Dedicated to screening rare & significant films in their original format.
Dedicated to screening rare & significant films in their original format.
The Melbourne Cinémathèque is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run film society.
The Melbourne Cinémathèque is a membership-based film society based in Melbourne, Australia.
We hold screenings at ACMI, Fed Square every Wednesday night for most of the year.
Admission is by membership, which can be obtained on a short-term or yearly basis.
We are a volunteer-run, not-for-profit organisation.
7:00pm GATE OF FLESH
Seijun Suzuki (1964) 90 mins – Unclassified 15+
The first in what is often called Suzuki’s “flesh trilogy” (followed by Story of a Prostitute), this visually and thematically striking drama expands the director’s concerns to take in the legacy of the US Occupation and the unfettered post-war reconstruction and corporatisation of Japan. Based on the celebrated novel by Taijiro Tamura, its focus on the fate of various sex workers in the ruins of bombed-out Tokyo is an allegory for the antagonistic, cutthroat world of modern Japan. A landmark in the representation of sexuality and exploitation, it features Jo Shishido, Yumiko Nogawa and Kayo Matsuo.
CTEQ ANNOTATION
Gate of Flesh
by Faith Everard
8:45pm SMASHING THE O-LINE
Seijun Suzuki (1960) 83 mins – Unclassified 15+
Hiroyuki Nagata plays the reporter from hell, an amoral journalist who’ll stop at nothing to get a scoop on the drug-smuggling and human-trafficking activities taking place on the docks on the East China Sea. Suzuki sets a frenetic pace, using a familiar B-noir template as a jumping off point for a propulsive dance of cinematic style. Its dynamic camera movement, rich, velvety shadows, jolting jump cuts and complex jazz riffs underscore the air of unpredictability and spontaneity of a film which reputedly went from script first draft to final cut in just 16 days.
35mm print courtesy of the Japan Foundation.
The Melbourne Cinémathèque started out as the Melbourne University Film Society (MUFS) in 1948 and changed its name to Cinémathèque in 1984.
The Melbourne Cinémathèque aims to present films in the medium they were created and as closely as possible to screen films the way they would have originally screened (i.e. big screen, celluloid prints, not video or DVD).
Programmes include a diverse selection of classic and contemporary films showcasing director retrospectives, special guest appearances and thematic series including archival material and new or restored prints.
We have on occasion hosted numerous seminars featuring renowned film scholars such as David Bordwell, Adrian Martin and Ian Christie. We are also dedicated to providing new annotations on the films we screen via the CTEQ annotations, hosted as a part of the quarterly online film journal Senses of Cinema.
The Melbourne Cinémathèque is self-administered and membership-driven relying on support from individuals, foundations, corporations and government funding to maintain its high standard of excellence. If you would like to be involved, or to offer donations or sponsorship, please contact us.
Presented by The Melbourne Cinémathèque and ACMI
Curated by Michael Koller, Adrian Danks, Eloise Ross, Cerise Howard and Andréas Giannopoulos for the Melbourne Cinémathèque
Music Synchronisation: Michael Koller
State Government support by VicScreen.
Supported by the City of Melbourne Annual Arts Grants Program.
The Melbourne Cinémathèque receives funding from Creative Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund.
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© The Melbourne Cinémathèque
ABN 59 987 473 440
State Government support by VicScreen.
Supported by the City of Melbourne Annual Arts Grants Program.
The Melbourne Cinémathèque receives funding from Creative Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund.