THIS MONTH
I OCCASIONALLY THINK back to an ancient relic that mesmerised me in my childhood. A black VHS case, which rested on a shelf near the family TV, it had on its front lurid art of a hissing snake, an ancient arch, a mystical box and, square in the centre, a grinning man brandishing a whip. It was pretty damn cool. And it turned out that the film inside — Raiders Of The Lost Ark — was even damn cooler. From the exotic start (hairy spiders!) to the wild finale (gloopy faces!), it was non-stop exciting, but also hilarious, warm and, well, magical. No movie I’d ever seen felt quite so alive.