Bristol Movie & Theatre Fans

We're going to see Nicolas Roeg's film Don't Look Now. We'll be in the Watershed cafe/bar from about 7:30 to meet and chat before the film. Afterwards we'll stop for a few minutes to share our thoughts and reactions. Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com (100%) "Nicolas Roeg’s 1973 film remains one of the great horror masterpieces, working not with fright, which is easy, but with dread, grief and apprehension. Few films so successfully put us inside the mind of a man who is trying to reason his way free from mounting terror. Roeg and his editor, Graeme Clifford, cut from one unsettling image to another. The movie is fragmented in its visual style, accumulating images that add up to a final bloody moment of truth." https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-dont-look-now-1974 Watershed summary: Director: Nicolas Roeg Cast: Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason Duration: 110 mins If ever evidence was to be presented for filmmaking as a unique art form then Roeg's masterpiece Don't Look Now, a film about love and grief wrapped up in a psychological thriller, could be used to mount the case. Adapted from a Daphne Du Maurier short story, the film points to Roeg's growing interest in the otherworldly, the mysterious and co-incidence as well as his increasing ability to suspend plot and narrative through the choreography of editing. The opening sequence is perhaps the purest form of Roeg's visual storytelling sensibility. He lays out all the emotional and thematic elements of the film in a tour de force of cinematic expression with powerful emotional impact. The rest of the film resonating with the loss of the child and grief of the parents (Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie). Don't Look Now holds in sublime balance the tenderness of a mature relationship - the celebrated love scene its emotional heart - stretched by the growing unease of a death foretold. An out of season Venice echoes the film itself: haunting and haunted, mysterious and timeless. Tickets: Buy your own ticket online or from the box office [masked]). http://bit.ly/2X0MB02 Meeting up: We'll be at the Watershed from about 7:30---a chance to meet and talk before the movie. We usually get at least one of the large tables in the area between the stairs and the bar, or just in front of the bar. If you're new to the group, look for a Meetup sign on the table and come and say hello. Check the Meetup comments after 7:30 on Monday evening for more details.

We're going to see Nicolas Roeg's film The Man Who Fell To Earth. We'll be in the Watershed cafe/bar from about 6:30 to meet and chat before the film. Afterwards we'll stop for a few minutes to share our thoughts and reactions. Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian (5-stars) "Nicolas Roeg’s 1976 sci-fi story about an intergalactic visitor, played by David Bowie, is more preposterous – and moving – than the first time around" http://bit.ly/2WAeMUr Watershed summary: Director: Nicolas Roeg Cast: David Bowie, Rip Torn, Candy Clark Duration: 136 mins Despite being the fatalistic story of a crash-landed alien outsider and aid mission gone disastrously wrong, the stars were very much aligned for The Man Who Fell to Earth's meteoric rise to cult classic status. With director Nicolas Roeg on-form after making Performance and Don't Look Now, and the presence of David Bowie in his first starring role (just as he was about to transition into his experimental and influential Berlin era), this stranger than science fiction tale was destined for its celestial spot in the oddball canon. A post-Ziggy Bowie is perfectly cast as Thomas Jerome Newton, an alien who lands on earth and sets about building up a high-tech business empire in order to fund his mission of returning water to his drought-plagued home planet. Newton's plan is derailed by the influence of his temporary home as Roeg casts a sharp eye over a human society that begins to look increasingly alien. Initially distracted by an ill-fated romantic relationship that falls apart when his true identity is revealed by a treacherous colleague, Newton is imprisoned by the government and finally succumbs to a crippling alcohol addiction as his home planet withers and dies. Bowie's controlled, other-worldly placidity in the lead role is hugely impressive, and Roeg's idiosyncratic exploration of the sci-fi genre has stood the test of time. Now gorgeously restored, Newton's inexorable downfall can be seen by audiences all over again. Tickets: Buy your own ticket online or from the box office [masked]). http://bit.ly/2WspveG Meeting up: We'll be at the Watershed from about 7:30---a chance to meet and talk before the movie. We usually get at least one of the large tables in the area between the stairs and the bar, or just in front of the bar. If you're new to the group, look for a Meetup sign on the table and come and say hello. Check the Meetup comments after 7:30 on Monday evening for more details.