STACK #160 Feb 2018

DVD & BD

FEATURE

THE Best of bigElow

NEAR DARK (1987) Bigelow's solo debut as a director is one of her best films. A gritty combination of western, horror, and road movie, it's also one of the best vampire movies ever made and a bona fide cult classic.

One of the great things about this movie is it's an incredibly informative piece

and unapologetic for what we were shooting, which I felt came from a place of honesty.” Detroit ’s uncompromising depiction of racism and police brutality is shamefully still prevalent today, and the actors hope that the film will provoke positive discussion on the aforementioned topics and the dismantling of the systems that facilitate them. was to be open minded and be willing to listen,” says Mackie. “Racism, hatred and bigotry aren’t just an American problem, they’re a global problem, so I think a movie like this gives people the opportunity to separate themselves from it and talk about the situation that mirrors their own, as opposed to pointing the finger at themselves.” Poulter concurs: “One of the things that has become more apparent to me from being part of this process – and I hope for viewers of Detroit – is the fact that social justice may be a reality for you, civil rights may have always been gifted to you, but that does not exempt you from being a part of the solution for other people who don’t have that privilege.” “The one thing I begged of people seeing this movie

STRANGE DAYS (1995) Ralph Fiennes deals in black market "clips" of recorded human experiences in this underrated sci- fi thriller. Bigelow, and producer James Cameron, delivered the quintessential Millennium movie – five years early.

• Detroit is out on Feb 21

Recreated in unflinching detail from the accounts of

make-up of the character we’re attempting to embody that we can relate to, that we get. “There was nothing about this guy that I could understand, much less respect or want to embody. But I think the one obvious parallel that existed between Krauss and I was that we were both white men in a world where that was a natural protection from guilt. It came with the presumption of innocence, and that’s about white privilege, which I benefit from and Krauss does. When you apply the racist rhetoric and the uniform of a police officer to that, you get a very dangerous combination of things that leads to fatal occurrences, as depicted in the movie.”

THE HURT LOCKER (2008) Jeremy Renner thrives on danger as a bomb disposal expert in Bigelow's knockout war movie. Winner of six Oscars including Best Picture and Director.

witnesses and survivors, the brutal Algiers sequence wasn’t as tough to shoot as it is to watch, according to Mackie, who plays a Vietnam veteran and motel guest caught up in the madness. “I was surprised; I thought it was going to be dark and dismal. In this movie I’m kind of like the elder statesman – I was the old dude for once,” he laughs. “It was very humbling to see all these young actors come to the set with their work ethic and ability to diagnose the energy required on set to get to those moments. Everybody was very respectful, very open minded,

ZERO DARK THIRTY (2012) A gripping account of the decade- long hunt for Osama Bin Laden, and another career highlight for the director – her second collaboration with screenwriter Mark Boal.

025