Classic Films - Reviews and Reflections with Stuart Fernie

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in Jean Cocteau’s romantic fantasy, “La Belle et la Bête”.

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes, especially the role of Bushido, in Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai”.

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in Dan Gilroy’s “Nightcrawler”.

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in Stanley Kubrick’s “Spartacus” starring Kirk Douglas.

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino”. Grumpy and elderly widower Walt Kowalski comes to realise he has more in common with his immigrant neighbours than his own family and he tries to help them resolve issues with a local gang with dramatic consequences.

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in David Lean’s anti-war film, “The Bridge on the River Kwai”, in which British POWs are put to work on the construction of the Burma Railway by their Japanese captors in 1943, resulting in a clash within the work camp and an attempt to destroy the bridge by Allied forces.

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in Clint Eastwood’s revisionist western, “Unforgiven”. Former gunman Will Munny is approached by an aspiring young adventurer, encouraged by cheap fictionalised accounts of vicious gunfights, to join him in hunting down and killing a cowboy accused of disfiguring a young prostitute, principally for the bounty. This is a revisionist...

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in Sam Peckinpah’s revisionist western, “The Wild Bunch”, featuring themes common to some of Peckinpah’s best work. “The Wild Bunch” is the tale of a group of adventurers who follow a path of amorality but who are bonded by friendship and loyalty to one another as their time runs out…

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in Roland Joffé’s “The Mission”. Slaver Rodrigo Mendoza kills his brother in a jealous rage and then falls into a deep and guilt-ridden depression. Jesuit priest Father Gabriel invites him to join him at his mission among the Guarani, the very people Mendoza used to enslave and who are now under threat from wider political machinati...

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in Norman Jewison’s “Rollerball”. In the not-so-distant future, peace and personal comfort are provided by corporate government at the expense of personal ambition and aspiration. Conflict has been eradicated and replaced by Rollerball, a vicious and cathartic sport designed to accentuate team spirit and diminish the importance of t...

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in Jean-Jacques Annaud’s film of “The Name of the Rose”. In the early 1300s, Franciscan friar William of Baskerville, accompanied by his novice Adso, investigates a number of deaths in mysterious circumstances in an Abbey renowned for its library which contains some rare, invaluable, and perhaps dangerous books…

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in the 1954 film version of J. B. Priestley’s famous play, “An Inspector Calls”, concerning the potential impact our actions can have on others and acceptance of responsibility for our influence.

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in John Huston’s 1975 film version of Rudyard Kipling’s novella, “The Man Who Would Be King”, concerning the efforts of two former soldiers in the British Army as they seek their fortune in far-flung Kafiristan.

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in the 1975 film version of Ken Kesey’s book, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, concerning Randle Patrick McMurphy’s efforts to do easy prison time in a mental institution where he leads other inmates in a series of rebellious acts, culminating in a show-down with the head nurse. 

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of themes and characters, especially the main character, in “Callan”, a British television drama that ran from the late sixties to the early seventies, starring Edward Woodward.

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of themes and characters, especially the main character, in “Public Eye”, a British television drama that ran from the mid-sixties to the mid-seventies, starring Alfred Burke.

Send us Fan Mail A brief and personal look at the history, scope and purpose of science-fiction films.

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in the 1958 film version of Dickens’ tale, directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde.

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in “Sweet Smell of Success”, directed and co-written by Alexander Mackendrick and starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis.

Send us Fan Mail A drug deal goes badly wrong and an opportunist thief steals two million dollars intended to pay for the consignment of drugs. The thief and the money are then pursued by several interested parties and the film develops into a battle for survival with reflections on morality, values and the part chance plays in our lives.

Send us Fan Mail Bobby Dupea is dissatisfied with his rarefied destiny as a concert pianist and opts to pursue a career as a labourer. However, he comes to realise he is unfulfilled there, too. Bobby questions and doubts many aspects of his existence and character and this examination is both painful and compelling.

Send us Fan Mail This is the amusing and touching story (based on truth) of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy quadriplegic and his poor personal assistant. Each offers the other support, hope and above all, friendship.

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in “Dances With Wolves”, focusing on the evolution of the central character, his growing appreciation of nature and his close friendship with his Native American neighbours.

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of elements of “Night Moves” focusing on its neo-noir storyline and the central character of Harry Moseby, a private detective whose search for a missing sixteen-year-old leads him into a web of deceit, theft and murder.

Send us Fan Mail This is the tale of English teacher John Keating and the influence he exercises on his students at a private prep school in 1959. Keating’s educational philosophy comes in to conflict with that of his establishment as he encourages his pupils to think for themselves, pursue personal fulfilment and seize the day. However, the ensuing clash with school authorities and parents will h...