Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

jjcarr-49015 A woman tells her lover - whose voice we don't hear and whose face we don't see - that she's pregnant. She seems happy hoping that he will the right thing. Then a look of horror comes over her face. An estate agent (realtor) reports a burglary in which the only things that were taken were some leases. The only reason the detectives (lead by Jack Warner, though the film's tone is darker than Dixon of Dock Green) investigating the case - robberies were treated seriously back then - can think of why someone would steal a lease was that it contained a sample of the thief's handwriting. They start by checking out the only short-term lease stolen. They find partial remains of a dismembered woman. This leads to further puzzles. Who was the dead woman? Why did the killer, who had been systematically destroying evidence, stop doing so before he was finished? I won't say any more to avoid spoilers. Jigsaw is a well-made police procedural that today would be a two-hour TV movie of the Morse/Maigret variety. There a number of satisfying false leads with a nice twist towards the end, though the very last piece of the puzzle I found a bit obvious. Most of the acting is fine with the leads seemingly effortlessly believable but when some of the supports have to show emotion they go a bit over the top.

ianlouisiana A few years before "Jigsaw" the County Borough of Brighton Police as it was called in those days was embroiled in one of the worst corruption scandals of the 20th century. From Chief Constable downwards many officers were arrested,some charged others sacked over a culture of taking bungs from local villains. It was known as the "Bucket of blood" case after the eponymous drinking club where the money changed hands. As a result morale fell exponentially and a once - proud force struggled for some years to restore public confidence. By 1962 green shoots were showing and detectives were able to set relatively confidently about their tasks without general opprobrium. Hence messrs Warner and Lewis were reflecting a more bullish attitude than they might have done a little earlier. Certainly the town had its seedy side.It was still the go -to place for dirty weekends with obliging landladies welcoming cash - bearing adulterers with open arms and certainly the shady relationship between the murderer and victim wouldn't have raised an eyebrow within or without the C.I.D. The film reflects the grinding monotony of most police work. In fact without DNA,CCTV,computers or other such aids it is remarkable that any serious crime was detected at all. A tribute to the doggedness of the officers and their determination to get not just "a" result - but the right result. Before it became a "Rainbow" city Brighton was very suitable to monochrome photography and "Jigsaw" captures its elusive spirit very well. It has become fashionable to dismiss British films before the New Wave directors got their middle - class Oxbridge hands on them as dull and provincial. This excellent example of the genre gives the lie to that calumny.

Robert J. Maxwell It's Brighton in the early 60s. A lonely house. A tarty blond gets out of bed and informs her boyfriend that she's pregnant so they'll have to be married. This is a big mistake on her part. The boyfriend evidently doesn't want to build a home because he kills her, chops her up, and stashes her in a trunk in the garage -- most of her, anyway.We never do see the killer and thereby hangs a tail. The renter of the house, Brian Oulton, is all upset because the occupants are behind in their payments so the police are called in. They are Jack Warner and Ronald Lewis. At first, knowing only that the "Campbells" skipped on the rent, they poke around the house in a leisurely fashion, examining the furniture, the furnace, and so on, all quite disinterestedly, despite being nettled by Oulton, the impatient owner. Once the body is uncovered, the police shift into high gear and the film turns into a nifty policier.The director, Val Guest, also wrote the screenplay. He doesn't waste a moment. There is occasional overlapping dialog, some brisk but friendly banter, orders are casually snapped out and followed at once. The police have no names, neither the victim nor the presumed killer, and begin visiting neighbors and shops, trying to piece together enough independent data to complete a picture of what happened. I presume that's where the title, "Jigsaw", comes from, and not from the fact that the girl's body was so gruesomely mishandled.The story itself is too complicated to describe in any detail. Most of these detective stories are. There are many red herrings before the final capture, but the movie ends on a cute note. The killer's alibi rests on an excuse that it was an accident. The poor girl tripped and bashed her head in. In a panic, the killer ran out and bought the instruments that sawed her up. But that was after she was already dead, a Monday night. The alibi is disproved in the last shot when Warner points to a poster advertising a musical performance featuring Beethoven's Piano Concerto, Schubert's Fourth Symphony, and something by Malcolm Arnold. The performance was on Monday night -- Easter -- so all the hardware shops were closed. He must have bought the instruments earlier, so the murder was deliberate. The gag is Malcolm Arnold's name. He scored every British movie ever made between 1900 and 2014, and all his scores were conducted and recorded by Muir Matheson.It's a little long but thoroughly enjoyable for what it is.

steve powell brilliant atmospheric film set on the Brighton coast in 1962. Jack Warner (66 years of age in real life) is the slightly caustic but nevertheless kindly commanding officer who runs the investigation. Great support from Ronald Lewis and a dazzling role from Michael Goodliffe(spooky to think that they both committed suicide in reality).See if you can spot the killer before Jack, believe me it is a shocker. Also there is a nice little twist at the end. The cast is top notch and there is a general seediness at the locations that the Brighton tourist board must have had concerns about.For a taut procedural police study this film is right at the top of the tree matched only by the Long Arm(Jack Hawkins) an absolute corker of a film and thanks to Nigel for providing me with a DVD of this film. This film is a must see.