This is a 16mm presentation from the great Cine-Real team and is also screened on October 25th. You can find the full details here.
Time Out review: Nearly 60 years on, Ealing's compendium of
spooky tales remains scary as hell. The best of the five stories,
which we see enacted as they're related in turn by guests at a country
house, are Alberto Cavalcanti's 'The Ventriloquist's Dummy', with Michael Redgrave
possessed by his deceptively lifeless little partner, and Hamer's 'The
Haunted Mirror', with the splendid Googie Withers a reluctant participant as
history repeats itself; least frightening, but amusing, are Basil Radford and
Naunton Wayne as typically obsessive sporting coves in Crichton's 'Golfing
Story'. Best of all, however, is the overall narrative arc, with the
framing story finally taking a headlong rush into a nightmarish realm
almost surreal in its weird clarity and familiarity. Geoff Andrew
Chicago Reader review: A yakuza chief who’s turned up in LA helps his brother form an alliance
between Japanese and black gangsters, which rivals the city’s Italian
Mafia only until the new syndicate clashes with the old. The chief,
played by writer-director-editor Takeshi Kitano (aka Beat Takeshi),
exhales self-parody and cool in the same breath. Though he bonds with
local Omar Epps in the buddy configuration typical of action comedy,
Kitano’s handling of this convention—and of extreme violence—is unique.
The buddies are characterized by deceptively simple twists on
acknowledged stereotypes, and their intimacy evolves gradually through
an accumulation of small gestures. A wizard at manipulating time, Kitano
introduces staccato elements that interrupt the meditative pace even as
they help set it. And he uses this paradoxically peaceful tension to
inspire in us a kind of spiritual response to the violence—a sensation
that’s utterly different from the visceral reaction we have to most
actioners, which we only hope is catharsis. Pat Graham
This 35mm presentation (also screened on November 23rd) is part of the Roger Corman season at BFI Southbank. You can find the full details here.
Chicago Reader review: Scientist Ray Milland discovers a potion that gives him X-ray vision,
and after becoming a freak he ends his days as a sideshow attraction
promoted by Don Rickles, who gives a fine low performance. This queasy
1963 SF parable was directed—quickly and cheaply—by Roger Corman for
American-International, drawing some of its strength from its tawdry
drive-in overtones. Milland grows through his debasement, and the
production offers plenty of it. Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader review: A large portion of this highly original 2006 feature from Mali by Abderrahmane Sissako (Life on Earth, Waiting for Happiness)
consists of a hearing devoted to the operations of the World Bank and
the International Monetary Fund in Africa, with judge, black and white
lawyers, and witnesses all played by nonactors who’ve written their own
speeches, many of them angry. All this is set outdoors, in a backyard in
a poor section of Bamako, the capital of Mali, and the remainder of the
film is devoted to glimpses of everyday African life taking place
around this event. Sissako scrupulously avoids making any facile
connections between his two blocks of material, and his cast, even when
silent, are always eloquent. Jonathan Rosenbaum
Time Out review: Marvellous performance from Barbara Stanwyck, all snap, crackle and pop as the
brassy nightclub entertainer Sugarpuss O'Shea who seeks refuge with
seven crusty old professors (plus Gary Cooper) to escape unwelcome attentions
from a gangster, and whose vocabulary (not to mention charms) excite
delighted wonderment in the professors since they have just reached
'Slang' in the encyclopaedia they are compiling. Rather surprisingly,
Hawks slightly muffs the sequence in which the gangster and his aides
get their comeuppance; otherwise his handling of the sparkling
Brackett-Wilder script and its subversions of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is pure joy. Tom Milne
Rejoice! Screenings from prints are back at Everyman Screen where Michael Mann returns from September 25th to October 24th in a season dedicated to five unforgettable works from one of modern cinema's most influential filmmakers. This 35mm screening (also being shown on October 23rd and 25th) is part of a programme that included Collateral, Last of the Mohicans and Thief. Full details here.
Time Out review: Investigating a bold armed robbery which has left three security guards
dead, LA cop Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino), whose devotion to work is
threatening his third marriage, follows a trail that leads him to
suspect a gang of thieves headed by Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro). Trouble is,
McCauley's cunning is at least equal to Hanna's, and that makes him a
hard man to nail. Still, unknown to Hanna, McCauley's gang have their
own troubles: one of their number is a volatile psychopath, while the
businessman whose bonds they've stolen is not above some rough stuff
himself. Such a synopsis barely scratches the surface of Mann's masterly
crime epic. Painstakingly detailed, with enough characters, subplots
and telling nuances to fill out half a dozen conventional thrillers,
this is simply the best American crime movie - and indeed, one of the
finest movies, period - in over a decade. The action scenes are better
than anything produced by John Woo or Quentin Tarantino; the
characterisation has a depth most American film-makers only dream of;
the use of location, decor and music is inspired; Dante Spinotti's
camerawork is superb; and the large, imaginatively chosen cast gives
terrific support to the two leads, both back on glorious form. Geoff Andrew
This is a 35mm restoration print of Ken Russell's cult movie and is being screened for a week ending its run on October 29th. You can find the full details here. The new director's cut was a great success at the London Film Festival and these 35mm presentations seem sure to prove very popular.
Time Out review: There's plenty here that's still incredibly shocking. The
scenes of plague are truly vile, as are the climatic torture scenes. But
what horrifies most is Ken Russell's nihilistic view of the world in
general, and humanity in particular: almost without exception, we are
shown to be vain, lustful, perverse, self-serving, murderous,
disease-ridden, exploitative, decadent, deluded creatures unworthy or
incapable of salvation. Approach with extreme caution. Tom Huddleston
This is the opening night of the ShÅhei Imamura season at the ICA. Full details here.
Chicago Reader review: Shohei Imamura’s first feature (1958), shot in black-and-white ‘Scope,
deals with a form of working-class Kabuki that attracted him as a
college student, but its story about an itinerant troupe performing a
striptease version of the form near Osaka isn’t very inspired.
Nevertheless, Imamura characteristically finds some vitality in
vulgarity—though his more prosaic working title, “Tent Theatre,” was
rejected by the production company. Jonathan Rosenbaum
This film will be followed by a group discussion in the bar area with Nick Walker of the Cult Classic Collective.
Chicago Reader review: The treacherous-mate theme that has been a staple of “women's pictures” since Gaslight
gets its ultimate, most agonizing development in this 1968 story about a
young woman (Mia Farrow) who discovers her husband has sold her body
for use by a witches' coven. The horror is more clinical than
supernatural, as Polanski transforms Ira Levin's story into a metaphor
for the loss of identity induced by pregnancy. A very sophisticated,
very effective piece of work spun from primal images, with an excellent
cast that includes John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Ralph
Bellamy, Maurice Evans, Patsy Kelly, and Elisha Cook Jr. Dave Kehr
Time Out review: Detective Vince Edwards hunts Los Angeles for dynamiter Chuck Connors (a
nicely quirky characterisation), who is writing to the papers to
explain that his bombs are punishments meted out to society. The victims
include a high school, a hospital, a Women's Lib group...and aid comes
from the unlikely quarter of a pathetic rapist (Brand, another fine
performance). Shoddily assembled, but brightly conceived and very well
acted, it has a genuine 'B' movie vitality. (From a story by Marc Behm).
Time Out review: RogerCorman's first gangster movie is one of the most ambitious and rewarding of his '50s quickies: not because it transcends any of its inherent limitations, but rather because it indulges them recklessly. Apparently modelling itself on Siegel's Baby Face Nelson, it sees Kelly (Charles Bronson) as a child-like thug with a pathological fear of death, helplessly dominated by his moll Flo (Susan Cabot, Corman's favourite femme fatale until Barbara Steele came along). The post-Freudian motifs aren't imposed on the dime-novel material; they grow with a hysteria all of their own from the sleazy settings and one-note performances. The movie reveals Corman as a director entirely in touch with his audience, and Floyd Crosby as one of the most prodigiously resourceful cameramen in Hollywood history. Tony Rayns
70th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (7th - 18th October 2026) DAY 12
With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews,
so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics
who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.
So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the
reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I
am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within
the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the
major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is
little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see
films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London
Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming
months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.
Here then (from October 7th to October 18th) are the films you are likely
to be able to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in
London very soon unless you go the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out as there are always
some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each
screening. Here is the information you need to get those standby tickets.
This film is also screened at BFI Southbank on Friday October 16th. Details here.
BFI introduction: Adapted from Kieran Goddard’s novel, this intoxicating yet
compassionate film by the director of The Selfish Giant and Ali &
Ava is propelled by a superb ensemble cast and the euphoric pulse of
club music. As moments of youthful joy gradually give way to
disillusionment, the film offers a piercing portrait of contemporary
Britain, exposing exploitative social structures and widening inequality
as forces that have deeply marked its characters’ lives. Hyun Jin Cho
70th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (7th - 18th October 2026) DAY 11
With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews,
so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics
who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.
So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the
reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I
am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within
the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the
major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is
little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see
films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London
Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming
months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.
Here then (from October 7th to October 18th) are the films you are likely
to be able to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in
London very soon unless you go the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out as there are always
some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each
screening. Here is the information you need to get those standby tickets.
This film is also screened at Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall on Saturday October 10th and Sunday 11th. Full details here.
BFI introduction: Irwin Pearl (Miles Teller, on top form) is an engineer and family man
living in Queens. When his brother, a showboating ex-police officer (a
magnetic Adam Driver), enlists him for a high paying job, things rapidly
take a turn for the worse. Channelling the spirit of Sidney Lumet and
Michael Mann, Gray’s own, distinctive directorial style is on full
display in this instant classic of American crime cinema. Diana Cipriano
70th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (7th - 18th October 2026) DAY10
With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews,
so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics
who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.
So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the
reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I
am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within
the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the
major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is
little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see
films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London
Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming
months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.
Here then (from October 7th to October 18th) are the films you are likely
to be able to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in
London very soon unless you go the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out as there are always
some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each
screening. Here is the information you need to get those standby tickets.
BFI introduction: A tragicomic gallery of characters composes this satirical fresco of a
hellish housing estate. In this dysfunctional, endless chaos, people
try to get on with their lives amongst the rubble and the mud of this
new socialist nightmare. After being blacklisted for years, VÄra
Chytilová returns to her radical style with a film that still resonates
in a society of individuals living in crowded isolation. Giulia Saccogna
70th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (7th - 18th October 2026) DAY 9
With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews,
so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics
who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.
So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the
reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I
am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within
the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the
major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is
little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see
films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London
Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming
months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.
Here then (from October 7th to October 18th) are the films you are likely
to be able to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in
London very soon unless you go the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out as there are always
some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each
screening. Here is the information you need to get those standby tickets.
BFI introduction: Jacquie, a beautiful 20-year-old, experiences various encounters with
men in the south of France, where she returns to her family after
leaving Paris. A young woman becoming the target of male predators is
always a relevant topic. It’s presented here with a fresh approach:
Jacquie is an unburdened wanderer rather than a desperate one, and her
search for independence inebriating and joyful. Giulia Saccogna
70th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (7th - 18th October 2026) DAY 8
With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews,
so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics
who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.
So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the
reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I
am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within
the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the
major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is
little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see
films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London
Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming
months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.
Here then (from October 7th to October 18th) are the films you are likely
to be able to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in
London very soon unless you go the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out as there are always
some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each
screening. Here is the information you need to get those standby tickets.
This film is also screened at the prince Charles Cinema on October 16th. Details here.
Lifelong friends Callie and Minnie are like ying and yang: one loud
and popular, the other shy and quiet. Abruptly forced out from her
friend’s shadow, it’s finally time for Minnie to figure out who she is
on her own terms. Kupferer and Okonedo’s performances drive this
beautiful film that’s guaranteed to have audiences alternating between
crying and laughing out loud. Grace Barber-Plentie
70th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (7th - 18th October 2026) DAY 7
With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews,
so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics
who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.
So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the
reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I
am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within
the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the
major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is
little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see
films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London
Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming
months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.
Here then (from October 7th to October 18th) are the films you are likely
to be able to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in
London very soon unless you go the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out as there are always
some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each
screening. Here is the information you need to get those standby tickets.
This film is also screened at Curzon Soho on October 14th. Details here.
70th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (7th - 18th October 2026) DAY 6
With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews,
so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics
who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.
So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the
reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I
am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within
the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the
major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is
little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see
films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London
Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming
months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.
Here then (from October 7th to October 18th) are the films you are likely
to be able to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in
London very soon unless you go the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out as there are always
some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each
screening. Here is the information you need to get those standby tickets.
This film is also screened at BFI Southbank on October 13th and 17th. Full details here.
BFI introduction: It’s the day of Clarissa’s garden party. Just as she’s set to reunite
with old friends, she finds herself reflecting on a summer that shaped
the course of their lives. Virginia Woolf’s beloved novel is the
jumping-off point for this rich and captivating look at class and gender
in contemporary Nigerian society. Grace Barber-Plentie
70th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (7th - 18th October 2026) DAY 5
With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews,
so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics
who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.
So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the
reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I
am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within
the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the
major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is
little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see
films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London
Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming
months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.
Here then (from October 7th to October 18th) are the films you are likely
to be able to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in
London very soon unless you go the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out as there are always
some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each
screening. Here is the information you need to get those standby tickets.
This film is also screened at Curzon Soho on Friday October 9th. Full details here.
BFI introduction: Toni, James, Suzanne and their classmates travel to Naples with their
Latin teacher. Raw emotions, desire and power dynamics collide against
the backdrop of a city with a history stretching back thousands of
years. Joyous and tragic in equal measures, cinematographer Marine
Atlan’s impressive first feature vividly captures the spirit and the
drama of youth, and revels in the intoxicating aura of an ancient
metropolis. Laure Bonville
70th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (7th - 18th October 2026) DAY 4
With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews,
so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics
who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.
So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the
reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I
am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within
the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the
major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is
little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see
films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London
Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming
months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.
Here then (from October 7th to October 18th) are the films you are likely
to be able to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in
London very soon unless you go the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out as there are always
some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each
screening. Here is the information you need to get those standby tickets.
This film is also screened at Curzon Soho on Sunday October 11th. Full details here.
BFI introduction: In the verdant Bulgarian mountains, Veska crosses paths with Saïd, an
old acquaintance whose car has been stolen. Offering help, she takes him
to the excavation site where she works as an archaeologist. But as they
reconnect, Veska is drawn into Saïd’s shady business world. Western
writer-director Valeska Grisebach’s film is a skilfully directed drama
with a strong feminist spine. Julie Pearce
70th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (7th - 18th October 2026) DAY 3
With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews,
so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics
who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.
So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the
reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I
am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within
the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the
major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is
little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see
films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London
Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming
months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.
Here then (from October 7th to October 18th) are the films you are likely
to be able to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in
London very soon unless you go the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out as there are always
some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each
screening. Here is the information you need to get those standby tickets.
This film is also screened at the Prince Charles Cinema on Monday October 12th at 6pm. You can find the details here.
Time Out review: There's plenty here that's still incredibly shocking. The
scenes of plague are truly vile, as are the climatic torture scenes. But
what horrifies most is Ken Russell's nihilistic view of the world in
general, and humanity in particular: almost without exception, we are
shown to be vain, lustful, perverse, self-serving, murderous,
disease-ridden, exploitative, decadent, deluded creatures unworthy or
incapable of salvation. Approach with extreme caution. Tom Huddleston
70th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (7th - 18th October 2026) DAY 2
With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews,
so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics
who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.
So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the
reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I
am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within
the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the
major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is
little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see
films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London
Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming
months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.
Here then (from October 7th to October 18th) are the films you are likely
to be able to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in
London very soon unless you go the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out as there are always
some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each
screening. Here is the information you need to get those standby tickets.
This film is also screened at BFI IMAX on Sunday October 11th and Curzomn Soho on Thursday October 15th. Details here.
BFI London Film Festival introduction: Esteban is an Oscar-winning director. His daughter Emilia a
struggling actor. He returns to Spain to make a film about the country’s
exploitation of Western Sahara and offers her the lead role. The film
shoot that follows isn’t a straightforward experience, demonstrating the
unresolved tensions that still haunt their relationship. Guilt,
resentment and forgiveness all intersect to powerful effect in this
tense drama. Maria Delgado
70th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (7th - 18th October 2026) DAY 1
Today is the opening day of the London Film Festival. With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews,
so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics
who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.
So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the
reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I
am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within
the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the
major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is
little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see
films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London
Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming
months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.
Here then (from October 7th to October 18th) are the films you are likely
to be able to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in
London very soon unless you go the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out as there are always
some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each
screening. Here is the information you need to get those standby tickets.
This screening is the theatrical English premiere of the new 4K Restoration, courtesy of Arrow Video.
Chicago Reader review: Ted Kotcheff (First Blood, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz)
directed this forgotten Australian masterpiece (1971) about an arrogant
Sydney schoolteacher (Garry Bond) who's slowly driven mad after a
prolonged stay in the Yabba, a desolate mining town in the middle of the
Australian outback. After gambling away every dollar he has, Bond
succumbs to the aggressive hospitality of the locals, and they condition
him to their brutish lifestyle, which seems to consist mostly of
constant drinking, random fistfights, anarchic destruction of other
people's property, and kangaroo hunting. A Conradian parable of a man
succumbing to the wild, the film is remarkable for its raw, pointed
depiction of human behavior. Push a man too far, Kotcheff suggests, and
you'll find the beast concealed behind the mask of propriety.
Drew Hunt
The screening will be introduced by Daniel Bird, Co-founder of Friends of Walerian Borowczyk,
a non-profit association based in Paris that manages the rights to the
painter, sculptor and filmmaker. He will discuss Borowczyk’s association
with Contemporary Films, and will be joined by Kathleen Wallfisch, Music
Supervisor for film and TV, to talk about the music of the film and how
it is arranged and presented on screen. This is part of the Contemporary Films season across London. Details here.
Time Out review: In this remarkable film, Walerian Borowczyk, through his commitment to ambiguity
(notably in his framing, which forever denies the foreground/background
opposition) and his belief in almost entomological observation,
transforms his 13th century characters - a foolish old Baron, an
overproud King, a lecherous page and a stupidly handsome lover, all of
whom are in love with and/or lust after the simple Blanche, the Baron's
young wife - into tragic figures caught up in a dance of death over
which they have no control. In exactly the same way, the castle and its
decor, photographed by Borowczyk as though it were living and its
inhabitants were mere dolls for the most part, is seen as the backdrop
to a happy fairytale, and at the same time as the root of all evil, as
rooms and bizarre machines are opened and set in motion.
This film is part of the Claude Chabrol season at BFI Southbank. The other screening of the film on September 26th is detailed here.
BFI Southbank introduction: When a young girl is found murdered in a small Breton coastal town,
suspicion falls on a local painter – a man of volatile temperament and
uncertain alibi – as the community begins to turn on itself. Fans of
Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt will recognise much here. However, Chabrol
is less interested in identifying the killer than in capturing the
poisonous social atmosphere that the crime unleashes: the rumour, the
prejudice and the quiet savagery of village life.
Rejoice! Screenings from prints are back at Everyman Screen where Michael Mann returns from September 25th to October 24th in a season dedicated to five unforgettable works from one of modern cinema's most influential filmmakers. This 35mm screening (also on October 4th) is part of a programme that includes Heat, Last of the Mohicans and Thief. Full details here.
Time Out review: Los Angeles cab-driver Max (Jamie Foxx) has a dream: to end a decade’s
drudgery, set up a limo-rental company, and find some time for himself
in the Maldives. And one evening, he realises his fare from LAX airport
could be his dream girl: Annie (Jada Pinkett Smith) is sexy, smart – a
prosecuting attorney, no less – and sassy enough to hand him her card
when he drops her downtown. He’s still reliving their conversation as
his next customer – the natty, needlessly provocative and patronising
Vincent (Tom Cruise) – starts trying, against regulations, to hire Max’s
chauffeuring skills for the whole night. The temptation of fast money
wins out, and while Max sits snacking outside the first of Vincent’s
stop-offs, the dream turns into a nightmare: his client’s on a killing
spree, needs transport, and isn’t about to let Max go off telling tales… If
it’s genre fare you want, there’s very little on offer better than this
taut, tight, bluesy urban noir. Right from Max and Annie’s opening
duet, it’s clear Mann’s happy on his home turf: the dialogue’s crafted
with as much imagination and expertise as the action scenes, while the
acting is excellent throughout (Mark Ruffalo, Peter Berg and Bruce McGill
also impress as cops tracking Vincent’s bloody trail, while Javier
Bardem has a nice cameo as the hitman’s employer). Some elements (as
when a check on the cab is dropped thanks to a timely call to the cops)
are contrived, but that comes with the territory; at least Mann’s close
attention to detail makes it all credible according to its own very
suspenseful plot logic and pacing. Along the way, he also provides
another existential riff on his favourite themes of professionalism,
pride, responsibility and the need to take active choices. In short,
this cool, clever, elegant piece of precision-engineering is as
intelligent, engrossing and exciting as you’d expect from the maker of
‘Thief’ and ‘Heat’. I loved it. Geoff Andrew Here (and above) is the trailer.
This 35mm presentation is part of the Claude Chabrol season at BFI Southbank. The other screenings of the film, introduced by season curator Catherine Wheatley, is on October 5th. Details here.
BFI Southbank introduction: A shy, somewhat passive young man falls into an all-consuming affair
with a woman he meets at his sister’s wedding. Unfortunately, she’s a
compulsive fantasist who will shortly ask him to prove his love in the
most extreme ways. A Ruth Rendell adaptation, this is a heady tale of
amour fatale, carried along by the charismatic performances of Magimel
and Smet.
This 35mm presentation also screens on September 25th at BFI Southbank. Details here.
Time Out review: Manhattan, the early '80s. Recent graduates from an upper crust college,
Alice (Chloe Sevigny) and Charlotte (Kate Beckinsale) - flatmates and friends of a
sort - pass their days working as trainee publishing editors, and most
of their nights discussing social niceties at a fashionable disco where
assistant manager Des (Eigeman) courts the boss's disfavour by admitting
the wrong kind of clientele. The girls hang out at the disco with a
preppy bunch of Harvard admen and lawyers; rumour, rivalry and
falling-out is rife and relationships are frequently at risk. The third
comedy of manners in Whit Stillman's loose trilogy about the 'doomed
bourgeois in love' again highlights the writer/director's expertise with
naturalistically articulate dialogue whose idioms, ironies and
absurdities provide vivid insights into the delusions, desires and often
ludicrous tribal rituals of the young, privileged and, mostly, pretty
ineffectual. Like Metropolitan and Barcelona, it's a
brittle, sporadically brilliant film, very funny but rooted in social,
political, historical and emotional realities. Beckinsale, especially,
is a revelation, making Charlotte smug, spiteful, sexy and, underneath,
rather sad, all with a spot-on accent. Geoff Andrew
This film, featuring an extended intro on queer Chabrol by academic Kit Francis Bradbury Rance, is part of the Claude Chabrol season at BFI Southbank. The other screening of the film on October 6th is detailed here.
Time Out review: When Catherine (Jacqueline Bisset) takes on Sophie (Sandrine Bonnaire) as housekeeper, her
family's impressed by Sophie's aura of quiet responsibility, even though
they're not convinced she knows how to serve dinner correctly. Snobbish
but liberal, they nevertheless treat her generously. Only when she
starts to consort with postmistress Jeanne (Isabelle Huppert), a gossip whom
husband Georges (Jean-Pierre Cassel) suspects of opening the family mail, do they
find real cause for complaint. But by then the women have a secret bond
which excludes them from the safe cosseted world of Sophie's employers.
Claude Chabrol's adaptation of Ruth Rendell's A Judgement in Stone
benefits from the director's immaculate sense of social and
psychological detail. The film's strong points are not mystery, suspense
or even surprise, but Chabrol's flair for characterisation, careful
pacing and solid evocation of bourgeois complacency and anti-bourgeois
hatred creates a palpable sense of unease that fully justifies the
shockingly violent finale. Ledoyen, the daughter of the household, is a
discovery; Bisset returns to form; and Huppert, unusually vivacious, is
terrific. Geoff Andrew
