2015 - 25 Best Cinema Highlights
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- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKeir DulleaGary LockwoodWilliam SylvesterAfter uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.Picturehouse at National Media Museum, 18/10/15 - WIDESCREEN WEEKEND
Preceded by keynote speech from Douglas Trumbull, followed by Q&A.
70mm print
There are 3 films which, in my lifetime, I have to see on 70mm. Baraka, Lawrence of Arabia and 2001: A Space Odyssey.
I'd seen it before on DVD and from a recent 2K digital print in the cinema and they both pale in comparison to this. Mere imitations.
The detail offered by a film shot on 65mm and projected on 70mm (my first and only experience of such) is incredible and unrivalled by almost anything else cinema can offer.
As with Heat, I'd always liked 2001 but seeing it as it should be seen shows it as the real masterpiece that it is.
Special Effects Supervisor of the film and cinema boundary-pusher, Douglas Trumbull introduced this and held an almost 90-minute Q+A after. It was an extraordinary, touching on spiritual, experience.
Long live 70mm. What a year of cinema. - DirectorJoshua OppenheimerStarsAdi RukunM.Y. BasrunVolker HanischA family that survived the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.Vancouver International Film Festival at Vancity Theatre, 30/7/15
A cinematic milestone of a screening. Simultaneously my first film ever seen outside Europe, my first visit to a cinema outside Europe, my first visit to a cinema in Canada and my first film seen in Canada.
The film was supposed to have been Sunshine on Leith, showing earlier and which I'm in, but I'd just climbed a mountain so couldn't make it. This was great, though, and I got chatting to some people about Sunshine on Leith anyway. Start to a memorable holiday. - DirectorSteve De JarnattStarsAnthony EdwardsMare WinninghamJohn AgarA young man hears a chance phone call telling him that a nuclear war has started and missiles will hit his city in 70 minutes.Northwest Film Forum, Seattle, Washington, USA, 31/7/15
Intro + Q&A with director, Steve de Jarnatt
35mm print
We raced into Seattle, taking in the skyline of the city, arriving at the cinema with 5 minutes to spare to see my first ever film on US soil (seeing the skyline wouldn't have happened if we weren't heading to the cinema!).
The screening wasn't busy but I was so happy to be there. Perhaps my mood affected my opinion of the film but I'm not caring. It ran on 35mm changeovers (so also first film seen outside of Europe on 35mm!) and the director, Steve de Jarnatt, was there for a Q+A and signing posters. It was perfect. - DirectorJohn FordHenry HathawayGeorge MarshallStarsJames StewartJohn WayneGregory PeckA family saga covering several decades of Westward expansion in the 19th century, including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads.Picturehouse at National Media Museum, 17/10/15 - WIDESCREEN WEEKEND
35mm IB Technicolor Cinerama print
A full feature in Cinerama! And a PACKED cinema. A flawless presentation of one of the biggest, most grand epics cinema has to offer. Except the chances to offer it are so slim.
This trumps the rarity of Interstellar on 70mm IMAX and Citizen Kane on 35mm, even if the quality of the film doesn't quite match those. It's still pretty great and such a screening may not happen again worldwide for years or decades to come. - DirectorMerian C. CooperGunther von FritschErnest B. SchoedsackStarsLowell ThomasKathy DarlynToni ValkOn the evening of September 30, 1952, the shape and sound of movies changed forever with the introduction of Cinerama.Picturehouse at National Media Museum, Bradford, 6/6/15, original three-panel 35mm Cinerama presentation
This preceded the Interstellar IMAX screening and was my introduction to three-panel Cinerama - even more rare than IMAX! People don't realise it and the cinema was not very busy but I felt very lucky even if the film/travelogue was a bit old-hat. A new and unique cinema experience only trumped by the next... - DirectorChristopher NolanStarsMatthew McConaugheyAnne HathawayJessica ChastainWhen Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.Picturehouse at National Media Museum, Bradford, 6/6/15, in IMAX 15/70mm
2nd of the 3 watches and the final chance to see Interstellar on full IMAX 70mm before digital was installed at the cinema. Bittersweet, being where I travelled to see it on release - and which was my no.1 cinema highlight last year. - DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsJoaquin PhoenixJosh BrolinOwen WilsonIn 1970, drug-fueled Los Angeles private investigator Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of a former girlfriend.Prince Charles Cinema, London, 28/6/15 - The "Hazy Road to Inherent Vice" all-nighter
35mm print
The conclusion to an all-nighter I braved alone at the Prince Charles Cinema, one of my favourite cinemas, in London while on holiday. I'd long dreamed of attending an all-nighter here.
The line-up included Chinatown, The Big Lebowski, The Naked Gun, The Long Goodbye, Zabriskie Point, and this kicking off at around 8am. That's the way to see it. - DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDorothy ComingoreFollowing the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'GFT, 3/5/15 (ushered)
35mm print
Coming mere weeks before Heat - what a month this was! Roger Ebert once said you have to see Citizen Kane projected on 35mm and now I have. Cinematic holy grail of screenings. - DirectorMichael MannStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroVal KilmerA group of high-end professional thieves start to feel the heat from the LAPD when they unknowingly leave a verbal clue at their latest heist.GFT, 17/5/15
35mm print
I've always liked Heat but this screening converted me into an active fan. Seeing it projected completely enhances the experience and shows Heat for the true masterpiece that it is. - DirectorMichel GondryStarsAnge DargentThéophile BaquetDiane BesnierTwo young friends embark on a road trip across France in a vehicle they built themselves.GFT, 15/11/15
I have rarely been made to feel so happy walking out of a cinema, not just this year but any year. A truly wonderful film. - DirectorChristopher NolanStarsMatthew McConaugheyAnne HathawayJessica ChastainWhen Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.Filmhouse, Edinburgh, 10/1/15
70mm print
The 1st of the 3 watches and my first ever of the film on regular 70mm. An exciting occasion and flawless presentation, run on changeovers, by the projection team at Filmhouse. - DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsAlisa FreyndlikhAleksandr KaydanovskiyAnatoliy SolonitsynA guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.Filmhouse, Edinburgh, 8/2/15
35mm print
Tarkovsky's work needs to be seen in the cinema with an audience - each and every person will come away with something different. The print, of course, just made things even better. - DirectorRob ReinerStarsRob ReinerMichael McKeanChristopher GuestSpinal Tap, one of England's loudest bands, is chronicled by film director Marty DiBergi on what proves to be a fateful tour.GFT, 15/7/15
35mm print
Not as lively as the screening ought to have been but to see one of my favourite films on 35mm was a real treat. - DirectorLav DiazStarsPerry DizonRoeder CamanagHazel OrencioThe Philippines, 1972. Mysterious things are happening in a remote barrio. Wails are heard from the forest, cows are hacked to death, a man is found bleeding to death at the crossroad and houses are burned. Ferdinand E. Marcos announces Proclamation No. 1081 putting the entire country under Martial Law.GFT, 26/2/15 - Glasgow Film Festival
To my knowledge this is longest film ever shown at GFT so very pleased to have attended and made it all the way through. And that's in spite of a few technical glitches! - DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsJoaquin PhoenixJosh BrolinOwen WilsonIn 1970, drug-fueled Los Angeles private investigator Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of a former girlfriend.Cameo Picturehouse, Edinburgh, 1/2/15
35mm print
Any chance to see a new release on 35mm must be taken and this did not disappoint. One of the best films of the year and absolutely luminous on 35mm. - DirectorChristopher NolanStarsMatthew McConaugheyAnne HathawayJessica ChastainWhen Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.Picturehouse at National Media Museum, Bradford, 16/10/15, 70mm print - WIDESCREEN WEEKEND
3 watches of Interstellar this year and all in the cinema from film prints. This was the 3rd and I was a bit tired so... - DirectorDavid Robert MitchellStarsMaika MonroeKeir GilchristOlivia LuccardiA young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.Cineworld Renfrew Street, 1/3/15
The speakers were poor, unable to handle the bass, and you could practically see your reflection in the silver screen but my favourite film of the year so it deserves a spot. - DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEllen SandweissRichard DeManincorFive friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.Grosvenor Cinema, 11/10/15 - ALL-NIGHT HORROR MADNESS
35mm print
Another gorgeous 35mm print at the All-Night Horror Madness and one of the true classics of horror cinema. - DirectorPete DocterRonnie Del CarmenStarsAmy PoehlerBill HaderLewis BlackAfter young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions - Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness - conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house, and school.Varsity Theatre, Seattle, Washington, USA, 9/8/15
A brilliant trip out with family, (who used to live in San Francisco) to see a new Pixar film - just as they work best. - DirectorDouglas TrumbullStarsBruce DernCliff PottsRon RifkinIn a future where all flora is extinct on Earth, an astronaut is given orders to destroy the last of Earth's botany, kept in a greenhouse aboard a spacecraft.Picturehouse at National Media Museum, 17/10/15 - WIDESCREEN WEEKEND
Introduced by director, Douglas Trumbull
Very lucky to have been in attendance (and to have met and spoken with Douglas Trumbull after) but not as lucky as a certain screening which features higher in this list... - DirectorTom HollandStarsCatherine HicksChris SarandonAlex VincentA struggling single mother unknowingly gifts her son a doll imbued with a serial killer's consciousness.Grosvenor Cinema, 28/3/15 - All Night Horror Madness
35mm print
Delightful to be reminded of how good this film actually is and from a pristine 35mm print. - DirectorDamián SzifronStarsDarío GrandinettiMaría MarullMónica VillaSix short stories that explore the extremities of human behavior involving people in distress.GFT, 7/4/15
Just a really damn fun cinema experience and the film places in my top 5 of the year. - DirectorChristopher McQuarrieStarsTom CruiseRebecca FergusonJeremy RennerEthan and his team take on their most impossible mission yet when they have to eradicate an international rogue organization as highly skilled as they are and committed to destroying the IMF.Seattle Cinerama, Seattle, Washington, USA, 11/8/15
4K laser presentation
Marking a visit to 2 of the world's 3 operational Cinerama theatres in the same year - the other being Pictureville at National Media Museum in Bradford. - DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellWilford BrimleyKeith DavidA research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.Grosvenor Cinema, 28/3/15 - All Night Horror Madness
35mm print
Third time seeing The Thing on the big-screen and now from all of its cinema formats, having previously seen it on digital and 70mm. - DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsGordon MacRaeGloria GrahameGene NelsonIn Oklahoma, several farmers, cowboys and a traveling salesman compete for the romantic favors of various local ladies.Picturehouse at National Media Museum, 15/10/15 - WIDESCREEN WEEKEND
4K Todd-AO remaster
My introduction to National Media Museum's Widescreen Weekend, a brilliant roadshow presentation of a big-screen classic from a new 4K Todd-AO remaster.