We’re back to our normal schedule this week, with evening showings on good old Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, and we’re playing with time in a way that would even leave Dr Who confused. Back to the middle of the 16th century for Firebrand, ahead to 2142 for Alien: Romulus, an entry in the series that takes place between the 1979 and 1986 Alien films, and then ‘back to the future’ for 2001: A Space Odyssey, a 1969 glimpse ahead to the then-distant 21st century. It makes our heads ache just to think about it. Best to watch them all and work it out for yourselves.
Firebrand
Thursday 3rd October September at 7pm
Not having her head chopped off has resulted in ‘sixth wife’ Katherine Parr getting a lot less attention than Henry VIII’s other spouses. Firebrand rectifies that shortfall in fine style. Karim Anouz’s film stars Alicia Vikander as Katherine and Jude Law as Henry, at loggerheads after she has been left in charge while he goes off to fight battles abroad. A vociferous battle of ideas, and for a vision of what the country might look like in the future, ensues in this excellent Palme d’Or nominee. No.6 only regrets that Rick Wakeman didn’t do the soundtrack.
No.6’s Greatest Films of All Time: 2001: A Space Odyssey
Friday 4th October at 7pm
From Henry to HAL as we proudly present one of the cinematic art’s ultimate achievements, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, showing, naturally, as one of No.6’s Greatest Films of All Time. Forget every SFX and CGI extravaganza of the last forty years, THIS is why you can’t watch every film on TV. From chucking bones into the air, to the demented paranoia of a wayward computer, and through to the birth of the Star Child, the ‘story’ is secondary to the spectacle, which is as it should be. As for Dave’s Big Trip, we defy Dreamworks or Industrial Light & Magic to come up with anything so mind blowing. Incredible.
Alien: Romulus
Saturday 5th October at 7pm
Alien: Romulus is the seventh film in the series, but as noted above, set between the events of the original Alien and those of its sequel, Aliens. Where this matters is in the use of physical sets and pre-CGI animatronics to give a ‘period’ look more akin to those first two films rather than a present day production. Written and directed by Fede Alvarez, we follow three pairs of siblings who encounter hostile creatures while scavenging a derelict space station. Rotten Tomatoes states that it's "striking visuals and claustrophobic terror with gory action" makes it "arguably the best instalment since Aliens".
Up Next Week:
The Critic (matinee), NT Live (Encore): Present Laughter, The Critic, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Coming Soon:
We’d be remiss if we didn’t remind you that this month’s venture into theatrical territory with NT Live (Encore) features Andrew Scott in Noel Coward’s Present Laughter. Filmed live at the Old Vic in 2019, Scott brings the moral ambiguity and ambivalent sense of identity that he displayed as Moriarty in Sherlock and the title character in the recent Ripley series. After the success of our first showing (Prima Facie) we feel sure you won’t want to miss this special event. Showing on Thursday 10th October at 6.30pm sharp.
