Bullseye!

Forget Richard Greene, Jason Connery or even Kevin Costner. Errol Flynn is unquestionably the screen's definitive Robin Hood. It is the role that the Tasmanian devil was born to play. At the peak of his career, before the booze and broads began to take their toll, Flynn had a wonderful devil-me-care athleticism. There was always a sense of mischief in his eyes that made his Robin the merriest of all the men in Sherwood forest. He was dashing, romantic, reckless and everything that an incorrigibly noble fellow should be. Did you know that when Warner Brothers were first planning The Adventures Of Robin Hood (1938) their candidate for Robin was none other than that dirty rat James Cagney? Now Cagney has few rivals when it comes to creating characters carved from the mean streets of urban America but I can't quite picture him locking swords with Basil Rathbone or galloping through Warner's idea of olde Englande.

Some of Flynn's best roles were cast-offs from other performers. He only inherited Captain Blood (1935) when the marvellous Robert Donat declined the invitation. The role made Flynn a star, established his reputation as one of the screen's great swashbucklers and began his lengthy screen partnership with Olivia De Havilland. That lovely lady is very much alive and well and still resident in Paris at the grand old age of 92. Her long-awaited autobiography Now Is The Time is scheduled for publication in May 2009. Perhaps the two-time Oscar winner might finally reveal her true feelings for her famous co-star.
De Havilland is a radiant Maid Marian in The Adventures Of Robin Hood. Flynn is a perfect Robin. The film is 70 years old and could kick sand in the face of virtually any Hollywood blockbuster released over the past year. It contains the finest duel ever committed to celluloid. It is also filmed in a style that critic, academic and GFF pal Andy Dougan declares truly merits the description "glorious Technicolor". It is coming back to the big screen at GFF 2009 as part of our celebrations marking the centenary of Flynn's birth in June 1909.

Start spreading the word!

Blogger: GFF co-director Allan Hunter

Viva Mexico!

^{Y Tu Mama Tambien}

Once upon a time Mexican cinema barely registered on the world's radar even in the 1950s when the country was making around 150 features each year. Spanish exile Luis Bunuel made waves with his Mexican work, especially Los Olvidados (The Young And The Damned) (1950), Ensayo d un Crimen(The Criminal Life Of Archibaldo de la Cruz) (1955) and Nazarin (1958). Down the years, occasional films did break out and gain attention like Jaime Humberto Hermosillo's gay charmer Dona Herlinda y su Hijo (Dona Herlinda and Her Son)(1986), Alfonso Arau's smash hit romance Como Agua para Chocolate (Like Water For Chocolate) (1991) or Arturo Ripstein's gaudy, mesmerising melodrama Profundo Carmesi (Deep Crimson) (1996). If you have had the chance to see any of these titles it will have been at the Glasgow Film Theatre.

Then in 2000 along came Amores Perros (Love's A Bitch) and Mexican cinema became impossible to ignore. Amores Perros was a thrilling calling card for all that was dynamic and exciting in a new wave of Mexican talent that includes actors Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, and such visionary filmmakers as Alfonso Cuaron, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Guillermo Del Toro.

This year the Glasgow Film Festival will focus on the brightest and the best of the Mexican filmmakers set to follow in the footsteps of Cuaron and Del Toro. Supported by the Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografia/Mexican Film Institute (a big thanks to Pablo Briseno Galvan and Alejandro Diaz San Vicente) we will screen a range of features and documentaries that reveal a wealth of talent, ambition and names to mark for the future. The season will include new films from La Zona director Rodrigo Pla and Duck Season director Fernando Eimbcke. Watch out for the full list of films when the GFF programme is launched in January.

Blogger: GFF co-director Allan Hunter