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Bond, who died in December, made some of the most original films in British cinema history – particularly the unsettling films he and Arden made together in the 1960s and 70s

The death of Jack Bond in December last year brought an end to one of the most remarkable, and remarkably undervalued, chapters in British cinema. Bond is perhaps best known for the Pet Shop Boys movie It Couldn’t Happen Here, released in 1988; but that was just one pitstop in an unusually shaped career that took the form of, if not two halves, two distinct sections that in retrospect appear subtly intertwined.

Bond’s commission from the Pet Shop Boys stemmed from earlier work on The South Bank Show, particularly an episode about Roald Dahl in which the author encounters characters from his books – and in fact much of Bond’s career was occupied by what are essentially arts documentaries, albeit highly unconventional ones.

Our decision to declare Miami Vice this century’s greatest action film some eight years ago was neither made lightly nor received unanimously, but fortune favors the bold. Part and parcel of its canonization, Michael Mann’s classic streams on Criterion this July as part of Miami Neonoir, a set boasting Larry Clark’s Bully, the recently departed George Armitage’s Miami Blues, Out of Sight, Body Heat, and John Bailey’s lesser-seen China Moon. Series-wise, films about David Lynch, Picasso, and Basquiat fill out Portraits of Artists, while Summer Romances arrives just in time for you to imagine a better life than watching movies on your laptop.

July is a retrospective-heavy month: the recently restored, totally essential films of Jacques Rozier, works directed and shot by D.A. Pennebaker, shorts by Suzan Pitt, and Lino Brocka, Moustapha Alassane, Michael Haneke, and Hou Hsiao-hsien programs are complemented by an exposition of the Rolling Stones on film.

General Hospital (Gh) spoilers tease that Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) is in a bad place, suffering heart issues that are affecting his ability to do mob business. He and his “security guy” Brick (Stephen A. Smith) talked about this dicey situation this week and Brick set him up with the most premier cardiologist that money can buy.

Money is not an issue for Sonny, but he’s worried about his issue getting leaked to the Five Families. How can he go to LA for a consultation without it looking suspicious? This is where Natalia Ramirez (Eva Larue) comes in!

General Hospital Spoilers – Can Sonny Corinthos Keep A Secret?

Brick understands the need to keep Sonny’s heart condition secret, especially from the other five mob families who are his rivals.

Sonny needs a cover story for why he all of a sudden needs to go to LA. If the truth came out,...

General Hospital spoilers and updates reveal Sonny Corinthos’ (Maurice Benard) health has been an ongoing storyline in recent episodes of the show. Fans have already been concerned about what this could mean for the character for quite some time-now, some suspect recent events could spell doom for the long-running character.

General Hospital Spoilers – Sonny Corinthos Debuted In 1993

Benard first stepped into the role of Sonny Corinthos on General Hospital in 1993, marking the beginning of a remarkable journey.

His deep connection to the character is so profound that his son, Joshua Benard, portrayed a younger version of Sonny, making it one of the rare occasions when Maurice himself wasn’t in the spotlight.

Over the years, the mob kingpin has evolved into a pivotal figure within the soap opera; yet, some fans are anxious that his storyline may be nearing its conclusion.

As reported by Coming Soon, Sonny recently faced a shocking collapse on General Hospital,...

General Hospital spoilers for the week of January 27, 2025, are here! Next week, fans can expect Brad Cooper (Parry Shen) to make an outrageous request.

Carly Spencer (Laura Wright) is warned. Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) confronts Emma Scorpio-Drake (Braedyn Bruner).

Plus, Lulu Spencer (Alexa Havins Bruening) opens up to Maxie Jones (Kirsten Storms). Keep reading and let’s talk about what is coming up next week in the ABC soap opera.

General Hospital Spoilers – Monday, January 27: Laura Collins’ Fear

Gh spoilers for Monday, January 27 reveal that Lucky Spencer (Jonathan Jackson) and Elizabeth “Liz” Baldwin (Rebecca Herbst) take a risk. Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) explodes at Anna Devane (Finola Hughes).

Laura Collins (Genie Francis) opens up to Lulu. From the preview clip, it appears that Laura might fear someone is headed down the wrong path.

Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) travel plans make Kristina Corinthos-Davis (Kate Mansi) suspicious. Also, Nina Reeves (Cynthia Watros...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. To keep up with our latest features, sign up for the Weekly Edit newsletter and follow us @mubinotebook on Twitter and Instagram.NEWSChinatown.Wildfires continue to devastate the greater Los Angeles area, having killed 25 people and destroyed more than 1,400 homes, schools, businesses, and institutions.A number of disaster relief and emergency resource funds are positioned to help those affected, including the California Community Foundation Wildfire Recovery Fund, the California Fire Foundation, the Entertainment Industry Community Fund, and finally the Motion Picture & Television Fund. GoFundMe has also organized a Wildfire Relief Fund and hosts a number of individual verified fundraisers that will continue to be updated.The nomination voting period for the Oscars, which was supposed to end on January 12, has been extended through January 17, with nominations to be announced on January 23. (The Academy will also donate a portion of...

Film director and producer who worked with Salvador Dalí and the Pet Shop Boys

The Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí refused to cooperate with anyone wanting to make a film about him – until 1965, when he was finally persuaded to agree by the British director Jack Bond. Like Dalí, Bond, who has died of a stroke aged 87, brought an idiosyncratic style to his work. He was sometimes likened to Ken Russell, another a graduate of BBC arts documentaries, for his wild imagination.

Invited to tea with Dalí at the St Regis hotel in New York, the artist’s winter home, Bond was asked why he wanted to make a film. “My intention would have been to mentally take an electric drill and get inside your head to destroy you and your subconscious and your ego once and for all,” he replied. Dalí’s manager dropped the teapot, but Dalí said: “We will make a film,...

Bond worked on avant garde films with Jane Arden in the 1960s and 70s and went on to work with 80s pop stars from Neil Tennant to Adam Ant

Jack Bond, a British film-maker who worked on a string of avant garde films in the 1960s and 70s with Jane Arden, and went on to collaborate with the Pet Shop Boys and Adam Ant, has died aged 87. Bond’s family told the Guardian that he died on 21 December at a nursing home in Twickenham.

The Pet Shop Boys, with whom he collaborated in the 1980s, said in a statement: “[Jack] was a warm and funny man who we very much enjoyed working with and we send our love and condolences to his family and those close to him.”...

The Young and the Restless spoilers for Thursday, March 28 reveal that Diane Jenkins-Abbott (Susan Walters) and Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) navigate their dynamic at Jabot.

Coming Up On The Young and The Restless

Sally Spectra (Courtney Hope) supports Adam Newman (Mark Grossman). Plus, Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) confides in Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman). Keep reading to find out what is coming up in the CBS soap opera.

Diane Jenkins-Abbott’s Navigation

Y&R spoilers for Thursday, March 28 reveal that Kyle doesn’t feel any better about his mother having the co-ceo spot. Kyle really thought that he was going to be Jack’s co-pilot again.

Kyle doesn’t really know which direction to go in right now. As time goes on and Kyle bottles up his feelings, he is becoming more resentful and angry.

In Thursday’s episode, Diane and Kyle will try to navigate their relationship at the office.

The Pet Shop Boys have always been a difficult band to categorise. They produce pop, but even their early work was imbued with political critique, perhaps drawing on singer Neil Tennant's background as a journalist, and provided comment on gay issues during the suffocating silent years of Clause 28/Section 2A. When it came to making a film, the only thing they really knew was that they didn't want to fit into one of the usual templates - no wacky international adventures or desperate quests to make it to the big gig. They gave director Jack Bond an almost free hand, and he created one of the oddest pop odysseys in cinematic history.

Not a great film but a fascinating cultural artefact, It Couldn't Happen Here has two very loose, intersecting narrative strands, one of which follows the adult Neil and Chris (Lowe), the other a version of their earlier,...

Bill Murray in Nothing Lost Forever Long-unavailable Bill Murray science-fiction comedy Nothing Lost Forever will be among the films screening when Matchbox Cineclub's Weird Weekend cult film festival returns to Glasgow from August 31 to September 1.

The three-day showcase at he Centre for Contemporary Arts will also feature Tilda Swinton taking on a quadruple role in Teknolust, plus a 30th anniversary screening for the workprint cut of Joe Dante's The 'Burbs, with Dante joining the audience via Skype for a post-screening Q&a.

Other films in the line-up include, 2K restorations of I Was A Teenage Serial Killer and Mary Jane’s Not A Virgin Anymore, directed by Sarah Jacobson, along with Mike Paseornek's Vibrations and Ulrike Ottinger's Freak Orlando.

The festival will also screen the UK premiere of Agfa and Bleeding Skull’s The Neon Slime Mixtape. Plus there will be a big-screen outing for Anti-Clock, which directed...

In an affecting documentary, veteran director Jack Bond sketches Chris Moon’s personal struggles – and his startling way of creating art

Over his eight decades, director Jack Bond has accumulated one of the most cultured and quietly cultish filmographies in British cinema, having signed off on 1979’s avant-garde sci-fi Anti-Clock (rediscovered on the BFI’s Flipside label), the ripe-for-revival Pet Shop Boys curio It Couldn’t Happen Here (1987) and Adam Ant study The Blueblack Hussar (2014).

This profile of punkish Essex-based painter Chris Moon opens with a coup de cinéma to rank alongside anything in those defining art movies La Belle Noiseuse or The Quince Tree Sun: 10 minutes in which Moon, fag in mouth, daubs a jet-black canvas with coloured streaks that get stripped back to reveal new shapes and shades.

Innerspace

Written by Chip Proser and Jeffrey Boam

Directed by Joe Dante

USA, 1987

Science fiction is a genre in which anything is possible. Films in particular take advantage of this opportunity to transport its audience to new worlds and new ideas. In 1987, director Joe Dante and executive producer Steven Spielberg took us on a “big” adventure with the zany sci-fi comedy Innerspace. The film stars Martin Short, Dennis Quaid, and a young Meg Ryan, who all get involved with a scientific mission gone wrong. With an Oscar win for Best Visual Effects and a comic tone full of energy and fun, Innerspace is one ride from the 80s you might want to check out.

Lt. Tuck Pendleton (Quaid) is a brash Navy pilot who isn’t exactly looked upon as a military hero. He drinks, he fights, and he’s actually kind of a douche. His fellow pilots want nothing...

Adam Ant has lost the warpaint but this intriguing documentary finds his dandyish, swashbuckling nature intact

"Don't tread on an ant/You'll end up black and blue," warned Adam and the Ants' manifesto-making hit Antmusic; 30-odd years later, Jack Bond's intriguingly unguarded fly-on-the-Ant-wall doc finds Adam himself a mite stomped-on by mental health issues and music-biz vagaries: down but not quite out in Paris and London, he's a neo-Napoleon, returning to punk in a bid to escape pop exile. Even the cringier moments – dollybird backing singers, dodgy new lyrics ("I want to f*** you in the ass"), Mark Ronson's Pepé Le Pew hair – prove somehow revealing, and Ant remains a singular character: puckish and potty-minded, yet secretly sensitive, and possessed of a fine Bryan Ferry impersonation. Those expecting Goody Two Shoes will leave disappointed, but – liberated from the need to please anybody but himself – the dandy of yore seems,...

I, Anna director Barnaby Southcombe and celebrated arthouse maverick Jack Bond will be among the guests at the sixth annual Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival, which opens today. With screenings in both Glasgow and Edinburgh, the festival sets out to showcase great films that can change attitudes about mental health issues, and it's theme this year is 'walk in my shoes'.

The festival will provide an early opportunity for Scots to see I, Anna, starring Gabriel Byrne and Charlotte Rampling, which will also be shown at the upcoming London Film Festival. Other highlights include outré science fiction film Anti-Clock and Hugh Hudson's remarkable, very personal documentary Rupture: Living With My Broken Brain, a portrait of his former Bond girl wife Maryam D'Abo. There will be another chance to see homegrown favourite The Angels' Share and an opportunity to preview the Northern Lights Film Project's unique documentary work,...

Last week saw a great handful of international releases make their way onto our shelves, with Shion Sono’s Himizu and David and Stéphane Foenkinos’ Delicacy topping the list. And this week brings us another excellent set of international films for our enjoyment, along with a handful of classics getting the HD treatment.

We’ve also been enjoying the special Blu-ray Steelbook releases from Play.com over the past few months, in tandem with Universal’s 100th Anniversary, and now Paramount are entering the fray with two titles of their own getting a Steelbook re-packaging, for their own Centenary celebrations.

My picks of the week:

Morten Tyldum’s Headhunters.

And the Blu-ray releases of Shion Sono’s Love Exposure & the Steven Spielberg-produced Falling Skies – Season 1.

Headhunters Iframe Embed for Youtube

DVD and Blu-ray

Acclaimed and best-selling Norweign writer Jo Nesbø has had a very successful year, with not one...

I really hope there are no major changes of management at the British Film Institute. Like, ever. It's not because I have a long-standing respect for that oft-august body (although I do, I really do). And it's not that I spend a sufficient amount of time in Britain to take advantage of the many services the body offers over there (although I would, if I were spending any particular stretch of time in that place). It's pretty much because I'm thoroughly nuts about the Institute's DVD arm as it's currently constituted, and would love for it to continue doing as it does for as long as I'm around to be thoroughly nuts about it.

It's true that some of the miraculous feats of said arm are due to be reproduced, to some extent, here in the States; the Criterion Collection is coming out with Blu-ray discs of Antonioni's Red Desert and Visconti's The Leopard,...

30 Rock is always hit or miss, although when it hits, it does so harder than any comedy on TV. The problem with recent episodes is that hits have been fewer and farther between.

"Argus" had plenty of funny quotes, just because the dialogue and one-liners delivered by these characters never cease to be funny, but the show has hit a real creative dry spell.

Let's sum it up bluntly. Having Jack bond with a peacock, drink with a peacock, confide in a peacock, believe the peacock to be the reincarnation of Don Geiss, etc., was not funny.

Maybe a little funny for a few minutes, eliciting a smile or two. But no real laughs, and fewer smiles the longer it went. There wasn't even a great conclusion, it just sort of ended.

Tremendous as Alec Baldwin has been over four seasons, the episodes during which Jack is particularly off the...

Andy Warhol called this "great!" but until we got an email from one of our readers (thanks dude), I didn't even know it existed. He used words like non-linear, and said fans of Burroughs and Pkd would love this. Oddly, co-director Jane Arden committed suicide 3 years after the film and Jack Bond hasn't done much of anything since.

Anti-Clock, which was released in 1980, has just been restored from the original negative and reissued by the BFI (British Film Institute). I know nothing about this other then what little I can find including a short, grainy clip on youtube, so if you know anything about this, please elaborate. You can purchase the region 2 DVD here.

Sebastianne Saville stars as a young fellow who reacts to the modern, atom-dominated society by withdrawing from it. He 'makes peace' with the threat of nuclear holocaust by wandering aimlessly about, refusing to be bound by minutes,...