Attend our inaugural retrospective film season. In collaboration with Reading Film Theatre, the heart of independent cinema in Reading, we are showcasing four thought-provoking cinematic releases that have been specially chosen by historians in the Department of History. Our aim is to open a dialogue between film, historians and the general public, exploring the relationship between film and how history has been depicted for public viewing.
We have chosen these historically retrospective works from four different genres, (a play, an opera, a documentary and a contemporary cinematic work), which have all been picked specifically for their ground-breaking style, and their ability to capture the imagination. Each film will be introduced by an academic from the Department of History, they will also be leading a Q&A at the end of each film showing. The season will culminate in a lecture on film and history on Wednesday 21 March, which will be delivered by one of the foremost scholars of cinema in the country, Professor Jeffrey Richards.
We will begin with Kenneth Branagh’s powerful adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Henry V, which was chosen specifically for its passion and realism and its exploration of the timeless relationship between love and war. Our second film is the 2006 adaptation of The Magic Flute. Opera is often perceived to be intellectually inaccessible; we hope that by showing The Magic Flute we can demonstrate the appeal, beauty and power of this medium. Julian Temple’s The Filth and the Fury is our third screening. This provocative documentary details the emergence of British punk and its impact on Britain and the wider world. Our final film is Gus Van Sant’s Milk. This powerful biopic documents the political career, and subsequent assassination, of the first openly gay man in the United States to be elected to public office.
Ticket prices:
– £4.50 for students, RFT members and concs.
– £6.00 for non-members
READING HISTORY 