Lord Jim (1965 Richard Brooks & scr)

Benefits from a particularly evocative and rich soundtrack full of bells, chimes, gongs and Indonesian music. Chris Greenham was the sound editor and there's a fine score by Bronislau Kaper, one of his last (many many credits since 1930).

Peter O'Toole is Joseph Conrad's wanderer, with Akim Tamiroff, Curt Jurgens, Eli Wallach, Daliah Lavi and James Mason.

Shot by Freddie Young in Super Panavision.

The budget shows, the kind of epic production you don't much find any more. Story is involving enough, though somewhat fatalistic.

Goodbye Columbus (1969 Larry Peerce)

One from that seemingly ignored period of late sixties comedies, very much of its time, based on novel by Philip Roth, with Richard Benjamin, Ali MacGraw and Jack Klugman.

Ralph Rosenblum is having fun cutting film to differing bits of audio.

Has a classic Jewish mother, and wedding scene, and brother-in-law. Very funny, but somehow disappears at the end.

Ph Gerald Hirschfeld.

Breathe In (2013 Drake Doremus & co-scr)

Marvellously subtle film, almost approaching a Malick-ish ellipsis. Brit music student Felicity Jones comes to stay with prof Guy Pearce, wife Amy Ryan and daughter Mackenzie Davis, with forseeable results.

The leads are terrific.

Much preferred this to the same writer-director's Like Crazy, though probably suggests that one needs reevaluating.

Nicely edited by Jonathan Alberts.

To Catch a Thief (1955 Alfred Hitchcock)

It's in the simplest of scenes - dialogue between two people - that you see all these great set-ups and different camera positions - sometimes he likes to shoot up at the subject, sometimes down, sometimes straight at them. It's very interesting. No one else does it like he does.

Marley and Me (2008 David Frankel)

Owen Wilson (who you cannot but love), Jennifer Aniston, Alan Arkin, Eric Dane, Kathleen Turner.

I do love that montage of Wilson's eventful life with his voiceover. And the dropped in remark that Marley sat up with his ill son for nine hours (this you never see amidst all the mayhem).

A commendably sober look at a relationship or three.

Shot by Florian Ballhaus.

Lifeboat (1944 Alfred Hitchcock)

Talullah Bankhead, John Hodiak, Walter Slezak, Hume Cronyn, Canada Lee, William Bendix, Mary Anderson, Henry Hull, Heather Angel.

Written by John Steinbeck and adapted by Jo Swerling. Music Hugo Friedhofer, ph. Glen MacWilliams, editor Dorothy Spencer.

Marvellous experiment - you forget we're in a studio. Murder shot from behind powerful (all hands). Great writing. Like the way she drapes herself over Hodiak - and the quiet romance that's taking place elsewhere.

Afterthought 28/9/15. This is the forerunner of Rear Window - a microcosm of individual people in one place, and all their individual stories, with a murderer in the centre.

Twentieth Century (1934 Howard Hawks)

John Barrymore - slightly hammy but brilliant - is theatre producer, the amazing Carole Lombard his discovery, with Walter Connolly (It Happened One Night, Nothing Sacred, died in 1940) and Roscoe Karns (It Happened One Night, Man's Favourite Sport, His Girl Friday). Also Fred 'Snowflake' Toones recognisable as waiter.

Madcap, rather than screwball, e.g. the religious nutter on board the train. Great fun.

If I took screen shots any more, and animated them, it would have to be the fantastic Ms Lombard, here in rare close up:

Barrymore was a heavy drinker, died in 1942, the same year as Lombard's fatal plane crash.

Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur adapted Millholland's play 'Napoleon of Broadway'. Shot by someone called Joseph August (just 158 credits, since 1915!)

The Rocking Horse Winner (1949 Anthony Pélissier & scr)

John Mills must have strongly believed in the project - he produced it. Originally a short story from DH Lawrence.

I don't know how they got the performance out of John Howard Davies - the scene where he's trance-like, approaching the horse is unforgettable.  I hadn't cottoned on to the fact he later became a TV producer/director, working on Fawlty Towers, Monty Python and The Good life!

Valerie Hobson is the useless mother, Roland Squire her brother. John is as fabulous as usual as the slightly simple batman.

Classy cinematography by Desmond Dickinson, edited by P&P regular John Seabourne, music William Alwyn.

Packed with creative talent, including Davies falling into floor-level close up  with mother in deep focus in the frame, reminiscent of the final shot of Ace in the Hole (and thus predating it by two years). And the whispering house....

A Monster in Paris (2011 Bibo Bergeron)

Who's this film supposed to appeal to? I wouldn't have liked it at any age. The story is rubbish and there are four songs too many (i.e. all of them). Use of early camera / film idea completely missed. Ending is nonsense. Made me feel quite uncomfortable. Only positive is the (quite sweet) animations in old Paris.

One interesting thing emerges - the Great Flood of 1910 is true. So thanks for that.

In a Lonely Place (1950 Nicholas Ray)

Whether by accident or design (Ray was surely not picking his own properties then?) features another doomed couple à la They Live By Night. Bogie is a screenwriter who can't control his temper, suspected of a murder, Gloria Grahame the neighbour - they fall for each other but can't escape the vortex of violence, paranoia and fear - making the second half rather uncomfortable viewing.

Also features Frank Lovejoy (detective), Art Smith (Bogie's agent), Robert Warwick (drunken thespian - Sullivan's Travels, The Awful Truth).

Shot by Burnett Guffey, music George Antheil.

Truffaut gives us an interesting footnote that Grahame and Ray were married - they fell apart and she claimed violent behaviour on his side... And in an interview for Cahiers Ray reveals that the ending of the film was improvised.

And yes the Santana is the name of Bogie's yacht and his production company which made this.

Youth in Revolt (2009 Miguel Arteta)

Liked the animations, by Peter Sluszka. Has some very funny moments. Best dialogue goes to Indian-British student Adhir Kalyan.

Insecure teenager Michael Cera behaves outrageously - partly down to urgings of the object of his desire Portia Doubleday, but also from his own alter ego. Based on novel by C.D. Payne, adapted by Charlie Bartlett's Gustin Nash.

With Steve Buscemi, Jean Smart, Zach Galifianakis, Ray Liotta, Rooney Mara.

Arteta mainly on TV (directed The Good Girl); ph. Chuy Chávez.

Arch of Triumph (1948 Lewis Milestone)

Dispassionate, atmospheric, long, cusp-of-war drama-romance-not-quite-revenge thriller, set in William Cameron Menzies' artful Paris, weighed down by annoying heroine. Based on Erich Maria Remarque novel, so gutsy. Liked the opening montage of Charles Laughton the torturing Nazi. With Charles Boyer, Bergman, Louis Calhern, Curt Bois.

Photographed by Russell Metty entirely with a 30mm lens at F2.3.

Things We Lost in the Fire (2007 Susanne Bier)

Halle Berry has lost husband David Duchovny; has two surviving kids Alexis Llewellyn and Micah Berry (no, no relation). Junkie Benicio del Toro, who was DD's best friend, comes to stay. Results are not predictable - writer is Allan Loeb. John Carroll Lynch is a helpful neighbour, Omar Benson Miller is a helpful brother and Alison Lohman a useful fellow AA attendee.

Frequent close-ups of Berry's eye made me keep thinking of a horse.

Shot by Daniel Stern, edited by Bier regular Pernille Bech Christensen, with Bruce Cannon.

Lone Star (1995 John Sayles & scr, ed)

Wide, exceptional film weaves multiple character stories into one against a backdrop of cultural-historical insights into Spanish-Mexican-Black Southern Texas (del Rio, right on the Mexican border) - you could leave the story behind and it would still be fascinating... almost.

Like Angelopolous, Sayles likes to bring his flashbacks into play in the same shot as the present day scene.

Features Chris Cooper investigating his sheriff father before him (a young Matthew McConaughey) and involvement with evil cop Kris Kiristofferson; and catching up with old flame Elizabeth Peña. With Clifton James, Miriam Colon, Ron Canada, Gabriel Casseus etc.

Shot by Stuart Dryburgh.

I didn't know that Texas is the 'lone star' state because it was originally independent (as the film tells us) and therefore an American needs no explanation of the title that we might (though it's symobolically the sherrif's badge which is discovered at the scene).

Notorious (1946 Alfred Hitchcock)

We needed some first-rate Hitchcock.

I once said this film has half close ups and half long shots. I know what I meant by that, even if it's not strictly accurate. But you do realise that the Master has the most incredible control over this film - his choice of shots and the compositions are absolutely amazing.

Not only is there no substitute for Cary Grant, neither is there for Ingrid Bergman - she's fantastic in one of her last US films before being temporarily ostracised by Hollywood for having a baby with Rossellini.
(Actually there's no equivalent of Claude Rains either.)

Credit must go to Ted Tetzlaff's photography but also to the (uncredited) operator and focus puller.
Music is by Roy Webb.

Louis Calhern is perhaps familiar to us from The Asphalt Jungle.

It's also quite sneaky - Grant is essentially in role of pimp.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005 Shane Black & scr)

Q wanted Julia Roberts but everything was too familiar, besides I pushed for more Robert Downey and we hadn't seen this since 10 March 2006... why not? It's very good and funny, and has a knowing way about it (Downey the narrator stops the film on several occasions to talk to the audience). Val Kilmer is a gay detective, Michelle Monaghan is the old girlfriend.

Michael Barrett shot it with class, Jim Page edited. Some of the fake pulp fiction novels have really funny titles like 'Straighten Up and Die Right' and 'You Wouldn't Like to Live There'.

Charlie Bartlett (2007 Jon Poll)

Written by Gustin Nash whose sole credit before this was a TV series called 'Da Mob', then wrote Youth in Revolt for Michael Cera. Poll is an editor of stuff like Meet the Parents and Dunstan Checks In.

Anyway this is a delight, Anton Yelchin is a bundle of energy, Hope Davis great as his messed up Mom, Kat Dennings the girlfriend, Tyler Hilton the school bully. But Robert Downey Jr steals every second he's in.

Kid becomes school psychotherapist and drugs administrator. Really, really enjoyed it.

27 Dresses (2008 Anne Fletcher)

She directed The Proposal also. Written by Aileen Brosh McKenna (Devil Wears Prada, We Bought a Zoo).

Katherine Heigl, a bouncy James Marsden, Edward Burns, Judy Greer (the friend), Malin Ackerman (the less attractive sister).

Review of 1/9/12 reads: "Enjoyed it. Yes. Won't get job as reviewer this way."

So I liked the taxi driver who's fined 20 dollars every time he looks in his rear view mirror - but he points out to her when she's forgotten to switch shoes.

But the best scene is in which Heigl and Marden get pissed in a bar, and the guy next to him is visually commenting on everything he hears - then they sing 'Benny and the Jets' and get all the words wrong.

What is the Proposal?

The Mercenaries / Dark of the Sun (1968 Jack Cardiff)

Was always turning up on ITV in the seventies in a cut print under the name 'The Mercenaries', until one night - the sixth of November 1982 - it was actually screened in its quite nasty unedited 100 minute version. Despite the debate the Warners Archive 'remastered' DVD is also a cut version - has in fact a different ending. I should have realised from near the beginning where Taylor's 'son of a bitch' has the 'bitch' edited: that's how sanitised it is. So that's a major fucker.

For all the people that swear it isn't, consider the poster / DVD cover:

OK, if it isn't edited, where's the scene where Rod and Yvette are kissing (shown here twice)? And what about the scene showing a woman being taken by soldiers?

The BBFC lists its original run time of 100 minutes 25 seconds (uncut). I'll have to go and have a look in the BFI archive to see if they have the original British print.

I made a trip to the Congo, and met reporters who lived through all the troubles there [following independence in 1960], and they showed me photographs of the real thing - I wish they hadn't...The savagery was unbelievable. . When the film came out the critics all thought the violence was so terrible that they couldn't bear to watch it. They were really appalled by its excessive violence. I could only say to those that I met that my film was nothing like the real thing - it was a quarter, a fifth, a sixteenth of the violence that really happened.

'Conversations with Jack Cardiff' by Justin Bowyer.

Good cast: Rod Taylor, Kenneth More, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Brown, Peter Carsten, André Morell

Shot by Ted Scaife, music by Jacques Loussier, cut by Ernest Walter, from a Wilbur Smith novel. Actually filmed in Jamaica.

Radio Days (1987 Woody Allen & scr)

Packaged like a series of vignettes loosely based around 30s and 40s US radio, film in fact is one of Woody's more personal stories (the father who has an unknown job, the parents who are always arguing, the family atmosphere).

Is it also the only WA with both Mia Farrow (in Judy Holliday voice mode) and Diane Keaton? Great cast includes Wallace Shawn, Diane Weist, Julie Kavner, Michael Tucker, Jeff Daniels, Seth Green (playing the young WA), Tony Roberts (and the irreligious next door neighbour is Larry David!). It's shot by Carlo di Palma and is one of Woody's bigger budget films.

Watched it initially on 2 March 1988 and then on 3 September 1993, when I offered this comment: "Richly characterised story within anecdotal framework. A subtle and deceptive work' - most impressive. Indeed the moment where the boy's father goes from smacking him to holding his head is one of the tenderest things in any Woody Allen film and it's the story of the trapped girl that gives it its emotional depth.

Oh yes, it's very funny too, from opening story of burglars who answer the phone and it's 'Name that tune'.