The Russian film, Of Freaks and Men, has been banned on video in Ireland by the film censor, Sheamus Smith. The film was shown on a club basis earlier this year at the Irish Film Centre in Dublin, where admission was restricted to members and their guests.
Directed by Alexei Balabanov, this highly stylised film is set in St Petersburg at the turn of the 20th century. Its prologue, following an immigrant pornographer's arrival in the city, is treated like a silent film - in black-and-white and with inter-titles instead of dialogue. The film turns sepia-tinted for the subsequent scenes which employ dialogue and inter-titles.
These sequences explicitly document the degradation of two women from wealthy families - one the daughter of an engineer, the other the blind mother of adopted Siamese twins. They are coerced to pose undressed in flagellation photographs which are surreptitiously circulated in the city. The film implies that both women derive masochistic pleasure from the humiliation to which they are subjected before the camera.
It is understood that these scenes led to the film's rejection by the censor, who has declined to comment on his decision to ban the film.
Last year's phenomenally successful release of the ultra-low-budget horror movie, The Blair Witch Project - fuelled by clever Internet publicity - involved opening the film gradually over six months and building up word-of-mouth. However, the sequel, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, is set for a simultaneous release in the US, Britain and Ireland next weekend, expanding to an unprecedented release on 3,600 screens around the world within a fortnight. By contrast, this summer's release of the blockbuster Mission Impossible II took eight weeks to open internationally.
Such a fast worldwide release is highly expensive, allowing for no savings from cleaning up used prints and re-circulating them, but there are several advantages for the producers. It avoids the threat of piracy, allows for an earlier DVD release, and gets the movie out on a very wide basis before any potentially damaging word-of-mouth gets around. They also hope that it will take on the status of a major media event.
With a new director (award-winning documentarist, Joe Berlinger) and a new cast (again composed of unknowns), Blair Witch 2 is set in present-day Burkittsville, Maryland, as four young people sign up for a tour of the eerie Black Hills, scene of the original film, and a chain of strange occurrences is triggered as legend and reality become intertwined. The tour is organised by a local man cashing in on the interest in the Blair Witch saga, but it remains to be seen if the movie itself is just as cynical.
THE distinguished US documentary-maker, Albert Maysles, will give a masterclass for directors in Dublin next Thursday afternoon, as part of the Doclands festival which runs from Tuesday next for three days. The masterclass has been organised by Screen Training Ireland and Film Base.
With David Maysles, his brother and film-making partner, Albert Maysles has directed such outstanding documentaries as Gimme Shelter and Grey Gardens. Four of their films will be shown at Doclands: Showman (1963), dealing with the flamboyant film distributor and promoter, Joe Levine; With Love from Truman (1966), involving an intimate encounter with Truman Capote; Salesman (1968), following four door-to-door Bible salesmen; and Mohammad and Larry (1980), dealing with the boxers Mohammad Ali and Larry Holmes as they prepare separately for a world heavyweight championship bout.
For further information on the Albert Maysles masterclass, directors should contact Helen Quinn at Screen Training Ireland on 01-607-0958. The Doclands programme is on www.ionentertainment.ie/doclands
Robin Williams is stepping in to take over the starring role originally intended for Jim Carrey in the comedy Death to Smoochie, which will be directed by Danny De Vito. Williams will play Rainbow Randolph, a costumed TV star who plots to kill his rival, a man dressed as a blue rhinoceros, who is likely to be played by Edward Norton. It will be the second film in a row in which Williams plays a villain, following the imminent production of the psychological thriller, One Hour Photo, in which he plays an obsessed stalker.