Death Watch (Tavernier, 1979): BFI Southbank, NFT2, 5.50 and 8.20pm
This film is on an extended run at BFI Southbank from 4-14 June. Details here.
Little White Lies magazine review:
'This fascinating and flawed fifth feature from Bertrand Tavernier combines ’80s class-war politics and media exploitation with an homage to such kitchen sink sci-fi as Godard’s Alphaville and Truffaut’s Fahrenheit 451. Set in a semi-dilapidated Glasgow of the future, well-to-do author
Katherine Mortenhoe (the always- scintillating Romy Schneider) is
selected as a patsy by an ethically unscrupulous TV network to star in
their hit reality series, Death Watch. In this proposed future, all diseases have been cured and so the
(predominantly bourgeois) viewing public have become numbed to the
experience of watching someone die. With a video camera surgically
implanted into his left eye, ace investigative reporter Roddy (Harvey
Keitel) wheedles his way into Katherine’s life after she’s been
diagnosed with some spurious, life-threatening illness and, at the wont
of his sleazy paymaster, Vincent (Harry Dean Stanton), keeps the camera
rolling. While it’s easy to draw parallels between Death Watch
and the largely execrable deluge of reality TV that fugs up our dials,
this presents a more flagrantly voyeuristic take on the phenomenon.
Tavernier and writer David Rayfiel (adapting DG Compton’s 1973 novel,
‘The Unsleeping Eye’) are interested in the willingness of cultural
elites to abuse and disavow the taboo of death for their own ill-gotten
gains. It’s a metaphor that Tavernier cleverly stretches to both the police
and government as the grubby Glasgow he depicts is rife with fear,
crime, poverty and death.'
David Jenkins
Here is the trailer.
Capital Celluloid 2012 - Day 164: Tue June 12
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Mamoulian, 1931): BFI Southbank, NFT2, 6.10pm
This film is part of the Passport to Cinema season, will be introduced by Julian Petley and include a screening of the short 2001 version of the story directed by Paul Bush. Details here.
I finally got to see this film last year and was struck by its extraordinary opening, a virtuoso sequence in which the camera represents what Dr Jekyll witnesses and only "sees" the central character when he looks into a mirror. It is the best version of the story committed to celluloid and well worth seeking out.
Chicago Reader review:
'Directed by Rouben Mamoulian, this 1932 screen adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic is a remarkable achievement that deserves to be much better known. Fredric March won a well-deserved Oscar for his performance as the lead, and Miriam Hopkins and Rose Hobart play the two women who match the opposite sides of the hero's nature. The transformations of Jekyll are a notable achievement for March and Mamoulian alike, and the disturbing undercurrents of the story are given their full due (as they weren't in the much inferior 1941 Victor Fleming version with Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, and Lana Turner). Mamoulian was at his peak in the early 30s, as this film shows.'
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Here is an excerpt from the film.
Capital Celluloid 2012 - Day 163: Mon June 11
The Parallax View (Pakula, 1974): BFI Southbank, NFT1, 9pm
This film, part of the Warren Beatty season, is also screening on June 5 at 6.30pm. Details here.
Time Out review:
'A thriller about a journalist, alerted to the mysterious deaths of witnesses to the assassination of a presidential candidate, who embarks on an investigation that reveals a nebulous conspiracy of gigantic and all-embracing scope. It sounds familiar, and refers to or overlaps a good handful of similar films, but is most relevantly tied to Klute. Where Klute was an exploration of claustrophobic anxiety, The Parallax View is inexorably agoraphobic. Its visual organisation is stunning as the journalist (Beatty) is drawn into an increasingly nightmarish world characterised by impenetrably opaque structures, a screen whited out from time to time, or meshed over with visually deceptive patterns. It is some indication of the area the film explores that in place of the self-revealing session with the analyst in Klute, The Parallax View presents us with the more insecurity-inducing questionnaire used by the mysterious Parallax Corporation for personality-testing prospective employees. Excellent performances; fascinating film.' Verina Glaessner
Here's an introduction to the film by director Alex Cox on the BBC series Moviedrome.
This film, part of the Warren Beatty season, is also screening on June 5 at 6.30pm. Details here.
Time Out review:
'A thriller about a journalist, alerted to the mysterious deaths of witnesses to the assassination of a presidential candidate, who embarks on an investigation that reveals a nebulous conspiracy of gigantic and all-embracing scope. It sounds familiar, and refers to or overlaps a good handful of similar films, but is most relevantly tied to Klute. Where Klute was an exploration of claustrophobic anxiety, The Parallax View is inexorably agoraphobic. Its visual organisation is stunning as the journalist (Beatty) is drawn into an increasingly nightmarish world characterised by impenetrably opaque structures, a screen whited out from time to time, or meshed over with visually deceptive patterns. It is some indication of the area the film explores that in place of the self-revealing session with the analyst in Klute, The Parallax View presents us with the more insecurity-inducing questionnaire used by the mysterious Parallax Corporation for personality-testing prospective employees. Excellent performances; fascinating film.' Verina Glaessner
Here's an introduction to the film by director Alex Cox on the BBC series Moviedrome.
Capital Celluloid 2012 - Day 162: Sun June 10
Le Cercle Rouge (Melville, 1970): Cine Lumiere, 2pm
Chicago Reader review:
'Jean-Pierre Melville's austere heist film, made in 1970, was his next to last; it opens with a Buddhist aphorism about fate binding two men to meet again, and ends with a police chief pronouncing all men ultimately guilty. Two prisoners return to society—Corey (Alain Delon) has served his sentence and is released, while Vogel (Gian Maria Volonte) escapes from a speeding train. They team up with a sharpshooting ex-cop to mount an exquisite jewel theft. Melville renders the taciturn crooks and corrupt inspectors with the nocturnal blue palette that is his signature. Key action points are edited with finesse, but the denouement, with its dutiful hail of gunfire, is heartless and mechanical. '
Bill Stamets
Here is a flavour of the movie.
Chicago Reader review:
'Jean-Pierre Melville's austere heist film, made in 1970, was his next to last; it opens with a Buddhist aphorism about fate binding two men to meet again, and ends with a police chief pronouncing all men ultimately guilty. Two prisoners return to society—Corey (Alain Delon) has served his sentence and is released, while Vogel (Gian Maria Volonte) escapes from a speeding train. They team up with a sharpshooting ex-cop to mount an exquisite jewel theft. Melville renders the taciturn crooks and corrupt inspectors with the nocturnal blue palette that is his signature. Key action points are edited with finesse, but the denouement, with its dutiful hail of gunfire, is heartless and mechanical. '
Bill Stamets
Here is a flavour of the movie.
Capital Celluloid 2012 - Day 161: Sat June 9
The Brothers Quay short films: Deptford Film Club at St Nicholas Church, Deptford Green, 1-5pm
The Deptford Film Club pop-up cinema are at the local church this time - in the crypt. Read on for their introduction to the afternoon's unsettling entertainment:
St Nicholas’ Church’s family community festival is on Saturday June 9! Lovely cream teas, bouncy castles, face painting and fun for all the family. But all is not well: wander down into the subterranean crypt and you’ll find some real freaky stuff.
Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, for the short films of the Brothers Quay – stop-motion animators extraordinaire. Over four hours from 1pm to 5pm, witness a series of fascinating and deeply unsettling films that feel like half-remembered dreams and long-suppressed childhood memories. Dialogue-free and usually non-narrative experience, these films rivet the attention through hypnotic control of décor, music and movement.
If you watch them all you’ll make yourself ill, so do feel free to see a couple, escape for a cuppa, and then come back for more. We won’t be offended.
“Thirteen Kafkaesque pieces of puppetry that defy all categorisation, comprehension or reason. Unsettling, baffling and darkly brilliant.” FILM 4
“A grasp of the uncanny that rivals Luis Buñuel and Lewis Carroll” BFI
“It’s probably not a good idea to watch [this] if you are feeling even slightly on edge. Actually, you may not want to watch it if you are feeling happy. But you should certainly watch it.” ELECTRIC SHEEP
“For the sake of your sanity, don’t watch them all in one go.” DIGITAL FIX
You can sample one of the short films here.
The Deptford Film Club pop-up cinema are at the local church this time - in the crypt. Read on for their introduction to the afternoon's unsettling entertainment:
St Nicholas’ Church’s family community festival is on Saturday June 9! Lovely cream teas, bouncy castles, face painting and fun for all the family. But all is not well: wander down into the subterranean crypt and you’ll find some real freaky stuff.
Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, for the short films of the Brothers Quay – stop-motion animators extraordinaire. Over four hours from 1pm to 5pm, witness a series of fascinating and deeply unsettling films that feel like half-remembered dreams and long-suppressed childhood memories. Dialogue-free and usually non-narrative experience, these films rivet the attention through hypnotic control of décor, music and movement.
If you watch them all you’ll make yourself ill, so do feel free to see a couple, escape for a cuppa, and then come back for more. We won’t be offended.
“Thirteen Kafkaesque pieces of puppetry that defy all categorisation, comprehension or reason. Unsettling, baffling and darkly brilliant.” FILM 4
“A grasp of the uncanny that rivals Luis Buñuel and Lewis Carroll” BFI
“It’s probably not a good idea to watch [this] if you are feeling even slightly on edge. Actually, you may not want to watch it if you are feeling happy. But you should certainly watch it.” ELECTRIC SHEEP
“For the sake of your sanity, don’t watch them all in one go.” DIGITAL FIX
You can sample one of the short films here.
Capital Celluloid 2012 - Day 160: Fri June 8
Nil By Mouth (Oldman, 1997): Museum of London Docklands, West India Quay, 7pm
The Museum of London Docklands has a cinema club screening on the first Friday of each month. This month's is Gary Oldman's harrowing directorial debut.
Time out review:
'The actor Gary Oldman's debut as writer/director is so uncompromisingly honest, it makes other portraits of working-class life look like sour caricature or misplaced idealism. Oldman grew up in south east London, the setting for this tale of macho violence, drunkenness, drug addiction and petty crime, and very clearly knows what he's talking about. He's helped, of course, by stunning performances from his entire cast, most notably Winstone as the volatile but self-pitying Ray, given to beating up his long-suffering wife (Burke) and threatening her irresponsible junkie brother (Creed-Miles). There's no sermonising or romanticising here, just a sad, clear-eyed acknowledgement that domestic abuse and crime create a vicious circle from which many barely even try to escape. Shot and scripted in a deceptively casual, bleakly 'realist' style, it's the closest Britain has produced to a Cassavetes film, and as such, profoundly humane.' Geoff Andrew
Here is the trailer.
The Museum of London Docklands has a cinema club screening on the first Friday of each month. This month's is Gary Oldman's harrowing directorial debut.
Time out review:
'The actor Gary Oldman's debut as writer/director is so uncompromisingly honest, it makes other portraits of working-class life look like sour caricature or misplaced idealism. Oldman grew up in south east London, the setting for this tale of macho violence, drunkenness, drug addiction and petty crime, and very clearly knows what he's talking about. He's helped, of course, by stunning performances from his entire cast, most notably Winstone as the volatile but self-pitying Ray, given to beating up his long-suffering wife (Burke) and threatening her irresponsible junkie brother (Creed-Miles). There's no sermonising or romanticising here, just a sad, clear-eyed acknowledgement that domestic abuse and crime create a vicious circle from which many barely even try to escape. Shot and scripted in a deceptively casual, bleakly 'realist' style, it's the closest Britain has produced to a Cassavetes film, and as such, profoundly humane.' Geoff Andrew
Here is the trailer.
Capital Celluloid 2012 - Day 159: Thu June 7
Sparrows Can't Sing (Littlewood, 1963): Sugarhouse Studios, 107 High St, Stratford, 7pm
This screening of the legendary Joan Littlewood film will be followed by a Q&A with a surprise guest
Here is the Sugarhouse Studios film club's introduction to the evening: Sparrows Can’t Sing is based on the play of the same name set against the fast-changing backdrop of London’s East End, as post-war deprivation gave way to major urban development. Ostensibly a romantic comedy, as national treasure Barbara Windsor tries to dodge her husband who’s back on leave from national service, the story was developed through workshops at left-wing Stratford East’s Joan Littlewood Theatre, a Socialist-based theatre which set the standard for new playwrights tackling working class issues.
Here is Barbara Windsor singing the theme tune.
This screening of the legendary Joan Littlewood film will be followed by a Q&A with a surprise guest
Here is the Sugarhouse Studios film club's introduction to the evening: Sparrows Can’t Sing is based on the play of the same name set against the fast-changing backdrop of London’s East End, as post-war deprivation gave way to major urban development. Ostensibly a romantic comedy, as national treasure Barbara Windsor tries to dodge her husband who’s back on leave from national service, the story was developed through workshops at left-wing Stratford East’s Joan Littlewood Theatre, a Socialist-based theatre which set the standard for new playwrights tackling working class issues.
Here is Barbara Windsor singing the theme tune.
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