James R | On 03, Jun 2017

Heard of BFI Player? Well, there’s also BFI Player+, a subscription service that offers an all-you-can-eat selection of hand-picked classics.

Every Friday, Mark Kermode highlights one of the collection’s titles with a video introduction. This week, it’s The Host. Bong Joon-ho’s barnstorming yet highly original monster movie follows an eccentric family’s attempts to rescue the daughter snatched by a huge amphibious creature. Kermode charts the events that inspired the director, from a real-life military scandal to his childhood fascination with the Loch Ness monster.

What else is new? Here are the latest titles on BFI Player+ this week:

Brick Lane

Sarah Gavron’s subtle adaptation of Monica Ali’s acclaimed novel charts the experiences of a Bangladeshi woman in London.

Effi Briest

Fassbinder’s rendition of Fontane’s great novel stars Hanna Schygulla as the eponymous 17-year-old who is forced into a socially advantageous marriage with a much older man.

Fox and His Friends

The director steps in front of the camera for his 1975 drama about Franz Biberkopf, a poor gay man who performs in a traveling circus, until he wins half a million in a lottery.

Symptoms

The official British Palme d’Or entry at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival, Symptoms is a modern gothic horror film exploring the themes of sexual repression and psychosis.

Genevieve

Henry Cornelius’ 1953 comedy about two vintage car enthusiasts racing from Brighton to London stars Kay Kendall, John Gregson and Dinah Sheridan, poking fun at the battle of the sexes, not to mention boasting attractive photography of 1950s London and the titular 1904 Darracq.

Chinese Roulette

Psychodrama with a vengeance: Fassbinder’s first international co-production, drenched in gothic atmosphere, is another deadly assault on the institution of marriage.

Billy Liar

Tom Courtenay stars in John Schlesinger’s 1963 classic film from the British New Wave, which follows a clerk whose overactive fantasies compensate for a dull provincial life.

A BFI Player+ subscription costs £4.99 a month with a 30-day free trial. For more information, visit http://player.bfi.org.uk.
 

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