Film Festivals 1999
1999's festivals were categorised by a stand-out crop of documentaries, 'Ghengis Blues', Werner Herzog's 'Little Dieter Needs to Fly', Ken Burns' 'Frank Lloyd Wright', Cuban music legends 'Buena Vista Social Club' and the hilariously insightful 'American Movie'. And along with these some highly imaginative and challenging features such as Lars von Trier's 'Idiots', Darren Aronofsky's 'Pi', Todd Solondz's 'Happiness', Tom Tykwer's 'Run, Lola, Run' and low-budget sci-fi hit, 'Cube' (pictured).
Windhorse (1998)
7/10
Director: Paul Wagner
Starring: Dadon, Jampa Kelsang, Richard Chang, Lu Yu
This compelling first feature from Academy Award-winning documentarian Paul Wagner tells the story of three young Tibetans and their search for freedo... Read more
Genghis Blues (1999)
8/10
Director: Roko Belic
Starring: Paul Pena, Kongar-Ol, Richard Feynman
This captivating, Oscar-nominated offering centers on blind San Francisco blues musician Paul Pena, who taught himself the unusual art of 'throat sing... Read more
Waco: The Rules Of Engagement (1997)
8/10
Director: William Gazecki
Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary, this controversial feature chronicles the 1993 stand-off in Waco, Texas, between the Branch David... Read more
Kamikaze Taxi (1995)
7.6/10
Director: Masato Harada
Starring: Reiko Kataoka, Kazuya Takahashi, Koji Yakusho
Part crime thriller, part road movie and part social polemic, writer/director Masato Harada's drama follows Yakuza underling Tatsuo (Kazuya Takahashi)... Read more
Koyaanisqatsi ( Blu-ray ) (1982)
8.3/10
Director: Godfrey Reggio
The title is a Hopi Indian word meaning "life out of balance", an apt summation of this mesmerizing collection of wonders both natural and man-made. S... Read more
42nd Street (1933)
7.6/10
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Starring: Dick Powell, George Brent, Guy Kibbee, Ruby Keeler, Warner Baxter, Una Merkel
The archetypical backstage musical given depth, life and power by the extravagant touch of Busby Berkeley. Warner Baxter is Julian Marsh, the 'musical... Read more
Atlantis (1991)
6.8/10
Director: Luc Besson
Following on from his success with 'The Big Blue', Luc Besson has created this 'Marine Opera' containing superb images from the Seychelles to the Nort... Read more
It All Starts Today (1999)
7.5/10
Director: Bertrand Tavernier
Starring: Philippe Torreton, Maria Pitarresi, Nadia Kaci
Daniel Lefebvre (Philippe Torreton), a director of a kindergarten in a poor area of Northern France is appalled by the deprivation that his pupils mus... Read more
Happy Together (1997)
7.8/10
Director: Wong Kar-wai
Starring: Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung (Chiu Wai), Chang Chen
This mesmeric story of love lost and endured focuses on two gay lovers who go to Buenos Aires to start over, but find themselves in a familiar vicious... Read more
Das Boot ( aka The Boat ) ( Blu-ray ) (1981)
8.4/10
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Starring: Herbert Gronemeyer, Jurgen Prochnow, Klaus Wennemann
A.k.a. 'The Boat.' Totally restored and with over an hour of never-before-seen footage, Das Boot: The Director's Cut is Wolfgang Petersen's acclaimed... Read more