West 11 (1963)
A nicely gritty early crime thriller from Michael Winner. Set in a seedy corner of London populated by smoky jazz clubs and down and dirty bedsits, this tale of low morals and murder is really quite good.
Although it was only early Winner, the film features several of his directorial flourishes that would become more prominent in his later more famous works. In this case namely the music - The film has an excellent jazz score from Acker Bilk which transforms into a jarring cacophony during moments of drama and tension.
An excellent cast including Alfred Lynch, Eric Portman, Diana Dors, Finlay Currie and Patrick Wymark gives the story and characters some real emotional weight and believability in this grimy example of sixties British urban noir.
The dvd from Network looks excellent and really showcases the crisp black and white photography.
|