In May, we pay tribute to the celebrated American author, Patricia Highsmith, with a double helping of related works. First on Thursday 4th May, we are screening Eva Vitija’s documentary Loving Highsmith. Based on her notebooks and diaries, the film focuses on Highsmith’s quest for love and troubled identity, while shedding new light on her life and work. Anyone who has seen the complexities of character in The Talented Mr Ripley will see the connections between life and work.
Following that on Saturday 13th, we present Strangers on a Train in which Hitchcock, with the help of a Raymond Chandler screenplay, turns the suspense in Highsmith’s novel up to the max in this tortured tale of dodgy carousels, a lost lighter, bad tennis and even worse morals.
And as always, the bar opens at 6.15pm in time for the 7pm screenings.
No. 6 has been trailing Who Framed Roger Rabbit? during the last couple of newsletters and we’re so pleased that the date (this Thursday) has finally arrived! Animation, comedy and film noir blend in Robert Zemeckis’ 1988 ground-breaking hybrid, as Bob Hoskins’ gumshoe investigates the titular Roger and his wife Jessica, the twist being that they are both literal cartoon characters who reside in Toontown, the animated analogue of Hollywood. As part of our Drawn to the Screen series, we’re pleased to have the film introduced by Hampshire-based cartoonist and illustrator Russ OIson.
It’s easy to take for granted the world of hyperbolic saturation advertising and global ‘launches’ that we live with, but it was Nike’s partnership with basketball phenomenon Michael Jordan that started it all when they launched Air Jordans in the 1980s. On Friday, we're showing director Ben Affleck’s depiction of the events leading to this epochal partnership in Air, starring Affleck himself, Matt Damon and Jason Bateman in this compelling sports drama.
Our Young Programmers choice for is Pulp Fiction, showing Saturday. Vincent and Mia dancing at Jackrabbit Slims; the lurid, yet strangely hilarious, encounter with Zed and the Gimp; Walken’s Gold Watch interlude; Winston Wolf’s clean-up operation and what starts as a peaceful breakfast for the Honeybunnys at the diner – we know you know each and every scene, but do yourself a huge favour and come and see them the way they were meant to be seen, you’ll be glad you did.
Coming Soon...
If the mod, ska and Two-Tone scenes we’ve showcased in recent weeks were not to your taste, how about going back still further, to the heyday of Rock ‘n’ Roll, with Little Richard: I Am Everything. Directed by Lisa Cortes, this documentary covers the chameleonic character of the rock n roll icon – from man of God to gay icon to ultimate showman - and forces reflection on what this multifaceted perspective actually tells us about an era we’re so familiar with, and not least makes for an interesting comparison with the recent Elvis movie.
