Dir: Henri Clouzot France/Italy 1952 141mins 35mm
Set in a squalid South American backwater under the control of the Southern Oil Company, four penniless truck drivers agree to transport highly volatile nitro-glycerine across some of the most treacherous terrain on earth. Through tense interactions and flashbacks,  we become intimately acquainted with the drivers  while being kept on the edge of our seat.

Winner Palme d’Or  Cannes Film Festival  1953
Winner Golden Berlin Bear  Berlin Film Festival  1953
Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

Dir: William Friedkin  US  1977  91mins  16mm
Four men find work in Nicaragua driving trucks loaded with nitro-glycerine through the jungle. Failing at the box-office, Friedkin’s reworking of Cluzot’s suspense classic just about destroyed his career, he later declared it his favourite of all this films. Features an influential electronic score by Tangerine Dream. Stars Roy Scheider.

Dir: Michelangelo Antonioni UK 1966 111mins 35mm
A photographer believes he has accidentally witnessed a murder through his camera lens in this massively influential exploration of Swinging London. This provocative investigation of contemporary image culture and ‘60s British cultural icons features a jazzy score by Herbie Hancock. Stars David Hemmings, Vannessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, Jane Birkin & The Yardbirds.

Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

Dir: Brian De Palma  US  1981  105mins  16mm
Cleverly replacing the camera with a tape recorder, De Palma’s homage to Blowup places more emphasis on the plot than the style and mood of its predecessor. A foley technician working on a low budget horror movie incidentally records the sound of a gunshot while transcribing street noises one night, plunging him into a complex political conspiracy. Stars John Travolta, Nancy Allen & John Lithgow.

Dir: Andrew Lau & Alan Mak  HK  2002  101mins 35mm
Ming, a Triad spy working as a sergeant in the CIB, and Yan, an undercover police officer who has infiltrated the Triads and reached the rank of enforcer, both feel increasingly trapped in their false surroundings. When their paths finally cross during a botched police raid, each side realizes there is a mole amongst them and both men become desperate to find a way out. Stars Andy Lau, Tony Leung & Anthony Wong.

Winner Hong Kong Film Award Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Leung) & Best Supporting Actor (Wong)  2003

Dir: Martin Scorsese  US  2006  145mins  35mm
The events in this remake are transposed to South Boston where the state police force is waging war on organised crime. Following the plot of its predecessor closely, Scorsese concentrates on the themes of Irish tribalism, moral turpitude and plays with the motif of the rat. Stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen & Jack Nicholson.

Winner Oscar Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay 2005
Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

Brews & Reviews proudly sponsored by Barossa Valley Brewing.