FELLINI CAROLE LOMBARD FAY WELDON THE LIGHTHOUSE CYRANO DE BERGERAC - BFI
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JAN 2020
BFI SOUTHBANK
FELLINI
CAROLE LOMBARD
FAY WELDON
THE LIGHTHOUSE
CYRANO DE BERGERAC
ALAN CUMMING DANIEL RADCLIFFE ENDGAME in a double bill with ROUGH FOR THEATRE ll From 27 Jan 2020 | Tickets from £12
THIS MONTH AT BFI SOUTHBANK
Welcome to the home of great film and TV, with a world-class library, free exhibitions and Mediatheque and plenty of food and drink
IN PERSON & PREVIEWS NEW RELEASES SEASONS
Talent Q&As and rare appearances, plus a chance The best new cinema for you to enjoy, with plenty of screening Carefully curated collections of film
for you to catch the latest film and TV before dates to choose from and TV, which showcase an influential
anyone else genre, theme or talent
Swing High Swing Low (p28)
This Country (p5)
Waves (p11)
BOOKING DATES IN PERSON & PREVIEWS 4 REGULAR PROGRAMME
RELAXED SCREENING 42 AFRICAN ODYSSEYS 42
PATRONS AND CHAMPIONS bfi.org.uk/whatson
MEMBER EXCLUSIVES 9 WOMAN WITH A MOVIE 43
Mon 2 Dec (from 11:30)
020 7928 3232 CAMERA, EXPERIMENTA
MEMBERS NEW RELEASES 10
11:30 – 20:30 daily SONIC CINEMA, BUG, 44
Tue 3 Dec (from 11:30)
In person RE-RELEASES 14 TERROR VISION
PUBLIC
Tue 10 Dec (from 11:30) 11:00 – 20:30 daily PROJECTING THE ARCHIVE, 45
SEASONS
SILENT CINEMA
FELLINI 16
FUTURE FILM 46
CAROLE LOMBARD 24
JOIN TODAY FOR PRIORITY BOOKING AND DISCOUNTS: BFI.ORG.UK/JOIN FAMILIES 47
FAY WELDON 30
BFI PLAYER 48
The BFI is proud to screen on film where possible, showcasing restorations BIG SCREEN CLASSICS 34
and sourcing archive prints from our partners. LIBRARY, MEDIATHEQUE, 50
SPECIAL FILMS & EVENTS 38 MEZZANINE GALLERY
Look out for 16mm, 35mm or 70mm in the film credits.
SHOP, BFI IMAX 52
Cover: La dolce vita
Talent Q&As and rare appearances,
plus a chance for you to catch the
latest film and TV before anyone else
IN PERSON & PREVIEWS
DOC
Preview: Be Natural: The Untold TV Preview: Inside No. 9 + Q&A with writer-actors Steve Pemberton,
Story of Alice Guy-Blaché + Q&A Reece Shearsmith and producer Adam Tandy
USA 2018. Dir Pamela B Green. 103min. As Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith’s anthology of comic dramas
Digital. Cert tbc. Courtesy of Modern Films returns for a fifth season, we preview two episodes and welcome the talented
Alice Guy-Blaché entered the movie team behind them.
business at the very beginning, in 1894,
when she was just 21. Two years later
The Referee’s a W***er + The Stakeout
she was made head of production at
BBC 2020. Dir Matt Lipsey. 30min BBC 2020. Dir Guillem Morales. 30min
Gaumont and eventually directed 1000
films. So why is she frequently absent The beautiful game. The crunch-clash Two police officers have time to get
from most film histories? This fascinating between United and Rovers in the last to know each other on the night shift.
documentary, narrated by Jodie Foster, match of the season, all safely in the care But PC Thompson’s previous partner
is both a tribute and a detective story, of the four match officials. David Morrissey, died in a brutal attack less than
tracing the circumstances by which Ralf Little, Dipo Ola and Steve Speirs join a month ago, the forensics have gone
this extraordinary pioneer faded from Shearsmith and Pemberton for a tale of missing and PC Varney is beginning
promotion, relegation, corruption, and so, to ask a lot of awkward questions.
‘TAKASHI MIIKE’S memory. The screening will be followed
by a number of Guy-Blaché’s short films so much more.
103RD OUTING AS and a panel discussion.
DIRECTOR Tickets £15, concs £12 (Members pay £2 less) Tickets £15, concs £12 (Members pay £2 less)
IS HIS MOST
FUN YET’
KIMBERLEY SHEEHAN,
EVENTS PROGRAMMER WED 8 JAN FRI 10 JAN
First Love (p6) 18:10 NFT3 18:15 NFT1
book online at bfi.org.uk
Spaced 21st Anniversary + Q&A TV Preview: This Country + Q&A
with director Edgar Wright, with actors Daisy May Cooper,
producer Nira Park and actors Charlie Cooper and Paul Chahidi,
Jessica Hynes, Julia Deakin, producer Simon Mayhew-Archer
Katy Carmichael, Simon Pegg and and director Tom George
Nick Frost (work permitting) BBC Studios 2020. Dir Tom George.
UK 1999, 2001. Dir Edgar Wright. With Daisy May Cooper, Charlie Cooper,
With Simon Pegg, Jessica Hynes, Nick Frost. TV Preview: Baghdad Central + Q&A with actors Waleed Zuaiter, Bertie Paul Chahidi. Eps 1 + 2 48min
IN PERSON & PREVIEWS
12x25min (TRT 300min) Carvel (schedule permitting) and July Namir, writer Stephen Butchard, Join us for a preview of the first two
This year marks the 21st anniversary of director Alice Troughton and exec producer Kate Harwood episodes of series three of this
the hilarious TV show that followed the Channel 4-Euston Films 2020. Dirs Alice Troughton, Ben A Williams. With Waleed Zuaiter, BAFTA-winning comedy. Taking the
adventures of flatmates Daisy Steiner and July Namir, Bertie Carvel. Ep1 60min mockumentary format to new heights,
Tim Bisley – a goldmine for all pop-culture Channel 4’s new six-part crime series daughter safe. Frank Temple (Carvel), This Country has made the nation fall in
fans. Across two series, Spaced pushed Baghdad Central is written and created an ex-British Police Officer who has tried love with the tragicomic antics of cousins
genre boundaries and helped put a new by BAFTA-nominated writer Stephen to rebuild the Iraqi Police Force from the Kerry and Kurtan Mucklowe and their life
generation of acting, writing and directing Butchard (The Last Kingdom) and based ground up, recruits Khafaji to give his experiences in a typical Cotswolds village.
talent on the map. For this special event on the novel by Elliott Colla. October own operation some much-needed local Exploring the boredom and frustrations
we screen series 1, followed by a Q&A, 2003; Baghdad has been occupied by credibility, but unknown to Temple, Khafaji of young people in rural Britain, the
and then series 2. American forces for six months and is compelled by his own, secret reasons show’s immense honesty and eye for
Tickets £20, concessions £16, chaos reigns. Iraqi ex-policeman Muhsin to risk everything by collaborating with detail has been justly critically acclaimed,
(Members pay £2 less) al-Khafaji (Zuaiter) has lost everything and the occupying forces... as well as being achingly funny.
is battling to keep himself and his sick
SUN 12 JAN THU 16 JAN TUE 21 JAN
12:00-18:30 NFT1 18:15 NFT1 18:10 NFT1
@BFI 5
KERMODE LIVE
IN 3D Let’s talk about film...
Mark Kermode Live in 3D at the BFI Preview: First Love Hatsukoi
TRT 90min Japan-UK 2018. Dir Takashi Miike.
Mark Kermode Live in 3D at the BFI is With Becky, Masataka Kubota, Nao Ōmori,
Shōta Sometani. 108min. Digital. Cert tbc.
a monthly conversation between you EST. Courtesy of Signature Entertainment
(the audience) and one of the nation’s
A terminally-ill boxer, a runaway call girl,
favourite and most respected film critics.
a double-crossing drugs heist, an
With the help of surprise guests from the
Preview: The Personal History of David Copperfield underworld gang war... it’s all happening
industry, Kermode will explore, critique
in the explosive First Love, the latest from
IN PERSON & PREVIEWS
UK 2019. Dir Armando Iannucci. With Dev Patel, Ben Whishaw, Tilda Swinton, Gwendoline and dissect movies past and present and
Christie, Hugh Laurie. 120min. Digital. Courtesy of Lionsgate prolific auteur Takashi Miike (Audition,
reveal his or his guests’ cinematic guilty
The irresistible pairing of Iannucci and eccentric Mr Dick (Laurie) and humble but Ichi the Killer). The result is spectacular,
pleasures. Get involved by tweeting your
Charles Dickens produces a hilarious, deadly Uriah Heep (Whishaw). If you ultraviolent, and relentlessly fun, with
questions in advance to @KermodeMovie
contemporary spin on a timeless story missed this at 2019’s BFI London Film a streak of Miike’s classic dark humour
#MK3D.
that follows young David on his journey Festival, now’s your chance to catch it and a sweet side of romance.
Tickets £20, concs £16
Tickets £15, concs £12 (Members pay £2 less)
from childhood to middle age. Along the ahead of general release. (Members pay £2 less)
way he learns about social injustice and Tickets £15, concs £12 (Members pay £2 less)
meets some of the richest characters
from the Dickens universe such as eternal
optimist Mr Micawber (Peter Capaldi),
TUE 21 JAN MON 27 JAN WED 29 JAN
20:15 NFT1 18:30 NFT1 20:50 NFT1
6 book online at bfi.org.uk
‘ONE OF BRITAIN’S GREATEST
LIVING PLAYWRIGHTS TO PROVIDE
HIS MOST PERSONAL PLAY YET’
The Times
FROM 25 JANUARY
LEOPOLDSTADTPLAY.COM
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A DELFONT MACKINTOSH THEATRE @LeopoldstadtLDN
Image: Losing Pace, Dir. Naomi Soneye-Thomas ON A MISSION to find and support new filmmakers Find out more at network.bfi.org.uk @bfinetwork
MEMBER EXCLUSIVES
These events are exclusive to BFI Members and their guests.
Make the most of your Membership benefits at bfi.org.uk/members
Member Picks
For a chance to see one of your favourite films on the big screen, share your choice
with us at bfi.org.uk/memberpicks
The Princess Bride
USA 1987. Dir Rob Reiner. With Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin. 99min. Digital. PG
Westley leaves his beloved Buttercup in
order to earn his fortune and thus ask her ‘It has a dreamlike timelessness
MEMBER EXCLUSIVES
hand in marriage. When he fails to return, that makes it perfect escapism’
Buttercup is kidnapped and betrothed Charlotte Harrison, BFI Member
to another... but a masked man is hot
on her trail. Whether you’re after comedy,
romance, fantasy or a swashbuckling
adventure, The Princess Bride has it all.
Member Exclusive: Archive Tour
Don’t miss your chance to see Champions and Members can apply for
behind the scenes at one of the largest up to two tickets (at £25 each) in the ballot
which runs until 12:00 midnight on Sun 8 Dec.
moving-image collections in the world. Enter at bfi.org.uk/members SAT 4 JAN
See rarely viewed film materials and find
12:30 NFT3
out from our expert team how films are ‘It was a revelation and a delight
stored and restored. The tour lasts to learn about this institution’
roughly two hours and will be followed Ornan Rotem, BFI Member All Member exclusive tickets are just £6 unless otherwise stated. Champions
by light refreshments. and Members can book as soon as their priority booking opens and tickets
will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Remaining tickets will be
released to the public, as a taster of the benefits of Membership, once public
FRI 24 JAN
booking opens.
10:30-13:00 BFI NATIONAL ARCHIVE, BERKHAMSTED
Not a Member yet ? Join today at bfi.org.uk/join 9
The best new cinema for you to
enjoy, with plenty of screening
dates to choose from
(see pull-out calendar)
The Cave So Long, My Son Di jiu tian chang
Denmark-Syria-Germany-USA-Qatar 2019. China 2019. Dir Wang Xiaoshuai. With Ai Liya, Wang Jingchun, Yong Mei. 185min. Digital. EST.
Dir Feras Fayyad. 107min. Digital. EST. Cert 12A. A Curzon release
tbc. A Dogwoof release ‘Sixth Generation’ director Wang Xiaoshuai offers an absorbing family chronicle that
Fayyad’s powerful film captures the unfolds modern Chinese history with the rich insightfulness of a novel
experience of heroic women hidden This complex ensemble piece spans decades, the film shows how political
NEW RELEASES
(literally) below the surface of the Syrian four decades, from the 1980s to the reality affects the fates of the family and
Civil War cosmopolitan present, and follows the those around them. A moving and deeply
Feras Fayyad (Last Men in Aleppo) returns interconnected fortunes of various involving drama of personal and national
to his native Syria to observe the lives of characters around a couple, Liyun (Yong destinies, this epic narrative is executed
a team of female doctors operating in Mei) and Yaojun (Wang Jingchun), and with mesmerising control.
‘The Cave’, one of the secret subterranean their son. In the early 80s, Liyun, a factory Jonathan Romney,
hospitals providing medical care to the worker, becomes pregnant for the second LFF Programme Advisor
trapped, war-torn population. In addition time, falling foul of the national policy of
to the daily horrors of chemical warfare, one-child families. Zigzagging between
the remarkable women battle against
cultural sexism with tireless dedication.
This intimate and poignant documentary
beautifully captures moments of
‘ONCE SEEN, compassion and camaraderie in the face
IT’S NEVER of devastation and tragedy.
Kimberley Sheehan, Events Programmer
FORGOTTEN...’
MICHAEL BLYTH,
PROGRAMMER CONTINUES FROM FRI 27 DEC CONTINUES FROM FRI 27 DEC
The Lighthouse (p12)
book online at bfi.org.ukWaves
USA 2019. Dir Trey Edward Shults.
With Kelvin Harrison Jr, Lucas Hedges,
Taylor Russell, Alexa Demie. 135min. Digital.
Cert tbc. Courtesy of Universal
Waves is one of the most distinctive and
innovative films that you’ll see this year
Tyler (Harrison Jr) is a high-school senior
with a star spot on the wrestling team,
an adoring girlfriend and an affluent
middle-class home. Yet bubbling pressures,
including the high expectations of his
domineering father and a gnawing shoulder
pain he just can’t shake, slowly cause his
bright future to unravel. This complex and
devastating family melodrama is fuelled by
an array of raw and intense performances,
including Euphoria’s Alexa Demie as
Tyler’s girlfriend, and an unforgettable
Sterling K Brown as his father. An eclectic
soundtrack fused with vivid camerawork
firmly establishes Shults (It Comes at
NEW RELEASES
Night) as one of contemporary cinema’s
most exciting new voices.
Kimberley Sheehan, Events Programmer
Preview: Tue 14 Jan 18:00 NFT1
OPENS FRI 17 JAN
@BFI 11The Lighthouse
USA 2019. Dir Robert Eggers.
With Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson,
Valeriia Karaman. 109min. Digital. 15.
A Universal Pictures International release
The award-winning director of
The Witch returns to terrorise us
with a masterful maritime shocker
When Ephraim Winslow (Pattinson)
reluctantly arrives at the lighthouse where
he’ll work for the next four weeks he’s
greeted with gruff hostility by Tom Wake
(Dafoe), a veteran seafarer with whom
he’s obliged to share uncomfortably close
quarters. The pair quickly establish a
volatile dynamic, with Tom the baiting
slave-driver and Ephraim his battered
lackey. With the slow passing of each
punishing day Ephraim’s resentment
grows, but when he learns of the
mysterious fate that befell his master’s
former assistant, a creeping sense of fear
NEW RELEASES
and paranoia begins to stir. This hypnotic
fusion of beauty and brutality, a hit at
2019’s BFI London Film Festival, boasts
extraordinary performances from Dafoe
and Pattinson, who wrap their scowling
mouths around Robert and Max Eggers’
knotty period text with unwavering gusto.
Michael Blyth, Programmer
Preview: Mon 27 Jan 20:40 NFT1
OPENS FRI 31 JAN (CONTINUES IN FEB)
12FILM EDITOR OLLIE HUDDLESTON COMPOSER RAY HARMON ARCHIVE RESEARCH CLARE STRONGE & CRISTINA RAJOLA TRANSLATOR PAOLA UBERTI SOUND DESIGNER MICHELLE FINGLETON
RE-RECORDING MIXER GARRET FARRELL SOUND RECORDIST DANILO ROMANCINO INTERVEIWER MARIA CHIARA DI TRAPANI EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS DAN COGAN JENNY RASKIN GERALYN WHITE DREYFOUS
LESLEY MCKIMM ELENA FOSTER REGINA K. SCULLY PATTY QUILLIN WITH THE SUPPORT OF LAURA POITRAS & CHARLOTTE COOK PRODUCED BY NIAMH FAGAN DIRECTED BY KIM LONGINOTTO
IN CINEMAS 29 NOVEMBER
WWW.MODERNFILMS.COM/MAFIA
@MODERNFILMSENT @MODERNFILMSENT @MODERN FILMSWe’ve selected these key La dolce vita + intro*
classics (many newly restored) Italy-France 1960. Dir Federico Fellini.
for you to enjoy, with plenty of With Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg,
screening dates to choose from Anouk Aimée, Yvonne Furneaux. 175min.
Digital 4K. EST. 12A. A BFI release
(see pull-out calendar)
An era-defining fresco of life among
the glitterati in early 1960s Rome
Fellini’s epic La dolce vita stands as a
towering achievement of 1960s cinema.
Set in Rome during the height of the
‘Hollywood on the Tiber’ era, the episodic
narrative follows jaded journalist Marcello
Rubini (Mastroianni) on the trail of gossip
on VIPs, including Swedish-American film
star Sylvia Rank (Ekberg). The film caused
a sensation on its initial release, angering
censors and polarising opinion among
critics and audiences, but is now rightly
considered a masterpiece that’s had a
profound influence on popular culture.
It was La dolce vita, for instance, that
coined the term ‘paparazzo’, which came
RE-RELEASES
to describe a certain type of relentless
celebrity photographer.
Pasquale Iannone, season programmer
See p16 for our Fellini season
Also available on
‘CYRANO DE Previews: Wed 1 Jan 19:00 NFT1,
BERGERAC IS Thu 2 Jan 19:45 NFT1
GUARANTEED TO *Intro by Professor Richard Dyer,
MOVE AND MELT Author of BFI Film Classics: La dolce
vita, Sat 4 Jan 17:00 NFT3
THE HARDEST OF
HEARTS’
JUSTIN JOHNSON,
LEAD PROGRAMMER FROM FRI 3 JAN
Cyrano de Bergerac (p15)
book online at bfi.org.ukCyrano de Bergerac
RE-RELEASES
France 1990. Dir Jean-Paul Rappeneau. With Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet, Vincent Perez,
Jacques Weber. 137min. Digital. EST. U. A BFI release
This classic French recipe of wit and amour sees Gérard Depardieu on
sparkling form
The story of Cyrano de Bergerac has Depardieu deftly embodies the nasally
existed in many forms over several challenged hero of the piece, a man
centuries but Rappeneau’s adaptation whose huge heart is partially hidden by
(now celebrating its 30th anniversary) is insecurities about his own appearance.
a delightful, tragi-comic tour de force with The film is both a celebration of love
Depardieu’s Cyrano offering romantic tips and a comic triumph, and it provides
to young Christian, a suitor with designs an opportunity to witness a classic
on Roxanne, whom Cyrano himself is performance by one of France’s
keen to woo. greatest living actors.
Justin Johnson, Lead Programmer
FROM FRI 24 JAN
15Carefully curated collections of
film and TV, which showcase an
influential genre, theme or talent
SEASONS
‘IT’S TIME TO
(RE)DISCOVER
ITALIAN CINEMA’S
GREATEST EVER
SHOWMAN’
PASQUALE IANNONE,
SEASON PROGRAMMER
Fellini season (adjacent)‘REALISM IS A BAD WORD... I SEE NO LINE
BETWEEN THE IMAGINARY AND THE REAL’
FEDERICO FELLINI
Enjoy the start of a two-month season on one of world cinema’s
most exuberantly playful filmmakers, invites season programmer
Pasquale Iannone
Federico Fellini’s career stretches from post-war neorealism to
the MTV era. Although best known for his epochal early-60s films
La dolce vita (see p14) and 8½, he first came to international
prominence as a director in the mid-50s with back-to-back Oscar®
wins for La Strada and Nights of Cabiria, both featuring unforgettable JOINT
TALK
central performances from his wife and muse Giulietta Masina, TICKET
and the bittersweet music of Nino Rota. Fellini’s kaleidoscopic, Perspectives on Fellini
often sharply satirical narratives draw freely from his own personal TRT 90min
La dolce vita
obsessions, fantasies and memories, and have gone on to Delve deeper into Fellini’s distinctive
influence several generations of directors including David Lynch, cinematic world in this opening event,
which will offer ways of engaging with and
Pedro Almodóvar, Sofia Coppola and Paolo Sorrentino. interpreting the Italian master’s work in TALK
Grouped under three main themes, this complete retrospective the 21st century. Through clips and lively
marks the centenary of Fellini’s birth and offers a rare opportunity discussion, a panel of special guests will 25 & Under: Introduction to Fellini
FELLINI
discuss Fellini’s neorealist beginnings, TRT 60min
to savour his extraordinary body of work on the big screen.
recurring themes, rich visual language, his In the first of a new series of free talks
relationship to reality and spectacle and for members of our 25 & Under scheme,
his creative partnerships with on-screen film and culture writer Christina Newland
muses and off-screen collaborators. (The Guardian, VICE, Sight & Sound)
WANT MORE? CULTURAL PARTNERS Check bfi.org.uk for guest announcements presents where to start with the Italian
Aged 16-25? Book £3 tickets in advance to any Joint ticket available with I Vitelloni master Federico Fellini, as well as
film in the season. Sign up for free at on Tue 7 Jan 20:30 NFT1 £15, concs £12 exploring his impact on contemporary
bfi.org.uk/25-and-under (Members pay £2 less)
film culture today.
Coming in Feb: 8½, Fellini’s Roma and more... Free for those aged 16-25. Don’t forget
Alongside the release of La dolce vita, cinemas to pick up your £3 ticket for La dolce vita (p14),
across the UK and Ireland will screen a selection which screens the same evening
of Fellini films
This retrospective is the first of the Fellini 100
official international tour, coordinated by the
Italian Ministry of Culture, led by Istituto
Luce-Cinecittà, who have provided the films.
All films have been digitally restored by
TUE 7 JAN WED 15 JAN
Istituto Luce-Cinecittà, Cineteca di Bologna
and Cineteca Nazionale. 18:20 NFT1 18:30 BLUE ROOM
@BFI 17WALKERS AND WANDERERS
On the road with Fellini
JOINT JOINT
TICKET TICKET
I Vitelloni Nights of Cabiria Le notti di Cabiria
Italy 1953. Dir Federico Fellini. With Alberto Sordi, + intro by filmmaker Carol Morley*
Franco Fabrizi, Franco Interlenghi, Leopoldo Italy-France 1957. Dir Federico Fellini.
Trieste, Riccardo Fellini. 107min. Digital 4K. With Giulietta Masina, François Périer,
EST. PG Amedeo Nazzari. 117min. Digital 4K.
Five male friends do all they can to avoid EST. PG
the responsibilities of adulthood in Fellini’s Co-written with Pier Paolo Pasolini,
La Strada deeply personal, wistfully comic third film Nights of Cabiria sees Fellini bring
as director. Featuring an achingly beautiful Giulietta Masina centre stage once more
FELLINI
Italy 1954. Dir Federico Fellini. With Giulietta Masina, Anthony Quinn, Richard Baseheart,
Aldo Silvani. 108min. Digital 4K. EST. PG score by Fellini’s regular collaborator for the story of an unfailingly optimistic
An unassuming milestone of world cinema, Rich in allegory, La Strada’s influence Nino Rota, I Vitelloni was one of Stanley prostitute and her misadventures in and
Fellini’s heartbreaking tale of Gelsomina, has been profound, stretching far beyond Kubrick’s favourites, and would also go around the Eternal City. The film was the
a guileless young woman sold by her the medium of cinema (Bob Dylan and on to influence many of the filmmakers inspiration for Neil Simon’s 1966 musical
mother to travelling circus strongman Kris Kristofferson, for instance, both of the New American Cinema. Sweet Charity, which itself was adapted
Zampanò (Quinn), made a star of his wife wrote songs inspired by the film). Also available on for the screen by Bob Fosse three
and muse Giulietta Masina. For a joint ticket offer see p17 years later.
Also available on
For a joint ticket offer see p23
Seniors’ matinee + intro and Q&A with
filmmaker Mamoun Hassan
Mon 6 Jan 14:00 NFT1
WED 1 JAN SAT 4 JAN TUE 7 JAN
See p23 for a Philosophical Screens event 16:30 NFT1 20:40 NFT2 20:30 NFT1
SUN 12 JAN SUN 19 JAN TUE 21 JAN SAT 4 JAN FRI 10 JAN MON 13 JAN
17:00 NFT3 20:10 NFT3 20:50 NFT2 17:10 NFT1 20:45 NFT1 20:35 NFT2
WED 1 JAN THU 9 JAN SAT 18 JAN SAT 25 JAN FRI 24 JAN SAT 18 JAN FRI 24 JAN MON 27 JAN
14:00 NFT1 18:30 NFT3 13:00 NFT1 20:40 NFT1 20:40 NFT1 18:30 NFT1* 18:15 NFT1 18:00 NFT3
18 book online at bfi.org.ukCity of Women La città delle donne The Voice of the Moon La voce della luna
FELLINI
Italy-France 1980. Dir Federico Fellini. With Marcello Mastroianni, Anna Prucnal, Bernice Stegers, Italy-France 1990. Dir Federico Fellini. With Roberto Benigni, Paolo Villaggio, Nadia Ottaviani,
Ettore Manni. 139min. Digital 4K. EST. 18 Marisa Tomasi. 121min. Digital 4K. EST. 12A
Two decades after their first collaboration spectacular sets, including the home Loosely adapted from a novel by The film’s many unmistakably Fellinian
on La dolce vita, Fellini and star Marcello of prodigious womaniser Dr Katzone Ermanno Cavazzoni, Fellini’s final film is set-pieces include a comically overheated
Mastroianni are reunited for a large-scale, (Manni), a character based on famed a typically episodic narrative, following love scene, a dazzling nightclub sequence
free-form fantasia on gender and sexuality. Belgian author (and friend of Fellini) the wanderings of Ivo (Benigni), set to the music of Michael Jackson and
The film showcases some of production Georges Simenon. a wide-eyed young man who’s a beautiful, Georges Méliès-inspired finale.
designer Dante Ferretti’s most released from a psychiatric hospital. Also available on
SUN 5 JAN TUE 7 JAN THU 16 JAN TUE 28 JAN MON 6 JAN SAT 11 JAN WED 29 JAN
14:10 NFT2 18:00 NFT3 20:15 NFT2 20:20 NFT1 20:30 NFT2 20:35 NFT3 18:10 NFT1
@BFI 19SOCIETY AND SPECTACLE
Putting on a show, Fellini-style
Lights of Variety Luci del varietà The White Sheik Lo sceicco bianco
Italy 1950. Dirs Federico Fellini, Alberto Italy 1952. Dir Federico Fellini. With Alberto
Lattuada. With Peppino De Filippo, Carla Del Sordi, Leopoldo Trieste, Brunella Bovo,
Poggio, Giulietta Masina. 98min. Digital 4K. Giulietta Masina. 87min. Digital 4K. EST. U
EST. PG A favourite of the great Orson Welles,
After several years working as a Fellini’s first solo picture provided an early
screenwriter and assistant on films such role for prolific Italian comic actor Alberto
as Roberto Rossellini’s neorealist classics Sordi (I Vitelloni) as the titular character, Fellini Satyricon + intro by season programmer Pasquale Iannone*
Rome Open City and Paisan, Fellini was
FELLINI
the star of a photo comic-strip magazine. Italy 1969. Dir Federico Fellini. With Martin Potter, Hiram Keller, Max Born, Salvo Randone,
given the chance to co-write and direct Newly-wed Wanda (Bovo) is one of the Capucine. 129min. Digital 4K. EST. 18
his first feature. It was inspired by the Sheik’s biggest fans and, while on Fellini bookended the 1960s with two Fellini himself described it as a science
director’s memories of touring the Italian honeymoon in Rome with her husband distinctive visions of Rome. La dolce vita fiction rather than historical film, with
provinces with a variety show and offers Ivan (Trieste), she’s determined to track explored the modern Eternal City, while ancient Rome ‘as remote and fantastical
a fascinating glimpse of themes and him down. Satyricon was the director’s loose as the planets of Flash Gordon’.
situations which would be more fully adaptation of Petronius’ novel, written
developed in later works. during the reign of Emperor Nero.
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20 book online at bfi.org.ukOrchestra Rehearsal
DOC
Fellini’s Casanova Il Casanova di Federico Fellini Fellini: A Director’s Notebook + Orchestra Rehearsal
FELLINI
Italy 1976. Dir Federico Fellini. With Donald Sutherland, Tina Aumont, Cecely Browne, Carmen Block-notes di un regista Prova d’orchestra
Scarpitta. 163min. Digital 4K. EST. 15 Italy 1969. Dir Federico Fellini. 51min. Italy 1978. Dir Federico Fellini. With Balduin
Shot on a vast scale in Rome’s Cinecittà to puncture the myth surrounding the Digital 4K. EST Baas, Clara Colosimo, Elizabeth Labi. 70min.
studios with hundreds of extras and legendary lothario. Key to Fellini’s Shot in 16mm for US TV network NBC, Digital 4K. EST. PG
elaborate set and (Oscar®-winning) approach was his fashioning of lead actor this 1969 documentary offers fascinating The following decade, Fellini made the
costume design, Fellini’s Casanova is far Donald Sutherland into what he colorfully insight into Fellini’s tormented, long- political allegory Orchestra Rehearsal for
from fawning hagiography. The director termed a ‘sperm-filled waxwork.’ gestating and ultimately unrealised Italy’s RAI, a TV film that featured
saw his adaptation of Giacomo project, The Voyage of G. Mastorna; composer Nino Rota’s final score for his
Casanova’s memoirs as a chance the story of a musician killed in a plane long-time collaborator.
crash who navigates the afterlife –
perhaps the most famous unmade film
in Italian cinema.
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@BFI 21BFI COURSE
Evening and weekend courses for adults
on a range of craft subjects
FREE TALK
Ginger & Fred Ginger e Fred Senior’s Free talk: Federico Fellini The Imaginarium of Federico Fellini
FELLINI
Italy-France-West Germany 1986. Dir Federico Fellini. With Giulietta Masina, Marcello TRT 75min Fellini, a writer and illustrator, never
Mastroianni, Franco Fabrizi, Totò Mignone. 127min. Digital 4K. EST. PG During his career Federico Fellini gave wanted to become a film director or
Originally intended as an episode for an It sees her star opposite fellow Fellini extensive interviews to UK TV in which he thought he had the skills to do so. But
anthology series, Ginger & Fred turned regular Marcello Mastroianni as two discussed his unique, fanciful and wildly when, in his words, he ‘fell’ into it, he
into the first feature-length film collaboration ageing dancers who are brought out extravagant cinema. As part of our Fellini worked hard but treated filmmaking as
between Fellini and actor wife Giulietta of retirement to perform on TV after season we present a selection of film play: to construct his fantasies, dreams,
Masina for more than 20 years. decades away from the limelight. extracts and TV interviews – a special memories and obsessions in an
opportunity for you to appreciate and autobiographical cinema of artifice and
better understand this master of cinema. illusion. Join Matilde Nardelli, Senior
Free for over-60s (booking by phone or in Lecturer (University of West London), for
person only), otherwise normal matinee price this five-week illustrated course that will
See p18 for a seniors’ matinee of La Strada, consider Fellini’s recurrent themes and
and p39 for a free seniors’ matinee
concerns, but also less familiar
perspectives on his work.
Course Fee £90, Concs £75
SUN 5 JAN THU 23 JAN MON 27 JAN MON 6 JAN EVERY TUE FROM 14 JAN-18 FEB
19:30 NFT3 18:10 NFT1 20:35 NFT2 11:00 NFT1 18:30-20:30 STUDIO
22 book online at bfi.org.ukVIVA FELLINI!
A special programme to celebrate the centenary of the director’s birth (20 Jan)
Fellini Satyricon
JOINT
TALK TALK TICKET
Philosophical Screens: La Strada Fellini’s Cultural and Visual Legacy
La dolce vita
and the Philosophy of Melancholy TRT 80min
TRT 60min The term Fellini-esque denotes the
Fellini’s La Strada is bathed in an cinematic universe so memorably
atmosphere of sadness, which the visualised and captured by Federico
Fellini. Few filmmakers have had an TALK
director described as being ‘like a shadow
hanging over me’. In this session film adjective named after them, which attests
philosophers William Brown, John Ó to the significant impact of his vision not Focus on Fellini
FELLINI
Maoilearca and Catherine Wheatley will only on film culture but also on other Join us in the BFI Reuben Library for a series of illustrated short talks on selected
explore the philosophical implications of artistic practices. Join this panel of special aspects of Fellini’s cinema.
the film’s melancholic tone, considering, guests from across fashion, music and
among other things, its relationship to visual arts to discuss the influence and Fellini, Comic Strips and Caricatures From Rimini to Roma: A Round Trip
fatalism, Christian allegory and the legacy of the Italian master on media by season programmer by academic Giulia Bindi
timeless image of the weeping clown. and culture. Pasquale Iannone 16:40-17:10
Free to ticket holders of La Strada Joint ticket available with Nights of Cabiria
on Sat 18 Jan 13:00, otherwise £6.50 (Sat 18 Jan 18:30 only) £15, concs £12 12:00-12:30
Fellini and Mass-image Culture
(tickets must be booked in advance (Members pay £2 less) The Making of Fellini: Celebrity, by academic Matilde Nardelli
due to capacity) Check bfi.org.uk for guest announcements Myth and Public Persona 17:20-17:50
by lecturer and writer Julia Wagner
12:40-13:10
Free to ticket holders attending screenings
across the Fellini Centenary Weekender
(Sat 18 Jan and Sun 19 Jan), otherwise £6.50
for all 4 sessions (must be booked in advance
due to capacity)
SAT 18 JAN SAT 18 JAN SUN 19 JAN
15:00 BLUE ROOM 16:30 NFT1 BFI REUBEN LIBRARY
@BFI 23‘DO YOU LAUGH IN THE RIGHT PLACES? THEN, YOU’LL GET ALONG, IN FAIR WEATHER OR FOUL’ CAROLE LOMBARD Lombard’s talent, ebullience and competitive spirit helped make her a star, writes season programmer Miriam Bale Alan Dwan first spotted Carole Lombard as a 12-year-old and cast her as a kid sister in silent film A Perfect Crime (1921). He later told Peter Bogdanovich that she was ‘a cute-looking little tomboy... out there knocking hell out of the other kids, playing better baseball than they were.’ Lombard continued to act, but became equally known for her zany parties, for looking angelic but having the dirty mouth of a truck driver, and for being a good-time girl who everyone adored, especially film crews. Her early roles exhibited her talents for drama, likeability and romantic chemistry, but it took directors and writers who knew her personally (Preston Sturges, and her second cousin Howard Hawks) to put her uninhibited zest for life into her most memorable roles. WANT MORE? See p43 for Woman with a Movie Camera, and p34 for our Big Screen Classics Image: PictureLux-The Hollywood Archive-Alamy Stock Photo
Fast and Loose
TALK
Carole Lombard and the Birth My Man Godfrey
of Screwball USA 1936. Dir Gregory La Cava.
TRT 90min With Carole Lombard, William Powell,
Alice Brady, Gail Patrick. 93min. Digital 4K. U
In this illustrated talk, American film
Lombard is luminescent as Irene Bullock,
programmer Miriam Bale will discuss
a kooky socialite into elaborate party
how the history of screwball comedy is
games (true of her real-life Hollywood
inextricably linked to Carole Lombard and
persona, too). She needs to capture a
her real-life personality as a free-spirited,
CAROLE LOMBARD
‘forgotten man’ in a scavenger hunt and
glamourous tomboy. The work she made
so brings homeless drifter Godfrey
with Howard Hawks, Preston Sturges and
(Powell) back to her family’s Fifth Avenue
others helped shape a subgenre of
mansion. He then upends the household
romantic films with fast-paced delivery,
in unexpected ways.
physical comedy, class consciousness,
Also available on
and an affectionate mockery of love.
Tickets £6.50 Vigil in the Night
USA 1940. Dir George Stevens. With Carole Lombard, Brian Aherne, Anne Shirley. 96min.
35mm PG
Lombard gives a powerful, heartfelt Despite giving an excellent dramatic
performance as Anne Lee, a nurse in performance, Lombard decided to stick
pre-WWII England who selflessly takes to comedies for her final couple of films.
the blame for a major error made
by her sister Lucy (Shirley).
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@BFI 25No Man of Her Own
CAROLE LOMBARD
USA 1932. Dir Wesley Ruggles. With Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Dorothy Mackaill,
Grant Mitchell. 76min. 35mm PG
One of the sexiest scenes ever filmed through. Lombard plays a lonely librarian
in a library can be found in this romantic who runs into gangster Babe Stewart
drama starring Lombard and future when he’s on the lam. He flips a coin and
husband (though years later) Clark Gable, decides to marry her. Will it last?
Bolero and their obvious chemistry shines
USA 1934. Dir Wesley Ruggles. With George Raft, Carole Lombard, Sally Rand, Frances Drake.
81min. 35mm PG
Carole Lombard’s likeability and good he later said of her, ‘I truly loved Carole
sportsmanship are on display in this role Lombard. She was the greatest girl
as the supportive partner of a self- who ever lived.’
centred, ambitious nightclub dancer
(Raft). Lombard wowed Raft in real life;
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17:45 NFT3 20:45 NFT2 20:00 NFT2 18:20 NFT1
26 book online at bfi.org.ukTwentieth Century + extended intro
by Dr Lucy Bolton, Queen Mary
University of London*
USA 1934. Dir Howard Hawks.
With John Barrymore, Carole Lombard,
Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns.
91min. Digital 4K. U
Fast and Loose In this fast-paced, comedic A Star is Born Hands Across the Table
(made before the first of those), John
CAROLE LOMBARD
USA 1930. Dir Fred Newmeyer. USA 1935. Dir Mitchell Leisen. With Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, Ralph Bellamy,
With Miriam Hopkins, Carole Lombard, Barrymore is perfect as the hammy Oscar Astrid Allwyn. 79min. 35mm PG
Frank Morgan, Charles Starrett. Jaffe, the once-great Broadway director. This romcom – intended by Paramount films with Fred MacMurray. It’s a sweet
70min. 35mm PG He had discovered and then was surpassed producer Ernst Lubitsch as a vehicle to and slightly cynical love story of a
A rich man’s son falls for a good-natured by actress Lily Garland (Lombard). promote Lombard’s comedic acting gold-digging manicurist who learns that
chorus girl (Lombard), and his rebellious The former couple meet again on board abilities – was the first time Lombard had money isn’t everything when she falls
daughter (Hopkins) falls in love with the Twentieth Century train to Hollywood, worked with Leisen and the first of four for a ne’er-do-well society bachelor.
a mechanic. While Twentieth Century where life gets turned upside down.
and It Happened One Night are often The zany train journey is a precursor to
considered the first screwball comedies, the comedic spirit of the train scenes in
Lombard considered this earlier Richard Lester’s A Hard Day’s Night.
Preston Sturges-penned film a pioneer
of the genre.
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13:30 NFT1 20:30 NFT1* 18:10 NFT2
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@BFI 27Swing High, Swing Low Nothing Sacred
USA 1937. Dir Mitchell Leisen. USA 1937. Dir William A Wellman.
With Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, With Carole Lombard, Fredric March,
Charles Butterworth, Dorothy Lamour. Charles Winninger, Walter Connolly. 75min.
96min. 35mm Preserved by the Library 35mm U
of Congress. PG Carole Lombard gives a singular
Here is another film where we see performance in this Technicolor screwball
Lombard play the long-suffering good comedy masterpiece. Convinced she was
sport and cool-girl partner to a man who dying from radium poisoning, small-town
CAROLE LOMBARD
doesn’t quite deserve her. In this comedy Vermont woman Hazel Flagg finds out
drama she falls in love with trumpet player she is in fact perfectly healthy. But she
Skid Johnson (MacMurray) when she plays the role of dying woman to the
moves in with him and his eccentric public anyway, to our great amusement,
roommate Harry (great character actor when whisked to New York City by
Charles Butterworth) in Panama. Their a reporter.
romance, however, is threatened by work,
True Confession
USA 1937. Dir Wesley Ruggles. With Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, John Barrymore,
and the arrival of an old flame. Hattie McDaniel. 84min. 35mm PG
Lombard reaches peak screwball Kenneth decides to defend his wife
eccentricity in her role as Helen Bartlett, on the basis of self-defence and Helen
the writer and compulsive liar married to plays along. But is this the one time
honest lawyer Kenneth (MacMurray). that she might be telling the truth?
When she’s put on trial for murder,
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14:45 NFT3 15:50 NFT3 17:40 NFT3 18:00 NFT2 20:50 NFT2 17:30 NFT2
28 book online at bfi.org.ukMr. & Mrs. Smith
USA 1941. Dir Alfred Hitchcock.
With Carole Lombard, Robert Montgomery,
Gene Raymond, Jack Carson. 95min. 35mm
Preserved by the Library of Congress. U
After a legal glitch, David Smith
(Montgomery) finds that he is technically
not married to wife Ann (Lombard). To Be or Not to Be
What could be a romantic renewal of their
CAROLE LOMBARD
USA 1942. Dir Ernst Lubitsch.
vows and a fresh start, instead becomes With Carole Lombard, Jack Benny,
a game of neurotic hijinks and second- Robert Stack, Felix Bressart. 99min.
guesses. After a run of noirish thrillers, 35mm U
Hitchcock made this straight-up comedy Actor couple Joseph (Benny) and
in 1941 because he wanted to work with Maria Tura (Lombard), who run a Polish
In Name Only the charming Lombard. theatrical group, find their lives and values
USA 1939. Dir John Cromwell. With Cary Grant, Carole Lombard, Kay Francis, Charles Coburn.
change after the Nazi invasion. This
94min. 35mm U brilliant and irreverent political satire from
Cary Grant is Alec Walker, a wealthy man The incredibly strong performances by all Ernst Lubitsch has been replicated but
who finds out that he’s actually married to three leads make this a compelling love never quite matched. All of Lombard’s
a society schemer (Francis). When he triangle to watch unfold. previously proven talents coalesced with
meets widowed mother Julie (Lombard) extreme nuance in this, her best – and
while in the countryside he falls in love. sadly last – role (she tragically died in a
plane crash before the film was released).
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@BFI 29FAY WELDON ‘FICTION STRETCHES OUR SENSIBILITIES
AND OUR UNDERSTANDING, AS MERE
INFORMATION NEVER CAN’
FAY WELDON
We celebrate the groundbreaking TV work of Britain’s first lady
of feminist fiction, writes season programmer Dick Fiddy
Fay Weldon is an award-winning novelist, essayist and playwright
who, for several decades, has been delivering female-driven stories
characterised by wickedly dark visions and biting wit. She brought
that same uncompromising talent to the small screen, becoming
one of a select number of female writers trusted with providing
‘single plays’, the flagship drama format of the 1960s and 70s.
She later branched out into serialised major works like The Life and
Loves of a She-Devil (screened here in full a few months back) and
The Cloning of Joanna May. Along the way, she contributed regularly
to anthologies and continuing series, winning a Writers’ Guild Award
for scripting the pilot episode of Upstairs, Downstairs in 1971.
We welcome Fay Weldon to BFI Southbank for an onstage career
interview, complemented by a short season of her wonderful
work for television.
WANT MORE?
See p50 for TV (and film) collections in our
free Mediatheque
Image: The Cloning of Joanna MayHeart of the Country + Fay Weldon in conversation, The Cloning of Joanna May + Q&A with actor Patricia Hodge
FAY WELDON
hosted by Lord Melvyn Bragg (work permitting)
BBC 1987. Dir Brian Farnham. With Susan Penhaligon, Christian Bale, Rosalind Bennett, ITV 1992. Dir Philip Saville. With Patricia Hodge, Brian Cox, Peter Capaldi, James Purefoy.
Jaqueline Tong. Ep1 60min. TRT 120min Parts 1&2 160min
Fay Weldon’s first original serial for Following the screening, we’re pleased Fay Weldon’s futuristic fable tells the story she discovers he’s used genetic
television was this deceptively savage, to welcome Fay Weldon to the BFI of Joanna May, a woman in her 40s who’s engineering to clone three younger
four-part examination of survival in the Southbank stage to talk about her work still obsessively in love with her estranged versions of her. This production reunited
Britain of the 1980s. Weldon later for television and her illustrious career, husband Carl, the director of a nuclear director Philip Saville, star Patricia Hodge
revised the story for a best-selling novel. in conversation with Lord Melvyn Bragg. energy corporation. Carl, however, and screenwriter Ted Whitehead from
remains consumed by jealousy and Weldon’s earlier The Life and Loves of
bitterness after discovering her brief affair, a She-Devil.
and when Joanna unexpectedly visits him
MON 13 JAN SAT 25 JAN
18:20 NFT1 14:20 NFT2
@BFI 31Bright Smiler
Watching Me, Watching You + Bright Smiler A Catching Complaint + Age of Hypocrisy
FAY WELDON
Leap in the Dark, BBC 1980. Dir Colin Time for Murder, ITV 1985. Dir David Carson. Plays of Married Life, ITV 1966. Jubilee, BBC 1977. Dir Valerie Hanson.
Goodman. With Jennie Linden, Rula Lenska, With Jane Asher, Janet Suzman, Alison Dir Derek Bennett. With Derek Godfrey, With Gwen Watford, John Carson,
Keith Barron. 30min Skilbeck. 60min Diana Fairfax, Hylda Baker, Tessa Wyatt. Rosalind Boxall. 50min
Leap in the Dark was an anthology series When successful Hollywood screenwriter 70min Jubilee was a series of 13 plays reflecting
themed around supernatural experiences. Avon (Suzman) returns to England and ‘Unhappiness is a catching complaint, life in Britain under the first 25 years of
In Fay Weldon’s atmospheric tale visits a spa, she’s paired with Sonia and misfortune is an insult to the fortunate. Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. Fay Weldon
a ghostly presence casts a shadow (Asher), a constantly smiling masseuse So let’s peck them to death, the sad took 1964. ‘There’s good girls and there’s
over a couple’s love. whose cheerful demeanour hides ones. They can’t help it, but they ought bad girls. But when good girls make
a simmering, murderous intent. to help it.’ Weldon’s first TV play had a mistake, they’ve a right to a second
a terrific cast tell its tale of lives wasted chance. I don’t care what anyone says.’
in mismatched marriages.
TUE 28 JAN SAT 4 JAN
18:20 NFT3 15:40 NFT2
32 book online at bfi.org.ukBFI DVD & BLU-RAY
New Releases available to order now
ORDER FROM
BFI MEMBERS ENJOY 15% OFFThe timeless films we urge you
to see (for just £8), programmed
by theme
BIG SCREEN CLASSICS
Husbands
GETTING TOGETHER USA 1970. Dir John Cassavetes.
With John Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara,
Since Christmas and New Peter Falk, Jenny Runacre. 138min.
Digital 4K restoration. 12A
Year are seen by many as
Moved by the funeral of a friend to go on
an opportunity for getting a boozy binge that sees them suddenly
together, it’s timely to look head for London, three middle-aged New
at gatherings of various York commuters inadvertently reveal their
feelings and anxieties about marriage,
sorts. As last month, our sex, friendship, work, ageing and so forth.
daily screenings of landmark The three leads, typifying Cassavetes’
movies explore the brand of garrulous naturalism, are
dynamics of the group, be memorably vivid and plausible, pointedly
The Women highlighting the desperation beneath the
it family, friends, colleagues macho bravado.
USA 1939. Dir George Cukor. With Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell,
or simply people brought Paulette Goddard. 133min. 35mm U
together by accident. Adapted by Anita Loos and Jane Murfin the men they love, hate, desire or have
Humans are complex from a play by Clare Boothe Luce, this just left. The sparkling, acerbic dialogue
boasts a splendid all-female cast playing often targets male foibles; the result is
creatures, so things don’t a bunch of women gathered together a joyous celebration of womanhood.
always go as planned... who, perversely, spend most of their time
GEOFF ANDREW, thinking, speaking and scheming about
PROGRAMMER-AT-LARGE
WED 1 JAN SAT 11 JAN FRI 3 JAN SUN 5 JAN SAT 11 JAN
Tickets for these screenings are only £8 15:30 NFT3 14:20 NFT3 18:00 NFT2 19:40 NFT2 20:20 NFT2
book online at bfi.org.ukSmiles of a Summer Night To Sleep with Anger + intro by 12 Angry Men
Sommarnattens Leende BFI programmer David Somerset* USA 1957. Dir Sidney Lumet. With Henry
+ intro by Geoff Andrew, USA 1990. Dir Charles Burnett. Fonda, Lee J Cobb, Ed Begley, EG Marshall.
With Danny Glover, Paul Butler, Mary Alice, 96min. Digital. U
Programmer-at-large*
Vonetta McGee. 101min. 35mm 12A Lumet’s landmark courtroom drama –
Sweden 1955. Dir Ingmar Bergman.
With Eva Dahlbeck, Ulla Jacobsson, In Burnett’s tantalising blend of domestic which actually takes place in the jury’s
Harriet Andersson, Gunnar Bjornstrand. drama and allegorical mysticism, the deliberation chamber – centres on Henry
109min. Digital. EST. PG tensions within an African American Fonda, typecast but superb as the lone Touchez pas au grisbi
BIG SCREEN CLASSICS
Bergman’s first major hit found him in a family now living in LA come to a climax juror who doubts the defendant’s guilt France-Italy 1954. Dir Jacques Becker. With
light-hearted mood, creating a scintillating when they receive a visit from an old and fights a battle of wits against his Jean Gabin, Paul Frankeur, Lino Ventura,
comedy of marital manners as several acquaintance (Glover). A boldly inventive fellow jurors’ various certainties and Jeanne Moreau. 96min. Digital. EST. 15
couples, ex-lovers and would-be lovers meditation on the fraught relationship prejudices. Lumet milks the single-set Ageing gangster Gabin decides to put
gather at a country house in the summer between tradition and modernity, the film claustrophobia for all it’s worth, and elicits together a posse to commit one last
of 1900. Dissecting the characters’ has an unsettling, mysterious power. a marvellous clutch of performances from robbery before retiring; sadly, yet true to
various deceits and delusions with a matchless cast cinematic form, not all his partners-in-
mischievous glee, he revels in the crime can be trusted... Becker’s classic
theatricality of their intrigue; the pleasingly crime movie embellishes the generic
ironic performances are pitched with storyline with plenty of humanising details;
seemingly effortless precision. the characters are not so much criminals
Also available on as individuals who happen to pursue their
particular brand of happiness through
criminal acts.
THU 2 JAN WED 8 JAN SUN 12 JAN
14:30 NFT3 18:05 NFT1* 19:50 NFT2
TUE 28 JAN SAT 4 JAN FRI 10 JAN WED 15 JAN THU 9 JAN SUN 19 JAN MON 20 JAN MON 6 JAN WED 8 JAN THU 23 JAN
20:50 NFT2 20:45 NFT3 20:40 NFT3 18:10 NFT2* 17:45 NFT2 16:50 NFT1 20:45 NFT3 20:50 NFT1 21:00 NFT3 17:50 NFT2
@BFI 35The Asphalt Jungle + intro Johnny Guitar
by Dr Lucy Bolton, Queen Mary USA 1954. Dir Nicholas Ray. With Joan Crawford,
University of London* Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge,
Scott Brady. 110min. Digital 4K. PG
USA 1950. Dir John Huston. With Sterling
Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, Nicholas Ray’s remarkable western sees
Sam Jaffe. 112min. Digital. PG bar-owner Vienna (Crawford) and
John Huston’s much-imitated heist movie hired-hand Johnny (Hayden) caught
– famously a favourite of Jean-Pierre between a gang of prospectors Rio Bravo + intro by Geoff Andrew, Programmer-at-large*
BIG SCREEN CLASSICS
Melville – is a no-nonsense adaptation of suspected of a robbery and the local USA 1959. Dir Howard Hawks. With John Wayne, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan.
WR Burnett’s novel about a gang of farmers whipped up by repressed 141min. Digital. PG
thieves that falls apart after a daring psychotic Emma (McCambridge), who The greatest of Hawks’ classic westerns battle against a clan determined to get
robbery. More film gris than film noir, it hates almost everyone. This portrait of a characteristically celebrates group loyalty, one of their number – a murderer – out of
boasts superb camerawork by Harold bitterly divided community – a Freudian, mutual respect and quiet professionalism jail. Warm, witty, touching, and packed
Rosson and a great cast of familiar, feminist or Marxist allegory? – was a rich as a marshal (Wayne) is lent support by with memorably staged set-pieces.
mostly world-weary faces, including, response to the McCarthy witchhunts, a very motley crew (drunkard, dancer,
briefly and less wearily, a young and it remains all too relevant. old-timer, youngster, etc) in his ongoing
Marilyn Monroe.
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20:45 NFT3 18:00 NFT3* 18:10 NFT2 20:30 NFT2 18:20 NFT3 19:50 NFT3 13:30 NFT2 18:00 NFT3*
36 book online at bfi.org.ukArmy of Shadows Day for Night La Nuit américaine
L’armée des ombres France-Italy 1973. Dir François Truffaut.
France-Italy 1969. Dir Jean-Pierre Melville. With François Truffaut, Jacqueline Bisset,
With Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Jean-Pierre Aumont.
Simone Signoret, Jean-Pierre Cassel. 115min. 35mm EST. 12A
145min. Digital. EST. 12A Truffaut’s loving tribute to the world of
Often stylistically reminiscent of his filmmaking depicts the fond but frequently
gangster movies, Melville’s tribute to fraught interplay between the director Freaks
the French Resistance is an almost (Truffaut himself), his cast and crew as
BIG SCREEN CLASSICS
USA 1932. Dir Tod Browning. With Harry Earles, Olga Baclanova, Leila Hyams, Wallace Ford.
Hawksian study of the dynamics of the they make a melodrama in a studio in 64min. 35mm 12A
group: in order to achieve their ambitions Nice. Ebullient, irreverent, funny and Tod Browning cast actors with disabilities + Slick Hare
and remain invisible to the occupying sometimes deeply affecting, the film for his extraordinary fable of exploitation USA 1947. Dir Friz Freleng. 8min
Germans, the members of the underground celebrates both the illusionism that is and revenge among the members of There are movie gags galore in this Merrie
must prioritise absolute professionalism, cinema and the volatile, short-lived ‘family’ a travelling carnival show (a milieu the Melodies cartoon as Hollywood stars
secrecy and loyalty to colleagues over that comes together for a shoot. director himself knew well). When one gather at a stylish restaurant, where
their own lives. The great Lino Ventura of their number is tricked and threatened Elmer Fudd is a waiter and Bogart wants
plays the quintessential Melville hero. by the trapeze artist and her strongman to eat rabbit. Enter Bugs...
lover, the performers – regarded and
depicted with great sensitivity by the
director – band together to take action.
Also available on
MON 13 JAN FRI 24 JAN SUN 26 JAN
18:10 NFT2 18:10 NFT2 20:00 NFT1
TUE 14 JAN SAT 25 JAN FRI 31 JAN THU 30 JAN MON 6 JAN THU 16 JAN SAT 18 JAN TUE 21 JAN
20:15 NFT3 17:30 NFT3 20:15 NFT2 20:50 NFT2 18:00 NFT3 21:00 NFT3 18:00 NFT3 18:00 NFT3
@BFI 37Dates for your cultural diary,
from DVD/Blu-ray launches
to weekenders, film summits
and festivals
The Bed Sitting Room
SPECIAL FILMS & EVENTS
NETWORK
NIGHTS
Flipside at 40 + discussion BFI NETWORK Nights
TRT 120min TRT c.110min
This special event celebrates the BFI Followed by a discussion with Flipside Join the BFI NETWORK team for a
Flipside Blu-ray and DVD strand, which perpetrators Sam Dunn, Jane Giles, programme of short films they’re loving
after 39 releases is still unearthing William Fowler, Vic Pratt, Jo Botting and right now, topped off with some filmmaker
obscure cinema and TV must-sees, on its Douglas Weir, in anticipation of the release discussion and industry networking.
ongoing mission to curate an alternative of ‘Flipside 40’: Lewis Gilbert’s 1952 Whether you’re a filmmaker looking for
Brit-screen history in deluxe home- juvenile delinquency thriller Cosh Boy. inspiration, an agent looking for the
entertainment editions. Tonight we present Cosh Boy will be released as a dual-format hottest new talent or a fan of short film,
‘CELEBRATE rarely-screened short, sharp shockers: a
past-it popster faces death in G.G.Passion
Blu-ray/DVD edition on Mon 20 Jan this programme will reveal the most
exciting talent working in the UK right now
CHINESE NEW (1966, Dir David Bailey), introduced by its star and introduce you to some of the faces
YEAR WITH A Caroline Munro; paranormal peculiarities
unsettle unfortunate picnickers in
behind the camera. BFI NETWORK exists
to support, develop and champion new
GREAT MIX OF The Lake (1978, Dir Lindsey C Vickers); filmmakers looking to kick-start their
FINE CINEMA, and Dreamhouse (1983, Dir Al Beresford)
sees newlyweds surprised by something
career. network.bfi.org.uk.
Tickets £8, £3 tickets in advance for 25-and-
CUTTING-EDGE sinister that the surveyor missed. under. The screening is followed by a drinks
reception in the BLUE ROOM, open to all
DOCUMENTARY ticket holders
AND FESTIVE
ENTERTAINMENT’
DAVID SOMERSET,
PROGRAMMER WED 15 JAN THU 30 JAN
Chinese New Year (p39) 18:30 NFT1 18:40 NFT3
book online at bfi.org.ukYou can also read
