settima

UK

Threads (Mick Jackson, 1984)

Mar

5

Sat

Threads (1984)

A caption superimosed over the city of Sheffield: SHEFFIELD SATURDAY MARCH 5TH. DPs: Andrew Dunn & Paul Morris.

“In an urban society, everything connects. Each person's needs are fed by the skills of many others. Our lives are woven together in a fabric. But the connections that make society strong also make it vulnerable.”

– Narrator

The City of the Dead (John Llewellyn Moxey, 1960)

Mar

3

The City of the Dead (1960)

Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevenson), exploring. DP: Desmond Dickinson.

– Burn witch, burn witch, burn!

– Dig that crazy beat, man.

First Man Into Space [Satellite of Blood] (Robert Day, 1959)

Feb

28

1958

First Man Into Space (1959)

A newspaper headline for February 28, 1958 reading THE HIGHEST MAN IN THE WORLD. DP: Geoffrey Faithfull.

“The conquest of new worlds always makes demands of human life. And there will always be men who will accept the risk.”

Night Must Fall (Karel Reisz, 1964)

Feb

2

roast

Night Must Fall (1964)

A man mostly off screen carves meat of some sort. Surely it's symbolic. DP: Freddie Francis.

 

Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs (Stuart Cooper, 1974)

Scrawdyke

2

Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs (1974)

Malcolm Scrawdyke (John Hurt), disgruntled art student. DP: John Alcott.

“So, this month becomes the month of Scrawdyke.”

– Malcolm Scrawdyke

The Sleeping Tiger (Joseph Losey, 1954)

Jan

14

spoiler warning: click to toggle image The Sleeping Tiger (1954)

A cheque dated January 14. DP: Harry Waxman .

“If the halo fits, put it on. And don't pretend you don't love winding people up like little toys.”

– Glenda Esmond

Tarry-Dan Tarry-Dan Scarey Old Spooky Man (John Reardon, 1978)

Jan

10

Tarry-Dan Tarry-Dan Scarey Old Spooky Man (1978)

Tarry-Dan (Paul Curran) observing kids at the school's gate. DP: Peter Bartlett.

Nowhere to Go (Seth Holt + Basil Dearden, 1958)

Dec

22

Tue

Nowhere to Go (1958)

A man checks into a hotel. A wall calendar reads December 22, a Tuesday. DP: Paul Beeson .

“Sloane! Be lucky!”

– Paul Gregory

The Automatic Motorist (Walter R. Booth, 1911)

Dec

17

Saturnalia

The Automatic Motorist (1911)

While on the ringed planet, they pick up a cop to save him from spear-wielding rascals, but he elopes with the planet's fairy. Look at those lovebirds on the rings of Saturn!

A planet with rings for Saturnalia

 

Two lovely newlyweds and their robot chauffeur take a trip to Saturn for their honeymoon, followed by a jolly ride under the sea. A remake of Booth's own The '?' Motorist from 1906.

The Baby of Mâcon (Peter Greenaway, 1993)

Dec

12

Dīpāvalī

The Baby of Mâcon (1993)

The miraculous child (Nils Dorando) surrounded by candles. DP: Sacha Vierny.

Candles for Diwali*. Today's and tomorrow's theme are virtually interchangeable.

 

When an old crone gives birth to a beautiful baby, a young virgin claims the child as hers. With the Immaculately Conceived wonder put on display – to the child's contemporaries, the court of Cosimo de' Medici attending a reenactment of the events, and us film viewers – He protects the false Virgin from losing her chastity and blurs the walls between staging and gospel.

 

* “Diwali, one of the major religious festivals in Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, lasting for five days from the 13th day of the dark half of the lunar month Ashvina to the second day of the light half of the lunar month Karttika. The corresponding dates in the Gregorian calendar usually fall in late October and November.” (source).