Scream Blacula Scream (Kelljan, 1973): The Mucky Pup, Islington, N1, 7.30pm
Our friends at Cigarette Burns Cinema put on superb monthly midnight movie screenings at the Rio in Dalston. They also have a regular Monday film night at the Mucky Pup pub in Islington and this is their latest offering. Scream Blacula Scream is the sequel to cult blaxploitation 70s horror classic Blacula and promises to be a lot of fun, especially as the host's imaginative trawl of trailers and shorts will also be well worth getting along to see. More details via this link here.
The Mucky Pup is a wonderful venue for a film club of this kind and if there's a finer collection of records on a jukebox in London I will be very surprised.
Here is the trailer.
Capital Celluloid - Day 92: Sunday Apr 3, 2011
In The Mirror of Maya Deren (Kudlacek, 2002): Cinematograph Film Club, The Duke Of Wellington, Balls Pond Road, London N1 8pm. FREE
The Cinematograph Film Club at the Duke of Wellington pub on the Balls Pond Road presents monthly Sunday night screenings of avant-garde movies and is well worth a look. The link to their Facebook page is here and tonight's film is a documentary on experimental film-maker Maya Deren.
Here is her most famous work Meshes of the Afternoon and here is a trailer for tonight's offering.
The Cinematograph Film Club at the Duke of Wellington pub on the Balls Pond Road presents monthly Sunday night screenings of avant-garde movies and is well worth a look. The link to their Facebook page is here and tonight's film is a documentary on experimental film-maker Maya Deren.
Here is her most famous work Meshes of the Afternoon and here is a trailer for tonight's offering.
Capital Celluloid - Day 91: Saturday Apr 2, 2011
Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960): ICA Cinema, 12.30pm
Told you the ICA were putting on some superb films in April. Later at 6.30pm as part of their Great Directors season they are showing Ken Loach's Kes, but the screening of Alfred Hitchcock's seminal shocker gets the nod because the movie is introduced by film composer David Arnold.
Arnold has worked on a hugely diverse range of titles, including most famously the last five Bond films (for which he was nominated for a BAFTA for Casino Royale). I heard him on Jarvis Cocker's BBC 6 Music show recently and his is sure to be an excellent introduction to a cinema masterpiece.
One of the most impressive aspects of Psycho is the score by Hitchcock's long-time collaborator Bernard Herrmann and it will be fascinating to hear Arnold's take on a soundtrack which wonderfully complements what is surely the director's most famous work.
For anyone interested in looking in more depth at the film (and this is truly in-depth) the BFI book by celebrated British film critic Raymond Durgnat called A Long Hard Look At Psycho is a must by the way.
Here as a taster are the opening titles.
Told you the ICA were putting on some superb films in April. Later at 6.30pm as part of their Great Directors season they are showing Ken Loach's Kes, but the screening of Alfred Hitchcock's seminal shocker gets the nod because the movie is introduced by film composer David Arnold.
Arnold has worked on a hugely diverse range of titles, including most famously the last five Bond films (for which he was nominated for a BAFTA for Casino Royale). I heard him on Jarvis Cocker's BBC 6 Music show recently and his is sure to be an excellent introduction to a cinema masterpiece.
One of the most impressive aspects of Psycho is the score by Hitchcock's long-time collaborator Bernard Herrmann and it will be fascinating to hear Arnold's take on a soundtrack which wonderfully complements what is surely the director's most famous work.
For anyone interested in looking in more depth at the film (and this is truly in-depth) the BFI book by celebrated British film critic Raymond Durgnat called A Long Hard Look At Psycho is a must by the way.
Here as a taster are the opening titles.
Capital Celluloid - Day 90: Friday Apr 1, 2011
The Kids Are All Right (Cholodenko, 2010): Whirled Cinema London SE24, 8.30pm FREE
One of the hits from Sundance last year, this also played very well at the London Film Festival in the autumn. As you are no doubt aware it's a comedy-drama about a lesbian couple and the complications that arise when the previously anonymous sperm donor to their children comes back into their lives. The film garnered pretty much rave reviews everywhere.
Director Cholodenko has crafted an excellent script with co-writer Stuart Blumberg but this movie is chiefly remembered for three great performances by Annette Benning, Julianne Moore and the ever-dependable Mark Ruffalo.
The chief reason for choosing this particular screening of The Kids Are All Right, though, is that it is hosted by Whirled Cinema, a new film venue near Brixton which shows independent and art house films each weekend and is just the sort of spot this blog is keen to publicise. There are more details of what looks a very inviting space here and the bonus is that it is free once you sign up as a member.
Here's a reminder of how good The Kids Are All Right is.
One of the hits from Sundance last year, this also played very well at the London Film Festival in the autumn. As you are no doubt aware it's a comedy-drama about a lesbian couple and the complications that arise when the previously anonymous sperm donor to their children comes back into their lives. The film garnered pretty much rave reviews everywhere.
Director Cholodenko has crafted an excellent script with co-writer Stuart Blumberg but this movie is chiefly remembered for three great performances by Annette Benning, Julianne Moore and the ever-dependable Mark Ruffalo.
The chief reason for choosing this particular screening of The Kids Are All Right, though, is that it is hosted by Whirled Cinema, a new film venue near Brixton which shows independent and art house films each weekend and is just the sort of spot this blog is keen to publicise. There are more details of what looks a very inviting space here and the bonus is that it is free once you sign up as a member.
Here's a reminder of how good The Kids Are All Right is.
Capital Celluloid - Day 89: Thursday Mar 31, 2011
Zardoz (Boorman, 1973): ICA Cinema, 8.30pm
One of those movies which always got a terrific write up in Time Out and which I never got round to seeing. It's a sci-fi film set in a post-apocalyptic world starring Sean Connery and is sure to look amazing as it's directed by John Boorman, who was working at the height of his powers in the early 70s. Jonathan Rosenbaum describes it here as the director's most underrated film. Boorman was responsible for the brilliant Point Blank and this movie has always appeared very intriguing.
Here is the trailer.
The ICA, by the way, have a number of excellent screenings lined up in April. Watch this space.
One of those movies which always got a terrific write up in Time Out and which I never got round to seeing. It's a sci-fi film set in a post-apocalyptic world starring Sean Connery and is sure to look amazing as it's directed by John Boorman, who was working at the height of his powers in the early 70s. Jonathan Rosenbaum describes it here as the director's most underrated film. Boorman was responsible for the brilliant Point Blank and this movie has always appeared very intriguing.
Here is the trailer.
The ICA, by the way, have a number of excellent screenings lined up in April. Watch this space.
Capital Celluloid - Day 88: Wednesday Mar 30, 2011
Early April Fool's Night: The Duke Mitchell Film Club, King's Cross Social Club,
2 Britannia Street, London, WC1X 7pm
You have probably heard about The Room, the car-crash of a movie that sells out each month at the Prince Charles Cinema. The Duke Mitchell Film Club popularised that film among London's cinema cognoscenti. The news is they have found another - Ben and Arthur, the story of a recently married homosexual couple who face opposition from one of the partners' brothers, who plots to murder them after being ostracized by his church.
Evrim and Alex at the Duke Mitchell promise me this 2002 drama is worse than The Room. I have found these extracts on YouTube and you know what - they could be right. Here is the trailer.
You can see it this evening at the Duke Mitchell's early April Fool's night special, a compendium of the worst trailers, short films and music the Duke's crew could find in the last year. Doors open at 7pm with the film due to begin at 8pm. Here is the Duke Mitchell's Facebook page for more details.
2 Britannia Street, London, WC1X 7pm
You have probably heard about The Room, the car-crash of a movie that sells out each month at the Prince Charles Cinema. The Duke Mitchell Film Club popularised that film among London's cinema cognoscenti. The news is they have found another - Ben and Arthur, the story of a recently married homosexual couple who face opposition from one of the partners' brothers, who plots to murder them after being ostracized by his church.
Evrim and Alex at the Duke Mitchell promise me this 2002 drama is worse than The Room. I have found these extracts on YouTube and you know what - they could be right. Here is the trailer.
You can see it this evening at the Duke Mitchell's early April Fool's night special, a compendium of the worst trailers, short films and music the Duke's crew could find in the last year. Doors open at 7pm with the film due to begin at 8pm. Here is the Duke Mitchell's Facebook page for more details.
Capital Celluloid - Day 87: Tuesday Mar 29, 2011
Brazil (Gilliam, 1984): Haymarket Cineworld, 6.30pm (plus introduction by Jonathan Pryce)
Time Out's 100 Best British films list published last month had Brazil at No24. The magazine have devoted a season to some of the finest from that list and Jonathan Pryce, who played central character Sam Lowry, will introduce the movie.
Brazil has a fascinating history. Universal Studios were horrified on seeing the original cut Terry Gilliam wanted to put out and after a lengthy delay while studio executives dithered the director was forced to take a full-page ad out in trade magazine Variety demanding to know why his film had not been released.
The version of Brazil released outside the United States was very different from the one seen by Americans, which was drastically re-edited and given a happy ending. The Brazil Gilliam wanted the public to see and the one which will be screened as part of the Time Out season is a bold and superbly imaginative movie with an ending which haunted me for some time when I saw it on its initial release.
Gilliam himself said he wanted Brazil to be "the Nineteen Eighty-Four for 1984". In many ways he succeeded, creating a nightmarish Orwellian world in which freedom is limited while fashioning a film which leaves its audience dumbfounded and despairing. No wonder Universal could not face unleashing it on an unsuspecting American public.
Here is the trailer.
Time Out's 100 Best British films list published last month had Brazil at No24. The magazine have devoted a season to some of the finest from that list and Jonathan Pryce, who played central character Sam Lowry, will introduce the movie.
Brazil has a fascinating history. Universal Studios were horrified on seeing the original cut Terry Gilliam wanted to put out and after a lengthy delay while studio executives dithered the director was forced to take a full-page ad out in trade magazine Variety demanding to know why his film had not been released.
The version of Brazil released outside the United States was very different from the one seen by Americans, which was drastically re-edited and given a happy ending. The Brazil Gilliam wanted the public to see and the one which will be screened as part of the Time Out season is a bold and superbly imaginative movie with an ending which haunted me for some time when I saw it on its initial release.
Gilliam himself said he wanted Brazil to be "the Nineteen Eighty-Four for 1984". In many ways he succeeded, creating a nightmarish Orwellian world in which freedom is limited while fashioning a film which leaves its audience dumbfounded and despairing. No wonder Universal could not face unleashing it on an unsuspecting American public.
Here is the trailer.
Capital Celluloid - Day 86: Monday Mar 28, 2011
How I Ended This Summer (Popogrebsky, 2010): BFI Southbank, 8pm
At the after-film party for Black Swan at the London Film Festival in October there was quite a buzz about a Russian film a number of delegates had seen earlier that day. How I Ended This Summer clearly impressed plenty as the LFF jury voted it film of the festival in the face of some pretty tough competition. The movie is a taut psychological drama set on a deserted Russian island inside the Arctic Circle involving two men working at a meteorological station and will get a British release on April 22.
Meanwhile here is a trailer and here is London Evening Standard critic Derek Malcolm's short review. Sounds very intriguing and as an added bonus the director Alexei Popogrebsky will participate in a Q&A seesion following the preview screening.
At the after-film party for Black Swan at the London Film Festival in October there was quite a buzz about a Russian film a number of delegates had seen earlier that day. How I Ended This Summer clearly impressed plenty as the LFF jury voted it film of the festival in the face of some pretty tough competition. The movie is a taut psychological drama set on a deserted Russian island inside the Arctic Circle involving two men working at a meteorological station and will get a British release on April 22.
Meanwhile here is a trailer and here is London Evening Standard critic Derek Malcolm's short review. Sounds very intriguing and as an added bonus the director Alexei Popogrebsky will participate in a Q&A seesion following the preview screening.
Capital Celluloid - Day 85: Sunday Mar 27, 2011
The Abominable Dr Phibes (Fuest, 1971) 2pm; Brain Damage (Henelotter, 1988) 4pm; After Hours (Scorsese, 1985) 7pm & Repo Man (Cox, 1984) 9pm. Club Hell, Ryan's Bar, 181 Stoke Newington Church Street, N16
Now that's a line-up. A free all-day cult movies film-fest from Club Hell. If you haven't got the time or energy to manage the full session and want to fit just one of the screenings in I can heartily recommend After Hours, Scorsese's yuppie nightmare film from the mid-1980s. Many of the director's films tend to improve with repeated viewings and this tale of paranoia and fear in the heart of New York is no exception. Here is the trailer.
The Abominable Dr Phibes is the very essence of cult camp horror - and all in the worst possible taste. A slice of Grand Guignol and other foodstuffs, the details of which I won't reveal for spoiling some of its sickest moments. Here is the trailer.
Brain Damage I have no personal knowledge of but respected horror film critic Nigel Floyd commends the black humour inolved in the tale of a fully paid-up New York nerd and the parasitic wormlike creature that attaches itself to his neck and forces him to suck the brains out of his victims. Here is the trailer.
Repo Man needs little introduction, suffice to say that Cox's movie is one of the most popular cult films on the repertory circuit and features a standout performance from Harry Dean Stanton as a professional car repossessor. Here is the trailer.
Congratulations to Ben Hell of Club Hell. This is programming of the very highest order and deserves a big crowd. Did I mention it was all free . . .
More details if you need them are here on the Club Hell Facebook page.
Now that's a line-up. A free all-day cult movies film-fest from Club Hell. If you haven't got the time or energy to manage the full session and want to fit just one of the screenings in I can heartily recommend After Hours, Scorsese's yuppie nightmare film from the mid-1980s. Many of the director's films tend to improve with repeated viewings and this tale of paranoia and fear in the heart of New York is no exception. Here is the trailer.
The Abominable Dr Phibes is the very essence of cult camp horror - and all in the worst possible taste. A slice of Grand Guignol and other foodstuffs, the details of which I won't reveal for spoiling some of its sickest moments. Here is the trailer.
Brain Damage I have no personal knowledge of but respected horror film critic Nigel Floyd commends the black humour inolved in the tale of a fully paid-up New York nerd and the parasitic wormlike creature that attaches itself to his neck and forces him to suck the brains out of his victims. Here is the trailer.
Repo Man needs little introduction, suffice to say that Cox's movie is one of the most popular cult films on the repertory circuit and features a standout performance from Harry Dean Stanton as a professional car repossessor. Here is the trailer.
Congratulations to Ben Hell of Club Hell. This is programming of the very highest order and deserves a big crowd. Did I mention it was all free . . .
More details if you need them are here on the Club Hell Facebook page.
Capital Celluloid - Day 84: Saturday Mar 26, 2011
Anna May Wong - Frosted Yellow Willows: Her Life, Times and Legend (May Woo, 2007)
The Cinema Museum, 7.30pm
A documentary film about the iconic silent star of great British films such as Piccadilly, plus Q&A and a screening of 1928 film 'Song'. The Silent London website have more details here of what promises to be a fascinating night for fans of the silent screen.
The Cinema Museum, 7.30pm
A documentary film about the iconic silent star of great British films such as Piccadilly, plus Q&A and a screening of 1928 film 'Song'. The Silent London website have more details here of what promises to be a fascinating night for fans of the silent screen.
Capital Celluloid - Day 83: Friday Mar 25, 2011
Night Must Fall (Thorpe, 1937): The Gothique Film Society, 25 Red Lion Square, WC1, 7pm
Okay I own up - this is almost certainly not #thebestfilminlondontoday but it's the most intriguing and is screened by the oldest film club in town, which puts on films for the connoisseur of the macabre and has been doing so since 1967. On the website here you can find details of all their past seasons and a perusal reveals they have shown some choice flicks over the years.
Night Must Fall, adapted from a famous West End and Broadway play, concerns a serial killer abroad in a sleepy English village. Time Out says Robert Montgomery "is effective as the psycopathic pageboy with a hat-box in which he treasures the grisly trophies of his penchant for decapitation." Sounds suitably Gothique to me.
Here is an extract.
Okay I own up - this is almost certainly not #thebestfilminlondontoday but it's the most intriguing and is screened by the oldest film club in town, which puts on films for the connoisseur of the macabre and has been doing so since 1967. On the website here you can find details of all their past seasons and a perusal reveals they have shown some choice flicks over the years.
Night Must Fall, adapted from a famous West End and Broadway play, concerns a serial killer abroad in a sleepy English village. Time Out says Robert Montgomery "is effective as the psycopathic pageboy with a hat-box in which he treasures the grisly trophies of his penchant for decapitation." Sounds suitably Gothique to me.
Here is an extract.
Capital Celluloid - Day 82: Thursday Mar 24, 2011
Un Chien Andalou & Sunrise: Ritzy Cinema, 8pm
Tonight marks the 100th anniversary of the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton and to celebrate they we will be holding a multitude of exciting events throughout the year, beginning with a special screening celebrating the birth of cinema and the era of the silent film.
Renowned accompanist Neil Brand and noted percussionist Jeff Davenport (regulars of the London Film Festival Trafalgar Square silents, the Cambridge Film Festival and Paul Merton's Silent Clowns) will take to the stage for a one-off performance of Luis Buñuel & Salvador DalÃ's surrealist collaboration Un Chien Andalou and the 1927 F.W. Murnau masterpiece Sunrise. Two classics of early cinema and a great double bill.
The excellent Silent London blog is the go-to site for silent cinema in the capital and here is the preview of the night posted there. Here is the trailer for Sunrise and here is the celebrated eye-slicing shot from Un Chien Andalou.
Tonight marks the 100th anniversary of the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton and to celebrate they we will be holding a multitude of exciting events throughout the year, beginning with a special screening celebrating the birth of cinema and the era of the silent film.
Renowned accompanist Neil Brand and noted percussionist Jeff Davenport (regulars of the London Film Festival Trafalgar Square silents, the Cambridge Film Festival and Paul Merton's Silent Clowns) will take to the stage for a one-off performance of Luis Buñuel & Salvador DalÃ's surrealist collaboration Un Chien Andalou and the 1927 F.W. Murnau masterpiece Sunrise. Two classics of early cinema and a great double bill.
The excellent Silent London blog is the go-to site for silent cinema in the capital and here is the preview of the night posted there. Here is the trailer for Sunrise and here is the celebrated eye-slicing shot from Un Chien Andalou.
Capital Celluloid - Day 81: Wednesday Mar 23, 2011
Melody (Hussein, 1971): Roxy Bar & Screen, 128-132 Borough High Street, London SE1 1LB, 7.30pm
When I wrote about film clubs here in London for the Guardian one I highlighted in particular was FilmBar70 run by Justine Harries at the Roxy Bar & Screen in Borough High Street.
Tonight's FilmBar70 screening is just the sort of presentation that the film clubs in the capital excel at. You can guarantee the accompanying shorts, adverts and music will all link to the film being shown and create what was described to me as a "bespoke night."
Harries showed the perfect example of a film club find, the obscure, late-60s curio The Ballad of Tam Lin, in the summer last year. It was the only film directed by actor Roddy McDowall and the movie Sight & Sound magazine coincidentally chose to launch their Lost & Found series of forgotten masterpieces after Harries had announced the screening.
Tonight Harries is showing a most intriguing film in the shape of Melody, an early 70s movie featuring Jack Wild and Mark Lester of Oliver fame. It's a romantic fantasy seen through the eyes of the teenagers involved and has become a cult hit following initial box office failure when released in Britain under the title S.W.A.L.K. You can find out more about the film here.
Here is the trailer.
When I wrote about film clubs here in London for the Guardian one I highlighted in particular was FilmBar70 run by Justine Harries at the Roxy Bar & Screen in Borough High Street.
Tonight's FilmBar70 screening is just the sort of presentation that the film clubs in the capital excel at. You can guarantee the accompanying shorts, adverts and music will all link to the film being shown and create what was described to me as a "bespoke night."
Harries showed the perfect example of a film club find, the obscure, late-60s curio The Ballad of Tam Lin, in the summer last year. It was the only film directed by actor Roddy McDowall and the movie Sight & Sound magazine coincidentally chose to launch their Lost & Found series of forgotten masterpieces after Harries had announced the screening.
Tonight Harries is showing a most intriguing film in the shape of Melody, an early 70s movie featuring Jack Wild and Mark Lester of Oliver fame. It's a romantic fantasy seen through the eyes of the teenagers involved and has become a cult hit following initial box office failure when released in Britain under the title S.W.A.L.K. You can find out more about the film here.
Here is the trailer.
Capital Celluloid - Day 80: Tuesday Mar 22, 2011
Mulholland Dr. (Lynch, 2001) Bethnal Green Workingmen's Club, 44 Pollard Row, E2 6NB, 7.45pm
The Close-Up film club have put together a superb David Lynch season and following Eraserhead, Blue Velvet and Lost Highway in the last three weeks they follow it up with Mulholland Dr. Inland Empire is to follow and you can find all the details of the season here.
Mulholland Dr is my personal favourite of all Lynch movies. An audacious exercise even by the director's standards, a great movie about Hollywood and one that has much more emotional resonance than most of his work.
Here is the trailer.
The Close-Up film club have put together a superb David Lynch season and following Eraserhead, Blue Velvet and Lost Highway in the last three weeks they follow it up with Mulholland Dr. Inland Empire is to follow and you can find all the details of the season here.
Mulholland Dr is my personal favourite of all Lynch movies. An audacious exercise even by the director's standards, a great movie about Hollywood and one that has much more emotional resonance than most of his work.
Here is the trailer.
Capital Celluloid - Day 79: Monday Mar 21, 2011
200 Motels (Zappa/Palmer 1971) The Drop, 175 Stoke Newington High Street, N16 0LH, 8pm
If you are partial to the Zappa (love this, especially at 3:13) there's a treat in store tonight at the regular Monday night screening at The Drop in Stoke Newington. Ringo Starr and Keith Moon make an appearance in the road doc 200 Motels and you can be sure the team at The Drop will have found plenty of wild Zappa material for your delectation.
Here is the Facebook page for this evening's entertainment.
Here is an extract from 200 Motels.
If you are partial to the Zappa (love this, especially at 3:13) there's a treat in store tonight at the regular Monday night screening at The Drop in Stoke Newington. Ringo Starr and Keith Moon make an appearance in the road doc 200 Motels and you can be sure the team at The Drop will have found plenty of wild Zappa material for your delectation.
Here is the Facebook page for this evening's entertainment.
Here is an extract from 200 Motels.
Capital Celluloid - Day 78: Sunday Mar 20, 2011
Bad Timing (Roeg, 1980) BFI Southbank NFT1, 8.30pm
The Nicholas Roeg season continues at BFI Southbank with this complex tale of an American couple's affair in Vienna. The producers, as with a number of movies by the director, did not know or, possibly, like what they had on their hands here and this was poorly distributed at the time.
It isn't surprising the film suffered indifferent attention from the studio and puzzlement from the critics at the time as this is a disturbing and complicated work. Labyrinthine plotting; cross-cutting; masculinity crisis and dazzling camerawork - all the touches associated with Roeg are here. If you like the Roeg oeuvre you are in for a treat. The ending stayed with me for quite some time.
Here is the trailer.
The Nicholas Roeg season continues at BFI Southbank with this complex tale of an American couple's affair in Vienna. The producers, as with a number of movies by the director, did not know or, possibly, like what they had on their hands here and this was poorly distributed at the time.
It isn't surprising the film suffered indifferent attention from the studio and puzzlement from the critics at the time as this is a disturbing and complicated work. Labyrinthine plotting; cross-cutting; masculinity crisis and dazzling camerawork - all the touches associated with Roeg are here. If you like the Roeg oeuvre you are in for a treat. The ending stayed with me for quite some time.
Here is the trailer.
Capital Celluloid - Day 77: Saturday Mar 19, 2011
Ms. 45 (Ferrera, 1980): Rio Cinema, 11.30pm
A rare screening of an early Able Ferrera movie and one not to be missed. If this rape revenge movie is anything like the director's Bad Lieutenant (1992) which I saw recently then punters who turn up at the Rio are in for quite some experience. Bad Lieutenant is cinema of a very personal and committed kind and from what I have read filmgoers can expect somehting very similar from Ms. 45.
Here is respected horror critic Kim Newman's review of the 1984 video release from Monthly Film Bulletin.
Respect to cigaretteburns.com for another superb midnight movie selection - you can find their website here. And here is the trailer.
A rare screening of an early Able Ferrera movie and one not to be missed. If this rape revenge movie is anything like the director's Bad Lieutenant (1992) which I saw recently then punters who turn up at the Rio are in for quite some experience. Bad Lieutenant is cinema of a very personal and committed kind and from what I have read filmgoers can expect somehting very similar from Ms. 45.
Here is respected horror critic Kim Newman's review of the 1984 video release from Monthly Film Bulletin.
Respect to cigaretteburns.com for another superb midnight movie selection - you can find their website here. And here is the trailer.
Capital Celluloid - Day 76: Friday Mar 18, 2011
I Am (Onir, 2011): BFI Southbank, NFT1, 8pm
It's the opening night of Tongues on Fire, the London Asian Film Festival, and this is reportedly an excellent movie to start the festivities. Time Out describes I Am as a "remarkable Indian portmanteau film" covering taboo issues such as homosexuality, abuse and the Kashmir situation.
Here is a preview.
It's the opening night of Tongues on Fire, the London Asian Film Festival, and this is reportedly an excellent movie to start the festivities. Time Out describes I Am as a "remarkable Indian portmanteau film" covering taboo issues such as homosexuality, abuse and the Kashmir situation.
Here is a preview.
Capital Celluloid - Day 75: Thursday Mar 17, 2011
Petulia (Lester, 1968): BFI Southbank, NFT1, 6pm
This impressive piece of work is one of director Richard Lester's finest pieces of work. Described by critic Dave Kehr as "one of the finest films of and about the 60s," it features an outstanding performance by Julie Christie as a San Francisco socialite searching for some meaning in a vacuous world.
This screening is part of the Nicholas Roeg season and it's clear from the fractured narrative and striking visuals and use of colour that the cinematographer had a major input here. When I watched it recently I was struck by the echoes of both Don't Look Now and Bad Timing from the Roeg oeuvre and this is a movie well worth investigating for anyone interested in his and/or Lester's work.
There is also the bonus of a John Barry soundtrack.
Here is the trailer.
This impressive piece of work is one of director Richard Lester's finest pieces of work. Described by critic Dave Kehr as "one of the finest films of and about the 60s," it features an outstanding performance by Julie Christie as a San Francisco socialite searching for some meaning in a vacuous world.
This screening is part of the Nicholas Roeg season and it's clear from the fractured narrative and striking visuals and use of colour that the cinematographer had a major input here. When I watched it recently I was struck by the echoes of both Don't Look Now and Bad Timing from the Roeg oeuvre and this is a movie well worth investigating for anyone interested in his and/or Lester's work.
There is also the bonus of a John Barry soundtrack.
Here is the trailer.
Capital Celluloid - Day 74: Wednesday Mar 16, 2011
Sideways (Payne, 2004): Riverside Studios, 6pm
Can't say I find the prospect of Paul Giamatti's latest vehicle, Barney's Version which is on at 8.30pm at the Riverside, all that enticing but Sideways, in which he plays a depressive would-be novelist on a weekend tour of the Californian vineyards with his best friend, is one of the funniest films of recent years.
Here is the trailer.
Can't say I find the prospect of Paul Giamatti's latest vehicle, Barney's Version which is on at 8.30pm at the Riverside, all that enticing but Sideways, in which he plays a depressive would-be novelist on a weekend tour of the Californian vineyards with his best friend, is one of the funniest films of recent years.
Here is the trailer.
Capital Celluloid - Day 74: Tuesday Mar 15, 2011
Lost Highway (Lynch,1997): Bethnal Green Workingmen's Club, 44 Pollard Row, E2 6NB, 7.45pm
The Close-Up film club have put together an excellent David Lynch season and following the director's debut Eraserhead and Blue Velvet in the last two weeks they follow it up with Lost Highway. Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire are to follow and you can find all the details of the season here.
Lost Highway is another superb example of Lynch's work: difficult to categorise; sometimes difficult to follow but very difficult to forget. There's a saxophonist, a young car mechanic, two mysterious women both played by Patricia Arquette and an unforgettable performance by Robert Blake as a Mystery Man in Black. Watch this. Go see.
The Close-Up film club have put together an excellent David Lynch season and following the director's debut Eraserhead and Blue Velvet in the last two weeks they follow it up with Lost Highway. Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire are to follow and you can find all the details of the season here.
Lost Highway is another superb example of Lynch's work: difficult to categorise; sometimes difficult to follow but very difficult to forget. There's a saxophonist, a young car mechanic, two mysterious women both played by Patricia Arquette and an unforgettable performance by Robert Blake as a Mystery Man in Black. Watch this. Go see.
Capital Celluloid - Day 73: Monday Mar 14, 2011
Kings of the Road (Wenders, 1976): Roxy Bar & Screen, 7.30pm
Another to add to the list of the ever growing number of film clubs in London as passengerfilms launches with this road movie par excellence from the lens of Wim Wenders. Passengerfilms, a landscape-oriented film society, promises to be one of the most interesting in the capital with a number of fascinating evenings planned at its south London HQ. You can find more details here.
Kings of the Road itself, the story of two drifters who are travelling cinema projectionists, is gorgeously shot in crisp black and white by Robby Muller and is suffused with references to classic Hollywood cinema as the director ponders the American colonisation of both German landscape and mind. This is certainly not a dry treatise, though, but a wry and humorous account of life in a particular period in post-War Europe. It's a long film but I promise you the hours will speed by. The opening evening includes travelogue shorts from the first half-century of cinema.
Here is a trailer for Kings of the Road.
Another to add to the list of the ever growing number of film clubs in London as passengerfilms launches with this road movie par excellence from the lens of Wim Wenders. Passengerfilms, a landscape-oriented film society, promises to be one of the most interesting in the capital with a number of fascinating evenings planned at its south London HQ. You can find more details here.
Kings of the Road itself, the story of two drifters who are travelling cinema projectionists, is gorgeously shot in crisp black and white by Robby Muller and is suffused with references to classic Hollywood cinema as the director ponders the American colonisation of both German landscape and mind. This is certainly not a dry treatise, though, but a wry and humorous account of life in a particular period in post-War Europe. It's a long film but I promise you the hours will speed by. The opening evening includes travelogue shorts from the first half-century of cinema.
Here is a trailer for Kings of the Road.
Capital Celluloid - Day 72: Sunday Mar 13, 2011
The American Friend (Wenders, 1977): Phoenix Cinema, 2pm FREE
A marvellous adaptation of that most cinematic of writers Patricia Highsmith's Ripley's Game and one of the best examples of New German Cinema which flowered in the 1970s. This intelligently mounted thriller by Wim Wenders stars Dennis Hopper as the amoral Tom Ripley, a character Highsmith returned to a number of times in her novels, and Bruno Ganz as Jonathan Zimmerman, a picture framer with a secret who becomes a reluctant assassin.
Veteran Hollywood director Nicholas Ray makes an appearance and this is partly a tribute to his expressionist use of colours and mastery of the noir genre. Perfect fare for a Sunday afternoon and the bonus is that this screening is free as part of the Phoenix's centenary celebrations. Booking is highly recommended.
Here is the trailer.
A marvellous adaptation of that most cinematic of writers Patricia Highsmith's Ripley's Game and one of the best examples of New German Cinema which flowered in the 1970s. This intelligently mounted thriller by Wim Wenders stars Dennis Hopper as the amoral Tom Ripley, a character Highsmith returned to a number of times in her novels, and Bruno Ganz as Jonathan Zimmerman, a picture framer with a secret who becomes a reluctant assassin.
Veteran Hollywood director Nicholas Ray makes an appearance and this is partly a tribute to his expressionist use of colours and mastery of the noir genre. Perfect fare for a Sunday afternoon and the bonus is that this screening is free as part of the Phoenix's centenary celebrations. Booking is highly recommended.
Here is the trailer.
Capital Celluloid - Day 71: Saturday Mar 12, 2011
The Wrestler (2008) & Black Swan (2010) (Aronofsky): Riverside Studios
Double-bill at 1.30pm & 6.30pm
Another excellent double-bill from Riverside Studios. Trailers for The Wrestler and Black Swan accessed via the links.
Double-bill at 1.30pm & 6.30pm
Another excellent double-bill from Riverside Studios. Trailers for The Wrestler and Black Swan accessed via the links.
Capital Celluloid - Day 70: Friday Mar 11, 2011
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Robertson, 1920): BFI Southbank, NFT3, 6.10pm
This does not have the reputation that Rouben Mamoulian's 1932 version has, a film which I saw recently and thought genuinely outstanding. However, it looks well worth investigating for John Barrymore's performance as the central character(s). The Silent London blog here contains a nice taster.
This does not have the reputation that Rouben Mamoulian's 1932 version has, a film which I saw recently and thought genuinely outstanding. However, it looks well worth investigating for John Barrymore's performance as the central character(s). The Silent London blog here contains a nice taster.
Capital Celluloid - Day 69: Thursday Mar 10, 2011
Near Dark (Bigelow, 1987): Prince Charles Cinema, 8.45pm
The Loveless (1982), a gorgeously arty number about 50s bikers, was the first Kathryn Bigelow film I saw but it's now so hard to find I don't know when I will ever see it again. Here is the trailer.
In the meantime Near Dark, her second movie, a vampire-cum-western film, will do. In contrast to commercial hit The Lost Boys, another vampire film released at the same time, this did badly at the box office but has built in reputation over the years and is well worth seeking out.
Here is the trailer.
The film is screening as part of the Bird's Eye View Film Festival.
The Loveless (1982), a gorgeously arty number about 50s bikers, was the first Kathryn Bigelow film I saw but it's now so hard to find I don't know when I will ever see it again. Here is the trailer.
In the meantime Near Dark, her second movie, a vampire-cum-western film, will do. In contrast to commercial hit The Lost Boys, another vampire film released at the same time, this did badly at the box office but has built in reputation over the years and is well worth seeking out.
Here is the trailer.
The film is screening as part of the Bird's Eye View Film Festival.
Capital Celluloid - Day 68: Wednesday Mar 9, 2011
Meek's Cutoff (Reichardt, 2010): BFI Southbank, NFT 1, 8.20pm
(plus Q&A with director Kelly Reichardt and star Shirley Henderson)
This is the movie I was most impressed by at the 2010 London Film Festival and I shall be going along tonight for a second look, with the added bonus of appearances by the director and cast member Henderson. The film, which takes as its starting point the fate of a number of the wagons that branched off from the Oregon Trail in 1845, is at once mysterious, tense, thought-provoking and, in parts, stunningly beautiful.
The ending is the most ambiguous I've seen since John Sayles' notoroious denoument to Limbo (1999) and destined to be a major talking point for anyone who sees Reichardt's film. The director made quite an impression on me with her debut Old Joy (2006). Meek's Cutoff, a revisionist western, is a much more ambitious undertaking but one which suggests she will be at the forefront of the independent film scene in America for some time.
Here is the trailer.
This film is screening as part of the Bird's Eye View Film Festival.
(plus Q&A with director Kelly Reichardt and star Shirley Henderson)
This is the movie I was most impressed by at the 2010 London Film Festival and I shall be going along tonight for a second look, with the added bonus of appearances by the director and cast member Henderson. The film, which takes as its starting point the fate of a number of the wagons that branched off from the Oregon Trail in 1845, is at once mysterious, tense, thought-provoking and, in parts, stunningly beautiful.
The ending is the most ambiguous I've seen since John Sayles' notoroious denoument to Limbo (1999) and destined to be a major talking point for anyone who sees Reichardt's film. The director made quite an impression on me with her debut Old Joy (2006). Meek's Cutoff, a revisionist western, is a much more ambitious undertaking but one which suggests she will be at the forefront of the independent film scene in America for some time.
Here is the trailer.
This film is screening as part of the Bird's Eye View Film Festival.
Capital Celluloid - Day 67: Tuesday Mar 8, 2011
Blue Velvet (Lynch, 1986): Bethnal Green Workingmen's Club, 44 Pollard Row, E2 6NB, 7.45pm
The Close-Up film club have put together an excellent David Lynch season and following the director's debut Eraserhead last week they follow it up with Blue Velvet. Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire are to follow and you can find all the details of the season here.
Blue Velvet needs no introduction but if by any chance you haven't seen the film then here's an idea of what lies in store for you. If you look closely there's Jack Nance, the lead from Eraserhead.
The Close-Up film club have put together an excellent David Lynch season and following the director's debut Eraserhead last week they follow it up with Blue Velvet. Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire are to follow and you can find all the details of the season here.
Blue Velvet needs no introduction but if by any chance you haven't seen the film then here's an idea of what lies in store for you. If you look closely there's Jack Nance, the lead from Eraserhead.
Capital Celluloid - Day 66: Monday Mar 7, 2011
Barbarella (Vadim, 1968): The Drop, 175 Stoke Newington High Street, N16 0LH
If it's the start of the week it must be Monday Movie night at The Drop. Read this and tell me you won't be guaranteed a good time. Barbarella, an excuse for husband Roger Vadim to portray wife Jane Fonda in as little clothing as possible in outer space, is not a great film but you can be sure the same team behind The Duke Mitchell film club will have plenty to distract and amuse their audience with this material.
Here are some clues as to the sort of night in store. And here's a flavour of the film.
If it's the start of the week it must be Monday Movie night at The Drop. Read this and tell me you won't be guaranteed a good time. Barbarella, an excuse for husband Roger Vadim to portray wife Jane Fonda in as little clothing as possible in outer space, is not a great film but you can be sure the same team behind The Duke Mitchell film club will have plenty to distract and amuse their audience with this material.
Here are some clues as to the sort of night in store. And here's a flavour of the film.
Capital Celluloid - Day 65: Sunday Mar 6, 2011
The Masque of the Red Death (Corman, 1964): BFI Southbank, NFT1, 4.15pm
"There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion. Even with the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made." Edgar Allan Poe, The Masque of the Red Death.
Roger Corman is perhaps best known now in his role as a producer for kick-starting the careers of the Movie Brats who were so influential in the 1970s and beyond, including Coppola, Scorsese, Bogdanovich and Hellman. However, as a director he made a number of memorable movies, the best of which were his Edgar Allan Poe adaptations.
The Masque of the Red Death was one of the finest, a deliciously macabre take on Poe's short story which allowed Vincent Price free rein to leer and Nicolas Roeg to astound us with his cinematography. The tale concerns Prince Prospero (Price), who terrorises a plague-ridden population while he indulges in general debauchery and depravity with a group of fawning courtiers in his isolated castle.
Here is an extract. And here is an article by Geoffrey Macnab in the Independent on Roeg and other lost visionaries of British cinema, and another here by David Jenkins in Time Out.
Being shown at BFI Southbank as part of the Roeg season.
"There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion. Even with the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made." Edgar Allan Poe, The Masque of the Red Death.
Roger Corman is perhaps best known now in his role as a producer for kick-starting the careers of the Movie Brats who were so influential in the 1970s and beyond, including Coppola, Scorsese, Bogdanovich and Hellman. However, as a director he made a number of memorable movies, the best of which were his Edgar Allan Poe adaptations.
The Masque of the Red Death was one of the finest, a deliciously macabre take on Poe's short story which allowed Vincent Price free rein to leer and Nicolas Roeg to astound us with his cinematography. The tale concerns Prince Prospero (Price), who terrorises a plague-ridden population while he indulges in general debauchery and depravity with a group of fawning courtiers in his isolated castle.
Here is an extract. And here is an article by Geoffrey Macnab in the Independent on Roeg and other lost visionaries of British cinema, and another here by David Jenkins in Time Out.
Being shown at BFI Southbank as part of the Roeg season.
Capital Celluloid - Day 64: Saturday Mar 5, 2011
The Clock (Marclay, 2010): Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre 6.30pm
New York artist Christian Marclay's 24-hour video work The Clock, an amalgam of extracts of thousands of movies each showing the exact time corresponding to the time viewers are watching, has been hailed wherever it has been shown with long queues forming at all galleries that have shown it.
The Clock is currently screening at the Hayward (details here) and will be on as part of the British Art Show exhibition until April 17. For one night only the Hayward are showing the full 24-hour experience, starting at 6.30pm on Saturday and finishing 24 hours later on Sunday March 6. They are screening it at the Purcell Room, also on the Southbank.
Here is an article in the Telegraph by Charles Spencer and a more detailed review by acclaimed film theorist David Bordwell on The Clock.
More details here in a BBC news item.
New York artist Christian Marclay's 24-hour video work The Clock, an amalgam of extracts of thousands of movies each showing the exact time corresponding to the time viewers are watching, has been hailed wherever it has been shown with long queues forming at all galleries that have shown it.
The Clock is currently screening at the Hayward (details here) and will be on as part of the British Art Show exhibition until April 17. For one night only the Hayward are showing the full 24-hour experience, starting at 6.30pm on Saturday and finishing 24 hours later on Sunday March 6. They are screening it at the Purcell Room, also on the Southbank.
Here is an article in the Telegraph by Charles Spencer and a more detailed review by acclaimed film theorist David Bordwell on The Clock.
More details here in a BBC news item.
Capital Celluloid - Day 63: Friday Mar 4, 2011
Submarine (Ayoade, 2010): ICA 8.45pm
This was one of the highlights of the 2010 London Film Festival and garnered rave reviews, including this one in the Telegraph by David Gritten. He called it "the most refreshing, urgent and original debut the British film industry has seen in years."
Critic Charlie Lyne (aka Ultra Culture) of Film 2011 fame has been another champion of Richard Ayoade's debut film and Lyne is hosting this screening of Submarine which gets its British release on March 18. This is the sixth exclusive preview Lyne has put on at the ICA and reports from previous nights suggest an entertaining show is guaranteed. The Ultra Culture website, which Time Out described as "enjoyably snarky" this week is very much worth a look.
Tickets went pretty quickly for Submarine but a call to the ICA or requests via Twitter or Facebook might secure one if you are quick.
Here is a trailer.
This was one of the highlights of the 2010 London Film Festival and garnered rave reviews, including this one in the Telegraph by David Gritten. He called it "the most refreshing, urgent and original debut the British film industry has seen in years."
Critic Charlie Lyne (aka Ultra Culture) of Film 2011 fame has been another champion of Richard Ayoade's debut film and Lyne is hosting this screening of Submarine which gets its British release on March 18. This is the sixth exclusive preview Lyne has put on at the ICA and reports from previous nights suggest an entertaining show is guaranteed. The Ultra Culture website, which Time Out described as "enjoyably snarky" this week is very much worth a look.
Tickets went pretty quickly for Submarine but a call to the ICA or requests via Twitter or Facebook might secure one if you are quick.
Here is a trailer.
Capital Celluloid - Day 62: Thursday Mar 3, 2011
Day For Night (Truffaut, 1973): BFI Southbank, NFT3, 6.10 & 8.30pm
The centrepiece of the Francois Truffaut season at the BFI is this meditation on the art of film-making in which the French director plays, well, the director of a movie being shot at a studio in Nice and details the trials and tribulations of the production on and mainly off-screen.
Here is the trailer.
The centrepiece of the Francois Truffaut season at the BFI is this meditation on the art of film-making in which the French director plays, well, the director of a movie being shot at a studio in Nice and details the trials and tribulations of the production on and mainly off-screen.
Here is the trailer.
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