Dedicated to screening rare & significant films in their original format
The Melbourne Cinémathèque is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run film society. We hold screenings at The Australia Centre for the Moving image every Wednesday night for most of the year. Admission is by membership, which can be obtained on a monthly or yearly basis.
7.00PM – TURNING 80: A CELEBRATION FOR JOHN FLAUS
(1942–74) 58 mins
Legendary cinephile John Flaus introduces a collection of formative and seminal short works that mark his life as a working actor and screen commentator.
The program includes John’s first appearance as an actor in Michael Thornhill’s adaptation of Frank Moorhouse’s The American Poet’s Visit (1969), also featuring Richard Brennan, Sandra Levy, Albie Thoms and Barrett Hodsdon. It also presents two contrastive films of formal, conceptual and stylistic brilliance that John considers amongst the greatest expressions of Australian and international cinema: Paul Winkler’s uncompromising Brick Wall (1974) and Humphrey Jennings and Stewart McAllister’s extraordinary Listen to Britain(1942).
The films in this program are courtesy of the National Film & Sound Archive, Australia.
8.40PM – NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Edmund Goulding (1947) 110 mins
Personally selected by John Flaus, this is a corrosive and noir-inflected tale of a self-serving carnival barker (Tyrone Power in a very atypical role) who becomes a famous mind reader but winds up as a sideshow freak. Lee Garmes’ low-key cinematography and Goulding’s precise direction match the tone of Jules Furthman’s pungent script in essaying the seedier backwaters of the entertainment world, while crowding the frame with assorted critics, charlatans, creeps and actual sideshow attractions.
Both grotesque and deeply haunting, it also features standout performances by Joan Blondell, Coleen Gray and Helen Walker.
To be introduced by John Flaus.
Trailer:
The new Friends of Cinémathèque membership is a way for you to support the vitality of the Melbourne Cinémathèque, an independently organised, not-for-profit organisation.
In addition to annual membership you will receive:
→
1 complimentary ticket for an ACMI-programmed cinema session
→
3 x single passes to bring a friend to a Cinémathèque screening any time in the calendar year
→
Discounted member prices for ACMI-programmed cinema sessions
→
15% discount at Optic Kitchen + Bar and the ACMI Store
→
Exclusive invitations to cinema events, previews and screenings
→
Subscription to the ACMI Film Member e-news
→
An ACMI Film Membership card that can be used to scan into Cinémathèque sessions
The first 30 new members to sign up for 2014 will also receive a discount code for online Madman purchases, and a new release DVD or Bluray courtesy of Madman.
See our Ticketing page for info.