Film / News
All six Ashton Court film screenings revealed
The interweb seems to be full of chancers promising outdoor cinema events in Bristol, none of which ever happen. But last year, the city did get two great screenings courtesy of the newly formed Bristol Sunset Cinema, which is the brainchild of the folks behind the Bristol Bad Film Club.
Some 800 people flocked to Blaise Castle for The Princess Bride. A further 600 trekked up to Clifton Observatory for Flash Gordon.
Emboldened by this success, Bristol Sunset Cinema has decided to expand its 2016 season to six screenings which will all take place on the south lawn at Ashton Court.
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The season runs in September and October, kicking off with that very 80s kiddie adventure The Goonies.
Directed by Richard Donner and written by a pre-Home Alone Christopher Columbus from a story by Steven Spielberg, this 1985 Indiana Jones-style romp for nippers sees its pint-sized heroes (including future Lord of the Rings star Sean Astin) tussling with pirates while of the trail of lost treasure. It’s showing at 8pm on Friday, September 2.
The next screening is of the Spielberg Classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
You can watch the skies while watching the film on Sunday, September 4.
The third screening is the biggest box office hit of 2014: The Lego Movie. This one’s showing on Friday, September 23.
Bristol Sunset Cinema’s first screening for adults only follows with the fabulous Starship Troopers on Sunday, September 25.
The first half of Paul Verhoeven’s SF flick, adapted from Robert Heinlein’s controversial pulp SF classic, lulls you into a false sense of security by resembling an episode of a glossy American TV series peopled by bland, good looking young people with perfect teeth and no discernible personality. But once the ravening giant alien insects begin their limb-slicing, head-ripping, chest-piercing, brain-sucking mayhem in earnest, you’ll see why this deceptively banal build-up is so vital, because the second half of the film functions as a deeply ironic, savagely satirical commentary on the first, mutating into a sly cautionary tale about the dangers of fascistic militarism. Superficially a pastiche of the cliché-ridden ‘B’ picture in which selfless young people heroically lay down their lives for the greater good, Robocop writer Ed Neumeier’s subversive script exposes the pointlessness of relentless carnage, while Verhoeven delivers on the bellicose bug front.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves on Friday, October 14, is screened as a tribute to the late Alan Rickman and (possibly) Kevin Costner’s authentic period mullet.
All together now: “Cancel the kitchen scraps for lepers and orphans, no more merciful beheadings, and call off Christmas!”
Bristol Sunset Cinema concludes on Sunday, October 16 with that turn-of-the-millennium cyberpunk classic The Matrix.
Yes, Keanu’s conspiracy theorist-delighting adventure is still cobblers, but it remains hugely entertaining cobblers nonetheless.
Tickets cost £12.50 for adults and £8 for under 12s. Under-fives get in free, the lucky little buggers. Note that only £12.50 tickets are available for the screenings of Starship Troopers and The Matrix, as these aren’t suitable for nippers.
Organiser Ti Singh tells us that he’s steered clear of the obvious outdoor cinema choices that everyone shows (Dirty Dancing, Mamma Mia, Ghostbusters, etc) and has set out to programme a mix of films that will appeal to all ages. Any local businesses who want to sling over some sponsorship loot are invited to email bristolsunsetcinema@gmail.com.
Meanwhile, the Bristol Bad Film Club’s next screening is a Samurai Cop double bill on March 13 as part of the inaugural Bristol Film Festival.