August Film News

The Filmhouse

Edinburgh’s Filmhouse is going retro this August with a fantastic chance to see many of those films you know you really should have done but never quite got around to. Starting with a retrospective to mark the centenary of the birth of director David Lean, fifteen classics such as BBC2 regular The Bridge on the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia mingle with some of his lesser known works until 4 September.

There’s also an Akira Kurosawa season (Friday, 22 Aug – Saturday, 30 Aug), with thirteen films that inspired many “homages” through the years: George Lucas freely admits to nicking his Star Wars plot from Hidden Fortress, The Magnificent Seven was a remake of Seven Samurai and recent Hollywood thriller Vantage Point borrowed wholesale from the incomparable Rashomon. Do yourself a favour and book some tickets today.

Finally, the world’s favourite Bond (sorry Daniel) returns home on Sunday, 24 Aug to introduce his favourite film from his own career, 1965’s The Hill. It accompanies a short season of Connery films that go to show Bond was easy money for the actor – check out his performance in The Offence (Monday, 25 Aug) for proof.

The Cameo

Back in Ednburgh, the Cameo start their Outer Limits season on Sunday 3 August, a series of six late-night films from outside the mainstream. Thundercrack is next up on 12 August while the excellent Phase IV screens on 16 August. Last House on a Dead End Street will attempt to scare you on 19 Aug while the brilliantly titled The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave is the last of the season on 21 Aug. This is yet another chance to catch some movies away from the multiplex that you might even struggle to find on DVD.

Glasgow Film Theatre

Not to be outdone by Auld Reekie, Glasgow’s GFT also celebrates David Lean with a number of his pictures during August, while a bundle of new films take screen alongside them. The hit of the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2008, Man on Wire is a visually impressive documentary about while Lou Reed’s Berlin, filmed over five nights in Brooklyn, covers Reed’s performance of his concept album in its entirety.