BFI announces Blade Runner re-release and more 2015 film highlights

Marvel Super Special #22: Blade Runner

 

The BFI has revealed a selection of film highlights to look forward to in 2015 which include a number of films that will appeal to downthetubes readers, including a re-release of Ridley Scott‘s Blade Runner: The Final Cut and the screening of a number of horror, fantasy and animated films.

Many BFI releases will be picked up by independent cinemas around the UK>

Heather Stewart, Creative Director of the BFI said: “The BFI’s 2015 programme promises to cater for every cultural taste. We will open up previously unseen films that shine a new light on British life, bring must-see classics back to big screens across the country, and we will help audiences everywhere celebrate the very best of British and world cinema.”

Britain on Film is a major project to reveal the extraordinary treasures and unexpected pleasures of the nation’s film archives, as never before, uncovering rich and rarely seen images of life in the UK. Including key holdings of the BFI National Archive, and in close collaboration with regional archives and commercial partners, Britain on Film will connect 21st century audiences with our shared past. This is an unprecedented opportunity to discover lives lived in previous decades, vanished traditions, dress codes, manners, morals and much else, and by engaging with audiences of all kinds offers us the opportunity to share memories and to reflect on our common history.

Britain on Film will be a UK-wide programme launching in June 2015, and featuring screenings, events and online viewing platforms, including an exclusive collection on BFI Player and a three month season taking place BFI Southbank focusing on London. Late summer open air screenings, local films in local settings, specialist interests and themed programmes, will celebrate life in Britain’s towns and cities across more than a century.

On 12 January audiences in around 400 cinemas across the UK will enjoy a special preview screening of James Kent’s Testament of Youth accompanied by a Q&A with the film’s stars beamed live from BFI Southbank, all as part of a new initiative called BFI Presents, designed to help grow audiences for outstanding British independent films.

Following a year which saw films supported by the BFI Film Fund including Matthew Warchus’ Pride, Mike Leigh’s box office hit Mr Turner, and Jonathan Glazer’s Under The Skin embraced by audiences and critics alike, 2015 will see an exciting array of new BFI-backed films emerge.

Premiering at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in January is Jerry Rothwell’s How To Change the World about the founding of Greenpeace; Louise Osmond’s Dark Horse; and John Maclean’s Slow West. Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay will premiere in competition at February’s Berlin Film Festival. James Kent’s Testament of Youth which premiered at the BFI London Film Festival will be in cinemas from 16 January.

Bill, from the team who created the successful Horrible Histories series, is set for a major release on 27th March. Other films to look forward to include Ben Wheatley’s highly anticipated High Rise starring Tom Hiddleston; Terence Davies’ Sunset Song; and John Crowley’s Brooklyn adapted by Nick Hornby from the Colm Toibin best-selling novel.

Spring 2015 sees the BFI continue to bring World Cinema classics to Blu-ray for the first time with the release of Kurosawa’s great enigmatic masterpiece Rashomon (1950) and a box-set of four Carl Theodor Dreyer films: the richly detailed tragicomedy of domestic manners, Master of the House (1925); Day of Wrath (1943), a dark and powerful tale of love and betrayal, and a community gripped by an obsessive fear of witchcraft; Ordet (1955), exploring the religious intolerance and familial tensions within a Danish farming family; and Gertrud (1964) about a woman who rejects the compromise of her marriage, suffers disappointment in her younger lover and retreats into a serene isolation. The set will also contain a selection of Dreyer shorts in HD.

A poster for 2001: A Space Odyssey. Art by Bob McCall.

A poster for 2001: A Space Odyssey. Art by Bob McCall.

Following the huge success of 2014’s rerelease of Stanley Kubrick’s seminal SF classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey, the BFI is keeping the spirit of Sci-Fi alive in 2015 with a major rerelease of Ridley Scott’s dystopian masterpiece Blade Runner: The Final Cut (1982/2007) which can be seen on big screens across the UK from 3rd April.

Moving away from SF, the BFI will also release Federico Fellini’s highly influential, autobiographical drama, (1963) in May.

BFI Southbank welcomes John Waters to London in September for a month-long retrospective of the director’s films and the films that have inspired him. The legendary Pope of Trash will also be taking part in a special ‘in conversation’ event, which is definitely not to be missed. The work of Orson Welles will also be recognised in July with a special two month season to mark the centenary of his birth.

2015 sees the introduction of BFI Southbank’s new Cult Strand which, designed to compliment the existing BFI London Film Festival Cult programme, will offer audiences a monthly opportunity to see films that are both mind-altering and unclassifiable. Each month screenings will be based around a specific theme and take in horror, fantasy, SF, B-movie and exploitation; providing a space to celebrate genre cinema and reclaim overlooked and little-seen classics.

January’s Cult screenings will pay tribute to H.P. Lovecraft, with screenings of Re-Animator (1985) and In the Mouth of Madness (1995) whilst February will celebrate horror musicals, with screenings of Phantom of the Paradise (1975) and Little Shop of Horrors (Director’s Cut 1986).

BFI’s ever-popular Family strand expands in 2015 to become a weekly programme screening the very best films to suit all ages and tastes. Each month, a great animated tale, a classic film and an international treat will be showcased; while the ever popular Film Funday will continue to preview upcoming cinema releases accompanied by a lively workshop of activities.

January will include a special Film Funday preview screening of Disney’s upcoming Big Hero 6 (2014) followed by a Q&A with the film’s directors and will offer the whole family the chance to (re)discover such classics as The Iron Giant (1999), Great Expectations (1948) as well as the lesser seen Dutch gem, Minoes (2001). February’s line up includes a Film Funday preview of Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) alongside screenings of the classic Watership Down (1979) and The 5,000 Fingers of Dr T (1953).

Documentary programming is a major focus for 2015 and will centre on a series of programmes showing a selection of Sight & Sound’s Greatest Documentaries of All Time poll from July to October. March sees the return of BFI Flare, the UK’s leading LGBT film festival, and in October the world’s film industry will descend on the UK for the mighty BFI London Film Festival.

And finally… hot on the heels of the BFI’s huge 2014 blockbuster project, Sci-Fi: Days of Fear and Wonder, the largest season ever undertaken by the BFI, 2015’s blockbuster promises to warm hearts during next winter’s cold nights – with further details to be revealed in February.

January – February – March 2015

Eric Rohmer 
Jan 1 – Mar 18
BFI celebrates the work of one of film’s most consistently rewarding artists, Eric Rohmer, with a comprehensive season spanning over three months including a selection of television documentaries never before seen in the UK and a theatrical re-release by the BFI of The Green Ray (1986).

Maggie Smith 
Jan 1 – Jan 31
The two part season dedicated to the film and television work of Dame Maggie Smith concludes with examples of her more recent work and includes such modern classics as A Room with a View (1985), Tea with Mussolini (1999) and California Suite (1978).

The Best of The Marx Brothers 
14 – 28 Jan
January blues will be well and truly banished by BFI Southbank’s Best of the Marx Brothers season, with screenings of seven of their most popular films, including an extended run of the breathtakingly funny, Duck Soup (1933).

Katharine Hepburn 
1 Feb – 19 Mar
A season dedicated to the dynamic talent who blazed a trail for Women in Hollywood and left a delightful screen legacy. The season will include 24 of her most famous films, including an Extended Run of The Philadelphia Story (1940), re-released by the BFI in selected cinemas throughout the UK from 13 February, Bringing Up Baby (1938) and The African Queen (1951).

Chinese New Year 
20-22 Feb 2015
Feature films, documentaries, archive treasures, live music and illustrated talks make up a rich programme of materials at the BFI Southbank to celebrate and complement CNY in February.

Future Film Festival 
20 – 22 Feb
The BFI Future Film Festival is back for its eighth year. Throughout the weekend there will be different events and practical sessions for aspiring producers, writers, directors, production designers, and production and post-production technicians between the ages of 15-25.

Vĕra Chytilová
March
A season dedicated to the late avant-garde Czech film director, Vera Chytilova, who, though credited as a pioneer of Czech cinema, was banned from making films by the Czechoslovakian government in the 1960’s for six years. Films confirmed include: Daisies (1966) The Journey (2004) and Ceiling (1961).

Martin Scorsese presents: The Masterpieces of Polish Cinema 
March – April
We are very happy to be working with The Centre for the Moving Image (CMI)/Filmhouse, plus The Film Foundation, DI Factory, Kino RP project, CRF (Digital Film Repository), Propaganda and the Polish rights-holders (KADR, TOR, ZEBRA Film Studios) to bring the ‘Martin Scorsese Presents Masterpieces of Polish Cinema’ programme to UK audiences. The films will be screened at BFI Southbank through April and May. The season is presented in partnership with Kinoteka.

April / May / June 

Robert Siodmak 
April – May
This neglected master of gripping multi genre filmmaking who worked in Germany before the rise of Nazism led him to move to Hollywood in 1941 is celebrated with a season dedicated to his work including the BFI UK-wide release of Cry of the City (1948) which will also play as an Extended Run as part of the season.

Cinema Born Again: Radical Films of the 1970s 
April
BFI Southbank season

Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Ridley Scott, 1982 / 2007) 
April 3
The final cut of Ridley Scott’s SF classic is rereleased in cinemas nationwide by the BFI on April 3 2015.

8 ½ (Federico Fellini, 1963) 
May
Federico Fellini’s highly influential, autobiographical drama about a famous film director (Marcello Mastroianni) suffering from creative block, renowned for its cinematography, costume and style, and a favourite film of film directors, will be re-released in cinemas UK-wide in May.

Flare 
19 – 29 March
The 29th BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival will take place Thursday 19 – Sunday 29 March 2015. The full programme will be launched on 18 February.

Blu-ray releases 
Spring 2015 will see the Blu-ray release of Kurosawa’s great enigmatic masterpiece Rashomon (1950) and a box-set of four Carl Theodor Dreyer films: the richly detailed tragicomedy of domestic manners, Master of the House (1925); Day of Wrath (1943), a dark and powerful tale of love and betrayal, and a community gripped by an obsessive fear of witchcraft; Ordet (1955), which explores the religious intolerance and familial tensions within a Danish farming family and Gertrud (1964) about a woman who rejects the compromise of her marriage, suffers disappointment in her younger lover and retreats into a serene isolation. The set will also contain a selection of Dreyer shorts in HD.

Britain On Film
June – Aug
See above

Marilyn Monroe 
June
BFI Southbank season

Dennis Potter, Part 2 
June and July
BFI’s complete retrospective of Dennis Potter’s surviving work continues in 2015 with screenings of works along the themes. Faith and Redemption, and Sex and Death

July / August / September 

Orson Welles Centenary 
July – Aug
A two month season celebrating the hugely innovative and influential director who brought to the world Citizen Kane (1941) and who is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of all time.

Vittorio de Sica 
August
BFI Southbank season

John Waters 
September
BFI Southbank welcomes John Waters to London on 18-19 September for a season to celebrate a month long retrospective of the director’s films and the films that have inspired him. The legendary Pope of Trash will also be taking part in a special ‘in conversation’ event, which is definitely not to be missed.

London Film Festival
October
The 58th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express will return with a rich and diverse programme of international films and events from both established and upcoming talent over a 12 day celebration of cinema in October.

• The BFI Southbank is open to all. BFI members are entitled to a discount on all tickets. BFI Southbank Box Office tel: 020 7928 3232. Unless otherwise stated tickets are £11.00, concs £8.50 Members pay £1.50 less on any ticket. Website www.bfi.org.uk/southbank. Tickets for FREE screenings and events must be booked in advance by calling the Box Office to avoid disappointment 



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