FACCIA A FACCIA (Face to Face), a film by Sergio SOLLIMA on DVD

 

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SYNOPSIS:

One of the best films from Italian genre master Sergio Sollima (The Big Gundown), Faccia a Faccia (Face to Face ) is a gangbusting western saga and a gripping parable of the rise of fascism. Upstanding history professor Brad Fletcher (played by the incomparable Gian Maria Volonte) is forced into retirement by his poor health and moves west for the warmer climate. Almost as soon as he arrives, however, he is taken hostage by famed bandit Solomon Bennett (the great Tomas Milian) in an accidental confrontation, and by necessity is forced to take up with his cohorts. But the learned man's growing identification with the gang encourages him to stage a takeover from Bennett, and a new crueller system of leadership is put into place.


Produced by Sergio Leone's longtime partner Alberto Grimaldi, featuring stunning Techniscope cinematography, and a pounding score by il maestro Ennio Morricone, Faccia a Faccia (Face to Face ) is released on DVD in the UK on 20 June 2011.

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SPECIAL FEATURES:

- Original Italian audio with newly translated English subtitles,

- US & Italian Theatrical trailers,

- Interview with director Sergio Sollima, lavish 16 page booklet containing new essay by spaghetti western expert Howard Hughes

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DETAILS:

Label: Eureka Entertainment

Catalogue No: EKA40324

Barcode: 5060000403244

RRP: £16.34

Release Date: 20 June 2011

Certificate: 12

Run Time: 92 min

Format:  2.35:1 OAR/ Colour

Genre: Spaghetti Western

Director: Sergio SOLLIMA

Year: 1967

Country:  Italy/Spain

Language: Italian

Subtitles: English (Optional)

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Independent Cinema Shortwave hosts UK Green Film Festival

Bermondsey Square’s independent cinema, Shortwave is hosting the best in green films and filmmakers over a single weekend including Day Of The Triffids, Vanishing Of The Bees, Wasteland, Wall-E and the nationwide premier Planeat.

Shortwave, one of two independent cinemas within the Igloo development will be showcasing an eclectic selection of iconic filmsthemed around the environment and climate change. Many of the showings will be accompanied by a question and answer session from people involved with the film. It is hoped that the UK Green Film Festival will reach a wide audience via the medium of cinema, reiterating the important message of sustainable living already heeded by a committed few.

The UK Green Film Festival is just one of many themed seasons that Shortwave has hosted in its eventful two-year existence. The residents of Bermondsey Square and the wider community have also experienced cultural highlights from the London Spanish Film Festival, Discover Latin America, London Kurdish Film Festival, and the Black Filmmaker Festival.

CREATIVE SCOTLAND PROVIDES £1 MILLION FOR EXPLORATION OF NEW INVESTMENT MODELS FOR FILM

Creative Scotland today (17 May 2011) unveiled a £1million investment into four pilot initiatives that will test new approaches to increasing the distribution and appreciation of Scottish cultural content, develop new audiences and return greater value to Scottish companies from film activities.

Caroline Parkinson, Director of Creative Development, Creative Scotland said:

‘Scotland’s film sector is rich with talent, ambition and expertise and Creative Scotland will invest to drive an increase in the impact and reach of films produced in Scotland and in the investment environment for producers  

‘Today’s announcement reinforces Creative Scotland’s commitment to invest in Scotland’s creative future and to see the country recognised as one of the world’s most creative nations.’

The new initiatives are:

Sigma Releasing: One of Scotland’s most prolific film production companies has created a new integrated business model which will allow them to co-release its films in the UK. Creative Scotland investment will allow them to contribute to the print and advertising costs of the UK release and allow it to reinvest the revenue generated from distribution across the range of its film activities.

Creative Scotland is investing £250,000 into Sigma Releasing.

Gillian Berrie, Director, Sigma Films said:

‘It’s great to have the resources to collaborate with Icon on You Instead and Arrow on Perfect Senseto support the UK releases and embrace and explore new distribution models and strategies.’

The MacKendrick Fund: a co-venture with the existing Aegis Fund and Prescience, this new commercial fund will offer debt and equity finance to domestic and international feature films with Scottish elements, or to be shot or post-produced in Scotland. The fund, which aims to be fully operational later in 2011, will further enhance the package Scottish producers can take to the market, using Creative Scotland investment to provide access to film finance on preferential terms. At the same time, the fund will also attract commercial international feature films of quality to Scotland.

Creative Scotland is investing £500,000 in the MacKendrick Fund.

Claire Mundell, Director, Mackendrick Capital Partners and co-founder of Synchronicity Films said:

‘The strategic support of Creative Scotland is vital as we build this exciting new film funding venture, based in Scotland. We look forward to helping international and domestic producers realise their projects and putting Scotland on the map as an attractive global film destination.’

Tim Smith, Managing Director, Prescience said:

‘Prescience is delighted to be a part of this vital initiative that will allow Scottish projects to gain a greater prominence on the world stage, where they belong.’

The Virtuous Circle (SDI Productions Ltd): a new model to test documentary financing through audience engagement, using a suite of digital tools that will allow producers and filmmakers to engage with potential audiences and investors at every stage of the development, production and distribution cycles of a film. Using crowd-sourcing models, the aim of The Virtuous Circle will be to explore a sustainable international documentary sector in Scotland.

Creative Scotland is investing £100,000 in The Virtuous Circle.

Noe Mendelle, Director, Scottish Documentary Institute said:

‘We are very excited to be given the unique opportunity test these new progressive ideas linked to production and distribution over the next 18 months. We have been observing our colleagues in North America and realised that we have some catching up to do. We look forward to sharing our findings with the documentary community.’

La Belle Allée/Savalas Sound Post Equity Fund: 

A fund to allow sound post-production facility, Savalas to offer equity investment to attract international production to Scotland and discounts for locally produced feature films. Savalas is the only Dolby Premier studio outside of London and this fund would allow the company to attract large-scale projects and lead to the company becoming an equity stakeholder in the projects they invest in.

Creative Scotland is investing £125,000 in La Belle Allée/Savalas Sound Post Equity Fund.

Karen Smyth, Producer, La Belle Allée:

‘La Belle Allée are delighted to be involved in the creation and running of a post-production equity investment fund, alongside Scotland’s leading sound post production facility, Savalas. We look forward to attracting high quality projects to Scotland, as well offering domestic production world-class facilities at an affordable price.’

The new initiatives will help inform Creative Scotland’s future film investment policy.

The organisation also recently announced an increase in its film investment funds, bringing the total available for development and production of film and television in Scotland this year to £3 million.

Ad-supported “free” movie websites are hindering the fight against piracy

Johnny Depp may be a hero at the box office in his role of the wicked but lovable ‘pirate of the Caribbean’, Jack Sparrow, but it is pirating of another sort that continues to cause concern for Hollywood movie moguls.

“I’m willing to bet that thousands have already illegally watched the latest much-anticipated “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie (On Stranger Tides) which has just been released at cinemas in the UK, without giving a thought to what this means for the movie industry,” said Mr McCluskey,  CEO of British-based video hosting service, vzaar, who suggested wryly that perhaps online pirates should be made to walk the plank.

He believes that piracy is being exacerbated by “ad-supported” video streaming websites:

“Websites that are offering ‘free’ movies by means of financing the service with advertising breaks are just muddying the waters – people are now confused about which sites are illegal and which not.”

As head of vzaar, Mr McCluskey oversees the delivery of hundreds of thousands of hours of high quality online video, both embedded and streamed on his client’s websites through the feature-rich vzaar platform. He has a particular interest, however, in feature films  because vzaar’s ability to stream full-length features in high definition is one of its strengths – and what brought it to the attention of top Hollywood director, Oliver Stone, who was so impressed he has invested in the company.

“Having worked closely with Oliver I understand the implications of movie piracy – it is a problem he and his colleagues in Hollywood are constantly discussing,” said Mr McCluskey.

Although huge efforts have been made to stamp out “free” pirated movie download sites, particularly in the United States where many high-profile prosecutions have taken place, the practice still continues, and, judging by the results of a recent study by Price Waterhouse Coopers, the pirates “just don’t give a darn”.

“From the study it appears piracy is still a far more attractive option than any premium video on-demand service. People want something for nothing, regardless of quality.” said Mr McCluskey.

He said Oliver Stone – currently working on his new movie, Savages, with its all-star cast including John Travolta and Una Thurman – believes that piracy is seriously damaging the movie industry.

“One thing that we can do to decrease piracy is to ensure that there are sites available that offer far superior, high quality delivery of movie content which viewers are willing to pay to access, rather than resort to second-rate copies on pirate sites. Also, earlier movie release dates for legitimate pay-on-demand sites may deter impatient pirates,” suggested Mr McCluskey.

He said vzaar’s premium video platform was the ideal vehicle for delivering impeccable movie content online, and was being increasingly sought after for the purpose by pay-on-demand movie website owners – “those who want to support the film industry and keep the hit movies coming”.

British online video platform streams hit HD movies

Hollywood movie director, Oliver Stone, shareholder in the British-based online video delivery platform, vzaar, believes the internet is becoming an increasing “force in the world of film” and the day is not far off when online video streaming of box office hits will completely replace “on-demand” TV movies and DVD rental services.

“Oliver is a man with great foresight, and like many of the major players in the movie industry he has realised that the future of film distribution is online – it’s just a case of video streaming capability improving all round to meet the high standards of consumers,” said Mr Stephen McCluskey, CEO of vzaar.

“This has the potential to be the biggest revolution in the movie industry since the invention of VCRs and video tape in the 1970s.”

Mr McCluskey said this was why Mr Stone – currently in Hollywood working on a new film, Savages, which follows hard on the heels of his 2010 hit, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps – invested in vzaar, which has the technology which allows its clients to broadcast full-length feature films online, in HD and with optimal quality.

In a recent conversation with Mr McCluskey, the director shared his opinion that when all online video delivery platforms matched the high quality that vzaar offered, movie fans would flock to watch new releases on the internet.

With the increasing proliferation of mobile internet devices, people can – and would increasingly – watch the top box office hits online via one of the hundreds of movie library websites, not only on their living-room sofa but while sitting on the train going to work, or sitting in a campsite on holiday.

“Film-makers also regard the internet as a particularly powerful publicity tool – trailers and clips of new movies are being put online, targeted at desired audiences, and going viral through social networking sites. For the movie industry this has proved the most efficient and effective form of advertising for new productions ever experienced,” said Mr McCluskey.

“Our vzaar platform has features which allow for smooth, high-definition delivery of full-length movies, and many of our clients are using vzaar to broadcast films. We are pleased to be leading the way in the field of streaming online video technology, and giving film-makers the means to capitalise on the powerful advantages of putting their product on the internet.”