TTT = Ticket Tout Tuesday
Image by: googed it
RADIO ON (Christopher Petit/ Uk/Germany / 1971 / 102 min / 35mm / cert 15) (Tues 18th / 8pm / £2/ttt) One of the only real British road movies (complete with great soundtrack) following a man's travels from London to Bristol as he attempts to clarify the mysterious death of his brother, meeting various odd characters on his way. A picturesque drift through sullied, late 70s England in the company of a (reasonably) hip hit man who sets off in search of what sounds like a very dodgy older brother after he receives a parcel of music from said sibling, last seen in the Bristol area. But it isn't. From the music (Bowie, Kraftwerk, Len Lovich, Robert Fripp) to the architecture (the Temple Meads Flyover!) and the cars, it glows. Cult Movies says, 'a commentary on the obsessive, ironic disenchantment of living in Britain now'.
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Orchestra Cube - Open Rehearsal (Wed 19th / 5pm-7pm / free / adv bookings only) FREE open rehearsal organised by Jesse from 'The Greatness' in conjunction with Peter Reynolds, leader of Scandinavian Circus Bizarre orchestras. This workshop is the first of several and aims toward creating an orchestra based at The Cube. Musicians of all standards are welcome and can expect to improvise towards composition. If that sounds scary then come anyway. If you haven't played your instrument for many years, rumage it out and come anyway. If you think this isn't for you, you're wrong, come anyway. Bring your instrument and any ideas you have for Orchestra Cube. It's going to be GREAT. ADVANCE BOOKINGS ONLY: jessemorning@blueyonder.co.uk / 0117 9513737
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BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (Eisenstein / 1926 / 66 mins / Russia / cert PG) 2005 marks the centenary of the first Russian Revolution against tsarism in 1905. In the events of that year the Russian workers developed many of the politics and strategies they would use 12 years later. In particular they organised the first Soviets- as structures of direct workers democracy. Additionally, the absence of a main character, except that of the collective Russian people, corresponds to the Marxist principles of the film. Sergei Eisenstein's 1926 film of these events features frequently in lists of the top 5 films ever made. Considered to be the greatest example of Eisenstein's theory of 'montage', it features the often referenced but never bettered Odessa Steps sequence. The various disconcerting jump cuts convey the chaotic terror of the situation, as does the rapid editing of the entire sequence. Chris Harman will give an introductory talk on the background to the politics and history of the revolution before the feature,
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PAW TRACKS TOUR & CAR PARK RECORDS TOUR: Panda Bear + Ariel Pink + Signer (Thurs 20th / 8pm / £5.50) Along come three maverick individuals of music, together to represent PAW TRACKS - a label fashioned by the members of magical mantric forward-folk men the ANIMAL COLLECTIVE. PANDA BEAR is Noah, a full-time member of the label’s founding fathers. Away from the confines of the Collective, he makes all manner of sounds from whisperjams to song concrete, often loosely collaborating with fellow AC members. A clutch of 12”s – ‘Panda Bear Dances’ – are a new year promise. ARIEL PINK is a Los Angeles based home-tape type and writer of 500-plus songs over time. Intensely personal scrounging sub-pop from guitar, keys, bass and mouthdrums; who says LA is plastic? Plus SIGNER, New Zealand’s digalogue nu-gazer Bevan Smith, who fights and feeds off multiple hardware failures to produce ‘The New Face Of Smiling’…the beautiful fuzz of corruption, his new album. Place your paw in mine and let’s wander… first act on at 8.15pm!
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THE JUST-IS BENEFIT (ASIAN TSUNAMI DISASTER RELIEF) (Fri 21st / 7.30pm / £5/4) ‘For one night only The Cube will turn your money into blankets and beans while your eyes and ears revel in the splendour of a thousand dancing lights and heavenly music. Unprecedented!’ (the man) An eclectic night of revelry to raise funds for victims of the Asian tsunami, organised in association with Global Witness, Peace Direct, Earthscan Publishing and Greenleaf Bookshop. Featuring the inimitable acoustic bliss of WHALEBONE POLLY, a rare chance to see the wonderful HUSH THE MANY in this neck of the woods, and a unique live banquet of music + cine8 composed especially for this event by FLY MAGIC MOSON, FLY! Two of Bristol’s most lyrical wordspinners, BONNIE BROOKES and PETE ELRIDGE, will also be appearing, as will acoustic guitarist extra-bonkers-ordinaire DAVE GREEN. www.rachaeldadd.co.uk / www.davidgreen.org.uk / www.hushthemany.tk www.temwenani.org / www.peacedirect.org / www.globalwitness.org
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Greatness of the Magnificence presents a Windy Night at The Cube (Sat 22nd / 8.30pm / £6/5) Come and witness the first public performance of Orchestra Cube. Also many other live acts and interpretations from wind instruments, whistlers and the Hallitosis Harmonicas. This is a participation friendly event and please dress blustery. To get involved (with your wind band, topical song or whatever) contact gothmag@blueyonder.co.uk or call jesse (0117) 9513737
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LEMON JELLY
(Sun 23rd / 3pm / £3)
Special matinee screening for all the family of '64-'95, the new DVD album from
LEMON JELLY, plus a LIVE cameo DJ (and popcorn selling!) appearance from the
twosome in the MICROPLEX.
The word of the Jelly has spread far and wide over the years thanks to that
unmistakably gorgeous sound and an impeccable design aesthetic. '64-'95 is an
album entirely based upon unlikely samples swiped from their vast record
collections. It's their most diverse offering to date, they flip between
musical styles at will and make light work of cramming metal, 70s pop, Euro
house, R&B, punk and more into one
album.
In typical LEMON JELLY fashion, that's just the half of it. They've also made
videos for every track on the album, which we'll be showing this afternoon.
This is a ONE OFF unmissable audiovisual concoction for the perfect Sunday come
down vibes time.
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Image by: the tza
COFFEE AND CIGARETTES
(Sun 23rd / 8pm / £4/3)
What began nearly 20 years ago as a quirky little black and white short film has
evolved into a series of vignettes populated by an all-star cast of actors and
musicians. The film has the laid-back attitude of its tobacco-smoking,
java-gulping protagonists, each of whom spends his screen time ruminating on a
host of arbitrary issues involving class, race, and physics. Like its central
delicacy, Jarmusch's comedy is apt to provide a slight, delectable buzz but with
little nutritional value.
The wonderful Roberto Benigni (Down By Law/ Night On Earth) and
uber-droning standup comedian Steven Wright (the voice of K-Billys
Supersounds of the 70's in Reservoir Dogs) ineptly attempt to bridge the
language barrier over some sugary espresso, while Iggy Pop and Tom Waits
converse awkwardly before bonding over a decision to abandon their non-smoking
ways. The White Stripes' Meg and Jack White provide a brief lesson on the
invention of the Tesla Coil, while The Wu-Tang Clan's RZA and GZA discuss the
finer points of alternative medicine, only to have their conversation
interrupted by Bill Murray as their crazy waiter. Plus many many more famous
faces waiting for a table.
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BLUESCREEN (Mon 24th/ 7.30pm / £3/2} Calling all filmmakers! Bluescreen returns after the seasonal hols to bring you another feast of local short films. November’s event packed in over 20 films and over 2½ hours of screen time. Thanks to all the filmmakers involved. You make Bluescreen what it is, so just roll up tonight at 7.30pm with your mini masterpieces. Send no films in advance. Remember first in, first on screen! We screen most formats but phone or email us if unsure. Filmmakers get in free, bring all your mates and they pay only £3/2 each! Tonight also sees the launch of Bluescreen Hi-Fi, which aims to expand the Bluescreen ethos to the music played in the bar. Yeah, now we want your new tunes too! So bands, solo artists, producers, dub plate maestros making music of any genre send your final mix CDs or vinyl and related info in advance only to: Bluescreen Hi-Fi c/o Cube Cinema. Any queries, drop us a line at bluescreen@sparror.cubecinema.com or call the Cube.
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Kavalier Klub presents SUN WORSHIP (Tues 25th Jan / 7.45pm / £2) A night of SUN CITY GIRLS films with the steamy, surreal and sublime film NAT PWE as main feature and two draw dropping film collages capturing one of the most borderless and beatific bands on the planet, SUN CITY GIRLS. Together since 1979, they are one of the most unpredictable, prolific and down right baffling bands abound. They can be brilliant in 69 different ways, ranging from the Middle Eastern garage-psych to the country-and-eastern campfire folk, from their alien folk-blues songs and spoken word rants to their psych drone poems. NAT PWE – BURMA’S CARNIVAL OF SPIRIT SOUL (80 mins / Colour / 2004 / Sublime Frequencies) Released on SUN CITY GIRL's own Sublime Frequency label, this is one wild film, capturing the ceremonial festival to appease two of Burma's 37 officially recognized ghosts. It is one of the greatest spectacles on Earth, with costumed mediums channeling the spirits through ecstatic dancing, storytelling, magic, and music. What results is the magnetic, unexplainable concoction of conservative tradition, free expression, and spirit possession. SUN CITY GIRLS videos: 'The Halcyon Days of Symmetry' + 'Myths And Legends Of The Blue West' Before live dates in the UK next year you can watch their unshackled creativity as they play, improvise and goof with shadow puppetry, spoken word and pan- global instrumental exotica. The films have an inviting sense of humour with saucy cut-ups, stream of consciousness visual euphoria and lots of Bazaar. http://www.suncitygirls.com / http://www.sublimefrequencies.com
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Orchestra Cube - Open Rehearsal (Wed 26th / 5pm-7pm / free / adv bookings only) FREE open rehearsal organised by Jesse from 'The Greatness' in conjunction with Peter Reynolds, leader of Scandinavian Circus Bizarre orchestras. This workshop is the first of several and aims toward creating an orchestra based at The Cube. Musicians of all standards are welcome and can expect to improvise towards composition. If that sounds scary then come anyway. If you haven't played your instrument for many years, rumage it out and come anyway. If you think this isn't for you, you're wrong, come anyway. Bring your instrument and any ideas you have for Orchestra Cube. It's going to be GREAT. ADVANCE BOOKINGS ONLY: jessemorning@blueyonder.co.uk / 0117 9513737
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Image by: fishus vid
TONY HANCOCK'S THE REBEL
at the Peer Critique launch
(Wed 26th / 8pm / £3)
To celebrate the launch of a new arts project Peer Critique this is a rare
screening, open to all, of Tony Hancock's classic comedy THE REBEL.
Hancock, the aspiring artist, finally breaks down under the lash of conformity
and attempts to throttle his boss. Determined to make it as an artist he decides
to head off for Paris and soon becomes the darling of the bohemian set. However,
the neurotic intellectualism of the art world tests his ambition to the limit.
Peer critique is a new Bristol based project for artists to meet and engage in
critical discourse about their practice. The group meets monthly in a variety of
venues across the city.
With live DJ set from Mr Hopkinson.
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ROLLING THROUGH THE DECADES (Thurs 27th / free) Conversegallery.com are hosting a free preview screening of new film 'Rollin' Through the Decades' before its general release in 05. The film features interviews with over 100 inspirational and legendary skateboarders, photographers and film-makers. It blends historic, rare and unseen footage, videos, and photos with nostalgic sounds of the 70s, 80s and 90s, and contemporary music made especially for the film. For your chance to win free tickets visit www.conversegallery.com. All tickets will be allocated two weeks prior to screenings.
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SHELDON KING - Extraordinary Guitar
(Fri 28th / 8pm / £4)
If you missed the launch of Sheldon's solo acoustic album 'Eko-Sticks' here is
another chance to see Sheldon's astonishing and original guitar style.
'Those who have seen him play live will understand that what often sounds like
two or three people playing together is achieved solely on a battered looking
acoustic guitar in real time with no effects pedals or sequencers. Fingering
with both hands on the fretboard and using the body of the instrument for
percussive interpolations, Sheldon uses open tunings and modal scales to create
a music that is technically demanding but at the same time totally approachable.'
- Leon Brabant, New Acoustic Directions
test
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MIDNIGHT MOVIE: DUCK SOUP (Leo McCarey / 1933 / USA / 68mins / certU) (Fri 28th / midnight / £4/3) The chaotic and carnivalesque world of the Marx Brothers is familiar to any connoisseur of 20th century culture - Groucho's legendary one-liners and fast wit, Harpo's clown like undermining of authority and order, Chico's gutsy East European blue collar humour, as well as the sometimes divine music performed without a trace of irony amongst the mayhem. Whilst clearly belying their roots as vaudevillian variety show performers, they nonetheless managed to blend all these sensibilities and - with the assistance of studio director Leo McCarey - fashioned some of the finest comedy films ever created. Despite McCarey commenting that working with the brothers was more like runnig a circus than a film set, DUCK SOUP manages to pack an abrupt and well aimed comic punch with a very lean running time of little over an hour. Not a second is wasted as the plot, such as it is, forms a very efficient scaffold for some of their best known set pieces and gags. And of the much debated political significance of the film, despite Grouch quipping that they were just 'four Jews trying to get laughs', they were reportedly ecstatic when they found the film had been banned by Mussolini as subversive. Subversive it is, and as fresh and funny now as the day it was made. Enjoy!
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A Bell-Jar making workshop / Saturday 29 January 11am - 1pm / Free / It is open to those who wish to turn their accumulated thrifty finds into objects worthy of wonder. Admission is free, bring along a clean jam jar, your chosen objects and glue.
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SJ ESAU (Sat 29th Jan / 6.30pm / £5) Following last year's 'Queezy Epiphany Coming Through The Wall', SJ ESAU brings you a new album comprising of 3 cds and probably some string. To hurl these cds out of his bedroom and into your ears, SJ ESAU has put together a special super fun evening of music, food and film featuring actual 3D people plus 2D films and ear fun. We start the evening off with a swift kick to the eyes with a mystery movie! (Noodlefood will then be made available for the hungry). There’ll be live sound in the bar area from the incredible RASHA SHAHEEN (Male / Mooz) in rare solo set shocker. And TWOCSINAK will be performing somewhere near the building. Perhaps even inside the building. Plus the grand finale: a special 3 part SJ ESAU set featuring, for the first time, an extra large band including members of Geisha, North Sea Navigator and Whalebone Polly and such artists as Max Milton, Mole Harness, Knowledge of Bugs and Team Brick. With DJs MAX WEBERTRON and DJ LOFT CONVERSION. Find more knowledge at www.sjesau.co.uk
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Image by: It kicked out hard
OLDBOY (Chanwook Park / 2004 / Korea (subtitled) / 120 mins / cert18) (Sun 30th / 8pm / £4/3) Beginning on a rainy night in Seoul in the late 1980s, businessman Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) is forcibly detained in a police station waiting room for being drunk and disorderly. On his subsequent release he is abducted and wakes up in a cell where he spends the next 15 years in solitary confinement at the pleasure of unidentified jailers. With only a TV for company he trains his mind and body in anticipation of revenging his captors. He is finally released without any explanation and with the help of a young woman he accidentally meets, he starts to seek them out in a growing spiral of violence. This brutal, brilliant follow up to 2002’s Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance touches on similar themes of burning revenge and doomed love, and like that earlier film piles tragedy upon tragedy. Winner of last years Grand Prix du Jury at Cannes OLDBOY is a tour-de-force of vibrant filmmaking from Tarantino darling Park Chanwook, manipulating the viewer like a master hypnotist before revealing its final, awful dilemma.
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JAMES YORKSTON + King Creosote (Tue 1st Feb / 8pm / £6) A double bill of homespun acoustic magic from two captivating performers. Back in October James Yorkston & the Athletes wowed the Cube with their seductive whisper of accordian, banjo and James’s hushed hangover tones. Now James returns for a stripped down solo set to launch the new single ‘Shipwreckers’, out now on Domino. Recalling the likes of Bert Jansch and John Martyn, his music remains his own and there’ll rarely be a better chance to enjoy his understated elegies. You’ll be able to hear a pin drop. James is touring with another member of the thriving Fence Collective: King Creosote, a bashful and embittered troubadour with ramshackle lo-fi folk to share.
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THE BATTLE OF ORGREAVE
Introduced by the artist Jeremy Deller
(Deller/Figgis / UK / 2001 / 60mins / uncert)
(Thurs 3rd Feb / 7.30pm / £4/3 from Arnolfini bookshop or 0117 9172300)
The story of the extraordinary re-enactment, conceived by Jeremy Deller, of the
violent confrontation between striking miners and police outside a coking plant
at Orgreave in 1984. Deller's collaboration with event organiser Howard Giles
includes interviews with some of the 800 re-enactors and local participants
involved in Deller's event as well as film of the recreation of the climactic
clash of the bitter miners' strike. Commissioned and produced by Artangel in
association with Channel 4.
Much of Deller's work involves collaboration with individuals and groups of
people. Acid Brass was a series of concerts and a recording by the Williams
Fairey Band playing Brass Band interpretations of classic acid house anthems,
and The Uses of Literacy was an exhibition of writing and artwork made by fans
of the rock band The Manic Street Preachers. In 2004 Deller was awarded the
Turner Prize.
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Desperately Seeking Susan DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN (Susan Seidelman/1985/USA/104 Minutes/35mm/Cert 15) (Fri 4th / midnight / £4/3) To tie in with Independent Heroines 2005, the Midnight Movie is proud to present this underrated classic of 80s cinema - a film which so often gets lumbered with the mantle of being a mere "star vehicle" for the young Madonna, rather than being acknowledged as a fun, yet reasonably sharp dissection of female identity in the modern world, and the effect on ordinary people of the ideals of feminist polemic which dominated the previous decade. Despite being drenched in period detail - heinous crimes of fashion and riotous use of expressionistic colour - the film is a masterpiece of mistaken identity comedy with a healthy dollop of social satire. And the soundtrack's not too bad either.
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INDEPENDENT HEROINES LAUNCH NIGHT (Fri 4th / 7pm / £5) ++++"Get down ladies, you've got nothing to lose"++++ Music is what most of us can't live without, so it's what we start with. RISE ABOVE: THE TRIBE 8 DOCUMENTARY (Tracy Flannigan / USA / 2003 / 80 mins) Rise Above documents dyke punk rock band, Tribe 8. A ferocious, all female, all-queer punk band from San Francisco whose members bare their breasts onstage and whose lead singer likes to pull a straight boy from the audience and make him give a blow job to her strap-on dildo. Featuring live performances, candid moments and controversy at an all women's music festival. http://www.riseabovethetribe8documentary.com 'POLLY'S VIDEOS: FILMS OF PJ HARVEY' by Maria Mocznacz The original PJ Harvey collaborator will be showing a selection of her favourites. Maria will be here for an informal question and answer session. Including "Dress", "Down By the Water" and "Send His Love To Me". http://www.angelfire.com/mn/electriclight/maria.html MALE - live music What is Male? Male is a four legged, four breasted, twin tonsilled, Teutonic/Arabic mix of post-punk guitar and post-rock rhythm experimentation. One Male is a quarter of Big Joan. The other was a quarter of Mooz. http://www.m-a-l-e.co.uk EDGEPLAY: A FILM ABOUT THE RUNAWAYS (Victory Tischler-Blue/USA/2004/110 mins/DVD) Edgeplay chronicles the rise and disintegration of the seminal `70's all teenage girl rock band The Runaways, whose members included future rock stars Lita Ford and Joan Jett. The film explores the effects of stardom on girls too young to drink, but old enough for sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. New interviews with members of the band combine with unseen footage and live performances and interviews. http://www.edgeplaythemovie.com http://www.therunaways.net
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INDEPENDENT HEROINES: LET'S GET PHYSICAL (Sat 5th / 8pm / £4) ++++"Let's get physical physical!"++++ If you've got it use it, whether it's cheerleading against capitalism or shaking what you got. We reveal some of the many uses and strengths of the female body on film. DON'T LET THE SYSTEM GET YOU DOWN...CHEER UP! (Jennifer Nedbalsky / USA / 2004 / 13 min / DVD) CHEER UP! documents the vibrant movement of radical cheerleading at one of its most exciting moments during the April 2004 March for Women's Lives in Washington D.C. www.nycradicalcheerleaders.org THE VELVET HAMMER BURLESQUE (Augusta / USA / 2003 / 84 min / DVD) The Velvet Hammer wrote the Neo-Burlesque Bible: beautiful women of all shapes and sizes, glittering costumes, raunchy music and unadulterated glamour! Filmmaker Augusta faithfully followed the Velvet Hammer Burlesque troupe for three years documenting performances, auditions, and rehearsals. www.velvethammerburlesque.com And tonight we'll have our own private dancer as the very talented and very beautiful Mademoiselle Rosie Meres performing 1920's ooh la la musical burlesque (dream on Josephine Baker). Plus!!! Special £3 admission after the screening to Shake's 'Girls In The Garage' night at The Croft. Featuring The Priscillas and The Schla la las, with DJ Emma from Bang. www.thepriscillas.co.uk www.theschlalalas.com
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MASSIVE GARAGE SALE
(Sun 6th / 20pm / 2pm)
COME BUY COME BUY COME BUY
Cube Staff Selling:
RECORDS / TAPES / CLOTHES / SHOES / ART / THINGS
GADGETS / ART SUPPLIES / IT / TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT /
TOYS/ JEWELRY / HUSBANDS / THINGAMEBOBS / PLANTS /
with refreshments, music and fun.
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INDEPENDENT HEROINES: B MOVIES (Sun 5th / 7.30pm / £4) +++++"Giant ants from space waste the human race"+++++ Horror, zombies and blood-spattered kitsch. We salute the B-movies of some of our favourite lo-fi female directors past and present. AMAZING GRAVES (Burnout Films / UK / 2005) Premier of this short in which Dandy Zombies and Rockabilly Werewolves battle through dance in the Glasgow necropolis! www.burnoutfilms.com I WAS A TEENAGE SERIAL KILLER (Sarah Jacobson / USA / 1993 / 27min) Mary was a good girl until she decided to kill all the "sexist pigs". She of course encounters many, and enjoys killing them in this lo-fi short. This screening is a tribute to Sarah Jacobson who died on February 13th 2004 after a battle with cancer. "One thing that really inspires me, is no one can really stop you - I mean, who's gonna stop you?" Sarah asked. http://www.nypress.com/17/7/nyc/ CHARM (Sadie Shaw & Sarah Reed / USA / 2001 / 60min) Charm is a full length underground feature film shot entirely on Super-8 with all the classic hallmarks of a horror film. It deals with elements of alienation, isolation and the destructive nature of relationships using imagery beautiful, brutal and surreal. With a soundtrack featuring tracks by The Need, Deerhoof, Aislers Set, Replikants, Sara Lund (Unwound) and many more. http://www.splendidezine.com/reviews/jun-4-01/charm.html
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INDEPENDENT HEROINES: JANET FRAME (Mon 7th / 7pm / £4/3) +++++++"And I feel like some misplaced Joan of Arc"++++++ We pay tribute to the late great author Janet Frame who passed away last year. AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE (Jane Campion / UK,AUS,NZ / 1990 / 158min / cert15) AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE is an extraordinarily moving celebration of the life of Janet Frame, New Zealand's most distinguished author, based on her autobiographical trilogy. The film follows Janet through her poor childhood in the Depression and her growing fascination with literature; her painfully shy student days and subsequent treatment for misdiagnosed schizophrenia; and finally on her travels to Europe where she samples Bohemian life and achieves international success as a writer. With Very Special Guest speaker ANNE CAWLEY. Ann is the widow of Professor Robert Cawley, potrayed in the film, who was for many years the psychiatrist and friend of Janet Frame. Anne has kindly agreed to talk about her late husband's relationship with the esteemed author and some of the issues related.
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INDEPENDENT HEROINES: Tues 8th / 7.30pm / £4) ++++"You're getting old, that's what they'll say, but don't give a damn I'm listening anyway"++++ Heroines; our foremothers, sisters, feminists from years gone by. We present some unique documents of political ladies from previous eras of action and activity. A WOMAN'S PLACE (Sue Crockford / UK / 1971 / 25min) A Woman's Place was the first film made about, by and for the UK Women's Movement. Footage includes the founding of the movement at Ruskin College and marchers in the snow. Sue Crockford will be here to talk about the film, the movement and the film co-op Liberation Films, a group which could well have been the UK's first activist distributor; making and exhibiting documentaries on the issues Thatcher didn't want you to see. YEAR OF THE WOMAN (Sandra Hochman / USA / 1973 / 87 mins / cert18) Since its original five-day sell-out run in NYC in 1973, this radical flick has been screened a handful of times. Screening tonight on VHS, the one film print of this 'lost feminist classic' has been withdrawn from public view once again, so catch it while you can! Shot on hand-held 16mm the film takes place at the 1972 Democratic Convention, following director Sandra Hochman as she provokes male politicians, delegates, and celebrities into sharing their views on women and the feminist movement. Featuring an extraordinary cross-section of American cultural icons, among them Warren Beatty, Shirley MacLaine, Norman Mailer, Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, and the electrifying black feminist activist Florynce Kennedy. www.guardian.co.uk/women/story/0,3604,1192919,00.html
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Orchestra Cube - Open Rehearsal (5pm-7pm / free / adv bookings only) FREE open rehearsal organised by Jesse from 'The Greatness' in conjunction with Peter Reynolds, leader of Scandinavian Circus Bizarre orchestras. This workshop aims toward creating an orchestra based at The Cube. Musicians of all standards are welcome and can expect to improvise towards composition. If that sounds scary then come anyway. If you haven't played your instrument for many years, rumage it out and come anyway. If you think this isn't for you, you're wrong, come anyway. Bring your instrument and any ideas you have for Orchestra Cube. It's going to be GREAT. ADVANCE BOOKINGS ONLY: jessemorning@blueyonder.co.uk / 0117 9513737
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Image by: internet scavenged
INDEPENDENT HEROINES: ART Wed 9th / 7.30pm / £4) +++++"It Ain't What You Do, It's The Way That You Do It."+++++ 'It ain't what you do...' is an arty night with arty guests who all do things in a collaborative way. What happens when artists become curators and organise their own art world? Inspiring and shining examples of how women socialise themselves to work together to make things happen. Discussing these topics with IH curators will be special guests Emma Hedditch (Cinenova women's film archive, Lux, Miranda July collaborator) Louise Short (Station Gallery, artist, curator) and Cathy Lomax and Alex Michon (Arty magazine). ICELANDIC LOVE CORPORATION SHORTS We are very honoured to screen shorts by the performance collective from Reykjavik who make work that makes you feel everything girly, other worldly and all the love you can feel. http://www.ilc.is ELUSIVE QUALITY (Various / USA / 2004/ 62min / DVD) Elusive Quality is a collection of short video works curated by Astria Suparak and Lauren Cornell for Explosion LTTR, a feminist queer art imprint from NYC and shown at the Liverpool Biennale. Elusive Quality explores the idea of failure in relation to fantasies of athletic, sexual, and political mastery. Consciously inglorious and imperfect, they reset the goalposts for success and then win at their own games. Nice jobs to all! www.astriasuparak.com/elusivequality.htm www.lttr.org
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INDEPENDENT HEROINES: SK8 CULTURE (Thurs 10th / 7.30pm / £5/4) +++++"I'm going to go down the car park and practise 'til I'm good"++++ A night about girl sk8 culture. There are zero real girl skate pros in the UK, else they would be here with us tonight talking about their brilliant careers on wheels (please prove us wrong). Plus Dutty Girl DJs in the bar. SAFETY FIRST (Lisa Brook / UK / 1998 /1 min 10) A kind of music video for a Frumpies' song, a rant on male attitudes to female skaters. DON'T DO TRICKS (Cube Skate Team / UK / 7mins / 2005) A trip down no tricks lane, with a skateboarder who doesn't do tricks. GETTING NOWHERE FASTER (Villa Villa Cola Squadron / 2004 / USA / 45 mins / DVD) The UK Premier of the new video by the notorious Villa Villa Cola Squadron. Bringing to light the mysterious underworld of female skateboarders and their craft and featuring peril & sass by such experts as Vanessa Torres and Amy Caron. It features a brand new recipe including: an invisible cosmetic predator, a cowboy, and a fantasy skatepark called Tiffanyland. http://villavillacola.com/ DEMON OF THE DERBY: The Ann Calvello Story (Sharon Rutter / USA / 2002 / 76min) A documentary portrait of Roller Derby legend Ann Calvello, labelled the 'Meanest Mama on Skates', From the time she joined the Roller Derby in the 1940s, she bucked every traditional notion of femininity and became a star because of it. Today, at 71, she is fighting to continue her career. www.demonofthederby.com
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TRUST (Hal Hartley/1990/USA/90 Mins/35mm/Cert15) (Fri 11th / midnight / £4/3) Whatever happened to Hal Hartley? One minute he was the crown prince of movie-cool, knocking out smart, off-kilter comedies which dealt with the big subjects of life, love and happiness; the next minute he is wandering the no man's land between indie wilderness and distribution hell. Perhaps the release later this year of his tenth feature film The Girl From Monday will once again see his star in the ascendancy. Until then, The Midnight Movie is proud to wave the flag for his underrated and sadly forgotten genius by presenting Trust - an absurdist tale of star-crossed lovers which stars Hartley regulars Martin Donovan and Adrienne Shelly. I'll trust Hal - it's about time you did too!
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Steal from Work Microclub (Fri 11th / 7.30pm / £2) Big party night with a difference as the Cube becomes an amphitheatre for your competitive gaming pleasure, complete with kickass 8 bit soundtrack! We'll be hooking a load of consoles up to the BIG SCREEN to enable larger than life multiplayer face offs featuring your favourite games. Dominic Diamond won't be there, but there WILL be a Gamesmaster to adjudicate proceedings, and of course DJs MR_HOPKINSON, PUNKSI & MAX WEBERTRON will be montaging the micromusic. Meanwhile in the bar it's cheap cocktails and robotic komputer funk from FLOAT and CLUB NEON DJs. Competition starts at 8pm sharp.
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Image by: internet scavenged
Free Event. Starting in the Cube Car Park. Route and timetable to be announced. Ride the streets of Bristol inside a camera obscura. Park up, draw and peer. -- Developed with Spike Island from the VANiSH commission initiated by Ashley McCormick, and as part of 'Spike in the City'
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Image by: the guys
SADZA MIX featuring Chartwell Dutiro (Sat 12th / 8pm / £5) SADZA MIX is a live showcase of unique sounds formed through a collaborative project involving internationally renowned Zimbabwean musician and singer Chartwell Dutiro, and UK based producers Ben and Sam Menter. Featuring traditional Zimbabwean Mbira and Western electronic music production, it invites the audience to experience a connection of contrasting cultures. SADZA MIX is Africa re-edited for the laptop generation – a melting pot of styles spiced up further as a full live band and MC add their influence. Hip hop, electronica, disco and reggae are all visited in this journey from rural Zimbabwe to urban Britain. Local VJ whizzkids UnReel Media will be providing a visual backdrop to the music, using a mix of live and pre-recorded footage featuring work by artist David Cox, whose strikingly unusual figures, masks and reliefs are influenced by hip hop and jazz, reggae and blues. DJs in the bar will be playing good grooves and laidback sounds before and after the performance…
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Image by: not bored
ORWELL ROLLS IN HIS GRAVE (Pappas / USA / 2003 / 103mins / digital / no cert) (Sun 13th / 7:30pm / £4/3) Writer/director/editor/narrator Robert Kane Pappas offers up a consummate critical examination of the Fourth Estate (the public press), once the bastion of American democracy. This documentary explores what the media doesn't like to talk about: itself. By focusing on the very filters through which news, and the history formed from accumulated reportage and research, are constructed. Has society entered an Orwellian world of doublespeak where outright lies can pass for truth? Are Americans being given the infomation a democracy needs to survive or have they been electronically lobotomised? Helping to answer these troubling questions are several former network producers, political documentary staples Micheal Moore and Tony Benn, several former network producers and lawyers, and other concerned parties. -Followed by a secret feature of the directors choosing! see www.buzzflash.com/interviews/04/07/int04035.html
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ROMANCING THE CUBE Mon 14th / 8pm / £4/3) It's that time of year again - Valentine's Day, the Jour D'amour. For some, the most romantic day of the year, and the opportunity to demonstrate to their beloveds the magnitude of their love in flowers and chocolate; to others, an almighty swizz designed to emotionally blackmail hard earned cash away in exchange for a dozen wilted roses and some flat champagne. To the latter, even the most self-respecting joint will stoop below its standards to cash in on the population's soft spot for a dose of the romantic wobblies, and to the untrained eye it may seem that the Cube has - also - gone this route. Not So. The Valentine Kaleidescope of romantic cine-treats presents a cynical view of love in the modern world (including a rare screening of the Hal Hartley classic Trust), the bar sells lethal (yet prettily coloured) cocktails that make no pretence to luxury and the DJs play the heart-breakers that show love up for the miserable game it really is. Welcome to love, Cube style - ideal for either a first or a last date!
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no copy yet
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Orchestra Cube - Open Rehearsal (5pm-7pm / free / adv bookings only) FREE open rehearsal organised by Jesse from 'The Greatness' in conjunction with Peter Reynolds, leader of Scandinavian Circus Bizarre orchestras. This workshop aims toward creating an orchestra based at The Cube. Musicians of all standards are welcome and can expect to improvise towards composition. If that sounds scary then come anyway. If you haven't played your instrument for many years, rumage it out and come anyway. If you think this isn't for you, you're wrong, come anyway. Bring your instrument and any ideas you have for Orchestra Cube. It's going to be GREAT. ADVANCE BOOKINGS ONLY: jessemorning@blueyonder.co.uk / 0117 9513737
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Bill Hicks Deathaversary- Revolutions (Wed 16th / 8pm / £2.50) On the 10th anniversary of the death of Bill Hicks the Cube Microplex held a tribute event featuring choice live performances and films made in collaboration with the great man. Its seemed as though there's alot of love out there for Bill as the event, and a subsequent repeat of it, were sell-outs (seat wise not spiritually). One year on we offer another opportunity to gather and celebrate the life and vision of the great man. For anyone who doesn't know- Bill Hicks was an incredible stand up comedian who's outspoken views on society found him little recognition in his native, conservative America. The son of fundamentalist christians, his passionate deconstructions of issues relating to sex and drugs made him the ultimate rock 'n' roll one-man show. If you have produced any short films or animations inspired by the rants of Bill Hicks, or if you have an idea that you would like to realise then this is your opportunity to get your work shown. e-mail tom@sparror.cubecinema.com
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GEISHA + The Edmund Fitzgerald: Live Soundtracks
(Thurs 17th / 8pm / £4)
GEISHA are Bristol's premier noise band, a combination of complex arrangements
and over distorted instruments, joy and terror. And what better counterpoint to
their music than the deranged body horror of Canadian oddball David Cronenberg?
Tonight their score of original works and laptop noise accompany a special edit
of a rarely screened film, a characteristically disorientating faux documentary
where seven young volunteers undergo brain surgery to remove their power of
speech and enable telepathic communication...
THE EDMUND FITZGERALD are a prodigiously talented three piece from Oxford, an
epic math powerhouse of electric counterpoint and syncopated stabs - think Don
Caballero meets Steve Reich. The band will be sound tracking an edit of enfant
terrible Harmony Korine's debut, a tale of bizarre rednecks and inbred behaviour
in a town that's been ravaged by a tornado.
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Image by: sprinters
SHOGUN ASSASSIN (Robert Houston / 1980 / USA - Japan / 87 Minutes / 35mm / cert18) (Fri 18th / midnight / £4/3) In 1980, Americans David Weisman (producer) and Robert Houston (director) stumbled upon the Japanese Lone Wolf and Cub films and realised that while Western Audiences at the time would lap up the violent battles, they might not be ready for the Chanbara genre’s comparatively slow pacing and period politics. They decided to take the best bits of Lone Wolf and Cub parts 1 and 2 (respectively Baby Cart at the River Styx and Baby Cart in Hell), and add their own dubbing and simplified plot. Shogun Assassin was born, and is probably responsible to this day for the Chanbara movie’s arrival in the West. Shogun Assassin certainly isn’t one for the purists, and could never take the place of the original Lone Wolf and Cub series, but if you like your action, then this is definitely worth a look, and stands out as quality viewing not only as a movie in its own right, but also as a film which played an important role in carrying Asian cinema from its home territories to the global audience it reaches today. Its effect is clearly seen in the legacy it has left in popular culture - from GZA's Liquid Swords to an appearance in the closing minutes of Kill Bill 2 as BB's bedtime movie of choice. In it's midnight movie slot, you too can drift off to fountains of blood and the sound of mangled flesh...maybe leave the kids at home though...
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BRONZE AGE FOX IN CONCERT with Colin Smith (Fri 18th / 8pm / £5) Back from a year of quiet solitude, BAF return with new trainers and an itching to express themselves in their own special way. Having released the low-key Bronze Age Fox Compilation (ISAN's 8th favourite album of 2004, no less!), BAF spent much of the summer writing and recording their debut album proper, and the various members (including Minotaur Shock (4AD/Melodic) and Dobosky (Static Caravan)) beavered away on their own projects. The BAF album will see the light of day sometime in 2005, in the meantime you can catch a rare glimpse of their particular brand of sinister MOR pop music tonight at The Cube. Clutching a scruffy notebook of new songs, the boys will try to entertain everyone who attends. Support comes from erstwhile musical genius COLIN SMITH, who (unbeknownst to him) shall be a puppet in Bronze Age Fox's interesting soundtrack experiment. Colin will hopefully attempt to improvise a live piano soundtrack to a montage of unseen clips prepared by BAF, with a hint of audience participation and a dash of technical trickery courtesy of everyone's favourite Creative Handyman, mr_hopkinson. There will also be DJs and visuals specially selected by BAF, and probably other stuff too. All profit will be donated to the Red Cross Tsunami appeal. www.bronzeagefox.com
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Image by: mr thing
STREET MOBSTER (Kinji Fukasaku / 1972 / Japan (subtitled) / 87mins / 35mm / cert not cert) Street Mobster features a demonic performance from Isamu Okita as an individualistic 'yakuza' (gangster) who returns to his old stomping ground after a stint in jail. His insanely uncompromising stance sets him on a collision course with everything and everyone. In a film that begins at 100mph and then proceeds to accelerate, Kenji (Battle Royale) Fukasaku pushes cinematic style to breaking point in a frenzy of breathless, hyper-stylish action. Street Mobster marked the beginning of a new breed of 70s yakuza movies and the birth of a style that was to later influence cult favourites John Woo and Takashi Miike. An unbridled energy fizzes from the screen. We highly recommend STREET MOBSTER to all genre fans. And for those who have not yet become familiar with maestro Fukasaku’s work, this film is a great piece to use to start your education. UK CINEMA PREMIERE
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Image by: mickelburg
ONIBABA (Kaneto Shindo / 1964 / Japan (subtitles) / 98mins / 35mm / cert15) (Sun 20th / 8pm / £4/3) Deep within the lonely windswept marshes of war-torn medieval Japan, an impoverished mother and her daughter-in-law eke out a desperate existence by murdering passing samurai and selling their belongings for grain. When a bedraggled young neighbour returns from the skirmishes, he triggers an outburst of palpable sexual tension and deadly jealousy. Historically a big favorite on the British arthouse circuit, Onibaba features stunning, lyrical black and white photography, a frenzied percussive soundtrack and a wonderfully claustrophobic atmosphere of impending doom. Still working to this day, director Shindo’s film is a surprisingly complex assault on class and gender politics. It's an absolutely knock-out horror thriller – angry, excessive and hypnotic. Miss this ultra-rare 35mm cinema screening at your peril.
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Image by: darn tootin
FEMALE PRISONER 701: SCORPION (Shunya Ito / 1972 / Japan (subtitles) / DVD / 87mins / cert18) (Mon 21st / 8pm / £4/3) Matsu, known as "Scorpion" lands herself in prison thanks to the evil manipulations of an ex-boyfriend. Through her suffering at the hands of the jailers and other prisoners, director Shunya Ito creates a portrait of a woman full of strength, beauty and an honor which outshines her peers and the cage within which she's contained. A heavy influence on TARANTINO, this feature is everything that Kill Bill wanted to be – a lean, taut, ruthless and visually excessive exploitation gem. Lesbianism, cat-fights, eye-gouging, nudity and torture feature prominently. Stunning 70s cult pin-up KAJI MEIKO brings a fiercesome intensity to her role as a young woman, wrongly condemned to a brutal prison, utterly hell-bent on revenge. Ito’s uncanny control of excess lifts several scenes of this intensely visual film to a level of pure psychedelic overload. A delicate balance between art and trash helps to create one of the most sleazy and satisfying 90 minutes of any cult film fanatics' lifetime. UK CINEMA PREMIERE.
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