The Odyssey

What's on at the Odyssey

• Thu 22 Aug - The Lion King (2019) (PG)

  

  1:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 58minThe king has returned! Jon Favreau (The Jungle Book) brings us his photorealistic take on The Lion King, and it looks wonderfully majestic. This is the tale of young lion Simba, who hopes to follow in the footsteps of his mighty father and King Mufasa. However, the nefarious influence of his uncle Scar sees him exiled from Pride Rock. Can he return and live up to his kingly duties? The pride of voice talent is headed up by Donald Glover as Simba and Beyoncé as Nala. Joining them is Chiwetel Ejiofor as menacing uncle Scar, and the comedic chops of Billy Eichner and Seth Rogan as Timon and Pumba, respectively. James Earl Jones, reprises his role in the bassy tones of Mufasa. But that’s not the only crew reprisal; composer Hans Zimmer has reunited with Lebo M, who sang the iconic ‘nants ingonyama bagithi baba’ over the original film’s opening, revisiting their Lion King score. Elton John, also signed on to work on new versions of the original songs with Beyoncé. Utilising pioneering filmmaking techniques to bring treasured characters to life in a whole new way. Find out more...

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• Thu 22 Aug - In Fabric (15)

  

  7:30 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 59minWithin the quiet lush halls of Dentley & Soper’s department store, a single item awaits its new home… A dress, size 36 in a striking arterial red. And it’s the last one in stock – or the only one there ever was… A recent divorcee, Sheila (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), out for a spot of retail therapy is persuaded to buy it by an unusual shop assistant (Fatma Mohamed) and at first she is delighted with her purchase, but after a strange series of events she is slowly convinced that the new addition to her wardrobe has a sinister and deadly secret. And Game of Thrones’ Gwendoline Christie pops up — under a dark mop of hair, with attitude tuned well past Queen Bitch — as a perpetual thorn in Sheila’s side. Director Peter Strickland (The Duke of Burgundy, Berberian Sound Studio) brings the colours and textures of classic euro-horror to the proceedings and along with executive producer Ben Wheatley (Sightseers, High-Rise) and an amazing retro soundtrack by Cavern of Anti-Matter, the humour and horror are equally distributed with a silken sensuality and wicked playfulness that is elegantly woven into every contour. Find out more...

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• Fri 23 Aug - Horrible Histories:Rotten Romans (PG)

  

  1:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 32minToilet humour, Roman puns and epic battles: author Terry Deary’s Horrible Histories makes history fun and hilarious once more, this time on the big screen. Sunderland-born Deary’s quirky and hilarious books have sold over 25 million copies, with countless children taking a much greater interest in history because of them. Director Dominic Brigstocke is perfectly placed, having directed the Horrible Histories TV series, I’m Alan Partridge and The Armstrong and Miller Show. The story follows the Romans in Britain and the Iceni tribe, led by the fiery Boudicca (Kate Nash). Alexander Armstrong’s Roman leader warns his troops that the tribe leader has “gone loco”, having defeated them in Verulamium (St Albans, of course). Atti (Sebastian Croft), a young Roman, is sent to Britain but is captured upon arrival by Celtic Orla (Emilia Jones). The two grow close, until Atti is returned to his regiment and learns that he is to fight her tribe in the Battle of Watling Street. They’re joined by a plethora of British talent: Derek Jacobi (no stranger to a Roman role), Nick Frost, Warwick Davis and Lee Mack all ensure the comedic quota is in a full tortoise formation. Find out more...

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• Fri 23 Aug - Midsommar (18)

  

  7:30 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 2h 27minFrom the visionary mind of Director Ari Aster – who only last year made his debut with Hereditary – comes this dread-soaked cinematic fairytale where a world of darkness unfolds in broad daylight. The film revolves around Dani (Florence Pugh – Lady Macbeth, Outlaw King), who finds herself relying on the emotional support of her less than ideal boyfriend Christian (Jack Reynor – What Richard Did, Sing Street), after tragedy strikes her family. In a moment of despair and loneliness she decides to join him and his group of (unwelcoming) friends in their anthropological journey to a small community in Sweden for a mid-summer festival. What visually could be described as a pagan idyllic fable, becomes the background of an eye-opening experience. Be prepared for a shift of moral perspective and preconceptions, for Midsommar is as psychological as it is visceral. A savage yet evolved slice of Swedish folk-horror, Ari Aster’s hallucinatory follow-up to Hereditary proves him a horror director with no peer. Find out more...

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• Sat 24 Aug - Apocalypse Now: Final Cut (1979) (15)

  

  7:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins ***Film run time: 3h 2min TBC***Francis Ford Coppola’s timeless epic comes blazing onto the Odyssey screen in a brand new remaster for its 40th anniversary. During the height of the Vietnam war, U.S. Army Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) is sent to carry out a mission that ‘doesn’t exist, nor will it ever exist’. His mission is to seek out and eliminate a rogue Green Beret, Colonel Walter E. Kurtz (Marlon Brando) who the army believe has gone insane. Willard travels up river into the heart of the jungle with a small platoon of soldiers (including Laurence Fishburne as Tyrone ‘Clean’ Miller – who lied about his age in order to get the role and was only 14 when filming started), but as the mission escalates he finds himself consumed by the horrors of war. Restored from the original negative for the first time ever, it looks better than it has ever looked and sounds better than it has ever sounded. Apocalypse Now: The Final Cut is Coppola’s most realised version of his multi-awarded classic – a haunting journey into madness that has fascinated generations of movie lovers. Find out more...

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• Sun 25 Aug - Ponyo (2008) (Dubbed) (U)

  

  12:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 41min***This film is dubbed into English and suitable for all ages***From the legendary Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro) and Award-winning director Hayao Miyazaki, comes our first screening of this dazzling animated feature film. Miyazaki offers a spin on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid. On a forbidden excursion to see the surface world, a Goldfish Princess named Ponyo is rescued by a young boy named Sōsuke. The pair become inseparable and Ponyo decides she wants to stay and live on the land with Sōsuke. Ponyo’s decision to give up her underwater life, by using an ancient magic spell, creates a crack in the ecological harmony of nature, and places the world in danger. Together, Sōsuke and Ponyo must set things right before Ponyo’s father forces her to return to the sea and give up the human life on the surface. Winner of 5 awards at the 8th Annual Tokyo Anime Awards, including Anime of the Year and Best Domestic Feature. Hayao Miyazaki’s modern classic is a visually stunning and a spellbinding adventure that will thrill and delight both young and old audiences. An arrestingly beautiful, utterly distinctive film not to be missed on the big screen this summer. Find out more...

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• Sun 25 Aug - Stop Making Sense (1984) (PG)

  

  5:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 28minDuring a summer already bursting with brilliant music-filled flicks, we now bring you what is argued to be the concert film to rule them all; with Johnathan Demme and Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense. This amazing concert was shot over four nights at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater in 1983, as Talking Heads were touring to promote their new album Speaking in Tongues. Featuring all the big hits, a groovy stage show, and the iconic image of David Byrne dancing about in a suit that gradually increases in size as the concert progresses. “Jonathan’s skill was to see the show almost as a theatrical ensemble piece, in which the characters and their quirks would be introduced to the audience, and you’d get to know the band as people, each with their distinct personalities. They became your friends, in a sense.” said David Byrne in a eulogy, posted after Demme’s death in 2017. Demme captured what it was like to be there. And even if you were ten thousand miles from Los Angeles in 1983, you could imagine being down the front, dancing like a lunatic. The overwhelming impression throughout Stop Making Sense is of enormous energy, of life being lived at a joyous high. Don’t miss it. Find out more...

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• Sun 25 Aug - Rocketman (15)

  

  8:15 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 2hr 1m***Certificate 15***Ratings Info: drug misuse, sex, very strong language.Warning – no babies for 15 Cert.Hot on the heels of runaway success Bohemian Rhapsody, it’s now the turn of Elton John – one of the greatest songwriters, costume-curators, and sunglasses-enthusiasts – to be the subject matter of the next blockbusting biopic. Get ready for the unbelievable and human story of Reginald Dwight. Born and raised in a council house in Pinner, he went on to sell more than 300 million records. He is currently on his monstrously huge 3 year tour Farewell Yellow Brick Road which began in September 2018. But his road to superstardom wasn’t always as glittery as it appeared. Enter Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Eddie The Eagle), to don the many wild and wonderful costumes that have illuminated Elton John’s career. We see the songwriter’s early days at home with his mother Sheila (Bryce Dallas Howard, Jurassic World), his meeting and fruitful writing partnership with Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell, Billy Elliot), and his manager and former lover John Reid (Richard Madden, Bodyguard) watching on as he struggles with his sexuality, drugs and superstardom. Find out more...

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• Mon 26 Aug - The Italian Job (1969) (PG)

  

  7:30 PM

  With none of its 60s British flair lost, Michael Caine’s classic crime caper celebrates its golden jubilee at the Odyssey. Just released from his latest stint in prison, cocky master thief Charlie Croker (Caine) launches straight into his most ambitious heist yet, involving the extraction of $4 million worth of Chinese gold from Turin. To finance the operation, Croker ropes in imprisoned, debonair crime lord Mr Bridger (Noel Coward), and, to cheat the city’s computers, sheltered eccentric Professor Peach (Benny Hill). Under threat from both the Italian police and the less-civil mafia, Croker utilises the very best for his getaway vehicles – three patriotically colour co-ordinated Minis- to navigate the streets (or rather, anywhere but) of Turin, in one of cinema’s most inventive and thrilling car chases. Beyond that highpoint, the film boasts a stylish exhibition of swinging, British style, spirit, and spectacle, to say nothing of its earworm Quincy Jones soundtrack and astounding denouement; so iconic that it inspired a competition from the Royal Society of Chemistry to find its solution. Find out more...

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• Tue 27 Aug - Varda by Agnès (S) +Intro (15)

  

  7:30 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 55minPart of the ‘A Cinematic Odyssey: Postcards from Europe’ strand. Spanning across a 60 year career, the ever creative, playful and curious master of cinema, Agnès Varda reflects on her body of work and passions with dazzling insight. Varda’s charming and approachable film is a semi-dramatised lantern lecture, an autobiographical, auto-critical work using footage from her speaking at various events, with clips and playfully dramatised reconstructions and superimpositions looking back over the director’s remarkable life. Directing over 50 films including shorts and features going back to the inception of the French New Wave in the 1950s. Not to mention a significant body of work in TV series, art installation, photography and books. A touching self-portrait providing an insight into her oeuvre and how she set out to reinvent cinema. Feeling like a goodbye, Varda goes out by handing us an index to her case studies in how to spread creativity into the world. Two hours in this director’s company is a pleasure. The film will be introduced by Dr Paul Sutton, who will stay for the end of the film for a post-screening discussion in the front-tier of the downstairs seating area. Find out more...

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• Wed 28 Aug - Marianne&Leonard:Words of Love (12A)

  

  7:30 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 42minNick Broomfield’s new documentary uncovers the fascinating and moving story of the relationship between Leonard Cohen and his first lover and inspiration, Marianne Ihlen. Known as the director of acclaimed films on Tupac, Kurt Cobain, and Whitney Houston, Broomfield’s new feature strikes a more personal note, having been a first-hand witness to its leads’ affair. On the Greek artist’s colony of Hydra in 1960, Cohen, a failed novelist with a fear of performing in public, met the Norwegian mother and muse, then in the company of her son and a younger, polygamous, writer. After a brief, sunny, idyll on the island, the couple started to separate when Cohen returned to Montreal, where he found success and recognition as a singer-songwriter that parted them further, as both youth and the 60s ebbed away. Thanks to plentiful archive footage, and its director’s personal involvement with his subjects, the film manages a poignant intimacy with its subjects, without sentimentalising them or the times which they inhabited, as well as thoughtfully exploring the theme of the artist and muse. Find out more...

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• Thu 29 Aug - Yesterday (12A)

  

  1:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 52mImagine a world where The Beatles never existed… It’s not something that bears thinking about – that is unless you are director Danny Boyle. One of Britain’s most celebrated breakthrough talents of the ‘90s, director Boyle now delights us with a new comedy with whimsical charm. And he’s helped with a little help from his friends: a breakout performance from newcomer Himesh Patel (Eastenders), joined by Lily James (Mamma Mia 2, Baby Driver), a brilliant comedic turn from Joel Fry (Paddington 2, Plebs) plus Ed Sheeran and James Corden starring as themselves. Jack Malik (Patel) dreams of making it as a singer-songwriter but feels increasingly stuck in his tiny seaside hometown, despite the support of childhood friend Ellie (Lily James). That is until a mysterious global blackout causes him to collide with a bus while cycling. He wakes up in an alternate reality in which the Fab Four and their music never materialised. Jack struggles with his conscience as he begins performing Yesterday as if he wrote it himself, and his new American agent Debra (Kate McKinnon) catapults him to stardom. Love is all you need. But a rom-com can’t hurt. Find out more...

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• Thu 29 Aug - The Dead Don’t Die (15)

  

  7:30 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 45minThe zom-com returns from the grave with Jim Jarmusch’s hilarious The Dead Don’t Die, A loving tribute to the work of George A. Romero. Three police officers (Bill Murray, Adam Driver and Chloë Sevigny) are keeping law and order in the sleepy town of Centerville, USA, population: 738, where the most excitement comes from a chicken-stealing philosopher hermit called Bob (played by Tom Waits). But when the Earth spins on its axis and the world is plunged into perpetual daylight, the dead start to walk and the body count begins to rise. This is all good news for the local undertaker (Tilda Swinton) but as the zombie horde increase in numbers and their desire for WiFi, Chardonnay – and of course brains – increases, the townsfolk have to team up to defeat the legions of the undead. Increasing the talented headcount are RZA, Iggy Pop, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Caleb Landry Jones, Rosie Perez, Sara Driver, Selena Gomez, and Carol Kane, creating ‘The greatest zombie cast ever disassembled’. This is an end-of-the-world party with an appealing guest list and inviting, eccentric décor. Find out more...

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• Fri 30 Aug - Fast and Furious: Hobbs and Shaw (TBC)

  

  7:30 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 2h 20minLights, camera, and a whole load of action! The Fast and Furious franchise reloads for this explosive spin-off featuring hardened action heroes Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. Set two years after the events of The Fate of the Furious, the blockbuster series takes a slight detour to bring us Statham and Johnson in a quasi-comedic double act that balances out the tyre-shredding car chases and obligatory explosions we all know and love. Ever since their first appearance together in Furious 7, they have squabbled and bickered like an old married couple armed to the teeth – but here the duo team up against the cyber-genetically enhanced anarchist Brixton (played with dangerous east end swagger by Idris Elba). As the two hulking military operatives battle to save humanity from this insidious bio-threat, we are transported across the globe from London to Los Angeles, from the radioactive wastelands of Chernobyl to the lush beaches of Samoa. As if Johnson and Statham weren’t enough to pack a punch, we’re also accompanied by Shaw’s MI6 Agent sister (executed brilliantly by The Crown’s Vanessa Kirby). This is the summer blockbuster you don’t want to miss. Find out more...

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• Sat 31 Aug - School of Rock (2003) (PG)

  

  1:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 45min“CellooOOoo!” Among Jack Black’s most beloved films, The Odyssey gives you a big-screen opportunity to see Richard Linklater’s sleeper ‘rock comedy’ hit, which has since spawned a worldwide Broadway hit. From the Director of Boyhood, Before Sunrise and Dazed & Confused, Linklater and writer Mike White – who also stars in the film – based the School of Rock concept on The Langley Schools Music Project. Jack Black is Dewey Finn, a struggling musician who lives with meek school friend Ned (White) and his domineering girlfriend Patty (Sarah Silverman). Dropped from his own band, No Vacancy, Dewey disguises himself as a substitute teacher so he can pay off his rent. Still desperate to enter an upcoming battle of the bands competition, he attempts to turn his private school class into a rock and roll unit, much to the exasperation of Principal Mullins (Joan Cusack). Jack Black’s infamous stage dive in the film was based on one he witnessed himself at a concert by The Cult (if you’ve seen the film, I’m sure you know the one!) It also fell on Black and the entirety of the film’s co-stars to film a video begging Led Zeppelin for permission to use ‘Immigrant Song’ in the movie. Find out more...

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• Sun 01 Sep - Apollo 11 (U)

  

  1:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1 hr 33mFifty years after the seminal achievement of the moon landings, a new documentary makes the historic spaceflight seem more astonishingly vivid than ever before. Director Todd Douglas Miller (Dinosaur 13) crafts this impressive undertaking, from a newly discovered trove of 65mm footage, and more than 11,000 hours of uncatalogued audio recordings, in collaboration with NASA and the National Archives. Covering every aspect of the launch and polished to a brilliant sheen, the recordings are so piercingly detailed and immediate that they require no traditional documentary cushions, such as narration or talking heads. Only a rich but unobtrusive soundtrack accompanies the footage, along with contemporary audio interviews with members of the mission. Neither the astonishing scale and ambition of the launch itself, nor the wonder it inspired among watching crowds, feel dry or distant: even after so much attention and so many different approaches, the film somehow makes an oft-studied and overly familiar event seem awe-inspiring and fresh, while leaving an even greater impression of what was accomplished. Find out more...

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• Sun 01 Sep - Last Train Home (S) intro+Short (NA)

  

  6:30 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 25mIn partnership with Project Sunshine This screening will be followed by short film Project Sunshine – the Movie The largest human migration in history happens every year during the great Spring Festival in China. Over 130 million Chinese leave the cities where they work to return to their home towns and villages. It is a phenomenon which has evolved over the past 30 years as China has grown into the world’s largest industrial power. But the rise of China’s manufacturing might has come at a price. In 1949, the Chinese revolution promised to bring education to millions and schools were set up in the countryside. However, over the past three decades, men and women have moved to cities to find work, but their children had to stay to be educated where they were born. So began what is perhaps the biggest unintended consequence in modern history – the breakup of the millennials-old culture of traditional Chinese family life. We in the West have benefitted from ever-cheaper consumer goods, but the real cost is often being borne by 62 million "left behind children” children being raised without their parents. This multi-award winning film is now regarded as classic documentation of a huge social predicament of our time. It follows the life of a family, the Zhang’s, over a period of three years. At times innocent, at times brutal, always real, the film shows the price which is being paid for today’s fast-moving, demanding consumer society. Project Sunshine – the Movie follows the St Albans-based team of volunteers who spend one short week with children from Hebei Province to the east of the Great Wall.  In that short time they produce an all-singing, all-dancing show, with 200 children on stage, performing in English. This short film follows this unique group, which is given privileged access and in 2019 will be working with 400 children. Tickets from £5 upstairs and £6.50 downstairs. Find out more...

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• Mon 02 Sep - Pavarotti (12A)

  

  7:30 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 54mHe brought classical singing out of the snobby confines of the opera houses and into the hearts of ordinary people. Along the way Pavarotti became the highest earning tenor of all time and at one point was arguably the most recognisable singer on the planet. In this warm and loving documentary, director Ron Howard (Apollo 13, Splash, A Beautiful Mind) has used his considerable clout as an Oscar winning director to amass a comprehensive line-up of interviewees to elucidate Pavarotti’s often troubled life: co-tenors José Carreras and Plácido Domingo, his three daughters, first wife Adua Veroni, second wife Nicoletta Mantovani, lover Madelyn Renee (he really loved women, and not always sequentially), managers and promoters all reminisce on their experiences with the larger than life singer (he loved his Italian food so much he would regularly pack a dozen suitcases with ingredients whenever travelling abroad). He sold over 100 million records, and The Three Tenors became the best-selling classical album of all time. Pavarotti was also an avid fundraiser for charitable causes, such as the Red Cross and refugee charities.   Have you ever wondered what the significance was of Pavarotti’s white hanky? Well, this film reveals all. Find out more...

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• Tue 03 Sep - The Jungle Book (1967) (U)

  

  12:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25m Film run time: 1hr 17mThis beautiful and expressive animation returns to our big screen, bringing unfettered animal spirits and catchy songs in Walt Disney’s final production. Rudyard Kipling’s novel has been adapted many times, but the results were never as passionate and pure as in this beloved Disney film. A young orphan boy raised by wolves has to flee from a vengeful man-hating Tiger through the jungles of India with the help of his protector Bagheera, a black panther, and Baloo, the beloved goofy bear. Watch as Mowgli fights through hard times while meeting the hypnotic snake Kaa, the elephant battalion led by the very orderly and organized Colonel Hathi, and the narcissistic King Louie, the fire-obsessed – King of the Apes, Orangutan. Mowgli’s goal of finding his place in the world is a universal strive, which may be why this particular story is timeless throughout the ages. Lose yourself in Mowgli’s search for family (and friends!) to find your own home. And best of all, to retrieve it! Find out more...

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• Thu 05 Sep - The Current War (12A)

  

  1:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h48m Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon illumine the fascinating story of the historical battle for the keys to the modern world. By the late twentieth century, two American industry giants had developed alternate ways of harnessing electric light on a massive scale: dogged, unassuming railway engineer George Westinghouse (Shannon), and mercurial superstar inventor Thomas Edison (Cumberbatch). Though Edison is the better inventor, it soon becomes clear that Westinghouse has the better system and will dominate a straightforward battle. Determined not to lose so easily, Edison sets out to even the odds by poisoning the reputation of Westinghouse’s current, starting what amounts to a fake news campaign by spreading rumours of its lethality. This has dire consequences when the current is put to more sinister uses, and Westinghouse has a secret weapon in the form of impoverished genius Nikola Tesla, who has even bigger plans for the modern world. Far from a drab period story, the film is charged with energy and interest, through its grand power struggles, luminous imagery, engaging performances, and contemporary relevance. As an origin story of modern technology and deceit on a massive scale, the movie is nothing short of enlightening. Find out more...

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• Sat 07 Sep - Toy Story 4 (U)

  

  1:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 40mIt’s been a few years since Andy gave his favourite playmates away to his young neighbour Bonnie, now Woody, Buzz and the rest of the toys are faced with a new problem… Bonnie has made herself a new toy named Forky (voiced by Arrested Development’s Tony Hale) in Arts & Crafts and he’s more than a little confused about his new role in toy life. Along with having to deal with Forky’s existential crisis and teaching him how to embrace being a toy, a road trip gives Forky the ideal opportunity to escape and it’s up to the gang to rescue him, as well as finding out a little about themselves along the way. With all your favourite characters returning – including Jessie (Joan Cusak), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles) and Bo Peep (Annie Potts), Keanu Reeves joins the cast as Duke Caboom – ‘Canada’s greatest stuntman’. Toy Story 4 is a perfect blend of action and humour (with just a small pinch of sweet nostalgia thrown in). So bring your favourite toy and join us as we hit the road with Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang! Find out more...

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• Sat 07 Sep - Event: Little Shop of Horrors (PG)

  

  7:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: TBC Evil Roots: Killer Tales of the Botanical Gothic – Book Launch & Little Shop of Horrors: The Directors Cut – Film Screening This September you are invited to enjoy a screening of the 80s classic Little Shop of Horrors in honour of the Killer Plant genre. This screening will be followed by a presentation from Daisy Butcher, discussing her new book Evil Roots: Killer Tales of the Botanical Gothic, in partnership with The British Library. Copies of Evil Roots will be available to purchase on the night. The anthology is the first of its kind to feature nineteenth and early twentieth-century gothic short stories featuring the likes of literary giants Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G.Wells and Charlotte Perkins Gilman to name a few. Come and experience Frank Oz’s outrageous movie musical, back on the big screen – or be rooted to your seat and see it with us for the first time. Set in Mushnik’s skid row Flower Shop, a mean green mother of a monster plant from outer space changes the lives of employees, Stanley (Rick Moranis) and Audrey (Ellen Greene). Starring a legendary cast including Steve Martin, Bill Murray, John Candy, Jim Belushi, Christopher Guest and many other comedy greats! Unlike its contemporaries, the vampire, werewolf, ghost or mummy – the killer plant has never received the recognition it deserved as its own subgenre of gothic horror. Despite this, man-eating plants were a true literary phenomenon of the nineteenth century inspiring esteemed gothic writers. The carnivorous plant monster is still alive and well in modern times in TV such as Netflix’s Stranger Things, DC’s Swamp Thing and also Alex Garland’s Annihilation. St Albans resident Daisy Butcher is a Gothic and Horror PhD student at the University of Hertfordshire attached to the Open Graves Open Minds project. Her thesis focuses on the monstrous feminine, psychoanalysis and body horror from the nineteenth century gothic short story to modern film and TV reincarnations. Her PhD project particularly analyses the female vampire, mummy and the killer plant monster. She has published many scholarly articles with Synapsis: A Health Humanities Journal, edited a collection with The British Library and presented at over twenty conferences across Europe. Find out more...

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• Tue 10 Sep - Breathless (1960) (S) + intro (PG)

  

  7:30 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 30mPart of the ‘A Cinematic Odyssey: Postcards from Europe’ strand. Almost 60 years after its explosive debut, Jean-Luc Godard’s witty, shocking debut film remains a ferociously inventive masterwork. Smooth, amoral, film-obsessed car thief Michel (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is forced to lay low when he shoots a policeman on a country road. Running out of options, he turns to Patricia (Jean Seberg), a similarly cool and indifferent American student, to hide him, beginning a doomed affair. Godard ignores a basic plot, and instead drives the film through never-before- seen energy and innovation, charging even the most mundane incidents with abrupt, kinetic editing, and sharp, intelligent, and fatalistic dialogue, all carried by the leads’ swagger and chemistry. The film captures the intoxicating romanticism and excitement of both 40s’ American noir and French 60s’ culture, opening the floodgates for the revolutionary Nouvelle Vague movement that would radically change films and how we see them. For all its massive influence, the film is not easily institutionalised: its trailblazing cheapness and insolence keep it fresh even today. The film will be introduced by Dr Paul Sutton, who will stay for the end of the film for a post- screening discussion in the auditorium. Find out more...

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• Wed 11 Sep - Animals (15)

  

  1:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 49mWarning – no babies for 15 Cert.Rapidly-ascending American star Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development, Green Room) and British actress Holliday Grainger (BBC One’s Strike) combine forces to electrify the screen in one of the greatest films of the year. Premiering at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, Animals is the international breakout feature of Australian writer/director Sophie Hyde. Based on a 2014 novel of the same name, the film traces the intertwining lives of best friends Laura and Tyler. Laura (Grainger), a failing writer who’s written a total of 10 pages in as many years; and Tyler (Shawkat), a layabout who moved to Dublin from America to escape her family. The pair are known by all for their heavy partying and late-night antics around the city of Dublin, but when Laura gets engaged to a teetotal concert pianist, the duo’s live-fast-die-young lifestyle comes under scrutiny. Something suggests that the characters would get on particularly well with Phoebe Waller-Bridges’ Fleabag – and that fans of the show would similarly get on well with Animals. Following the releases of films such as Gloria Bell, Booksmart, and Lady Bird, Animals joins the ever-growing canon of realistic, female-driven, and anti-Hollywood films that this generation so desperately needs. Find out more...

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• Thu 12 Sep - Do The Right Thing (1989) (15)

  

  7:30 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 55m Spike Lee’s 1989 classic, and arguably his greatest film, gets a stunning new 4K restoration and returns to cinemas for its 30th anniversary. Do the Right Thing follows Mookie (played by Lee), a young, unambitious pizza delivery man gently coasting his way through life in a Brooklyn neighbourhood. As both racial tensions and the sweltering summer heat begin to rise, the film culminates in a tragedy that splits the community in two. Starring a hugely talented cast, Lee makes use of Giancarlo Esposito, John Turturro and Samuel L. Jackson in some of their earliest on screen performances. The director’s monumental third feature turned heads both critically and commercially when it hit screens back in the summer of 1989 and continues to do so today. Garnering Academy Award nominations for both Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor, as well as being nominated for the 1989 Palme d’Or, Do the Right Thing is an urgent, vibrant, and immersive depiction of Lee’s native Brooklyn in flux. Bouncing along to a soundtrack revolving around Public Enemy’s Fight the Power, drenched in vivid, sun-drenched colours, and charged by Lee’s distinct directorial style, Do the Right Thing remains as important today as it ever was. Ya Dig? Sho Nuff. Find out more...

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• Fri 13 Sep - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (18)

  

  7:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 2h 41mWarning – no babies for 18 Cert. ***Please note this film is rated 18 – ID may be required***Tarantino’s highly anticipated new film is a nostalgic and bittersweet love letter to 60’s L.A, with an all-star cast portraying the hopeful Golden Age of Hollywood until the tragic and infamous Tate/LaBianca murders that marked the end of an Era. Leonardo DiCaprio (Django Unchained) stars as faded TV actor Rick Dalton, a man striving for success with his long-time friend and stunt double Cliff Booth, played by Brad Pitt (Inglorious Basterds). Their struggle for fame is elevated by the rapid social changes that counterculture brought to America, overlapping with the rise of the Manson Family. In a film with multiple storylines, Margot Robbie (I, Tonya) steals the scene as ill-fated actress Sharon Tate while she was just getting her career launched. This half a century tribute mixes comedy and tragedy in unexpected peaks, finding Quentin Tarantino reaching an all time high. Watch as he masters everything that made Hollywood the powerhouse that it is today, while paying respect for the pointless brutality and violence that ended innocent lives – as well as the 60’s as we know it. Find out more...

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• Sat 14 Sep - Angry Birds Movie 2 (U)

  

  11:00 AM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 37mNothing will bring sworn adversaries together quicker than when an even greater common threat looms. And so it is for hero Red (the one with the anger management issues), his bird-brained friends Chuck and Bomb and the other avian residents of Bird Island who have to team up with their former enemies, the greedy pigs of Piggy Island, when both their homes are threatened by evil Eagle Island which can wreak destruction by firing giant ice balls. A plan is hatched to travel to Eagle Island and disable the weapon, but can fowl and swine put aside their differences long enough for the mission to succeed? The first Angry Birds Movie was a surprise box office hit back on 2016, based on the wildly successful video game series of the same name played in restrooms the world over. The sequel has upped the ante with an expanded universe, richer visuals, stand-out comedy set pieces and a fun and breezy super-team mission story that will appeal to parents and children alike. The voice cast too is top notch with newcomers Leslie Jones and Awkwafina joining the likes of Josh Gad, Jason Sudeikis and Peter Dinklage. Find out more...

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• Sun 15 Sep - Blinded by the Light (12A)

  

  1:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 57mLuton might not be a place you’d immediately link with the New Jersey-born rockstar Bruce Springsteen. But the marvellous Blinded By The Light shows us why the Bedfordshire town has that Streets of Philadelphia spirit. Directed by Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham), the script is based on Greetings from Bury Park: Race, Religion and Rock N’ Roll by Sarfraz Manzoor. Taking place amidst the racial and economic turmoil of the Thatcherite 80s, Blinded By The Light sees newcomer Viveik Kalra in the starring role, with Hayley Atwell and Rob Brydon in supporting roles. Javed (Kalra) is a teenager who writes poetry as a means of escapism from the racism he faces in daily life, and from the hardline traditionalism of his Pakistani father. When a classmate introduces him to the music of Springsteen, the parallels he sees in the singer’s lyrics with his own working class life gives him a new lease of life and source of inspiration for his writing — much to the behest of his family. Find out more...

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• Sun 15 Sep - Blade Runner: Final Cut (1982) (15)

  

  6:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 minsRun time: 1h 58m Ridley Scott’s classic tech-noir thriller blazes back to The Odyssey screen in its Final Cut. In an alternate future (2019 to be exact), Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is a retired Blade Runner who is given the mission of hunting down and destroying four renegade Replicants – highly developed humanoid robots – who have escaped from an off world colony and illegally returned to Earth. Director Ridley Scott creates a magnificent vision of the neon rain-soaked streets of 21st century Los Angeles with a profound philosophical theme which further enhances the dark and uncompromising atmosphere. Combined with the haunting score by Vangelis, Blade Runner is one of the finest science fiction films ever made and in its definitive Final Cut the vision is even more truly realised. This film is shown in memory of the great Rutger Hauer who gives arguably his finest performance as Roy Batty, as well as the late dear friend of The Odyssey Cinema, Mr Terry Rawlings who worked as editor on the film and was also nominated for a BAFTA in 1983 for his part in bringing this cinematic masterpiece to life. Find out more...

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• Mon 16 Sep - Photograph (15)

  

  1:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 40mWarning – no babies for 15 Cert.Director Ritesh Bara (The Sense of an Ending, The Lunchbox) returns to India for a subtle, moving romance about time and cities. Shabby, austere street photographer Rafi (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is forced to reconsider his life when his overbearing grandmother insists on his finding a bride, moving to Mumbai to oversee the operation. To placate her, Rafi enlists Miloni (Sanya Malhotra), a shy student pressured by her family to achieve as an accountant who he had earlier photographed at a tourist landmark, to pose as his future wife until his grandmother is satisfied. What starts as a formal, convenient arrangement slowly blossoms into something greater, as Rafi falls for the person behind the photo, while Miloni sees a version of herself in his pictures that no one else has, and both lives start to change course. Far from the artifice or melodrama of either a western rom-com or a Bollywood extravaganza, Bara captures a slow, understated but sweet and absorbing portrait of unlikely love, set in an India that is modern and urbanised, yet still full of colour, life, and beauty. Find out more...

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• Wed 18 Sep - Non-Fiction (S) Special Preview (15)

  

  7:30 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 47mPart of the ‘A Cinematic Odyssey: Postcards from Europe’ strand. Director and writer Olivier Assayas (Personal Shopper, Irma Vep) returns with a fresh and intellectual romantic comedy to lift the spirit. Assayas pairs up once more with Juliette Binoche and Guillaume Canet as Selena, a hardworking TV actress and Alain, who runs a small but influential publishing house. The film follows Leonard Spiegel (Vincent Macaigne, C’est la Vie!) a writer of gossipy novels. Leonard prides himself on being out of touch; he hardly knows what the Internet is, let alone social media. But his longtime editor and friend, Alain rejects his new manuscript – the business at the venerable publishing house where Alain works is changing. Assayas shifts his gaze to the cultural impermanence brought on by technology. This film matches the genius wit of Assayas with the amazing comedic timing and warmth given from this stunning cast. Coming to our screen one month before it’s official UK release, The Odyssey brings you a special preview of this sharp-witted and hilarious French comedy. Do not miss! The film will be introduced by Dr Paul Sutton, who will stay for the end of the film for a post- screening discussion in the auditorium. Find out more...

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• Thu 19 Sep - Are You Proud? + Q&A (15)

  

  7:30 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 37m 50 years after the Stonewall riots, and marking the 50th anniversary of Gay Pride in London, this vivid new documentary struts in. Directed by Ashley Joiner, this is an important representation of the LGBTQ+ community through the past and into the future. Featuring some rare archive footage from political and social campaigns across the years and emotional interviews, this documentary highlights the positive changes that have come but asks some serious questions about the extent to which attitudes have really changed across the world and what’s next. Focusing on a range of historic events from the 1967 Sexual Offences Act through to current concerns regarding the commercialisation of pride and the marginalisation of LGBTQ+ minority groups, the film discusses ways in which we can all stand together, ensuring trans people, LGBTQ+ people of colour and Asian descent are not overlooked. Hosting the event will be Danny Clare, local community activist and founder of the Ask for Clive campaign. Together we are delighted to invite Director Ashley Joiner for an intro and Q&A discussion after the film. Find out more...

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• Sat 21 Sep - Dora and the Lost City of Gold (PG)

  

  1:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 42mDora, most famous for exploring, has spent most of her life adventuring around the jungle with her parents and her best friend Boots (a monkey). But it turns out the biggest jungle out there is high school. Dora the Explorer (played here by Isabela Moner, Instant Family) is all set to accompany her parents (Michael Peña and Eva Longoria) to discover the Lost City of Gold, until they announce that she’s actually starting school, in the hopes that she might become a more normal teenager – which of course doesn’t work out. Teacher: “Where did you transfer from?” Dora: “The jungle!”. But fear not! When her parents get into big trouble, she puts together a team of hapless classmates to venture into the Inca jungles. This live-action adaptation of the 143 episode-spanning Dora The Explorer is directed by the comedic chops of James Bobin, who co-created both Flight Of The Conchords and many of the Da Ali G Show characters. Listen out for some Danny Trejo and Benicio Del Toro voiceovers. Go for gold this September. Find out more...

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• Sun 22 Sep - Pain & Glory (15)

  

  5:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 53mWarning – no babies for 15 Cert.***Please note: The screening on SUNDAY 22nd at 5pm will have a short intro from Dr Paul Sutton as part of our A Cinematic Odyssey: Postcards from Europe strand***For his new film, Pedro Almodóvar turns his camera inward for a typically stylish, comic and personal journey. Physically and creatively declining, aged director Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas) reconnects with former friend and leading man Alberto Crespo (Asier Etxeandía). In his company once more a torrent of memories and unresolved issues surface. Chief among these are his once radiant, neglected mother (Penélope Cruz), his slow discovery of his homosexuality (including a similarly discarded lover, and his tense relationship with religion, all conveyed in vivid flashbacks. Armed with new revelations, Salvador sets out to make amends with the loose ends of his life, gearing himself to work again as he does so. Almodóvar succeeds in taking the long, rich tradition of the autobiopic and harnessing it to his own ends and moods: rich in stylistic flourishes as ever, the film retains an emotional realism and honesty anchored by thoughtful writing and a deeply felt, untheatrical performance from Banderas. The film’s depth of insight and generosity of spirit are so great that it does not seem like navel-gazing, but more like a spiritual confession, though not a dry or tortured one. Find out more...

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• Tue 24 Sep - Mrs Lowry & Son (PG)

  

  12:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 31mThe son of the title is Laurence Stephen, best known as L.S. Lowry, the Lancashire artist whose name is synonymous with the ‘matchstalk men and matchstalk cats and dogs’ celebrated in the Brian and Michael song about his paintings. Played by Timothy Spall, Lowry is a meek, often miserable figure, dominated by his bedridden mother Elizabeth (Vanessa Redgrave), and this film from seasoned theatre director Adrian Noble mines pathos from their conflict. Lowry is introduced on the cusp of success. A letter has arrived from London, and there’s a promise of a gallery show. Elizabeth sees little point; she’s immune to the vivid charms of his factory and street scenes, and only pays attention when a neighbour shows interest in his work. Keen to set aside his humble existence as a Salford rent collector, Lowry sees a chance for personal recognition, but his mother’s support is fickle, and his sense of his own worth is affected by her negativity. After closing this years Edinburgh Film Festival, Artistic Director Mark Adams, described Mrs Lowry & Son as a “delightful balance of drama and humour, beautifully performed by Vanessa Redgrave and Timothy Spall and directed with compassion and style by Adrian Noble. Find out more...

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• Thu 26 Sep - The Edge + Q&A (15)

  

  7:30 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 35mNo England team rose higher, but no England team fell harder. This is test cricket as you’ve never seen it before. Featuring incredible unseen footage from the 2009-2013 period and captivating new interviews from star players including; Andrew Strauss, Sir Alastair Cook, James Anderson, Kevin Pietersen, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott, Monty Panesar and Andy Flower, The Edge captures the team’s intense but often hilarious pursuit of success. Strauss and Flower took over a hugely talented team of players who would go on to make history, transforming them into a record-breaking winning machine before the pressure and scrutiny began to fracture bodies and minds. The Edge is a film that continues the desperately needed discussion of mental health, this time in the context of cricket, arguably the most psychologically challenging sport there is. Directed by Barney Douglas (Warriors), and written by Gabriel Clarke (Bobby Robson: More Than A Manager, Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans). As if all this wasn’t enough, this screening will feature an intro and Q&A from the film’s producer, John McKenna, who also brought us Bobby Robson: More than a Manager last year. He will be joined by some very special guests. Find out more...

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• Sat 28 Sep - Scary Stories to Tell… (15)

  

  7:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 47mWriters Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water) and Dan and Kevin Hageman (The Lego Movie), present this creepy gateway into horror; perfect for younger genre enthusiasts.Based on the series of short horror stories for children written by Alvin Schwartz, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is directed by Norwegian André Øvredal of chilling The Autopsy of Jane Doe fame. It’s Halloween night and the year is 1968, a group of three teenagers from a small town in Pennsylvania decides to play a prank on a school bully at a local haunted house that once belonged to one of the founding families of the town. While exploring the house the group finds a secret room with an old book of scary stories from one of the previous residents. The plot thickens when the book starts writing itself – now with them as the main characters and their worst fears as the villains. A nostalgic adventure to get us in the Halloween spirit, with all the ingredients from our favourite childhood classics. Find out more...

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• Sun 29 Sep - Il Postino (1994) (S) + intro (U)

  

  6:00 PM

  Approx advert and trailer run time: 25 mins Film run time: 1h 46mPart of the ‘A Cinematic Odyssey: Postcards from Europe’ strand. The life of restless fisherman Mario Ruoppolo (Massimo Troisi) is forever changed when the poet, activist and literary heartthrob Pablo Neruda (Philippe Noiret, Cinema Paradiso) is exiled to his island. Mario takes on the role of Pablo’s private postman, daily delivering bags of love letters from adoring female fans. Slowly a friendship forms between the two men and Neruda starts to help Mario in his courtship of local barmaid Beatrice (Maria Grazia Cucinotta). Filmed on the picturesque island of Procida in the Gulf of Naples in a seemingly endless, lazy summer, British director Michael Radford captured a wonderful sense of unhurried island life in the early 1950s, helped in no small part by the fairytale-like Oscar-winning score of composer Luiz Bacalov (Django Unchained, Kill Bill Vol. 1). Writer/star Massimo Troisi postponed heart surgery so that he could complete filming. The day after production wrapped he tragically suffered a fatal heart attack. Posthumously he received a best actor nomination. The film will be introduced by Dr Paul Sutton, who will stay for the end of the film for a post- screening discussion in the auditorium. Find out more...

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Overview

• Business Sector:
• Entertainment > Cinemas

Address and Contact info

• Address: 166 London Road
• Town: St Albans
• County: Hertfordshire
• Postcode: AL1 1PG

• Phone: 01727 453088
• Contact: Owner James Hannaway
• Website: visit website (opens in new window)