Film / News
Julien Temple joins packed Cinema Rediscovered line-up
Critics might have disliked Julien Temple’s maverick musical adaptation of Colin MacInnes’s novel Absolute Beginners on release in 1986, and the public chose to ignore all the hype, so the film became something of a flop. But we’re about to find out whether time has been more kind to Absolute Beginners when it opens this year’s Cinema Rediscovered festival at the Watershed on Wed 23 July.
Starring the likes of David Bowie, Sade, Ray Davies and Patsy Kensit, the ambitious production will be presented in 35mm and introduced by director Temple and producer Stephen Woolley. Woolley will also deliver the festival’s keynote address.
Absolute Beginners kicks off an ‘Against the Grain’ strand of 1980s British independent films, which many of us are old enough to remember from their original release, including Defence of the Realm, Ping-Pong and the inevitable My Beautiful Laundrette.
In total, the festival, which runs from Wed 23 – Sun 27 July, features 21 UK premieres of newly restored films from around the world at venues across the city. Go here to view the full programme.
Main image: David Bowie in Absolute Beginners (Park Circus/Channel 4).
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