Lindsey Vickers, the lovely chap who made THE APPOINTMENT, has died. I've written a tribute to him here: www.bfi.org.uk/features/lin...

Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff drink tea on the set of THE BLACK CAT (1934).

RIP Adam Greenberg He was the superb cinematographer who shot Near Dark (watch it!), Terminator 2: Judgment Day and, of course, The Terminator, which means he’s responsible for one of my favourite shots in cinema that also coined a new genre for its film:

Celebrate Day of the Dead with the mesmerising MACARIO (dir. Roberto Gavaldón, Mexico, 1960). Here’s a short piece I wrote about it for @sensesofcinema.bsky.social: www.sensesofcinema.com/2025/cteq/fr...

Your crumpled correspondent proudly plugging SHORT SHARP SHOCKS VOLUME 4 - out very soon on BFI double disc Blu-ray. A plethora of peppery peculiarities are contained herein! Don't miss it.

Having never had the opportunity to see this brilliant film at the Pictures, I'm looking forward to what will be the LONDON CINEMA PREMIERE of THE APPOINTMENT this Sunday...

Not long now until this rare chance to see two fantastic BFI Flipside releases up on the big screen at Picturehouse Cinemas around the UK: THE APPOINTMENT (5-8 Oct) and FULL CIRCLE: THE HAUNTING OF JULIA (13-16 Oct). I can’t wait!

BOOK REVIEW: The films of Aleksandr Rou: Father of Soviet fairy-tale cinema: Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema: Vol 0, No 0 - Get Access www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

💥New book review💥 Find out more about the book 👉ow.ly/971m50WXt28

Read Deborah Allison’s annotation on Macario (1960) in @sensesofcinema.bsky.social www.sensesofcinema.com/2025/cteq/fr...

I wrote about one of my favourite films for @sensesofcinema.bsky.social‬. ‘From Märchenland to Mexico: MACARIO’s International Fairy-Tale Journey’. www.sensesofcinema.com/2025/cteq/fr...

Britain's greatest comic actor? Probably, for a decade or so: theartsdesk.com/film/blu-ray... @studiocanal.com @vicpratt.bsky.social #petersellers #britishcinema #bfi

I wrote about weird and creepy title sequences in #RogerCorman movies for ‘Fantastic Fifties’ no. 25, which is out now from Hemlock Books and looks like a great issue. You can read more about the history and design of opening credits in my book ‘Film Title Sequences: A Critical Anthology’.

Any reference to “damsel tied to the tracks like a silent movie” gets this still

If anyone's interested in reading my article about the 'Boys' Cinema Weekly' but doesn't have the institutional library access to make it past the paywall then please feel free to DM me.

Did some writing. My latest article, ‘“The Delight of Real Boys”: Male Role Models in the Silent-Era “Boys’ Cinema Weekly” Fan Paper’, is out now in Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1... @iamhist.bsky.social

#ECLIPSE - #SimonPerry’s slippery 1977 psychological thriller starring #TomConti and #GayHamilton returns - @realjohncarvill.bsky.social is glad to see it back from the vaults after almost 50 years - now on #BFI #Flipside Blu-ray www.theartsdesk.com/film/blu-ray...

Was METROPOLIS (1927) the purveyor of the cinema’s first robot? No! This week’s viewing: the 1919 American serial, THE MASTER MYSTERY, starring Houdini being outperformed by ‘Q’, the evil automaton.

After the BFI Flipside Blu-ray launch screening of ECLIPSE, writer-director Simon Perry and key cast Tom Conti, Gay Hamilton and Gavin Wallace all joined me for a discussion. Edited highlights here... www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_KA...

Aleksandr Rou’s lyrical MAY NIGHT (USSR, 1952), adapted from Gogol’s enchanting short story, ‘May Night, or the Drowned Maiden’ (1831), inspired by Ukrainian folklore and filmed in northern Ukraine. #AleksandrRou #FolkloreThursday

I’m still pleasurably ruminating on ECLIPSE (1977), the latest BFI Flipside rediscovery, seen at BFI last night and followed by a very engaging cast and director Q&A hosted by @vicpratt.bsky.social. A strange, intriguing and unnerving Scottish chamber piece, restored and out on Blu-ray now.

Simon Perry's strange, splendid ECLIPSE (1977) - BFI Flipside Blu-ray 51: compelling performances by Tom Conti and Gay Hamilton! Sterling support from Gavin Wallace (age 9 1/2)! Eerie electronica! Rugged 'Coastal Gothic'! I've written about it here... www.bfi.org.uk/features/ecl...

A fascinating look behind the scenes of BFI Home Entertainment as Vic Pratt explains what a Blu-ray producer does. youtube.com/watch?v=BowM... @vicpratt.bsky.social

Vic Pratt pays homage to villainous mad geniuses, introducing the entertainingly silly 'The Crimson Circle' at BFI Southbank earlier tonight. @vicpratt.bsky.social

#BOTD Aleksandr Rou (1906-1973), father of Soviet fairy-tale cinema, and director of many wonderful films including Vasilisa the Beautiful (1939), The Magic Weaver (1960), The Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors (1963) and Jack Frost (1964). New book out now from Intellect Books. #AleksandrRou #АлександрРоу

Looking forward to getting stuck into this big beautiful beast – a new and expanded upgrade to the very good 2019 first edition. The deluxe colour hardback looks gorgeous. 50 extra pages, and I’m excited that it now has a full index! LIGHT INTO INK by S. M. Guariento #novelizations #movietiein

Optical Poems by Oskar Fischinger: Discover the Avant-Garde Animator Despised by Hitler & Dissed by Disney

Officially out in hardback today (or next Friday if you’re in America) – my new book, ‘The Films of Aleksandr Rou: Father of Soviet Fairy-Tale Cinema’. #AleksandrRou

Saw the Kirk Douglas-starring, Billy Wilder-directed Ace In The Hole (1951) on Sunday, part of Picturehouse's ongoing noir season. Great film and a timely reminder about how human misery can quickly become a media circus. Good notes here @deborahuk.bsky.social www.sensesofcinema.com/2021/cteq/th...

My latest book has arrived: ‘The Films of Aleksandr Rou: Father of Soviet Fairy-Tale Cinema’. Thanks to the hard work and patience of the wonderful team at Intellect Books, I think it’s looking lovely. #AleksandrRou

‘The Noir in Nine Chapters’ season continues at Picturehouse Cinemas this weekend with THE BIG HEAT (1953), starring one of my great favourites, Gloria Grahame. Read more here: www.picturehouses.com/blog/noir-in-nine-chapters-rediscover

People today watching movies on their phones! It's the death of cinema! We need to bring movies back to their roots, which were... coin-operated peepshows with communal earbuds

There's still time to apply! If this sounds like you, follow the link to our website below!

As our festive fairy-tale film season draws towards its close, we revisited THREE WISHES FOR CINDERELLA (1973). The new Blu-ray from @secondrun.bsky.social looks lovely.

New year, new book! I’m delighted to announce that ‘The Films of Aleksandr Rou: Father of Soviet Fairy-Tale Cinema’ has gone to print and is due out in February. www.intellectbooks.com/the-films-of-aleksandr-rou

There’s a cracking season of film noir kicking off this week at Picturehouse Cinemas around the UK. @filmnoiruk.bsky.social @filmnoir.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=rge3...

#OTD Remembering Aleksandr Rou, 8 March 1906 – 28 December 1973, director of many wonderful Soviet fairy-tale films. Image from ‘The Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors (1963). Read my profile of Rou's career here: sensesofcinema.com/2023/great-d... @sensesofcinema.bsky.social

Truly magical: THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED (dir. Lotte Reiniger, Germany, 1926) – the earliest extant animated feature film – adapted from stories from The Arabian Nights.

Settling down to watch ‘The Night before Christmas’ aka ‘Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka’ (dir. Aleksandr Rou, USSR, 1961) – a superb slice of festive viewing. Season’s Greetings to one and all! #fairytaletuesday

Next in our annual fairy-tale film season was the wonderful Soviet animation, ‘The Frog Princess’, directed by Mikhail Tsekhanovskii for Soiuzmultfilm in 1954. Absolutely stunning!

This year, we launched our annual fairy-tale film home-viewing season with the German live-action, American-dub version of SNOW WHITE (dir. Erich Kobler, 1955). It was more psychotronic than anticipated – hypnotically odd and creepy. I’m not confident the seven bearded children were a good idea.

100 years ago: Magazine covers from Christmas 1924. 5. Scientific American

100 years ago: Magazine covers from Christmas 1924. 4. Judge

100 years ago: Magazine covers from Christmas 1924. 3. Saturday Evening Post

100 years ago: Magazine covers from Christmas 1924. 2. Telling Tales

100 years ago: Magazine covers from Christmas 1924. 1. National Sportsman

A look at some of the most beautiful and unusual examples from the first 100 years of the “modern” book cover, since the rise of publishers' bindings circa 1820: publicdomainreview.org/collection/t...

Sad to hear of the passing of Christel Bodenstein, lead actress of one of my all-time favourite films, ‘The Singing Ringing Tree’ (East Germany, 1957). filmstarpostcards.blogspot.com/2018/01/chri...

British experimental filmmaker and artist Malcolm Le Grice (1940-2024) has passed away. Extract from his beautiful Berlin Horse (1970)