This November, we journey into the dark heart of crime with our NEO-NOIRVEMBER strand. All month long, don't miss tales steeped in violence and sexuality, with characters blurring the lines between good and bad, and looking for revenge, suffering from paranoia, or victims of alienation.
A group of high-end professional thieves start to feel the heat from the LAPD when they unknowingly leave a verbal clue at their latest heist.
Original Cut from a 35mm print.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, this mob drama, based on Mario Puzo's novel of the same name, focuses on the powerful Italian-American crime family of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando). When the don's youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino), reluctantly joins the Mafia, he becomes involved in the inevitable cycle of violence and betrayal. Although Michael tries to maintain a normal relationship with his wife, Kay (Diane Keaton), he is drawn deeper into the family business.
Our performance on 14th October is presented with an introduction by Christina Newland
Elaine May crafted a gangster film like no other in the nocturnal odyssey Mikey and Nicky, capitalising on the chemistry between frequent collaborators John Cassavetes and Peter Falk by casting them together as small-time mobsters whose lifelong relationship has turned sour. Set over the course of one night, this restless drama finds Nicky (Cassavetes) holed up in a hotel after the boss he stole money from puts a hit out on him. Terrified, he calls on Mikey (Falk), the one person he thinks can save him. Scripted to match the live-wire energy of its stars—alongside supporting players Ned Beatty, Joyce Van Patten, and Carol Grace—and inspired by real-life characters from May’s own childhood, this unbridled portrait of male friendship turned tragic is an unsung masterpiece of American cinema.
Our performance on 14th October is featured as part of Gangsters Have Feelings Too, a season exploring the sensitive gangster film. The season is presented with the National Film and Television School’s Film Studies, Programming and Curation MA.
A retired criminal profiler (William Petersen) reluctantly returns to the FBI to help track down a serial killer of families and is forced to consult an expert—the imprisoned Dr. Hannibal Lecktor (Brian Cox in a subtly chilling performance). The third feature written and directed by Michael Mann is a gripping adaptation of the first of Thomas Harris’s four novels featuring the iconic murderer, and benefits from the filmmaker’s typically striking visuals as well as a top-notch supporting cast, including Tom Noonan as the hunted killer, and three-time Oscar nominee Joan Allen (The Contender, 2000) as his blind love interest.
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This new 4K Final Cut, overseen by Mann, enhances the film’s depth, visual clarity and sound, offering audiences the ultimate immersive version. Shot in 1985, MANHUNTER was on a frontier in both its subject matter and film form, initiating an impressive list of subsequent films and series.
“40 years ago – though armed with Thomas Harris’ excellent novel, “Red Dragon” – its subject matter, the profiling of serial killers, as well as being shocking and raw, was unknown. When adapting, I wanted to make its storytelling deliver audiences into a certain state of threat and emotional engagement. Integral to that was the visualization and use of music with lyrics sometimes working like a libretto. We have carefully remastered the film to try to evoke that mood and intensity, heightened with audio sourced from the original 5.1 35mm analog masters. This latest iteration is that version of the film with which I’m most satisfied.” said director Michael Mann.
Under the guidance of Mann, this 4K scan of the original 35mm negative – with a few shots from an interpositive - was conformed and digitally restored at L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna. Both the theatrical version and the UHD HDR & SDR video color gradings were performed by Stefan Sonnenfeld at Company 3 in Los Angeles with the director. Sound restoration was done at Audio Mechanics from an original 35mm magnetic 6-track printmaster to release a new 5.1 mix by Luke Schwartzweller at Fox. Technical coordination and deliveries were managed by L’Immagine Ritrovata. This project was supervised by Becca Mann and STUDIOCANAL team, Jean-Pierre Boiget and Delphine Roussel.
For Michael Mann, the process is about renewing the film’s immediacy for contemporary audiences: “If the picture was left the way it was, it would be interesting, but you’d feel some distance …you’d be observing it somewhat. I’m more interested in its original intent impacting you the same way it may have in 1986…that is, to bring you into it again in the original way.”
As a film distinguished by its striking visual style, including Colleen Attwood’s costume design, Academy Award- winner Mel Bourne’s art direction, Dante Spinotti’s lighting, Mann worked with his long-time collaborator, Stefan Sonnenfeld (Company 3), to develop a new color grade for ‘The Final Cut’ that engages a contemporary audience while honoring the film’s lasting legacy.
“A good example is the use of primaries and secondaries in combinations that don’t occur in nature for an unsettling ambiance or the use of blue for night-time imagery. We’ve changed values subtly sometimes, but significantly, to enhance the impact without changing the dramatic intent of the film,” said Stefan Sonnenfeld.
He adds: “Michael… wants you to understand the story and the mood and the environment… and then asks you to interpret that in colour… He also tells you what emotion he’s trying to evoke from the scene.”
The new version also introduces an HDR presentation, offering an intensified new experience. “So that nobody’s ever seen the movie like that,” noted Sonnenfeld.
Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) are hitmen with a penchant for philosophical discussions. In this ultra-hip, multi-strand crime movie, their storyline is interwoven with those of their boss, gangster Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) ; his actress wife, Mia (Uma Thurman) ; struggling boxer Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) ; master fixer Winston Wolfe (Harvey Keitel) and a nervous pair of armed robbers, "Pumpkin" (Tim Roth) and "Honey Bunny" (Amanda Plummer).
Dae-Su is an obnoxious drunk bailed from the police station yet again by a friend. However, he's abducted from the street and wakes up in a cell, where he remains for the next 15 years, drugged unconscious when human contact is unavoidable, otherwise with only the television as company. And then, suddenly released, he is invited to track down his jailor with a denouement that is simply stunning.
To take down South Boston's Irish Mafia, the police send in one of their own to infiltrate the underworld, not realizing the syndicate has done likewise. While an undercover cop curries favor with the mob kingpin, a career criminal rises through the police ranks. But both sides soon discover there's a mole among them.
Eerie and unforgettable, MS. 45 is an essential snapshot of New York City in the early 1980s from Abel Ferrara (DRILLER KILLER, THE ADDICTION)—one of the greatest and most unique living filmmakers on the planet. Thana (Zoë Tamerlis) is a garment worker who’s had the ultimate bad day, as she’s assaulted twice in visceral fashion. Shocked to her core, Thana's nights become consumed by vengeful prowls through the city, which result in men winding up on the wrong end of a bullet. Knocking the DEATH WISH rip-off subgenre into a new stratosphere, MS. 45 showcases a haunting performance from Tamerlis and Ferrara's knack for transforming limited resources into genre revolutions.
Content Warning: Contains scenes of sexual assault that some viewers may find distressing. Further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com, as well as through general internet searches.
Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.
When Mildred Pierce's wealthy husband leaves her for another woman, Mildred decides to raise her two daughters on her own. Despite Mildred's financial successes in the restaurant business, her oldest daughter, Veda, resents her mother for degrading their social status. In the midst of a police investigation after the death of her second husband, Mildred must evaluate her own freedom and her complicated relationship with her daughter.
A screenwriter with a violent temper is a murder suspect until his lovely neighbor clears him. However, she soon starts to have her doubts.
Suffering from insomnia, disturbed loner Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) takes a job as a New York City cabbie, haunting the streets nightly, growing increasingly detached from reality as he dreams of cleaning up the filthy city. When Travis meets pretty campaign worker Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), he becomes obsessed with the idea of saving the world, first plotting to assassinate a presidential candidate, then directing his attentions toward rescuing 12-year-old prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster).
Set in postwar Vienna, Austria, "The Third Man" stars Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, who arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime (Orson Welles), only to find him dead. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Maj. Calloway (Trevor Howard) and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna (Alida Valli).
While out hunting, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) finds the grisly aftermath of a drug deal. Though he knows better, he cannot resist the cash left behind and takes it with him. The hunter becomes the hunted when a merciless killer named Chigurh (Javier Bardem) picks up his trail. Also looking for Moss is Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), an aging lawman who reflects on a changing world and a dark secret of his own, as he tries to find and protect Moss.
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.
A former San Francisco police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed.
In this classic film noir, insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) gets roped into a murderous scheme when he falls for the sensual Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), who is intent on killing her husband (Tom Powers) and living off the fraudulent accidental death claim. Prompted by the late Mr. Dietrichson's daughter, Lola (Jean Heather), insurance investigator Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) looks into the case, and gradually begins to uncover the sinister truth.
Armed with only one word—Tenet—and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.
A detective starts spiraling out of control when a wave of gruesome murders with seemingly similar bizarre circumstances are sweeping Tokyo.
College student Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) returns home after his father has a stroke. When he discovers a severed ear in an abandoned field, Beaumont teams up with detective's daughter Sandy Williams (Laura Dern) to solve the mystery. They believe beautiful lounge singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) may be connected with the case, and Beaumont finds himself becoming drawn into her dark, twisted world, where he encounters sexually depraved psychopath Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper)
Under the glare of the permanent Alaska sun, two veteran Los Angeles police officers close in on their suspect in the murder of a teenage girl. But when officer Will Dormer (Al Pacino) accidentally shoots his partner, their murder suspect, reclusive novelist Walter Finch (Robin Williams), witnesses the shooting--and blackmails Dormer. Now, as an idealistic local detective (Hillary Swank) investigates the case, and the stakes rise, Dormer's sanity begins to falter.
A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O., but his tragic past may doom the project and his team to disaster.
An assassin goes through obstacles as he attempts to escape his violent lifestyle despite the opposition of his partner, who is secretly attracted to him.
* ON SALE 23rd OCT *
Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's chains?
Loner Mark Lewis works at a film studio during the day and, at night, takes racy photographs of women. Also he's making a documentary on fear, which involves recording the reactions of victims as he murders them. He befriends Helen, the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making.
Young Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), with his friends Jimmy (Robert De Niro) and Tommy (Joe Pesci), grows up in the mob and works very hard to advance himself through the ranks. He enjoys his life of money and luxury, but is oblivious to the horror that he causes. A drug addiction and a few mistakes ultimately unravel his climb to the top. Based on the book "Wiseguy" by Nicholas Pileggi.
A highly skilled jewel thief, Frank (James Caan) longs to leave his dangerous trade and settle down with his girlfriend, Jessie (Tuesday Weld). Eager to make one last big score in order to begin living a legitimate life, Frank reluctantly associates with Leo (Robert Prosky), a powerful gangster. Unfortunately for Frank, Leo wants to keep him in his employ, resulting in a tense showdown when he finally tries to give up his criminal activities once and for all.
A case involving drug lords and murder in South Florida takes a personal turn for undercover detectives Sonny Crockett (Colin Farrell) and Ricardo Tubbs (Jamie Foxx). Unorthodox Crockett gets involved romantically with the Chinese-Cuban wife of a trafficker of arms and drugs, while Tubbs deals with an assault on those he loves.
Hard-nosed private investigator Harry Moseby (Gene Hackman), to distract himself from a rapidly deteriorating marriage, takes a case from an aging B-movie queen (Janet Ward) to locate her runaway daughter, Delly (Melanie Griffith). His search takes him to the Florida Keys, where the girl has been hiding out with her stepfather, Tom (John Crawford), and Tom's lover, Paula (Jennifer Warren). Harry initiates an affair with Paula and soon learns the case is more complex than he first assessed it.
Deckard (Harrison Ford) is forced by the police Boss (M. Emmet Walsh) to continue his old job as Replicant Hunter. His assignment: eliminate four escaped Replicants from the colonies who have returned to Earth. Before starting the job, Deckard goes to the Tyrell Corporation and he meets Rachel (Sean Young), a Replicant girl he falls in love with.
Following the death of his wife, Los Angeles police detective Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) becomes reckless and suicidal. When he is reassigned and partnered with Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), Riggs immediately clashes with the older officer. Together they uncover a massive drug-trafficking ring. As they encounter increasingly dangerous situations, Riggs and Murtaugh begin to form a bond. Riggs' volatile behavior might just help them apprehend the criminals -- if it doesn't kill them both first.
New York Detective "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman) and his partner (Roy Scheider) chase a French heroin smuggler.
A masterpiece of cunning and suspense… Miles Cullen (Elliott Gould, The Long Goodbye) discovers how interesting life can be when he is transformed from mild-mannered bank teller into daring, ingenious bank robber in a matter of seconds. Held up at the bank by the criminal Reikle (Christopher Plummer, Ordeal by Innocence), Miles manages to stash most of the money in a deposit box first. When Reikle realizes he’s been shortchanged, he plans to take revenge—and a great battle of wits ensues.
To keep the money, Miles reaches new heights of courage, seducing the robber’s girlfriend (Céline Lomez, Plague) and his boss’s mistress (Susannah York, The Killing of Sister George). Filled with equal parts intrigue, romance and unexpected twists, this chilling psychological thriller also features comedy legend John Candy (Delirious) in an early film role. The screenplay by future filmmaker extraordinaire Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential) was based on the book Think of a Number by Anders Bodelsen. Wonderfully directed by Daryl Duke (Payday).