🎥 MOVIE ROADHOUSE LONDON

🐾 Roar is an American adventure comedy film written and directed by Noel Marshall. Its plot follows Hank, a naturalist who lives on a nature preserve in Africa with lions, leopards, tigers, and other big cats.

The film stars Marshall as Hank, his real-life wife Tippi Hedren (better known for her roles in Hitchcock's The Birds and Marnie) as his wife Madeleine, with Hedren's daughter Melanie Griffith and Marshall's sons John and Jerry Marshall in supporting roles.

Roar (1981) is infamous for the on-set real injuries its actors and crew suffered and yet, in 2016 Tippi Hedren tried to denigrate Hitchcock's legacy by publishing an autobiography alleging that during the filming of The Birds the legendary director used live aggressive birds that pecked at her.

Despite that alleged experience in 1963, and to put things into perspective, Tippi agreed to subject herself, and her own daughter, to a perilous shoot with much more dangerous animals. During a promo shoot in 1973, Hedren was bitten in the head by a lion, Cherries, whose teeth scraped against her skull. She was taken to Sherman Oaks Hospital, where her wounds were treated and she was given a tetanus shot.

She was admitted to Antelope Valley Hospital after Tembo, the five-ton elephant, picked her up with his trunk by the ankle, fracturing it before bucking her off his back; Hedren said that Tembo had been trying to keep her from falling and was not at fault (it seems it's easier to forgive an elephant than a crow...). She was left with phlebitis and gangrene, in addition to a fractured hand and abrasions on her leg. Several days earlier Tembo had bucked his trainer into a tree and broken her shoulder. Hedren was also scratched on the arm by a leopard and bitten on the chest by a cougar.

Her daughter, Melanie Griffith received 50 sutures after being attacked by a lioness. It was feared that she would lose an eye, but she eventually recovered without being disfigured, although she did require some facial reconstruction.

In hindsight, Hitchcock's setup was a walk in the park by comparison...

Beyond the gruesome behind the scenes and the screen spectacle, the film portrays the complex bond between humans and animals, highlighting both the majesty and unpredictability of wildlife while capturing the unrelenting energy and peril of living in close quarters with wild creatures.
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🗓 SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN

• 6:00 PM: Drinks (Nickel Cinema Bar in the Basement)
• 6:30 PM: Nickel Cinema
• 8:30 PM: Review

📱STAY CONNECTED

🏯 No experts needed. Just passion and Vinnie Jones fans!

👋 Hi guys! Ever wondered what connects a hypnotherapist, a bird-man, a creative assassin and a man who keeps killing his wife only for her to come back to life? Well, welcome to Survive Style 5+

This cult Japanese masterpiece by Gen Sekiguchi is a multi layered neon-soaked, chaotic, and hilarious puzzle-box movie. The film follows five simultaneous, loosely linked plot lines, that intertwine and scramble together. It blends dark comedy, surreal visuals, and an unforgettable soundtrack into one wild ride.

The Meetup: We’ll be meeting at the Victory House Bar next to the cinema at 7:30 pm. Then at 8:15 pm it's a short walk to Prince Charles Cinema (Screen 1) where you will find me in row E11 if you want to sit nearby. You’ll find the full schedule breakdown, tickets, and addresses below.

⏳The fate of the free world hangs in the balance.

👋 Hey guys! This time, we’re meeting up for a historical thriller directed by Anthony Maras, set in the final 72 hours before D-Day. Based on David Haig’s play, and focuses on critical decisions made in the war rooms.

Though this a dramatised retelling, it’s about the real James Stagg, who delivers forecasts that could alter history and faces an impossible choice: launch the most dangerous seaborne invasion or risk losing the war altogether.

As viewers, we know history matters—so let’s see if this Hollywood film tries to stay close to the truth.

The Meetup: We'll be meeting for pre-drinks at Joshua's Tavern at The Londoner at 6:15 pm (5mins from the cinema). Then we’ll head to VUE Cinema Leicester Square for the 7:15 pm showing where you'll find me in seat B12 if want to sit in the same row.

👋 Hey guys! For this one we’re heading to Curzon Mayfair for the 4K restoration of Andrei Tarkovsky’s The Sacrifice, screening as part of Curzon’s Film 50 celebrations.

This was Tarkovsky’s final film, made in Sweden and released in 1986, the same year he died. It follows Alexander, a retired actor celebrating his birthday with his family when news arrives that nuclear war may have begun. Faced with the possibility of everything disappearing, he makes a desperate bargain with God.

It’s also an interesting meeting of two cinematic worlds. Tarkovsky made the film in Sweden with several people closely associated with Ingmar Bergman, most notably cinematographer Sven Nykvist, and the result unmistakably looking absolutely beautiful. Seeing Nykvist’s images in a new 4K restoration on the big screen feels like a pretty good reason to spend a Sunday afternoon at the cinema.

The Meetup: We’ll meet at the Curzon Mayfair bar from 2:15 pm for drinks and a chat before heading into the 3:00 pm screening. I’ll be in seat G21 if you want to book nearby.

The restoration runs for around 2 hours 29 minutes, so allowing for trailers we should be back at the bar at around 5:45 pm for our discussion and Letterboxd scores.

See you there!
Faheem

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👉 HEADS U