Last Friday we had a fantastic launch of our year at the Eldon Building with a sell-out showing of Moon - many thanks to the fabulous University of Portsmouth panellists who made it a real event. We now enter our first full week of screenings (by which we mean two, every Thursday and Friday, so keep your diaries free those nights) with cinema delights old and new. To celebrate Black History Month, we have the classic In The Heat Of The Night on Thursday 16th October, and our commitment to the best of current cinema continues with The Penguin Lessons on Friday 17th.
Since we’re still bedding in the arrangements at our new home, we feel it’s important to say that:
- With 80 seats available, it’s best to book online if you can, but we will keep around 15 tickets available for buying on the door for each film, first come first served.
- We’re currently not punching loyalty cards until we return to the Boathouse, but if you have a full card do feel free to use it if you wish.
- As we’re not running the café/bar while at the University, our only source of income to keep the cinema running is ticket sales, so please come along as often as you can and tell all your friends as well!
Here is this week’s timetable. The Eldon Cafe opens at 6pm for the 7pm screenings.
In The Heat of the Night
Thursday 16th October at 7pm
In 1967, In the Heat of the Night had all the ingredients for an obvious Oscar winner; a plot bursting with contemporary relevance, Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger and the unsung genius of Warren Oates, fast paced direction from Norman Jewison, atmospheric Haskell Wexler cinematography (about to produce his own ‘relevant’ masterpiece Medium Cool) and a terrific Quincy Jones score. Poitier stands in for the entire civil rights movement, insisting on an unscripted response in kind when the plantation owner slaps him, while Steiger methods it up in support. Interestingly, some of the Southern location shooting had to be done in Illinois because of problems with the authorities in Mississippi, art imitating life perfectly. Completely unmissable, if you haven’t seen it, what are you waiting for?
The Penguin Lessons
Friday 17th October at 7pm
The Penguin Lessons features a great performance from Steve Coogan as Tom Michell, a teacher who travels to Argentina in 1976 to teach in a boys’ boarding school. Peter Cattaneo’s film skilfully weaves between this notorious period in Argentine history (it was the time of Los Desaparecidos - ‘The Disappeared’) and the personal story of Tom’s concern for penguins affected by an oil slick, which results in his smuggling one back to his home. No, it’s not a remake of Mr Popper’s Penguins, here the bird serves as the conduit for the resolution of complex family relationships. A touching comedy-drama that is striking a chord with audiences, and impossible not to single out Coogan’s nuanced performance for special attention.
Up Next Week:
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Surfer
Coming Soon:
Following the sad news of Robert Redford’s death, on Thursday 23rd October we’ll be presenting a fitting tribute with a screening of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid which, after all, gave a name to the film festival that will probably endure as his greatest legacy. And with Halloween coming up soon, we have a one-two punch of horrors lined up for October 30th and 31st guaranteed to get your cauldron bubbling over.
