Nick Curry recommends some favourite films and books and tells us why he has film club to thank for turning him into a Hal Ashby fan.
What was the first film you saw at film club?
The first film I saw was The Last Picture Show. What a great start!
What’s been your favourite film at film club?
My favourite Tufnell Park Film Club film is Hal, Amy Scott’s 2018 documentary on Hal Ashby, because it introduced me to a body of wonderful work by a director I knew nothing about who has now become a firm favourite.
What’s been your least favourite film club?
Entertaining Mr Sloane. In my opinion this is a sloppily directed and miscast version of what was a great piece of drama in the theatre. Even Harry Andrews can’t save it.
What’s a favourite film of yours you’d love to see at film club?
A favourite film of mine is The Queen of Spades, Thorold Dickinson’s 1949 Pushkin-based movie, because a) I’m a sucker for anything with Anton Walbrook, in my opinion one of the very subtlest and most effective film actors ever, and b) the sheer ingenuity of the director and designer (Oliver Messel) in conjuring a snow-laden St Petersburg in a Welwyn Garden City film studio barely large enough in which to swing a balalaika.
Tell us a theme and three choices you’d put up for the vote.
My theme suggestion is ‘cooking’, when the three films could be: Julie and Julia, Ratatouille and Babette’s Feast.
Is there a book about film that you’d recommend to other members?.
Arrows of Desire, Ian Christie’s masterly study of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s lives and films.
What’s your earliest memory of going to the cinema?
One of my earliest cinematic memories is being taken to see South Pacific by my grandmother in around 1958-59 at the Gaumont Cinema in Oxford Road, Manchester. This wasn’t like Saturday-morning cinema for kids at the local Essoldo in Chorlton-cum-Hardy but a posh outing into the centre of the city. I felt very sophisticated (I was 10, possibly 11). The vast cinema had a Hammond organ which rose up from the pit and 2,000 seats. It was the epitome of glamour to a small boy.
What’s your most memorable cinematic experience?
More recently I saw Snowpiercer, Bong Joon-Ho’s 2012 film with Tilda Swinton at the BFI. It didn’t have a proper release in 2012 due to disputes with its producer, one Harvey Weinstein. The film is fun, violent and quite prescient. However what made it memorable for me was the Q&A afterwards with the director and star. For someone who had just won three Oscars for Parasite Director Bong was remarkably humble and utterly delightful. (You can watch the Q&A that Nick attended on the BFI’s YouTube channel)’
What was the last film you saw outside film club and would you recommend it?
The most recent film I have seen, downloaded onto my tablet at home, is The Truth, Hirokazu Koreeda’s European debut starring Catherine Deneuve. I found it very funny and well-acted despite a somewhat over-complicated scenario.
If you’d like to take part in our Meet the Members series, here are the questions. Answer as many as you like and email them to us and one day… you too could be our star of the week.
