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Big screen classics
The timeless films we urge you to see.
January
Singers on Screen
Some of the finest films featuring major singing artists in leading and supporting acting roles.
Videodrome
James Woods and Debbie Harry star in David Cronenberg’s mind-melting sci-fi about media domination.
The Man Who Fell to Earth
A suitably other-worldly David Bowie stars as a visitor to Earth in Nic Roeg’s stylish, cautionary sci-fi that explores the perils of consumerism.
Rio Bravo
Hawks’ magisterial chamber western is a leisurely, seriocomic study of group dynamics, professionalism and (self-)respect.
Jailhouse Rock
Presley is imprisoned but at his charismatic best in this classic 1950s musical.
Jailhouse Rock + intro by Adrian Wootton, Chief Executive, Film London and British Film Commission
Presley is imprisoned but at his charismatic best in this classic 1950s musical.
From Here to Eternity
Fred Zinnemann directs a potent adaptation of James Jones’s pre-Pearl Harbor barrack-room saga.
From Here to Eternity + intro by Foster Hirsch, author of Hollywood and The Movies of the Fifties
Fred Zinnemann directs a potent adaptation of James Jones’s pre-Pearl Harbor barrack-room saga.
The Way We Were
Streisand and Redford star in a timeless romantic drama chronicling a love affair across decades.
The Way We Were + intro by academic Julie Lobalzo Wright
Streisand and Redford star in a timeless romantic drama chronicling a love affair across decades.
Desperately Seeking Susan
Two worlds collide in Susan Seidelman’s feminist comedy-drama as Rosanna Arquette’s bored housewife makes a life-changing decision that brings her into contact with Madonna’s carefree spirit.
The Blues Brothers
In John Landis’s beloved musical-comedy crime caper, Belushi and Ackroyd’s Jake and Elwood Blues set out, ‘on a mission from God’, to reunite their band.
Moonlight
A rapturous Oscar-winning drama about a young man coming to terms with the world, across three pivotal periods in his life.
Moonlight + intro by freelance writer and film programmer Rógan Graham
A rapturous Oscar-winning drama about a young man coming to terms with the world, across three pivotal periods in his life.
New Jack City
Crack cocaine is destroying New York and an NYPD detective goes undercover to bring down a notorious Harlem drug lord.
8 Mile
Eminem’s semi-autobiographical tells the story of a Detroit rapper’s attempts to break free from his life.
The Wizard of Oz
A glorious celebration of the power of cinema and our collective imagination, replete with witches, munchkins and a cadre of flying monkeys.
The Wizard of Oz + intro by culture writer Kemi Alemoru
A glorious celebration of the power of cinema and our collective imagination, replete with witches, munchkins and a cadre of flying monkeys.
Boyz N the Hood
Hard-hitting and direct, John Singleton’s breathtakingly confident debut is a 90s classic and as relevant today as it ever was.
Additional screening
Seven Samurai
Rice farmers hire a band of samurai to defend them against marauding bandits in Akira Kurosawa’s influential epic, showing here in a digital 4K restoration.
February / March
Cinematic Homes
Take a cinematic journey through a variety of homes – from small city flats and holiday villas to grand mansions and decorative châteaux. Some of these living spaces become catalysts for change in protagonists’ lives, terrifying prisons or refuges for forbidden feelings. Others are settings for mysterious happenings or critiques of societies and the human condition. Sometimes they become symbols of loneliness, decay or hope for a better future. However, every residence in this programme plays an intrinsic part in each unfolding drama.
Bed and Sofa
A masterpiece of early Soviet cinema, a daring exploration of a ménage à trois, and a critique of contemporary Soviet realities.
Bed and Sofa + intro
A masterpiece of early Soviet cinema, a daring exploration of a ménage à trois, and a critique of contemporary Soviet realities.
The Rules of the Game
Considered one of the greatest films ever made, Renoir’s ensemble piece is the perfect blend of a comedy of manners and a biting satire of French society.
The Magnificent Ambersons
Among the most famous of broken films, Orson Welles’ masterful follow-up to Citizen Kane was taken out of his control and re-edited by the studio.
The Apartment
This Oscar-winning dark romantic comedy stars charming Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine.
The Innocents
Deborah Kerr excels as a sexually represented governess suspecting sinister forces at play in the mansion of her new employer.
The Innocents + intro
Deborah Kerr excels as a sexually represented governess suspecting sinister forces at play in the mansion of her new employer.
An Autumn Afternoon
A profoundly moving and elegantly composed account of loneliness and family relations from the Japanese master.
An Autumn Afternoon + intro
A profoundly moving and elegantly composed account of loneliness and family relations from the Japanese master.
Charulata
This touching story about a lonely wife is regarded as Ray’s finest achievement.
Black Girl
The seminal work from the father of African cinema focuses on a domestic worker who emigrates from Senegal to France in the hope for a better life.
Black Girl + intro
The seminal work from the father of African cinema focuses on a domestic worker who emigrates from Senegal to France in the hope for a better life.
Girlfriends
This exploration of female friendship in 1970s New York City is quoted as an influence on the work of Lena Dunham and Greta Gerwig.
Girlfriends + intro
This exploration of female friendship in 1970s New York City is quoted as an influence on the work of Lena Dunham and Greta Gerwig.
To Sleep with Anger
A brilliant drama about an African American family reeling from an unexpected visit.
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
A pivotal film in Almodóvar’s career oozes with his unique vision.
Ratcatcher
Lynne Ramsay’s debut heralded the arrival of a highly original new voice in British cinema.
Ratcatcher + intro
Lynne Ramsay’s debut heralded the arrival of a highly original new voice in British cinema.
The Swamp
This assured first feature puts a troubled bourgeois extended family under a microscope.
The Swamp + intro by Aga Baranowska, Events Programmer
This assured first feature puts a troubled bourgeois extended family under a microscope.
Get Out
A suspenseful horror and a timely social commentary go hand in hand in Peele’s groundbreaking film.
Get Out + intro
A suspenseful horror and a timely social commentary go hand in hand in Peele’s groundbreaking film.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
One of the greatest cinematic love stories exquisitely brought to the screen by France’s leading contemporary director.
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