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Japanese horror cinema goes torture porn in an attempt to outdo its disreputable predecessors in this as-yet unknown quantity from Carved director Kôji Shiraishi.
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The Age of Stupid in September

29 June 2009

The hardest hitting climate change documentary yet to hit cinema screen, The Age of Stupid is the sort of film that should inspire all would-be filmmakers who just want to get their film made and seen. Independently funded, directed by McLibel and Drowned Out's Franny Armstrongand produced by Oscar-winning producer John Battsek (One Day in September, In the Shadow of the Moon), the film is even now still being premiered across the globe and received its London premiere at a special, eco-friendly screening in Leicester square. Every aspect of the production has been handled by the filmmakers themselves, right down to the production of the DVD that's coming your way in September.

Pete Postlethwaite stars as the narrator of the film, an old man living alone in what is a devastated world of 2055, looking at “archive footage” from 2008, asking “why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?” Pete’s character is the founder of the Global Archive, a storage facility located in the (now melted) Arctic, dedicated to preserving all of humanity’s achievements in the hope that the planet might one day be habitable again. The stories Pete’s character uses to illustrate the plight of planet earth when something could have been done, include those of six individuals across the globe, whose lives have been affected in some way by climate change.

Produced independently, using the unique method of film financing through a "crowd funded" budget, The Age of Stupid is a film that hands the audience a stark dose of reality, forcing us to comprehend the true enormity of what we are doing to the planet.

The Age of Stupid will be released on UK DVD on 28th September 2009 by Spanner Films and Dogwoof at the RRP of £19.99. As ever with Spanner Films DVDs, extras are plenful:

  • 50 minute 'Making Of' movie;
  • The 1% Event : The People's Premiere film;
  • Interviews with Director Franny Armstrong & Executive Producer John Battsek;
  • Deleted Scenes;
  • Extended interviews: Incl George Monbiot, Richard Heindberg and Jeh Wadia;
  • Crew commentary track featuring all the major contributors;
  • Right to reply from the main characters;
  • Trailers Page;
  • Not Stupid - Campaign Page;
  • Animated climate science short, 'Wake Up, Freak Out';
  • Cheat Neutral - short by Beth Stratford;
  • Maldives: Presidential & Vice Presidential Addresses form the Maldives.