The curators of the New Zealand International Film Festival are bringing us film-lovers a titanic treat of cinema goodness this April and May.
The Autumn Events will play throughout the country in Auckland (from 11 April at the Civic), Wellington (from 12 April at the Embassy), Napier (from April 12 at the MTG Hawke’s Bay), Dunedin (from 12 April at the Regent) and Christchurch (from 3 May at Hoyts Riccarton).
The six film line-up gathers several cinema greats (Fred Astaire, Marlon Brando, Audrey Hepburn, Orson Welles) as well as Hayao Miyazaki’s latest Oscar-nominated animated feature and a Werner Herzog classic proudly presented by yours truly. Here’s what you’ve got to look forward to:
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
Director/Screenplay: Werner Herzog
Once seen, never forgotten, this hallucinatory epic of Spanish conquistadors unhinged in the Amazon is the definitive Werner Herzog expedition to the edge. It was also the first of his collaborations with his legendary “best fiend”, actor Klaus Kinski. Playing in Auckland and Wellington only and brought to you by those amazing folks at Flicks – hey, that’s us!
‘Aguirre, the Wrath of God’ Dates and Info
Funny Face (1957)
Director: Stanley Donen
A charming confection of 50s vogues, this musical casts Audrey Hepburn as a brainy West Village bookshop manager and Fred Astaire as the fashion photographer whose camera (not to mention a trip to Paris and some fabulous Givenchy gowns) might just transform her into a runway star.
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 4K Restoration
Director: David Lean
David Lean’s 1962 biopic remains the benchmark in epic action cinema: literate, dynamic and visually stupendous. Dashing performances by Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif defined the two young actors for life. Napier, Dunedin and Christchurch only.
‘Lawrence of Arabia 4K Restoration’ Dates and Times
On the Waterfront (1954)
Director: Elia Kazan
Marlon Brando mesmerises in the indelible performance that revolutionised big-screen acting 60 years ago and is still heart-breaking today.
‘On the Waterfront’ Dates and Info
The Third Man (1949)
Director/Producer: Carol Reed
Ranked first in the British Film Institute’s end-of-century survey of British cinema, The Third Man is ‘film noir’ with rare pedigree: director Carol Reed and actor Orson Welles bring sinister flamboyance to novelist Graham Greene’s literate, perfectly structured thriller script.
‘The Third Man’ Dates and Info
The Wind Rises (2013)
Image © 2013 – GNDHDDTK
Director Hayao Miyazaki
The great Japanese animator Miyazaki Hayao has announced his retirement and if he sticks to his word, he will have gone out on a sublime note. The Wind Rises is a fictionalised portrait of the brilliant aeronautical engineer Horikoshi Jiro and the two loves of his life: his work, and his ailing wife, Nahoko.
‘The Wind Rises’ Dates and Info (also playing in English dub – Auckland only)
