What we’re about
We go and see the best and most interesting films around.
We usually meet for a while before the film to eat or drink, chat about what's been happening, and to discuss the films we've already seen.
Upcoming events (2)
See all- Movie Meetup — THX 1138 (Walter Murch Season) — Meet at 1 pm, Film at 2pmMeet in the café / bar, Watershed, Bristol, BS1 5TX
" ... a hypnotic dreamscape ..."
We are going to see George Lucas's debut film, THX 1138; part of the Watershed Walter Murch season.
(This is the original 1971 version, without the later CGI alterations and additions.)
We'll meet in the Watershed cafe/bar from 1 pm, to say hello and chat. After the film we will stop for a while to talk about the film.
Buy your own ticket from the box office or online.
ABOUT THE FILM
"Six years before George Lucas hit superstardom with the release of Star Wars, he delivered a science fiction film of a very different kind.
"Based on Lucas’s 1967 student film Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB, and co-written by Walter Murch, Lucas’s debut feature is a sparse dystopian vision of the 25th century.
— from BFI Summary"Clearly, writer-director Lucas was still feeling his way. The story seems to be a composite of every other sci-fi novel and film ever made before and since .. But it's so watchable.
"The whole thing feels like a hypnotic dreamscape, so luminously stark, from its white-on-white abstract sets to the wide-eyed, bald, near catatonic residents of this world."
— Desson Thomson, Washington Post"The movie's strength is not in its story but in its unsettling and weirdly effective visual and sound style."
— Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-TimesABOUT WALTER MURCH
Walter Murch is a legendary figure in the world of cinema, though his name may not be as instantly recognisable as the directors and actors he has worked alongside. A pioneering film editor and sound designer, Murch has left an indelible mark on how movies are made—and how they are heard. His career spans over five decades, during which he has contributed to some of the most influential films in modern American cinema, including Apocalypse Now, The Godfather trilogy, and The English Patient, for which he won Academy Awards in both film editing and sound.
What sets Murch apart is not just the quality of his work but the intellectual depth he brings to it. He approaches editing not simply as a technical task, but as a form of storytelling that blends rhythm, emotion, and meaning. Known for his methodical yet intuitive process, Murch has also become something of a philosopher of film, articulating his ideas in essays and interviews that continue to influence filmmakers and editors alike.
Murch’s innovations include the concept of “sound montage,” which treats sound with the same expressive potential as image, and his early adoption of digital editing long before it became industry standard. Despite his many accolades, Murch has maintained a thoughtful, inquisitive stance toward his craft. He is as interested in the mechanics of storytelling as he is in its mystery.
Walter Murch will be visiting Watershed on Thu 15 May for an event around the release of his new memoir, and will be in conversation following a screening of Her Name Was Moviola.
- Movie Meetup Choice — Magic Farm /or/ Flow — Meet from 7:15Meet in the café / bar, Watershed, Bristol, BS1 5TX
There is a choice this week:
- Amalia Ulman's new film Magic Farm — a kaleidoscopic journey as a misguided American documentary crew ends up in the wrong town;
or ...
- for anyone who hasn't seen it already, there's an evening screening of Gints Zilbalodis' Oscar winning Flow.
We'll meet in the Watershed cafe/bar from 7:15 pm, to say hello and chat. After the film, we will stop for a while to share thoughts and reactions.
ABOUT MAGIC FARM (8:30 pm, ticket)
"Colourful and unfiltered, Magic Farm ... combines a surreal send-up of the media with a heartfelt exploration of humanity.
— Watershed summary"Every scene has a delight: Manchi stabbing balloons with a knife, Edna’s out-of-place cloven-toed high heels, the lilt in Justin’s voice as he smiles at a street mutt and says, “What’s up, dog?” Cinematographer Carlos Rigo and editor Arturo Sosa groove along with eye-catching colors and skateboard-video-style visuals, even inserting B-roll from a camera strapped to a horse’s head and doing a dramatic zoom to a sheep.
★★★★★ Amy Nicholson, LA TimesABOUT FLOW (8:20 pm, ticket)
"In an unsettling prophecy of the earth’s not too distance future, cities live underwater in the wake of a biblical flood. Water overwhelms the forest. The cat must flee the comforts of the house, ending up in a sailboat with a dog, a capybara, later a (very big) bird and a lemur."
— Kambole Campbell, BFI Sight & Sound"A mesmerising, wondrous example of animation’s potential ... Flow is the real deal."
★★★★★ John Nugent, Empire
