There were no accidents. Nothing blew up. So, unless I spontaneously combust in the middle of writing this column, then it seems we can go ahead with Special Edition # 25. Yay. And, yes, we’re on number 25. Laurence Boyce would have got some mugs specially produced but who needs merchandise when – as always – there are a multitude of delightful DVDs for your perusal. Thi…

Did anyone miss me? Didn’t think so…. Anyway,  due to an extended absence due to illness, work and alien abduction (OK, not really on the last one) the column that gives you all you need to know on the most eclectic DVD’s around has been conspicuously absent. Indeed, given its number, Special Edition # 13 has felt somewhat jinxed. But thanks to a combination of willpower a…

It’s looking like a pretty quiet summer for blockbusters. Harry Potter has caused a stir but seems somehow slight, Transformers 2 has distinguished itself by being absolutely diabolical and Star Trek seems like ages ago. So, if you’re not fancying your local multiplex then Special Edition # 31 would seem to be the perfect option for all your film watching needs. Laurence Boyce leads y…

Profoundly humane and stunningly aesthetical, Waltz with Bashir is not about dancing…not even around the bullets of one’s enemies as does an Israeli soldier in the eponymous scene. Through the personal lens of his experience as a soldier during the Sabra and Chatila massacres of the 1982 Lebanese war, Israeli director Ari Folman tells the universal story of young men and the harrow…

If Grizzly Man was too scary, but you still haven't had your Dr.Doolittle fix, this documentary might be the one for you.   Director: JUDY IRVING Starring: MARK BITTNER, JUDY IRVING, LOADS OF PARROTS Unemployed 'dharma bum', Mark Bittner, has become the modern-day 'St Francis of San Francisco', by tending to the squawking parrot population. The director, Irving, dia…

Do you want some DVDs? Then you've come to the right place squire as I have Special Edition # 46 all ready and waiting with some tremendously fun new films to see you through the days. This time around we've got violence, corruption and a half shark and half octopus. As you do.  Danny Trejo plays a man whose family have killed and whose beloved town has been corrupted out of all recognition. Kno…

It’s starting to become an interesting time to be a DVD fan. With an increasing number of movies being released on the format for a second time (watch out in the next column for a review of the upcoming ‘Definitive Edition’ of Fight Club which might gall the thousands who bought the already extra laden DVD only a – comparatively - scant few years ago) and talk of B…

It’s a British Summer, which means two things: football and Big Brother on a never ending loop. So, unless you’re a football fan or enjoy watching freak shows, then there’s not much to watch at this moment in time. So in Special Edition # 5 let Laurence Boyce point you in the right direction of some of the very best DVD’s available to buy, rent or borrow at the moment. W…

  It seems that DVD companies have decided to educate us in cinema history as they’ve gone ‘auteur crazy’ with a number of box sets and new releases containing the greatest work of some of the most famous and influential directors of the past hundred years. So if your DVD collection is mostly populated by the films of Steve Guttenberg and Pauly Shore, then you&rsq…

  Stranded on that no-man's land between graduation and a media career? So was Engish Television and Film graduate Sabrina Ferro, but no more. Instead she's launched a high quality glossy mag aimed at people like herself and at those on the lookout for rising talent. Media Directions, as the director's chair on the front cover exclaims, is dedicated to showcasing…

Now, as the holiday season has come to an end, it’s come to that time of year when you have loads of vouchers to spend (“Oh, thanks for that Auntie. A voucher I can spend in a specific shop, as opposed to money which I can spend – you know – anywhere”) and DVD’s to exchange for something better. So Special Edition # 36 is here to point you in the right direction as Laurence Boyce examines some of…

As ever, there will be spoilers   Elite Squad has its UK DVD release tomorrow Rio de Janeiro, 1997. The Pope is about to visit. Some doofus has put him up right next door to a notorious favela. The Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE) have to clean it up before he gets there. So we get to take a look at a Brazilian slum through the eyes of the supposed law enforcers…

A Holy Grail quest that recalls the Indiana Jones trilogy - but without the humour, or Harrison Ford... If you're reading this, you're probably the last person left in Britain who hasn't seen this much-anticipated adaptation of Dan Brown's Church-offending 2003 novel. Despite the furore over the book's subject matter, however, the film itself is often too ful…

Laurence Boyce takes time out of his busy schedule (well, takes time out of watching DVDs) to bring you the latest round of the DVDs that should either rock your world or destroy your faith in humanity in Special Edition # 12. Note that there's one film he doesn't like at all. I wonder if you'll be able to tell which one it is... Is The Da Vinci Code (Sony Pictures Releasing)…

Given that the UK Film Council have announced that the next few months will be the 'Summer Of British Film' (appropriate given the bloody awful weather at the moment) it's good to see that Special Edition # 20 (yes, break out the champagne as we've made it to 20) has plenty of great British films for you to enjoy in the comfort of your own homes. Alongside the homegrown product, L…

  HDV Filmmaking by Chad Fahs An Authoritative Guide to the Brave New World of HDV 470 pages Thomson Course Technology $49.99 High definition video is the latest technology to enable filmmakers to capture the best possible image at lowest cost. Because it shares tape transport with DV format, it is often see as the next step up, but this is not DV, it is a very differen…

  Reviewed by James MacGregor Publisher; Wildeye      ISBN 978-0-9541899-3-8 It has the elements of all good screen stories; the long slow build of anticipation, the tension, the frustrations and finally, the reveal. Yet the wildlife film is film art in a class all of its own, requiring painstaking research and endless patience, often in less than com…

  That is how Barbara - the chillingly unreliable narrator of Notes on a Scandal, played by the pitch-perfect Judi Dench, describes her first in-depth conversation with Sheba, the new girl - sorry, teacher - at school. Barbara quickly becomes her confidant, and records the minutiae of her and Sheba's life and conversations in a diary that will prove to be the undoing of both of their…

It’s the time of year when the summer blockbusters that filled the cinemas begin to fill the DVD shelves instead. In Special Edition # 27, Laurence Boyce looks at one of the biggest hits of the summer alongside some cinematic classics, some laughs and a few TV staples. I've also been watching films with a lot of porn in them, but as its work then it’s allowed. You know, I…

  CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD You've heard about it, Chris Morris' jihad comedy, making terrorism funny and all that. How does he do it? Well the Dad's Army influence is certainly there: the comedy is in the power play and false grandeur of some deluded blokes who want to show the world what for. Four young men with very similar accents to those of the lead characters here managed just t…

Close Up 01 is the first in a series of annual books from Wallflower Press, each containing three individual studies that are linked by their detailed explorations of the decisions that are made in both film and television, such as camera position, editing and sound. Whilst to some this would seem somewhat rather obvious, those who are steeped in film academia will known that many theories in f…

Laurence Boyce presents Netribution’s first regular round-up of the best DVD’s available for all those who want to know which shiny discs to watch and which to use as coasters. Just brace yourself, as the first time around, our Special Edition is massive (and, with a line like that, it’s a shame that we’re not reviewing a Carry On film …)   Wes Craven moves away from the horror movie to…

Chosen to be Microfilmmaker Magazine's lead camera analyst and reviewer due to his expertise in camerawork, Andy Yardy has over 10 years experience shooting documentaries in the most remote portions of the globe. Based out of LA, he creates films under his production company, New Link Media. As a filmmaker, I dreamed of the day that I could toss my standard def camera for a high Def one…

It’s the time again to move your eyes away from the screen and let them drift over to the printed word. In Page To Screen # 3, those books that are influenced by – and, indeed, influence - the worlds of film and television are brought to the fore as Laurence Boyce examines how someone is making a monkey out of biographies, someone else is making us nostalgic for classic Saturda…

Early work by Hideo Miyazaki is cheap fun but lacks the depth admirers of the animation master will recognise in his later works. Director: Hideo Miyazaki Country of origin: Japan Length: 110 mins Format (DV, 35mm, etc): animation Genre: action fairy tale Film website: www.manga.co.uk From any other director this would be a film to write home about - at least if you're an animation fan. But this…