The Reel McCoy Film Group
Screening world cinema and forgotten gems since 1990
Screening world cinema and forgotten gems since 1990
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The Reel McCoy Film Group is a not-for-profit film society that since 1990 has been catering for people interested in cinema, particularly those who like to see timeless classics and overlooked gems at low cost. Membership is $50 per annum, $35 for 6 months, or $20 for 3 months. Membership runs from the date of joining.
With grateful support from
 Canberra Museum and Gallery Members of CMAG are welcome to join the Reel McCoy at a substantial discount: membership for a year for only $20. Screenings are held in the Theatre of Canberra Museum and Gallery, usually on the second and last Saturdays of each month at 1:00 pm. Next screening:Saturday, 29 February 2020 at 1:00 pm
THE ITALIAN STRAW HAT [UN CHAPEAU DE PAILLE D'ITALIE]
Fardinand is on the way to church to get married, when his horse eats a straw hat which was sitting on a bush. The hat belongs to a married woman who, behind the bush, was having an affair with a lieutenant; and if she returns home without the hat, everyone will know. So Fardinand must replace the hat with an identical copy whatever it takes – yet do so without throwing his own wedding off schedule. A silent feature debut from soon-to-be master director René Clair, this inventive farce is considered one of the high points of silent comedy.
For more information, e-mail us or come along to a screening
Programme for the first half of 2020:
Saturday 8 February
CHINATOWN USA · 1974 · 131 min. Director Roman Polanski Cast Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Hillerman, John Huston A classic detective picture, set against a background of political corruption. Hired by the widow (Dunaway) of a murdered City Water Commissioner, Nicholson’s J. J. Gittes moves through the familiar world of the forties film noir. Starting with a murder investigation, he slowly uncovers a sinister conspiracy involving her father (Huston), the future of Los Angeles, and an even more sinister secret. Polanski’s last film in the United States, this was nominated for 11 Oscar®s with Robert Towne winning for his complex and literate script inspired by the California Water Wars. One of the great films of the 1970’s.
Saturday 29 February
THE ITALIAN STRAW HAT [UN CHAPEAU DE PAILLE D'ITALIE] France · 1928 · 105 min. Director René Clair Cast Albert Préjean, Geymond Vital, Olga Tschechowa Fardinand is on the way to church to get married, when his horse eats a straw hat which was sitting on a bush. The hat belongs to a married woman who, behind the bush, was having an affair with a lieutenant; and if she returns home without the hat, everyone will know. So Fardinand must replace the hat with an identical copy whatever it takes – yet do so without throwing his own wedding off schedule. A silent feature debut from soon-to-be master director René Clair, this inventive farce is considered one of the high points of silent comedy.
Saturday 21 March
BEFORE SUNRISE USA/Austria/Switzerland · 1995 · 101 min. Director Richard Linklater Cast Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy Jesse and Céline, two 20-something travellers, meet on a train from Budapest. They decide, on a whim (but also sensing a connection), to disembark at Vienna to spend the day and evening together, wandering the city, encountering locals, and discussing life in all its subtleties, absurdities, and philosophies. +
BEFORE SUNSET
Then, quite unexpectedly to fans, a second film was released to show what happened to Jesse and Céline. They meet again nine years later, when Jesse is in France promoting a book he wrote about their experiences in Vienna. The second part of the trilogy plays out in real time, and the writing is credited to Linklater, Hawke, and Delpy.
Saturday 28 March
BEFORE MIDNIGHT USA/Greece · 2013 · 109 min. Director Richard Linklater Cast Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy Fast forward another nine years, and this time we are meeting up with Jesse and Céline in Greece for the final part of the trilogy. Linklater is a writer-director obsessed with the passage of time, and this series deals with the many stages of a relationship over a period of almost two decades. Almost magical in its romanticism, this series has honest characters and deep emotions all the way through, and it speaks to everyone, from adolescence to the end of life. Nominated for two Oscar®s (for the writing in the second and third films).
Saturday 18 April
THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN Germany · 1979 · 120 min. Director Rainer Werner Fassbinder Cast Hanna Schygulla, Klaus Lowitsch, R. W. Fassbinder World War Two and Maria Braun and her husband are married as the bombs drop around them. Two days later he is sent to the front. Maria needs to become very tough to survive in war-wracked Germany. When the war ends, she searches every day, longing for his return. But his home-coming is not the happy reunion she hoped for. She still loves him, indeed so much she may be even willing to kill for him. But she has to deal with a lover who still wants to control her. The film has a powerful, unexpected ending. DVD courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
Saturday 9 May
JOUR DE FÊTE France · 1949 · 85 min. Director Jacques Tati Cast Jacques Tati, Paul Frankeur, Guy Decomble Jacques Tati stars as an inept and easily distracted postman who attends the village fair and sees a documentary on the advanced, mechanised American postal system and is overcome with enthusiasm for speed. The first, and some say best of Jacques Tati comedies, provides hilarious slapstick while giving a sympathetic portrayal of what was already a vanishing way of life. It is set in the real-life village of Sainte-Sévère-sur-Indre, with villagers playing many of the parts. Largely a visual comedy in the silent tradition, the film displays the same droll comedy, gentle humanism, clever sight gags, and relaxed pace the director is famous for.
Saturday 16 May
PATTON USA · 1970 · 172 min. Director Franklin J. Schnaffner Cast George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Michael Bates The great actor George C. Scott shines in this Oscar®-winning representation of the war-loving, controversial American World War 2 general, George S. Patton. The film follows the career of the egomaniacal but tactless genius from his commands in North Africa, to his removal from command for the assault of a shell-shocked GI in Sicily, and then his rise to success in the famous Battle of the Bulge. The epic screenplay was written at the height of the Vietnam War by a young Francis Ford Coppola, and anticipates his later classic, Apocalypse Now.
Saturday 30 May
NIAGARA USA · 1953 · 92 min. Director Henry Hathaway Cast Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotton, Jean Peters, Max Showalter Two couples are honeymooning at Niagara Falls, and the wife of one couple plots with the husband of the other to murder her own husband. This film brought the tropes of film noir into the glossiest and sexiest Technicolor; and is "ironically" largely responsible for cementing Niagara’s reputation as a honeymoon destination. +
DON'T BOTHER TO KNOCK
Monroe occasionally got a role that was a departure from ditzy blonde or femme fatale; this may be the furthest departure of all. Initially we might be watching a romantic comedy: an airline pilot falls head over heels for his babysitter neighbour. Then he comes to suspect that she may be dangerous.
Saturday 13 June
BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMARR STORY USA · 2017 · min. Director Alexandra Dean Cast The true story about screen-goddess Hedy Lamarr’s incredible secret life as a research scientist.
Saturday 27 June
HOBSON'S CHOICE UK · 1954 · 108 min. Director David Lean Cast Tyrannical widower Henry Hobson is faced with three daughters conspiring for their freedom. Programme details are subject to change without notice |