Film / News
Event Cinema for May 2016
Having consulted our well-thumbed copy of Lazy Journalistic Cliches, we can confirm that there really is something for everyone this month, from a free outdoor screening of the Royal Ballet’s Frankenstein in Millennium Square to Kiss in Vegas, the classic silent Phantom of the Opera at Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bill (of Bill and Ted) introducing Frank Zappa’s Roxy: The Movie, a very bad Captain America, Once Upon a Time in Mexico with nosh, Ken Branagh on his Henry V, Nosferatu in a gothic pile, and a Festival of Ideas screening of a film that makes us all proud to be hacks. As ever, you can find full details of everything showing locally in our incomparably comprehensive daily film listings starting here.
The Lammermoor family needs loot, and fast – so Lucia is expected to make a good marriage. Much to her brother Enrico’s chagrin, however, she’s fallen for his enemy, Edgardo. But before they can tie the knot, Edgardo buggers off to do battle in France. Enrico seizes his opportunity to marry her off in his absence. Cue: operatic misery and madness. Katie Mitchell’s new production of Donizetti’s tragic opera attracted headlines after punters were told to expect graphic sex and violence, which is, of course, unlikely to hamper ticket sales.
Encore screening May 1: Showcase Cinema De Lux
Cannoli & Gun: Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Movies’n’nosh specialists Cannoli & Gun celebrate the week of Cinco de Mayo with this screening of Robert Rodriguez’s epic chilli western follow-up to Desperado, plus a two course meal comprising Jalapeño Relleno and Puerco Pibil (or Tostada for vegetarians). Advance tickets, price £23, are available here.
Screening May 3: Casa Mexicana
Brett Anderson, Mat Osman and director Roger Sargent will be present for a Q&A after a screening of the film they made to accompany Suede’s seventh album, Night Thoughts. This event is part of Filmic 2016.
Screening May 4: Watershed
Backyard Cinema: The Phantom of the Opera
The original 1925 silent adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s novel, which was a troubled production but remains a masterpiece of gothic splendour, with Lon Chaney still unrivalled as the screen’s best Phantom. Backyard Cinema‘s screening takes place in Arnos Vale’s Anglican Chapel. Gates open at 8pm. The evening starts with a canape reception, followed by a candlelit stroll through the cemetery. This screening features live musical accompaniment from Ret Warwick. You can find more info here. Advance tickets, price £25, are available here.
Screening May 6: Arnos Vale Cemetery
An Improvised Life + Ron Geesin Q&A
Pete Townshend, Peter Gabriel, David Gilmour, Robert Wyatt, and Bridget St. John are among the contributors to this warm documentary profile of pioneering ‘sound sculptor’ Ron Geesin, who’s best known for his work on Pink Floyd’s chart-topping Atom Heart Mother and collaboration with Roger Waters on Music from The Body. Geesin himself will be present for a rare public Q&A session after the screening. Go here for our interview with the great man.
Screening May 8: Watershed
Some 43 years after it was filmed, this great Mothers of Invention concert film from the band’s three-night residency at Hollywood’s Roxy Theatre is finally unleashed. If you’re familiar with the Roxy and Elsewhere live album, you’ll know what to expect musically, but seeing this incredible, complex and diverse music performed on stage is another experience entirely – especially as the film was directed by Frank Zappa himself. The Watershed’s very welcome screening is part of Filmic 2016. There’s a Skype introduction from Alex Winter (yup – Bill from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure), whose behind a project to crowd-fund the ultimate Zappa documentary.
Screening May 10: Watershed
Bristol Bad Film Club: Captain America
Long before Chris Evans became the patriotic Marvel superhero for those recent big-budget flicks, there was this crappy, cheesy 1990 version produced by the notorious Menahem Golan of Cannon Films. Matt (son of J.D. – no, really) Salinger stars as Steve Rogers, who’s thawed out after decades trapped in ice to take on the dastardly Red Skull. “The movie isn’t merely wrong for kids — it opens in pre-war Italy with a sequence in Italian with subtitles, and a machine-gun slaughter — it’s just all wrong,” concluded Entertainment Weekly. It was shelved for two years and went straight to video in the US, only to be revived to cash in on the success of the recent, superior version. Profits from this Bristol Bad Film Club screening will go to Help For Heroes. Tickets, price £5, are available here.
Screening May 11: Wardrobe Theatre
NT Live Encore: A View from the Bridge
Belgian director Ivo Van Hove’s tense and thrilling Young Vic production of Arthur Miller’s great tragedy casts The Imitation Game and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy star Mark Strong as Brooklyn longshoreman Eddie Carbone, who welcomes two illegal Sicilian immigrant brothers into his home, but seethes with rage when his innocent 17-year-old niece falls in love with the younger sibling. This ain’t gonna end well. This has been widely acclaimed by critics as one of the most powerful Arthur Miller productions ever staged – which is quite some claim.
Screening May 12: Curzon, Showcase Cinema De Lux, Vue Cribbs Causeway, Vue Longwell Green, Cineworld
The world premiere of Royal Ballet Artist in Residence Liam Scarlett’s new ballet inspired by Mary Shelley’s Gothic masterpiece. Scarlett’s first full-length ballet is a period adaptation with a score by American composer Lowell Liebermann, whose First Piano Concerto provided the music for his earlier Viscera. Admission to the Millennium Square screening is free, but on a first come, first served basis. See our news story here for more information.
Screening May 18: Orpheus, Showcase Cinema De Lux, Odeon, Vue Cribbs Causeway, Vue Longwell Green, Millennium Square
Encore screening May 22: Showcase Cinema De Lux
F.W. Murnau’s expressionist vampire classic, screened at the 18th Century country pile Barley Wood in Wrington, with live musical accompaniment from Ret Warwick. The evening starts with canapés and fizz on arrival, followed by a candlelit stroll through the gardens before the screening. Gates open at 7.30pm for an 8pm start. Advance tickets, price £18, are available here.
Screening May 20: Barley Wood
The first local screening of US filmmaker Brett Culp’s well-received, low-budget, crowd-funded documentary about people who’ve been inspired by Batman to “unleash their inner superhero”. Ashton Court Mansion will become Wayne Manor for this black tie charity event in aid of Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal. It’s organised by Bristol-based podcasters Kenco & Mac, who promise “a few incredible surprises on the night” as the temporary Wayne Manor plays host to some of Gotham’s most revered citizens. Advance tickets are available here, price £20. For more on the film, see our news story here.
Screening May 21: Ashton Court Mansion
Attacking the Devil + Discussion
The full title of this one is Attacking the Devil: Harold Evans and the Last Nazi War Crime. It chronicles the long campaign by the Sunday Times, under editor Harold Evans, to secure compensation from the Distillers company for the victims of Thalidomide. Nazis? Yep, this supposed ‘wonder drug’ used to treat morning sickness was actually developed by Nazi scientists using concentration camp inmates, its original purpose being to counteract the effects of sarin gas. This Festival of Ideas screening will be followed by a panel discussion about the film and the future of investigative journalism, chaired by Festival of Ideas director Andrew Kelly.
Screening May 25: Watershed
Gene and Paul, plus the other two who aren’t Ace and Peter (OK, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer), recorded live during their Las Vegas residency back in November 2014. Expect all the hits – even that grotty disco one – plus pyro, blood-spitting, levitating drum kits and fire-breathing as you Rock and Roll All Night. Or at least until the cinema kicks you out. Also promised are exclusive interviews and other footage, including Gene counting his huge pile of money. Possibly.
Screening May 25: Vue Cribbs Causeway
Henry V + Kenneth Branagh satellite Q&A
Thanks to the BFI, just about every Shakespeare adaptation is back on screen in this anniversary year. Ken Branagh recruited all his chums for his 1989 bash at Henry V, in which he also stars. Watch out for Richard Briers, John Sessions, Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, Emma Thompson, etc. Even Robbie Coltrane pops up in a nice piece of casting as Falstaff, despite the fact that the character doesn’t actually appear in the play. This screening is preceded by a live satellite Q&A in which Ken is grilled by Adrian Wootton, CEO of Film London and the British Film Commission, about his life and work in the context of his Shakespeare films.
Screening May 27: Watershed, Curzon, Vue Cribbs Causeway
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