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The Prince Charles Cinema

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The Shootist
1976 100mins USA (PG) Western
Directed by Don Siegel Starring John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard

Legendary director Don Siegel (Dirty Harry) directs the iconic John Wayne as an ageing gunfighter dying of cancer in his final screen appearance, a superb adaptation of Glendon Swarthout's classic western novel, The Shootist.

John Bernard Books is the stuff of legend, a renowned 'shootist' whose reputation looms large. But it's 1901, and like the old west, John is dying and a reputation like his draws trouble like an outhouse draws flies. As word spreads that the famous gunfighter is on his last legs, the vultures begin to gather; old enemies, the marshal, newspaper men, an undertaker, all eager to see him dead. Other men might die quietly in bed or take their own lives, but J. B. Books will choose his executioner and face down death with a pistol in each hand.

With an outstanding cast that features not only Wayne, but James Stewart, Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, Scatman Crothers and John Carradine, The Shootist is an elegiac ode to a monumental screen presence and to the Western genre itself.

Barbarella
1968 98mins France, Italy (15) Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Directed by Roger Vadim Starring Jane Fonda, John Phillip Law, Anita Pallenberg

In the far future, Barbarella is tasked with finding and stopping the evil Durand-Durand. Along the way, she encounters various unusual people.

The Blade
1995 106mins Hong Kong (15) Wuxia
Directed by Tsui Hark Starring Vincent Zhao Wenzhuo, Xiong Xinxin, Sonny Song

* ON SALE 3rd AUG *

Among the boldest accomplishments of Hong Kong cinema’s golden age, this uniquely visceral martial-arts movie puts a gritty new spin on the story of the one-armed swordsman, an iconic figure from the moment he was introduced by the Shaw Brothers studio in 1967. Composed in a whirlwind of immersive close-ups and fractured editing, The Blade follows the young sword-maker Ding On (Vincent Zhao), who, after losing an arm in an ambush, transforms himself into a furious avenger. With its intentionally disorienting stylization and starkly brutal tone, The Blade was a rare commercial disappointment for Tsui Hark, but it has since been reclaimed as one of the director’s most radical visions—a tour de force of action expressionism, and a scathing reappraisal of the wuxia genre’s code of masculinity, that achieves a feverish intensity.

One Crazy Summer
1986 93mins USA (12A) Comedy
Directed by Savage Steve Holland Starring John Cusack, Demi Moore, Curtis Armstrong

* ON SALE 12th AUG *

An aspiring teenage cartoonist and his friends come to the aid of a singer trying to save her family property from developers.

Rancho Deluxe
1975 93mins USA (15) Western
Directed by Frank Perry Starring Jeff Bridges, Sam Waterston, Elizabeth Ashley

* ON SALE 25th AUG *

Jack McKee and Cecil Colson are two bumbling drifters who make a living by rustling cattle from other peoples herds in the wilds of Montana. Jack is from a wealthy background but left his parents as he resented their posh lives, and Cecil is a Native American half-breed seeking his own path in life away from his father. Both hustle and rustle their way in the world by targeting cattle owned by wealthy ranch owner John Brown. Frustrated that someone is killing his cattle, John hires a pair of ranch hands, Burt and Curt, to find the rustlers. When Brown realises he cannot trust his two inept ranch hands, he turns to the grizzled former rustler Henry Beige to find the cattle thieves, while Jack and Cecil are always one step ahead of them, not realising that their luck will eventually run out.

Cat People (1982)
1982 118mins USA (18) Horror / Thriller
Directed by Paul Schrader Starring Malcolm McDowell, Nastassja Kinski, John Heard, Annette O'Toole

* ON SALE 31st AUG *

A woman who was orphaned from a young age finally reunites with her older brother. Matters start to go awry when she slowly discovers the true nature of her family.

Legend (1985)
1985 89mins USA (PG) Adventure / Fantasy
Directed by Ridley Scott Starring Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry

* ON SALE 7th SEP *

Set in a timeless mythical forest inhabited by fairies, goblins, unicorns and mortals, this fantastic story follows a mystical forest dweller, chosen by fate, to undertake a heroic quest. He must save the beautiful Princess Lili and defeat the demonic Lord of Darkness, or the world will be plunged into a never-ending ice age.

Dragonslayer
1981 108mins USA (PG) Adventure / Fantasy
Directed by Matthew Robbins Starring Peter MacNicol, Caitlin Clarke, Ralph Richardson

* ON SALE 14th SEPT *

A sorcerer and his apprentice are on a mission to kill an evil dragon to save the King’s daughter from being sacrificed according to a pact that the King himself made with the dragon to protect his kingdom.

Teen Wolf
1985 91mins USA (PG) Comedy / Sport
Directed by Rod Daniel Starring Michael J. Fox, James Hampton, Jerry Levine, Susan Ursitti, Lorie Griffin

* ON SALE 21st SEPT * 

When a shy teenager’s newfound powers help him score at basketball - and with the popular girls - he has some pretty hairy decisions to make.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
1956 80mins USA (PG) Sci-Fi / Horror
Directed by Don Siegel Starring Dana Wynter, Kevin McCarthy, Carolyn Jones, King Donovan, Larry Gates, Virginia Christine

* ON SALE 28th SEPT *

In the sleepy Californian town of Santa Mira, strange happenings are afoot. Dr. Miles Bennell finds residents experiencing an epidemic of mass hysteria, imagining their relatives replaced by detached, emotionless copies. As Bennell gets closer to the horrifying truth - that the substitutions are part of an extraterrestrial invasion scheme and the copies are emerging from giant seed pods - the 'pod people' begin to close in.

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
1948 83mins USA (PG) Horror / Comedy
Directed by Charles Barton Starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange, Lenore Aubert

* ON SALE 5th OCT *

The popular comedy team of the 1940s and 1950s, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, goes up against Universal Studios’s monsters in this zany spoof. Dracula (Bela Lugosi), the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.), and Frankenstein’s Monster (Glenn Strange) all make memorable appearances in this horror comedy mashup, which manages to do justice to both genres―a feat frequently attempted but rarely achieved.

The Cable Guy
1996 96mins USA (12A) Comedy
Directed by Ben Stiller Starring Jack Black, Jim Carrey, Matthew Broderick, Leslie Mann

* ON SALE 12th OCT *

Oddball cable installer Chip Douglas (Jim Carrey) attempts to strike up a friendship with customer Steven Kovacs (Matthew Broderick) by offering him premium channels at no cost. When Steven rebuffs Chip's frequent need for companionship, Chip goes from a mildly eccentric acquaintance to a full-fledged psycho stalker. Though it's increasingly apparent to Steven that the cable guy is dangerous, convincing his friends, family and the authorities of that is another matter entirely.