In Melancholia, Kirsten Dunst takes on the frankly masochistic task of working with Lars Von Trier. The Danish director's work almost exclusively deals with central female characters, who all suffer greatly during the course of the film. Melancholia doesn't degrade it's main character in the same way as Antichrist, or Dogville for that matter; instead the only victim here is the audience

the-ragged-trousered-philanthropists-2-11.jpgWhilst chatting with students at Worcester University, I was presented with a flyer for a production of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists that night in the university, an opportunity not to miss. However my expectation of a theatrical interpretation of this socialist classic by just two actors was very low but this was blown away as soon as the performance began.

In the 1950s, amid prosperity and a booming economy, Allen Ginsberg defied conventions and the mainstream by openly standing forward as a homosexual, a socialist and a sharp critic of the capitalist American society he lived in. For this he was persecuted in a famous obscenity trial, which he ended up winning. This is portrayed in the feature film Howl from 2010, now available here on DVD.


battle_of_algiers.jpgIn the first of a regular column where we look at DVDs which may be of interest to socialists, we pick up on a DVD reissue of the classic film, Battle of Algiers.

More Articles ...

  1. Copyright - keeping ideas under lock and key
  2. Music industry: an era of crisis or opportunity?
  3. Corporate Media: A Ruling Class Tool
  4. Robert Burns - Man, poet and revolutionary
  5. ‘A slice of bloody cake for all! ...That’s what Brian Clough says!’
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