Empire “Masterpiece” #151 / Issue 325 / July, 2016 The Last of the Mohicans is an anomaly on Michael Mann’s CV. There are a couple of others – compromised WWII horror The Keep; the boxing biopic Ali – but to an overwhelming extent his preferred milieu has been the crime thriller, from 1981’s Thief to… Continue reading The Last of the Mohicans
Another one from the vaults. This 4000-word history of the Highlander franchise was published as Empire‘s ‘Back Story’ feature in the July, 2009 issue. It’s now been dusted off for the website to mark the original Highlander‘s 30th anniversary and a new 4K restoration. http://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/highlander/ Here’s the trailer for the spiffy new restored version:
My coverage from the set of The Legend of Tarzan in the summer of 2014. This was first published in the July, 2016 issue of Empire, and was then posted online when the film was released. http://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/legend-tarzan-david-yates/ See also my history of Tarzan on screen, from Tarzan’s centenary year, 2012. https://creatureofthewheel.wordpress.com/2014/08/27/tarzan/
I somehow completely missed that this had made its way online. I wrote this history of Labyrinth for Empire a few years ago as part of a Jim Henson celebration. It was posted on the site in May this year, as part of a month of ’80s-themed features. The piece includes interviews with writer Terry… Continue reading Labyrinth
A piece for The Telegraph on Tony Scott and Shane Black’s compromised action classic The Last Boy Scout. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/05/31/who-killed-the-last-boy-scout-bruce-willis-shane-black-and-the-m/
Empire “Masterpiece” #119 / Issue #292 / October, 2013 There’s a school of thought that says Akira Kurosawa was able to cross over to western audiences because he was more palatable than his Japanese contemporaries like Mizoguchi, Shindo, Kobayashi and Teshigahara. Kurosawa’s films were, famously, remade in the west as the likes of A… Continue reading Throne of Blood
Empire “Masterpiece” #144 / Issue #318 / December, 2015 It’s all there in the opening minutes: Halloween is about the music and the Panaglide. Three piano notes and a weird time signature are all the film requires to create immediate tension over a black screen with a steadily approaching pumpkin. Halloween is a small… Continue reading Halloween
