For those past members of the HW Film Club, 2023 has been a year of a break following a very active 2021 and 2022. If there is still an appetite for the club, please contact henry.chandler@stjohnshw.org.uk. There is a prospect we may migrate the club to be a benefice club embracing other parishes in the benefice in the future. In the meantime, best wishes for 2024.
Henry
Jurassic Park (1993)
We will be reviewing the film at 19:30 on sunday 26th June 2022 via zoom. Log in details will be provided via the What’s App Account and registered emails. If you wish to join and are not yet registered, please email sam.chandler@stjohnshw.org.uk.
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction-adventure-drama film directed by Steven Spielberg, based upon the novel of the same name, written by Michael Crichton. The story involves scientists visiting a safari amusement park of genetically engineered dinosaurs on an island over one weekend. Sabotage by a rival company, BioSyn sets the carnivorous dinosaurs on the loose, and the technicians and visitors attempt to escape the island.
The film began its genesis right before the novel was even published, and Crichton was hired to write a script that skimmed down its plot. Spielberg hired Stan Winston Studios’ puppets and worked with Industrial Light and Magic to develop the ground-breaking CGI to portray the dinosaurs. The film stars Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern and Richard Attenborough. It reached near-universal acclaim.
The film grossed $914 million in its initial release, making it the first film ever to gross $900 million, and was the highest-grossing film of all time, surpassing E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, until it was surpassed by Titanic in 1997, the first film ever to gross $1 billion. After being re-released in 2013, which made it gross $1.029 billion, it is currently the 38th highest-grossing film of all time. Most significantly, the film inspired a new breed of films that primarily used CGI for special effects.
The film was followed by The Lost World: Jurassic Park on May 23, 1997, Jurassic Park III on July 18, 2001, Jurassic World on June 12, 2015, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom on June 22, 2018 and Jurassic World: Dominion on June 10, 2022, none of which were as critically acclaimed as the first. The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III weren’t as financially successful as the first film, although both Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom beat the first film in terms of profit. The film was re-released twice, first in the cinemas of U.K. on September 23, 2011, then in 3D on April 5, 2013. The 25th anniversary of this film was in 2018.
The tagline of the movie: “An Adventure 65 Million Years In The Making”.
Link to Wikipedia
Link to IMDb Site
Link to Rotten Tomatoes – 92%
Running Time – 2hrs 6mins (126 minutes)
UK Classification – PG
For further background see https://jurassicpark.fandom.com/wiki/Jurassic_Park_(film)
Gandhi (1982)
Gandhi is a 1982 period biographical film based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of nonviolent non-cooperative Indian independence movement against the British Raj during the 20th century. A co-production between India and United Kingdom, it is directed and produced by Richard Attenborough from a screenplay written by John Briley. It stars Ben Kingsley in the title role. The film covers Gandhi’s life from a defining moment in 1893, as he is thrown off from a South African train for being in a whites-only compartment, and concludes with his assassination and funeral in 1948. Although a practising Hindu, Gandhi’s embracing of other faiths, particularly Christianity and Islam, is also depicted.
Gandhi was released in India on 30 November 1982, in the United Kingdom on 3 December, and in the United States on 8 December. It was praised for a historically accurate portrayal of the life of Gandhi, the Indian independence movement and the deteriorating results of British colonisation on India, its production values, costume design, and Kingsley’s performance, which received worldwide critical acclaim. It became a commercial success, grossing $127.8 million on a $22 million budget.
The film received a leading eleven nominations at the 55th Academy Awards, winning eight (more than any other film nominated that year), including for the Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (for Kingsley). The film was screened retrospectively on 12 August 2016 as the opening film at the Independence Day Film Festival jointly presented by the Indian Directorate of Film Festivals and Ministry of Defence, commemorating the 70th Indian Independence Day. The British Film Institute ranked Gandhi as the 34th greatest British film of the 20th century.
Link to Wikipedia
Link to IMDb Site
Link to Rotten Tomatoes
Running Time – 3hrs 8mins (168 minutes)
UK Classification – PG
For further background see – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi
Hidden Figures (2016)
Link to Wikipedia
Link to IMDb Site
Link to Rotten Tomatoes
Running Time – 2hrs 7mins (127 minutes)
UK Classification – PG
For further background see – https://www.historyextra.com/period/modern/hidden-figures-the-incredible-real-history-behind-the-film/
February – Schindler’s List (1993)
The featured film in February 2022 was Schindler’s List (1993). We reviewed the film and feedback was all about the power of the imagery and for many a reminder of the movie that had not been watched since first viewed. It was highly rated – in fact the highest received to date from the club members attending – 8.5 average.
The Storyline
Oskar Schindler is a vain and greedy German businessman who becomes an unlikely humanitarian amid the barbaric German Nazi reign when he feels compelled to turn his factory into a refuge for Jews.
Businessman Schindler (Liam Neeson) arrives in Krakow in 1939, ready to exploit and make his fortune from World War II, which has just started. After joining the Nazi party for political expediency, he recruits Jewish workers to his factory. When the SS begins exterminating Jews in the Krakow ghetto, Schindler arranges to have his workers protected to keep his factory in operation, but soon realizes that in so doing, he is also saving innocent lives.
Based on the true story of Oskar Schindler who managed to save about 1,100 Jews.
Link to Wikipedia
Link to IMDb Site
Link to Rotten Tomatoes
Link to Time Magazine Real Life Context
Running Time – 3hrs 15mins (195 minutes)
UK Classification – 15
January – “Peanut Butter Falcon”
The Storyline
The Peanut Butter Falcon is an adventure story set in the world of a modern Mark Twain that begins when Zak, a young man with Down Syndrome, runs away from the nursing home where he lives to chase his dream of becoming a professional wrestler by attending the wrestling school of Salt Water Redneck.
Through circumstances beyond their control Tyler, a small-time outlaw on the run, becomes Zak’s unlikely coach and ally. Together they wind through deltas, elude capture, drink whisky, find God, catch fish, and convince Eleanor, Zak’s carer and nursing home employee with a story of her own, to join them on their journey.
The Club Review Group met on 16th January at 19:30 giving it a rating between 6 and 9 – the common critique was generally positive but some features towards the end were unnecessary and implausible. The general depiction of Zak and Tyler was greatly admired.
Link to Wikipedia
Link to IMDb Site
Link to Rotten Tomatoes
Running Time – 1hr 38mins (98 minutes)
UK Classification – 12a
Her (2013)
The closing film of 2021 was Her.
The Storyline
A sensitive and soulful man earns a living by writing personal letters for other people. Left heartbroken after his marriage ends, Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) becomes fascinated with a new operating system which reportedly develops into an intuitive and unique entity in its own right. He starts the program and meets “Samantha” (Scarlett Johansson), whose bright voice reveals a sensitive, playful personality. Though “friends” initially, the relationship soon deepens into love.
Jonze conceived the idea in the early 2000s after reading an article about a website that allowed for instant messaging with an artificial intelligence program. After making I’m Here (2010), a short film sharing similar themes, Jonze returned to the idea. He wrote the first draft of the script in five months. Principal photography took place in Los Angeles and Shanghai in mid-2012. The role of Samantha was recast in post-production, with Samantha Morton being replaced with Johansson. Additional scenes were filmed in August 2013 following the casting change.
The film created lively debate amongst film club members as the concept and believeability varied in appeal. There was some surprise at the UK rating.
Link to Wikipedia
Link to IMDb Site
Link to Rotten Tomatoes
Running Time – 3hrs 15mins (195 minutes)
UK Classification – 15
A Month in the Country (1987)
The October 2021 Club Film was A Month in the Country
The Storyline
Two shaken soldiers (Colin Firth, Kenneth Branagh) recover from World War I one summer in a Yorkshire village.
The film is an adaptation of the 1980 novel of the same name by J. L. Carr, and stars Colin Firth, Kenneth Branagh, Natasha Richardson and Patrick Malahide. The screenplay was by Simon Gray.
Set in rural Yorkshire during the summer of 1920, the film follows a destitute World War I veteran employed to carry out restoration work on a Medieval mural discovered in a rural church while coming to terms with the after-effects of the war.
The film was shot during the summer of 1986 and featured an original score by Howard Blake. The film has been neglected since its 1987 cinema release and it was only in 2004 that an original 35 mm film print was discovered, due to the intervention of a fan.
The film received mixed reviews from the film club on the 17th October 2021 at 19:30.
Link to Wikipedia
Link to IMDb Site
Link to Rotten Tomatoes
Running Time – 1hr 36mins (96 minutes)
UK Classification – PG
The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and (2004)
The first version was reviewed by the Club members for a compare and contrast exercise with the 2004 version.
The Storyline (1962)
An American POW in the Korean War is brainwashed as an unwitting assassin for an international Communist conspiracy.
Near the end of the Korean War, a platoon of U.S. soldiers is captured by communists and brainwashed. Following the war, the platoon is returned home, and Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey) is lauded as a hero by the rest of his platoon. However, the platoon commander, Captain Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra), finds himself plagued by strange nightmares and, together with fellow soldier Allen Melvin (James Edwards), races to uncover a terrible plot.
Link to Wikipedia
Link to IMDb Site
Link to Rotten Tomatoes
Running Time – 2hrs 6mins (126 minutes)
UK Classification – PG
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
The two versions of The manchurian candidate were reviewed by the Club in September.
The Storyline (2004)
Kuwait, 1991. Seized in a nocturnal ambush during the Gulf War, the platoon led by Major Bennett Marco (Denzel Washington) and Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber) are taken to a secret island laboratory. There they are brainwashed and implanted with mind-control chips by the sinister Manchurian Global corporation. False memories of Shaw’s bravery are implanted and Shaw returns to America a decorated hero.
Washington, the present. Shaw secures a vice-presidential nomination after bullying intervention by his mother, Senator Eleanor Prentiss Shaw (Meryl Streep), who is in uneasy alliance with Manchurian Global. Marco and his surviving platoon members suffer nightmare flashbacks challenging Shaw’s heroism. In a violent confrontation with Shaw, Marco uncovers a microchip implanted in the candidate’s back. Expert Richard Delp (Bruno Ganz) examines it and, via electroshock therapy, helps Marco recall what really happened in Kuwait.
Marco’s superiors are sceptical but FBI agent Rosie (Kimberly Elise) becomes his confidante. The brainwashed Shaw responds to subconscious triggers from Manchurian Global and murders several people who threaten his political ambitions. In New York, Marco and Rosie try to reason with him. Eleanor Prentiss Shaw, the mastermind of the plot, uses subconscious triggers to control Marco, ordering him to attend her party’s Election Day rally. Marco is programmed to kill the new president-elect, leaving Shaw free to rule America alone. But Shaw, battling against his brainwashing, makes sure both he and his mother are slain by Marco’s bullet, averting a corporate coup d’état.
Link to Wikipedia
Link to IMDb Site
Link to Rotten Tomatoes
Running Time – 2hrs 10mins (130 minutes)
UK Classification – 15
The Club reviewed the two films on 19th September at 19:30. Both versions received praise.
Rear Window (1954)
The Rear Window was the July Film Club focus.
The Storyline
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbours from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window, and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend.
Rear Window is a 1954 American mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes based on Cornell Woolrich’s 1942 short story “It Had to Be Murder”. Originally released by Paramount Pictures, the film stars James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, and Raymond Burr. It was screened at the 1954 Venice Film Festival.
The film is considered by many filmgoers, critics, and scholars to be one of Hitchcock’s best[4] and one of the greatest films ever made. It received four Academy Award nominations and was ranked number 42 on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies list and number 48 on the 10th-anniversary edition, and in 1997 was added to the United States National Film Registry in the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
The film was generally well received by the Film Club on 25th July at 19:30 although some mebers thought it rather dated.
Link to Wikipedia
Link to IMDb Site
Link to Rotten Tomatoes
Running Time – 1hr 52mins (112 minutes)
UK Classification – PG
HW Film Club 