Author: simonhitchman

A Man Out of Time: Terence Stamp in Poor Cow, The Hit, and The Limey

Author’s Note:Terence Stamp died on 17 August, and in the weeks since, I’ve found myself thinking not only of his films but of his presence — that poise, that voice, that quiet humour. Obituaries have covered the facts; what follows is a more personal reckoning, written in the afterglow of watching his younger and older … Continue reading A Man Out of Time: Terence Stamp in Poor Cow, The Hit, and The Limey →

The Ten Best Graham Greene Film Adaptations

Graham Greene Graham Greene stands as one of the most enduring and enigmatic literary figures of the twentieth century, a writer whose fiction translated to film with remarkable fluidity and depth. Born in 1904, Greene's prolific career spanned novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays, blending elements of political intrigue, psychological tension, and spiritual crisis into … Continue reading The Ten Best Graham Greene Film Adaptations →

A History of the Czechoslovak New Wave

The Czechoslovak New Wave was a cinematic movement that emerged in the 1960s. It was characterized by bold and experimental storytelling, a focus on social and political issues, and a dedication to exploring personal freedom and individual expression. This movement developed within the broader context of the political liberalization occurring during the 1960s in Czechoslovakia, … Continue reading A History of the Czechoslovak New Wave →

Review: Armchair Thriller “High Tide” (1979)

First-rate 1970s TV mystery noir thriller starring Ian McShane. When we think of film noir, the images that typically come to mind are steeped in American settings: dimly lit bars, dilapidated tenement buildings, shadowy alleyways, bustling shipping docks, and smoke-filled train stations. Other evocative locations might include small towns shrouded in secrets, lonely highways, truck … Continue reading Review: Armchair Thriller “High Tide” (1979) →

An interview with Tim Beddows (1963-2022), the founder and managing director of Network Distributing.

Introduction Like many, I was shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Tim Beddows in November last year. In 1997 Tim founded Network, the distribution company, which, among other accomplishments, has rescued, restored, and revived more than 3,000 British film and television releases. This includes many obscurities which might have remained undiscovered, or … Continue reading An interview with Tim Beddows (1963-2022), the founder and managing director of Network Distributing. →

The Life of Jean Seberg

Marshalltown Jean Seberg was born in Marshalltown, Iowa in 1938, the second of four children born to Ed Seberg, the town pharmacist, and his wife Dorothy. Marshalltown was a quintessential mid-western American town whose adult inhabitants were, according to Jean, “grim, kind, dried up people who were afraid to open up.” In this church-going, conservative … Continue reading The Life of Jean Seberg →

Lost in Catland: the life of Louis Wain

Louis William Wain was born on the 5th of August 1860, under the astrological sign of Leo, in Clerkenwell, London, the eldest of six children born to William Wain, a textile trader and embroiderer, and his French wife Julie. His birth was followed by that of five sisters: Caroline in 1862, Josephine two years later, … Continue reading Lost in Catland: the life of Louis Wain →

The Pursuit of Freedom: The New Wave, Jazz and Modernism

Introduction In the late 1950s and early 1960s, cinema and jazz were at the forefront of an artistic revolution – one of improvisation, immediacy and invention. Both were born around the turn of the century, came of age in the 1910s and 20s, and attained a ‘Golden Age’ of mass-popularity in the 1930s and 40s. … Continue reading The Pursuit of Freedom: The New Wave, Jazz and Modernism →

Elevator to the Scaffold

Ascenseur pour l’échafaud (Elevator to the Gallows, 1958) Directed by Louis Malle. 91 mins. "I was split between my tremendous admiration for Robert Bresson and the temptation to make a Hitchcock-like film" – Louis Malle Plot Ex-paratrooper Julien Tavernier (Maurice Ronet) and his lover Florence (Jeanne Moreau) devise a plan to murder her husband Simon … Continue reading Elevator to the Scaffold →