First a big thank you to our friends at NMRM for the great sound equipment that will enable us to operate in even finer style than before. We want to see the house packed with all our regular customers, and as many new faces as possible, at No.6 over the next month and a half. We have some fantastic films to tempt you, including another chance to see Nickel Boys (Thurs 6th March) and Spirited Away (Fri 7th March), Timothee Chalamet goes electric twice on the big screen (Fri 28th Feb and Thurs 6th March matinee), the latest fab NT Live screening and Oscar favourite The Brutalist (both next week, see below). Plus another of our ever-popular ‘you decide’ polls featuring the Master of Suspense himself (also see below).
Here is this week’s timetable. Bar opens at 6pm for the 7pm screenings (Please Note: we’ll be open from 5pm for Saturday’s prompt screening at 6pm).
We Live In Time
Thursday 13th February at 4.15pm
Another chance to see romantic comedy drama We Live In Time at this matinee screening. Written by Nick Payne, directed by John Crowley and starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, the film portrays the decade long love story between Tobias and Almut in non-linear fashion. Jumping back and forth to different stages of the relationship adds (like Pinter’s reverse time Betrayal) a different kind of poignancy to the story. Rotten Tomatoes notes that, "Garfield and Pugh’s palpable chemistry will snatch audiences’ hearts before breaking them", while the Guardian critic stated that, "I found its throwback nature to be immensely charming…I hope there’s time for more like it."
Maria
Thursday 13th February at 4.15pm
Shame the title Diva has already been taken as famed opera star Maria Callas effectively invented the term. Maria, written by Stephen Knight and directed by Pablo Larrain, tracks the last seven days in the life of La Divina, her medicated state prompting the memories and reflections that comprise the film’s narrative before her death in Paris in 1977. And just who would you ask to play a doomed chanteuse? That’s right: Lara Croft Tomb Raider. Angelina Jolie’s memorable performance has been singled out for praise and going well beyond expectations. An important slice of 20th century history beautifully and tragically portrayed, and a worthy successor to Larrain’s biopics of Jackie Kennedy and Princess Diana.
Valenetines Film: Before Sunrise
Friday 14th February at 7pm
Could there be a better Valentine's Film outside of the Classic Hollywood era than Before Sunrise? Richard Linklater’s third feature, from 1995 when he was the hottest director around (also writer and producer here), beautiful young people Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy meet on a train en route to Paris, disembark at Vienna and have one night to spend together before sunrise will see them go their separate ways. Both intelligent and unashamedly romantic, the film is a classic youth movie but also tinged with art-house introspection. Not a huge money maker on release it has wound its way into many hearts across the world in the intervening years, not to mention a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating.
No.6’s Greatest Films of All Time: Once Upon a Time in America
Saturday 15th February at 6pm
Among No.6’s Greatest Films of All Time, Once Upon a Time in America is one of the cinema’s crowning achievements, Sergio Leone’s final masterpiece in a career consisting only of masterpieces. A group of childhood friends grow up to be Prohibition-era Jewish gangsters. 35 years later, David ‘Noodles’ Aaronson (Robert de Niro) returns to Manhattan after receiving a letter that threatens to uncover his murky past. Adjectives like elegiac and magisterial come to mind as the layers of memory peel back to reveal a past thought long since buried. De Niro is at his absolute peak, James Woods delivers the performance of his life as the ambivalent Max, and Morricone gives us the greatest soundtrack of all time. If Leone had stuck to his original idea of two three-hour films, it still wouldn’t be enough.
Please Note: the screening will start promptly at 6pm.
Up Next Week:
NT Live: The Importance of Being Earnest, A Real Pain, The Brutalist
Interactivity corner returns:
We enjoyed receiving your feedback in response to either/or polls for film screenings so much we thought we’d do it again. This time the focus is on Alfred Hitchcock for a film to show on Saturday 15th March. The choice is between American comedy-thriller Hitch with the 1959 classic North By North West or British horror Hitch with the brilliant and rarely screened Frenzy from 1972. As always you can vote by emailing [email protected], but we need to hear from you by Thursday 13th Feb in order to book the film.
Special announcement:
The short film Alma is currently in production, being made by a group of students at the University of Portsmouth for their final year project. The film explores elderly woman Alma navigating her love life following the passing of her wife. To make the film a reality, they need to raise their needed budget. Their crowdfunder has ended, but you can still contribute to their project here: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/almashortfilm
Coming soon:
Two top treats next week. We continue our NT Live season on Thursday 20th at 7pm with Max Webster’s hilarious production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance Of Being Earnest, featuring none other Doctor Who himself, Ncuti Gatwa, filmed at the National Theatre, London. And on Saturday 22nd, we’re showing the much talked about The Brutalist, about a Holocaust survivor (Adrien Brody) who becomes a famed architect, which looks sure to receive its fair share of awards come Oscar time. A 6.30pm start time for this epic drama that is wowing audiences worldwide.