Barry Adamson

For the first Film Jukebox compiler of 2012, who better than Barry Adamson, writer of imaginary film soundtracks (see 1988’s Moss Side Story) and a musician who’s long been associated with cinematic sounds. Known for his work with Magazine, The Bad Seeds and other luminaries of various music scenes as well as having written the score for an award-winning ballet, Adamson has also garnered a nomination for the Mercury Prize, won prizes for his short stories and even written and directed a movie. His new album I Will Set You Free is released on 30 January 2012 and he plays the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 9 February 2012. Download the taster track ‘Destination’ from Barry Adamson’s website. Delia Sparrer

1. Taxi Driver (1976)
Director Martin Scorsese’s 1976 urban masterpiece begins with Travis Bickle’s (Robert De Niro) taxi emerging into the cinema frame, all fire and brimstone; cruising through the ‘foul’ landscape that will see him set out on a deranged crusade. This movie is the ultimate depiction of alienation, obsession and perverse desire, where reality is played out as an insomniac nightmare of rejection and racial hatred and the need to save mankind’s angel/whore as Travis’s angst builds into an apex of horror. An amazing study of ‘God’s lonely man’. The screenplay by Paul Schrader and the score by Bernard Hermann begin and finish one of the greatest films ever made.

2. Seconds (1966)
Arthur Hamilton becomes Tony Wilson but regrets it, too late, before meeting a surreal, eerie fate. Extraordinary 1960s black and white paranoia movie bearing depressing truths about today, with its theme of transformation through plastic surgery. Using distortion and exaggeration, cameraman James Wong Howe and director John Frankenheimer reveal the mind of a man who is struggling to break free from an emotional straightjacket, by painting a frightening picture of a dehumanised and controlling world, where, ultimately, fulfilment cannot be found by changing the outside.

3. Humanity (1999)
A beautifully mundane film displaying director Bruno Dumont’s trademark cinematographic blend of lush widescreen landscapes, glossy-eyed close-ups and clinically objective (and graphic) staging of sex to personify his idealised vision of ‘the ordinary people, who don’t speak a lot, but who experience an incredible intensity of… Emotion’. Pharaon de Winter (Emmanuel Schotté) is an incompetent detective, who longs desperately to connect with humanity but is frustrated at every turn. This is intense tedium observed with clinical precision.

4. Enter the Void (2009)
Gaspar Noé shocked everybody with Carne, Seul contre tous and Irréversible. With Enter the Void, he creates a magnificently deranged melodrama that surrounds the tragic and strange relationship of Oscar (Nathaniel Brown) and his sister, Linda (Paz de la Huerta). This is a tripped-out journey into and out of hell: drugged, neon-lit and with a fully realised nightmare-porn aesthetic that has to be seen to be believed. Unlike anything seen before, it has a vitality and originality that are at once bold and strikingly inspiring.

5. Mirror (1975)
Stifled by the Soviet Union due to its ‘confused narrative’ and therefore not getting a proper release at the time, Tarkovsky’s Mirror, indeed appears at first to be a hotchpotch of ideas thrown together. In this dreamlike and evocative film, childhood memory is pitted against newsreels of war and left open for the viewer to pin their own childhood onto. Mirror represents the closest Tarkovsky would ever come to total abandonment of what many people would consider the most important aspect of any film – a coherent story! There are sequences in this film that are breathtaking and it deserves watching again and again.

6. Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970)
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders is haunting and magical. It’s a deeply strange film, constantly subverting narrative clarity and demanding that its images be taken as metaphors rather than at face value. It charts the story of Valerie’s (Jaroslava Schallerov&#225) transformation from child to adult through the onset of puberty, which is expressed as a nightmarish fantasia, a dreamlike fairy tale populated with vampires, grisly violence and lurid sexuality. A genius tripped-out tale of innocence kept, with one of the great film scores by Lubos Fischer.

7. Performance (1970)
Performance stands out as being (at the time) the most visually daring major studio film dealing with questions of sanity and identity rarely touched on in mainstream filmmaking. A gangster on the run (James Fox) hides out in the home of a reclusive rock star (Mick Jagger). Co-directors Nicolas Roeg (who also photographed) and Donald Cammell (who wrote the screenplay) explore self-discovery through sex, drugs and violence. The film’s madness unfolds in a bizarre unconventional examination that many baulked at but that suits its themes perfectly, giving them real cohesion and truth. The score by Jack Nitzsche is brilliant too.

8. Mother and Son (1997)
Alexander Sokurov’s extraordinarily lyrical film is a beautiful and tender exploration of the deep affection between an ailing mother and her devoted adult son. In a hauntingly beautiful landscape, which Sokurov’s camera transforms into stunning cinematic canvases, the pair recall happier times as the dutiful son lovingly nurses his mother in her final hours. Often this movie feels like watching paint dry in a most exquisite, almost narcotic way. Slow, ponderous and genius.

9. In Cold Blood (1967)
I came to this story written by Truman Capote and directed by Richard Brooks via its Quincy Jones score. It’s the story of Perry Smith (Robert Blake) and Dick Hickock (Scott Wilson), who, after a botched robbery, kill a whole family, are caught, and then tried. Capote wrote the whole thing from memory after befriending Smith on jail visits and then interviewing the townsfolk. Four Oscar nominations later, this remains a great re-telling of something truly awful.

10. Psycho (1960)
Alfred Hitchcock was a sly genius who scared audiences out of their lives (and showers) with Psycho. Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) steals from her boss and goes on the run, ending up at The Bates Motel, where Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) takes her in. The nightmarish, disturbing film’s themes of corruptibility, confused identities, voyeurism, human vulnerabilities and victimisation, the deadly effects of money, Oedipal murder and dark past histories are realistically revealed through repeated uses of motifs such as birds, eyes, hands and mirrors. Bernard Hermann scores a motif that would end up (at Scorsese’s request) in his Taxi Driver score too!

Raechel Leigh Carter

Raechel Leigh Carter fronted mid-90s pop band Baby Birkin, a band styled around the works of Serge Gainsbourg and his muse Jane Birkin (plus the occasional Françoise Hardy, France Gall and Brigitte Bardot song), who released a Russell Senior-produced album on Dishy as well as numerous singles. Raechel also contributed vocals to Mike Alway’s faux-psych band Sunshine Day and to cult band Piano Magic. A Klaus Kinski obsessive, she now runs the Du Dumme Sau blog that, even if you’re not a particular fan of Klaus, is very entertaining and will surely lead to a hunt for the featured films. Over to Raechel… Delia Sparrer

Most people remember Klaus Kinski solely for his five collaborations with Werner Herzog and there’s a tendency to write off the rest of his film work; considering that he acted in between 100 and 200 films (no one really knows the exact number), that’s a lot of work to write off. And while there’s a lot of trash among his filmography, if you look closely (and I do) there are quite a few gems there too. Here’s ten lesser known Klaus Kinski films I’d recommend:

1. Kinski Paganini (1989)
Klaus directed himself in this film, which was his final film before he died in 1991. Klaus had an affinity with the virtuoso ‘devil violinist’ Niccol&#242 Paganini and was driven to create this movie, which he wrote, directed and starred in. There’s genius, there’s sex, there’s hero-worship, there’s craziness. Klaus proved Werner Herzog wrong by filming a script that Herzog had deemed to be ‘unfilmable’ and making it into a stylish and very personal work of art.

2. The Great Silence (1968)
This is a fabulous Italian Western, which I can’t recommend enough. Klaus plays Loco, a bounty killer looking for outlaws in the Nevada mountains, who finds himself being pursued by a mute gunman (il grande silenzio) looking for revenge. The path is paved with corpses. See this film now!

3. Footprints on the Moon (1975)
Florinda Bolkan’s character Alice suffers from memory loss, nightmares about a film called Footprints on the Moon and feelings of paranoia and persecution. Klaus plays the bad Professor Blackmann, who, while although little seen, has a lot to do with Alice’s state of mind. There’s beautiful cinematography, a great soundtrack and the perfect cast in this incredibly stylish thriller.

4. Lifespan (1975)
Klaus, the mysterious ‘Swiss Man’, wants to live forever so he engages a young scientist to find a ‘cure for ageing’ – along the way there are a few dead OAPs left behind. Even though Tina Aumont’s clothes fall off at the drop of a hat (she engages in a bit of bondage with Hiram Keller and has a kinky sex scene with Klaus, who is wearing a mask that was used in 1937 when Faust was performed for the Nazis…), this film has substance and a lot of style and gives you plenty to think about.

5. Nosferatu in Venice (1988)
In this kind of unofficial sequel to Herzog’s Nosferatu (1979), Klaus reprises his role as a vampire bringing with him a sadness and world-weariness that makes his character’s wish to end his immortal life utterly believable. Beautiful to look at but heartbreaking to behold, this film is massively underrated. Klaus was so naughty on set that there were several directors involved and he even claimed that he had to direct himself in the end.

6. Crawlspace (1986)
Klaus plays a landlord who traps his young female tenants and slowly tortures them to death. When one of the tenants goes into the crawlspace to escape from him, Klaus follows her, wearing a hideous cardigan, black eyeliner and smeared lipstick, riding down the crawlspace on a trolley. It’s the stuff of nightmares! It’s so bad, it’s good. And Klaus created so much chaos on set that the director David Schmoeller later made a film about his experience called Please Kill Mr Kinski (1999).

7. Fruits of Passion (1989)
This is a sequel to The Story of O (1975). Klaus plays Sir Stephen, who makes his girlfriend O go and work in a bordello to ‘test their insane pact of violent love’, as you do. That’s right, it’s an erotic art-house film. But it’s full of far more visual pleasures than just female nudity; it’s stylish, it’s clever and it’s very theatrical. And there’s something for the girls: you get to see Klaus’s hot old man body in its full glory (it’s worth a good look!).

8. The Pleasure Girls (1965)
Klaus plays a slum landlord who pays for his menacing ways with a beating and a whipping in an underground car park. This film about Swinging London in the 60s takes in beatniks, compulsive gambling, pregnancy outside of wedlock, homosexuality and extramarital affairs. These days it may seem tame but back in the day one viewer complained that The Pleasure Girls would ‘incite juvenile violence at holiday weekends’!

9. Jack the Ripper (1976)
If you’re looking for a good Jess Franco film, here’s one I recommend. There’s great cinematography, and for once the story doesn’t involve women’s clothes falling off every five minutes for no apparent reason. Klaus plays a Jekyll and Hyde version of Jack the Ripper – Dr Dennis Orloff – who kills prostitutes as a way of getting revenge for the abuse he suffered as a child. Klaus plays his character in the only way he can, with ‘a kind of madness that could be transformed into brilliance’ and a sense of pain and torment.

10. That Most Important Thing: Love (1977)
When a photographer borrows money from the mafia to turn a soft-core porn actress (played by Romy Schneider) into a Shakespearean thespian, who does he turn to for help? Yes, Klaus Kinski! So you know it’s going to end in tears for someone (or everyone). Klaus gets dramatic, camps it up as a homosexual, has fist fights, takes his clothes off, sleeps with two women and then cries while looking out of a rain-spattered window. Andrzej Zulawski’s film is incredibly pretentious but also very, very stylish.

Race Horses

Proud carriers of the Welsh Flag of Psychedelic Pop, Race Horses continue to play dream-washed danceable indie-punk-pop with exquisite charm. Expect lyrics in both English and Welsh on their mischief-laden songs and a nod to electronic, folk-rock, post-rock and pop styles. Following on from the release of their cracking debut album Goodbye Falkenberg, Race Horses have been busy recording a host of new songs, which you can expect to hear at their upcoming show at Proud Galleries, London, on November 9, together with their ace tunes like ‘Grangetown’, ‘Pony’ and ‘Marged Wedi Blino’. Fresh from a turn at the SWN festival and touring with British Sea Power and Villagers, Race Horses are not to be missed live! More information on their website. Below, Race Horses’ Dan Bradley lists his top 10 films. Delia Sparrer

1. Le Ballon Rouge (1956)
I have seen this film more times than any other (except maybe The Wind in the Willows). I know pretty much every line. I cannot help but admit that it is my favourite film although sometimes I keep this to myself.

2. Kes (1969)
One of the many astonishing films from Palme D’or-winning British director Ken Loach.

3. Antichrist (2009)
Lars von Trier’s film sparked a legendary press conference at the Cannes Film Festival [topped by this year’s Cannes press conference for Melancholia].

4. Fish Tank (2009)
Katie Jarvis is the lead in Andrea Arnold’s extraordinary film.

5. Io sono l’amore (2009)
Luca Guadagnino’s film feels so fresh. Tilda Swinton’s performance makes one wonder how she ever got mixed up in that whole Hollywood crowd.

6. Hable con ella (2002)
This is probably Pedro Almod&#243var’s most restrained film and the soundtrack by Alberto Iglesias is one of my favourites.

7. The Servant (1963)
One of several Harold Pinter/Joseph Losey collaborations for the screen – described as a masterpiece by The Guardian.

8. Code Unknown : Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys (2000)
Directed by Michael Haneke with Juliette Binoche. Before Haneke became more widely known thanks to Hidden (Caché), the Funny Games remake and White Ribbon.

9. Un Prophète (2009)
I remember seeing Jacques Audiard’s film for the first time at the Cornerhouse Cinema in Manchester. A special cinema and a very powerful film.

10. Four Lions (2010)
Chris Morris’s first venture into film after creating some of our favourite TV comedies – Brass Eye and Jam.

Peggy Sue (photo by Anika Mottershaw)

Honey-voiced duo Peggy Sue have gone electric and come back as a trio with heavier, but still lushly melodic sounds for their second album Acrobats (Wichita Recordings), out on September 12. They play Winchester on Sept 14, Bristol on Sept 15, Manchester on Sept 17 and Leeds on Sept 18. For more information, visit their website. Below, singer Katy Young picks her favourite 10 films.

I decided to be greedy and do this all myself. All views expressed are mine alone and not representative of the other two thirds of Peggy Sue (who I know would have some strong dissenting ideas of their own).

1. Empire Records (1995)
I have seen this film more times than any other (except maybe The Wind in the Willows). I know pretty much every line. I cannot help but admit that it is my favourite film although sometimes I keep this to myself.

2. Paper Moon (1973)
I have stolen this one from Rosa [Peggy Sue’s other singing half]. It is her favourite film and I only watched it for the first time recently. It is funny and sad and pressed all my buttons.

3. Badlands (1973)
Probably the most beautiful film I have ever seen. Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen are so cool in this movie. Plus I am a sucker for meta-textual references so all the James Dean nods are really satisfying.

4. Guys and Dolls (1955)
Some films are perfect for a Saturday afternoon. Ones with Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando are ideal. The soundtrack has some really big tunes on it, like ‘Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat’. There is a really annoying super long romantic scene in the middle but it’s the perfect time to make some tea.

5. Valentin (2002)
Beautifully sad Argentine film about a cross-eyed boy who wants to be an astronaut.

6. AristoCats (1970)
Rosa had a deprived childhood and hasn’t seen very many Disney films. I think she maybe had seen Mulan, or another rubbish one like that, and was scarred by that experience so I showed her the ‘Everybody wants to be a Cat’ scene from AristoCats and she was persuaded that there are some great ones.

7. Scorpio Rising (1964)
We performed the soundtrack of this film at an event in London this summer. It is comprised entirely of massive 1960s pop hits so it is basically one long music video and the songs were so fun to learn and play. The imagery is immediate and there are some brilliant ironic moments.

8. Delicatessen (1991)
I love the attention to detail and colour in Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s films and how he creates those surreal worlds. Delicatessen is pretty dark but very funny.

9. Raising Arizona (1987)
This is my favourite film by the Coen brothers. Maybe because of Nicolas Cage’s hair and moustache, or maybe because of Holly Hunter’s accent. It’s pretty much a live-action cartoon.

10. In Search of a Midnight Kiss (2007)
Sometimes one just wants to watch a romantic comedy. At these moments a low-budge mumble-core film is ideal because you can pretend you are watching it because of its interesting aesthetic and semi-improvised performances while mindlessly devouring the really satisfying plot about a New Yorker looking for a date on New Year’s Eve. Alternatively you could just watch 10 Things I Hate about You, which is also pretty great.

Crystal Stilts (Photo by Erika Spring)

American garage pop combo Crystal Stilts returned in April with their second album, In Love with Oblivion (Fortuna POP!), a glorious collection of gorgeously textured, fevered, dreamy pop gems rooted in their brooding, mysterious world. Catch them live on July 31 at Derby Indietracks, Aug 1 at Liverpool Static Gallery, Aug 2 at London Whiteheat @Madame Jojo’s and Aug 3 at Norwich Arts Centre. For more information on In Love with Oblivion, please go to the Fortuna POP! website or Crystal Stilts website.

1. Cat People (1942 dir Jacques Tourneur)

2. L’atalante (1934 dir Jean Vigo)

3. Sans soleil (1983 dir Chris Marker)

4. Hellzapoppin’ (1941 dir H.C. Potter)

5. Nathalie Granger (1972 dir Marguerite Duras)

6. Robinson Crusoe (1954 dir Luis Buñuel)

7. The Awful Truth (1937 dir Leo McCarey)

8. Treasure Island (1985 dir Raoul Ruiz)

9. Underworld (1927 dir Josef von Sternberg)

10. Walden (Diaries, Notes and Sketches 1969 dir Jonas Mekas)

Dan Sartain

Raising hell with his visceral rock’n’roll, Alabama-born Dan Sartain brings his Southern rockabilly-mariachi-blues to rapturous audiences around the world via his thrilling live shows and records, including the fantastic Join Dan Sartain. He loves films nearly as much as he loves music and has chosen 10 movies that appeal to both his ‘artsy’ side and his ‘common idiot’ side. His new record Legacy of Hospitality, a collection of alternate versions, outtakes and unheard tracks, is out on April 25 on One Little Indian. On the same date, he will also release a DVD, Dan Sartain Lives: The Motion Picture. See him on tour in the UK in April (25: London Buffalo Bar, 26: Bristol Thekla, 27: Cork Crane Lane Theatre, 28: Belfast McHughs, 29: Dublin Button Factory, 30: Manchester: Deaf Institute) and May (01: Glasgow Captains Rest, 02: Newcastle The Cluny, 04: Leeds Brudenell Club). For more details visit Dan Sartain’s website. LUCY HURST

1. Evil Dead II (1987)
This is a damn near-perfect film in my opinion. Evil Dead II is perhaps the only sequel that truly is better than the original in every way. Bruce Campbell is my fave-o-rite actor of all time, and this is the best performance of his career. Ash is the greatest horror villain to ever bless the medium of film. To quote David Cross, there seems to be a fog of ‘anti-intellectual pride’ sweeping the world at the moment. Those who like ‘popcorn movies’ tend to argue that they don’t want their entertainment to be challenging in any way and can simply enjoy a dumb movie for being a dumb movie. I don’t agree, I think that’s dumb. Evil Dead II bridges the gap. This movie can quench the thirst of the intellectually void as well the ‘artsy-fartsy’ crowd with one swoop of a motherfucking chainsaw hand!!

2. Rocky (1976)
I know the mention of Stallone puts a bad taste in some people’s mouths and I understand why. Judge Dredd (1995) and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992) are unforgivable, but don’t forget Stallone was in Lords of Flatbush (1974) and Deathrace 2000 (1975), which were killer movies. They don’t excuse some of the bad stuff but don’t count the guy out altogether. Rocky is great. If you have never seen Rocky, you should.

3. Re-Animator (1985)
This film has every right to be number 1 on the list, and if it were another day it probably would be. All the nice stuff I had to say about Evil Dead II applies to this film as well. Jeffrey Combs is a talented actor and Barbara Crampton in her role as Megan Halsey is probably the best ‘scream queen’ performance I can think of. Just like Evil Dead II, this film pleases my ‘artsy’ side as well as my ‘common idiot’ side. I might also add that the film From Beyond (1986), which consists largely of the same cast as Re-animator, is also great. It has the same director, and is also based on an H.P. Lovecraft story.

4. Christine (1983)
This film seems to grip people who feel emotional attachments to inanimate objects. It also is a favourite among particular motor-heads I know. Christine is a classic ‘boy loves car, car kills people’ story. When I first found love for this movie I was roughly the same age as the main character(s) and also had an affection for things from the 1950s (objects, not ideals). The main character (Arnie) nurses a sick antique car (a 1958 Plymouth sport Fury) back to health with love. I found out the hard way that it takes more than love to bring a dead car back to life. I thought I could bring back my 1962 AMC Rambler Classic with a little TLC. It gave me a cracked block in return. The movie is still great though (even if it did mislead my idealistic teenage mind). The scene where Buddy and his goons destroy a fully restored ’58 Plymouth is gut-wrenching no matter how many times I see it. It’s almost as fucked up as when they hack a monkey’s face off and dismember a huge turtle in Cannibal Holocaust. I say almost ‘cus monkeys and turtles feel pain.

5. East of Eden (1955)
This is my fave-o-rite James Dean film, and I like all of James Dean’s films.

6. A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
I don’t really like cowboy movies, but there is NO BETTER shoot ‘em up than Fistful of Dollars. The music, the acting, the cinematography are all great. It’s another one of those ‘half meat-head/half artsy-fartsy’ films I like. I don’t really like guns (or people who carry them), but in the realm of fantasy they get a big OK in my book. In all fairness I can’t call this movie a ‘stoner movie’, but it is flat out the best movie to watch stoned. Oddly enough, when I watch a ‘stoner’ movie I want to kill people, but when I watch an action movie I want to be stoned. Ass-backward, ain’t it?

7. Do the Right Thing (1989)
This movie holds up where a lot of films from this time don’t. Boyz n the Hood doesn’t seem as edgy as it did way back, but Do the Right Thing has never lost its impact. An awesome soundtrack provided by an in-their-prime Public Enemy never hurt anything either.

8. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Why do people prefer The Wrath of Khan (1982) to this? Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a technological psychedelic masterpiece. Nemoy and Shatner are both in great form, and the whole V’Ger thing makes for great storytelling like only Star Trek can provide. I find Star Wars to be quite shallow entertainment, but Star Trek, on the other hand, is something I can get into. The Motion Picture is the best film of the Star Trek series hands down. It’s also another great non-stoner/stoner film (like Fistful of Dollars).

9. The Elephant Man (1980)
I like a great deal of David Lynch’s work, but sometimes the guy is too fucking abstract for his or the audience’s good (see Inland Empire). Such is not the case with The Elephant Man. The message of the film is simple, and beautiful. This movie should be required viewing at grade schools. Even though the movie is factually wrong in many instances, there is still much value to be gained from it. The Elephant Man is Lynch’s best.

10. A Nightmare on Elm Street II: Freddy’s Revenge (1986)
This film is so fucking underrated it’s ridiculous. Freddy’s Revenge is hated among most fans of the Nightmare on Elm St series. However, in actuality (my opinion has officially become fact) it’s the only one out of the series that is actually worth a shit. The main character, Jessie, is an ‘in-the-closet’ homosexual boy. Freddy is supposed to represent the boy’s ‘inner struggle’ with his own sexuality. The fact that all of this is implied rather than addressed outright makes this film all the more genius. With the kind of audience that the Elm St films draw, and the year being 1986, this kind of subject matter under normal circumstances wouldn’t be discussed in a movie like this.

Pete and the Pirates

Pete And The Pirates bestowed upon us their long-awaited comeback single ‘Come To The Bar’ on March 14 via Stolen Records. Having toured the world, played various prestigious showcases and festivals and conquered the continent, they’re now back in the UK and ready to embark on the next stage of their world-domination plan. They’ve been recording a new album with Brendan Lynch with their usual sharp lyrical ear, double-barrelled guitar folk/punk/lilt attack but with added motorik rhythms and sleek synths. Look out for their new album ‘One Thousand Pictures’, released on May 23, and their headline gig at Heaven on May 26. For more information, visit their website. Tickets to the Heaven gig are available from CrowdSurge. Below, they tell us about their favourite films. DELIA SPARRER

David

1. Paris, Texas (1984)
A beautiful, slow and quiet film. Harry Dean Stanton is amazing. Both simple and very complex simultaneously, very beautiful and sad, and probably nearly perfect.

2. Love and Death (1975)
I watched this Woody Allen film for the first time a few days after I first saw Andrei Rublev, I think I could probably list them both here as two of my favourites, but Love and Death wins. Woody and Diane Keaton are great, and it is just so full of great lines. My favourite Woody Allen film.

Pete H.

3. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Like Luke, this film has a cutting sort of wit which it hides behind a brave nonchalant exterior. It is a film that gets drunk and cuts the heads of parking meters. Paul Newman’s performance is perfect in this film, using the excellent script to show the depth of a man who struggles to find his place within society and to understand his relationship with God, family and authority. This film sort of doesn’t belong. It refuses to be knocked down; it refuses to stay down. We, the audience, become George Segal’s character Dragline. We love this film, would do anything to protect it and those of us who’ve seen it still tell stories about it to this day.

4. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
An Italian film about a Jewish Italian, Guido Orifece, in the years before World War II. Roberto Benigni directs the film and plays the central character. Like Benigni himself, Guido is a charismatic, funny and hopelessly romantic hero. He throws himself completely into everything he does with charm and skill. The film uses slapstick humour coupled with brilliant and clever dialogue to tell a really beautiful story. I think the reason I love this film so much is because it completely swept me off my feet. Don’t read the blurb on the back and don’t read any reviews. Just put it on.

Pete C.

5. Fitzcarraldo (1982)
At this time in his life German filmmaker/auteur Werner Herzog was ambitious enough, and crazy enough, to actually pull a massive boat over a massive hill in Peru, using only rudimentary pulleys and a big tribe of indigenous folk. It was one of the most difficult shoots ever undertaken. Not only that, but after 40% of the filming was completed, one of the actors became so ill that they had to recast and start the movie again from scratch! Klaus Kinski’s manic antics and obscene outbursts eventually led to death threats from the tribe they were filming with. The end result is a feat to behold. For more Herzog/Kinski madness, see Nosferatu the Vampyre, Cobra Verde, Aguirre, Wrath of God, and Woyzeck. There is also a nice documentary Herzog made after Kinski’s death called My Best Fiend.

6. Clockwise (1986)
A very funny and silly comedy that follows the misfortunes of a school headmaster played by John Cleese. It’s no Life of Brian, but it is really funny, and I do prefer it to the better-known A Fish Called Wanda. I really feel the headmaster’s pain! It’s a simple film with simple values but it has a really nice flow to it, and is quite touching in places.

Jonny

7. Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970)
Magical, creepy and like some semi-nightmarish folk tale. I can’t say I fully understood all that was going on. The story follows Valerie as she encounters scary vampires and church people. Somewhere between a nightmare and a happy dream all at once. This film has a beautiful soundtrack by Lubos Fiser, which I listen to frequently. Gentle folky flute songs with dark theatrical twists.

8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Probably the film I have watched most times. I, like many other people, kind of fell in love with it. Maybe it was because I broke up with a girlfriend at the time. It captures those lovely feelings you get at the beginning of a relationship but also the horrible feelings when things go bad. The whole thing is wrapped up in a clever twist of a plot about erasing memory. Jim Carrey is great in it too… oh and I really fancied Kirsten Dunst at the time and she jumps on a bed in her underwear in this film. It has a great soundtrack by Jon Brion. The theme from the film is so beautiful yet melancholic.

Tommy

9. L’Eclisse (The Eclipse, 1962)
This film is a complete overdose of beauty. The principal actress is Monica Vitti, who I was briefly and retrospectively in love with (she’s now 80) and she’s an important part of why I love this film. The film deals with things I relate to easily: the demise of crap, materialistic relationships and emotional absence. But the beauty lies in the stunning cinematography, the quietness of the film, the lovely pace of the editing, and Monica Vitti’s face and voice. It’s the kind of film I’d feel so proud of making if I was a filmmaker. It really lets you interpret it yourself, doesn’t spell anything out to you, is completely un-formulaic, and is full of little bits of detail and symbolism that you’ll probably miss the first time you watch it.

10. The Jerk (1979)
It’s a shit film but for some reason I keep watching it. I think it’s because I love one-liners and I love Steve Martin. It’s basically about a white guy (Steve Martin) who thinks he’s black, has a dog called Shithead who hates him, and who accidentally makes a fortune then loses it. When he leaves his foster family to explore the world, it’s his inconceivable naivety that is so compelling, as we see him find his first job, lose his virginity and generally be sociopathic. Behind the cheap gags and slapstick, there are some really tender moments, especially the ukulele duet.

Sic Alps

Purveyors of lo-fi psych Sic Alps have just released their third album, ‘Napa Asylum’, on Drag City. With themes that range from reincarnation to magic and schizophrenia, the trio’s new offering is a collection of lyrical and bittersweet tunes with addictive killer hooks. For more information and to download the album, visit the Drag City website. Below, Noel, Mike and Matt tell us about their favourite films.

Noel

1. Blind Beast (1969)
This Japanese film by Yasuzo Masumura must be one of my favourite films of all time. Why this is so is a mystery to me as I really don’t relate to the subject material at all. A blind sculptor goes to check out a nude life-size sculpture of a woman that he becomes obsessed with. She’s a struggling model and he convinces her to come back to his ‘studio’ to work on a piece. She is kidnapped and held captive in this bizarre warehouse (with no light) where the artist’s mother has been forced to take care of him. Each of the walls is covered in oversized body parts, one with ears, one with noses, one with arms, one with legs, etc. (I suppose there are more than four walls in the montage). In the middle of the room is a giant 50-yard-long sculpture of a female body that eventually becomes the terrain for a gradual descent into sado-masochistic sensory deprivation which escalates to result in mutilation and eventually a double suicide. I really have little interest in these sorts of themes but the film’s heavy tones and campy way just work. I’m glad that my nightmares are much tamer than this.

2. Stripes (1981)
This is one of the few VHS tapes that my folks purchased and had around the house while I was a kid. I was way too young to understand a lot of this kind of comedy at the time (‘Oh, I’m sorry, it must be all that cough syrup I had for breakfast…’) but I caught onto it in a strange way. It made me realise that Bill Murray is one of the most hilarious comedy actors of my time and helped me to develop a very skewed and irreverent view of the military at a very young age. I think I’ve seen this film 1,000 times.

3. Zachariah (1970)
Remember when you saw a young Don Johnson in A Boy and His Dog and kinda freaked out? Rewind five years and you’ve got DJ co-starring in this bizarre and wonderfully flawed psych-out Western, directed by George Englund. You’ve got cameos from the likes of the James Gang, Country Joe & the Fish, Doug Kershaw, and… wait for it… ELVIN JONES! EJ’s bit is brief and he plays the owner (and ‘man in black’) of an isolated mountain top saloon (the outside walls of the building are covered in skulls). Inside, the James Gang is playing but Elvin gets an itch and wrestles the drummer from his stool to take over and take a dominating drum solo for what seems like a solid, sweaty and monumentally cinematic five minutes! Just afterwards, there is a pretty important gunfight with the aforementioned DJ… no spoilers here. I’m serious, this film exists.

Mike

4. Mean Girls (2004)
Classic early Lindsay Lohan jam. Perfect for a rainy day.

5. Broadway by Light (1958)
Photographic short film of the lights of Times Square from the American photographer/satirist William Klein.

6. Eat the Document (1966)
By D.A. Pennebaker. I love to edit film and sing Bob Dylan songs.

Matt

7. The Hours and Times (1992)
Beatles fact or fiction? A short (60-minute) film that ponders the rumour that a 1963 pre-Beatlemania vacation to Barcelona by John Lennon and Brian Epstein may have involved a little more than just a little rest and relaxation. That the two went on holiday is fact. What happened in those four days is where this film takes some interesting liberties. Acted with nuance, its strengths lie in three-dimensional characterisations and solid dialogue. Ian Hart would play John Lennon again in Backbeat, but his handling of the role here is far superior.

8. Out of the Blue (1980)
Dennis Hopper’s third feature as director (in fact ‘hijacked’ from original producer Raymond Burr, and filmed during an admittedly low point in his personal and professional life), this is an unflinching study of the failures of the 60s generation and the irreparable ill-effects they have on the youth of the late 70s. It’s a sure bet that Linda Manz’s performance here is the reason why she was picked to play an unhinged mom in Harmony Korine’s Gummo (yes, consider this a double recommendation). Tough, dark, visceral.

9. Safe Men (1998)
One of the biggest sleepers of all time. My introduction to Sam Rockwell, Paul Giamatti, Steve Zahn, and Mark Ruffalo. A hilarious case of mistaken identity set in the Jewish-mafia-ridden town of Providence, R.I. Wait, that doesn’t make any sense, you say? This one is off the charts on its own logic, but by no means is it insufferably ‘weird’. On the contrary, the themes are quite ordinary, but the dialogue is hilarious and the premise is just enough off-kilter to allow for characters like Giamatti’s ‘Pork Chop a.k.a. Sasha’.

10. Withnail and I (1986)
This is a Mike and Matt favourite for what should be obvious reasons.

The Loves

The Loves are unashamed fans of 60s pop and rock, who throw in their unique, fuzzy, low-fi, comedic touches into the mix. The band, who formed in Cardiff in 2000, have decided to call it a day with the release of their fourth album, …Love You, released on Fortuna POP! in January, and will be breaking hearts with their last show on Valentine’s Day 2011. Their new single, ‘December Boy’, is out on December 6 on 7” and download. For more information go to the Fortuna POP! website. Frontman Simon Love tells Electric Sheep about some of his favourite films. SARAH CRONIN

1. A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
Or What I Thought Being in a Band Would Be Like. Liars. One day I’ll make the indie A Hard Day’s Night and it’ll involve: not getting soundchecks, being bumped down the bill because another band brought the drums, not getting paid, sleeping on floors, late night toilet stops at service stations, playing to three people in Stoke and the never-ending challenge of getting your mix CD played next.

2. Head (1968)
The Monkees attempt to get rid of their teenybopper image but just end up getting rid of their teenybopper fans. I saw this for the first time late one Friday night, coming through the static on S4C, on a portable black and white TV. They’ve never looked cooler than they do when they’re all in white performing ‘Circle Sky’. Except for Davy. He never looked cool. Bless him.

3. Harold and Maude (1971)
Everyone I’ve shown this film to has at first balked at the premise (19-year-old Bud Cort falls in love with 79-year-old Ruth Gordon), but by the end they are either in tears or singing, ‘If you want to sing out, sing out and if you want to be free, be free’. Everyone though still curls their toes when it shows them in bed together. For more examples of Bud Cort’s ossum-ness see Brewster McCloud or choice number eight in my list.

4. The Wicker Man (1973)
The film I’ve seen the most times in a cinema, and I still get freaked out by the Hand of Glory every time. I love this film because there’s no happy ending, no police helicopters come over the cliff to save Sergeant Howie, he dies. Sorry for spoiling it if you’ve not seen it before. Other spoilers: he’s two people, he might be a robot, he was a patient at the mental asylum all along, but Ben Kingsley thought it’d be good for him to pretend to be a policeman and all M. Night Shyamalan films are shit.

5. Star Wars (1977-1983)
Before triple-chinned, badger-haired, one-idea-for–40-years-not-counting-Howard-the-Duck director George Lucas raped my childhood with episodes one to three of the ‘saga’, the three original films brought nothing but pleasant memories to me. Like the time my father got me out of school early to go and see Return of the Jedi, telling my teacher that I had a dentist appointment just so we wouldn’t have to queue, and the time we ‘rented’ The Empire Strikes Back from his friend who had it ‘on pirate’ in a double bill with ET. In the playground I was Han Solo and Gavin Naish was Luke because he had blond hair. Glory days.

6. Back to the Future (1985-1990)
As well as wanting to be Han Solo, I also wanted to be Marty McFly when I was a youngling. I had a sleeveless body-warmer like him (but mine was maroon and white, not orange) and I begged my parents for a skateboard for Christmas in 1985. Instead I got a hi-fi. When I did finally get a skateboard it was wonky. If you leaned left you went right and vice versa, and somehow I managed to rip the nail off my little finger while sat on the board going downhill at high speed. Like all right-thinking people my favourite film is Part II, and come 2015 I will wear my clothes inside out.

7. Clerks (1994)
The filmic equivalent of a garage band – all heart and very little style. I saw Mallrats first and then spent a small fortune (for me) on getting this on video. I’m glad I did. Why is Jeff Anderson not a massive star now? This clip is a million times funnier than anything Adam Sandler’s ever done. But then again, an orphan being injected with cat AIDS and then being set on fire is a million times funnier than anything Adam Sandler’s ever done. The man’s a dick. Anyway, I love all of Kevin Smith’s films. Even Jersey Girl. Seek out his ‘Smodcast’ podcasts on iTunes. Or better yet, seek out the ’Tell ’m Steve-Dave’ podcasts.

8. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
This pick could be any of Wes Anderson’s films, but I chose The Life Aquatic because it was the first of his I saw in the cinema. All of his work has the things I look for in films : 1) symmetry in the shots; 2) captions or titles in the film (always in Futura in Wes’s case); and 3) brilliant soundtracks (his soundtracks piss on the ones put together by Justin Quarantino). Also The Life Aquatic stars Owen Wilson, who I am gay for. See this for further proof of Wes Anderson’s aceness.

9. The Sasquatch Gang (2006)
I’d read about this film a while ago because it was made by the producer of Napoleon Dynamite, but then heard nothing of it for a few years until I found it in CEX for £1.50. It’s the same story told from four different perspectives, and the timelines are all chopped up so everything only makes sense at the end of the film. The Loves watched it once when we had a night off from our gruelling tour schedule in Leeds and for the rest of the weekend we were shouting ‘Crap off!’ and ‘This bark smells’ to the bemusement of everyone who wasn’t us. It stars Justin Long (another person I am gay for) and has a cameo by the most excellent Stephen Tobolowlosky.

10. Superbad (2007)
I bought this because I had £15 burning a hole in my pocket, needed something to watch and loved Michael Cera in Arrested Development. I think it’s the film I’ve watched the most over the last five years, although I’m not allowed to watch it in company as I either laugh too hard or speak along with the characters, which annoys people. The comparisons of this and American Pie are ridiculous. You believe Cera, Jonah Hill & Christopher Mintz-Plasse would do the things they do for sex. The cast of American Pie looked like they came from an advert for Calvin Klein. Except for the pie fucker.

Honourable mentions go to Hudson Hawk, Chinatown, Hot Rod, Napoleon Dynamite, Starship Troopers, True Romance, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Double D POV.

Piney Gir

Piney Gir was born in a Thunderstorm in the middle of May in Kansas City, Kansas. It was tornado season, the sky was green and angry; in a bath of blood out she popped.

Piney grew up in isolation in the American Midwest; this isolation was reinforced by her strict religious upbringing. She went to a special Christian school (no Darwin, no sex education) and attended church four times a week; no sinful TV, no secular music… This left a lot to young Piney’s imagination, which flourished to fill in all the gaps.

Piney always used to say, ‘You can take the girl out of Kansas, but you can’t take the Kansas out of the girl… because country music is just in you when you come from the American Midwest. It’s not ‘cool’ to like country, teenagers wouldn’t be caught dead listening to it, but it’s everywhere in every gas station and grocery store. When I left Kansas I realised I missed the country twang. It reminds me of home and when I feel homesick I write a country song.’

Piney’s brand new Country Roadshow album ‘Jesus Wept’ is out on Damaged Goods on October 18. She will appear at the 100 Club on October 16 for a special one-off performance as part of The Actionettes Present A Decade O’Go-Go. For more information go to Piney’s website or the Damaged Goods website.

10 fave films & why,.. by Piney Gir

I must sound like the twee-est person in the world but I genuinely love uplifting films that are colourful and hopeful. I guess that’s why a lot of my picks are cartoons and musicals. I could probably make a list of 10 Disney films and be done with it, but I’m going to give it a little more thought… I hope you like my choices!

1. Funny Face (1957)
This film is brilliant on so many levels, first of all the clothes are amazing… it makes a girl wonder why they don’t make clothes that look like this anymore, so elegant yet playful, fashion was fun. It’s a musical (I love musicals)! Audrey Hepburn is a beatnik in it (I love beatniks)! And it’s romantic, set in Paris. I watch this film again and again.

2. The Little Mermaid (1989)
I am a big fan of this film, I love the fact that half the film is set underwater and the fish are colourful and the sea witch really is frightening. I love to sing and find the fact the whole film is about Ariel’s voice really poignant personally. Imagine, having to trade your voice for the boy you love, what a conundrum!

3. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
I must have seen this film 30 times; it’s a Tim Burton film and has his whimsical sense of humour with that dark twisted edge to it. I think this film has greatly influenced me as a person. I can’t help but wonder if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, I think good.

4. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
OK, I have a lot in common with Dorothy (namely a matching pair of shoes) but also the fact we’re from Kansas, we have both had little black dogs and wear a lot of gingham. This film is also really frightening with the flying monkeys and trees that throw things, but what really strikes a chord with me is her sense of self. She discovers she has everything she needs within her. That’s a good message. I watch this when I’m feeling a little homesick.

5. Up (2009)
This movie is brilliant and heartbreaking but also a great adventure, following this fellow on a quest to South America with a misfit boy scout and talking dog. I loved it. See it. You will cry though.

6. Amelie (2001)
I love this playful film and the sense of colour and texture in the way it looks. Amelie seems like someone I’d hang out with if I lived in Paris and I love the way she helps people, her practical jokes and the elaborate scavenger hunt she stages. Jean-Pierre Jeunet highlights the beauty in mundane things, which I try to remember to do every day.

7. Fantastic Mister Fox (2009)
I adore every Wes Anderson film I’ve ever seen, but this one is my favourite. The animation is incredible, but also I can relate to Mr Fox’s conundrum, it’s as if he doesn’t really want to grow up and if he just does ‘one more raid’ he can capture the thrill of adventure again, instead of having to relinquish his sense of fun to feel like a responsible adult. I’m always seizing the moment even when maybe I shouldn’t, it’s as if this film was made for me.

8. O Brother Where Art Thou (2000)
The Coen Brothers make films I love, and this reworking of Homer’s Odyssey is fantastic. The acting is brilliant but also the soundtrack changed the way that people thought of bluegrass and country music. I actually think this film is responsible for opening people’s mind to that new folk kind of sound.

9. Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)
This film is dazzling, for a start it doesn’t look like any other film I’ve seen, it treads the line between what you see and what you imagine when you read the comic books (yes, I’m one of those rare girls who read comics). The whole concept of battling the exes is not just tongue-in-cheek but metaphorically true. See it (but I’d say read it first!)

10. Pecker (1998)
I love John Waters’s oddball humour and I like how this story is set in Baltimore of all places. I want to be in Pecker’s family, it’s such a cast of eccentrics from Mee Maw who talks to the Virgin Mary to his dad who despises the town strippers. I find this a really cute, feel-good kind of film. Christina Ricci is adorable in it too.

* Can 9-5 get honourable mention? I am such a huge fan of Dolly Parton and I have my own day job conundrums (sadly being a Piney doesn’t pay all the bills). This film lives out all kinds of boss-killing fantasies and is a hopeful film for anyone trapped in a job they don’t want to be doing.

** OH and Party Girl, starring Parker Posey as a wild librarian? I loved that film; it inspired me to wear orange platform sneakers.