The Roses

There is a variety of films at the Roses this week. Top Gun: Maverick gets a final screening on Tuesday but for genuine aviation history there is Lancaster, a documentary directed by David Fairhead. As the title indicates the film tells the story of the Lancaster Bomber and its role in WWII, through re-mastered archive material, the words of surviving crew members and aerial footage from the RAF’s last airworthy Lancaster, called the City of Lincoln (pictured). It flew over my house from time to time when I lived in Lincoln – the sound of those engines was unmistakeable. (PW)

John Russell writes: ‘My father flew in Lancasters as a radio operator in 1943 and ’44 and was always nostalgic about his experience. The crew were due to fly 30 missions over Germany. But with two to go, they were offered the chance to take leave then or finish off the tour first and go on leave after that. They were friends with another crew who were given the same option. My father’s crew chose to take leave early. The other crew chose to finish off the tour first, but were lost on the next mission. It’s salutary to think about how close I came to not existing.’

The Road Dance, the tale of a woman living in the outer Hebrides just before the outbreak of WWI, and shown at the Guildhall a couple of weeks ago appears here, as does Everything Everywhere All at Once, which has been doing the rounds, living up to most of its title. (PW)

The Guildhall

Full marks to the Guildhall for showing Ennio, directed by Giusseppe Tornatore, a documentary celebrating the life of the remarkable Ennio Morricone, who died in 2020. Morricone wrote more than 500 scores for film and TV and sold more than 70 million records: the film includes interviews with many filmmakers and musicians, such as Clint Eastwood, Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino and Hans Zimmer. A must for all enthusiasts of film music (although it is very long). To coincide with this the Guildhall is showing the same director’s classic Cinema Paradiso, with music by, of course, Morricone.

There are also three screenings of Bob Fosse’s Cabaret to celebrate the 5Oth anniversary of the film. In case you haven’t seen it there is the inevitable Top Gun : Maverick and another chance to see The Outfit, featuring Mark Rylance as a tailor to a group of mobsters led, somewhat improbably, by Simon Russell Beale.

It’s a busy week at the Guildhall so to check the times of screenings please look at their website by clicking here. (PW)

The Sherborne

Maverick, Burgers, Strange, Jurassic World: Dominion. YOY? (JM)

The Cineworlds

The new film this week is Lightyear, the latest till-rattler from Pixar/Disney. My kids loved Buzz Lightyear. One Christmas I tracked down the must-have toy of the moment, the plastic Buzz with wings that sprang out. But really, do we want our children watching the same stories as their grandparents? Especially given that the whole point of Buzz was that he was not a space-travelling all-American superhero, but someone who wanted to be. A much more child-friendly conception.

Also, on Friday there is Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis. I’m fairly obsessive about Presley, having read Peter Guralnick, Greil Marcus and all the rest. I have no philosophical objections to presenting him up as a sort of gay icon, with lots of candy colours and a pounding hard-rock soundtrack (judging by the trailer). But that is a lot less interesting, and less weird, than the historical reality. And Baz’s particular bag of tricks is looking a bit tired to me.

Otherwise, all the usual suspects: Strange, Maverick, Jurassic, etc. Take your chances with their website and you might find some other bits and pieces: Nitram, a George Michael film… (JM)