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‘The Duke of Burgundy’ is the S&M masterpiece we need

With a narrative built on repetition – the cyclical nature of seasons, feelings and passions – The Duke of Burgundy’s unique structure defies traditional plot and narrative in favour of sensations and experiences. The film most notably has credits in the opening sequence for both the choice fragrance and the lingerie designs, a hint at the precedence luxury and sensuality has within this world. It becomes abundantly clear that breaking the film down in terms of plot betrays its absolute appeal as a masterpiece in haptic vision. (‘Haptic’ refers to ‘touching with your eyes’, though how can we similarly evoke the sensation of smell? Film criticism is lacking in this regard. We need an extensive study on the evocation of smell in cinema, just as there are studies on the way filmmakers conjure sound and music in silent cinema.) Written and directed by Peter Strickland, the film is about a lesbian couple engaged in an increasingly escalated S&M relationship, and when they’re not role-playing, they are lepidopterists (they study butterflies and moths).

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‘The Duke of Burgundy’ Movie Review – forges a delicious frisson of sound and cinematic sentiment

A couple of years ago, Peter Strickland’s Berberian Sound Studio seemed to materialise from the ether and spear the hearts of giallo and cult murder movie fans everywhere with its exquisitely executed homage to the murdering grounds of Argento, Bava and Martino, so his long-anticipated follow-up as been eagerly received throughout the international festival circuit. This time Strickland has mounted a similar etymology of cult movie history in the form of 1970’s Eurotrash exploitation pictures, soft-core seductions from the likes of Jess Franco or Umberto Lenzi, with a reincarnation complete with creeping zooms, trance-like montages, and a rather flippant approach to narrative coherence, sacrificed on the altar of pure cinematic sensation.

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Most Anticipated Films by Foreign Auteurs for 2014

7. Leviafan (Andrey Zvyagintsev) Andrey Zvyagintsev’s The Return and Elena were mysterious, slow-burning films. His 2014 entry, Leviafan, described by IMDb as “human insecurity in a ‘new country’” should mark a definite return to the Cannes Film Festival. 6. Winter Sleep (Nuri Bilge Ceylan) Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s film Once Upon a Time in …

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15 Best Horror Films of 2013 (Top 5)

Special Mention: Post Tenebras Lux Written and directed by Carlos Reygadas Mexico, 2012 Mexican director Carlos Reygadas (Japón, Silent Light) seems inches away from producing his masterpiece. His latest, Post Tenebras Lux (the title is a Latin phrase meaning “after darkness, light”), opens with two of the most unforgettable, ominous images in recent memory. The first is a …

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Staff List: The 40 Best Films of 2012

#20: Cosmopolis (50 points) Directed by David Cronenberg Written by David Cronenberg Canada / France, 2012 Every time Cronenberg answers the prayers of his fans with a new movie, it seems that the first reflex is to attempt to categorize it. Is this new film more like the old Cronenberg, in which very strange, very …

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Ricky D’s 50 Favourite Films of 2012 (Part Two)

  25: The Dark Knight Rises Directed by Christopher Nolan Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan 2012, USA The Dark Knight Rises feels as if it was made up of two equal halves, with the most critical moment of the film breaking the movie in half, almost literally. While the second half may have …

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Ricky D’s 50 Favourite Films of 2012 (Part One)

2012 wasn’t a bad year for movies. It was actually a great year. The problem is, the movies we were most anticipating, specifically the Hollywood blockbusters like Prometheus and The Hobbit, didn’t live up to our expectations. With that said I still managed to make a list of 50 films I loved. Maybe I just …

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2012’s Great Movie Moments: September

Spring Breakers – Opening Sequence Having been at TIFF this month, attempting to select favorite scenes without going entirely overboard– well, it may not exactly be as drastic as Sophie’s choice, but that is the first label that comes to mind. Spring Breakers is one of many very strong showings from Toronto this year, and …

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The mesmerising ‘Berberian Sound Studio’ has Italian horror, Lynch and Polanski in its blood

Berberian Sound Studio Written and directed by Peter Strickland UK, 2012 Berberian Sound Studio is an unusual thriller with a very striking atmosphere. Set amidst the production of a 1970s Italian horror production, it is definitely informed stylistically by giallo films, but also bears strong resemblances to David Lynch, early Roman Polanski and certain efforts …

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EIFF 2012: ‘Berberian Sound Studio’ is a mesmerising thriller, recalling Italian horror, Polanski and Lynch but offering its own unique atmosphere

Berberian Sound Studio Written and directed by Peter Strickland UK, 2012 Berberian Sound Studio is an unusual thriller with a very striking atmosphere. Set amidst the production of a 1970s Italian horror production, it is definitely informed stylistically by giallo films, but also bears strong resemblances to David Lynch, early Roman Polanski and certain efforts …

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