everything comes out through the unscrupulous actions of a tabloid journalist (Donald HOUSTON), the situation threatens to escalate...

The film, based on the novel of the same name by Charles E. ISRAEL, deals with a topic that is still considered explosive more than 60 years later. Basically, a psychoanalytic healing process is discussed with great sensitivity and precision, which certainly demands a lot from the audience. Some of it may be outdated by now, but the courage to make this film alone is very impressive.

The acting performances are all terrific! Stuart WHITMAN, who stood in for Richard BURTON, plays the prisoner with a Canadian background so convincingly that he was nominated for an ACADEMY AWARD in 1962.

ACADEMY AWARD Winner Rod STEIGER (awarded in 1968 for IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT), standing in for Trevor HOWARD, plays the psychoanalyst blessed with a lot of understanding and benevolence very well. It's amazing what enormous range this exceptional actor has shown in his long career.

BAFTA AWARD nominee Maria SCHELL (nominated for THE HEART OF THE MATTER in 1954 and for GERVAISE in 1957) impresses as a widowed single parent who also works. That was also very remarkable for the time! Her Ruth Leighton is shown as a Swiss-born woman who found work and true love in England after the war. The exceptional actress Maria SCHELL, who is often underestimated as a "little soul / Seelchen", especially in German-speaking countries, plays this with a naturalness that is impressive.

Because of the explosive nature of the topic, the film was shot in Ireland, which sounds quite surprising at first. In West Germany, the explosive film with audience favorite Maria SCHELL was seen by at least 304,000 visitors (source: InsideKino), which corresponds to a box office of the equivalent of 234,080 EURO.

When her playing partner Stuart WHITMAN was nominated for the ACADEMY AWARD in 1962, Maria SCHELL (1926 - 2005) had to make a difficult decision. Her little brother Maximilian SCHELL (1930 - 2014) was also nominated in the same category for JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG. SCHELL won the OSCAR, the rest is history!

It's not for nothing that Otto Lehmann (Victor BUONO) is considered the best butcher in all of Vienna. However, he can also be quite short-tempered and has had to go to a psychiatric hospital at the instigation of his wife Hanna (Karin FIELD). Back home, things don't get any better for the man who was released as cured. When his wife catches her husband secretly watching the busty Berta (Franca POLESELLO) in the neighborhood, there is no stopping him. The nagging wife is unceremoniously strangled and made into boiled sausage. It's a good thing that Vienna has a resourceful reporter like Mike Lawrence (Brad HARRIS) who is investigating the missing person cases that will soon follow! Especially since the well-trained writer also has his eye on the blonde Berta...

In this nasty horror comedy by Guido ZURLI, ACADEMY AWARD nominee Victor BUONO (he was nominated in 1963 for his supporting role in WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?) can play a great role. The film's outdoor shooting took place in Vienna, which makes for beautiful images. Franca POLESELLO (1930 - 2021) and Brad HARRIS (1933 - 2017) can stroll through imperial Vienna. The plot of the film, produced by Dick RANDALL, is certainly horrific, but the horror takes place primarily in your own head. This makes the film a charming and enjoyable horror film gem.

Definitely worth seeing!

Based on the well-known novella by the Swiss writer Conrad Ferdinand MEYER (1825 - 1898), director Rolf HANSEN tells an unheard of incident from the time of the Thirty Years' War. The young Gustl (Liselotte PULVER) lives as an orphan with her uncle (Hans NIELSEN), who is the mayor of Nuremberg. As an ardent admirer of the Swedish King Gustav Adolf (Curd JÜRGENS), she seizes the opportunity and becomes the successful warlord's page instead of the overly anxious mayor's son (Eddi ARENT). To do this, of course, she has to pretend to be a man. After THE WIRTSHAUS IM SPESSART (1958), another "trouser roll" for the tomboyish Liselotte PULVER. But it's not just Gustl's mistress Korinna (Ellen SCHWIERS) who soon discovers the young page's secret. The Swedish king's numerous enemies soon sense their chance...

Beautiful pictures from picturesque Rothenburg ob der Tauber and a tried and tested literary adaptation! This really can't go wrong! The chemistry between Lilo PULVER and BAFTA AWARD nominee Curd JÜRGENS (in 1959 he was nominated for THE INN OF THE SIXTH HAPPINESS with Ingrid BERGMAN) simply doesn't work. The film wasn't well received at the West German box office either. Only 1,218,000 visitors wanted to see the film, which was now considered too old-fashioned. With an average entry fee at the time of EUR 0.74 (source: InsideKino), that makes a BOX OFFICE the equivalent of only EUR 901,320.

For Liselotte PULVER, one of the superstars of the West German film industry, it was also annoying that she had to turn down two lucrative offers because of her commitments to GUSTAV ADOLFS PAGE: She would have been cast as Esther (who was then played by the Israeli actress Haya HARAREET) in the MGM Production BEN-HUR and as the female lead (Sophia LOREN) in EL CID! PULVER may have reconciled that she met her long-time husband Helmut SCHMID on GUSTAV ADOLFS PAGE, who was part of the cast alongside Walter REYER and Gabriele REISMÜLLER.

Only once in her long Hollywood career did ACADEMY AWARD nominee Marlene DIETRICH (she was nominated for her role in MOROCCO in 1931) work with director Ernst LUBITSCH (1892 - 1947).

In ANGEL from 1937, Marlene DIETRICH plays a woman from upper society named Maria Barker who has a happy marriage to the influential politician Sir Frederick Barker (Herbert MARSHALL). It's just stupid that the husband has to travel to the League of Nations in Geneva so often to conduct important negotiations there. Maria is a bit bored alone in London, so she sets off on a weekend trip to Paris. In the salon of Grand Duchess Anna (Laura Hope CREWS), who fled the Soviet Union, she meets the charming Anthony (Melvyn DOUGLAS), to whom she does not reveal her real name. For him she is simply an angel! Back in London, things happen as they have to: it turns out that Frederick and Anthony know each other from the First World War and are almost like old friends. Can Maria hide the Parisian flirtation from her husband? And which of the two men will the neglected model wife choose? Questions upon questions...

Based on the piece ANGYAL by the Hungarian writer Melchior LENGYEL (also provided the template for NINOTSCHKA with Greta GARBO) and with music by the German composer Friedrich HOLLAENDER (1896 - 1976)! This film is certainly not the best film by ACADEMY AWARD (h.c.) winner Ernst LUBITSCH (he received the honorary OSCAR a few months before his death in 1947), but the whole thing is very cleverly and elegantly staged. Just Lubitsch touch!

The actor Melvyn DOUGLAS (1901 - 1981) received OSCAR honors twice more at an advanced age. In 1964 (HUD) and in 1980 (BEING THERE) he was awarded an ACADEMY AWARD. He received an additional nomination in 1971 for I NEVER SANG FOR MY FATHER. A Hollywood career spanning nearly five decades! Respect!

For Marlene DIETRICH (1901 - 1992), this film marked the end of her usual Hollywood seven-year contract with the major studio PARAMOUNT PICTURES. Since she was now considered "box office poison," the contract was not renewed. It was only through a supporting role in the Western DESTRY RIDES AGAIN two years later that DIETRICH was able to return to the front row of Hollywood stars. The audience probably wanted to see Marlene DIETRICH more as a half-silk Tingeltangel star and not as a fine lady.

In any case, this only collaboration between DIETRICH and LUBITSCH is definitely worth seeing. After all, you can always use an ANGEL.

At the beginning of the 1990s, there was only one director who managed to attract an audience of millions to the cinema with serious German-language films: Joseph VILSMAIER (1939 - 2020). After his two box office successes HERBSTMILCH (1988) and RAMA DAMA (1991), the time seemed to have come for such an ambitious work as STALINGRAD. The elaborate film was produced by Hanno HUTH (SENATOR FILM) and Günter ROHRBACH (BAVARIA FILMKUNST). Since STALINGRAD DOGS, DO YOU WANT TO LIVE FOREVER? (1959), there had been no more German-language feature films about the devastating Battle of Stalingrad.

Thomas KRETSCHMANN (KING KONG / INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY), who has now become a global star, plays an ambitious lieutenant named Hans von Witzland. Together with soldiers from his unit (Dominique HORWITZ, Jochen NICKEL, Sebastian RUDOLPH and Sylvester GROTH) he ends up in the terrible scenery in and around Stalingrad, which is illustrated with terrible and impressive images from the hell of war. You can clearly see that Joseph VILSMAIER originally came from camera work. The images of horror that VILSMAIER delivers are definitely not for the faint of heart! These scenes were created with the collaboration of the Prague studio BARRANDOV, which 30 years later was also significantly involved in the German film ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (2022), which won four ACADEMY AWARDs.

Mark KUHN (known from the German mini-series REGINA ON THE STUFEN) and Martin BENRATH (1926 -2000) also act in other roles. BENRATH plays a general who shouts perseverance slogans against his better judgment. The actor had a particularly impressive role in 1965 when he played alongside two-time ACADEMY AWARD winner Marlon BRANDO and ACADEMY AWARD winner Yul BRYNNER in MORITURI by ACADEMY AWARD nominee Bernhard WICKI.

VILSMAIER's wife Dana VAVROVA (1967 - 2009), who already shone as Little Red Riding Hood in the legendary Czech series ARABELA (1980), has a small role as the Soviet Russian Irina (Sonja ZIEMANN had a similar part in STALINGRAD DOGS, DO YOU WANT TO LIVE FOREVER?).

In the cinema year 1993, the film attracted 1,321,000 visitors to German cinemas. With an average price at the time of EUR 4.58 (source: InsideKino), this corresponds to a BOX OFFICE of EUR 6,050,180.

The film is still definitely worth seeing even after 30 years!

It all probably started when the German director Wim WENDERS (GOLDEN PALM 1984 for PARIS, TEXAS) wanted to make a documentary about the particularly ornate toilet facilities in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. This project fell through because the master director did not consider it to be productive enough as a film material without fictionalization. Smart decision!

The slightly older Mr. Hirayama (Koji YAKUSHO) lives in seclusion in the somewhat poor district on the Sumida River and is a toilet man responsible for the toilets in the posh Shibuya district, which are really worth seeing. With great dedication and meticulous precision, this silent man cleans the numerous toilet facilities every day. His entire life follows a practiced routine that clearly gives the man strength and brings him joy. Towering above everything is the Sky Tree, which can be seen from afar and sparkles in various colors. But even a man as reserved as Mr. Hirayama has a past and people who are genuinely fond of him...

The now four-time ACADEMY AWARD nominee Wim WENDERS (he was nominated in 2000 (BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB), 2012 (PINA), 2015 (THE SALT OF THE EARTH) and in 2024 for PERFECT DAYS) is credited with this wonderful film (the camera images are from again by Franz LUSTIG from Freiburg im Breisgau) a silent masterpiece has been achieved. As an audience, we follow the everyday life of a loner in the largest megacity on earth. Mr. Hirayama may be alone a lot, but he has a sense of the beauties of life that can be transmitted to those watching. Koji YAKUSHO, who recently played the lead role in the NETFLIX series THE DAYS about the horrific reactor accident in Fukushima, succeeds in creating a wonderful portrait of a man who has been marked by life, but who has found his inner center and is therefore by no means unhappy. The Japanese actor was rightly honored with the Silver Palm at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023.

How is it possible that such a quiet film without action-packed climaxes is so successful at the box office worldwide (BOX OFFICE according to IMDb, as of April 27, 2024: 24.1 million USD)? This is probably because the audience can relate very well to the story of a man who consciously decided to continue living in the analogue age, even though Tokyo in particular is certainly a hotspot for digitalized life. Instead of streaming music, Mr. Hirayama maintains his now valuable collection of music cassettes. And reading authors like Patricia HIGHSMITH and Nobel Prize winner William FAULKNER has gone out of style for younger generations.

In a very funny scene in a cassette vintage shop in Moloch Tokyo, director Wim WENDERS can be seen in a nice cameo as a browsing customer. May he be blessed with many more such early works!

The year 1956 marked the high point of the West German film industry. More than 800 million visitors were welcomed in West German cinemas. 264 million tickets (source: InsideKino) were purchased for German-language films alone. German cinema has not experienced such a successful year since. The film of the year was THE CAPTAIN OF KÖPENICK with Heinz RÜHMANN (1902 - 1994) in the title role. Helmut KÄUTNER's film was nominated for the GOLDEN LION at the Venice Film Festival. The following year there was even an ACADEMY AWARD nomination. In West Germany, 14,445,000 visitors saw the film in cinemas, which corresponds to a box office of the equivalent of EUR 8,667,000. A gigantic success!

The play by Carl ZUCKMAYER (premiere: March 5, 1931) struck a chord with the audience in its tragic exaggeration of German deference to authority and enthusiasm for the military. GERMAN FILM AWARD winner Heinz RÜHMANN (he received his second film award in 1961 for THE BLACK SHEEP) played one of the roles of his acting life as cobbler Wilhelm Voigt. As a small man who comes into conflict with the law, takes possession of a uniform and quickly occupies the town hall in Köpenick, RÜHMANN played his way back into the hearts of the German-speaking audience after his involvement in the Nazi cinema.

Other roles that shine include GERMAN FILM AWARD winner Martin HELD (awarded in 1955 for CANARIS), Hannelore SCHROTH, GERMAN FILM AWARD prize winner Walter GILLER (awarded in 1960 for ROSEN FÜR DEN STAATSANWALT / ROSEN FOR THE STATUS ATTORNEY and in 1962 for ZWEI UNTER MILLIONEN / TWO UNDER A MILLION), Maria SEBALDT and Siegfried LOWITZ.

The wonderful Berlin actress Edith HANCKE (1928 - 2015) has a particularly tragic appearance in one of her first film roles as Lieschen, a girl suffering from tuberculosis who is comforted by Schuster Voigt.

Of course, filming could not take place in Köpenick, which was part of East Berlin at the time of filming. Instead, motifs were found in and around Hamburg.

An immortal classic of the West German film industry! Definitely worth seeing!

The television film festival in the German spa town of Baden-Baden is now called TELEVISIONALE film and series festival. This TATORT episode is one of the ten nominated German-language television films from last year, which will be shown again on the television channel 3SAT. And rightly so! That was the best episode of last year's TATORT season.

At the same time, the film was also Meret BECKER's farewell as crime scene detective from Berlin. But even more memorable were the young actors Bella DAYNE (The Man in the High Castle) and Oleg TIKHMOMIROV (Deutschland 89) as a Russian mafia couple, of whom we will certainly see more in the future.

In the years from 1968 onwards, the major Hollywood studios were in transition. The usual large-scale productions no longer worked at the box office. Society was on the move, old certainties were dissolving. This is how films with a scary Antichrist theme became mainstream box office successes. ROSEMARIE's BABY (1968) from PARAMOUNT PICTURES, THE EXORCIST (1973) from WARNER BROTHERS and THE OMEN (1976) from TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX were shown successfully in cinemas worldwide and caused many a shocking moment.

TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX is now part of the DISNEY Group, and it makes sense to revive old successful models in a time of new confusion. While the devil Damien in THE OMEN had long since crawled into hiding with his foster parents (Gregory PECK and Lee REMICK), THE FIRST OMEN finally tells us what actually happened shortly before the birth of the jackal's son in the Holy City of Rome. Young Margaret (Nell Tiger FREE) comes to Rome from America to finally take her vows. But very strange things happen with the nuns around Sister Silva (Sonia BRAGA), which prompt Margaret to investigate. Something monstrous comes to light...

This history has it all. Just don't let yourself be fooled by the light-filled images from the city of Rome. Selected scenes pay homage to the three horror classics mentioned above from the heyday of the Antichrist cinema. Glass windows, clouds of fog (and in Rome!!!), black masses and body horror play a huge role. Ralph INESON and ACADEMY AWARD nominee Bill NIGHY (he was nominated for LIVING in 2023) can also be seen in other roles. The performances of Charles DANCE and Andrea ARCANGELI will be particularly remembered by the audience.

And the music can also be heard. In addition to the original sounds by Jerry GOLDSMITH, the canzones by Raffaella CARRA (DOMANI and RUMORE) provide a typically Italian flair.

The production by Arkasha STEVENSON is quite impressive. Sometimes the screen simply remains black for a moment, so that an appropriate film image is found for the nasty use of knockout drops.

Yes, this prequel to THE OMEN is extremely successful. Gregory PECK, who can be seen briefly in a photo, would certainly have been happy.

Charming screwball comedy in which wonderfully coiffed Dallas star Victoria Principal plays an attractive but celibate marine biologist named Dr. Plays Diana Dawson, who meets a notorious womanizer (Gil Gerard). What will happen there!?!

When this film was shown on American television on October 2, 1982, Victoria Principal was at the peak of her popularity as Pamela Barnes Ewing. That year she was still in a private relationship with the extremely attractive singer Andy Gibb (1958-1988), who left his shirts open to his belly button as a matter of principle, but unlike his equally successful brothers (the BeeGees), he soon fell victim to his drug addiction .

Robert Webber, Markie Post (sometimes also in the crime series THE FALL GUY) and the young Sharon Stone can be seen in other roles in this television film.

Victoria Principal as Doris Day in the eighties! Nice to look at, but definitely not a masterpiece!

The only thing that's remotely interesting about this American-Canadian action film, which was just released on DVD, is the cast. The hero is the son of CINECITTA Divo and GOLDEN GLOBE winner Antonio Sabato (1943-2021), born in 1972. Antonio Sabato Jr. Had developed from a sexy underwear model to a busy actor in low-budget films.

Kevin Dobson (1943-2020), who had leading roles in the popular television series KOJAK and KNOTS LANDING, stars as the father of the spoiled little daughter who has to be saved by the hero. John Beck, who plays a general here, is also known from the television series FLAMINGO ROAD and DALLAS.

From 1981 to 1986, Pamela Bellwood, born in 1951, played one of the main roles as Claudia Blaisdel Carrington in the globally successful series DYNASTY. Her Claudia struggled with mental problems from the beginning of the series. At some point, Pamela Bellwood had enough of the series and used her private pregnancy to have herself written out of the PrimeTime soap through a dramatic death by fire. The entire hotel "La Mirage" was reduced to rubble and ashes.

The role she played in this television film broadcast on ABC on March 6, 1983 was completely different. Marsha (Pamela Bellwood) is a successful gallery owner and is married to a very attractive doctor (Ted Wass, born 1952) in Los Angeles. Her little sister Annie (Phoebe Cates, born 1963) dropped out of college after problems with their father (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) and quickly moved in with Marsha and her husband. At some point he can no longer keep his hands off the "Baby Sister" (the original title), which of course leads to considerable complications.

Not a very convincing story, the details are overly exaggerated, and it's actually only worth seeing because of the attractive stars. Ted Wass also appeared in another installment of the Pink Panther film series that year. Phoebe Cates, who has now been married to Oscar winner Kevin Kline for many years, would have to deal with the nasty "Gremlins" a year later. And before her television career, Pamela Bellwood could be admired in the disaster film "AIRPORT 77 - Lost in the Bermuda Triangle" (1977).

Great political series from Italy

Anyone who was interested in politics in the first half of the 1990s could hardly believe what was happening in Italy back then. A Milan investigative team called "Mani pulite" (Clean Hands) ensured that the Italian political system collapsed with its investigations. Christian Democrats and Socialists, who had previously taken control of the state, had to go down quietly due to their involvement with the mafia - and what followed: Silvio Berlusconi! How this rancid television station boss and obscure real estate shark managed to reach the highest state positions remained an unsolvable mystery for all non-Italians. Until the main actor Stefano Accorsi came up with the brilliant idea of coming up with this great series, which, alongside "Borgen" from Denmark, is one of the best that Europe has to offer.

What is it about? Six people from Italian society are thrown into disarray by the shocks caused by manipulation. Leonardo Notte is a greasy advertising executive who doesn't let anything go wrong. It must have been a real joy for CoppaVolpi award winner Stefano Accorsi to be able to write a highly erotic bed scene into the script with every beautiful woman in the series. But he was expressly granted that, because his role and the entire series in general were fantastically successful. By a stupid coincidence, Pietro Bosco (Guido Caprino), ex-Iraq War soldier and ex-rugby player, is elected to parliament as a representative of the newly formed Lega Nord. The beautiful Veronica Castello (Miriam Leone) is an occasional prostitute and dreams of a great career. Since the Roman film industry only collapsed a few years ago, something like this is only possible in Berlusconi's television empire, which offered employment opportunities to many scantily clad women in those years. Luca Pastore (Domenico Diele) works at Manipulite and is determined to find out which entrepreneur is responsible for the contaminated blood that infected him with the AIDS virus. The attractive Beatrice Mainaghi (Tea Falco) is a snotty heiress to a super-rich Milanese entrepreneur, but soon realizes that the southern Italian mafia is already extremely well connected in Milan. And then there is the opaque Rocco Venturi (Alessandro Roja), a likeable colleague of Luca, but who has his own agenda...

Director Guiseppe Gagliardi (also "The Dead of Turin" is said to have been quite successful) lets these six people attack each other and, at the same time, paints a picture of an Italy in the midst of huge upheaval. This is so beautifully done. You should definitely see this! Everything comes up: the mafia attacks on Sicily, radioactive weapons during the Iraq War, the borderline moronic television program of Berlusconi's stations, the downfall of the Italian party system and the brilliant idea of making a sleazy and corrupt solo entrepreneur the new beacon of hope . Donald Trump and his supporters have certainly been inspired. BRRRRRRRRR!

Two other actors should be specifically mentioned here: Elena Radonicich plays an investigative journalist and is also Veronica's big sister, Gianfelice Imparato is a cynical Christian Democrat who takes the stupid political newcomer Pietro under his wing.

Oh yes, in the management of SKY Italia, which produced this exceptional series, Nils Hartmann from Germany was responsible for the production of "1992", its successors "1993" and "1994", "Gomorrah" and "The Young Pope". A track record that is impressive.

This series is definitely worth it! Be sure to check it out! Make no mistake: Bella Italia is everywhere!

Bizarre mix of slapstick comedy and commedia sexy with Ursula Andress and Woody Strode

There's a lot on offer in this film by cult director Fernando Di Leo (1932-2003), also known as "I'll polish your bald head". Hearty fights in the Spencer Hill style alternate with sexy insights all the time. Whether doing mattress sports, in the bathtub or simply changing clothes - Golden Globe winner (1964 for "Dr. No") Ursula Andress (*1936) appears stark naked in what feels like every other scene, but also knows how to get involved in wonderfully funny beating orgies.

What's it about? The stewardess Nora Green (Ursula Andress) lands her plane in Naples and runs an errand for a passenger. She drives to a fairground and gets caught between two rival gangs, led by Silvera (Woody Strode, 1914-1994) and Don Calo (Aldo Giuffre). Silvera doesn't treat the stunning blonde particularly gallantly (this scene is really inappropriate in a film that vacillates between fun and seriousness), but she gets help from the handsome acrobat Manuel (Marc Porel, 1949-1983). So she soon ends up on his trampoline and in his bed. Marc Porel is also allowed to hold his shapely backside into the camera. But above all, the tough guy is good at giving out beatings, and he still gets plenty of opportunity to do so.

Other roles include Lino Banfi as Commissario and Maurizio Arena as Padre, who is not so particular about abstinence. After all sorts of complications, there is ultimately a wild car chase and a fun fight that takes place again at the fairground.

What's really interesting about this film is the strange mixture of beating and sex stuff. Ursula Andress is in her element and becomes the sole heroine of an otherwise male-dominated Italian slapstick comedy, which was very fashionable in those years due to the enormous box office successes of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill. Woody Strode's counterpart scores highly with his strong physique, but also demonstrates slapstick talents. The American actor, who was a decathlete at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin and later an American football player, was rewarded with a Golden Globe nomination for his supporting role as a gladiator in "Spartacus." Marc Porel (could have celebrated his 73rd birthday on January 3, 2022), the son of Gerard Landry and the recently deceased Jacqueline Porel, cuts a particularly good figure in this film and shows his pretty face as La Andress's ToyBoy.

The director Fernando Di Leo shows his more fun side here. After writing scripts for numerous spaghetti westerns, he shot three absolute EuroCrime classics: "Milano Calibro 9", "La mala ordina" and "Il Boss".

This film was the first German-Italian collaboration as part of the West German Edgar Wallace series, which unfortunately didn't work out particularly well (yet). Long-winded plot, bad tricks and old-fashioned equipment fail to captivate. Even in West German cinemas, only 600,000 viewers (source: InsideKino) wanted to see the film.

The opulent cast is interesting: Klaus KINSKI (in an unusual role), Margaret LEE, Christiane KRÜGER (daughter of GOLDEN GLOBE nominee Hardy KRÜGER), Sydney CHAPLIN, Günther STOLL! The music by Nora ORLANDI, whose singing voice can also be heard, is beautiful.

Only recommended for die-hard Edgar Wallace fans!

Very worth seeing and above all surprising film from Brazil!

The film was shown in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019, but should also appeal to fans of action-packed cinema. Warning: There are some shocking things to see!!!

The fantastic German actor Udo KIER (SUSPIRIA / LILI MARLEEN / DANCER IN THE DARK) once again offers a brilliant performance of human madness. And the Brazilian actress Sonia BRAGA, known from the OSCAR success KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN (1986), plays the small community's doctor. The village of Bacurau is certainly not worth the trip, but it is a major power on the cinematic map.

You should have seen it!!!

Gossip interests people all over the world. Especially when it comes to members of the English royal family. The interviews of Princess Diana and her then husband and current King Charles III. In the 1990s with the BBC are legendary.

In 2019, the scandal surrounding Wall Street millionaire Jeffrey Epstein emerged, who essentially made an orgy island for celebrities possible. The Duke of York, also known as Prince Andrew, was considered a long-time friend of Epstein and was also said to have made trips to Orgy Island. The accusations and questions about this became more and more intense. And then the unexpected: In November 2019, the brother of the current King Charles III invited. A filming team from the BBC program NEWSNIGHT (probably comparable to the TAGESTHEMEN on the German broadcaster ARD) came to Buckingham Palace for a conversation. You should let yourself see what happened next...

What can a film like this achieve? Why do we need it as an audience? In any case, it is interesting how much a public institution like the BBC has to fight, with a touch of desperation, for attention and against the threat of loss of importance due to competition from social media. You need a tabloid-savvy journalist (Billie PIPER) who, as a producer, can make such contacts clear ("She's very DAILY MAIL!"). And an ice-blonde TV presenter (Gillian ANDERSON), who no one has ever seen eating, can't hurt either. The Duke, formerly known as "Randy Andy," immediately notices that the interviewer is hiding her beautiful legs in a pants suit. Prince Andrew is played by Rufus SEWELL (THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE), and the well-known actor almost merges in his masquerading as a scion of royalty. This is very impressive in terms of acting, but it just repeats how Prince Andrew unmasked himself in 2019. It's certainly not entirely wrong to remind people of the dangerous desires of those in power in this way, but it doesn't make for an outstanding film. FROST / NIXON was a lot more enlightening a few years ago.

The film reminds us that even world-famous celebrities can't afford to do anything without fearing public exposure. However, the resistance is already underway. If everything can be branded as fake news, then the actual criminals can feel a little safer again with a sufficient cushion of money. In this respect, a film like SCOOP definitely has a purpose; from a cinematic point of view, the audience doesn't need something like that. It's better to watch the original interview on YOUTUBE again.

Very appealing crime series from German production! For the first time, the German television station ARD is collaborating with the American television station CBS on a series production. Dark atmosphere, morbid images of the Oder between Poland and Germany, German and Polish are spoken! Director and producer Christian ALVART does a lot of things right.

The entry is awesome and can easily keep up with the current fourth season of the HBO series TRUE DETECTIVE. The main actors (Karoline SCHUCH, Felix KRAMER, Lukas GREGOROWICZ) are fine, and there is a nice surprise in episode 4!

This German series is recommended and is based on masterpieces such as THE PASS, BABYLON BERLIN, LIEBES KIND and DARK.

Outstanding anthology series from AMC!

While searching for the Northwest Passage, the icebreakers EREBUS and TERROR get stuck in the eternal ice of the North Pole. One winter turns into three. The men of the two crews are confronted with the worst stresses imaginable. And then there is the encounter with the legendary TUUNBAQ...

What a board! North Pole, monsters, paranoia and the untold secrets of Christian seafaring... This little series is at its finest! Jared HARRIS (MAD MEN) in probably his best role as captain of the TERROR! In a supporting role there is a reunion with the 90s beauty Greta SCACCHI. And then Adam NAGAITIS in the role of Cornelius Hickey...great cinema!

This series is a must for all fans of adventure series! She also goes where the makers of IN THE HEART OF THE SEA based on Nathaniel PHILBRICK's book didn't dare to go. So: Not for the faint of heart!!!

With her Tom Ripley, the American writer Patricia HIGHSMITH created a "man without qualities" for the post-war period. There are already two great film adaptations of her great 1955 novel: PLEIN SOLEIL (1959) with Alain DELON (and Romy SCHNEIDER in a cameo) and THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY (1999) with Matt DAMON. Do we need another series? And then also in black and white pictures?

Despite all the skepticism in advance, Steven ZAILLIAN (ACADEMY AWARD 1994 for the screenplay for SCHINDLER'S LIST) has created something masterful with Andrew SCOTT as Tom Ripley, which will hopefully be continued in the film adaptation of the four following Tom Ripley novels by the great master Patricia HIGHSMITH . Even those who already know the story from the novel itself or the two film adaptations mentioned will quickly be drawn under the spell of these calm and clear images. Episodes 3 and 5 are particularly impressive because of the calmly filmed action explosions.

Instead of the mid-1950s, the action has been moved to the early 1960s, which can be heard in the first hits of the fantastic Italian singer MINA. The love for art in general and for Caravaggio in particular can also be better illustrated.

While the film adaptation with Alain DELON was at least somewhat marred by an overly moral ending, forty years later Matt DAMON was able to emphasize the homoerotic component of the plot more strongly. This is also present in the NETFLIX series, but Ripley, played by Andrew SCOTT, is also simply a clever con artist who is primarily interested in the lure of riches and the beautiful life that comes with it. This certainly meets Patricia HIGHSMITH's intentions. Tom Ripley is what other people want to see him as. He doesn't really care whether he has to be heterosexual or homosexual. The main thing is that he can carry out his plans smoothly.

Louis HOFMANN and John MALKOVICH can be seen in supporting roles. The latter plays a character that will become even more important in the Tom Ripley cosmos. A sequel is definitely planned by the makers. The producers also include DIOGENES ENTERTAINMENT, a subsidiary of DIOGENES Verlag from Zurich, which publishes the German-language translations of Patricia HIGHSMITH's works. Now all that's left to do is get the viewing numbers for NETFLIX right!

Short-form series from the streamer QUIBI, which AMAZON made into a feature-length film for Prime Video.

Liam HEMSWORTH plays a terminally ill real estate developer who makes himself available to a game organizer (ACADEMY AWARD winner Christoph WALTZ) for a lot of money. For 24 hours he is chased through Detroit by unscrupulous hunters, all of whom have the goal of killing the well-trained tumor patient in hand-to-hand combat. This is of course a modern twist on the classic THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (1932). And that works quite well, although the series character with constant cliffhangers eventually becomes a bit annoying.

I really liked the supporting actors Aaron POOLE (as a cleaner who gets a lot to do) and Chris WEBSTER (as a cute hunter). WALTZ immediately received an EMMY nomination for its first US series (but filmed in Canada).

The six episodes of the fourth season offer a worthy conclusion to the series, even if the level of the first and third seasons is not reached. But I was particularly pleased that the Swiss cameraman and director Lukas ETTLIN (born in Basel in 1975) directed three episodes of the fourth season. I had already noticed him positively through a few episodes of the pirate series BLACK SAILS (ETTLIN was active as a director from season 2).

What was remarkable about JACK RYAN was the well-thought-out plots, which were always reminiscent of real scenarios (especially season 3). The guest stars Noomi RAPACE and Tom WLASCHIHA as BND agents in season 2 and of course the fantastic Nina HOSS as the Czech Prime Minister in season 3 were also great.

Small weak point: The fact that Abbie CORNISH was brought out of obscurity as Jack's love interest in season 4 after she had not been mentioned for two seasons seemed all too forced.

After BERLIN STATION and CONDOR, JACK RYAN was simply a very entertaining spy series that has now found its well-deserved end.