Features and reviews

Discover the latest from the BFI, the UK’s lead organisation for film, television and the moving image.

From the Sight and Sound archive

Kiss kiss bang bang: Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet

For the 30th anniversary of Baz Luhrmann’s visceral epic Romeo + Juliet, we republish José Arroyo’s essay on how the film turned Shakespeare into cinema. From our March 1997 issue.

By José Arroyo

Kiss kiss bang bang: Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet

Features

The world moves on: Billy Wilder’s cinema of ageing and obsolescence

By Chloe Walker

The world moves on: Billy Wilder’s cinema of ageing and obsolescence

Features

Scotland’s rival to The Jazz Singer: the story behind a groundbreaking British sound film

By Marc David Jacobs

Scotland’s rival to The Jazz Singer: the story behind a groundbreaking British sound film

From the Sight and Sound archive

Portrait of a lady: Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette

By Pam Cook

Portrait of a lady: Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette

Where to begin

Where to begin with Billy Wilder

By Ruby McGuigan

Where to begin with Billy Wilder

Back into focus

Revisiting Pakeezah, Hindi cinema’s great tragedy of desire and entrapment

By Nasheed Qamar Faruqi

Revisiting Pakeezah, Hindi cinema’s great tragedy of desire and entrapment

Where to begin

Where to begin with Lee Chang-dong

By Luke Georgiades

Where to begin with Lee Chang-dong

Obituaries

Eva Marie Saint obituary: Oscar-winning star of On the Waterfront and North by Northwest

By Thirza Wakefield

Eva Marie Saint obituary: Oscar-winning star of On the Waterfront and North by Northwest

Features

“Sick and kinky”: The BBFC and Ken Russell’s The Devils

By Linda Ruth Williams

“Sick and kinky”: The BBFC and Ken Russell’s The Devils

Features

The Devils’ advocate: Guillermo del Toro on the film’s darkness and light

By Guillermo del Toro

The Devils’ advocate: Guillermo del Toro on the film’s darkness and light

Features

Under the Arcadian sky: Gregory Markopoulos’s 80-hour epic Eniaios concludes at the Temenos

By Georgia Korossi

Under the Arcadian sky: Gregory Markopoulos’s 80-hour epic Eniaios concludes at the Temenos

Then and now

In search of the locations from Horace Ové’s Pressure, half a century on

By Adam Scovell

In search of the locations from Horace Ové’s Pressure, half a century on

Obituaries

Patricio Guzmán obituary: documentary chronicler of Chile’s turbulent political history

By Michael Chanan

Patricio Guzmán obituary: documentary chronicler of Chile’s turbulent political history

Then and now

20 years of Children of Men: how the London locations look today

By Adam Scovell

20 years of Children of Men: how the London locations look today

Where to begin

Where to begin with Claude Chabrol

By Adam Scovell

Where to begin with Claude Chabrol

Features

Dancing at the revolution: the cinema of Sarah Maldoror

By Rachel Pronger

Dancing at the revolution: the cinema of Sarah Maldoror

Features

The UK’s first arthouse boom: how Contemporary Films blazed a trail in bringing world cinema to British viewers

By Henry K Miller

The UK’s first arthouse boom: how Contemporary Films blazed a trail in bringing world cinema to British viewers

From the Sight and Sound archive

“He is the blockbuster given human form”: J. Hoberman on Arnold Schwarzenegger

By J. Hoberman

“He is the blockbuster given human form”: J. Hoberman on Arnold Schwarzenegger

In pictures

In pictures: Vivid behind-the-scenes shots from the jazz club in The L-shaped Room

By Cathi Unsworth

In pictures: Vivid behind-the-scenes shots from the jazz club in The L-shaped Room

Then and now

In search of the Dorset locations of Nuts in May

By Adam Scovell

In search of the Dorset locations of Nuts in May

From the Sight and Sound archive

Of monsters and men: Peter Wollen on Jurassic Park

By Peter Wollen

Of monsters and men: Peter Wollen on Jurassic Park

Then and now

A tour of Alfred Hitchcock’s London: how the locations look today

By Adam Scovell

A tour of Alfred Hitchcock’s London: how the locations look today

From the Sight and Sound archive

Darkest hour: the first ever film of a solar eclipse

By Bryony Dixon

Darkest hour: the first ever film of a solar eclipse

Obituaries

Brian Robinson obituary: BFI press officer and programmer with incomparable flair

By Simon McCallum

Brian Robinson obituary: BFI press officer and programmer with incomparable flair

From the Sight and Sound archive

“It earns every hair it stiffens”: Alejandro Amenábar’s The Others

By Nick James

“It earns every hair it stiffens”: Alejandro Amenábar’s The Others

Then and now

How the nuclear attack locations from Peter Watkins’ The War Game look today

By Adam Scovell

How the nuclear attack locations from Peter Watkins’ The War Game look today

Features

Watch to play: the rise of the video game adaptation

By Stuart Burnside

Watch to play: the rise of the video game adaptation

Features

Peter Watkins’ The Journey: the longest film, the grassroots vision

By Benjamin Cook

Peter Watkins’ The Journey: the longest film, the grassroots vision

Obituaries

Đorđe Kadijević obituary: leading director of Serbian horror and the radical Black Wave movement

By Mina Radovic

Đorđe Kadijević obituary: leading director of Serbian horror and the radical Black Wave movement

From the Sight and Sound archive

“He was a giant for work”: Michal Leszczylowski, editor of The Sacrifice, on Andrei Tarkovsky

By Michal Leszczylowski

“He was a giant for work”: Michal Leszczylowski, editor of The Sacrifice, on Andrei Tarkovsky