A repertory cinema over 2 locations from the late 1970s to the early 1990s but with a soul and a way of doing things that was all its own. There are plenty of smaller cinemas that have their own screening programs that people remember even after they closed many years later, but not many seem to have been as wild and woolly as this place. It is a wonder some of these people made it out of the cinema.

There was some drug talk but not the boring type of stories where it gets pretty much the same after a while. They seemed to be used to enhance the experience and people always seemed to have had an interesting experience there at least.

I did not expect to see Ricky Baker at all as I knew he had done screening programmes in London and a young Scott Atkins turned up but I did not clock it was here. I immediately went and asked him about it as I must not have been very observant to not see him talking about it before, or more likely I wanted to wind him up about the “saw through the head cut” some more (a Bruce Lee thing), I only do that because I care enough to know what will specifically annoy you!

Ben Wheatley is sort of known to me from a couple of his films and such like one I saw at MIFF. A lot more of these people you would get more out of it if you are big into the London arts and cultural scene or pretend you know it to seem more important.

Was a lot of talking heads in this but was broken up with the clips of the films that screened at the cinema in between the interview.

It is interesting the cartoon they show in the trailer of the cinema is all coloured in and finished but they show someone drawing it in the film for the insert bits. Goes to show you how long these things take to put together.

This would is more recommended to the cinephiles who believe where you watch a movie and the experience is just as important as what is in the actual movie.

Film details:

Director: Jane Giles, Ali Catterall

Producer: Andy Starke, Alan Marke, Jim Reid

Cinematographer: Sarah Appleton

Composer: Barry Adamson

Editor: Edward Mills, Andy Starke

Featured Subjects: Barry Adamson, John Akomfrah, Rick Baker, Ralph Brown, Paul Burston, Adam Buxton, Caroline Catz, Bal Croce, Helen de Witt, Jane Giles, Lina Gopaul, Mary Harron, Douglas Hart, Graham Humphreys, Stefan Jaworzyn, Matt Johnson, Alan Jones, Davey Jones, Princess Julia, Isaac Julien, Ali Kayley, Nick Kent, Beeban Kidron, David Lawson, Stewart Lee, Mike Leedham, David McGillivray, Mark Moore, Thurston Moore, Kim Newman, James O’Brien, Jayne Pilling, Lisa Power, Paul Putner, Vic Roberts, JoAnne Sellar, Peter Strickland, J.G. Thirlwell, Cathi Unsworth, Mark Valen, John Waters, Chris Watson, Ben Wheatley, Jah Wobble, Stephen Woolley

Length: 96 mins

Country: UK

Language: English

Genre: Documentary

Trailer