Film / News
Oscar-nominated British film director Stephen Frears comes to Bristol
Best known for those key films of the 1980s My Beautiful Laundrette, Prick Up Your Ears and Dangerous Liaisons, British director Stephen Frears is also a great film noir enthusiast. And it’s in that capacity that he visits Bristol this weekend as a guest of Film Noir UK for screenings of two of his best films in that genre, plus a double-bill of British classics.
First up on Saturday 25 at the Watershed is his terrific 1990 adaptation of Jim Thompson’s The Grifters, whose great cast includes John Cusack, Anjelica Huston, Annette Bening and J. T. Walsh.
Later that day at the same venue, there’s a screening of Frears’ overlooked 1984 comedy-thriller The |Hit– a favourite of Christopher Nolan. Terence Stamp plays a supergrass hiding out in rural Spain who’s targeted by a pair of hitmen (John Hurt and the young Tim Roth). The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director, hosted by Matthew Sweet.
Over at the former IMAX on Sunday 26, Film Noir UK presents a cracking British double-bill on the giant screen. Stephen Frears will introduce Carol Reed’s masterpiece The Third Man, which will be followed by Lawrence Huntington’s less well known Wanted For Murder (1946).
Stephen Frears
The latter is shown as part of the BFI’s ongoing Powell and Pressburger Screen Unbound season. Matthew Sweet will introduce the film, which was written by Emeric Pressburger.
Tickets for all events are going fast, so grab them while you can.
All images: Film Noir UK
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