2010-11 programme by mini-season
Free Preview Screenings
A selection of free previews to whet your appetite for the Edinburgh Film Guild's 81st season, with films from the Val Lewton, Nikkatsu Noir and Popular Cinema of the Third Reich mini-seasons.
Cat People
Sunday 26th September 2010 at 2:00PM
Der Mann, der Sherlock Holmes war / The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes
Sunday 26th September 2010 at 4:30PM
I am Waiting
Sunday 26th September 2010 at 7:00PM
Popular Cinema of the Third Reich
"Until recently, the cinema of the Third Reich has been treated as the ultimate Other of world cinema. Excluded from standard film historical and theoretical analyses, the more than one thousand feature films produced during the period have remained closely identified with the critical paradigms of propaganda studies and ideology critique. Both have generated the kind of summary treatments, captured in terms like “Nazi cinema” or “Nazi film,” that often include sweeping conclusions about mass manipulation,popular entertainment, and fascist aesthetics but divulge little about the constituent elements of popular cinema: the leading stars and directors, the popular genres and styles, the favorite studios and theaters, and so forth."
- Sabine Hake, Popular Cinema of the Third Reich
Within this season the Guild attempts to illuminate the popular cinema of Nazi Germany through a range of mainstream entertainment films, including the musical Request Concert, the fantasy spectacular Baron Munchausen and a fictionalised dramatisation of the sinking of the Titanic with some none too subtle propaganda elements worked in. The mini-season climaxes with Kolberg, a Napoleonic war film that saw the regime diverting military resources away from the actual war towards its film counterpart.
The Popular Cinema of the Third Reich season was curated by Jim Dunnigan and Keith Brown.
Der Mann, der Sherlock Holmes war / The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes
Sunday 3rd October 2010 at 4:30PM
Wunschkonzert / Request Concert
Sunday 10th October 2010 at 4:30PM
Mein Leben Fur Irland / My Life for Ireland
Sunday 17th October 2010 at 4:30PM
Munchhausen
Sunday 24th October 2010 at 4:30PM
Titanic
Sunday 7th November 2010 at 4:30PM
Kolberg
Sunday 14th November 2010 at 4:30PM
Nikkatsu Noir
From the late 1950s through the sixties, wild, idiosyncratic crime movies were the brutal and boisterous business of Nikkatsu, the oldest film studio in Japan. In an effort to attract youthful audiences growing increasingly accustomed to American and French big-screen imports, Nikkatsu began producing action potboilers (mukokuseki akushun, or “borderless action”) that incorporated elements of the western, comedy, gangster, and teen-rebel genres. This bruised and bloody collection represents a standout cross section of what Nikkatsu had to offer, from such prominent, stylistically daring directors as Seijun Suzuki, Toshio Masuda, and Takashi Nomura.
The Nikkatsu Noir season was curated by Jim Dunnigan and Keith Brown.
I am Waiting
Sunday 3rd October 2010 at 7:00PM
Rusty Knife
Sunday 10th October 2010 at 7:00PM
Take Aim at the Police Van
Sunday 17th October 2010 at 7:00PM
Cruel Gun Story
Sunday 24th October 2010 at 7:00PM
A Colt is My Passport
Sunday 7th November 2010 at 7:00PM
Branded to Kill
Sunday 14th November 2010 at 7:00PM
Val Lewton: The Producer as Auteur
Val Lewton is one of the few non-directors to have been labelled as a genuine film auteur through his overseeing of a production unit at RKO dedicated to making low-budget B-horror films.
The Val Lewton season was curated by Jim Dunnigan.
Cat People + The Curse of the Cat People
Wednesday 6th October 2010 at 7:00PM
I Walked with a Zombie + The Body Snatcher
Wednesday 13th October 2010 at 7:00PM
Isle of the Dead + Bedlam
Wednesday 20th October 2010 at 7:00PM
The Leopard Man + The Ghost Ship
Wednesday 27th October 2010 at 7:00PM
The Seventh Victim
Wednesday 3rd November 2010 at 7:00PM
Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy
Wednesday 10th November 2010 at 7:00PM
American Cult Cinema of the 1970s
While mainstream American cinema underwent a transformation in the 1970s at the hands of the so-called "movie brats", the decade also proved fertile ground for those operating in the genres at the margins of filmmaking. From the drive-ins and grindhouses of America we bring you a collection of out-there movies from beyond the mainstream - perfect Friday night viewing!
The American Cult Cinema of the 1970s season was curated by Alan Maxwell and Jacob Bloomfield.
Blue Sunshine
Friday 8th October 2010 at 8:00PM
Deathdream
Friday 15th October 2010 at 8:00PM
Night of the Lepus
Friday 22nd October 2010 at 8:00PM
The Thing with Two Heads
Friday 29th October 2010 at 8:00PM
The Crazies
Friday 5th November 2010 at 8:00PM
The Mack
Friday 12th November 2010 at 8:00PM
Halloween Screening
Our Halloween Screening is free to all members.
The Halloween Screening was programmed by Keith Brown.
Night of the Demon
Sunday 31st October 2010 at 7:00PM
The French Resistance in Film
The occupation of France by the Germans during most of World War II meant that no films about the First or Second World Wars were made during this period, and sensitivity to what happened to France during the Second World War made the subject an unattractive one to film directors and cinema-goers alike for some time after.
Most French war films centre on the activities of the French Resistance during World War II – it's a subject which can easily be accommodated on a fairly modest budget and fits well with established cinematic genres and styles, notably policier and film noir.
This season will examine how various cinematic interpretations of occupation and resistance have changed from the 1940s to the present, ranging from powerful dramas such as Rene Clement's “la bataille du rail” and Jean-Pierre Melville's “le silence de la mer”, both released shortly after the war, to comedies like Gerard Jugnot's “Monsieur Batignole” or Gerard Oury's “La Grande Vadrouille”. Louis Malle focuses his attention onto “Lacombe Lucien”, a young man who turns from a would-be resistance fighter to a zealous Gestapo agent while Jacques Audiard portrays a wannabe hero and liar-supreme in “Un heros tres discret”.
The French Resistance in Film season was curated by Jim Dunnigan and Nadine Fabre.
La Bataille du rail
Wednesday 17th November 2010 at 7:00PM
Le Silence de la mer
Wednesday 24th November 2010 at 7:00PM
Lacombe Lucien
Wednesday 1st December 2010 at 7:00PM
Don't Look Now - We're Being Shot at / La grande vadrouille
Wednesday 8th December 2010 at 7:00PM
Msr Batignole
Wednesday 15th December 2010 at 7:00PM
A Self-Made Hero / Un héros très discret
Wednesday 12th January 2011 at 7:00PM
The Werewolf
Though perhaps never as popular at the box office nor as immediately iconic as films about the vampire, Frankenstein and his monsters, or more recently the zombie, werewolf movies have nevertheless been a horror staple since the days of Universal in the 1930s.
In this season we showcase some of the more important and just plain entertaining werewolf films from North America, the UK and, oddly enough, Spain.
The Werewolf season was curated by Keith Brown.
The Wolf Man + The Werewolf of London
Friday 19th November 2010 at 8:00PM
The Curse of the Werewolf
Friday 26th November 2010 at 8:00PM
Mark of the Wolf Man
Friday 3rd December 2010 at 8:00PM
The Beast Must Die
Friday 10th December 2010 at 8:00PM
Wolfen
Friday 17th December 2010 at 8:00PM
Ginger Snaps
Friday 14th January 2011 at 8:00PM
Contemporary Eastern European Cinema
One of the most important phenomena in contemporary world cinema has been the emergence and resurgence of filmmaking in the former Eastern Bloc and Yugoslavian states. In this season we highlight some of the best, but sadly neglected films to come out some of those places you maybe can’t quite exactly place on a map and which always seem to embarrass Scotland at football, including Tajikstan, Bulgaria, Croatia and Bosnia.
The Contemporary Eastern European Cinema season was curated by Jim Dunnigan.
Angel on the Right
Sunday 21st November 2010 at 4:30PM
Fine Dead Girls
Sunday 28th November 2010 at 4:30PM
Fuse
Sunday 5th December 2010 at 4:30PM
Bolshe Vita
Sunday 9th January 2011 at 4:30PM
Witman Boys
Sunday 16th January 2011 at 4:30PM
Guardian of the Frontier
Sunday 23rd January 2011 at 4:30PM
Petticoats or Pistols: Women in the Western
Traditionally the western is one of the most masculine of film genres: “A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do...” and all that. In most westerns women are accordingly reduced to the status of supporting characters, typically that of the romantic interest that the hero reluctantly abandons at the film's close as a means of avoiding domestic closure while concomitantly ensuring that the march of civilisation into the wilderness will continue.
Then there are the exceptions, in which women take centre stage and are not necessarily confined to such cliché roles as school marm, genteel type from back east and prostitute coded dance hall girl. Here we showcase six such examples of distaff westerns, ranging from the classical to the contemporary and from proto to post-feminist.
The Women in the Western season was curated by Jim Dunnigan.
Westward the Women
Sunday 21st November 2010 at 7:00PM
Rancho Notorious
Sunday 28th November 2010 at 7:00PM
The Ballad of Little Jo
Sunday 5th December 2010 at 7:00PM
Heartland
Sunday 9th January 2011 at 7:00PM
Forty Guns
Sunday 16th January 2011 at 7:00PM
The Ballad of Josie
Sunday 23rd January 2011 at 7:00PM
Christmas Screening
Our Christmas screening is free to all members.
The Christmas Screening was programmed by Nicola Hay.
Remember the Night
Sunday 12th December 2010 at 4:30PM
Masterworks of Cuban Cinema
Despite the resource limitations resulting from US sanctions and frequent tussles with the regime’s own censors, post-revolutionary Cuba has managed to produce a formidable body of distinctive and provocative cinema.
This short season showcases some of the lesser known masterworks to have come from the country, with dramatic films from internationally renowned directors Julia García Espinosa, Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Humberto Solás and the Padron brothers’ has to be seen to be believed political-horror-gangster animation Vampires in Havana.
The masterworks of Cuban Cinema season was curated by Jim Dunnigan and Alan Maxwell.
The Twelve Chairs
Wednesday 19th January 2011 at 7:00PM
The Adventures of Juan Quin Quin
Wednesday 26th January 2011 at 7:00PM
Cecilia
Wednesday 2nd February 2011 at 7:00PM
Amanda
Wednesday 9th February 2011 at 7:00PM
A Successful Man
Wednesday 16th February 2011 at 7:00PM
Vampires in Havana
Wednesday 23rd February 2011 at 7:00PM
Teen Movies
Once upon a time it was understood that you suddenly went from older child to young adult… then came the teenager…
Teen movies are as old as the phenomenon itself, but whereas once they were just really a way for Hollywood to part kids from their pocket-money, now they seem to be aimed not solely at this market, although for every ‘Heathers’ there is a ‘High School Musical’, for every ‘Faculty’ there’s a Friday the 13th remake… So why so popular with adults?
In the Eighties, the late John Hughes owned the genre with his earnest tales of high school kids desperate to be taken seriously, and while ‘The Breakfast Club seemed so “really speak to” the average 16 year old, its appeal was limited. So what has changed?
Many filmmakers now seem to use high-school as a society in microcosm, and it is probably the one time in your life where you will mix, on a more or less equal basis, with people from more diverse backgrounds than at any other.
You could argue that it is one of the most memorable times of your life, when you were just forming your adult personality, a time of change, a time of deep hormone-induced crushes and first loves. A time of inescapable frustration and powerlessness, which you were often unhelpfully informed would be the best years of your life. But then, some people were perfectly happy there… this may not be the season for them…
Most of the films programmed, and indeed made, represent the misfit and the outcast, but hopefully there is something for all of us to enjoy whether you were a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess or a criminal.
The teen movies season was curated by Nicola Hay.
Heathers
Friday 21st January 2011 at 8:00PM
But I'm a Cheerleader
Friday 28th January 2011 at 8:00PM
Cry Baby
Friday 4th February 2011 at 8:00PM
The Faculty
Friday 11th February 2011 at 8:00PM
Carrie
Friday 18th February 2011 at 8:00PM
Dazed and Confused
Friday 25th February 2011 at 8:00PM
Paul Robeson
All-American athlete, scholar, renowned baritone, stage actor, and social activist, Paul Robeson (1898–1976) was a towering figure and a trailblazer many times over. He made perhaps his biggest impact, however, in the medium of film. The son of an escaped slave, Robeson managed to become a top-billed movie star around the world during the time of Jim Crow America, always striving to use film to educate viewers about equality, democracy, and the rights of workers. Though he eventually left movies behind, using his international celebrity to speak on behalf of those denied their civil liberties and ultimately becoming a victim of ideological persecution himself, Robeson left a film legacy that continues to speak eloquently of the long and difficult journey of a courageous and outspoken African American.
The Paul Robeson season was curated by Jim Dunnigan and Keith Brown.
Body and Soul
Sunday 30th January 2011 at 4:30PM
Borderline + The Emperor Jones
Sunday 6th February 2011 at 3:30PM
Jericho + Big Fella
Sunday 13th February 2011 at 3:30PM
Sanders of the River
Sunday 20th February 2011 at 4:30PM
Song of Freedom + The Proud Valley
Sunday 27th February 2011 at 3:30PM
Native Land + Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist
Sunday 6th March 2011 at 4:30PM
Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich at Paramount
Few director-actor partnerships can match the quality of output as that between Joseph Von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich. First working together in the dying days of Weimar Germany, the director and his star / muse subsequently made the trip across the Atlantic to work for Paramount, for whom they collaborated on a series of six decadent adventures which we here showcase in chronological order to best trace the development of Sternberg's aesthetic and Dietrich's star persona.
This season was curated by Jim Dunnigan.
All films in the Dietrich & Sternberg mini-season (30 January to 6 March at 7 PM) will be introduced by David Melville Wingrove, a tutor in Film and Literature at the University of Edinburgh Open Studies. David will also host an informal discussion of each film in the Guild Cinema Bar after the screening. Any and all members of the audience are warmly welcome!
"I first saw these films as a teenager in Canada in the 70s," David recalls. "Canadian TV used to show them at midnight so I would stay up secretly on school nights to watch them. They unveiled a world of glamour and exoticism, perversity and power -- and gave me (for the first time) a sense of what cinema could be. It’s impossible to choose my favourite Dietrich/Sternberg movie. These films are like gorgeous multifaceted jewels. Hold them up to the light; twist them this way and that. If you watch them once or 50 times, they’ll show you something you never saw before."
Morocco
Sunday 30th January 2011 at 7:00PM
Dishonored
Sunday 6th February 2011 at 7:00PM
Shanghai Express
Sunday 13th February 2011 at 7:00PM
Blonde Venus
Sunday 20th February 2011 at 7:00PM
The Scarlet Empress
Sunday 27th February 2011 at 7:00PM
The Devil is a Woman
Sunday 6th March 2011 at 7:00PM
Documenting Africa
Africa has inspired a wealth of documentary filmmakers and this season spans the continent and highlights six of the best from recent years. From gunfire to guitars, from horror to hope - six countries; six films; six incredible true stories.
The Documenting Africa season was curated by Alan Maxwell.
Congo River / Congo River, au-dela des ténebres
Wednesday 2nd March 2011 at 7:00PM
I'll Sing for You / Je Chanterai Pour Toi
Wednesday 9th March 2011 at 7:00PM
War Dance
Wednesday 16th March 2011 at 7:00PM
Darwin's Nightmare
Wednesday 23rd March 2011 at 7:00PM
Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire
Wednesday 30th March 2011 at 7:00PM
Sisters in Law
Wednesday 6th April 2011 at 7:00PM
The Giallo
While the Italian thriller is most associated with the directors Mario Bava and Dario Argento, countless other talented directors made important contributions to it over the course of the 1960s and 1970s.
In this season we showcase something of the diversity of giallo film-making with some of the best filone entries from Lucio Fulci, Umberto Lenzi, Sergio Martino and others.
The giallo season was curated by Alison McInnes.
The Sweet Body of Deborah / Il dolce corpo di Deborah
Friday 4th March 2011 at 8:00PM
The Weekend Murders / Concerto per pistola solista
Friday 11th March 2011 at 8:00PM
Lizard in a Woman's Skin / Una Lucertola con la pelle di donna
Friday 18th March 2011 at 8:00PM
The Fifth Cord / Giornata nera per l'ariete
Friday 25th March 2011 at 8:00PM
All the Colours of the Dark / Tutti i colori del buio
Friday 1st April 2011 at 8:00PM
Spasmo
Friday 8th April 2011 at 8:00PM
On Track: Trains in Cinema
The connection between trains and cinema goes back to the very first film, the Lumiere brothers' Train Arriving at a Station and has endured throughout the decades in innumerable films set on or around trains along with the very technology of the tracking shot.
The Trains in Cinema season was curated by Jim Dunnigan and Keith Brown.
The Wrecker
Sunday 13th March 2011 at 4:30PM
Twentieth Century
Sunday 20th March 2011 at 4:30PM
The Tall Target
Sunday 27th March 2011 at 4:30PM
The Railroad Man / Il ferroviere
Sunday 3rd April 2011 at 4:30PM
3:10 to Yuma
Sunday 10th April 2011 at 4:30PM
Illusive Tracks / Skenbart - en film om tåg
Sunday 17th April 2011 at 4:30PM
Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir remains one of the most highly regarded of film directors, a creative genius whose films reveal an exceptional humanity and encompass a remarkable range (farce, satire, tragedy, policier, classic literature, history...). His auteurist approach to film-making has inspired generations of independent film makers, most notably the New Wave directors of the 1960s.
Yet, when the average cinephile thinks of Jean Renoir, only a handful of titles come to mind. “La Grande Illusion”, “The River”, “La Bete Humaine”, and “La Regle du Jeu”, all rightfully considered masterpieces, have prevented the intrusion of other lesser-known Renoir films upon his canon.
This season attempts to correct this and gives you a chance to discover a few treasures among Renoir's filmography spanning 45 years. From history with “La Marseillaise”, to socio-realism with “les Bas-Fonds” or “Toni”, to horror (!) with "Le Testament du Docteur Cordelier”
The Jean Renoir season was curated by Jim Dunnigan.
Toni
Sunday 13th March 2011 at 7:00PM
Les Bas-fonds
Sunday 20th March 2011 at 7:00PM
La Marsellaise
Sunday 27th March 2011 at 7:00PM
Swamp Water
Sunday 3rd April 2011 at 7:00PM
The Vanishing Corporal / Le Caporal Épingle
Sunday 10th April 2011 at 7:00PM
Le testament du Docteur Cordelier
Sunday 17th April 2011 at 7:00PM