We are delighted to announce the theme and line up for the fourth film festival at Linden Hall Studio! The gallery team are particularly excited to present this cinematic selection and very much hope you enjoy six films over four days in October, exploring, discovering or revisiting ;
THE ORIGINALS - Film Festival IV at Linden Hall Studio
The choice is a spread of film across a variety of genre, period, location and language with the consistent theme being that these original works went on to be remade into much bigger films with much bigger audiences. This is not to do with the remakes being better, albeit quite the opposite.
Sergio Leones remake of YOJIMBO had the Hollywood sprinkle of Clint Eastwood over Toshiro Mifune. The Martin Scorcese remake of Infernal Affairs as The Departed had the Oscars cache & connections which Andrew Lau & Alan Mak could not. It is hard to believe that since 1931, there have been over 200 variations and remakes of Bela Lugosi’s iconic encapsulation of Count Dracula, variations made by Coppola & Herzog amongst others. If Scarface is mentioned, ones memory doesn’t trigger Howard Hawks and tommy guns, but rather, Tony Montana saying hello with his little friend.
The aim of this series is to goes back, to revisit those original masterpieces which catalysed these better known remakes. It is a celebration of THE ORIGINALS and a recogniton of overlooked films which in their own quiet way sparked chain reactions in cinema that are referenced time and time again.
I very much hope you enjoy this season, and we look forward to seeing you there. As ever there will be a selection of themed drinks and wonderful speakers, with a few surprises thrown in…
I hope you enjoy the latest festival at Linden Hall Studio
Myles.
Myles Corley
Gallery Director
Linden Hall Studio
Wednesday 23rd October - Festival Launch!
BRIGHTON ROCK
Director - John Boulting
1948
1hr 32mins
British
In Brighton in 1935, small-time gang leader Pinkie Brown murders a journalist and later desperately tries to cover his tracks but runs into trouble with the police, a few witnesses, and a rival gang.
"Richard Attenborough, aged only 24, creates one of the most chilling antiheroes in British cinema: baby-faced psychopath Pinkie Brown takes an unsettling satisfaction in his capacity for cruelty and ruthlessness."
- TIMES
Wednesday 23rd October
Evening Screening - Doors Open - 6pm
Film introduction by Stephen Bates - 6:30pm
(Stephen Bates is a British writer and award-winning journalist. Having Reported from more than 40 countries around the world, for the BBC, Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail and – for 22 of those years – The Guardian.)
(The Remake of this film was BRIGHTON ROCK. Released in 2010, directed by Rowan Joffe, starring Helen Mirren and John Hurt.)
Thursday 24th October
DRACULA
Director- Tod Browning
1931
1hr 15mins
American
Transylvanian vampire Count Dracula bends a naive real estate agent to his will, then takes up residence at a London estate where he sleeps in his coffin by day and searches for potential victims by night.
"The opening scenes, set in Dracula's castle, are magnificent -- grave, stately, and severe"
- CHICAGO READER
Thursday 24th October
Evening Screening - Doors Open - 6pm
Film introduction by Dr Cecilia Sayad at 6:30pm
(Dr Cecilia Sayad is a Senior Lecturer in Film at University of Kent and a member of the executive committee for the Centre for Film and Media Research. Dr Sayad has three main areas of research: horror, film authorship, and criticism. She currently teaches two modules related to some of these research areas: Film Criticism and Film Genre (Horror).)
(There has been over 200 remakes of this film. To name a few ; Bram Stoker's Dracula - directed by Francis Ford Coppola - 1992 - Starring Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder. Dracula - 1979 - directed by John Balham - Starring Frank Langella. Nosferatu the Vampyre - 1979 - directed by Werner Herzog - Starring Klaus Kinski and Bruno Ganz)
Friday 25th October
YOJIMBO
Director-Akira Kurosawa
1961
1hr 50mins
Japanese
A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.
"Yojimbo is intimate to the point of claustrophobia. It's wit is wry, its characters flawed and its world-view uncompromisingly cynical."
- EMPIRE MAGAZINE*****
Friday 25th October
Afternoon Screening - Doors Open - 1pm
Film introduction (speaker TBA) - 1.30pm
(Remake was A FIST FULL OF DOLLARS - 1964 - Directed by Sergio Leone - starring Clint Eastwood and Gian Maria Volonté)
Friday 25th October
SCARFACE
Director- Howard Hawks
1932
1hr 33mins
American
An ambitious and nearly insane violent gangster climbs the ladder of success in the mob, but his weaknesses prove to be his downfall.
"Atmospheric, mesmerising and darkly humourous with a sizzling script and cast. This is a true classic of its genre."
- EMPIRE MAGAZINE*****
Friday 25th October
Evening Screening - Doors Open - 6pm
Film introduction by Christopher Cook at 6:30pm
(Christopher Cook began his career in television, producing for BBC-2 and Channel 4. He has broadcast on the arts, music and culture regularly for on BBC Radios 3, 4, 5 and the BBC World Service.)
(Remake was SCARFACE - 1983 - directed by Brian Di Palma - Starring Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer)
Saturday 26th October
PLEIN SOLEIL
Director- Rene Clement
1960
1hr 58mins
French
Tom Ripley is a talented mimic, moocher, forger and all-around criminal improviser; but there's more to Tom Ripley than even he can guess.
"Delon is a terrifically good in the role: his almost unearthly perfection is creepy itself, as if he is imitating a human being."
- GUARDIAN
Saturday 26th October
Afternoon Screening - Doors Open - 1pm
Film introduction by Lynn Davis at 1.30pm
(There have been two remakes of this film. The Talented Mr Ripley - 1999 - directed by Anthony Minghella - Starring Matt Damon, Jude Law Gwyneth Paltrow. Anthony Minghella & RIPLEY - 2022 - Released on Netflix starring Andrew Scott)
Saturday 26th October ;
INFERNAL AFFAIRS
Director- Andrew Lay & Alan Mac
2002
1hr 41mins
Hong Kong
A story between a mole in the police department and an undercover cop. Their objectives are the same: to find out who is the mole, and who is the cop.
"Everything you'd want in a police action thriller: powerhouse performances, Grade A production values, a good script and suspenseful direction."
- SAN FRANCISO CHRONICLE *****
Saturday 26th October
Evening Screening - Doors Open - 6pm
Film introduction by Myles Corley, LHS Gallery Director at 6:30pm.
(Remake was THE DEPARTED - 2006 - directed by Martin Scorcese - Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlerg, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson etc.)
The ticket options are variable, with the choice of purchasing tickets to individual screenings (£10) as well as Festival Passes which offer discounts on attending more than one film.
Bronze Festival Pass - Admission to two screenings