I had a friend at school who used to say that Harry Dean Stanton had never been in a bad film. Even 15 years ago, that is quite the claim. Harry Dean Stanton has been in a lot of films. I’m not sure if it truly stands up to scrutiny. Firstly, I haven’t seen every film that Harry Dean Stanton has been in. Secondly, he was in Steven Seagal vehicle Fire Down Below, which I have seen – unfortunately. There are certainly lots of greats in there. The Godfather: Part II, Alien, Escape From L.A, Paris, Texas. As filmographies go it’s pretty strong.

So to an extent I’m willing to buy into the mythology of Harry Dean Stanton as a slightly crumbly, mumbly purveyor of all good taste, identifying scripts at source and moving mechanisms to bring them to the fore. Not unlike the old Belmont, some might say. We’ll see if new release Lucky, with former crewmate Tom Skerritt and David Lynch, joins the true elite roles on his CV; or if it’s just not a bad film.

Glenn Close in The Wife

Lucky joins a smashing brochure for September and October. Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce dazzle in The Wife, which has picked up super reviews since premiering in Toronto. Desiree Akhavan returns with her second feature with The Miseducation of Cameron Post. Ryan Gosling takes a voyage to the moon as Neil Armstrong in Damien (La La Land, Whiplash) Chazelle’s First Man. The great Agnès Varda, at 90, releases Faces Places. We’ve packaged it with a short season of her best work so far, too.

Park Circus have done us a considerable service by re-issuing The Godfather, and we’ll also show The Godfather: Part II so you can decide if it truly is the best sequel of all time (and if it is better than the first!). Both are still an utter pleasure and if you haven’t seen either on the big screen now is the time. Another unmissable re-issue is the one-night-only 20th anniversary showing of The Big Lebowski.

Nic Cage in Mandy

Speaking of Coppolas, Nic Cage returns with the outrageous Mandy (think Drive meets Kill List meets The Wicker Man) and if that doesn’t give you your monthly fill of electro-tinged jawdroppers, Gaspar Noé is back with ‘musical horror’ Climax. We’ve also hooked up with two great local festivals, True North and Aberdeen Comedy Festival - laying on screenings to complement their excellent programmes.

Lastly, we’ve bumped up the Kino Bar to an hearty eleven screenings through this brochure, which kicks off with a Freshers’ week weekender (non-students welcome!) and is followed by an amazing collection that includes Alien, Predator, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Silence Of The Lambs and Tim Burton’s Batman.

Enjoy!

Colin Farquhar, Head of Cinema Operations