So what exactly is a ‘zeitgeist’? Literally translated, it means “spirit of the age” (cue a thousand Hawkwind fans bursting into song) but that hasn’t stopped it being bandied about with alarming frequency these days, especially when describing ‘lost classics’ or ‘cultural artefacts’ that the cyber-stuffalanche of the last decade has enabled us to familiarise ourselves with. “Such-and-such captures the zeitgeist of the era better than half its more well-known contemporaries” we might say, and … [Read more...]

“Great Expectations” is an intriguing study of social class, gender, and morality in Victorian times based on the novel by Charles Dickens. While many versions of the story have made it to film, none are as well made as David Lean's version, despite the fact he based it on a live theatre viewing back in 1939. A photographic memory of the story combined with the right casting, sets, and film score is what made “Great Expectations” so successful when it was released in 1946. As the central figure … [Read more...]

Urban Ghost Story is the third collaboration between Chris Jones and Genevieve Jolliffe of Living Spirit Pictures, their previous two feature films being The Runner and White Angel. Jones and Jolliffe were inspired by documentary accounts of poltergeist manifestations, in particular The Enfield Poltergeist Case. Anyone who has read about the case or seen the photographs taken at the scene will note the obvious influence on the events and imagery portrayed in the film. The Enfield Poltergeist … [Read more...]