Season 1
March to August, 2013
ADELAIDE
CINÉMATHÈQUE
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN FILM SOCIETY DEVOTED TO SCREEN CULTURE
MERCURY CINEMA, 13 MORPHETT STREET, ADELAIDE
ANNUAL
MEMBERSHIP
Telephone: (08) 8410 1934 www.mercurycinema.org.au
$120 FULL
$99 CONC
Adelaide Cinémathèque is South Australia’s premier film society and for a quarter century the
Cinémathèque has celebrated cinema in all its forms offering audiences a program of classic, cult,
experimental, documentary, silent, short and premiere films.
16 SESSION
MEMBERSHIP
As a film society, you can’t purchase tickets to single sessions… so to see the finest cinema from around
the world simply become a member, which you can do anytime online, at the cinema or by phoning
(08) 8410 1934. Memberships are excellent value and easy to purchase. They also make an ideal gift!
Everyone is invited to join. Enjoy inexpensive quality film all year round!
The Media Resource Centre is proud to present Cinémathèque and host it at the Mercury Cinema, Adelaide’s
centre of screen culture. Curated by Mat Kesting and the MRC Members’ Exhibition Group.
$89 FULL
$65CONC
4 SESSION
MEMBERSHIP
$40 FULL
$30CONC
CORY MCABEE – CRAZY SPACEAGE COWBOY!
14 – 21 March
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
Lead singer and writer for genre-confounding band The Billy Nayer Show, Cory McAbee (1961 – )
has carved a cult niche for himself with songs and films unlike anything in today’s cultural landscape.
Returning to Adelaide as part of his global Captain Ahab’s Motorcycle Club project (join the local
chapter today!) we are proud to open Cinémathèque with a premiere screening of his latest film
developed through Sundance Film Festival, a retrospective of his work and a guest appearance from
the very generous Cory McAbee himself.
OPENING
NIGHT
CRAZY AND THIEF
AMERICAN ASTRONAUT
7:30pm Thursday 14 March
DIR: CORY MCABEE
USA 2012 52mins 4K
A child’s odyssey from New York to Pennsylvania, Cory McAbee’s own
children play Crazy (Willa Vy McAbee) and Thief (Huck McAbee). Crazy
and Thief follow their homemade star map to find the ‘stars’ all around
them and eventually the time machine of Bethlehem. They create a
children’s world – one that adults merely pass through, unaware of the
magic around them. Filled with the Billy Nayer Show’s music, this is the
most charming and uplifting fable to hit screens in years. Rating TBA.
45MIN LIVE PERFORMANCE BY MCABEE AND Q&A.
(M)
STINGRAY SAM
(R18+)
+ MAN ON THE MOON + BILLY NAYER
+ RENO + FAIRY BALL
7:30pm Monday 18 March
7:30pm Thursday 21 March
DIR: CORY MCABEE
USA 2001 94mins 35mm
DIR: CORY MCABEE
USA 2009 61mins 35mm
Space…a sparsely populated and oddly segregated frontier. Samuel Curtis
(McAbee) delivers a cat to an asteroid saloon and from there things get
really strange. Traversing the solar system and pursued by his sinister
nemesis Professor Hess (Rocco Sisto) who is killing all those in his wake, the
space-faring cowboy gets more than he bargained for. With handmade sets
and effects, brimming with infectious music and dancing, The American
Astronaut will restore your faith in cinema. Includes early McAbee shorts
The Man on the Moon (1993, 23 mins) and Billy Nayer (1992, 3 mins).
Stingray Sam (Cory McAbee) has given up his life of crime to be a lounge
singer on Mars, but reuniting with his former accomplice, the Quasar Kid
(Crugie) he’s drawn into a plan to rescue a young girl (Willa Vy McAbee)
from the hands of a mad corporate figurehead. Distributed on multiple
platforms, Stingray Sam is best enjoyed in an appreciative cinema.
A space-western-musical-serial as only McAbee would dare! Also with
shorts Reno (2007, 6 mins) and Fairy Ball (2011, 5 mins).
BEFORE MIDNIGHT
THE FORMATIVE FILMS OF ROMAN POLANSKI
ARRIVES (IN AUSTRALIA)… 4 – 15 April
For Polanski (1933 – ) surviving the Holocaust was just the beginning. Breaking out of the Polish
25 & 28 March
One of the most successful filmmakers of the
90’s American indie film renaissance, self-taught
writer/director and founder of the Austin Film
Society, Richard Linklater (1960 – ) was recently
awarded the 2013 Berlinale Camera for lifetime
achievement. His most recent offering Before
Midnight premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film
Festival forming the third instalment in the
Before series. His films are typically set in
a 24-hour period and explore what he calls ‘the
youth rebellion continuum’. Unobtrusive and
sympathetic, these films restore hope in the idea
of love, even for the most cynical of us.
film scene onto the international stage brought him critical acclaim and scores of directors have been
influenced by his psychologically harrowing thrillers and tragedies. From the murder of his pregnant
wife Sharon Tate, to his alleged sexual misconduct, Polanski seems driven by fate and his own human
depravities to become the lead character in his biopic.
KNIFE IN THE WATER
(PG)
7:30pm Thursday 4 April
(M)
7:30pm Thursday 11 April
DIR: ROMAN POLANSKI
POLAND 1962 94mins 16mm
DIR: ROMAN POLANSKI
UK 1966 113mins 16mm
A young married couple almost hit a hitchhiker and decide to take him
sailing on a lake. The mean-spirited husband, jealous of the chemistry
between the unnamed young man and his wife, takes cruelty and taunting
to great heights, pushing all three in unexpected directions. Polanski’s
feature debut is a minimalist powerhouse that propelled him onto the world
stage as one of the foremost new directors of psychological thrillers.
Print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive
A robbery gone wrong, a rising tide, an isolated home and a gangster
holding a married couple hostage; neuroses and sexualities simmer away
and give way to a mental ménage à trois. With everybody falling quickly
and easily into role-playing and sexual humiliation, Polanski turns an already
taut piece of paranoia into a darkly humorous comment on modernity.
WINNER Golden Bear
Print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive
REPULSION
CHINATOWN
7:30pm Monday 8 April
(M)
DIR: ROMAN POLANSKI
UK 1965 105mins 16mm
Carole (Catherine Deneuve) is detached enough from her own life, so when her
promiscuous sister goes on holiday and leaves her alone in their apartment, she
no longer has an anchor to reality. Carole’s repressed sexuality and apparently
inherent violence bubble to the surface and she is threatened by hallucinations.
Disorienting and subjective, Polanski’s English-language debut is the stuff of
BEFORE SUNRISE
(M) claustrophobic nightmares and a malevolent precursor to Eraserhead, with
crushing modernity outside and madness within.
7:30 Monday 25 March
WINNER Silver Bear & FIPRESCI prize (Berlinale, 1965)
DIR: RICHARD LINKLATER
LISTED IN 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
US 1995 105mins 4K
Print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive
A young American, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and a young French woman
Céline (Julie Delpy) meet on a train en route to Vienna. They spend the
night walking around the city, getting to know each other. With separate
journeys in the morning, they have limited time to explore thoughts and
perspectives, knowing that once morning comes they may never see each
other again. Coming in at number 3 in The Guardian’s best romantic films of
all time, the tension builds as dawn draws closer. The pair decide to meet
again in Vienna in six months time, paving the way for Before Sunset.
WINNER Best Director, Berlinale 1995
BEFORE SUNSET
CUL DE SAC
(M)
7:30pm Monday 15 April
DIR: ROMAN POLANSKI
US 1974 130mins 16mm
Jake (Jack Nicholson) has his normal routine of matrimonial surveillance
for divorce cases, making a comfortable living out of other’s misfortunes
until one case drags him into murder, corruption and high-stakes
wrangling to control Los Angeles’ water supply. With the sharpest
script of his career (courtesy of Robert Towne) and a gifted cast and
crew, Polanski turns in his masterpiece, with one of the most searing
and downbeat endings in Hollywood.
WINNER Academy Award (Best writing/ screenplay) and three BAFTAS
LISTED IN 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive
(M)
7:30pm Thursday 28 March
DIR: RICHARD LINKLATER
US 2004 80mins 4K
[Nine years later…] Jesse is now a writer enjoying success with a novel
about a one-night stand. He bumps into Céline in Paris and stroll around
the city, but things have changed. No longer hopeful young things with life
spread out before them, Jesse and Céline confess to disappointments and
resentments. Time is short, they only have 80-or-so minutes (played out in
real time) before Jesse must return to the US. From this melancholy scenario,
is an honest but affectionate portrait of an amorphous romance – not to
mention one of the most tantalising and ingenious endings in all cinema.
The Guardian.
THATCHER’S BRITAIN
18 April – 2 May
ANTONIONI THE GREAT
6 – 13 May
The general election of 1979 and Britain, plagued by years of rising unemployment, social unrest
and teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, looked for change. Britain voted for Margaret Thatcher
(1925 – ) and quickly realised the cure may be worse than the disease. With the maturation of
the Seventies punk scene, its attendant class rage and a burgeoning independent cinema, there
was fertile soil for scathing observations on a nation where unemployment lines were the only
growth industry.
LOOKS AND SMILES
(M)
7:30pm Thursday 18 April
DIR: KEN LOACH
UK 1981 104mins 16mm
Mick (Graham Green) has little to do in Sheffield except work on his
motorbike, hang out with mates and collect the dole. There are no jobs,
no industry and no hopes for the future. A friend joins the Army and gets
embroiled in the troubles, Mick meets a girl and between them, they might
find a way out of the long dark winter that was Britain’s crippling recession.
Adapting a Barry Hines novel (as he did with Kes) Loach takes his trademark
social realist look at the plight of the working class.
MY BEAUTIFUL
LAUNDRETTE
7:30pm Monday 22 April
SPECIAL
IMPORT
(M)
DIR: STEPHEN FREARS
UK 1985 97mins 4K
Omar, a young British-Pakistani is torn between the influence of
his alcoholic father’s ideal of a university education and his rich
entrepreneurial uncle. In the end, Omar follows his uncle’s lead and
transforms a run down laundromat, given to him by his uncle, into a
glittering monument to the garment. Help comes to Omar from his
childhood mate, the tough Johnny, played by Daniel Day Lewis in his first
major role. Set in London’s Asian community in a time of little acceptance,
Hanif Kureishi’s screenplay pushes the boundaries of race and sexuality
and enabled Frears to create an Oscar© nominated, landmark film.
Michelangelo Antonioni (1912 – 2007) was best
known for the loose trilogy L’Avventura, La Notte
and L’Eclisse exploring the malaise of modern
society – alienation and the struggle to connect in
an increasingly materialistic world. He developed
a radical new cinematic grammar, rejecting
the rules of traditional genre and narrative,
THE COOK, THE THIEF,
(R18+)
in his search to visually represent the internal
HIS WIFE AND HER LOVER
developments that take place in the minds of
7:30pm Monday 29 April
his principal characters. Antonioni has been a
DIR: PETER GREENAWAY
significant influence for many directors including
UK/ FRANCE 1989 124mins 4K
Kurosawa, Kubrick, Janscó and Tarkovsky.
Crude gangster Spica (Michael Gambon) has taken over a high-end London
restaurant and holds court there each night, antagonising staff and
(R18+)
customers alike with his boorish behaviour. His wife Georgina (Helen Mirren) L’AVVENTURA
is driven into the arms of a quiet bookseller and the stage is set for murder 7:30pm Monday 6 May
and horrid revenge. A visual treat of formalism, Greenaway’s film still
DIR: MICHELANGELO ANTONIONI
shocks and rings with the sound of aristocratic monocles hitting the floor at ITALY/ FRANCE 1960 143mins 16mm
the sight of the inheritors of Thatcher’s reforms, violent thugs who believe L’Avventura had a tumultuous reception at its premiere at Cannes but is now
their economic success can buy them culture.
considered an influential and modern masterpiece. A young woman (Lea
LISTED IN 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Massari) mysteriously disappears on an excursion to an island near Sicily
with a group of wealthy socialites. Her friend (Monica Vitti) is seemingly
NAKED
SPECIAL (M) alone in her concern for her friend’s disappearance. The story of a woman
7:30pm Thursday 2 May
forgotten, this is a scathing depiction of an unhappy, listless society devoid
IMPORT
of meaningful human emotion.
DIR: MIKE LEIGH
UK 1993 131mins 16mm
WINNER Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival (1960)
Educated, articulate and mentally unbalanced Johnny (David Thewlis) rapes LISTED IN 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive
a woman and flees the law to take up with an ex-girlfriend. Antagonistic
towards her and her female flatmate, he delights in verbal and sexual
LA NOTTE
(PG)
dominance. Johnny is constantly denigrating those around him in the
belief that he is the most cultured and intelligent person in the room and
7:30pm Thursday 9 May
possibly the world, until he finds himself on the receiving end of some
DIR: MICHELANGELO ANTONIONI
equally disdainful physical violence. A confronting film, the post-Thatcher
ITALY/ FRANCE 1961 115mins 16mm
underclass is represented by a character more distasteful and destructive
A portrait of marital dissolution in upper-class Milan. It is a day in the life of
than the government it seeks to critique.
an unhappily married couple – successful author (Marcello Mastroianni) and
Print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive
his frustrated wife (Jeanne Moreau). They wander, lost and bored between
a visit to a dying friend, a book-signing event and finally, a party for the rich
and famous, all the time questioning the depth of their love for each other.
Antonioni explores his protagonists, using landscape and architecture as key
ingredients to mood and exploration of character.
WINNER Golden Bear, Berlin Film Festival (1961)
LISTED IN 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive
L’ECLISSE
(R18+)
7:30pm Monday 13 May
DIR: MICHELANGELO ANTONIONI
ITALY / FRANCE 1962 126mins 16mm
With a simple narrative structure, a young woman (Monica Vitti) leaves one
lover (Francisco Rabal) and tentatively explores the beginnings of an affair
with another (Alain Delon). L’Eclisse is a meditation on the possibilities of
love in the modern age. Whilst Antonioni’s vision can be uncompromising, his
images pulse with energy and beauty. All around the doomed affair of the
young couple, life goes on with equal parts of hope, vitality, loss and despair.
WINNER Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival (1962)
Print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive
LONG TIME LOVE
16– 27 May
The ability of cinema to capture an audience is often by means of reflecting upon universal themes
and the human condition. Watching human emotion on screen can be like looking into a mirror and in
no other area does it strike so close to the bone than with matters of the heart. Here we take a look at
four films that explore some challenges that arise with long term intimate relationships, their genesis,
senescence and end. Just rest assured that whatever you’re feeling, you’re not the first and you’re
certainly not alone!
SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE
(M)
7:30pm Thursday 16 May
TWO FOR THE ROAD
(PG)
7:30pm Thursday 23 May
DIR: INGMAR BERGMAN
SWEDEN 1973 168mins 4K
DIR: STANLEY DONEN
UK 1967 111mins 4K
Originally made as a six part television series, Bergman’s Scenes From A
Marriage was alleged to cause the divorce rate in Sweden to nearly double
in the year that the series was released. The story gives an unflinching
insight into the loneliness, doubt, despair and confusion felt by Marianne
(Liv Ullmann), when she discovers her husband, Johan (Erland Josephson),
is having an affair. Featuring rapid and articulate monologues and a hyperrealism and naturalist style, the film received numerous awards including a
BAFTA for Ullmann and a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film.
Starring Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney, Donen’s film is about an
architect and his wife as they ‘make something wonderful out of being
alive’. Frederic Raphael’s Oscar© nominated script examines the couples’
twelve year relationship whilst on a road trip to the south of France.
Stylistically, the non-linear format of the film (popularised by films of the
French New Wave), was considered challenging for wider audiences at the
time. Henry Mancini’s score is a highlight.
5X2
7:30pm Monday 27 May
(MA15+)
CINQ FOIS DEUX
AMOUR
(M)
DIR: MICHAEL HANEKE
FRANCE/ GERMANY/ AUSTRIA 2012 127mins 4K
7:30pm Monday 20 May
Compared with Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage by The Guardian,
the Oscar© nominated, 2012 Palm d’Or and BAFTA winning Amour, is a
Five key moments are depicted in reverse order to reveal the disintegration masterpiece. Retired music teachers Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) and
Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) are happy, in love and live a full life in
of a marriage between Gilles (Stéphane Freiss) and Marion (Valeria Bruni
their book-lined Paris apartment. Tragedy strikes when Anne suffers two
Tedeschi), starting in the lawyer’s office where their separation is being
strokes leaving her ultimately impaired and in pain. With Anne’s wishes
finalised going back to when they first met at an Italian beach resort. The
in mind and filled with love, Georges is faced with the ultimate dilemma
film is punctuated with romantic Italian love songs that Ozon included for
when caring for a life companion.
their dramatic quality. Nominated for a Golden Lion and winner of Best
WINNER 2012 Palm d’Or, Cannes Film Festival
Actress at Venice Film Festival 2004.
WINNER Best Actress, Venice FF 2004
DIR: FRANCOIS OZON
FRANCE 2004 90mins 4K
JOHN FORD AND
HIS MANY OSCARS ©
30 May – 13 June
From silent cinema to widescreen epics, John
Ford (1894 – 1973) defined American cinema
for decades and influenced directors across the
globe. Renowned for his westerns and definitive
images of the American landscape, Ford cast his
net wide to capture human drama wherever he
found it. Presented here are the four films that
earned him the Oscar© for Best Director.
THE INFORMER
(R18+)
7:30pm Thursday 30 May
DIR: JOHN FORD
US 1935 91mins 16mm
A vacillating former member of the IRA (an Oscar© winning role for Victor
McLaglen) betrays a friend so he and his girlfriend can migrate to America
and start afresh. But nobody escapes their conscience. Ford deals with one
of his regular themes of honour and personal values, whilst also showing
his sympathies towards the IRA.
WINNER Academy Awards (Best Director, Screenplay, Actor, Music)
Print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive
THE GRAPES OF WRATH
THE LOOK OF CHARLOTTE RAMPLING
17 – 24 June
(PG)
7:30pm Monday 3 June
DIR: JOHN FORD
US 1940 129mins 16mm
Having lost their farm in the Great Depression, the Joad family pack up their
remaining possessions and head west to find work. Tom Joad (Henry Fonda
in a defining role) is shocked to find conditions in the itinerant camps worse
than his recently completed prison sentence, and begins to agitate for the
rights of the common man. Adapted from John Steinbeck’s masterpiece,
with Gregg Toland’s masterful cinematography, the plight of the Okies
remains as relevant now as it was decades ago.
(R18+) WINNER Academy Awards (Best Director, Best Actress)
LISTED IN 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive
On her choice of roles, Rampling has said, “I generally don’t make films to entertain people. I choose
the parts that challenge me to break through my own barriers. A need to devour, punish, humiliate or
surrender seems to be a primal part of human nature, and it’s certainly a big part of sex. To discover
what normal means, you have to surf a tide of weirdness.” And she has. An enduring actress and beauty
from the 60’s to the present day subverting society’s norms is what she does best.
THE NIGHT PORTER
7:30pm Thursday 20 June
DIR: LILIANA CAVANI
ITALY 1974 118mins 4K
With dark and disturbing themes and a morally ambiguous ending,
The Night Porter has continued to divide audiences. Lucia Atherton
(Rampling) is a concentration camp survivor who had an ambiguous
relationship with Nazi SS officer Maximilian Theo Aldorfer (Dirk Bogarde),
who tormented but protected her. In an iconic scene, Lucia sings a
Marlene Dietrich song to the concentration camp guards while
wearing pieces of an SS uniform, Max ‘rewards’ her with the severed
head of a male inmate who had been bullying the other inmates.
Thirteen years after WWII, Lucia meets Aldorfer again; he is now
the night porter at a Viennese hotel. There, they fall back into their
sadomasochistic relationship.
‘TIS PITY SHE’S A WHORE
(R18+)
SWIMMING POOL
7:30pm Monday 17 June
Based on the classic play of the same name by Jacobean English
playwright, John Ford, this is one of the most controversial love stories
ever told. Annabella (Rampling) hurriedly marries Soranzo when she is
found to be pregnant following her incestuous relationship with her
brother, Giovanni. Jealousies and envy lead to her past being revealed,
resulting in her husband seeking murderous revenge, ultimately uniting
all in classic tragedy.
DIR: JOHN FORD
US 1941 118mins 16mm
THE QUIET MAN
DIR: FRANCOIS OZON
FRANCE/ UK 2003 102mins 4K
DIR: GIUSEPPE PATRONI GRIFFI
ITALY 1971 91mins 4K
(PG)
7:30pm Thursday 6 June
A close-knit Welsh family see their lives slowly dismantled by the outside
forces of greedy mine owners, small-minded gossip and the economic and
environmental decline of their hometown. Adapted from Richard Llewellyn’s
novel, and once again showing Ford’s concern with family and the man on
the street, the film scooped five Oscars©, infamously beating Citizen Kane.
WINNER Academy Awards (Best Director, Picture, Cinematography, Art
Direction). LISTED IN 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
(MA15+) Print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive
7:30pm Monday 24 June
ADDIO, FRATELLO CRUDELE
HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY
(G)
7:30pm Thursday 13 June
In this psychological thriller, Rampling plays Sarah Morton, a British
crime writer who goes to her publisher’s beautiful holiday house in
the South of France for the solitude she needs to complete her book.
Sarah’s peace is interrupted by the arrival of Julie (Ludivine Sagnier)
who claims to be the publisher’s daughter. The intentionally ambiguous
ending sparked controversy with audiences. Ozon himself has stated
‘everything that is imaginary in Swimming Pool is realistic so that
you see it all – fantasy and reality alike – on the same plane’. This is
Rampling at the height of her powers.
WINNER European Film Award (Best Actress)
DIR: JOHN FORD
US 1952 129mins 16mm
Ford returns to his beloved Irish countryside and takes his most famous
leading man for what seems an uncharacteristic romantic comedy/drama.
John Wayne is Irish-American Sean Thornton, returned to reclaim his
family’s farm and falls in love with neighbouring Mary (Maureen O’Hara)
despite the objections of her overbearing brother. Filled with absurd
hijinks typical of a rom-com, it encompasses Ford’s concern with a man’s
inner turmoils. Not to mention one of the most outrageous fist-fights ever
committed to celluloid.
WINNER Academy Awards (Best Director, Cinematography)
LISTED IN 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
DIGGING THE AMERICAN
UNDERGROUND
27 June & 1 July
By the late 1950s American artists had turned
their sights to independent cinema, and
New York in particular became a hotbed of
avant-garde film. Doing away with notions such
as script, continuity or anything approaching
traditional editing, directors like Bruce Conner,
Stan Brakhage, Ron Rice, Ken Jacobs and the
Kuchar brothers (need we mention Warhol?)
turned Beat poetry into moving images,
breaking taboos and opening up the cinematic
landscape of the future.
WARNING: some of the films in this programme contain
confronting images – all rated 18+.
Prints courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive
TRUFFAUT’S INFORMERS
4 – 15 July
François Truffaut (1932 – 1984) is considered to be an icon of French cinema and a founder of the
French New Wave. After starting his own cinema club (The Movie Mania Club) in 1948, he met Andre
Bazin, the co-founder of the film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema, who became his mentor
as well as being integral to initiating his career as a film critic. From film criticism, Truffaut turned
filmmaker. He, as with other New Wave directors, was critical of the older generation of filmmakers,
but there were exceptions – these included Vigo, Renoir and most importantly Hitchcock.
L’ATALANTE
(G)
7:30pm Thursday 4 July
FLAMING CREATURES
AND THEIR FRIENDS
7:30pm Thursday 27 June
PROGRAMME: 96mins
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jack Smith’s Flaming Creatures
(1963, 45mins), which outraged moral guardians, tore the doors off the
cinematic ghetto of the Underground and invaded the daylight world
of film. Also screening: A Movie (Bruce Conner, 1958, 12mins), Cosmic
Ray (Bruce Conner, 1962, 4mins), Prelude: Dog Star Man (Stan Brakhage,
1962, 25mins) and Surface Tension (Hollis Frampton, 1968, 10mins).
SCORPIO RISING AND BRINGING
OTHERS TO THE SURFACE
7:30pm Monday 1 July
PROGRAMME: 104mins
Kenneth Anger’s 1964 celebration of occult imagery, pop music and bikie
fetishism became one of, if not, the most widely screened films of the
American Underground. Come along and find out why it earned such
devotion, as well as experiencing Blow Job (Andy Warhol, 1963, 28mins),
Hold Me While I’m Naked (George Kuchar, 1966, 15mins) and
The Act of Seeing With One’s Own Eyes (Stan Brakhage, 1971, 32mins).
DIR: JEAN VIGO
FRANCE 1934 89mins 35mm
DIR: ALFRED HITCHCOCK
US 1956 105mins 16mm
Newlyweds Jean (Jean Dasté) and Juliette (Dita Parlo) live aboard the canal
barge L’Atalante that Jean captains with two other crew. River life soon loses
its appeal for Juliette who goes in search of excitement when they dock in
Paris. Jean, angered by this departs without his wife but soon returns. Vigo,
the son of an anarchist, creates a captivating aesthetic with contrast on
screen between surface realism (working class hardships) and the surreal
landscapes. Vigo’s classic film was a forerunner to the French New Wave,
utilising a discontinuous style, and remains a celebrated film to this day,
often appearing in ‘best films of all time’ lists (eg Sight and Sound).
LISTED IN 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Said to be based on a real life story of an innocent man charged with a crime,
The Wrong Man is one of the few Hitchcock films to be based on a true story,
making this a unique addition to the Hitchcock oeuvre. This is a harrowing
study of the psychological cost of misguided suspicion and mistaken identity.
Starring Henry Fonda and Vera Miles, Hitchcock makes his signature cameo
as a silhouette at the start of the film.
Print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive
THE RULES OF THE GAME
7:30pm Monday 15 July
(G)
LA REGLE DU JEU
7:30pm Monday 8 July
DIR: JEAN RENOIR
FRANCE 1939 110mins 16mm
Listed as one of Sight and Sound’s top 10 films of all time, Rules of the Game was
banned when first released as it was labelled ‘too demoralising’ and was only
made available in its original form some 17 years later. A group of aristocrats
gather for rural time out at a lavish country Chateau. In between hunting,
servant dramas unfold downstairs while upstairs romantic encounters and
deception go on between husbands, wives, mistresses and lovers. Comedy
and melancholy combine in this examination of class division.
LISTED IN 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive
Vampires have occupied the cinema since the nights of silent cinema and have captivated generations
ever since, starting with the iconic Nosferatu (Murnau, 1922) and more recently with the adaptation
of American author Stephenie Meyer’s novels in the Twilight saga of five blockbusters. In this season
we take a look at some of the standout vampire moments in cinema from the last few decades, before
the Twilight phenomenon.
(PG)
7:30pm Thursday 18 July
NEAR DARK
(R18+)
7:30pm Thursday 25 July
DIR: WERNER HERZOG
GERMANY/ FRANCE 1979 107mins 16mm
DIR: KATHRYN BIGELOW
US 1987 94mins 35mm
Werner Herzog’s love letter remake of Murnau’s seminal original brings grit,
filth and overbearing dread back to the vampire film and manages to save
the genre from the creeping camp of the Hammer films. Claustrophobically
filmed and meditatively paced, this film features an effortless and fearless
performance by Klaus Kinski, who takes Max Schreck’s otherworldly creation
and makes it his own.
WINNER Silver Bear, Berlinale
Print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive
Although overshadowed upon release by The Lost Boys, Kathryn Bigelow’s
biker/western reinvention of the American vampire film has since moved
through cult status to genuine classic at 35 on Rotten Tomatoes’ list of the
50 best reviewed horror films of all time! With both Bill Paxton and Lance
Hendricksen in fine form, a young Adrian Pasdar (long before he became
‘that guy from Heroes’) and one of the most famous bar room scenes
in film history, Near Dark remains every bit as effective today as it was
upon release.
THE HUNGER
(PG)
7:30pm Thursday 11 July
BEFORE TWILIGHT
18 – 29 July
NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE
THE WRONG MAN
(M)
THE 400 BLOWS
(PG)
LES QUATRE CENTS COUPS
DIR: FRANCOIS TRUFFAUT
FRANCE 1959 99mins 16mm
One of the defining films of the French New Wave and the directorial
debut for Truffaut, The 400 Blows is a semi-autobiographical story about
a misunderstood adolescent in Paris, thought to be a troublemaker by his
parents and teachers. This was the first in the Antoine Doinel trilogy (the
character invented by Truffaut) tracing him from antisocial anguish to
domesticity and was the film to reignite French cinema internationally.
The 400 Blows remains a cornerstone in film history that can, and should
be revisited numerous times over.
WINNER Cannes Film Festival (Best Director)
LISTED IN 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive
YOUNG
CINÉMATHÈQUE NIGHT
We are actively recruiting the next generation of cinephiles to sample
Adelaide Cinematheque. Free entry on this night to anyone aged 15 –20.
SHADOW OF THE
VAMPIRE
(M)
7:30pm Monday 29 July
DIR: ELIAS MERHIGE
UK/ US/ LUXEMBOURG 2000 92mins 4K
Whatever it is about Max Schreck’s vampire that has inspired other
actors so much, is evident once more in Willem Dafoe’s Oscar©
nominated turn in the role. This darkly comic fictionalisation of the
making of Murnau’s original Nosferatu, suggests that the secret
of Schreck’s performance was that it was no performance at all. It
explores both a filmmaker’s obsession with getting their vision to film
and the agonies of a vampire who simply can’t understand why so
many people are needed to make a film...surely he could just eat one?
7:30pm Monday 22 July
DIR: TONY SCOTT
UK 1983 97mins 35mm
In his first feature film, Tony Scott not only displays many of the visual
motifs that would make him as much a filmmaking style as a filmmaker,
but gives us a glimpse of the art house career he might have had if his next
film had not been Top Gun. There is no doubt that The Hunger is an exercise
in style over substance, but when that style includes David Bowie and the
infamous seduction scene with Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon,
substance really doesn’t seem so important.
Sessions restricted to 18+ except where classification is otherwise indicated.
LION
MERCURY ARTS
CINEMA CENTRE
13
TRAM
A very special thank you to our most dedicated volunteers: Patti Greethead, Craig Andrews and
Angela Schilling, Krystyna Pindral and Jill Thorp and our FoH volunteer Tony. Thank you also
to the MRC Members Exhibition Group: Joey Blackwell, Andrew Bunney, Ron Hillinga, Keith
Keller, Richard Kuipers, David Munn, Dimitri Sykioti and Mike Walsh. A big thanks to all the
MRC staff that work tirelessly to make the Cinémathèque a success.
MRC
NORTH TERRACE
THE ADELAIDE CINÉMATHÈQUE WISHES TO THANK: Accent Film Entertainment,
Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Adelaide Film Festival, Chapel Films, Level Four,
National Film and Sound Archive, National Non Theatrical Lending Collection, Niche Pictures,
Park Circus, Roadshow, Three D Radio, Twentieth Century Fox, Umbrella Entertainment.
WHERE IS THE MERCURY CINEMA?
HINDLEY STREET
The Adelaide Cinémathèque reserves the right to amend programming, alter membership
rates and may apply additional charges for special events. All 2013 Adelaide Cinémathèque
memberships expire at the end of 2013.
MORPHETT STREET BRIDGE
www.mercurycinema.org.au
www.sensesofcinema.com