Big screen classics

The timeless films we urge you to see.

Tickets for these screenings are only £8

August

L’Age d’or + intro by Professor Jo Evans, University College London

Luis Buñuel’s acerbically funny first feature sees a couple desperate to consummate their passion.
L’Age d’or

Luis Buñuel’s acerbically funny first feature sees a couple desperate to consummate their passion.
The Bitter Tea of General Yen + intro by film critic Pamela Hutchinson

In Frank Capra’s film, Barbara Stanwyck plays a missionary who’s rescued by a Chinese warlord.
The Bitter Tea of General Yen

In Frank Capra’s film, Barbara Stanwyck plays a missionary who’s rescued by a Chinese warlord.
La Vérité

Brigitte Bardot gives her greatest performance as an impulsive young woman in late-50s Paris.
Model Shop + intro by Sam Wigley, BFI News and Features Editor

A drifter becomes entranced by a woman he sees in a white limo and tries to track her down…
Model Shop

A drifter becomes entranced by a woman he sees in a white limo and tries to track her down…
Deep End

This tale of a young man’s crush on his swimming-bath colleague is funny, eccentric and touching.
Gregory’s Girl

Shy, clumsy Gregory moons over the only girl on the soccer team, but is she really the one for him?
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman

Ava Gardner plays Pandora, a nightclub singer who becomes intrigued by a mysterious yachtsman.
Sebastiane + intro by William Fowler, BFI National Archive Curator

Derek Jarman imagines the martyred Sebastian as a Roman soldier devoted to his mystical beliefs.
Sebastiane

Derek Jarman imagines the martyred Sebastian as a Roman soldier devoted to his mystical beliefs.
Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon

Derek Jacobi and Daniel Craig deliver terrific performances as the famous painter and his lover/muse.
In the Cut + intro by Anna Bogutskaya, Events Programmer

Meg Ryan plays a woman who falls for a cop investigating a murder, but can he be trusted?
In the Cut

Meg Ryan plays a woman who falls for a cop investigating a murder, but can he be trusted?
Brief Encounter

David Lean’s tale of stifled passion in a buttoned-up pre-WWII Britain remains one of cinema’s all-time classics.
The Touch

A happily married mother of two embarks on an impulsive affair with a neurotic friend of her husband’s.

September/October

Day for Night

François Truffaut’s ode to the business of shooting a movie.
Persona

A stunning, thought-provoking drama from the great Ingmar Bergman.
Persona + intro by Dr Claire Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Scandinavian Film at UCL

A stunning, thought-provoking drama from the great Ingmar Bergman.
Opening Night

John Cassavetes proffers a wonderfully witty, touching and insightful portrait of an actress.
Les Enfants du paradis

19th-century Parisian popular theatre provides a colourful gallery of characters, and heartbreak.
French Cancan

Marvel at Jean Renoir’s beautiful tribute to the Paris of his father.
French Cancan + intro

Marvel at Jean Renoir’s beautiful tribute to the Paris of his father.
Lust for Life

Kirk Douglas paints a vivid portrait of Van Gogh.
Caravaggio

Derek Jarman’s cinematic study of the famous artist boasts a fantastic cast.
F for Fake

Orson Welles’ brilliant essay film ponders questions of authorship.
F for Fake + intro by Geoff Andrew, Programmer-at-large

Orson Welles’ brilliant essay film ponders questions of authorship.
The Fountainhead

Gary Cooper is an architect who refuses to conform, in this engagingly strange slice of expressionist symbolism.
The Shining

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes…
Barton Fink

Writer’s block is no laughing matter. Tell that to the Coen brothers.
My Left Foot

Check this film off your must-see list and witness Day-Lewis’s extraordinary Oscar®-winning performance.
Bright Star

Jane Campion’s romantic and delicate biopic of the poet John Keats.
Bright Star + intro by Nikki Baughan, film journalist and contributing editor, Screen International

Jane Campion’s romantic and delicate biopic of the poet John Keats.
Adaptation.

Nicolas Cage and Nicolas Cage star in this film about the tortuous creative journey.
Babette’s Feast

A magical film about lost opportunities and the power of the senses.
Les Demoiselles de Rochefort

Jacques Demy’s energetic, colourful and witty tribute to the Hollywood dance musical.
Les Demoiselles de Rochefort + intro by Geoff Andrew, Programmer-at-large

Jacques Demy’s energetic, colourful and witty tribute to the Hollywood dance musical.