Drama > D Drama > BAFTA

Advantages: Touching love story, beautiful desert scenery, well acted
Disadvantages: Very sad, jumps around a bit, perhaps a thinking persons film

...then look no further than The English Patient. I bought the English Patient on DVD at Sainsbury's a few weeks ago. I had just finished the book and thought I'd quite like to see what the film was like. I purchased it in a 3 for £30 deal. The book I read because it's on my Booker Prize winners list that I'm slowly working my way through this year. I have to be honest, although I liked the idea of it, I didn't enjoy it very much and had to force myself ...
...would like to re-read the book just to see how the director Anthony Minghella managed to create such a masterpiece from the same story I found dull on the page. Overview of the story *********************** If you have never heard of The English Patient then the following should help. The story is set at the end of the Second World War, in Italy, and for the most part moves between 1944 and up to two years before hand. The main character is a ... Read review

Advantages: Interesting story, good acting
Disadvantages: Too darn long

...documentary about this film and the life of Howard Hughes just before Christmas and thought it looked like an interesting film, although Leonardo di Caprio seemed like an odd choice for the main character. The length of the film also put me off. Then one evening with absolutely nothing to watch on TV, I got it out. It would be hard to make a bad film about a man with a life like Howard Hughes', but even so, I was more impressed that I had expected ...
...with his own aeroplanes as the stars of the show. His sense of perfection led him to plough millions of dollars into the film and it was many years before the film was finally seen by the public. It was a huge success and solidified Hughes' career as a playboy film maker. He had a series of affairs, two of which with well-known actresses, Katherine Hepburn and Ava Gardner. At the same time, Hughes was battling with mental illness - obsessive compulsive ... Read review

Advantages: Its Excellent
Disadvantages: quite graphic

...The Concept Traffic is a really intelligent look at the world of drug trafficking and offers a broad scale of insight. We see the trafficking process from its beginning in Mexico where attempts at its deterrence are much beleaguered by corruption, through to America's infinitely more constitutional attempt at tackling the problem. We are also the given the chance to see the happy upper class lives of those responsible for the drugs distribution ...
...the street and its effect on individuals and their families. The film involves countless harrowing scenes of habitual drug use and lacks the glamour with which drugs are all too often associated with these days. The flagrant snorting of cocaine and disturbing scenes involving both the smoking and injecting of Heroine are intensely compelling and the audience is not patronised or guarded from the rawness of these acts in any way. This makes the film ... Read review

Advantages: Makes it easier to study
Disadvantages: Bit silly at times

...& Despair. Tragedy & Love. Romeo & Juliet. ·´`·.¸.»(*) This film is a modern day version of William Shakespear's classical Romeo and Juliet were we see the play set in present day with guns replacing swords etc. The 1996 version is directed at a much younger audience and as a teenager I agree that in some ways it does help you understand the story. For anyone whos never read the orginal play, it is set in fourteenth century Verona, Italy. There ...
...Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo Montague crashes a Capulet party in disguise with his two of his friends hoping to see his crush 'Rosaline.' However when he meets Juliet Capulet, and falls immediately in love with her from across the room he completely forgets about Rosaline. Juliet returns those affections and agrees to marry Romeo the next day. The young couple turn to Friar Lawrence who only agrees to perform the ceremony because he thinks this ... Read review

Advantages: A moving and very human portrayal of Iris Murdoch's battle with Alzheimers
Disadvantages: A few unanswered questions

...reading anything about, or by Iris Murdoch. Of course, I remember hearing about the film 'Iris' when it came out in 2001, but the only reason it sparked my interest was down to the fact that the main character was portrayed at different stages of her life by both Judi Dench and Kate Winslet, who happen to be two of my favourite actresses. Given that I had also worked in a Nursing Home for Alzheimers sufferers, I must admit to being ever so slightly ...
...need to know anything about Iris Murdoch in order to appreciate it, as it is less about her life as a writer and more of a husband and wife story based on the memoirs of John Bayley (Iris's main carer and husband of fifty years) beginning with the time when she began to lose the battle to Alzheimers. Having said that, those who do know a little about her background, or who have read her novels may well find it insightful. In some ways, I think knowing ... Read review