Ernest Borgnine: 1917 - 2012

Sad news today that Ernest Borgnine has died aged 95. The iconic actor was best known for playing characters such as the cruel Sgt. "Fatso" Judson in From Here to Eternity; Coley Trimble, the right-hand goon, in Bad Day at Black Rock; Dutch Engstrom, in the enduring classic The Wild Bunch and Shack and Rogo, the cop with the prostitute-wife, in The Poseidon Adventure. To a whole new generation he was known as the voice of the starfish-donning, geriatric Mermaid Man in kids' TV favourite SpongeBob SquarePants. Read a touching obituary from the La Times HERE.

A Royal Affair (15)

This week sees the arrival of the outstanding A Royal Affair or En Kongelig Affære as it is known in the Danish Language. The film is a well-crafted, fascinating and scandalous historical drama set in 18th Century Denmark, based on true accounts and revolving around a burgeoning romance: a tragic romantic epic interspersed with flashes of inspired humour.

An intriguing and surprising period of Danish history is recounted in a sumptuous costume drama set in the royal court of King Christian VII in the late 1760s, telling an extraordinary true story of political change and royal intrigue.  Young Queen Caroline Mathilde is married off to a simpleton king cruelly uninterested in his bride, preferring the vices of alcohol and prostitutes. The insanity of his behaviour comes to a head with the arrival of German physician Johann Struensee.  Brought in to treat the King, and quickly gaining his trust, he falls in love with the Queen, forming an alliance and placing him in a position to push through reforms that transformed Denmark forever.

The film premiered at Berlin International Film Festival earlier in 2012, and whilst there Mikkel Følsgaard won the Silver Bear Award for Best Actor and the scriptwriters won the award for Best Script. Hardly surprising, as the same team wrote the script for the original Swedish version of the critically acclaimed The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo. The film is also co-produced by Lars Von Trier, who has waved the flag for Danish cinema in recent years. His involvement proves that director Nikolaj Arcel is a director to watch out for.
 

The cinema team saw this film at the ICO Screening Days in London and loved it, despite not usually being fans of period dramas. One of the things that struck us was how beautiful the Danish language is and how nice it is to hear a world cinema film in a language which is less familiar to us.

*Arcel's first-rate Danish costume drama will introduce most moviegoers (including me) to the fascinating tragedy of the love affair in the 1770s between England's Caroline, wife of the problematic Danish King Christian, and the king's German physician, Johann Struensee, both dedicated social progressives.* The Guardian

*A gripping chapter of European history is recounted with elegance, intelligence and clarity in Danish director Nikolaj Arcel’s sumptuous costume drama* The Hollywood Reporter

*Gripping, smart, well-acted - everything you want in a period drama* Little White Lies

Watch the trailer below:

A Royal Affair (15) runs Monday 16th at 7.45pm, Tuesday 17th at 2pm, Wednesday 18th at 7.45pm and Thursday 19th at 7.45pm

Snow White & The Huntsman (12A)

The Cinema at Gloucester Guildhall plays host this week to a dark gothic re-telling of a classic Brothers Grimm fairytale.

Produced by Joe Roth of Alice In Wonderland (2010) fame, Snow White & The Huntsman stars Kristen Stewart (Twilight series) as the only person in the land fairer than the evil Queen Ravenna, played by Charlize Theron (Prometheus). Although the wicked ruler is intent on destroying her, she could never imagine that the young Snow White, threatening her reign, has been training in the art of combat with a huntsman, Eric, played by Chris Hemsworth (Thor). Together with a little help from a group of dwarves (watch out for some famous faces), they seek to rid the kingdom of the darkness, and return the kingdom to its former glory.

Taking the international box office by storm, ranking number 1 in over 30 countries on its release, the film's principal photography was entirely based in the United Kingdom, mainly in Pembrookshire on the Marloes Sands beach. Even Britain's own chart topping success Florence + The Machine are in on the action with the end credit song duties. (Trust us, "Breath Of Life" is seriously worth staying behind for.) Minus the amazing special effects which make the film an absolute wonder to watch, the film should also be praised for transforming the character of Snow White into a warrior princess "Joan Of Arc" figure for the ages for the ages.

*Vastly superior to Mirror Mirror in every way. Great performance form Theron.*

Richard Roeper

*Director Rupert Sanders ... succeeds in creating a fantasy world with a striking dichotomy of darkness and light.*

Julian Roman (Movie Web)

Check out the trailer below:

Snow White & The Huntsman (12A) runs Friday 13th at 7:45pm, Saturday 14th at 10:45am and 7:45pm and Monday 16th July at at 2:00pm

The movies just got more mysterious...

Can’t decide what to see at the cinema? Why not let us choose for you!

Inspired in part by the ever popular Secret Cinema, we're inviting you to take a gamble and buy a ticket for a mystery film, the title of which will remain a closely-guarded secret until the lights go down in the cinema and the credits roll. Carefully selecting films from the last 100 years of cinema, we will endeavour to delight you each month with an eclectic mix of much-loved classics and little known gems, the only details revealed before the night being the film classification and the run-time. Comedy, thriller, retro, modern, British, subtitled, the possibilities are endless, and at the bargain price of only £4 per ticket, it’s a great opportunity to discover something new or perhaps see an old favourite on the big screen for the first time.

Date: Thursday 16th August
Time: 7.45pm
Tickets: £4

Film: ?????
Certificate: PG
Run time: 77 minutes

Celebrate your local independent cinema with Scala Beyond

Experience two very different examples of world cinema and help us celebrate the joy of subtitles as part of fringe film festival Scala Beyond!

The film Jean Dujardin made before The Artist, Little White Lies (15) is the perfect introduction to easy-watching French cinema. In turns hilarious and heartrending, it follows a group of thirty-something friends as they embark on their annual holiday together. As the week wears on, their friendships and convictions are sorely tested and they are forced to confront some uncomfortable home truths as their long-kept secrets and little white lies threaten to tear them apart.

Featuring an award-winning ensemble cast you will recognise from more mainstream hits including Marion Cotillard (Inception, Dark Knight Rises) and François Cluzet (The Intouchables), all it needs is Andrew Lincoln and/or Martin Freeman and you have something akin to such flagships of good British comedy as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

In contrast,  the Oscar-nominated Incendies (15), cited by the New York Times as one of the 10 best films of 2011, is a powerful and deeply moving mystery drama, following twins Jeanne and Simon as they attempt to carry out their mother’s last wish to find the father they thought was dead and the brother they didn’t know existed. Travelling to the Middle East they untangle her past and explore their family history, piecing together the story bit by bit and discovering a tragic fate marked by war and hatred, as well as the courage of an exceptional woman very different to the mother they thought they knew.

In essence a family drama, it begins in the style of a detective thriller with its shattering climax reminiscent of a Greek tragedy. Affecting without being traumatic, you feel as if you are journeying with Jeanne and Simon, the shocking truth dawning on you and them in perfect synchronicity, leaving you with only one word as the credits roll: wow.

Both films come tried, tested and highly recommended by the cinema team at Gloucester Guildhall, and whether you’re taking your first curious steps into the wonderful world of foreign film or are a seasoned world cinema veteran we guarantee you’ll find something you love in this very special double bill. What’s more, if you buy a ticket for the first film, you get the second film absolutely free! It's the perfect opportunity to try something new! Light meals and drinks will also be available from the bar between the two screenings, so why not make an evening of it?
Saturday 1st September
Doors: 4.15pm
Little White Lies (15): 4.50pm
Interval: 7.30pm
Incendies (15): 8.30pm

TICKETS: £5.50 adults / £4.50 concessions
Buy a ticket for Little White Lies and get a ticket for Incendies absolutely free! Tickets for Incendies are also available to purchase separately at the normal price.

The world’s biggest pop-up short film festival comes to Gloucester

We're really excited to announce that we're bringing Future Shorts Festival to Gloucester for the first time with a screening on Saturday 11th August.

Future Shorts Festival is the first ever global pop up festival, showcasing the most exciting short films from around the world, where filmmakers, audiences and festival partners come together to create the next generation of film festival. Future Shorts Festival is accessible to anyone, anywhere, the beauty of it being that screenings can be held in any location and on any scale, from concert halls to back gardens, and the ever expanding festival now features in 60 countries and 160 cities worldwide, with over 350 screenings and more than 35,000 audience attendees across six continents.

The Summer Season programme is an innovative collection of seven award-winning short films from around the world – from Brazil to Romania to South Korea and beyond – featuring documentaries, stop motion animation and fiction in all shapes and sizes, all of which are well worth seeing. Globally lauded for their film choices, if you haven’t dabbled in short films before, Future Shorts Festival is definitely the place to start. Highlights of the programme include:

A Morning Stroll (2012) – Grant Orchard UK, 7 min
Created by the multi-BAFTA winning Studio AKA, Grant Orchard’s A Morning Stroll is the story of an encounter between a New Yorker and a chicken. Told over three acts spanning over 100 years, this incredibly successful animated short has already won a BAFTA and a Jury Award at Sundance and was nominated for a Short Animated Film Oscar.

Guest (2011) - Ga Eun-YoonSouth Korea, 20 min
A teenager angry at her father’s affair barges into his mistress’ house to find her two little kids. Winner of the 2012 International Grand Prix at Clermont -Ferrand, Guest is a beautifully acted coming-of-age portrayal of emotions from Korean National University of Arts’ film program.

Notes on Biology (2011) – Will MaddenUSA, 6 min
A stop motion animation, Notes on Biology was the winner of Best Short at SXSW. This very clever short film brought to us by Ornana Films follows a student’s imagination during a Biology class.

Date: Saturday 11th August
Time: 7.45pm
Tickets: £5.50 adults / £4.50 concessions

Casa De Mi Padre (15)

Casa De Mi Padre is the inspired new film from Matt Piedmont.  The film is a laugh out loud American comedy harking back to the B-movie style of film-making, but with a difference: it is in the Spanish language.

An ingenious spoof on the over-heated Spanish telenovela in the style of Naked Gun, Will Ferrell plays Armando, a simple-minded Mexican rancher, whose brother Raul disrupts their family life when he arrives home with sultry new bride Sonia.  Plans for a wedding are ruined, not only by Armando’s growing infatuation with Sonia, but through the violent intervention of Raul’s ruthless boss, drug-cartel boss Onza, a man so tough he smokes two cigarettes at once!

The hilarious comedy and camera work provide audiences with a film which is an exciting and highly original oddity, complete with extreme camera zoom, inexplicable slow motion sequences, an animatronic white snow leopard and mannequins disguised as extras.

The actors provide a wonderful and hilarious phenomenon which starts with a cracking opening sequence, giving audiences a crisp and modern view of the Mexico landscape.  The epic music which is played throughout this films works perfectky with the story of two brothers, thier problems and the debts of the family ranch. We are bringing you a film that is at times surreal but offers you a comical take on sibling rivalry.

*The plot is genuinely clever, and there's a continual stream of knowing gags that'll keep fans of B-movies chuckling.*  Shadows on the Wall

*A joyous, ramshackle celebration of sloppy filmmaking and cheapo production design.* Total Film

Have a look at the trailer below:

Casa De Mi Padre runs Tuesday 10^th at 2pm and 7.45pm, Wednesday 11^th at 7.45pm and Thursday 12^th at 7.45pm

Woody Allen: A Documentary (15)

Following on from our recent retrospective of the master of modern American cinema that is Woody Allen, The Cinema at Gloucester Guildhall is proud to present  the perfect companion piece.

Woody Allen: A Documentary is the first attempt at documenting Allen’s life and creative process thanks to unprecedented access gained by Emmy winning and Oscar nominated director Robert Weide. For nearly a year and a half he followed the notoriously private film legend to create the ultimate cinematic biography, chronicling his career from teen writer to Sid Caesar’s TV scribe, from stand-up comedian to award-winning writer-director averaging one film-per-year for more than 40 years. Providing insights and back-story to the usually inscrutable director’s writing habits, casting, and relationships with his actors, the film presents a series of interviewees in the form of A-list stars, writing partners, family and friends. The list of participants could go on forever, but to just a name a few: Josh Brolin, Penelope Cruz, John Cusack, Larry David, Scarlett Johansson, Diane Keaton, Martin Landau, Sean Penn, Chris Rock, Martin Scorcese, Naomi Watts and Owen Wilson plus many more.

Chosen as ‘Film Of The Week’ by BBC Radio 5’s Floyd and Boyd, this is certainly a richly rewarding and insightful documentary that is not to be missed even if you are a film lover with only a general awareness of Allen’s work.

*An engaging and enjoyable film that’s a treat for Woody Allen fans. Recommended*

View London

*I could have watched this armada forever.*

Financial Times

Check out the trailer below:

Woody Allen: A Documentary (15) is one for ONE DAY ONLY on Monday 9^th July at 2pm and at 7:45pm.

Dark Shadows (12A)

Dark Shadows is a new and exciting Johnny Depp and Tim Burton collaboration.  This enjoyable comedy will delight audiences of all ages, whether you are a Johnny Depp fan, remember the 70s or just want to watch a film which is guaranteed to make you laugh.  

Based on the 1970s Gothic soap opera, Johnny Depp plays the eccentric Barnabas Collins, the master of Collinwood Manor; a rich, powerful and inveterate playboy in 18th-century New England.  He is turned into a vampire by a local witch and then he is buried alive in the local woods.  Accidentally freed from his tomb in the very changed and colorful world of 1972, Barnabas sets about restoring the family's fortune, not without the local witch using her powers on him yet again!

The director and actor duo have brought many films to cinema screens over the past 20 years, such as the highly acclaimed Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.  This new production does not let fans down: the music and visual elements work hard to provide audiences with a sumptuous watch. The characters are as obscure as ever and the costumes reflect the characters and the time settings.  Michelle Pfeiffer and Johnny Deep are a perfect pairing.
 

*It's a great time at the movies and a wickedly clever cinematic treat.* BoxOffice Magazine

*Dark Shadows offers potent atmosphere and delirious '70s fashions and hilarious gags and some really terrific performances, none better than Pfeiffer's triumphant return to the screen as a pitch-perfect family matriarch.* Salon.com

Have a look at the trailer below:

Dark Shadows (12A) runs: Friday 6th at 7.45pm and Saturday 7th at 7.45pm

New Director Anthony Hemingway talks Red Tails

Backed by George Lucas, well established TV director Anthony Hemingway tries his hand at directing his first feature film with his debut release of Red Tails.

Click here to read Becky Reed's interview with director Hemingway. 


Red Tails is showing at Gloucester Guildhall on Saturday 28th July at 10.45am and 7.45pm, and Monday 30th July at 2pm and 7.45pm