Big screen classics
The timeless films we urge you to see.
Tickets for these screenings are only £8
January
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The Women
A marvellous all-female cast animates Cukor’s evergreen film about women voicing their opinions on men.
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Husbands
Cassavetes’ warts-and-all portrait follows three middle-aged New Yorkers on a boozy binge to London.
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Smiles of a Summer Night + intro by Geoff Andrew, Programmer-at-large
Bergman’s sparkling comedy of marital manners takes place over an illuminating country-house weekend.
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Smiles of a Summer Night
Bergman’s sparkling comedy of marital manners takes place over an illuminating country-house weekend.
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To Sleep with Anger
Charles Burnett’s classic fable reveals tensions between tradition and modernity when a family is visited by an old friend.
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To Sleep with Anger + intro by BFI programmer David Somerset
Charles Burnett’s classic fable reveals tensions between tradition and modernity when a family is visited by an old friend.
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12 Angry Men
Henry Fonda heads a charismatic cast in Lumet’s landmark drama about conflict between jurors in a murder trial.
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Touchez pas au grisbi
Jean Gabin excels as an ageing Parisian gangster planning one last job.
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The Asphalt Jungle + intro by Dr Lucy Bolton, Queen Mary University of London
John Huston’s hugely influential heist movie charts the demise of a gang of thieves with a clear-eyed precision.
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The Asphalt Jungle
John Huston’s hugely influential heist movie charts the demise of a gang of thieves with a clear-eyed precision.
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Johnny Guitar
Nicholas Ray’s feminist/Freudian/Marxist western portrays deadly rivalries with a vivid, almost hallucinatory intensity.
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Rio Bravo + intro by Geoff Andrew, Programmer-at-large
John Wayne and Dean Martin star in this warm and witty western from Howard Hawks.
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Rio Bravo
John Wayne and Dean Martin star in this warm and witty western from Howard Hawks.
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Army of Shadows
Jean-Pierre Melville’s masterpiece is a profoundly personal tribute to the French Resistance, stylistically reminiscent of his gangster movies.
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Day for Night
Truffaut’s touching and funny love-letter to the world of filmmaking.
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Freaks
Tod Browning’s subversive but tender fable of exploitation, trickery and revenge in a travelling carnival.
February
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King Kong
This classic 1930s monster-movie is still huge fun on the big screen.
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The African Queen
Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart must take to the river and set differences aside to escape German troops at the outbreak of WWI.
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The African Queen + intro by script supervisor, Angela Allen
Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart must take to the river and set differences aside to escape German troops at the outbreak of WWI.
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Fitzcarraldo
Werner Herzog’s tale of a man’s compulsion to set up an opera house in the jungle is a testament to the human spirit.
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South, Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Glorious Epic of the Antarctic
Don’t miss this fascinating film, which includes extraordinary real footage of Shackleton’s 1914-1916 Antarctic expedition.
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South, Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Glorious Epic of the Antarctic + intro by Bryony Dixon, BFI National Archive Curator
Don’t miss this fascinating film, which includes extraordinary real footage of Shackleton’s 1914-1916 Antarctic expedition.
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Gerry
Matt Damon and Casey Affleck play two young men called Gerry who find themselves stranded in the wilderness.
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Walkabout
Nicolas Roeg’s stunningly shot film focuses on a journey of survival and self-discovery.
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Koyaanisqatsi
Philip Glass’s music complements this thrilling visual adventure through different landscapes and man-made environments.
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Koyaanisqatsi + intro by film programmer and writer Sophie Brown
Philip Glass’s music complements this thrilling visual adventure through different landscapes and man-made environments.
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The Gold Rush
Charlie Chaplin writes, directs, stars in and scores this comic tale set in snowy north-west Canada.
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The Gold Rush + intro by film historian and academic Professor Ian Christie
Charlie Chaplin writes, directs, stars in and scores this comic tale set in snowy north-west Canada.
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The Jungle Book
A delight for all the family, this classic Kipling tale is wonderfully told with real animals and plenty of adventure.
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The Flight of the Phoenix
With a great ensemble cast and a nail-biting finale, this film will have you on the edge of your seat.
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Lord of the Flies
What happens when a group of young boys are stranded on an isolated island?
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The Wages of Fear
Four desperados take on a suicidal mission to drive two trucks full of nitroglycerine across perilous roads.
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Waiting for Happiness
Abderrahmane Sissako’s thoughtful film considers lives lived on the periphery of change.
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Waiting for Happiness + intro by June Givanni, June Givanni Pan African Cinema Archive
Abderrahmane Sissako’s thoughtful film considers lives lived on the periphery of change.
March
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Jaws
Amity Island chooses to ignore the threat from a great white shark, until it’s too late…
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Jaws + intro by Justin Johnson, BFI Lead Programmer
Amity Island chooses to ignore the threat from a great white shark, until it’s too late…
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Lawrence of Arabia (70mm)
Lean’s Oscar-winning epic deserves to be seen in 70mm, as it was intended.
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The Shining
All work and no play… means you’ll miss this masterpiece on the big screen.
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Deliverance
From duelling banjos to the wild outdoors, four friends take a trip they’ll never forget.
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The Wind
Lillian Gish must confront a physical and emotional windstorm when she arrives in Texas.
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The Wind + intro by film writer Pamela Hutchinson
Lillian Gish must confront a physical and emotional windstorm when she arrives in Texas.
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Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
The film that launched Studio Ghibli has a strong message and a heart-warming story.
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A Zed & Two Noughts
Peter Greenaway’s astonishing study of birth, death and decay is a work of beauty.
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A Zed & Two Noughts + intro by Justin Johnson, Lead Programmer
Peter Greenaway’s astonishing study of birth, death and decay is a work of beauty.
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Stromboli
A volcanic island proves to be an inhospitable environment for a newly married woman.
Calendar
Our two secondary entrances are now closed. Access to BFI Southbank will be through the Riverfront and Theatre Avenue entrances.
25 & under
If you're aged 16 to 25, you can get £3 cinema tickets at BFI Southbank to any film, any time.
BFI Southbank Guide
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March 2020 Guide
March 2020 Guide calendar
February 2020 Guide
February 2020 Guide calendar