The SLMan Culture List: August
THE BINGEABLE SERIES: Cowboy Cartel
This new four-part documentary series focuses on the extraordinary story of a rookie FBI agent who cracked the case of one of Mexico’s most ruthless cartels, Los Zetas, and the multimillion-dollar money laundering operation they ran through the heart of the American Quarter Horse racing industry. While the Treviño brothers terrorised thousands in their pursuit of power, money and influence, Scott Lawson risked his life on a hunch, tracking the brothers’ racehorse transactions in the US, infiltrating the deadly cartel, and uncovering their international operations. Cowboy Cartel features first-time interviews with Lawson, plus insights by Pulitzer-winning journalist Ginger Thompson.
Visit TV.Apple.com
THE RETURN: Pachinko
Need another appointment TV date now House of the Dragon is done? We suggest the upcoming second season of Pachinko, the sweeping drama series by Soo Hugh. Told in three languages – Korean, Japanese and English – the eight-episode second season of Pachinko will land on 23rd August, with one episode streaming weekly every Friday until 11th October. Based on a bestselling novel of the same name, Pachinko is a moving story of love and survival across four generations, told through the eyes of a remarkable matriarch, Sunja. In series two, the parallel stories pick up in Osaka in 1945, where Sunja is forced to make dangerous decisions for her family’s survival during World War II, and in Tokyo in 1989, which finds Solomon exploring humble new beginnings.
Visit TV.Apple.com
THE SPORTS NOVEL: Munichs by David Peace
From the author of The Damned Utd and Red or Dead comes this extraordinary novel about Britain, sport and our collective past. On 6th February 1958, British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on take-off at Munich Airport. On board were the young Manchester United team, ‘The Busby Babes’, and the journalists who followed them. Twenty-one of the passengers died instantly, four were left fighting for their lives while six more were critically injured. Twenty-four hours later, Jimmy Murphy, the assistant manager of Manchester United, faced the press at the Rechts der Isar hospital. Munichs is the story of how United rose again, of the crash and its aftermath, of those who survived and those who did not, of how Britain and football changed, and how it did not.
Visit Amazon.co.uk
THE RESTORATION: Lone Star
This month sees the 4K restoration of this 1996 cop classic – itself a remake of the classic 1952 western by Vincent Sherman. After the discovery of a skeleton in Frontera, Texas, county sheriff Sam Deeds investigates, and finds there's more to it than meets the eye. Stars Chris Cooper, Kris Kristofferson, Frances McDormand and a young Matthew McConaughey. The new cut will be shown at Picturehouses across the UK from 16th August – we’ll see you there.
Visit PictureHouses.com
THE COFFEE-TABLE BOOK: Motorcycles By Charlotte & Peter Fiell
Loved The Bikeriders? This newest book from Taschen will have you reaching for some leathers. From the 1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmüller to the 2020 Aston Martin AMB 001, it lavishly explores 50 of the most desirable motorcycles to have ever sped around a circuit or along an open road. From pioneering record-breakers, luxury tourers and legendary road racers to GP-winning machines, classic superbikes and exotic customs, this book celebrates motorcycle design and engineering at its highest level.
Visit Amazon.co.uk
THE NOVEL: Rare Singles By Benjamin Myers
Cuddy, The Gallows Pole, The Offing – Benjamin Myers is one of the UK’s most interesting writers. His latest, Rare Singles, is another pacey read. Dinah has always lived in Scarborough. Trapped with her feckless husband and useless son, her release comes at the town's Northern Soul nights, where she gets to dress up and lose herself in the classics. Dinah has a hero: Bucky Bronco, who recorded a string of soul gems in the late 60s, then vanished. Over in Chicago, Bucky has been down on his luck since the loss of his wife. The best he can hope for is to make ends meet. But then an unexpected invitation arrives, from someone he's never met, to come to somewhere he's never heard of. With nothing to lose – and in need of the cash – Bucky finds himself in rainy Scarborough, where everyone seems to know who is, preparing to play for an audience for the first time in nearly half a century. Over the course of the week, he finds himself striking up new and unexpected friendships; and facing his past, and its losses, for the very first time.
Visit Amazon.co.uk
THE FOOD DOC: Omnivore
If you enjoy Chef’s Table, you’ll want to try this new Apple TV+ eight-parter. Narrated by Noma’s René Redzepi, it explores the ingredients that built societies, shaped our beliefs and forever altered the human story. From salt flats in Peru to coffee forests in Rwanda to wild tuna off the coast of Spain, each episode of Omnivore celebrates the way we grow, transform and consume the world’s best resources.
Visit TV.Apple.com
THE NON-FICTION THRILLER: The Umbrella Murder By Ulrik Skotte
In September 1978, exiled Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov was murdered in broad daylight on Waterloo Bridge with what appeared to be a poison-tipped umbrella. It would become the most infamous unsolved killing of the Cold War. Many years later, young journalist Ulrik Skotte is approached with explosive new information about a man alleged to be responsible for Markov’s death – a spy code-named Piccadilly who worked for the Bulgarian secret service. This meeting launched Skotte into a hunt for the killer lasting more than a quarter of a century, bringing him face to face with eccentric conspiracy theorists, a washed-up former dictator, ageing Danish spooks – and, ultimately, Agent Piccadilly himself. Drawing on an incredible cache of original documents, interviews and archive material, The Umbrella Murder provides jaw-dropping answers to questions that have persisted for nearly five decades: who killed Georgi Markov? And who has been protecting the assassin ever since?
Visit Amazon.co.uk
THE THRILLER: Trap
Director M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Split) is well known for his plot twists, supernatural elements and unsettling storylines. His latest is Trap, a psychological thriller starring Josh Hartnett and Alison Pill. It follows a man and his daughter who are at a concert when they become embroiled in something more serious.
Visit Picturehouses.com
THE BEACH READ: Precipice By Robert Harris
Summer 1914. The world is on the brink of catastrophe. In London, 26-year-old aristocrat Venetia Stanley is having a love affair with the prime minister, HH Asquith, a man more than twice her age. He writes to her obsessively, sharing the most sensitive matters of state. As Asquith reluctantly leads the country into war with Germany, a young intelligence officer is assigned to investigate a leak of top-secret documents – and suddenly what was a sexual intrigue becomes a matter of national security that will alter the course of political history.
Visit Amazon.co.uk
THE THIRD OUTING: Industry
Industry is back in mid-August – and this time, Kit Harington is on board. As Pierpoint looks to the future and takes a big bet on ethical investing, Yasmin (Marisa Abela), Robert (Harry Lawtey) and Eric (Ken Leung) find themselves front and centre in the splashy IPO of Lumi, a green tech energy company led by aristocratic Sir Henry Muck (Harington), the embodiment of old-money privilege. After leaving Pierpoint, Harper (Myha’la Jael Herrold) is eager to get back into the addictive thrill of finance and finds an unlikely partner in FutureDawn portfolio manager Petra Koenig (Sarah Goldberg).
Visit BBC.co.uk
THE PHOTO BOOK: The Fire Next Time By James Baldwin & Steve Schapiro
James Baldwin was among the most brilliant and provocative writers of the post-war era. The New Yorker’s nonfiction collections explored the palpable yet unspoken intricacies of race, sex and class in mid-20th-century America. First published in 1963, The Fire Next Time is considered one of the most passionate and influential explorations of 1960s race relations, weaving thematic threads of love, faith and family into a candid assault on the hypocrisy of the ‘Land of the free’. It’s now been reprinted with more than 100 photographs from Steve Schapiro, who travelled the American South with Baldwin for LIFE magazine. The project thrust Schapiro into the thick of the action, allowing for vital, often iconic, images of civil rights leaders including Dr Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, Fred Shuttlesworth and Jerome Smith.
Visit Taschen.com
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