Film Festivals 2004
Another great year for documentary fans with the gripping 'Capturing the Friedmans', political offerings 'Control Room', Robert McNamara in 'Fog of War', and the disturbing psyche of 'The Corporation'. For music lovers there was the fascinating 'End of the Century: The Sory of the Ramones', 'The Mayor of Sunset Strip', 'Metallica: Some Kind of Monster' and 'Festival Express'. Hector Babenco broke a long absence from directing with the powerhouse 'Carandiru' while Zhang Yimou's lush 'Hero' made it to New Zealand screens along with 'Motorcycle Diaries', gut-wrenching Korean flick 'Old Boy', heart-tugger 'Osama' and the delightful 'Triplets of Belleville' to name just a few.
The Corporation (2003)
8.1/10
Director: Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott
Based on a book by Joel Bakan, this documentary considers the fact that, under American law, corporations are individuals and have the same rights as... Read more
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ( Blu-ray ) (1966)
8.9/10
Director: Sergio Leone
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef
Clint Eastwood's invincible "Man with No Name" teams with two gunslingers (Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach) to pursue a fortune in stolen gold. But team... Read more
Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (1972)
7.3/10
Director: Chu Yuan
Starring: Lily Ho, Yueh Hua, Betty Pei Ti, Tung Lin
The most notorious erotic film in the history of Hong Kong cinema, this film shocked Chinese audiences and even today exerts a raw power. Lily Ho, in... Read more
A Tale of a Naughty Girl (2002)
6.7/10
Director: Buddhadeb Dasgupta
Starring: Samata Das, Rituparna Sengupta, Arpan Basar
India, 1969. Rajani, a prostitute, and her daughter, Lati, both live in a bordello in a little town called Gospaira. Hoping that her daughter will hav... Read more
I'm Not Scared (2003)
7.5/10
Director: Gabriele Salvatores
Starring: Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Dino Abbrescia, Giorgio Careccia, Giuseppe Cristiano
Something sinister is lurking under the surface of 10-year-old Michele's (Giuseppe Cristiano) idyllic summer. While the days in his remote southern It... Read more
I Vitelloni (1953)
8/10
Director: Federico Fellini
Starring: Alberto Sordi, Franco Fabrizi, Franco Interlenghi
This early Fellini masterpiece, and one of the great works of Neo-Realism, deals with the young, restless men in a small town on the Adriatic who are,... Read more
Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
7.8/10
Director: Andrew Jarecki
Starring: Arnold Friedman, David Friedman, Elaine Friedman, Jesse Friedman, Seth Friedman
Devastating, critically acclaimed documentary centres on Arnold Friedman, a Long Island math teacher and former magician, and son Jesse, who were accu... Read more
Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator (2002)
7.2/10
Director: Helen Stickler
Starring: Mark Rogowski, Tony Hawk, Stacy Peralta
In the 1980s, professional skateboarder Mark "Gator" Rogowski was one of the sport's most revered icons. This captivating documentary chronicles the d... Read more
Hero (2002)
7.9/10
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Jet Li, Tony Leung (Chiu Wai), Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Donnie Yen
Director Zhang Yimou's highly stylized martial arts epic stars Jet Li as a nameless expert swordsman, who tells the ruler of one of ancient China's wa... Read more
Festival Express (2003)
7.6/10
Director: Bob Smeaton
Starring: Janis Joplin, The Band, The Grateful Dead
In the summer of 1970, a group of rock music's biggest acts hopped aboard a customized train and traveled across Canada for a series of explosive conc... Read more