While We Sleep....

Coming Soon......

If...

Last night we screened Lindsay Anderson's classic If...
Our good friend Christy Fowlston wrote a piece for our program and heres what he had to say...

No film can be too personal.

The image speaks. Sound amplifies and comments.

Size is irrelevant. Perfection is not an aim.

An attitude means a style. A style means an attitude.

Or so said the first manifesto of the Free Cinema movement. Several years before the Royal Court’s ‘angry young men’ reshaped British drama forever, Lindsay Anderson was already busy challenging the cultural and social order, cutting his cinematic teeth with shoestring documentaries funded by the BFI. Struggling to get his films shown, Anderson joined forces with friends Karel Reisz, Tony Richardson and Lorenza Mazzetti, the four of them deciding to show their short documentary films in a single programme at the National Film Theatre. Despite the fact that the group had made their films independently of one another, Anderson identified a shared, novel attitude to their filmmaking, and opportunistically concocted a ‘Free Cinema Manifesto’ for the occasion. Such was the press attention garnered by Anderson’s manifesto that not only did all the screenings sell out, but a further five Free Cinema programmes took place over the next three years (with notable contributions from Roman Polanski and François Truffaut). With its evident contempt for mainstream British films, institutions and attitudes, and its respectful portrayal of ordinary people, Free Cinema, With Anderson as its spokesman, was the artistic melting pot from which the British New Wave was born.

What do you have?

Picking up where Free Cinema left off in 1959, The British New wave (BNW) consisted of perhaps no more than 9 major works, more than half of which were directed by the founders of Free Cinema (including Tony Richardson’s Look Back in Anger, A Taste of Honey, and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, and Karel Reisz’s Saturday Night Sunday Morning). The late 50s saw the emergence of a youth culture eager to reject the fustiness and hidebound attitudes of their parents and the prevalent culture. BNW films told the stories of characters and issues on the social margins of society that would previously have been left untold. Anderson’s own contribution, This Sporting Life (1963), was his first feature length film and arguably the final film in the BNW movement. In common with most of the BNW’s films, This Sporting Life was based on a novel with a screenplay adapted by the author, David Storey (from his novel of the same name). It tells the story of Richard Harris’ inimical, violent coal miner, manipulated on the rugby field and manipulator off it. It wouldn’t be until 1968 that Anderson made another full length film. But This Sporting Life’s themes of power and class would be central to his next, and greatest, film.

There's no such thing as a wrong war. Violence and revolution are the only pure acts.

Set in an elite and elitist public school, Anderson’s 1968 film, If… is certainly a departure from the BNW’s focus on working or lower middle class people. Malcolm McDowell takes the lead (in his first screen appearance) as the sixth form rebel Mick Travis. Arriving back at school at the beginning of term with a non-regulation moustache, a fellow pupil remarks "God, it's Guy Fawkes back again". It’s a line that anticipates the unexpected finale of a film that was made while the students were literally manning the barricades in protests in France.

If… is a searing allegory of British society where public school serves as a microcosm. The contempt for British mores and institutions of Anderson’s earlier work is present, and so too are some more esoteric cinematic elements that Anderson had temporarily abandoned in This Sporting Life. Colour scenes are interspersed with monochrome, the day-to-day drudgery of school life is broken up with fantasy and surrealism. The repeated use of a Congolese mass as a musical motif hints at the escape to another world that Travis and his friends long for.

Many people (myself included) have looked for some sort of meaning in the unusual mixture of black and white, and colour film in If…, there was even a rumour at the time of the film’s release that the black and white scenes had been included because the production had run out of money and could not afford to process all the scenes in colour. In fact, they filmed the first chapel scene in black and white because, in tests, the natural light rendered the high speed colour film they were using grainy, and shifting colours coming through the stained glass window made colour-correction impossible. When Anderson checked the dailies he liked the way the monochrome ‘broke up the surface of the film’ and decided to insert more black and white scenes to disorientate the viewer.

Although a piece of its time If… still resonates. The young, charismatic, pseudo-liberal headmaster with his condescending understanding of Travis and his band of ‘hair rebels’ smacks of David Cameron (or any of the current shower of ‘caring’ Tories). And having served a brief sentence in the early nineties at a public school where some of the scenes in If… were shot, I can confirm that many of the prefects’ more unadmirable attitudes were still very much in evidence then. With the UK government’s Cabinet once again stuffed full of Eton’s spawn, and many of the grand old institutions in the City teetering, what better time to take a seditious look at Anderson’s anarchic fantasy?

Phantom

We were extremely honored that Chris Cooke agreed to provide us with a piece for our Phantom Of The Paradise program, its so good that we had to share it with you.

Chris is part of Mayhem who has been such an inspiration for us. 

Each Mayhem event feels very special and is an education in terror. They have curated some fantastic screenings in Nottingham and have that special talent of putting together some dream double bills. 

Nottingham are very lucky to have them. 

...and yes, our programs were Origami Swans.

PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE

Directed by Brian De Palma, 1974. Starring William Finley, Paul Williams, Jessica Harper and Gerrit Graham (as Beef).

He sold his soul... for Rock N' Roll.

His face destroyed in a vinyl record press, wronged composer Winslow Leach dons a mask and hides out behind the scenes at The Paradise Theatre, watching and waiting for the perfect time to take his revenge against evil record producer Swan. But as he methodically destroys one band after another he finds that his lovely muse, Phoenix, is starring in Swan's opus – using the music stolen from him... but if Leach wants success at any cost, then Swan wants nothing less than his soul.

The very definition of a cult movie, Phantom was a failure when released and built up a huge, loyal and loving fanbase that now sees the film rightly recognised as a mini-masterpiece, and if you've never seen it, you really can't afford to miss it now!

For more information visit The Swan Archives online at: http://www.swanarchives.org/

“Delirium...” Slant Magazine

“Highly inventive...” Time Out.

“Bizarre colors, vintage 70s-era rock and truly imaginative ideas... a thrill.” Combustible Celluloid.

“Outrageous... a visual triumph.” The Los Angeles Times.

PAUL WILLIAMS

Williams is probably best remembered for the brilliant score and songs to Bugsy Malone and his contributions to everything from The Muppets to Yo Gabba Gabba, but it's his work here that is well worth being reminded of.

His clever score allows him to pastiche a number of trends from rock to surf sounds, from folk to pop, all the while creating a cohesive opera of violence and mayhem. Here he creates whole bands, ranging from The Juicy Fruits, The Beach Bums and The Undeads... and of course wild solo-singer, Beef.

Phantom of the Paradise also allows him to demonstrate just what a great character actor he is in the role of the sinister Swan, creepy record producer and corrupter of all pure and innocent – but we shouldn't forget that he's also brilliant as Virgil, the scientist orangutan, in Battle for the Planet of the Apes and is great in Smokey and the Bandit, of course.

The film and William's music has had a more recent influence informing avowed fans Sebastian Tellier and Daft Punk.

WILLIAM FINLEY

Finley died earlier this year, and this screening of Phantom is a great way to celebrate a career of collaborations with his life long friend, Phantom director Brian De Palma.

The pair met at university and worked together over a series of films seeing Finley turn in increasingly bizarre and quirky performances, from a deranged doctor in love with Siamese twins in Sisters, a sweaty psychic in The Fury and a demented private dick in The Black Dahlia, De Palma's adaptation of the James Ellroy novel.

Finley also worked with Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Tobe Hooper on Funhouse as a very drunk fairground magician as well as playing Marilyn Burns' unhinged husband in Eaten Alive. But perhaps his most must-see cult performance outside of Phantom is as yet another loopy loser in the Chuck Norris starring martial-arts-slasher pic Silent Rage.

"RIP: Winslow Leach a.k.a. William Finley one of my favorite characters in one of my favorite movies." Bret Easton Ellis

JESSICA HARPER

Harper is given full rein to her incredible vocal talents here in Phantom and still performs the brilliant soundtrack today as the film has inspired convention screenings and retrospectives in the USA.

Her obvious interest in music is also evident in her performance as young dance student Suzy Banyon in Dario Argento's masterpiece Suspiria, the Hollywood remake of Pennies from Heaven  as well as the little remembered but very good Shock Treatment, a sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, playing Janet herself!

GERRIT GRAHAM
Actor, comedian (and here singer), multi-talented character actor excels as the ridiculous and doomed Beef. His affection for the genre is evident in films ranging from Demon Seed to TerrorVision, the hilarious Chopping Mall, the cult sequel Chud 2: Bud The Chud and terrible post-Vietnam vigilante thriller The Annihilators.

His skills also extend to penning screenplays for Disney's The Little Mermaid and Oliver & Company and there aren't that many flamboyantly condemned characters called Beef who can lay claim to that.

BRIAN DE PALMA
Phantom is a genuine, quintessential cult classic from writer-director Brian De Palma and one that nearly lost him his fans.

Made before he thrilled everyone with now horror classics Carrie and Dressed To Kill and his move into big budget success with films like Scarface and The Untouchables, this bizarre rock-opera fusion of The Phantom of the Opera with the legend of Faust came after a series of explosive new wave features like Hi Mom! (starring then newcomer Robert De Niro) that marked De Palma out as a ground-breaking, left-field avant-garde film-maker.

But the real gripe of his radical fans was the score by Paul Williams. Everyone had expected a new film from their feted director to feature the music of a radical or cool underground band – not the composer of tracks for The Carpenters and Helen Reddy!

However on seeing the completed film they knew they needn't have worried – De Palma had fashioned a stunningly independent attack on the music industry itself, lampooning the scene as pompous and self important, interested only in money and not art.

The film is also a template for many of the techniques De Palma was developing for suspense – from split screens to sustained set-pieces De Palma's love of 'pure cinema' is at here at it's most evident. Plus of course, Phantom is genuinely enjoyable, thrilling and fun.

TRIVIA FACT FANS –

Sissy Spacek, star of Carrie, was a set-dresser on this film!

The film was nominated for Best Music Oscar!

Phantom Of The Paradise

Here is the poster for our screening of Phantom Of The Paradise.

Designed by our very own Tara Hill, please visit her blog for more of her fantastic work. 

And I forgot to post our poster for The Boy Friend ...

The drawing is by our other very own fantastic Lotti Closs, you can visit her blog too. 

This isn’t the last song.

This piece was written for our screening of The Boy Friend, I wanted to show a contrast in modern musical conventions and how Lars Von Trier had interpreted the legacy of the Hollywood musical and mixed it with raw emotion and reality. 

“This isn’t the last song,

They don’t know us you see,

It’s only the last song,

If we let it be.”

Dancer In The Dark  - Lars Von Trier (2000)

Lars Von Trier had always wanted to make a musical and capture the magic of Gene Kelly films he had seen in his youth, He wondered how he could approach making one and thought it would be interesting to shoot a musical in his faux real life Dogma documentary style.

The result is Dancer In The Dark and it is one of the most harrowing musicals ever filmed.

The film starts in the traditional style with an Orchestral Overture, combined with abstract paintings, which are a motif of Von Trier’s work.  The tragic plot revolves around Bjork who gives a gentle and honest performance as Selma a Czechoslovakian who has failing sight and escapes into musical fantasy while at work in a small town American factory in the 1950’s.  

The story starts with Selma in rehearsals for a community production of The Sound Of Music in which she plays Maria she is helped by her work colleague Cathy (Catherine Denuve), Trier manages to through in a little joke as one of the characters comments that Selma “Sings funny”. Selma is naïve and child like talks with most of the characters about musicals and how there conventions don’t apply to real life, whenever a musical number starts its built up for environmental rhythms such as factory machinery or a train going across tracks.  Selma loves going to the musicals but sadly due to her eyesight can’t actually see the Berkeley dance routines so her friend Cathy has to trace the moments out on her palm.

Trier plants clues of what will to come as Selma talks about hating the last song as when it builds up and the camera pulls up and goes through the roof that the story ends, she leaves the cinema after the second to last song so the film can continue forever. 

Upon seeing the film for the first time I wish I had left during the second to last song, the final song is called  “The Next To Last Song” which is cut horribly short due to the films devastating conclusion and the camera silently pulls up and out of the roof. No violins and no choir. It’s a heart stopping moment and knocks the breath out of you.  

Selma has come to America to raise funds for an operation on her son’s eyes that he would be unable to have in Czechoslovakia. In typical Trier fashion things don’t go to plan and it ends with the slaughter of an innocent who has been cruelly exploited with horrific and inevitable results.  The musical numbers are filmed in a wonky handheld style and the fantasy is firmly placed in reality no large Busby Berkley numbers with lavish costumes and enormous sets, its all quite kinetic using a lot of movement as well as dance. Bjork's songs are beautiful and fragile like her character full of joy and menace and are co-written with Bjork regular Chris bell while the lyrics provide narrative direction and were written by Lars and Sjon Sigurdsson.

The film is helped by a great ensemble cast of including some Trier regulars Jean Marc Bar, Udo Kier, Peter Stormare, David Morse and Stellan Sarsgard.

Lars cleverly casts Joel Grey from Cabaret in a cameo as Selma’s idol tap dancer Oldrich Novy.

I feel Dancer In The Dark is a perfect musical for people who struggle with the conventions of the musical, its emotionally engaging and damaging and will bring tears to the hardest of hearts. 

Read all about us.

We have done an interview about our Kino Klubb screenings with Leftlion magazine, you can read all about it here

May- August 2012 programme

THURSDAY 31ST MAY, 7PM

KEN RUSSELL'S 'THE BOY FRIEND' (1971)

+ SURPRISE SHORT FILM

After the brutality of Benny's Video we thought we'd show something a bit nicer.

Ken Russell’s Busby Berkley homage is a visually stunning musical starring Twiggy and former international ballet star Christopher Gable.
Made and released the same year as The Devils, this film is Russell at his most charming and playful. Everything shines- the sets, the costumes, the script, songs and performances.

“A glittering, super-colossal, heart warming, toe tapping, continuously delightful musical extravaganza”

A film to fall in love with.

You could even bring your nan to this one.
“A glittering, super-colossal, heart warming, toe tapping, continuously delightful musical extravaganza”
A film to fall in love with.
You could even bring your nan to this one.



THURSDAY 28TH JUNE, 7PM

BRIAN DE PALMA'S 'PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE' (1974)

+ SURPRISE SHORT FILM

“He Sold His Soul For Rock n’ Roll”

De Palma's Faustian tour-de-force rock Opera is the Rocky Horror it's OK to like.

Brilliantly bonkers, trashy, colourful and loud. This film is one of the reasons that we started Kino Klubb. You will never have seen anything like it before. 

Dario Argento cast Jessica Harper in Suspiria after seeing her performance in this.

THURSDAY 26TH JULY, 7PM

LINDSAY ANDERSON'S 'IF...' (1968)

+SURPRISE SHORT FILM

“Which Side Will You Be On?”

Malcolm McDowell’s debut performance and probably his finest.

The first part of Anderson’s Mick Travis trilogy this savagely attacks the English Public School system. A beautiful film with some fantastic cinematography and a wonderful soundtrack. It is oddly surreal and at the same time brutally honest. It's also number 12 in the BFI's 100 best British films.

THURSDAY 30TH AUGUST, 7PM

STANLEY KUBRICK'S 'LOLITA' (1962)

+ A SPECIAL SCREENING OF HOLY STATE'S 'DIAL 'M' FOR MONOLITH' (2012)

LOLITA-

“How Did They Ever Make A Movie Of Lolita?”


How indeed? Kubrick Masterfully directs Nabokov’s classic with gorgeous stark crisp monochrome photography and the dream cast of James Mason, Shelly Winters and Peter Sellers. It feels both old Hollywood and also thoroughly modern. A must see, especially on the big screen.


DIAL 'M' FOR MONOLITH-

"How did they get here, these mysterious black monoliths, void of texture or detail? A freak natural occurrence, an alien race, a "higher" power... or a manifestation of our own uncomprehending minds? As we draw near we begin to feel the pull, calling on an ancient power long lost in our ancestry. Our tonal prowess evolves out of the galaxy, and our brains are slowly destroyed - 1:4:9"

Taken from the album 'Electric Picture Palace', out now on Brew Records.

"An absolute masterclass" - Rock Sound

Video directed by Robin Fuller.

www.holy-state.co.uk