SEPTEMBER 2019 HOME CINEMA CHOICEWhile horror fi lms are a major part,
Fowler and Pratt's epic covers kid's TV,
music docs and more
Vampire fl ick The Body Beneath
(right) gives the book its titleFilm freaks, nerds and weirdos...
The BFI's Flipside Blu-ray label births this in-depth look at British cinema's underbelly
William Fowler & Vic Pratt « Strange Attractor Press « £16
BFI fi lm curators William Fowler and Vic Pratt co-
write this scholarly 400-page paperback that focuses
on the organisation's Flipside strand, which began as
a series of screenings at the BFI Southbank venue to
showcase 'strange, unusual and unexpected fi lm and
television', before becoming a BFI Blu-ray and DVD
imprint. It's therefore a book with a massive scope,
exploring cult British TV and movies dating back to
the 1910s, but written with an attention to detail and
persuasive turn of phrase that means it never
becomes a slog.
It's split into eight sections (The Tunnel of Love,
Out of Towners, Kids Stuff ?, True Stories, The War
Room, Music and Movement, Fantastic Fictions and
Tales of Terror), each kicking off with a far-reaching,
decade-spanning essay, before focusing on selected
content. The chapter on children's fi lms/TV, for
instance, begins with an overview that takes in
everything from The A-Team and Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs, and then investigates a trio of titles
(including a specifi c episode of The Sooty Show
and Doctor Who: The Trial of a Time Lord) in
astonishing detail, revealing darker, odd themes
bubbling beneath the supposedly kid-friendly surface.
The movies/shows chosen can feel almost
too eclectic, but that's Fowler and Pratt's point:
there's much more to the history of British fi lm than
Bond, Hammer and Carry On. The theming ofsections certainly helps
plot a course through a
dizzying 100 years, and by
the time you've reached
the book's conclusion, having learned about Vincent
Price's 1970s cookery show (Cooking Price-Wise), or
the existence of witches in Notting Hill in mondo fi lm
Secret Rites, you'll feel ready for any pop culture pub
quiz going. The level of research here is staggering, as
is the breadth of content, with only a few fi lm stills to
break up page upon page of cinematic archaeology.
The Bodies Beneath... is a celebration of oft-
forgotten British trends and sub-genres, the 'punk
rock of fi lm' according to prologue writer Nicholas
Winding Refn. It's educational, entertaining and well
worth a read. MC« The Bodies Beneath:
The Flipside of British Film
& TelevisionIN
STOCKPLAYBACK 99
« The Secret Life of Movies
Subtitled 'Hidden hints, motifs, references and
background details in the greatest movies,' this
paperback from Simon Brew, creator of UK fi lm
website Den of Geek, doesn't quite live up
to its billing. It's still a fun read, however.
Across 240 pages, Brew's attention fl its from
one fi lm to another, revealing interesting tidbits
about production and post-production, Easter Eggs,
homages, cameos, music choices and more. Films
included range from All the President's Men to The
Wizard of Oz, although adding in the likes of Porky's
and Stuart Little does slightly kill the 'greatest
movies' vibe. There's also a slant towards more
recent productions, no doubt because there's far
more information available concerning these titles.
Some of what Brew has collected here will be
known to readers (that Joe Pesci's 'funny how?'
monologue in Goodfellas wasn't scripted, for
instance), but much may be fresh (who knew Arnold
Simon Brew « Cassell « £16 Schwarzenegger's performance in 1989 action
fl ick Red Heat was inspired by Greta Garbo's turn in
1939 drama Ninotchka? Or that the same airplane
cockpit set was used for both Executive Decision
and Air Force One?).
There's plenty here too, but a failing is that
sometimes it can feel like it's only scratching the
surface. The best moments are when Brew takes
time to dig a littler deeper, as in his recounting of
the set construction problems on WarGames, but
often the entries are short (as little as 100 words),
with more space given on a page to imagery and
typographical fl ourishes.
That said, there is a visual fl air to the book.
Coloured panels, illustrations and movie stills
combine to pleasing eff ect, and make The Secret
Life of Movies something that's very easy to
dip in and out of. MC