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7.30PM THURSDAY DECEMBER 11TH
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
STEPHEN SPIELBERG PRESENTS...
YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES
4OTH ANNIVERARY
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If these days you like your Harry Potter without any actual Harry Potter in it, you’ll love Young Sherlock Holmes.
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A fantastical mid-80s adventure that was clearly ahead of its time, Young Sherlock Holmes feels like a prototype for the Harry Potter films, huge chunks of which seem to have been lifted wholesale from this Steven Spielberg–produced mystery adventure. It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that the film’s writer, Chris Columbus (who also penned Gremlins and The Goonies), went on to direct the first two Harry Potter films. not to mention Home Alone 1 & 2 and Mrs Doubtfire.
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The story follows a young Watson (Alan Cox — yes, the son of Brian, and bearing a remarkable resemblance to a certain young wizard) during his first term at a Victorian London boarding school, where he befriends a teenage Sherlock Holmes (Nicholas Rowe). When a series of bizarre deaths begin to occur around campus, seemingly the result of strange hallucinations, Holmes and Watson set out to investigate, aided by fellow student Elizabeth (Sophie Ward) and a who’s who of vintage British character actors familiar from Doctor Who, Coronation Street, Rising Damp, Brideshead Revisited, The Elephant Man, Brighton Rock, The Great Escape, The Avengers, The Prisoner, Yes Minister, and many, many more.
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Directed by Barry Levinson, right in the middle of an extraordinary run that included Diner, The Natural, Good Morning, Vietnam, and Rain Man (for which he won the Oscar for Best Director), Young Sherlock Holmes was ground-breaking in many ways, including featuring the first fully CGI character in film history. Blending Conan Doyle’s classic detective world with an Indiana Jones–style sense of adventure, it’s a deeply underappreciated gem that invites endless comparisons to the Harry Potter series, despite predating the first novel by over a decade.
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This joyous coming-of-age, boarding school, supernatural adventure mystery remains a forgotten treasure, and we can’t wait to bring it back to the big screen for this special 40th anniversary screening.
7.20PM WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 17TH
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
TERRY GILLIAM'S
BRAZIL
40TH ANNIVERSARY
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Originally known as the mad genius behind the “stomping foot” and other iconic animations for the legendary Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Terry Gilliam got his first taste of directing when he co-helmed the classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail in 1975. Over the following decades, Gilliam evolved into one of cinema’s great visionaries, a Hollywood outsider whose work stood firmly against the factory line of corporate moviemaking.
A completely untamed talent, Gilliam was rarely on time or on budget, but always delivered with breath-taking originality, amassing a filmography that includes Time Bandits, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and many more.
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Chief among his achievements is his 1985 opus Brazil, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Considered one of the greatest cult films of all time, and boasting a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes—it’s a wild satire of technocracy, bureaucracy, hyper-surveillance, corporate statism, and state capitalism. It’s a sharp kick in the teeth to the very systems Gilliam’s madcap creative genius has spent decades railing against.
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The story follows hapless low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowery (Jonathan Pryce - Wolf Hall, Game of Thrones), who repeatedly daydreams about rescuing the same beautiful woman. Just before Christmas (yes, it’s a kind of bizarre Christmas movie), Sam discovers an administrative error at work that has led to the accidental arrest, and subsequent death, of an innocent man, while the fugitive terrorist Harry Tuttle (Robert De Niro) remains at large. As Sam tries to untangle the mess, he encounters the woman from his dreams (Kim Greist) and unintentionally turns himself into an enemy of the state. What follows is his hilarious and beautifully bizarre struggle to navigate a dystopian, polluted, hyper-consumerist, and suffocatingly bureaucratic world in the desperate hope of making sense of it all.
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A landmark film brimming with unfettered visual imagination, Brazil remains a true masterwork, a madcap classic that, even 40 years later, fizzes with invention, relevance, and Gilliam’s signature brand of sharp, absurd, dark comedy. At once sad, uplifting, harrowing, and hopeful, it’s a true alternative Christmas treat. Don’t miss our special 40th-anniversary screening, which will conclude our 2025 film programme.
8PM FRIDAY JANAURY 23RD​​​​​​​​
​DAVID CRONENBERG'S & STEPHEN KING'S
THE DEAD ZONE​
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From acclaimed body-horror master David Cronenberg (The Fly, Videodrome, Crash, Scanners, Dead Ringers, etc.) comes this superlative Stephen King adaptation—an elegant fusion of horror, relationship drama, and psychological-political thriller.
Blending genres with ease, Cronenberg casts Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter, Catch Me If You Can) as Johnny Smith, a schoolteacher who survives a devastating car crash and awakens from a coma with psychic abilities. Suddenly burdened with harrowing visions triggered by the lightest touch, Johnny must not only navigate his transformed life but also confront the painful reality that his former lover, played by Brooke Adams (Days of Heaven, Invasion of the Body Snatchers), is now involved with the dangerous and ruthlessly ambitious politician Greg Stillson (Martin Sheen—Apocalypse Now, The West Wing), a man determined to become President.
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A prescient and highly entertaining supernatural thriller, The Dead Zone features an excellent, nuanced performance from Walken and stands as one of Cronenberg’s most gripping, bleak, relevant, and unexpectedly romantic films. Here the director steps away from his signature body-horror terrain to focus on the terrors of the mind, resulting in one of the most poignant, powerful, and strangely humane works of his career.
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In what is usually the festivity free “dead zone” of January, treat yourself to a Friday night taking in this wonderfully wintry New England mood piece, stacked with pulpy thrills, elevated by the inspired pairing of one of America’s great directors with one of its most entertaining storytellers.
7PM SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28TH
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​​​​ALFRED HITCHOCK'S
TO CATCH A THIEF
4K REMASTER
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This past year has seen the return of one of cinema’s most exciting formats, with The Brutalist, One Battle After Another, the new Emma Stone / Yorgos Lanthimos collaboration Bugonia, the upcoming Tom Cruise / Alejandro G. Iñárritu project, the latest Margot Robbie / Jacob Elordi / Emerald Fennell film, and new works from both M. Night Shyamalan and Greta Gerwig — all utilising the classic Paramount VistaVision process.
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But what is it that is proving so irresistible to modern filmmakers, it has prompted a widespread revival of a format that lay dormant for over sixty years? The answer lies in the magic of the select group of films produced during VistaVision’s original heyday. Over this very special VistaVision Weekend, we present two of the most significant titles from that extraordinary list.
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The very first Hitchcock film to employ VistaVision (he would go on to make four more), To Catch a Thief stands as easily the director’s most glamorous work and comfortably sits among the upper echelons of his remarkable filmography. Pairing Cary Grant with Grace Kelly — fresh from her Best Actress Oscar win — Hitchcock transports us to the glittering French Riviera for a sun-soaked romance between Kelly’s daring socialite Frances Stevens and Grant’s retired cat burglar John Robie. When a new jewel thief threatens Robie’s now reformed reputation, he must uncover the imposter’s identity to prove his innocence.
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This wonderfully enjoyable romp sees its two radiant stars rivalled only by the luminous VistaVision photography of the Riviera itself. Bubbling with humour, spice, and sparkling dialogue, To Catch a Thief delivers romantic suspense in the classic Hitchcock mould — all the while (and deliberately) never ruffling Grace Kelly’s exquisite Edith Head costumes or disturbing Cary Grant’s debonair disposition.
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Charm and chemistry flow through every frame of this the most picturesque of all Hitchcock’s classics, a film that exemplifies VistaVision’s power as a vehicle for cinematic visual artistry by a master director but also as a conduit for pure, easy-going glamourous entertainment on the big screen.
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You can buy tickets for this screening only or take advantage of our discount ticket for both nights of the VistaVision weekend to see One Eyed Jacks also.
6.10PM SUNDAY MARCH 1ST
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​​​​​​MARLON BRANDO'S
ONE EYED JACKS
4K REMASTER
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This past year has seen the return of one of cinema’s most exciting formats, with The Brutalist, One Battle After Another, the upcoming Emma Stone / Yorgos Lanthimos collaboration Bugonia, the new Tom Cruise / Alejandro G. Iñárritu project, the latest Margot Robbie / Jacob Elordi / Emerald Fennell film, and new works from both M. Night Shyamalan and Greta Gerwig — all utilising the classic Paramount VistaVision process.
​
But what is it that is proving so irresistible to modern filmmakers, it has prompted a widespread revival of a format that lay dormant for over sixty years? The answer lies in the magic of the select group of films produced during VistaVision’s original heyday. Over this very special VistaVision Weekend, we present two of the most significant titles from that extraordinary list.
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The last film ever shot in VistaVision until The Brutalist (2024) revived the format some 63 years later, One-Eyed Jacks has a history as dramatic as the film itself. Originally penned by legendary director Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch), production was first set to be helmed by Stanley Kubrick, who departed just days before shooting began. In an extraordinary twist, Marlon Brando—already hailed as the greatest actor of his generation—stepped in to direct, creating what would become his only film as a director.
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What followed was the actor of actors directing as only a truly great actor could. Brando’s characteristic passion, perfectionism, and intensity pour from every frame. Working with master cinematographer Charles Lang (Some Like It Hot, The Magnificent Seven), Brando crafts strikingly composed images and draws out a series of extraordinary performances from his cast—most notably from Pina Pellicer and Katy Jurado (High Noon), as well as his longtime collaborator and friend Karl Malden, with whom he had previously worked on A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront.
Brando himself, now calling the shots both in front of and behind the camera, accepts no limits on his power as an artist—delivering one of the finest, most emotionally charged performances of his career.
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The story begins with a botched bank robbery. Rio (Brando) is betrayed by his partner in crime, “Dad” Longworth (Malden). Burning for revenge, Rio bides his time, waiting years for the perfect moment to strike. By the time he rides back into town, “Dad” has reinvented himself as a respected lawman, married Maria (Jurado), and adopted her daughter Louisa (Pellicer). When Rio finally returns, the past collides violently with the present—and the sparks truly begin to fly.
A Western set by the sea, One-Eyed Jacks is a deeply unorthodox take on the genre. At times it almost forgets it’s a Western at all, turning instead toward an intimate study of character, desire, and betrayal. Its performances brim with intensity and beauty, and its unusually sophisticated social undercurrents make it a singular artifact of American cinema—now, at last, receiving its critical due.
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Long considered a legendary but somewhat lost film, One-Eyed Jacks has been painstakingly restored by two of its most devoted admirers, Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese. Its influence reaches far beyond them, inspiring filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola, Quentin Tarantino, and David Lynch, who has repeatedly referenced the film throughout his work—including naming the brothel in Twin Peaks after it.
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A meditation on friendship, betrayal, and revenge, this romantic anti-Western stands as a one-of-a-kind work from one of cinema’s greatest and most enigmatic talents.
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You can buy tickets for this screening only or take advantage of our discount ticket for both nights of the VistaVision weekend to see To Catch a Thief also.
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