Why, oh why, does the Beeb insist on posting content that's only available to UK viewers? Is it to punish we/us antipodeans? In which case, we bow our heads in shame as long as you free up the content. Are they getting kickbacks from youtube, where we can find most of this content uploaded by viewers? I ask - what is the point? No one has explained this to me in such a manner that I'll respond "oh, OK, I get it, that sounds pretty reasonable". I can't say that I have sampled the internet of the entire world but I can say that the only restrictions to content that I've ever encountered on the internet have been the Beebs restrictions to UK viewers.

I think the new "this is worse than Hitler" in the internet age is "this is worse than China".

It would be nice to see a reply to this question that has been asked many times. It seems like the BBC lawyers have prevented any kind of response to the question.

Perhaps a similar reason why you have Region encoding for DVD releases i.e. a throwback to old media publishing strategy. A proportion of US content is unavailable here in the UK (e.g. The Daily Show), so the Beeb aren't they only ones doing the blocking.



I'm guessing that its maybe related to the way the BBC is funded: international audiences aren't paying for the content in the way that, for example, I do as a UK resident and License Fee-payer. On that note, I wonder if you see commercial adverts on the main Beeb site..?

Yes, there are many ads on the BBC site and apparently tuned to the region that they are being viewed from.



Also, you wouldn't believe how many ads there are on the BBC America cable channel. If you don't have the BBC channel if it is not included in your standard cable package, it is expensive to add it on. [And while I'm about it, I'm fed up with Matt Frei trying to tell me what is going on in the country where I live when he has not been here long enough to have much of a clue]. I imagine some of the cable revenue and the revenue from those ads is making its way back to BBC TV centre to help pay for some of your viewing, folks.



There's also all the revenue the BBC receives for selling its prorgramming to other countries too. Anybody visiting the states and tuning to a local public broadcast station may have seen wall to wall BBC programmes on some evenings (particularly comedy and "mystery"). You've probably also seen the very regular "begathon"s where they beg for people's money so they can continue to buy more BBC programing.



I don't expect to be able to see programmes from BBC TV. But stuff on the internet that is basically just a web cam with sound is not television.

I Love the 'Breathless' remake too!, I first saw when I was about 14 and had no idea of it's origins, I just thought it was a really great movie. Good opinion sir!

Would love to know what Dr.M.K. says in this clip ? I think it's because of the Brooklyn's Finest-snippet, that we can't watch it, if we live outside of the UK....I love the BBC, but this is just a pity....

Missed Brooklyn's Finest when it was in theater here, but from your review I can only surmise that: A) Your brain has been psychically linked to a certain Richard Gere's in a manner that makes you ultra-receptive to his onscreen presence, and B) You have the hearing sensitivity of a bat. Are you one of the Bat People, Dr. Kermode?

What's the Gere movie in which he executes the "gotta dance!" pose right at the very end? His character's subsequently blown-away, if memory serves...

@Antimode:



I hope I didn't sound sniffy in my posting. I wasn't implying that you ought not be able to view the material like this blog (quite the contrary); I was merely suggesting a possible BBC justification for the policy. I presume that BBC World Service is available to you; indeed, can you stream live radio, download podcasts or even use iplayer? If the answer to any of these is yes, then it seems silly that they would prevent you from viewing this video.



The question regarding advertising was just curiosity on my part, as there aren't adverts on the UK version of the site but references to an 'international' version suggested they might, which you've just confirmed.



BBC Worldwide are the company making money out of you on our behalf:



"BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, is a fast-growing media and entertainment company. Our mission is to maximise profits on behalf of the BBC by creating, acquiring, developing and exploiting media content and media brands around the world. We are self-funded and return profits to the BBC to be reinvested in programmes and services to help keep the UK licence fee as low as possible"



I seem to recall that they were censured a while back for making too much money and being overly-agressive: BBC urged to sell a stake in its commercial arm. It would seem that you do have a point then sir!

Hi Joel,



I wasn't reacting against your post. I merely was answering your last question and then making a few points which, if they are aimed at anyone, are aimed at BBC policy, which seems to be not very transparent.



There are video clips that are typically 2-3 minutes long that will not play until after you have watched a 30 second commercial. Sometimes there is some kind of cock-up and you have to refresh the page so you end up watching 2 commercials before the clip will play or the clip does not play no matter how many times you refresh the page or how many commercials you watch. There are also some news clips that apparently are not available outside the UK region. Do the US news organizations restrict their news content based on location? I would be interested to know.



I don't object to the BBC maximising its profits( ?is the BBC supposed to make profits? ) by selling its generally excellent product to whoever is willing to buy it. But if the BBC is serious about being a respected worldwide news organization (and I am referring to the commercials that precede many of the news videos) then it should not be selective about which content is available to a worldwide internet community as opposed to its local customers.



If it was necessary to watch a 30 second commercial to be able to watch the content on this site from overseas, then I personally would be fine with that.



A person with an internet connection in the UK but no TV license can access this material freely.



Regards,

oops! used the US spelling of licence.

hi Alina and the others who cannot access this.



You can download the podcast from itunes though! that where it is taken from - the mayo and kermode Radio 5 show

And on the subject of 'men you worship' - I have just this minute switched on to Channel 4 to be greeted by the sight of Jason Isaacs sitting next to Gok Wan (!) on "The 5 o'clock Show" - hosted by Phil'n'Kirstie.



Oh how the mighty.....

I have a strange relationship with Gere (not literally of course) but several of the films where I feel he has given a good account of himself were not especially well received for example The Flock,The Mothman Prophecies,and Internal Affairs where he's shown he can certainly hold his own. But then he's made some absolute howlers like King David,First Knight,and the dire Autumn In New York. One of those actors that you get the feeling he could be saving the best till last and may well surprise us with the performance of a lifetime before retiring to Tibet...:-)

I couldn't possibly comment!

However I did see Black Death (which Dr K also reviewed on this show) last night.

I really liked it, it was 'Name of the Rose' meets 'Wicker man'...Sean Bean was great as was David 'Time Bandits' Warner. I watched it with a friend who normally has the same opinion as me on movies. She stood up at the end and said 'that was rubbish' whereas I was 'wow, I really enjoyed that'. I think she was expecting an in depth historical piece! The only thing that let it down was the ending which seemed a bit 'tagged on', oh and the extreme shaky camera (worse than the Bourne movies) during some of the slower scenes in the first half...what was that all about?!

Hi craig and all. Yes, listening to the podcast is one of the highlights of my week and if I really want to watch a particular review, right this very minute, I just hie me to youtube where I can usually find it. I was just curious as to the Beebs justification for this particular policy. It appears especially idiotic given that the material IS available (admittedly for a limited time) in alternative formats.



Regarding general restrictions, there are no internet restrictions to Aussie viewers of The Daily Show or Colbert Nation, but then both of these shows are available here on cable in current episodes. Aussie viewers have restrictions to internet access to South Park episodes that haven't been aired here (usually you can cobble them together from parts, either from the South Park website or youtube). I can understand this restriction from the point of view of the commercial channels that pay to air current South Park episodes.



Sorry to continue to post off-topic. Carry on.

Watched Brooklyn's Finest yesterday and found it a thoroughly enjoyable and serviceable piece of NY cop drama with a solid ensemble cast. However on reflection I thought I would have enjoyed it a whole lot more but then it struck me why. Ever since watching The Wire (feel free not to read on) movies of this genre struggle to find enough canvas to give the characters sufficient detail and depth. Consequently they all feel a bit hammy and two dimensional relying heavily on a contrived plot. Interestingly The Wire deals very much in the same stereotypes as Brooklyn's Finest but because it has the time to color them in with a broader palette they feel fresh, engaging and can hold our attention without set-pieces or contrived jeopardy at every turn. My feeling is that the cop movie is ripe for reinvention as it now feels a tired genre cutting and pasting heavily from the 70's & 90's. That said I haven't seen Werner's Bad Lieutenant....

@Stuart Holton

I couldn't agree with you more...although some "dirty" cop movies are classics; Touch of Evil, Serpico, Dirty Harry, even LA Confidental...you have hit the nail on the head, newer movies like The Departed, Street Kings do rely heavily on themes from older classics. The Wire is totally fresh, turning the camera on the criminals as well, to help as learn something about the cops.

@Rourkesdrifter: He also gave a very good performance in The Hoax, which is another of those movies that it seems either nobody ever watched or just nobody liked. It's a really fun movie to kill an afternoon with.



The Greenberg review this week was incredibly satisfying, by the way.

@17: Totally agree with you re:The Wire, which I consider to be a long form novel that happens to have been filmed, rather than a film or a conventional episodic TV series. In a way, it might have killed off or severely weakened the Police Procedural as a genre forever!

Back to Black Death...I just listened to the podcast with the review and noticed that the Good Dr mentions that it reminded him of Aguirre, I have to say that I felt the same way. There is even a character (the guy who had his tongue cut out) that looks remarkably like Klaus Kinski in Aguirre. When you first see him even his medieval hat looks like a conquistador helmet. I think the actor is Tygo Gernandt. This movie definitely has more to it than just straightforward hack and slice. I would have liked to have found out what made Sean Beans's character the way he was. He touched on the death of his wife and child but it would have been interesting to hear a bit more back story.



I'm ashamed to say that I didn't notice that it was directed by Christopher Smith; but he is definitely a director to keep an eye on. I watched Triangle the other night and found it to be a very different, unusual and interesting piece of work, that has left me mulling over the plot and denouement ever since. It's very stylish with an odd quality to the picture that makes you feel uneasy, and Melissa George in the lead role of Jess does a brilliant job.

@ MargeGunderson

Aguirre is one of my favourites I never tire of it, however Triangle left me cold as did Vantage Point which was a similar format. I just don't find that the repitition of the scenes holds my interest or attention, and by the end of it all I felt worn down . It's an interesting concept but it just doesn't appeal to me personally.Though I agree about Melissa George an interesting performance.

@Rourkesdrifter. Yes Aguirre is great, punishing viewing though! I kind of know what you mean about repetition... but it can be good if it is handled well...I'm thinking of Memento and The Kingdom as good examples. I was getting a bit fed up of the repetition in Triangle right at the point when it stopped...which I guess is a good thing. I just like the fact that it surprised me, it was not predictable and left me thinking about it.

Hi Mark and Simon,



Just wanted to tell you that I must be your only French fan in Martinique (French West Indies) thanks to the internet and the podcast (what a wonderful invention!). I generally hate film critics, they're generally posh and don't know anything about films, except maybe the last film from Slovenia that nobody knows about. I truly think that you are a real film buff. You watch all kinds of films and your critic is always fair. You are officially my first favourite film critic ever.



Emmanuelle, a French fan from overseas



PS: Your impersonation of Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey Jr. was brilliant. Just brilliant ! I couldn't stop hearing your voice during the film (hard not to laugh at some point).

Okay, on the subject of Christopher Smith since Marge brought it up, I finally had an opportunity to sit down and watch one of his movies this afternoon.



It was Severance and I thought it was actually really terrible. Do his movies get better from here? Black Death sounds great but I'm afraid watching this one has put a little doubt into me. (It did pass through my mind that the decapitation sequence was eerily similar to the one in Aguirre, however.)

@Amber

I haven't seen Severance but from what you say it looks like Smith is an Aguirre fan and adds images from it to his own movies either by design or by accident! Yes, his movies do get better from here.

I enjoyed Triangle, so nice to see something quite different in plot, tone and cinematograhy, give it a whirl.



Black Death also has an interesting plot. Yes, it has violent and gory sword battles and characters that appeal to guys in the audience; but it also has something to say about religion and life during this time. In my opinion it would have benefited from a bit more depth and background to the main characters but it wasn't a bad movie at all.

@Marge



Thank you for the response. Severance just came off as stupidly juvenile to me, though I don't know if part of that was possibly the Danny Dyer presence working it's magic. This is the first film I've ever actually seen him in a film and up to this point I had been under the impression that Dr. Kermode's Dyer-impersonation-cum-dolphin-mating-call was a gross exaggeration, but the guy actually comes off alarmingly worse on screen. The movie itself was derivative and lowbrow, but he was doing this thing all throughout that I assume was supposed to be charming in a frat boy manner and actually came off much more misogynistic and homophobic and just kind of skeezy. I wasn't impressed. All of the characters were irritating in some regard, but he was just awful and the last scene made me want to hit something.



However, I'm all about swords and plagues and religious suffering (the favorite pastime of any raised Catholic) and the Sean Bean/David Warner casting is a notable upgrade, so it would only be sensible to give it a chance. Maybe I will rent Triangle later this week as well. It was just a really poor first impression.

OK. Perhaps people can get back to actually talking about the film in question rather pointless discussion about content being only available to UK viewers.



I thought this was a very good dirty/undercover cop movie. Richard Gere was superb. His expressions told more than words. Ethan Hawke was also excellent. Wesley Snipes really didn't have much to do. Don Cheadle was very good. All the main principle actors were great.



Finally, is it me or did anyone else detect an Irish accent from Richard Gere on occasional lines?