Tim Rding

Warner Archive Blu-Ray of The Cobweb

Lush Melodrama and angst over drapery… what more do you want from a film?

The Springs of Affection and The Visitor by Maeve Brennan

I’ve got that bug that’s going round but I still devoured these.

There’s a story called ‘The Drowned Man’ within these that I just found absolutely devastating.

Absolutely. It was one of those seasons where I felt so grateful to experience her talent. Simon and Laura and The Happy Family really stood out for me.

A hardback copy of Shy Creatures by Clare Chambers

Not too sure about this one; an interesting lead gets lost as the flashbacks (progressing further and further back) begin to dominate. And the act of violence at the end of the book and subsequent resolution felt a little too tidy for me.

Such a great movie. I really enjoyed the Muriel Box season at the BFI; I discovered lots of gems.

A DVD of The Candidate by Michael Ritchie

Great film.

Robert Redford was one of those actors acutely aware of his persona and presence and here he channels it to embody the shallow charm of a political grifter.

A blu ray copy of Next Stop, Greenwich Village

Adored this drama about how we’re all performers in the end. Loved the brief moments of extravagance where fantasy slips through into reality.

My thoughts are with you Paul. Hope today is okay

Blu-rays of The Dirty Dozen, Rolling Thunder and Hardcore

It was a bit grey outside so I decided to watch some grey inside.

Thanks so much!

Thanks so much John

Thanks so much. I painted it about five years ago.

A painting I did of David Bowie in green and pink.

He felt like fiction.

I read it back in December and found it a little too all over the place. I think the Burton/Taylor book had the same stylishness but was easier to follow.

Or it might just be that like Lewis, I found myself increasingly uncomfortable with Sellers!

One of my all time favourite Johnnie To films. Can’t wait for this!

I gave myself 2nd degree burns on a Shepherd’s Pie.

The last words by P.D. James in her Adam Dalgleish series: And she had Clara. She slipped her hand into Clara's and felt the comfort of her responsive squeeze. She thought, The world is a beautiful and terrible place. Deeds of horror are committed every minute and in the end those we love die. If the screams of all earth's living creatures were one scream of pain, surely it would shake the stars. But we have love. It may seem a frail defence against the horrors of the world but we must hold fast and believe in it, for it is all that we have.

Which ends on these beautiful words:

A photo of the exterior of the Everyman Cinema in Winchester

Saw Marty Supreme last night. The only word I can use to describe it is ‘vulgar’ (in the best possible way). Sat open-mouthed at times in both joy and horror. The energy of this film!

They’re very much variations on a theme and that might be one of the reasons why they’re compared to the wonderful Anita Brookner. I’ve found them very satisfying to read, especially with James’ creeping dissatisfaction with the modern world as the series progressed.

It is so strange that you mention The Power and the Glory: earlier I was thinking of that book when thinking of Huston’s filmography in that the book starts off as one thing and ends up as something completely different.

I find it strange that his acting has been more of a legacy than his direction. Actors like Eastwood, Fiennes and Day Lewis have all done thinly veiled impersonations of him on screen but few refer to his mastery of balancing form and content and dynamics within his films.

Wuthering Heights was that return for me this year… now that I was older I felt secure enough to see all the characters in a fairly contemptible light in a way that I was completely insecure to do when I was young. It made the book so much more interesting.

I have. I have to confess that I can’t remember too much about it! I’ve hung on to the dvd of it for about 15 years or so, so it must have been decent, but I can’t work out whether the memories I have are of this film or Wise Blood without a rewatch

(Bit of a useless answer there! Sorry.)

I’d done Notorious on NFT3 previously, but it was so elegant in 1 this time around. And a perfect betwixtmas crowd made the experience sparkle.

Love the film - one of the late period literary Hustons that I adore (The Dead is a top five film for me).

The book is ‘sweaty’ in the best possible way.

(Charlotte because of Villette, which devastated me in a way few books have ever managed.)

Last Saturday I did Notorious followed by The Heiress there and it was just magnificent.

I read it at the end of summer and it was just perfect.

Thanks for all your blogs and recommendations on here over the year. My reading life is that much richer for them.

Yeah - I just can’t help it… I listen to an episode, buy the book and find a new favourite.

Wildfell Hall stood out against a number of classics this year (including Bleak House, Age of Innocence, a reread of Wuthering Heights). I think everyone has a favourite Brontë (I will always be Charlotte).

Blu-Rays of Baby It’s You, The Whisperers and What’s Up Doc?

My system for new films is as follows. After watching, films get filed away in wallets due to lack of space. If they were a bit of a gem they get put on the shelf.

These were the few that made the cut this year: