Gilda and From Here to Eternity.
When I was studying film at university, one of my greatest joys was being able to see cult, classic and influential movies as they were intended to be viewed - on the big screen. That's one of the reasons I like to urge readers to get along to Kristian Fletcher's events in Brisbane. Yet again he's bringing a superb double bill to the Lumen Room at Metro Arts. This time, it's Gilda and From Here to Eternity. The matinee double feature starts breaking hearts with these two fraught, romantic tales at 1pm on Sunday July 2nd.
Gorgeous Gilda Brings all the Boys to the Yard.
This Columbia Pictures film noir classic was made in 1946 and sees Hayworth set the template for the perfect femme fatale character. The costumes are gorgeous, as is the sumptuous cinematography by Rudolph Maté. Critics at the time noted the cinematography perfectly captured Hayworth's appeal (in those days they referred to it as s.a. for 'sex appeal'). The costume designer Jean Louis called the black strapless gown worn by Hayworth in the movie, "the most famous dress I ever made".
The story centres around a small time American gambler Johnny Farrell (Glen Ford) who gets caught cheating at an Argentinian casino and inevitably gets mixed up with the wrong crowd. When his ex lover Gilda (Rita Hayworth) marries Johnny's wise guy boss things get bad. When she starts having blatant love affairs to enrage Johnny things get worse. It's a tale of loving someone so much you hate them, being trapped in unhappy unions both romantically and business wise, and ultimately murder.
This 1953 drama is named after and based on the book by James Jones. It's another Columbia Pictures classic; so classic in fact, I'd wager few people haven't heard of it. The famously intense 'make out on the beach' scene has been parodied by and provided inspiration to many other filmmakers in the years since. It opened to rave reviews and was popular with the public as well as critics. The film won eight out of the thirteen Academy Awards for which it was nominated.
From Here to Eternity tells the story of three U.S. soldiers stationed in Hawaii in the time leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. It's 1941 when Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) a well known army boxer gets a transfer to Hawaii. His new captain, Dana Holmes (Phillip Ober), is keen to get him to represent the company but 'Prew' is determined not to box anymore. Of course that doesn't go down well. Meanwhile Sergeant Warden (Burt Lancaster) starts seeing the captain's wife Karen (Deborah Kerr), who has a history of infidelity. Prew's friend Maggio (Frank Sinatra) has a few altercations with the sadistic stockade Sergeant and Prew begins falling in love with social club employee Lorene (Donna Reid). Little do any of them know amid their fights and love affairs, the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor will soon shatter their world.
Both movies are in black and white and have been deemed so important to cinematic history they have been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
It's $11.50 per film or you can get a double feature ticket for only $16.50. The Lumen Room is easy to reach via public transport, being a short walk from Central Station and many bus stops.
To go into the draw to win 1 of 5 double passes, to see Gilda and From Here to Eternity at Metro Arts, Brisbane. (The matinee double feature starts breaking hearts with these two fraught, romantic tales at 1pm on Sunday July 2nd). All you have to do is send an email titled 'Classic Movie Matinee' to competitions@weekendnotes.com and let us know in 25 words or less why you want to attend this event. Please make sure to include your full name as it will be added to the guestlist. 5 lucky winners will be drawn on June 26th, 2017
Australian Competitions Club
