Any cinephile will tell you that you can categorise film history as ‘before’ and ‘after’ Apocalypse Now. One of the greatest films ever made, it was widely reviled on release, a response largely attributable to the torturous and destructive process of its production. If, as film theorist Andre Bazin claimed, the history of cinema was an ontological drive towards ever increasing realism, Coppola’s film took that quest to its limits and beyond. One consequence, from Star Wars to the present day, was a reactive retreat into the fantastic. And yet, as Apocalypse Now clearly shows, the truly fantastical often sits directly adjacent to the grittily realistic. You must come and see this masterpiece for any idea of what we’re rambling on about!
Here is this week’s timetable. Bar opens at 6.15pm for the 7pm screenings - except for Apocalypse Now, which 182 minutes long, so the bar will open at 5.45pm and the film itself will commence promptly at 6.30pm.
The Origin of Evil
Thursday 18th April at 7pm
A French and Canadian thriller written and directed by Sebastian Marnier, and referencing but not based on his own family, The Origin of Evilhas a touch of Ripley in its plot. Con-woman Nathalie (Laure Calamy) infiltrates the family of a wealthy patriarch who has never met the biological daughter whose identity she has assumed. Noting the film’s satirical intent, Screen Daily states that it ‘takes us beyond surface appearances to reveal the hidden agendas at play.’ The sly humour has also prompted favourable comparisons with the successful Knives Out films. In French with English subtitles.
No.6’s Greatest Films of All Time: Apocalypse Now
Friday 19th April at 6.30pm
Iconography a go-go is rampant in this month's selection for No.6’s Greatest Films of All Times: Apocalypse Now. Need we do more than mention a few: a rotating fan dissolving to oncoming helicopters, the Ride of the Valkyries, Robert Duvall loving the smell of napalm in the morning, and of course Brando’s scenes as Colonel Kurtz. Apocalypse Now took the New Realism of the 70s to its apogee, what with the destruction wrought upon the landscape, Martin Sheen’s heart attack, and the most manic obsessiveness about documenting a hallucinatory river journey this side of Herzog. Showing in its full three-hour glory.
Please Note: Due to its length, Apocalypse Now will begin at 6.30pm sharp, so please be in your seats by that time. The bar will open slightly earlier than normal, at 5.45pm.
Perfect Days
Saturday 20th April at 4pm
A matinee showing for Wim Wenders’ superb Perfect Days. Surely destined to be considered a masterpiece, the film follows the daily routine of Hirayama (Koji Yakusho), a toilet cleaner in an affluent area of Tokyo, in this gentle and quietly poignant drama that defines a new peak in understatement. Shot in beautiful black and white, and in the classic 4:3 aspect ratio, the details of Hirayama’s life unfold in meticulous and poetic detail. Great Wenderian (if that’s a word) soundtrack too, featuring Lou Reed’s title track, Patti Smith, The Velvet Underground and Nina Simone to stunning effect. In Japanese with English subtitles.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Saturday 20th April at 7pm
In the fifth film of the franchise, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire offers, as in 2021’s Afterlife, the classic trope of the modern day ghost-busting team (Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon etc.), together with the classic originals ((Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd et al.). Unsurprisingly one the highest grossing films of 2024 so far, Frozen Empire conjures up nostalgia filled fun for those 80s family adventure epics of which the original Ghostbusters was such a prominent example. The Chicago Sun-Times comments that it has ‘the endearingly goofy, science nerd spirit of the first film’ along with ‘slimy ghost stuff, sharp one-liners and terrific FX.’