Issue 34

Silent Night, Deadly Night

Seasonal fun starts with the release of 80s shocker Silent Night, Deadly Night, uncut for the first time in the UK: killer Santa, heaps of gore and nudity, a dollop of sexual and religious guilt, it’s got it all. Being in the mood for terror, we take the opportunity of a new Blu-ray release to revisit The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and admire its ground-breaking soundtrack. Fans of spurting blood will be impressed by the geysers coming out of treacherous samurais dispatched by the hero of Lone Wolf and Cub. Although famous for its violence, the ultra-stylish 70s Japanese series has a lot more to offer than spectacular fight scenes. And we also look at Enzo Castellari’s macaroni war film Eagles over London – fun for the whole cult fan family. For a different kind of festive entertainment, watch out for British classic The Queen of Spades, a dark, dreamlike tale of bargains with the devil released as a special Boxing Day treat around the UK.

Out at the cinema this month is Jim Jarmusch’s latest, The Limits of Control. Jarmusch has become synonymous with American independent film, and our review of a revised edition of 100 American Independent Films is the occasion to look at the changes that have affected this sector in recent years. Things may be difficult, but the stunning Redland, which showed at Raindance in October, is proof that independent filmmakers are still able to produce work of remarkable quality – read our interview with director Asiel Norton and writer/producer Magdalena Zyzak.

Continuing our coverage of Raindance’s Japanese women directors strand, we have an interview with the unique Sachi Hamano, one of the first female filmmakers in Japan and the director of over 300 pink films. We also talk to Apitchapong Weerasethakul about his video installation Primitive, which was presented at AND in September. And as omnibus film Germany 09 screens at the 12th Festival of German Films, we have an interview with two of the co-directors, Tow Tykwer and Fatih Akin.

In the Short Cuts section, we explore the uncompromising world of animator Max Hattler while the Prisoner-inspired duo Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling pick their favourite movies in the Film Jukebox.

Issue 33

If you only see one film this month, make it Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon, a masterful, richly enigmatic evocation of the ‘Nazi generation’ as children. Lighter entertainment comes courtesy of whimsical comedy Bunny and the Bull, directed by Mighty Boosh‘s Paul King, and outrageous Japanese porn farce Lalapipo. The Korean Film Festival is at the Barbican and there is a Bong Joon-ho retrospective at the BFI Southbank, which includes screenings of his latest, Mother, as well as The Host and Memories of Murder.

Also in UK cinemas in November are Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno, a documentary investigating the gorgeous-looking crime thriller the French master could not complete, and low-fi indie romance Paper Heart, for which we have capsule reviews as part of our round-up of the 53rd London Film Festival – read about unknown gems as well as films you can look forward to see on UK screens in the near future. We Live in Public, a documentary about internet pioneer Joshua Harris that also screened at the LFF, is out this month and we have an interview with director Ondi Timoner.

In the DVD section, we look at two very different French works, the acclaimed documentary on France under German occupation during the Second World War The Sorrow and the Pity, and extreme horror thriller Inside and its connection to the Paris riots of 2005. We also review a documentary on the All Tomorrow’s Parties music festival.

We have an interview with Momoko Ando, the young director of the wonderful Kakera – A Piece of our Lives, conducted during the Raindance Film Festival last month. You can read the winning review in our Rollerball film writing competition, which we run every month in connection with the Electric Sheep Film Club at the Prince Charles. And our Film Jukebox this month features the very unusual Non-Commissioned Officers, who formed a band to promote a film – or was it the other way around?

The Electric Sheep Magazine team

Electric Sheep Magazine Winter 09

‘I Fought the Law’ – The winter 09 issue of Electric Sheep looks at what makes a cinematic outlaw: read about the misdeeds of low-life gangsters, gentlemen thieves, deadly females, modern terrorists, cop killers and vigilantes, bikers and banned filmmakers.

Also in this issue: interview with John Hillcoat about his adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, the art of Polish posters according to Andrzej Klimowski, Andrew Cartmel discusses The Prisoner and noir comic strips!

The magazine is no longer in print. Back copies are available for reference at Close-Up Video Library.