Film

No escape from pain through riches: Nightmare Alley review

Nightmare Alleyoffers a compelling account of the emptiness and amorality of material gain, writes Simon Duckett
Rescuing Chamberlain: Munich - The Edge of War review

Netflix's Munich – The Edge of War rehashes old revisionist myths in an attempt to exonerate Chamberlain, writes John Westmoreland
The art of sound: The Tragedy of Macbeth review

Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth is a visual and aural feast, and while not flawless, shows that Shakespeare can work powerfully well on screen, writes Tom Lock Griffiths
Sidney Poitier broke the mould of what a Black actor could be

John Clarke pays tribute to the man who refused to accept the degrading roles set aside for Black actors and who played an important role in challenging racism
The top ten films of 2021

Mark Dee Smith offers a selection of some of the best films of the year
Comets, climate and capitalism: what we can take from Don’t Look Up

Adam McKay's Don't Look Up highlights how the capitalist class’s relentless pursuit of profit is leading us to disaster, argues Lucy Nichols
Palestinian season on Netflix

Michael Lavalette reviews a number of Palestinian films currently streaming on Netflix
The Harder They Fall review: Who needs a plot anyway?

Despite a missing plot, Lucy Nichols finds The Harder They Fall an entertaining and visually impressive new take on the Western genre
‘O if we could only be a proletarian swarm of rats’ - Europa review

This year’s London Film Festival opened with ‘Europa’, a rediscovered treasure of inter-war avant-garde cinema. Tom Griffiths assesses the film’s significance.
9to5: The Story of a Movement review

What a way to build a movement: Lucy Nichols reviews Steven Bognar and Julia Reicherts’ latest documentary
The Suicide Squad review: Gunn takes aim at US imperialism

Superhero films often critique capitalist society, but the front and centre exposition of US imperialism puts James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad in a new league, writes Lucy Nichols
Friendship’s Death – film review

Peter Wollen’s newly restored feature film reminds us of a time when theory and practice came together in the cinema, argues Martin Hall
Facts are stubborn things: Exterminate All The Brutes review

Raoul Peck’s four-part documentary film about colonialism, slavery and genocide is a powerful and thorough exposition of the crimes of colonialism
Where there’s people, there’s power – Judas and the Black Messiah review

The revolutionary life and politics of Fred Hampton, and the violence of the state against him, provide timely lessons for the movement today, writes Shabbir Lakha
A day in the life of a Palestinian: The Present review

Farah Nabulsi’s Oscar-nominated The Present shows the daily oppression faced by Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, finds Sybil Cock
Unearthing class and conflict in Sutton Hoo – Netflix’s The Dig reviewed

The Dig corrects the erasure of working class archaeologist Basil Brown in the excavation of Sutton Hoo, but falls short on portraying the key women involved, finds Kevin Potter
When working-class women fight back: Made in Dagenham review

With Made in Dagenham currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer, we repost Lindsey German's review
One Night in Miami: civil rights at the crossroads - review

One Night in Miami provides a vivid depiction of segregated America and an exploration of the meaning of Black liberation, finds Yonas Makoni
Five radical films to watch this holiday

A selection of films you can stream over the holiday period
Small Axe: a history of racism in 5 episodes

Steve McQueen's Small Axe is essential viewing; it provides a powerful history of racism and the black struggle in Britain, argues Unjum Mirza
Two Days, One Night - film of the week

Chris Nineham is enthralled by this all-too-human study of modern industrial struggle
Five films on the black struggle

As Black Lives Matter continues to make gains, Counterfire writers discuss a personal selection of films concerning race and class in the US and UK
Contagion revisited: how Hollywood got its pandemic prediction upside down

Chaotic leadership vs calm public: how reality was different from Contagion's plotlines, says Chris Nineham
If VE Day never came: It Happened Here - film review

On the 75th anniversary of VE Day, Tom Griffiths finds Brownlow and Mollo's alternative vision of Nazi-led Britain in the 1940s still resonates powerfully
Total War: realism and fantasy in British Cinema of the 1940s

British Cinema during WW2 presents us with a more complex picture of an important historical period than we might expect, argues Martin Hall
Curated for quarantine: five films for your Easter weekend

Chosen with the activist’s eye in mind by Chris Nineham, Kate O’Neil and Mark Dee Smith
Raining accusations: Ken Loach under attack

Britain's best known socialist filmmaker has been under attack for weeks as part of the continued assault on our ability to organise for Palestinian rights, argues Sybil Cock
Film Review: Misbehaviour is misjudged

Women's liberation struggles deserve to be made into films, but Misbehaviour is not one of them says Penny Hicks
1917: more fiction than fact - film review

1917 fails to do justice to the reality of the times and for the characters in it, says John Westmoreland
Little Women - film review

Little Women is a successful film adaptation but haste and gloss obscure many of the central and distinctive elements of Alcott’s original story
Sorry We Missed You: essential viewing in a Britain broken by capitalism

Steve Jack reviews the latest film from the self-effacing firebrand and king of social realism, Ken Loach
Official Secrets review: how Bush and Blair lied their way to war with Iraq

Official Secrets shows the extent of the lies in the drive to war with Iraq and leaves the viewer asking how on earth Blair got away with it, writes Shabbir Lakha
Rolling Thunder Revue: a Bob Dylan story by Martin Scorsese

Scorsese's new documentary shows Dylan grasping at the truth of an America that was figuring out what it wanted to be
A Marxist guide to crime drama

At its best, crime drama does not simply try to terrify us with pure unblinking evil but gives us studies of dysfunctional human beings mangled by capitalism, argues Sofie Mason
Rosa Luxemburg, von Trotta's 1986 film, receives digital restoration - review

In this moving biopic, Rosa Luxemburg emerges as a vibrant, sensual, intellectually brilliant, morally and physically courageous woman, whose legacy proves timeless, writes Tom Lock Griffiths
Peterloo: an 'anti-period drama'

Peterloo presents our history vividly, finds David McAllister - the result is a film that is both timely and historically accurate
Black Panther: from Huey Newton to Wakanda - film review

Black Panther is a landmark film for representation and presentation, but the politics ignores structural issues of class and race, argues Shabbir Lakha
Every revolution needs some smashing plates

A 1985 Exhibition of Soviet Design came to London and showed Mark Perryman the real meaning of revolution
Blade Runner 2049 - film review

As the sequel to the 80's blockbuster hits the big screens, Sean Ledwith analyses the politics behind the influential sci-fi film.
Mehmet Aksoy remembered: Peace in Kurdistan salutes the activist and film-maker

It is with deep sadness and horror that we learn of the death of Mehmet Aksoy who has been killed in the fight against Islamic State on 26 September 2017
The Acting Class review - A necessary declaration of intent from working-class actors

Without the bank of mum and dad as support, opportunities in the arts are becoming non-existent. This new documentary is a cry of anger against this class injustice
Studio: Remembering Chris Marker

Chris Marker, the innovative, left-wing filmmaker, is given a moving and insightful tribute in Studio: Remembering Chris Marker, finds Tom Griffiths
Nolan's Dunkirk - film review

Christopher Nolan's epic depiction of the Dunkirk evacuation misses the point, argues Tom Lock Griffiths
The radical cinema of George A. Romero

The late horror director changed the way we see the monstrous Other, writes Jack Brindelli
The Death of Louis XIV: feudalism’s last gleaming

Tom Lock Griffiths locates a unique performance at the heart of Albert Serra’s study of aristocratic and corporeal decay
Class in the drama class: actors and privilege

Deirdre O’Neill and Mike Wayne explain why they are making a new documentary, The Acting Class
Oliver Stone’s Snowden - film review

Stone's biopic is a powerful reminder that the capitalist state can still be brought to its knees by the defiance of a single person
Art, Literature and Culture from a Marxist Perspective

Tony McKenna’s cultural essays show the rich possibilities of Marxist analysis for a range of art and literature, argues Sean Ledwith
Daniel Blake: an everyday tragedy

Austerity penalises the most vulnerable in our society. This government’s record is shameful and we most hold the Tories to account, writes Dr Mona Kamal
Ken Loach talks Daniel Blake, Jeremy Corbyn and Leon Trotsky

The award-winning film director talks about his latest film, his political influences, and the challenges now facing the left in a wide ranging interview with John Rees
Paul Robeson: erased from history - podcast

Portraying Paul Robeson on the 40th anniversary of his death, actor Tayo Aluko talks to us about this prodigiously talented singer, actor and socialist
Hollywood takes on the bankers? Review of The Big Short

Mckay's film exposes the greed at the core of the system, but fails to tell the story of those most affected by the crisis
Bristol film festival celebrates 40 years of radical British cinema

We spoke to Bristol Radical Film Festival organiser Steve Presence about the rare gems showcasing this year
Abel Ferrara's ‘Pasolini’

Jim Aindow reviews a film about the final days of Italian film director Pier Paolo Pasolini
Marshland: Life, death, redemption

A recently released Spanish thriller casts light on the country’s compromised transition to democracy. Marshland by Alberto Rodríguez is reviewed by Jim Aindow
Celebrating the Miners Strike through film: 'Miners’ Hymns' and 'DS30'

Mike Quille reviews two new films: Miners’ Hymns which is out on DVD, and a new film called DS30, which will be shown in Durham a few days before the Miners Gala
Avengers: Age of Repetitive Strain

As the Avengers once again look set to storm the box office, and as word of mouth continues to extol the virtues of the franchise, tireless contrarian Jack Brindelli gives a very different view
Support Hollywood Hegemony financial appeal

Norwich based radical film making team 'Hollywood Hegemony' has launched a fundraising appeal explains Jack Brindelli
White Hole: antidote to Black Friday?

Tyneside Cinema and Film London Artists' Moving Image Network present the UK premiere of White Hole, a new work by John Smith. Mike Quille reviews
Existence is resistance: review of 'Two Days and One Night'‏

Chris Nineham reviews 'Two Days and One Night', a new film by the Dardenne Brothers
Amir Amirani’s ‘We are many’

Marienna Pope-Weidemann reviews Amir Amirani’s ‘We are many’, a documentary about the biggest anti-war demonstration in history

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Film

Film

Nightmare Alleyoffers a compelling account of the emptiness and amorality of material gain, writes Simon Duckett

Netflix's Munich – The Edge of War rehashes old revisionist myths in an attempt to exonerate Chamberlain, writes John Westmoreland

Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth is a visual and aural feast, and while not flawless, shows that Shakespeare can work powerfully well on screen, writes Tom Lock Griffiths

John Clarke pays tribute to the man who refused to accept the degrading roles set aside for Black actors and who played an important role in challenging racism

Mark Dee Smith offers a selection of some of the best films of the year

Adam McKay's Don't Look Up highlights how the capitalist class’s relentless pursuit of profit is leading us to disaster, argues Lucy Nichols

Michael Lavalette reviews a number of Palestinian films currently streaming on Netflix

Despite a missing plot, Lucy Nichols finds The Harder They Fall an entertaining and visually impressive new take on the Western genre

This year’s London Film Festival opened with ‘Europa’, a rediscovered treasure of inter-war avant-garde cinema. Tom Griffiths assesses the film’s significance.

What a way to build a movement: Lucy Nichols reviews Steven Bognar and Julia Reicherts’ latest documentary

Superhero films often critique capitalist society, but the front and centre exposition of US imperialism puts James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad in a new league, writes Lucy Nichols

Peter Wollen’s newly restored feature film reminds us of a time when theory and practice came together in the cinema, argues Martin Hall

Raoul Peck’s four-part documentary film about colonialism, slavery and genocide is a powerful and thorough exposition of the crimes of colonialism

The revolutionary life and politics of Fred Hampton, and the violence of the state against him, provide timely lessons for the movement today, writes Shabbir Lakha

Farah Nabulsi’s Oscar-nominated The Present shows the daily oppression faced by Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, finds Sybil Cock

The Dig corrects the erasure of working class archaeologist Basil Brown in the excavation of Sutton Hoo, but falls short on portraying the key women involved, finds Kevin Potter

With Made in Dagenham currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer, we repost Lindsey German's review

One Night in Miami provides a vivid depiction of segregated America and an exploration of the meaning of Black liberation, finds Yonas Makoni

A selection of films you can stream over the holiday period

Steve McQueen's Small Axe is essential viewing; it provides a powerful history of racism and the black struggle in Britain, argues Unjum Mirza

Chris Nineham is enthralled by this all-too-human study of modern industrial struggle

As Black Lives Matter continues to make gains, Counterfire writers discuss a personal selection of films concerning race and class in the US and UK

Chaotic leadership vs calm public: how reality was different from Contagion's plotlines, says Chris Nineham

On the 75th anniversary of VE Day, Tom Griffiths finds Brownlow and Mollo's alternative vision of Nazi-led Britain in the 1940s still resonates powerfully

British Cinema during WW2 presents us with a more complex picture of an important historical period than we might expect, argues Martin Hall

Chosen with the activist’s eye in mind by Chris Nineham, Kate O’Neil and Mark Dee Smith

Britain's best known socialist filmmaker has been under attack for weeks as part of the continued assault on our ability to organise for Palestinian rights, argues Sybil Cock

Women's liberation struggles deserve to be made into films, but Misbehaviour is not one of them says Penny Hicks

1917 fails to do justice to the reality of the times and for the characters in it, says John Westmoreland

Little Women is a successful film adaptation but haste and gloss obscure many of the central and distinctive elements of Alcott’s original story

Steve Jack reviews the latest film from the self-effacing firebrand and king of social realism, Ken Loach

Official Secrets shows the extent of the lies in the drive to war with Iraq and leaves the viewer asking how on earth Blair got away with it, writes Shabbir Lakha

Scorsese's new documentary shows Dylan grasping at the truth of an America that was figuring out what it wanted to be

At its best, crime drama does not simply try to terrify us with pure unblinking evil but gives us studies of dysfunctional human beings mangled by capitalism, argues Sofie Mason

In this moving biopic, Rosa Luxemburg emerges as a vibrant, sensual, intellectually brilliant, morally and physically courageous woman, whose legacy proves timeless, writes Tom Lock Griffiths

Peterloo presents our history vividly, finds David McAllister - the result is a film that is both timely and historically accurate

Black Panther is a landmark film for representation and presentation, but the politics ignores structural issues of class and race, argues Shabbir Lakha

A 1985 Exhibition of Soviet Design came to London and showed Mark Perryman the real meaning of revolution

As the sequel to the 80's blockbuster hits the big screens, Sean Ledwith analyses the politics behind the influential sci-fi film.

It is with deep sadness and horror that we learn of the death of Mehmet Aksoy who has been killed in the fight against Islamic State on 26 September 2017

Without the bank of mum and dad as support, opportunities in the arts are becoming non-existent. This new documentary is a cry of anger against this class injustice

Chris Marker, the innovative, left-wing filmmaker, is given a moving and insightful tribute in Studio: Remembering Chris Marker, finds Tom Griffiths

Christopher Nolan's epic depiction of the Dunkirk evacuation misses the point, argues Tom Lock Griffiths

The late horror director changed the way we see the monstrous Other, writes Jack Brindelli

Tom Lock Griffiths locates a unique performance at the heart of Albert Serra’s study of aristocratic and corporeal decay

Deirdre O’Neill and Mike Wayne explain why they are making a new documentary, The Acting Class

Stone's biopic is a powerful reminder that the capitalist state can still be brought to its knees by the defiance of a single person

Tony McKenna’s cultural essays show the rich possibilities of Marxist analysis for a range of art and literature, argues Sean Ledwith

Austerity penalises the most vulnerable in our society. This government’s record is shameful and we most hold the Tories to account, writes Dr Mona Kamal

The award-winning film director talks about his latest film, his political influences, and the challenges now facing the left in a wide ranging interview with John Rees

Portraying Paul Robeson on the 40th anniversary of his death, actor Tayo Aluko talks to us about this prodigiously talented singer, actor and socialist

Mckay's film exposes the greed at the core of the system, but fails to tell the story of those most affected by the crisis

We spoke to Bristol Radical Film Festival organiser Steve Presence about the rare gems showcasing this year

Jim Aindow reviews a film about the final days of Italian film director Pier Paolo Pasolini

A recently released Spanish thriller casts light on the country’s compromised transition to democracy. Marshland by Alberto Rodríguez is reviewed by Jim Aindow

Mike Quille reviews two new films: Miners’ Hymns which is out on DVD, and a new film called DS30, which will be shown in Durham a few days before the Miners Gala

As the Avengers once again look set to storm the box office, and as word of mouth continues to extol the virtues of the franchise, tireless contrarian Jack Brindelli gives a very different view

Norwich based radical film making team 'Hollywood Hegemony' has launched a fundraising appeal explains Jack Brindelli

Tyneside Cinema and Film London Artists' Moving Image Network present the UK premiere of White Hole, a new work by John Smith. Mike Quille reviews

Chris Nineham reviews 'Two Days and One Night', a new film by the Dardenne Brothers

Marienna Pope-Weidemann reviews Amir Amirani’s ‘We are many’, a documentary about the biggest anti-war demonstration in history