Our movie screening programme June-August 2008

Archive Newsreel

1937, British Pathé.

Screening daily until Sunday 13 July, 11.30am

Exactly 71 years after it first played here we bring you a story that gripped cinema audiences when the Tyneside first opened as Newcastle’s News Theatre. The Hindenburg was a German Zeppelin airship which, on the 6 May 1937, was engulfed by flames and destroyed while landing at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey. The event was widely reported by newspapers and radio at the time, but it was these unique moving images of this shocking event which brought home the scale of the drama to audiences across the world. Please pick up your free tickets from the Box Office.

Archive Newsreel

1936, British Pathé.

Screening daily from Monday 14 July, 11.30am

Huge sporting events were a newsreel staple, and the 1936 Olympic Games had audiences flocking to cinema screens. Only three years before the outbreak of World War II, Hitler’s Nazi Party attempted to use the games as a propaganda tool to project an image of a successful Germany. Then a young African-American athlete named Jesse Owens proceeded to steal the show, taking four gold medals, a feat not equalled until 1984. Please pick up your free tickets from the Box Office.

Dir. Danny Boon. France 2008. 1hr 46mins. In French with English subtitles.

Now Showing EXTENDED RUN!

This comedy has smashed all records at the French box office. Provençal postmaster Philippe bungles his attempt to gain a transfer to the exotic Côte d’Azur, and is instead ‘sentenced’ to two years among the cheese and offal-loving, lisping burghers of Bergues in the cold north of France. Can he and his sun-worshipping son and spouse find their feet in the land of frost and fricadelle-et-frites? Do not miss this brilliantly funny film. Buy tickets for this film

Dir. Jean-Paul Salomé. France 2008. 2hrs. In English, French and German with English subtitles.

Now Showing

Set to be one of big foreign language hits of the summer, featuring a who’s who of France’s finest female actors. Sophie Marceau (Braveheart) leads a squad of female secret agents in a mission to rescue a British geologist from the clutches of the Nazis. Their assignment is all the more urgent as their quarry holds vital information on the Allies’ imminent plans for D-Day. Exciting and wonderfully shot, this is a thrill-a-minute war movie in the classic mould, all based on the real-life missions of female spies. Buy tickets for this film

“Superb” Empire

Dir. John Maybury. UK 2008. 1hr 51mins.

Now Showing

Keira Knightley shines in this ravishing love story, revolving around two free-spirited women in love with the poet Dylan Thomas. Vera (Knightley) and Thomas (Matthew Rhys) were childhood friends, and when they meet again as adults their strong bond resurfaces, despite the poet now being married to the wilful Caitlin (Sienna Miller) and Vera herself married to handsome soldier Cillian Murphy. Before you can say ‘dangerous entanglement’, the lives of all four are intertwined amidst the uncertainty of war-torn London. A sumptuous, passionate story perfect for a long, hot summer…. Buy tickets for this film

“Absolutely sensational” In-Style

Dir. Thomas McCarthy. USA 2007. 1hr 46mins.

Now Showing

Thomas McCarthy’s follow-up to The Station Agent is a funny and touching drama that features a standout performance from Six Feet Under’s ghost dad Richard Jenkins. He plays Walter, a disillusioned sixtyish Connecticut economics professor whose life is transformed when he finds a young immigrant couple living in his barely-used New York City apartment. Finding out that they’ve been scammed into illegally renting it, he agrees to let them stay and the trio strike up an unlikely friendship. But when the police find and attempt to deport the couple Walter must emerge from his shell to try to save them…. Buy tickets for this film

“A heartfelt human drama that sneaks up and floors you” Rolling Stone

Dir. Ben Affleck. USA 2007. 1hr 54mins.

Starts Friday 11 July

A film remarkable for three reasons. First it is the film that the studios held back from release because of its sensitivity over the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Second because it marks the directorial debut of Ben Affleck, and third because it is absolutely brilliant.

A little girl has disappeared in Boston. When two young private detectives are hired to take a closer look at the case they soon discover that nothing about it is what it seems…. Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane, the acclaimed author of Mystic River (screening Sunday 13th July), Gone Baby Gone is a morally complex, utterly gripping piece of modern-day moviemaking that suggests a glittering future for Affleck behind the camera. Trust us, do not miss! Buy tickets for this film

“A superior, haunting thriller of abduction, deception and ethical dilemma” Empire

Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. UK 1935. 1hr 26mins.

Friday 11, Saturday 10 & Monday 12 July

Alfred Hitchcock’s unabashedly exuberant 1935 take on John Buchan’s novel of spies and shady plots is rollicking fun from start to finish. Robert Donat is the innocent man forced on the run after getting involved with the wrong folks, who winds up handcuffed to blonde bombshell Madeleine Carroll. Remade constantly, but never bettered, this is one of Hitch’s best. Buy tickets for this film

“Marvellously inventive” The Observer

Dir. Jean-Michel Carre. UK 2007. 1hr 35mins.

Saturday 12 July, 3.20pm

This fascinating investigative documentary covers 30 years in the socio-political history of Russia through the personal history of Vladimir Putin. Having presided over Russia’s re-emergence on the world stage and the construction of a system that has stabilised the economy, developed military power, and made oil and gas his weapons, what does Putin owe to his own past and just how different is his leadership from the old Communist regime…? Buy tickets for this film

Continuing our series of new documentary films at the Tyneside in association with joiningthedots.tv and The Independent.

Dir. Clint Eastwood. USA 2003. 2hrs 18mins.

Sunday 13 July, 2.50pm

To compliment Gone Baby Gone here is another chance to catch Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-winning Mystic River on the big screen. With a stunning script by Dennis Lehane, a setting in working class Boston and Tim Robbins, Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon acting each other off the screen, this is a tale of tragedy set in motion by the death of a child. Robbins and Penn won at the 2004 Oscars, as well as the film receiving another four nominations. Don’t miss. Buy tickets for this film

“Remarkable...a powerful film” Los Angeles Times

Dir. Sam Garbarski. Belgium, Luxembourg, UK, Germany & France 2007. 1hr 43mins.

Monday 14 & Tuesday 15 July

Reaping awards and nominations all around the world, including at the Berlin Film Festival, Sam Garbarski’s comedy drama is produced by Newcastle-based Ipso Facto Films and features a never-better Marianne Faithfull. Forced to sell her home to pay for extra medical care for her young grandson, middle-aged widow Maggie desperately needs more cash for a last-chance medical procedure. At her wits’ end, she stumbles into a city sex club after seeing a ‘Hostess Wanted’ sign, and taking a job there she is soon transformed into the much-in-demand Irina Palm…. Buy tickets for this film

We are thrilled to welcome the film's screenwriter Martin Herron to the 8.00pm performance of the film on Monday 14th July, where he will talk about his experiences working on the film.

“Enigmatic, deadpan and remarkably funny” New York Times

Dir. Chris Waitt. UK 2008. 1hr 33mins.

Starts Friday 18 July

This fantastic comedy premiered to sell-out crowds and rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival this year. This is a fly-on-the-wall documentary like no other which follows bumbling independent filmmaker Chris Waitt as he attempts to interview all of his ex-girlfriends to find out why they dumped him. A sexual and emotional odyssey, Chris’ desperate quest is hysterically funny, heartbreaking, sickening and sad all at the same time.

“The funniest film you will see this year” Word Magazine

Dir. Guy Maddin. Canada 2007. 1hr 20mins.

BBFC Classification Advice: Contains moderate sexualised nudity and sex references.

Starts Friday 18 July

If you see only one film this brochure we’d strongly recommend you treat yourself to an evening in the company of the surreal wit and wisdom of Guy Maddin. His new film is a surreal personal portrait of his hometown. Billed as a documentary, it is actually a rich mix of fact, fiction and fantasy to ‘recreate’ elements of his own childhood and his bizarre relationship with his mother. It’s a truly strange and madly beguiling film, and Maddin is a real one-off – a genius you will love (or even hate) a la John Waters or David Lynch.

Dir. Tom Kalin. Spain, USA & France 2007. 1hr 37mins.

Starts Friday 18 July

The real-life story of aspiring socialite Barbara Daly makes for gripping stuff in this fantastical dramatisation of her life and death. Julianne Moore is riveting in the role of the aspiring socialite who married into the Bakelite plastics fortune, and she makes this story of murder, madness and dysfunctional mayhem all the more compelling with a brilliant performance. Watch in awe as Barbara is swept into a heady lifestyle of social ladder-climbing, corrupting herself and her sexually-confused teenage son in the most shocking manner imaginable along the way….

“A twisted mesmeriser of a movie” Rolling Stone

Dir. Olivier Assayas. France 2008. 1hr 43mins. French with English subtitles.

BBFC classification advice: Contains soft drugs use.

Starts Friday 18 July

What would you do if you were suddenly left with a lifetime’s worth of memories that weren’t all necessarily your own? This slow burning melodrama stars the wonderful Juliette Binoche (Hidden, Paris) as one of a family of 40-something siblings who reunite in the wake of the death of their mother to decide what to do with her priceless art collection. As she and her family debate its fractured future, their story gradually unfolds into a tale of hidden scandal, family ties and duty amidst the dusty treasures.

Graphic Tales

Dir. Christopher Nolan. USA 2008. 2hrs 30mins TBC.

Starts Friday 25 July

Great UK director Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Prestige) continues his brilliant re-energising of the Batman franchise. Christian Bale returns for this follow up to Batman Begins, based loosely on the graphic novels The Killing Joke and The Long Halloween. Batman’s quest to fight a growing criminal threat in Gotham City is making progress until a new criminal mastermind known as The Joker (Heath Ledger) unleashes a fresh reign of chaos across Gotham City. The film has taken on an even greater significance as Heath Ledger’s last completed feature before his tragic early death.

The Dark Knight has inspired us to look in the vaults for some of the other great films plucked from the pages of graphic novels including: Ghost World; American Splendor; Hellboy; A History Of Violence; and Persepolis.

Dir. Billy Wilder. USA 1960. 2hrs 5mins.

Friday 25 - Tuesday 29 July

Here in a brand–new digital print, Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine star in Billy Wilder’s glittering evergreen comedy about lowly insurance clerk CC ‘Bud’ Baxter, working his way up the corporate ladder by loaning out his apartment to philandering executives – until, that is, his boss brings the lovely Fran Kubelik back to his flat….

“Diamond-sharp…a brilliant performance from Lemmon” Time Out

Back By Popular Demand

Dir. Mike Leigh. UK 2008. 1hr 59mins.

Friday 25 – Thursday 31 July

Back by extremely popular demand! Mike Leigh’s latest is a joyous tale with a character with a bounding lust for life at its heart. Poppy (Sally Hawkins), is an irrepressible 30-something Londoner who’s a ball of relentless optimism, and we follow her as she lives, loves (and learns to drive) in London Town.

“Joyful and life-affirming and proud of it” Time Out

Christian Nemescu. Romainia 2007. 2hrs 35mins. In English and Romanian, Spanish and Italian with English subtitles.

Wednesday 30 & Thursday 31 July

This pitch-black culture-clash comedy set in rural Romania is the story of a team of American soldiers stranded in the region at the height of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in May 1999. When a vital piece of equipment being transported from Turkey via Bucharest by rail is unceremoniously dumped by the sidings at a small railway station, its chaperones find themselves bound by red tape and stuck in a town that has half the population embracing them and the other half shunning them. This soulful gem is a testament to huge talent of writer-director Christian Nemescu who tragically passed away in 2006.

Dir. James Marsh. UK 2008. 1hr 30mins.

Starts Friday 1 August

This is edge-of-the-seat stuff! Man On Wire is the story of tightrope walker Philippe Petit’s daring and entirely unauthorized, illegal, high-wire walk between the World Trade Center’s twin towers in 1974. His stunt was considered “the artistic crime of the century”, and this gripping film follows the chain of events from planning to the point that Petit handed himself into the police, with the high wire walker himself narrating the story. Prepare to be dazzled.

“Absolutely thrilling” The Times

Dir. Sandrine Bonnaire. France 2007. 1hr 30mins. French with English subtitles.

BBFC Classification advice: Contains strong language and mental illness theme.

Starts Friday 1 August

This brilliant documentary is the directorial debut of French actress Sandrine Bonnaire (La Ceremonie), who makes her bow behind the camera with the sobering story of her younger sister, whose autism went undiagnosed for decades and whose vivacious character was almost destroyed when she was admitted into an institution. Intimate but never invasive, informative but never clinical, this is a powerful statement about the limits of love in the face of chronic debilitating illness.

Graphic Tales

Dir. Terry Zwigoff. USA 2001. 1hr 51mins.

Friday 1 August, 5.50pm

Thora Birch stars as Enid, a bespectacled, frumpy teen who’s just graduated from high school with her best friend Rebecca (Scarlett Johannsson). Together they spend their summer days idling in limbo, drifting through the dreary suburban streets and tormenting the local geeks. But when Enid comes across jazz fiend Seymour (the hilarious Steve Buscemi) she singles him for extra special attention, and soon begins to insinuate herself into his life…. From the cult graphic novel by Daniel Clowes, this is a haunting, hysterical vision of intense teen angst. Very cool, very funny..

“Ghost World isn't easy to shake off. But only a fool would want to.” Rolling Stone

Graphic Tales

Dirs. Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini. USA 2003. 1hr 42mins.

Saturday 2 August, 6.00pm

Harvey Pekar has documented his life in the comic book series American Splendor, and here is Harvey’s story, swiped clean off the page by the brilliant Paul Giamatti (Sideways). Bitterly funny, this is a unique look at one man’s acerbic worldview as he coasts through life. Hilariously funny, and above all utterly true to Harvey’s original tales….

“A masterpiece. The most imaginative cinematic experience in years, you will love this movie” Arena

Graphic Tales

Dir. Guillermo del Toro. USA 2004. 2hrs 2mins.

BBFC Classification advice: Contains moderate fantasy violence and horror.

Wednesday 6 August, 6.05pm

Its easy to forget that the genius filmmaker behind Pan’s Labyrinth also works in Hollywood where he helms a distinctly cut-above comic franchise based on Mike Mignola’s cult graphic novels, Hellboy. This fantastic, funny fantasy stars Ron Perlman as Hellboy, conjured as an infant by the Nazis and raised by the brilliant Professor Broom (John Hurt) to be protector of mankind. Every bit as inventive, gripping and visually arresting as you would expect from this great filmmaker.

Graphic Tales

Dir. David Cronenberg. USA 2005. 1hr 36mins.

Thursday 7 August, 8.20pm

Viggo Mortensen and David Cronenberg’s first film together is a searing, brain-bending crime thriller based on John Wagner and Vince Locke’s graphic novel. Tom Stall runs a diner in a small town. He has a beautiful wife, two great kids and a happy life. But when two psychotic killers arrive in town, aiming to cut a swathe of destruction, Sam gets in the way, and his quick and ruthless actions make him a hero. However, his new found status alerts the East Coast mob, who think he’s one of their own and has a debt to pay them….

“Hard as ice and quite brilliant” The Observer

Dir. Jose Padhila. Brazil 2007. 1hr 55mins. In Portunguese with English subtitles.

Starts Friday 8 August

The hottest film to come out fo Brazil since City Of God and winner of the coveted Golden Bear at this year’s Berlin film Festival, Jose Padhila’s (Bus 174) searing insight into Rio De Janeiro’s police force is making waves all around the world. It is 1997 and Neto and Matias join the military police to make a difference in the drug war that is taking over their city. But finding nothing but corruption and incompetence in the force, the pair enlist into a Special Operations Squad whose mission is to take down the drug-lords at all costs. But juggling their humanity and lives at home with the war on the streets isn’t easy….

Dirs. Cesar Charlone & Enrique Fernandez. Uruguay, Brazil & France 2007. 1hr 39mins. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Starts Friday 15 August

Inspired by the 1998 visit of Pope John Paul II to the unremarkable and impoverished Uruguayan town of Melo on the Brazilian border, this story of small town aspirations is one of the films of the summer. As news spreads the desperately poor townspeople realise that the anticipated 50,000 pilgrims will be in need of food and drink, paper flags and souvenirs. Brimming with enthusiasm, petty smuggler Beto (César Troncoso) is certain that he’s found the best business idea of all: ‘El Bano del Papa’ (‘The Pope’s Toilet’), where the thousands of pilgrims can find relief….

“A heartbreaking film, beautifully played and with heart and head in massive abundance.” Time Out

Dir. Paolo Morelli. Brazil 2007. 1hr 46mins. In Portuguese with English subtitles.

Starts Friday 15 August

A pulse-pounding story of friendship in the favelas, this is a follow-up of sorts to 2002’s brilliant film City Of God, which itself served as a wake-up call to the world about life in Brazil’s shantytowns. Ace (Douglas Silva), and Wallace (Darlan Cunha) are best friends who have grown up together in the shadow of Wallace’s drug-dealer cousin, who reigns their town as the local gang lord. Desperate to escape their hopeless existence in their hillside town, the boys decide to hatch a plan to get out. But fate has other plans….

Dir. Julian Schnabel. USA & UK 2007. 1hr 25mins.

BBFC classification advice: Contains one use of strong language and references to sex and drugs.

Friday 15 – Monday 18 August

A searing song cycle about two lovers going to pieces in the shadow of the Berlin Wall, Lou Reed's Berlin was largely unappreciated upon its release in 1973. Crushed, Reed and his producer, Bob Ezrin, left the record to gather dust in the archives. But Berlin was recently rediscovered and anointed a misunderstood masterpiece. In 2006, artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell And The Butterfly) took to the stage at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York, to introduce a concert 33 years in the making: Lou Reed's Berlin, played live for the first time….

“Wear black.” Time Out

Dir. Sergio Leone. Italy & Spain 1966. 3hrs.

Friday 15 – Thursday 21 August

Back on the big screen in a restored print, this is a milestone in cinema history. Sergio Leone’s epic ‘spaghetti’ western is as much of a thrill to watch now as it was on its first release in 1966. A quest for buried Confederate gold sets a story of unparalleled greed in motion as Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef), Tuco (Eli Wallach), and laconic gunman Blondie (Clint Eastwood) clash in incendiary fashion over the loot. Unmissable.

Graphic Tales

Dirs. Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud. France 2007. 1hr 36mins. In English and French, Persian, German with English subtitles.

BBFC classification advice: Contains moderate violence, drugs and one use of strong language.

Friday 15 – Thursday 21 August

Persepolis is a touching coming-of-age story about an intelligent, outspoken girl growing up during the Iranian Revolution. Crafted in the same bold animation style that characterised Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel. This inspiring tale of a heroine who simply refuses to conform was a huge hit when Tyneside reopened and is on its way to being one of 2008’s best films.

“Magnificent. You will never have seen anything quite like this” Evening Standard

Dir. Cédric Klapisch. France 2008. 2hrs 10mins. French with English subtitles.

Friday 15 – Thursday 21 August

Love and life pose dilemmas for a handful of friends in the City of Lights in this funny romantic drama from French filmmaker Cédric Klapisch (Pot Luck) Pierre (French heartthrob Romaine Duris, The Beat That My Heart Skipped) has enjoyed a successful career as a dancer performing in Parisian nightclubs, but when he's diagnosed with a serious heart condition, his doctor warns him that the strain of his work could kill him and he must reinvent his lifestyle. As he ponders his future and his mortality, he turns to his sister, Élise (Juliette Binoche, Summer Hours, Hidden), who’s a social worker and single mother, for help. But Élise is facing some life changes of her own….

Dir. Errol Morris. USA 2008. 1hr 56mins.

Tuesday 19 – Thursday 21 August

Nobody can forget the unbearable images taken of Iraqi prisoners experiencing humiliation at the hands of their US captors at Abu Ghraib that came to light in 2004, and Errol Morris’ (The Fog Of War) latest documentary addresses the images and the people who took them. Including interviews with four of the seven involved. Uncovering the background of the atrocity and whether their motivation was something more ‘official’ than them being bored, ignorant and afraid, Morris’ film looks beyond the frame with often shocking, always unsettling results.