Nick Bartlett

Freelance Writer

Blog

Nightmare Alley Review (Criterion Collection)

Del Toro’s fascination with deception, storytelling, and performance is evident throughout the film. There are layers of cons at play – plans within plans – and he delights in depicting the art of the grift, from the showmanship of harmless illusions to the cruelty and emotional manipulation of “the spook show.” What del Toro repeatedly demonstrates is that the trick itself is less important than the presentation and patter that surrounds it. This is apparent in Pete’s demonstration of the mind-...
Critical popcorn •

Favourite Final Scenes: The Third Man

I’ve mentioned my love of The Third Man before – it’s my favourite film of all-time, with Graham Greene‘s sardonic script finding a perfect partner in Carol Reed‘s lively direction and Robert Krasker‘s stark photography making a bombed out Vienna setting especially memorable, as well as pitch perfect performances from Joseph Cotten, Trevor Howard, Alida Valli and Orson Welles as the charmingly amoral Harry Lime.
Critical popcorn •

Martyrs 4K UHD review: Dir. Pascal Laugier [Masters Of Cinema]

There’s a Halloween tradition within my friend group. Every year we meet up and watch a horror double bill – one schlocky fun horror, and one genuinely disturbing film. After one year when my disturbing pick was deemed “not scary enough” I was determined to pick something that would shake him to his core. As such, the next year I massively overcorrected and selected Pascal Laugier’s seminal horror masterpiece, Martyrs.
Critical popcorn •

The Man in the White Suit Blu-ray Review: Dir. Alexander Mackendrick [StudioCanal]

The films of Ealing Studios, especially their comedies, represent some of the very best of British cinema. Today the studio is most well known for it’s subversive, blacker than pitch comedies. The Ladykillers and Kind Hearts And Coronets are possibly the most celebrated films of the studio (and I’ve written elsewhere about Denis Price’s incredible performance in the latter) but The Man In The White Suit is one of their most quietly iconoclastic films.
Critical popcorn •

Trouble Every Day Blu-ray review: Dir. Claire Denis [Masters Of Cinema]

I’ve been wanting to see Trouble Every Day ever since I was a teenager first discovering international cinema. The film’s iconic promotional image – Béatrice Dalle, her mouth smeared with blood and viscera – seared itself into my brain and has never let go. Unavailable in the UK for a long time, Trouble Every Day has now received a Blu-ray release from Eureka films, and after years of anticipation it did not disappoint – though it is very much an acquired taste.
FILMHOUNDS Magazine •

The Hidden Fortress Blu-ray Review

Akira Kurosawa's influence on cinema is legendary – from the non-linear structure of Rashomon to the technical mastery of High and Low and Ikiru, where his use of sound and colour was years ahead of its time. His work has also famously inspired direct remakes – Seven Samurai resulted in The Magnificent Seven and Yojimbo served as the basis for A Fistful Of Dollars. Alongside these is The Hidden Fortress, a film Kurosawa described as “100% entertainment.”

Two Way Stretch Review (StudioCanal Vintage Classics)

To celebrate the centenary of comedy icon Peter Sellers, StudioCanal are releasing two of his lesser celebrated works, the sharply satirical Heavens Above and this delightful prison caper, Two Way Stretch. In the early sixties, Sellers was on the cusp of international stardom – he was yet to break through with The Pink Panther and Dr. Strangelove, and instead played the lead in a string of comedies produced by British Lion Films, playing a range of roguish characters.
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