Big screen classics

A collection of the best the big screen has to offer.

Tickets for these screenings are only £8

September-October

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Holmes and Watson, and an atmospheric foray into darkest Dartmoor.
Double Indemnity

Billy Wilder’s noir-thriller stars Stanwyck and MacMurray as illicit lovers tempted to commit murder.
Double Indemnity + intro by Lucy Bolton, Queen Mary University of London

Billy Wilder’s noir-thriller stars Stanwyck and MacMurray as illicit lovers tempted to commit murder.
Philosophical Screens: Temptation and Coincidence in Double Indemnity

Our regular series, which explores cinema through a philosophical lens, returns to considering the film’s themes of theological temptation, accidents and coincidence.
Laura

Otto Preminger’s gleefully perverse murder mystery is packed with surprises and memorable performances.
Laura + pre-recorded intro by Geoff Andrew, Programmer-at-Large

Otto Preminger’s gleefully perverse murder mystery is packed with surprises and memorable performances.
The Big Sleep

Bogie and Bacall are electrifying in Howard Hawks’ witty version of Chandler’s classic crime novel.
The Stranger

In Welles’ bravura thriller, a war-crimes investigator is convinced a quiet New England town harbours a former Nazi official.
The Stranger + pre-recorded intro by film critic Farran Smith Nehme

In Welles’ bravura thriller, a war-crimes investigator is convinced a quiet New England town harbours a former Nazi official.
Cry of the City

This virtuoso cat-and-mouse thriller follows a New York cop’s efforts to nail a ruthless gangster.
Call Northside 777

Neo-realism Hollywood-style, as James Stewart’s cynical journalist covers a woman’s campaign to prove her son’s innocence.
The Third Man

What happened to Harry Lime in postwar Vienna? Re-live the investigation all over again.
The Undercover Man

A superior thriller by B-movie maestro Joseph H Lewis.
Detective Story

Twenty-four hours at a busy New York police station, with Kirk Douglas as a cop at the end of his tether.
The Big Heat

Fritz Lang’s steely study of a cop succumbing to vengefulness after an investigation takes its toll on his family.
The Big Heat + intro by Simran Hans, writer and film critic for The Observer

Fritz Lang’s steely study of a cop succumbing to vengefulness after an investigation takes its toll on his family.
Rear Window

James Stewart’s photojournalist suspects his neighbours of murder in Hitchcock’s much-loved classic.
Rear Window + pre-recorded intro by Geoff Andrew, Programmer-at-Large

James Stewart’s photojournalist suspects his neighbours of murder in Hitchcock’s much-loved classic.

October-November

House of Bamboo

This racy, pacy thriller sees an undercover agent infiltrating an American-led gang of racketeers in postwar Japan.
Kiss Me Deadly

A brutish private eye investigates the murder of a mysterious woman.
The Manchurian Candidate

Suspense and satire mingle in this prescient tale of brainwashing and political conspiracy.
Dirty Harry

Eastwood excels as cop Harry Callahan, who resorts to problematic methods in his hunt for a serial killer.
Dirty Harry + pre-recorded intro by film scholar Hannah Hamad, Cardiff University

Eastwood excels as cop Harry Callahan, who resorts to problematic methods in his hunt for a serial killer.
Shaft

Shaft investigates a Harlem racketeer, while simultaneously searching for the man’s kidnapped daughter.
Un Flic

Melville’s final movie is a moody meditation on professionalism, friendship and betrayal.
Un Flic + pre-recorded introduction by film critic Christina Newland

Melville’s final movie is a moody meditation on professionalism, friendship and betrayal.
The Long Goodbye

Altman’s updating of Raymond Chandler’s detective novel to 70s LA makes for one of his greatest movies.
The Long Goodbye + intro by Geoff Andrew, Programmer-at-Large

Altman’s updating of Raymond Chandler’s detective novel to 70s LA makes for one of his greatest movies.
Chinatown

A rich, resonant account of greed, corruption and worse in mid-30s LA.
Murder on the Orient Express

Sidney Lumet’s lavish adaptation of this Poirot mystery boasts an extraordinarily starry cast.
Illustrious Corpses

Lina Ventura excels as a cop investigating the murders of prominent judges.
Blue Velvet

David Lynch’s supremely imaginative blend of neo-noir mystery and near-surreal fairy tale.
Devil in a Blue Dress

This stylish adaptation of Walter Mosley’s thriller has memorably fine performances by Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle.
Devil in a Blue Dress + intro by Empire Magazine Contributing Editor Amon Warmann

This stylish adaptation of Walter Mosley’s thriller has memorably fine performances by Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle.
The Silence of the Lambs

Jodie Foster stars as an FBI agent who enlists the help of a killer (Hopkins) to catch a killer.
The Silence of the Lambs + pre-recorded intro by Professor Yvonne Tasker, author of The Silence of the Lambs: BFI Film Classics

Jodie Foster stars as an FBI agent who enlists the help of a killer (Hopkins) to catch a killer.
Heat

Pacino and De Niro excel as a cop and criminal engaged in a contest of wills in Michael Mann’s magnificent crime saga.
In the Cut

A New York lecturer becomes (dangerously?) involved with a cop investigating a local murder.
Inside Man

Spike Lee’s heist thriller has a stellar cast including Washington, Owen, Foster and Plummer.
No Country for Old Men

The Coens’ dark but dazzlingly brilliant film is a tale of greed, cruelty and deadly violence.
No Country for Old Men + intro by Geoff Andrew, Programmer-at-Large

The Coens’ dark but dazzlingly brilliant film is a tale of greed, cruelty and deadly violence.
Zero Dark Thirty

Kathryn Bigelow’s compelling and controversial account of the CIA’s lengthy search for Osama bin Laden.

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Big screen classics

September-October

October-November

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25 & under

BFI Southbank Guide