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Reviews

Romeo And Juliet

When compared to Baz Luhrmann's hysterical synapse-splitting kitsch, there's something strangely reassuring about Franco Zeffirelli's stodgy '68 classicist version of Romeo And Juliet. Here, the many pleasures include Michael York's fantastic cheekbones as Tybalt, a cherubic Bruce Robinson as Benvolio, and a plethora of badly choreographed sword-fights. Even the infamous shots of Olivia Hussey's 17-year-old breasts seem quaint rather than smutty.

Saturday Night And Sunday Morning – The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner

Arguably the two most powerful kitchen-sink dramas of the early '60s were both adapted from the works of author Alan Sillitoe. Saturday Night And Sunday Morning (1960), directed by Karel Reisz, provided British cinema with an equivalent to Brando thanks to Albert Finney's electrifying performance as marriage-wrecking factory-hand Arthur Seaton ("I'm a fighting pit-prop of a man who wants a pint of beer, that's me!"). But Finney perhaps lacked the surly sophistication of borstal boy Tom Courtenay in Tony Richardson's later The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner (1962).

Alligator – Alligator II

John Sayles scripted this Jaws-onland rip-off, with Robert Forster as the cop chasing a giant man-eating monster down in the sewers. Forster's dogged, and some of the set pieces are pretty nifty, but the plot's farcical, and this isn't strong on intellectual content despite its obligatory eco-message. The sequel is a made-for-TV retread, of practically zero interest.

Tegan And Sara – If It Was You

Debut album from seriously connected Canadian twin sisters

The Durutti Column – Someone Else’s Party

Ex-Factory 'ambient' guitarist returns with best album in years

Insane Clown Posse – The Wraith: Shangri-LA

The band who make Slipknot look like S Club Juniors

Delbert McClinton – Room To Breathe

Texan roadhouse rocker still displays true grit

Appleton – Everything’s Eventual

Better-than-expected debut from All Saints sisters

Nada Surf – The Proximity Effect

Second ill-fated album from New York indie crew

Chick Corea – Trio Music

Brilliant piano trio music from 1981
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