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…

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…

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…

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)…

  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…

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…

Come on the long days! Laurence Boyce has been stuck in front of a computer for the past few weeks, watching many, many films and currently needs a tanning machine to ensure his skin resembles the colour of porridge. Thankfully, the stuff that he’s been watching for Special Edition # 38 means that Laurence Boyce has at least got to enjoy some really good films and TV shows. But, for the love of h…

  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…

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…

Laurence Boyce has a lot to catch up on as he’s been under water for the last couple of weeks. Nope, he’s not been on a fun diving holiday. He’s been in the city of Hull, which – for those of you who haven’t been following the news – has the kind of weather that would make Noah very happy. He wrings himself out and removes the damp from his DVD player to find t…

  Producer: Generic Pool Productions Wildlife films have long been family favourites on TV, but the smooth and easy presentation of the earth's fauna on the box belies the infinite patience and dedicated professionalism of the men and women who set out to capture it on film. This special interest video DVD gives us the inside story. And for those who feel they would enjoy the…

The first post-war film from Iraq - shot by British filmmakers - makes its UK debut in Leeds ahead of a Foreign Language Oscar campaign Ahlaam, which means dreams or utopia, made it's British premiere in Leeds last night, and is a dazzling display of world class filmmaking using guerilla techniques. Producer-writer-director Mohamed al Daradji, formerly of Leeds Met film school…

From the striking opening credits, with a boy throwing eggs at the screen, you know that Mischief Night is going to live up to its name. It is both an irreverent look at life in a Leeds suburb, as well as an exploration of the effects of increased ethnic segregation. The setting of Beeston, Leeds – home of three of the July 7th bombers – also provided the backdrop to Penny…

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…

Morgan Spurlock’s POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold officially opened the 18th Sheffield Documentary Film Festival on Wednesday evening, also providing the doc with its European premiering slot. Product placement and chasing sponsorship lolly was the film’s raison d’être, and as I write this I’m drinking a bottle of POM Wonderful itself, dished out free in the delegate centre…

Television interviews for set-piece programmes somehow always get everything just right; the framing of the subject on screen, the facial modelling that gives definition to the features without making the face into something more like a silhouette. In the best interview examples, the lighting camera operator’s skill appears to put an apparently 3-D image on to a 2-D television screen – and in HD…

This book is the complete guide to digital filmmaking by the owner and chief engineer of DVfilm Digital Transfers. Everything from selecting a camera to promoting and marketing your finished film is covered in this comprehensive guide, written specifically for those who wish to shoot with digital cameras and project their movie on 35mm film. The author, Marcus Van Bavel, is an electrical engineer…

I did not get sent a review disc, but saw this one in Morrisons on Sunday in a two for one offer on Disney films. There weren't many classics, but picked up Ratatouille which I could watch a fair few more times yet, and Wall*E. It's not just that I like to be able to watch it on TV but I have a vague idea that if I had grandkids one day it'd be great to be able to show them the box.. 'what, you h…

The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook is the ulitimate guide to low-budget movie-making in the UK and around the world. It's a rich and vibrant mixture of no-nonsense technical guidance, inspirational case studies, hot tips, contracts, forms documents and even free filmmaking software.The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook, now in its THIRD major edition was written by Chris Jones and Genevieve Jolliffe…

The Sixth of May , directed by the late Dutch director Theo Van Gogh , is a thriller that re-enacts the murder of right wing Dutch politician, Pim Fortuyn, on 6th May 2002. The slick movie has a Hollywood feel to it, but might prove impenetrable without a little Wikipediaing of the facts (at least), unless you're clued up on your Dutch politics.       Van Go…

      Which is to avoid this self-important, uninspiring look at the effect of police incompetence upon race relations.   It's a shame, as the film begins so intriguingly. It opens with a disturbed young woman, Brenda Martin (Julianne Moore), from a posh suburb in New Jersey, who stumbles into hospital with injuries to her hands. She…

If you’re a fan of Blade Runner – and there are many – you may be happy that there’s a new book exploring the classic film. However, if terms such as ‘Intertextuality’, ‘Liminal Space’ and ‘Cyberethnography’ are liable to give you a sudden headache then maybe you’d better check out Laurence Boyce’s review of The Blade Runner…

Propelled forward with the raw exuberance of the music and characters within the dance music scene of Brazil's favelas, rarely is a documentary so sexy, foul-mouthed and downright fun. Refreshingly void of narration or authorial presence, ‘Favela on Blast' drops you in at the deep end of Rio's ‘Funk Carioca' scene, relying only on personal accounts from the D.J's, M.C's and characters within it…

Whilst you wait in breathless anticipation for Special Edition # 27, Laurence Boyce gives you a quick Special Edition: Easter Egg update with one of the biggest summer blockbusters now available for your delectation as Indiana Jones and The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (Paramount Home Entertainment) is now available to buy as double disc edition. Well, we know that it’s the run up to Chri…

It’s ironic that, in an age when film moves forwards in leaps and bounds in terms of technology and innovation, it takes an almost obsolete format to encourage some of the of the most original, inventive and enjoyable filmmakers around. The idea of Straight 8 is deceptively simple: filmmakers get an 8mm cartridge of film sent to them and then have to make a three minute film shooting i…