Screening world cinema and forgotten gems since 1990
The Reel McCoy Film Group is a not-for-profit film society that since 1990 has been catering for people interested in cinema, particularly those who like to see timeless classics and overlooked gems at low cost. Our membership fees are:
$50 for 12 months
Membership runs from the date of joining.
$35 for 6 months $20 for 3 months
With very grateful support from
Canberra Museum and Gallery Members of CMAG are welcome to join the Reel McCoy at a substantial discount: membership for a year for only $20. Screenings are held in the Theatre of Canberra Museum and Gallery (corner of London Circuit and City Square, Canberra City), usually on the second and last Sundays of each month at 12:30 pm. Next screening: Sunday, 28 April 2024 at 12:30 pm
THE AMERICAN FRIEND
Adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s novel, the film follows the enigmatic friendship between a terminally ill picture framer (Ganz) and a mysterious American art dealer (Hopper) drawn into the world of contract killing. Bruno Ganz (The Last Days of Chez Nous and Wings of Desire) gives an extraordinary performance. Set against a backdrop of existential dread and moral ambiguity, the movie unfolds a suspenseful tale marked by haunting cinematography and intense performances. Wenders crafts a mesmerising noir thriller, blending European arthouse sensibilities with the tension of American cinema. This is as introspective and psychologically tangled as thrillers come, and is all the more compelling for it.
Followed by our
For more information, e-mail us or come along to a screening The Reel McCoy Film Group is a member of the Australian Film Societies Federation. Contact them to learn how to start and run a film society or group of your own. Programme for the middle of 2024:
Sunday 14 April 2024
REBECCA USA · 1940 · 130 min. Director Alfred Hitchcock Cast Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Judith Anderson, George Sanders A naïve young woman (Fontaine) marries a charming English aristocrat with A Past (Olivier), and when she goes to live at his mansion she finds herself constantly tripping over and running into this past, especially the memory of his former wife, Rebecca. Alfred Hitchcock launched his American career with this work, a gothic romance – a style slightly foreign to him, which he never again perfected to this degree – and directed his only film to win the Best Picture Oscar®. The great Australian actress, Judith Anderson, is wonderful as the ominous Mrs Danvers.
Sunday 28 April 2024
THE AMERICAN FRIEND Germany · 1977 · 127 min. Director Wim Wenders Cast Dennia Hopper, Bruno Ganz, Lisa Kreuzer, Gerard Blain, Nicholas Ray, Samuel Fuller Adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s novel, the film follows the enigmatic friendship between a terminally ill picture framer (Ganz) and a mysterious American art dealer (Hopper) drawn into the world of contract killing. Bruno Ganz (The Last Days of Chez Nous and Wings of Desire) gives an extraordinary performance. Set against a backdrop of existential dread and moral ambiguity, the movie unfolds a suspenseful tale marked by haunting cinematography and intense performances. Wenders crafts a mesmerising noir thriller, blending European arthouse sensibilities with the tension of American cinema. This is as introspective and psychologically tangled as thrillers come, and is all the more compelling for it.
Followed by our
Sunday 12 May 2024
ELECTION USA · 1999 · 99 min. Director Alexander Payne Cast Reese Witherspoon, Matthew Broderick, Chris Klein Reese Witherspoon, in a breakthrough starring role, plays a peppy schoolgirl obsessed with winning the presidency of her high school's student council. Her civics teacher (Broderick) is appalled at her naked ambition and the inevitability of her success as the sole candidate. He attempts to manipulate the process while his private life becomes unhinged. Alexander Payne's film was unsuccessful on release but has since become a cult classic both as a black comedy satirising American morals and as a skewering of US politics by analogy. This study of ruthless ambitions makes it an appropriate screening for this US election year.
Sunday 26 May 2024
HEATWAVE Australia · 1982 · 91 min. Director Phillip Noyce Cast Judy Davis, Richard Moir, Chris Haywood As Sydney endures an especially oppressive summer, architect Stephen West (Moir) is hired to design an ambitious redevelopment project in the inner city. Working-class residents of the area resist their displacement by ambitious Cockney builder Peter Houseman (Haywood) and are mobilised by idealistic activist Kate Dean (Davis). Architect and activist clash but form a relationship. Inspired by the real-life murder of socialite Juanita Nielsen, Heatwave relates aspects of the still unsolved crime, blends neo-noir sensibilities with the radical politics of the 1970s, and commemorates a world that has since been utterly erased by gentrification.
Sunday 9 June 2024
THE PRODUCERS USA · 1967 · 88 min. Director Mel Brooks Cast Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Dick Shaw, Kenneth Mars A theatre producer and his accountant scheme to get rich by fraudulently overselling interests in a stage musical designed to fail. And surely nothing will flop harder than a sentimental musical about Adolf Hitler – right? This film (Mel Brooks’s directorial debut) is anchored by superb performances from Mostel and Wilder, and the film’s sharp humour and witty storytelling. Controversial in its day, The Producers is now held by many to be Brooks' finest work. The film remains a classic that inspired a musical which went on to become a film itself.
Sunday 30 June 2024
THE NAKED CITY USA · 1948 · 96 min. Director Jules Dassin Cast Barry Fitzgerald, Don Taylor, Dorothy Hart, Howard Duff A model is found dead in her bathtub and two detectives are assigned to a murder case, the veteran detective (Fitzgerald) and the novice (Taylor). The film details the work of the police force as they follow a trail that leads all over New York. The Naked City is a landmark film directed by Jules Dassin, a master of film noir. It is famous for being filmed almost entirely on location in New York. It also revolutionised the genre by incorporating documentary style techniques. The cinematography of William H. Daniels won a well-deserved Oscar®.
Sunday 14 July 2024
THE LION IN WINTER UK, USA · 1968 · 134 min. Director Anthony Harvey Cast Katharine Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Anthony Hopkins English king Henry II (O'Toole) gathers his family together in his Chinon chateau for Christmas in 1183. The guests include his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine (Hepburn), temporarily freed from house arrest, accompanied by her sons, Richard, Geoffrey, and John. When Phillip II of France and his sister are included in the guest list the proceedings deteriorate into complex power plays over inheritance of lands and the throne. In the 1969 Academy Awards, the film had 7 nominations and won 3 Oscars®: Katharine Hepburn for best actress, John Barry for his regal musical score, and John Goldman for his adapted screenplay.
Sunday 28 July 2024
LADY FOR A DAY USA · 1933 · 96 min. Director Frank Capra Cast May Robson, Warren William, Glenda Farrell, Jean Parker Apple Annie (Robson), a streetside fruit vendor in New York, has been lying to her daughter back in Spain, pretending to move high in the city’s upper social circles. Now her daughter is coming to New York with her aristocratic fiancé, in front of whom she must appear to really be a lady – for a day. And her only chance of doing so rests with a local gangster, who considers Apple Annie to be a good luck charm. Frank Capra made this film on the eve of hitting the big time, and it’s clear why he was about to.
Sunday 11 August 2024
DEPARTURES Japan · 2008 · 131 min. Director Yojiro Takita Cast Masahiro Motoki, Ryoko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki A moving film which won the 2009 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. It opens with a passionate cello player losing his job as his orchestra plays to another almost empty concert hall. Disheartened, he returns to his home town, and needing work, he applies for a job at a company called Departures. He thinks it’s a travel firm, but it’s not and he is in for a surprise. Exquisitely directed, photographed, and acted, the film is both comical and profound. It looks at the difficult subject of dying and finds beauty, meaning, and love. There is also some exceptional cello playing.
Sunday 25 August 2024
BLOW OUT USA · 1981 · 108 min. Director Brian de Palma Cast John Travolta, Karen Allen, John Lithgow In this neo-noir thriller, Travolta is a sound technician gathering sound effects for a film when he hears a tyre blow out and sees the resulting fatal car crash. It transpires that the victim was a promising presidential candidate. Odd characteristics of the sound recording lead him to suspect that the crash was no accident. The film was not successful at release but has gained cult status, particularly following its enthusiastic endorsement by Quentin Tarantino. Notable features of the film are the cinematography by the late, great Vilmos Zsigmond, and the insight the film gives into the mechanics of filmmaking. Please note that programme details are subject to change without notice
List of films screened by Reel McCoy Film Group and
Big House Film Society, |