Two re-released CLASSICS: LE QUAI DES BRUMES (new print) &
THE LIFE & DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (newly restored /new print)
AND WINSTANLEY - the story of the Diggers from the English Revolution (1649)
& Max Ophuls' so pleasing LE PLAISIR
Tues 8th May NFT3 6.20pm
LE QUAI DES BRUMES (1938) dir Marcel Carne - France
Derided as "counter-revolutionary" by fellow director Jean Renoir upon its
release, Le Quai des Brumes is now seen as a classic. A marvellously moody
thriller, that gave Jean Gabin (remember him in La Grande Illusion?) one of his
most memorably iconic roles as an Army deserter on the run. Holed up in foggy Le
Havre and trying to escape to S America, his plans run aground when he falls
for beret -wearing Michele Morgan. Seldom has the seedy side of life seemed so
seductive and the film can be seen as a precursor for film noir that
evolved in Hollywood a few years later.Carne's most famous film LES ENFANTS DU
PARADISE(1945) was one of the first post-War French films to capture the British
imagination. I recall the Continental in Wallasey that used to seemingly screen
this film non-stop to the intelligentsia of the Wirral with black coffee in the
intermission. Intermission?
Tues 15th May NFT2 8.45pm
WINSTANLEY ((1976) dir Kevin Brownlow - Brit
The history they never taught you at school
The film follows the historical movement of the Diggers who in 1649 created
a "alternative society" settlement at St George's Hill Surrey under the
leadership of Gerald Winstanley. Made on a limited budget with a
non-professional cast it charts the rise and dissolution of the Diggers' dream.
Not kings and queens, but people.How different our world could have been? The
film unearthed a people's history which in itself spawned in the 1970's the
highly influential radical magazine THE LEVELLER, now long since gone - not a
News International publication.Coupled with the Putney debates the film offers
us an insight into the Diggers' dream of equality for all including can you
believe women. Obligatory viewing. Brownlow also made, again with a
non-professional cast, IT HAPPENED HERE - the effect of a Nazi occupation on
the UK.
Can be see in conjunction with Michael Reeves' THE WITHCHFINDER
GENERAL
Tues 22nd May NFT2 8.40pm
LE PLAISIR ((1952) dir Max Ophuls - France
It's that man again - JEAN GABIN.
A group of prostitutes attend a girl's first communion in a country church.
A subtle tale of emotional awakening & wistful regrets. We have already
seen at Film Nite, Ophuls' masterpiece A LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN, and you
will be aware of the great man's camera style. LE PLAISIR opens with a
dazzling example of Ophul's trademark, the whirling dance where his camera
seems to go through walls. Based upon three short stories by Guy de Maupassant ,
each tells a tale of pleasure. The first is the story of an old man who regains
his youth with the aid of a magic mask, the second is the prostitute tale and
the third concerns two lovers, an artist, and his model. A truly lovely
film.
The greatest film made in France since the Liberation - Jean-Luc
Godard
His other admirers include Scorsese (An Age of Innocence is a homage to
Ophuls), Kubrick, Truffaut, and latterly Todd Hynes, & Paul Thomas
Anderson
Tues 29th May NFT3 5.50pm
THE LIFE & DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (1943) dir Michael Powell -
Brit
Considered to be one of the finest British movies ever made.
Painstakingly restored to its full Technicolor glory, this masterpiece is
probably the greatest study of "Englishness" in the cinema. It is the story of
General Candy and his love of three women all played by Deborah Kerr.Made in the
middle of the War, it is both anti-Nazi, and at the same time, sympathetic to
the "good" german as played by Anton Walbrook. As a consequence
Churchill considered having it surpressed. In all my years of teaching film
I've never known anyone not to be charmed by this film. All is fair in love
and war.
My advice is to book the films you would like to see
NOW
0207 928 3232 & bfi.org.uk
If you would like to have a pasta/pizza then please let me know. If there
are more than 10 then PIZZA EXPRESS will accept a booking.
Please download any current vouchers from the PIZZA EXPRESS WEBSITE and
bring them with you.
To keep the price down we just have a main course plus a
drink.
For further info on above films try BFI website/BFI GUIDE/google/wikipedia
etc.
CHEAPO TUESDAY is a FREE service open to existing and former members of
FILM NITE.
