SUNSET BOULEVARD (110 minutes) PG
Billy Wilder's unforgettably grotesque 1950 melodrama centres on an ageing, forgotten screen queen – played by actual silent-era legend Gloria Swanson – who strives to return to the spotlight. The conception owes something to Miss Havisham in Great Expectations, but the film builds a myth of its own, one that taps into something essential about stardom. Digitally projected. Thornbury Picture House, Sunday, August 19, 2pm.
Robert Newton and Maureen O’Hara in Jamaica Inn.
SISTERS (93 minutes) M
Brian de Palma's 1972 thriller is the first of his films to assemble all his signature traits ― Gothic excess, stylistic bravado, a freewheeling approach to plot construction, and a manner of borrowing from Hitchcock that is as much parody as homage. Margot Kidder stars as a model with a dark secret involving her former conjoined twin. Presented by the Cinemaniacs film society, with introduction by film historian Sally Christie and follow-up panel discussion. Digitally projected. Backlot Studios, Saturday, August 18, 7.45pm.
Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in Grease.
JAMAICA INN (108 minutes) PG
Based on a novel by Daphne du Maurier (Rebecca), this 1939 tale of smugglers in Regency-era Cornwall is not generally ranked with Alfred Hitchcock's best work. But fans will want to check it out for themselves, especially as it's the only film Hitchcock made with star Charles Laughton, a wilful but dedicated artist in his own right. Screens as part of a Hitchcock retrospective. Digitally projected. Lido, Cameo and Classic, Sunday, August 19, 4pm.
GREASE (111 minutes) PG
Good girl Olivia Newton-John falls for bad boy John Travolta in Randall Kleiser's 1978 spoof of '50s iconography – so consciously cheesy from the outset that it hardly seems dated today. These 40th-anniversary singalong screenings give everyone a chance to join in on Summer Nights, You're The One That I Want and the rest of the catchy songs. Digitally projected. Astor, Sunday, August 19, 2pm, 4pm and 7pm.
Margot Kidder in Sisters.
TWO TRAINS RUNNIN' (82 minutes) PG
Samuel D. Pollard's documentary follows two narrative threads that both led to Mississippi in 1964: one involving the search for a couple of forgotten blues musicians, the other the disappearance of three activists that become a flashpoint for the civil rights movement. Appearances by present-day blues musicians add another layer of musical commentary. Thornbury Picture House, Sunday, August 19, 6.15pm.
A scene from the 1950 film Sunset Boulevard.
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