Classic Films - Reviews and Reflections with Stuart Fernie

Send us Fan Mail This is a gentle tale of friendship and loyalty between a young aspiring writer and an ageing recluse who wrote the great American novel when he was younger and has apparently written nothing since. Each will learn to appreciate the other, and each will discover there is a price to pay for such friendship…

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of the nature of “film noir” with reference to Double Indemnity, The Maltese Falcon and Dirty Harry, looking beyond tone and style to investigate the influence of existentialism on this genre of film.

Send us Fan Mail Holly Martins investigates the sudden death of his good friend Harry Lime in post-war Vienna. On the face of it this is a fairly straightforward matter but Holly’s dogged determination and persistent questioning bring him in contact with a series of dubious characters whose contradictory evidence and suspect accounts eventually lead to the revelation of truth and then to unexpecte...

Send us Fan Mail Cowhand Jack Burns is pursued by Sheriff Johnson after Burns breaks out of jail and heads for the freedom of Mexico beyond the mountains. This is a deceptively straightforward Western tale of pursuit in which the very nature, framework and direction of our constantly expanding, increasingly complex and, perhaps, ever less compassionate society, are examined. 

Send us Fan Mail General James Mattoon Scott, one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is unhappy with the political leadership of President Lyman and sets out to organise a military coup in the United States of America. A member of his staff uncovers a few details and investigates, eventually having to choose between his commanding officer and his loyalty to the US Constitution.

Send us Fan Mail After drunkenly removing a set of parking metres from their posts, our hero Luke is sentenced to a period on the chain gang in 1950s Florida. Once there, he influences and inspires his fellow inmates through a series of defiant gestures and acts, but things take a more serious turn when Luke is refused permission to attend his mother’s funeral…

Send us Fan Mail A study of numerous characters and themes in Victor Hugo’s novel that has spawned numerous film adaptations and the famous musical. Inspired by the plight of “social outcasts” and the poor, Hugo seeks to encourage kindness and compassion with his tale of a former convict whose difficult life is transformed by a chance meeting with a kindly man, moving him to act with understanding...

Send us Fan Mail Cervantes wrote his famous book to mock the seventeenth century obsession with exaggerated and romanticised tales of chivalry and heroism, and in so doing he appears to have tapped into some universal truths which may be judged to apply to society today, including issues such as self-delusion, virtual reality and the cult of celebrity.

Send us Fan Mail Fast Eddie Felson is an ambitious young pool hall hustler who is determined to prove himself the best while making a fortune in side bets. However, Eddie learns there is a heavy price to pay if he is going to succeed…

Send us Fan Mail Set in a British military stockade in North Africa in WW2, “The Hill” tells the story of five new prisoners and the attempts by the prison authorities to re-educate them and transform them into model soldiers, using sometimes dubious and often harsh methods to instil discipline and compliance to regulations.

Send us Fan Mail Max is a taxi driver hired by Vincent to make several stops in Los Angeles one night, but it transpires that Vincent is a hitman and Max becomes embroiled in Vincent’s deadly mission, eventually forcing him to choose between action and inaction. The film may also be viewed as a stand-off between existential humanity and nihilism, with the two main characters representing these poi...

Send us Fan Mail This is the story of Raymond Shaw, military hero and son of political activists who appears destined for greatness, but who has also been conditioned by communists to act as an assassin on the orders of his handler in America.  A polished thriller, the film incorporates political satire, the theme of parental influence and responsibility, the role of ego in exercising influence, a...

Send us Fan Mail This is the story of a group of violent and apparently morally reprehensible thieves and anti-heroes, whose conduct is tempered by loyalty and devotion to one another, as they come in to conflict with bounty hunters, the army and a militia whose deeds and attitudes may be viewed as even more reprehensible than those of our “heroes”. It is an existential tale which touches on theme...

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in “The Searchers”, focusing on Ethan Edwards’ motivation and so-called racism, relationships, family, love and the place of the individual in an evolving society.

Send us Fan Mail Reflections on the background, characters and especially the themes of the famous 1967 television series starring Patrick McGoohan as a security agent who resigns and is kidnapped and held in a comfortable resort-like village in so that authorities might ascertain just why this agent has resigned and whether or not he represents a threat to the security and best interests of the s...

Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in Michael Cimino’s “The Deer Hunter”, focusing on the impact of the conflict in Vietnam on the lives of a group of American friends, starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage and Meryl Streep.

Send us Fan Mail This apparently simple tale of greed and prejudice among French peasants in the 1920s, involving the blocking a water source in order to force a landowner to sell his property, soon leads to a complex series of moves and countermoves with life-changing consequences.  The tale also provides the basis for many observations on life, touching on morality, devotion, family, town and co...

Send us Fan Mail Unlike any other western, Jeremiah Johnson traces the evolution of the titular character as he becomes a mountain man and trapper and shares adventures and experiences with fellow mountain men, members of some native American tribes and soldiers who seek his help in finding a party of settlers. It is also a tale of independence, responsibility and honour as Johnson abandons societ...