Film According to Mr Cinema review: Eraserhead 1977

Eraserhead is the debut (this is my third debut film in a row, have I just got a thing for debuts?) of the masterful director: Mr David Lynch. The first 30 minutes of the film follow Henry Spencer (portrayed by Jack Nance) as he wanders through a nightmarish, desolated, dirty world and visits his girlfriend, Mary X and her family, Mr and Mrs X and is informed that he is the father of a premature, deformed baby; from this point the film gets more and more surreal and intense, almost as if it were being processed through the mind of a person going insane. This is an almost unbearably intense movie, the gradually crescendo-ing, omnipresent ambient noise in the background, the shadowy, nightmarish atmosphere and the strange characters and situations all add up to an utterly penetrating movie.

This film, for me, is about as close to perfection as a film can get. It completely absorbed me into the world of the movie, which is arguably, the most important aspect of films. I loved the eerie atmospheric feel that was present throughout the entire movie. The shots were composed absolutely beautifully, the lighting, the angles, generally this film was astounding in all the mise en scene aspects. The movie managed to keep me amazed throughout even on second viewing.

Generally, this film is one of the most visually amazing and stimulating I have ever seen, however is not for everyone, seeing as it pretty much completely turns its back on traditional cinematic practice, with the absence of a followable plot after the first 20-30 minutes and the utter intensity that seems to radiate from the movie, however if you are open to watching an experimental, almost expressionistic cult masterpiece, you can’t go much better than David Lynch’s “Eraserhead”.

Rating 10/10

Film According To Mr Cinema review: 'The Producers'

 Mel Brook’s 1968 directing debut: ‘The Producers’ is a side-splitting entry which firmly establishes Brooks’ career as ‘the king of bad taste’. The film follows Max Bialystock (Zero Mostell) and Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder) as they go about releasing the worst play ever written and making more money with a flop than they could ever make with a hit. This film is a comical illustration of how people enjoy entertainment of the lowest standards. This film is entertaining and pretty damn spot on in its portrayal of how money can drive people to sink to ridiculously low levels just to acquire some dosh.

I enjoyed this film for several reasons, the most primary being, simply, that this is just a pretty fucking funny movie. This film is easy to enjoy, and is perfect to sit down and watch for a good chortle. The humour in this movie incorporates a certain amount of lunacy, but still uses wry verbal humour and traditional laugh-out-loud moments. All-in-all, I think that this is one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a long time, ‘The Producers’ genuinely made me grin like an idiot through and through.

Rating:9/10

Film According to Mr Cinema review: Easy Rider

Easy Rider is Dennis Hopper’s 1969 directing debut. The film follows the story of Wyatt (known as Captain America) and Billy as they ride on their motorbikes to Mardi Gras and observe what had become of America. This movie is a cynical look at American culture and lifestyle; it commentates on the blind hatred radiating from the public towards the “flower children” of the time, the drug culture that the young adults of the day would immerse themselves in and the wreckage of a nation that had fallen to the dogs.

This film is a complete stroke of genius. The plot, the casting, the composition, the execution, everything about this film totally works. The movie is a great entry point into the movie-making sphere. This movie may not appeal to all audiences seeing as it is quite slow and is a dialogue driven piece, meaning that it may not draw the attention of people who like fast paced, action movies; however this film should appeal to anyone who likes a film with plenty of character development and commentary on society. This film is still almost, if not quite as, relevant as the day it was made.

Rating: 9.5/10