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 – THE PHANTOM OF LIBERTY
Luis Buñuel (1974) 104 mins
Buñuel’s audacious and ingenious film is constructed as a series of casually linked surreal vignettes that feature several of the most memorable moments in the director’s cinema. The dazzling, hilarious script, co-written by Jean-Claude Carrière, parodies, amongst other things, the domestic confinement of the bourgeoisie in the context of a grand dinner party.
Buñuel’s still confronting though extremely playful penultimate film features outstanding performances by an ensemble cast including Jean-Claude Brialy, Monica Vitti, Michael Lonsdale, Jean Rochefort and Michel Piccoli.
Trailer:
8.55PM – L’AGE D’OR
Luis Buñuel (1930) 63 mins
Buñuel’s almost indescribable film maudit, co-written by Salvador Dalí, set out to attack and vilify social order and religion through its consciously blasphemous images. Banned for many years in fascist Spain, after riots occurred at screenings, it largely disappeared from view internationally until being rescreened to fresh appreciation in 1979.
Print courtesy of the National Film & Sound Archive, Australia.
CTEQ Annotation:
‘L’Âge d’Or‘ by Darragh O’Donoghue.
Followed by
Simon of the Desert
Luis Buñuel (1965) 40 mins
Buñuel’s final Mexican film is an extraordinary and typically surreal critique of religious devotion. A devoted saint endures a penance while being tempted by the Devil (the alluring Silvia Pinal) and, ultimately, the anachronistic pleasures of modern life. Beautifully shot by the great Gabriel Figueroa.
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:
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1 complimentary ticket for an ACMI-programmed cinema session
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3 x single passes to bring a friend to a Cinémathèque screening any time in the calendar year
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Discounted member prices for ACMI-programmed cinema sessions
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15% discount at Optic Kitchen + Bar and the ACMI Store
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Exclusive invitations to cinema events, previews and screenings
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Subscription to the ACMI Film Member e-news
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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.