The Queen visits This Cinema at Gloucester Guildhall!

Some amazing old footage of the Queen in The Cinema! Not quite watching a film, but still!

The end of the projectionist?

Is digital sounding the death knell for projectionists all over the country? More great musings from Film Club member Tom here.

At The Cinema at Gloucester Guildhall this week: We play host to the most powerful man in the world....'J.Edgar'

March at The Cinema at Gloucester Guildhall continues this week with J.Edgar, the eagerly awaited return to the director's chair of the legendary Clint Eastwood. With a career as an actor and director that would probably cover a thousand of these blog posts, he is widely recognised for playing The Man With No Name in Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy (A Fistful Of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly) and of course who could forget his unforgettable performance as Harry Callahan in the Dirty Harry films. His achievements in directing have likewise received much critical and commercial acclaim with most recent credits including Million Dollar Baby, Changeling, Gran Torino and Letters from Iwo Jima.

His latest project takes him into the biopic genre and, as candidate for a dramatic re-telling of their life and career past, selects perhaps one of the most powerful, controversial and enigmatic figures of the 20th Century. Best known as the creator and director of America's Federal Bureau Investigation, J.Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio-The Aviator) was the true face of law enforcement in the United States for over 50 years with the Palmer Raids of 1919-1920 his lasting legacy that saw the arrests of more than 500 radical leftists. He was a man who was feared and admired yet reviled and revered in equal measure. Behind closed doors however, lay dark secrets about his sexuality that had the potential to destroy his life, image and career. This film, though of course not entirely accurate to historical fact, aims to unearth through flashback the troubled past of this much troubled figure.

Penned by Academy Award winning Dustin Lance Black (Milk), and featuring an all star supporting cast including Armie Hammer (The Social Network), Naomi Watts (Fair Game) and the incomparable Dame Judi Dench (currently starring in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel which opens here next week) as Hoover's mother, total credit has to be given to DiCaprio who provides a powerhouse performance in the lead role that sees him play Hoover from his young adult years right up until (thanks to the make-up department) his late 70s when he died in 1992. It was enough for him to be deservedly awarded a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for Best Actor.

Appearing in the Top 10 films of 2011 for both the American Film Institute and the National Board Of Review, don't miss your chance to see this compelling and engaging film buoyed by a fantastic central performance.

Check out the trailer below:

J.Edgar (15) runs from Friday 16th-Thursday 22nd March 2012

**NOTE**

J.Edgar is just one of many films that will be up for discussion at our monthly film club-Gloucester Cinematics. If you would like to talk about this, or any other films you've seen at the Guildhall or even elsewhere over the past month, then why not come along and share your opinion with other like-minded people in the relaxed environment of The Place- The Guildhall's cafe/bar area. The next session is on Wednesday 28th March at 8pm. More details about the Gloucester Cinematics can be found on the 'Cinema' section of the Gloucester Guildhall website.

At The Cinema at Gloucester Guildhall this week: To unlock the most fragile of minds requires 'A Dangerous Method'

Following the success of Coriolanus and our 'Screen Tea from Overseas' selection Las Acacias, The Cinema at Gloucester Guildhall continues its March programme this week with the release of A Dangerous Method, the latest from master director David Cronenberg (A History Of Violence, Eastern Promises, Crash). Heralded as one of the most audacious and challenging narrative directors in the English speaking world, his previous works which portray how the psychological is intertwined with the physical, makes him an ideal choice to helm a film whose primary subject is the birth of psychoanalytical theory and the turbulent relationship between its two founders and their first patient.

Set on the eve WWI, the film opens with the driven Dr. Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender, Shame) seduced by the challenge of an impossible case: to the take the unbalanced yet beautiful Sabina Spielrein (Keria Knightley- Never Let Me Go) as his patient. Jung's secret weapon is the method of his master, the renowned Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen-The Road). Whilst it signals a marriage of minds between Freud, founder of psychoanalysis, and Jung, founder of analytical psychology, it equally creates an unbalance between them as they fall under the seductive spell of Speilrein.

Co-starring Vincent Cassel (Black Swan) and adapted from John Kerr's 1993 original non-fiction text by the Oscar nominated screenwriter Christopher Hampton (Atonement), the film also marks David Cronenberg's third partnership with both Viggo Mortensen (A History Of Violence, Eastern Promises) and producer partner Jeremy Thomas (Naked Lunch, Crash). It ultimately proves to be a provocative historical fiction about the early days of psychoanalysis, buoyed by terrific performances from the three main leads.

Premiering at last year's Venice Film Festival and opening to critical applause when released in UK in February (**** The Independent, **** Evening Standard, "Rich and Compelling" Danny Leigh-Film 2012) don't miss your chance to see this superb and enthralling film that marks a welcome return of masterful director. 

Check out the trailer below:

A Dangerous Method (15) runs from Friday 9th-Thursday 15th March 2012.

The Oscars! A summary.

Gosh, it's almost been a week and we haven't done an Oscars blog post! To save us mentioning the fact that we've just sold out a week of The Artist on the back of the awards and that we're feeling pretty pleased with ourselves for booking that particular film for Oscar week way back at the start of the year when no-one knew quite how well it was going to do, we'll make do with a picture of the wonderful Jean Dujardin looking about as pleased as we feel and a rather brilliant account of the ceremony itself by Focus Group and Film Club member Tom:

http://thesensitivebore.blogspot.com/2012/02/84th-annual-academy-awards-blow-by-blow.html

At The Cinema at Gloucester Guildhall this week: Get thee to the Guildhall for thou must behold the superb 'Coriolanus'

It's a new month at The Cinema at Gloucester Guildhall, and much like February it promises not to disappoint. With highlights including the return of director David Cronenberg (Eastern Promises) with the critically acclaimed A Dangerous Method starring Michael Fassbender and Kiera Knightley, the Oscar-nominated Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close directed by Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot), and of course, the film that everyone in Britain is talking about, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel starring the creme de la creme of British acting talent (including Dame Judi Dench) under the direction of Shakespeare In Love's John Madden.

March begins however with the stunning directorial debut of the Oscar-nominated stage actor Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List, The English Patient, The Constant Gardner) in the form of William Shakespeare's tragedy, Coriolanus. Marking the play's first big screen adaptation, Fiennes both directs and leads an all star cast including Gerard Butler (300), Brian Cox (X-Men 2), Jessica Chastain (The Help) and not forgetting the sublime Vanessa Redgrave (Atonement).

Uprooting the action from Ancient Rome and instead filmed in modern day war-torn Serbia (though under the name of Rome), Caius Martius 'Coriolanus' (Fiennes) is a revered and feared Roman General at odds with his fellow citizens. Pushed by his controlling and ambitious mother Volumnia (Redgrave) to seek the exalted and powerful position of Consul, he refuses to ingratiate himself with the masses whose votes he needs in order to secure the office. When the public refuses to support him, Coriolanus's anger prompts a riot that culminates in his banishment from Rome. The banished hero then allies himself with his sworn enemy Tullus Aufidius (Butler) to take his revenge on the city.

Adapted by the Oscar screenwriter John Logan (Gladiator, The Last Samurai) and photographed by The Hurt Locker's Barry Ackroyd (a perfect choice considering the setting), this is a Shakespearean text that although not as well known compared to the likes of a Hamlet or an Othello, has nevertheless been turned into an enthralling and more importantly accessible piece of cinema. Part of its genius, aside from the assured performances of its cast as well as the exciting direction, is the topicality of its themes. Democracy, class war and the nation state all litter our newspapers and TV news bulletins and they are certainly made all the more relevant by the presence of such modern media within the film, including an appearance from a fairly recognisable Channel 4 News anchorman (we shall say no more!).

Premiering In Competition at last year's Berlin Film Festival, and opening to huge critical acclaim here in the UK back in January (**** The Guardian, **** The Times, **** The Daily Telegraph) don't miss your chance to see this absolute gem of a film that firmly cements Ralph Fiennes role as an already accomplished actor and now, an accomplished director.

Check out the trailer here:

Coriolanus (15) runs from Friday 2nd - Thursday 8th March 2012