Bauhaus photography in Leeds | Reds | The Good, the Bad and the Queen | Babel

Bauhaus photography in Leeds

Joost Schmidt’s ‘Still life with prism and seahorse’ (courtesy of the Bauhaus Archive, Berlin) is an example of the pioneering experimental photography produced by the Bauhaus sculpture workshop in the 1920s and 1930s.

It is on display as part of an exhibition of Bauhaus photographs now on at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds. Entrance is free and the show runs until 18 February.

Reds

directed by Warren Beatty
DVD out now

From Hollywood in 1981 comes Warren Beatty’s tribute to John Reed, the left wing US journalist who reached the Russian city of Petrograd in time to witness the October 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Reed wrote his book Ten Days That Shook The World in support of the revolution.

Beatty plays Reed and Diane Keaton is his comrade and lover, Louise Bryant. Others in the cast include Jack Nicholson as playwright Eugene O’Neill and Maureen Stapleton as Emma Goldman.

The script was originally written by Trevor Griffiths, a radical British playwright, but in the time honoured Holywood tradition the studio dictated changes.

Nevertheless, this is an honest account of the Russian Revolution. It’s hard to imagine it being made in today’s Tinseltown. Now available on DVD, Reds is well worth watching.

The Good, the Bad and the Queen

CD out now

This new album brings together Damon Albarn of Blur, Paul Simonon of The Clash, Simon Tong of The Verve and Nigerian drummer Tony Allen to explore Britain and the city of London after the Iraq war.

‘Kingdom Of Doom’ evokes the portentous sound of a country collapsing under the weight of war. Other standout tracks include ‘Three Changes’, ’80s Life’ and ‘History Song’.

Sharp lyrics are complemented by inventive and funky music, powered along by the wonderful drumming of Tony Allen, an Afrobreat legend.

Babel

Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu
Film out now

Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu’s latest film Babel runs at over two hours.

It weaves together the lives of a deaf-mute girl in Japan, a Mexican maid in California, a Californian couple in Morocco and two young brothers in Morocco – taking on issues of globalisation, language, class and the ‘war on terror’.

Whole segments are dialogue free, allowing the viewer to take in a new scene or country.

The film’s epic sweep and downbeat feel have attracted carping criticisms from the mainstream press. In fact it is a beautiful, ambitious and thought provoking film that deserves to be seen.