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The month of October
sees the climax of the NFT's year-long celebrations of its 50th
anniversary.
On offer this month
are a variety of special guests and
a wide-ranging programme of great films and
classic television.
The genius of Alec
Guinness, in particular, is being marked with a special tribute
season. His career covers almost 50 years from David Lean's
literary adaptations through the Ealing comedies to Smiley's
People on television and the blockbuster Star Wars movies.
| To see more
on Ealing studios and its classic comedies click
here |
Charles
Chaplin
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| Chaplin in
The Great Dictator |
The NFT opened
on 23 October 1952, just a few days after another historical event
- the premiere of Charles Chaplin's Limelight at the
Odeon Leicester Square.
The London-born
film-maker is celebrated in a gala screening of a newly restored
print of Limelight (25 Oct) together with screenings
of The Tramp and the Dictator, a new documentary on the making
of The Great Dictator (26 Oct) and of Richard Attenborough's
biopic Chaplin (27 Oct)
NFT 50th Show
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| Moulin
Rouge star Ewan McGregor |
On the night of
the NFT's 50th birthday (23 Oct), Leslie Hardcastle,
Controller of the bfi South Bank for 35 years, will be joined by
special guests, including Ewan McGregor, to capture some
of the triumphs of the past half century as the NFT extended the
frontiers of film appreciation.
The show will include
extracts from the opening night programme of 50 years ago including
Stars that Made the Cinema, featuring Chaplin, Pickford,
Valentino, Garbo and Keaton, Pygmalion,
directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Leslie Howard,
and Neighbours, a short by Norman McLaren, as topical
today as it was in 1952.
The extracts will be followed by a Q & A session live onstage
with Ewan McGregor, whose acting choices have focused on
predominantly UK-produced, edgy and challenging projects.
Guardian
Interviews
with John le
Carre: Remembering Alec Guinness (5 Oct)
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| John
le Carre |
The acclaimed author
of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People
among others will be making a rare public appearance to talk about
his friendship with Alec Guinness and the evolution of George
Smiley in the now classic television series.
with Elmer Bernstein
(6 Oct)
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| Elmer
Bernstein |
"He's the
best there is," says Martin Scorsese of Oscar-winning
film composer Elmer Bernstein. 80 this year, he will be sharing
some of his experiences in an illustrious career which has seen
him score classics such as The Magnificent Seven (1960),
True Grit (1969), Trading Places (1983) and Scorsese's
forthcoming Gangs of New York.
with Mike Leigh
+ Special Preview: All or Nothing (7 Oct)
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| All
or Nothing |
Leigh's latest
is a hilarious and harrowing account of London housing-estate life
blighted by hardship, inter-generational resentment and impoverished
hopes. It features one of his repertory company stalwarts, Timothy
Spall, and actress Lesley Manville in the lead roles.
After the screening the director will be discussing the film and
his career.
| To see more
on Mike Leigh and All Or Nothing click
here |
with Lynne Ramsay
+ Special Preview: Morvern Callar (28 Oct)
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| Morvern
Callar |
After her debut
with Ratcatcher comes Ramsay's second feature, an adaptation
of Alan Warner's novel about a young girl, Morvern, attempting
to find a new life for herself following her boyfriend's suicide.
Does the novel he has written and left on his computer offer a way
out...? Lynne Ramsay will be on hand after the screening
to talk about her films and career.
Are you a film fan? What memories do you have of going to
the NFT? Can you recall what you saw? Drop us a line at:
yourlondon@bbc.co.uk
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