It is incredibly hard to write these words so soon after my remembrances of Tony Rayns and Brian Case, especially since I learned of the death of the film programmer, festival director and producer Simon Field just a few hours on the same day after hearing of Brian’s. But of the three – whose paths … Continue reading Remembering Simon Field (1946-26): programmer, producer and dear, dear friend
I’ve arrived, sadly but inevitably, at that age where one keeps hearing that friends and former colleagues have passed on. Just a week or two ago, it was Tony Rayns; now, another person I encountered during my years at Time Out, and another terrific writer: Brian Case. (In many ways these two men could not … Continue reading Man of music (movies, and much more): in memoriam Brian Case (1937-2026)
It was with great sadness that I learned yesterday of the recent death of Tony Rayns, one of the most important, insightful and influential figures in international film culture during the last half-century. For me, as for many others, he was not only a hugely valued colleague but a friend and, to some degree, something … Continue reading Tony Rayns (1948-2026): A Supreme Cinephile Remembered
It was with considerable sadness that I learned of the death, a few days ago, of the great composer, bandleader, pianist and occasional horn-player Mike Westbrook, just weeks after his 90th birthday. Sadly, I never met him (though I exchanged a few emails with him and his wife Kate during the last couple of years), … Continue reading In Memory of a Musical Titan: RIP Mike Westbrook (1936-2026)
The first time I encountered Peter Howden was shortly after I moved to London in the autumn of 1976. I had moved into a seedy basement flat in Westbourne Park, and the similarly seedy Electric Cinema Club, five minutes’ walk away in Portobello Road, soon became my second home. There was a bearded, bespectacled guy … Continue reading Man of the Cinema: one or two things I know about Peter Howden (1945-2026)
Less than a week ago, I learned that the filmmaker Terence Davies was seriously ill. This came as a shock; only a week previously had I led a discussion about Distant Voices, Still Lives with students at the London Film School. Seeing the film again had been a very pleasurable reminder of his particular cinematic … Continue reading Terence Davies: A Remembrance
If I’m a little late to the wake with this tribute to Bertrand Tavernier (1941-2021), that has nothing to do with my feelings about the man or his films, and everything to do with other obligations. I’ve been pleased (and not a little surprised) to see his passing marked so widely with obituaries and remembrances, … Continue reading The Man Who Lived Movies: a Tribute to Bertrand Tavernier
When I heard, from a friend who works for Time Out, that Tony Elliott (1947-2020) had died the previous evening, I wasn’t entirely surprised; though he appeared, on the last occasion I saw him in late January, to be in reasonable health and good spirits, I knew that he’d been engaged in a grim battle … Continue reading Two or three things I know about Tony Elliott
Some hours after the announcement of the death of Agnès Varda, my friend Nick James – editor of Sight & Sound magazine – felt moved to tweet that his Twitter feed was so choked with tributes, it felt as if Varda was the Bowie of cinema. ‘Perhaps she was,’ he added. It was an intriguing … Continue reading Agnès Varda par…
I am far from the first to lament the recent loss, within a couple of days, of both Nicolas Roeg and Bernardo Bertolucci, and I certainly won’t be the last. What follows is not some sort of double obituary, but merely a brief, personal appreciation of two major filmmakers, both of whom proved to be … Continue reading Nicolas Roeg and Bernardo Bertolucci: two film greats remembered.
notes and observations by Geoff Andrew 