BFI full programme for season dedicated to Moviedrome

The BFI have announced the full programme for MOVIEDROME: BRINGING THE CULT TV SERIES TO THE BIG SCREEN, a two-month season celebrating some of the most notable titles screened by BBC2’s MOVIEDROME series.

A portal into the world of weird and wonderful cinema, Moviedrome began at a time when there were just four TV channels in the UK, with satellite broadcasting in its infancy and streaming still decades away. Between 1988 and 2000 more than two hundred features were shown, informing and inspiring a generation of movie fans and filmmakers alongside the wit and wisdom of the show’s iconic introductions from hosts Alex Cox and later Mark Cousins; screenings during the season will be preceded by these original televised introductions wherever possible.

To launch the BFI season on 4 July, Moviedrome presenter Alex Cox joins series producer and this season’s curator Nick Freand Jones for Welcome to the Moviedrome, a conversation with broadcaster Samira Ahmed about this influential and inspirational series. On the same evening Alex Cox and Nick Freand Jones will introduce a screening of THE WICKER MAN (FINAL CUT) (Robin Hardy, 1973). This eccentric British folk horror, about a policeman who journeys to a Scottish Island in search of a missing girl, was originally released in a heavily cut form; a longer version was discovered and premiered on the first ever episode of Moviedrome in May 1988. This screening features the Final Cut iteration from 2013.

Further screenings being introduced by Alex Cox will include Cox’s own film WALKER (Alex Cox, 1987) on 5 July and SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (Alexander MacKendrick, 1957) and THE GREAT SILENCE (Sergio Corbucci, 1968), both on 6 July, while Nick Freand Jones will introduce THE FLY (Kurt Neumann, 1958) on 5 July, LES DIABOLIQUES (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955) on 8 July, TWO-LANE BLACKTOP (Monte Hellman, 1971) on 9 July and CALIFORNIA DOLLS (Robert Aldrich, 1981) on 23 July. Further events will include WITCHFINDER GENERAL (Michael Reeves, 1968) introduced by Reece Shearsmith on 11 July and EXOTICA (Atom Egoyan, 1994), featuring a pre-recorded intro by filmmaker Atom Egoyan on 30 July.

In addition to the season at BFI Southbank, audiences across the UK will be able to explore a new subscription collection of films on BFI Player that wouldn’t have made such an impact in the UK had they not been introduced on Moviedrome; titles available to stream from 10 July will include FIVE EASY PIECES (Bob Rafelson, 1970), FAT CITY (John Huston, 1970), THE RECKLESS MOMENT (Max Ophüls, 1949), THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (Peter Bogdanovich, 1971), THE HONEYMOON KILLERS (Leonard Kastle, 1970), DJANGO (Sergio Corbucci, 1966), HIGHWAY PATROLMAN (Alex Cox, 1991), SOCIETY (Brian Yuzna, 1989) and many more. Also exclusively on BFI Player will be a new short documentary, produced by the BFI and filmmaker Nic Wassell, exploring Moviedrome’s origins and influence.

FULL LIST OF FILMS SCREENING IN THE SEASON:

·   LES DIABOLIQUES (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955) – this chilling black and white thriller, set in a down-at-heel French boarding school, is a masterclass in the art of suspense. The plot twists and turns like a switchback ride as director Clouzot turns the screws, gradually building towards a stunning climax.

·   SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (Alexander MacKendrick, 1957) – Ealing Studios’ star director made his US debut with this coruscating satire on showbusiness, featuring powerhouse performances by Burt Lancaster as a ruthless gossip columnist and Tony Curtis as a toadying press agent. The season will feature the premiere of a new 35mm BFI National Archive print.

·   THE FLY (Kurt Neumann, 1958) – a perfect example of the mini-genre of 1950s horror and sci-fi that explored societal anxieties around scientific research and how it might irrevocably alter humanity. When scientist André Delambre experiments with matter transportation, he accidentally combines himself with a housefly, becoming grotesquely transformed.

·   THE GREAT SILENCE (Sergio Corbucci, 1968) – a fascinating entry in the Spaghetti Western genre, which was unseen in the UK until it aired on Moviedrome in 1990. Filmed in the snowy Dolomites, this politically charged tale was inspired by the deaths of Malcolm X and Che Guevara. Now considered one of the greatest entries in the genre, it features a stunning score by Ennio Morricone.

·   WITCHFINDER GENERAL (Michael Reeves, 1968) – director Michael Reeves made only three films before his death, aged just 25, a few months after Witchfinder General’s release. His battles with Price during production were reportedly ferocious, but resulted in one of the actor’s most celebrated performances, as a sadistic witch hunter.

·   GET CARTER (Mike Hodges, 1970) – Mike Hodges’ superb revenge thriller finds Michael Caine’s mob enforcer on a mission to avenge his brother, who was murdered in Newcastle. Shot in a gritty, documentary style, the film features some of the most memorable lines in British cinema history and has a killer of an ending.

·   SHAFT (Gordon Parks, 1971) – this Blaxploitation classic stars Richard Roundtree as a private eye hired by a Harlem mobster to rescue his daughter from downtown mafiosi. Roundtree’s confident, charismatic performance – like that of other Blaxploitation actors – was a stark contrast to prior cinematic depictions of Black screen characters.

·   TWO-LANE BLACKTOP (Monte Hellman, 1971) – this spare, existential road movie about a trio of street racers in the American Southwest, flopped on release, but it would become a late-night rep cinema favourite. Musicians James Taylor and Dennis Wilson star alongside cult actor Warren Oates, embarking on a race across the country with their cars as the winner’s prize.

·   THE WICKER MAN (FINAL CUT) (Robin Hardy, 1973) – this eccentric British folk horror, about a policeman who journeys to a Scottish Island in search of a missing girl, was originally released in a heavily cut form. A longer version was discovered and premiered on the very first episode of Moviedrome  in May 1988. This screening features the Final Cut iteration from 2013.

·   CALIFORNIA DOLLS (Robert Aldrich, 1981) – Robert Aldrich was the most frequently featured director on Moviedrome. His final film was this hugely enjoyable road movie, about two female wrestlers and their manager crossing the US and putting up with a variety of indignities on their way to a major competition in Reno, Nevada.

·   AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (John Landis, 1981) – the perfect blend of horror and comedy, this is a story of two hapless US students visiting the UK who fall foul of a werewolf and then wreak havoc in the capital. Filmed in the Welsh countryside and London, the combination of wit, eye-popping special effects and a great pop soundtrack make this a classic.

·   SCARFACE (Brian De Palma, 1983) – Brian De Palma’s wildly over-the-top reboot of Howard Hawks’ gangster thriller stars Al Pacino as Tony Montana, a Cuban refugee who bludgeons his way to the top of an illegal drugs empire in 1980s Miami. But hubris, jealousy and a humungous habit seal his fate, culminating in a coke-fuelled climax that gave us the immortal line, ‘Say hello to my little friend’.

·   THE FLY (David Cronenberg, 1986) – body horror king David Cronenberg offered up a wild and radical take on George Langelaan’s story starring Jeff Goldblum as an eccentric scientist slowly transforming into a man-fly hybrid, stress-testing his romance with the journalist who first uncovered his genius.

·   WALKER (Alex Cox, 1987) – Cox’s unruly and riveting film regales the exploits of William Walker, a real-life American mercenary who, in the 1850s, invaded Nicaragua with a handful of troops and named himself president. Walker was underappreciated on release but has since been re-evaluated and makes for fascinating viewing in the current political climate.

·   EXOTICA (Atom Egoyan, 1994) – Roger Ebert described this superb drama as a ‘movie labyrinth, winding seductively into the darkest secrets of a group of people who should have no connection with one another, but do’. A clutch of fine performances, including a young Sarah Polley, grace this delicate exploration of sex, grief and obsession.

·   LA HAINE (Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995) – Mathieu Kassovitz’s powder keg of a film is a brilliant, brutal and visually stark portrait of 24 hours in the life of three twentysomethings from an economically impoverished immigrant suburb of Paris. The shooting by police of their friend sets in motion a series of events that capture the anger of the young and dispossessed in the French capital.

·   CLOCKERS (Spike Lee, 1995) – Martin Scorsese was slated to direct this adaptation of Richard Price’s crime novel, but instead produced, with Spike Lee stepping in and re-writing the script in the process.  A group of Brooklyn Clockers (street-level drug dealers) are the focus of police attention when one of their number is murdered; Lee’s signature energy and style drives the action, giving the themes and characters full rein.

·   JOHNNY GUITAR (Nicholas Ray, 1954) – Nicholas Ray’s Freudian fever dream of a Western features Joan Crawford as Vienna, a fierce and assertive saloon keeper whose simmering feud with local ranchers spills over into bloodshed when a bank robbery backfires. It’s a delirious delight.

·   YOJIMBO (Akira Kurosawa, 1961) – Kurosawa’s masterful Samurai drama sees Toshiro Mifune’s wandering Ronin happening upon a small town plagued by criminal gangs, playing-off the rivals against each other. Shot through with black humour and featuring a terrific score, Yojimbo was inspired by film noir and would be famously remade by Sergio Leone as A Fistful of Dollars.

·   WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (Robert Aldrich, 1962) – Hollywood screen queens Bette Davis and Joan Crawford play former child-star sisters Blanche and Jane Hudson, now living together in middle age. One is wheelchair bound, the other a grotesque alcoholic with a cruel streak. Director Aldrich transforms this lurid Gothic horror into an insanely enjoyable romp, with the two stars channelling their real-life rivalry to spine-tingling effect.

·   CARNIVAL OF SOULS (Herk Harvey, 1962) – a visit to an abandoned resort in Salt Lake City inspired an eerie supernatural tale about a young woman plagued by visions of strange ghoulish figures after a car crash. Oddly dubbed sound and off-kilter performances only add to the films uncanny, mesmerising spell.

·   THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (Sergio Leone, 1966) – the third in Leone’s acclaimed Spaghetti Western trilogy, which made Eastwood a star, unfolds during the bloody American Civil War. At the time of its release, the film was derided by some critics. It has now been reappraised as a masterpiece. Morricone’s score is one of the most iconic of all time.

·   THE GIRL ON A MOTORCYCLE (Michael Reeves, 1968) – this crazy, kinky, psychedelic road movie follows the late, great Marianne Faithful as she drives her Harley across Europe to meet with lover Daniel, played by Alain Delon. Ace cinematographer Jack Cardiff shot and directed this oddity, while misty flashbacks galore and jaw-droppingly strange dialogue add to the kitsch delights.

·   PERFORMANCE (Donald Cammell, Nicolas Roeg, 1970) – when a violent London gangster takes refuge in a Notting Hill house occupied by a reclusive rock star, their wildly contrasting lives began to converge. Startling, sado-masochistic imagery, wildly inventive editing techniques and trippy in-camera effects make this one of British cinema’s most innovative and controversial films.

·   THE HARDER THEY COME (Perry Henzell, 1972) – reggae star Jimmy Cliff plays Ivanhoe Martin, who arrives to Kingston from a poor rural area, records a hit record, but kills a policeman and is forced to go on the run. Based on the real-life exploits of Jamaican outlaw Rhyging, and authentically featuring the local patois, this landmark movie was a late-night indie hit in cinemas around the world.

·   ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE (James William Guercio, 1973) – this rarely seen curiosity, featuring a superb central performance by Robert Blake, makes for an intriguing companion piece to Easy Rider. James William Guercio reportedly took a one-dollar fee for his only film as director so that he could afford master cinematographer Conrad Hall to shoot the tale of a motorcycle cop investigating a murder in Arizona.

·   BADLANDS (Terence Malick, 1973) – Terence Malick’s remarkable feature debut, about teenagers on a killing spree in South Dakota, is dreamy and poetic, yet at times ferocious in its worldview and featuring career-best performances from Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek as the lovestruck pair.

·   ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (John Carpenter, 1981) – It’s 1997, the United States is at war with China and Russia. Air Force One has been hijacked and the President’s escape pod, with him in it, has been jettisoned over Manhattan, which is now a maximum security prison. Former Special Forces operative and convicted criminal Snake Plissken is charged with finding and rescuing the President. John Carpenter’s buccaneering sci-fi fantasy has snappy dialogue and a nifty line in satire. It became an instant cult classic.

·   DIVA (Jean-Jacques Beineix, 1981) – a Parisian postman who has bootlegged a rare performance by a reclusive opera singer, encounters a distraught woman on a street and is unwittingly embroiled in a web of crime and corruption that features a sensational chase through the Paris metro. The season will screen a new 4K restoration from the original negative by STUDIOCANAL with the support of the CNC; STUDIOCANAL will release the new restoration on BD and UHD on 6 October.

·   MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS (Paul Schrader, 1985) – with an unconventional structure, striking production design by Eiko Ishioka and distinct colour palettes for each narrative thread, Mishima is an eye-catching exercise in cinematic style from Paul Schrader. The richly satisfying score by Philip Glass – one of his finest – perfectly chimes with both the fictional and actual events of the novelist’s turbulent life.

·   WHITE OF THE EYE (Donald Cammell, 1987) – Performance co-director Donald Cammell made only a handful of films. This mesmerising, kaleidoscopic thriller is one of the best. David Keith plays Paul, a sound engineer installing hi-fi systems in wealthy Arizona homes. Following a series of grisly murders, suspicions fall on him.

·   MOMMIE DEAREST (Frank Perry, 1981) – based on the autobiography of screen icon Joan Crawford’s adopted daughter, Mommie Dearest began life as a serious-minded biopic, but morphed into a camp and crazy melodrama with a wildly over-the top but pitch-perfect performance from Faye Dunaway.

·   TO SLEEP WITH ANGER (Charles Burnett, 1990) – the lives of an African American family in Los Angeles are thrown into disarray when an old friend from the South makes an unexpected and, not entirely welcome, appearance. Danny Glover is superb as the mysterious and charismatic Harry; his charming, amoral influence creates tensions and breaks bonds between the seemingly settled protagonists of Charles Burnett’s deft comedy drama.