Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
29
MOVIES ALFRESCO
A new wave of moviewatching has swept the capital in recent years, taking the cinema-going
experience out of dark, popcorn-scattered screening rooms and into the fresh air. Whether it's at
a hip Hoxton bar or a leafy royal park, if you're willing to brave the elements (and you can always
take a blanket) there's nothing like watching a movie classic with hundreds of other wide-eyed
fans beneath the stars. Each year sees different events and pop-up screenings - and summer is,
naturally, the most popular time; the following is a list of the more established events.
Film4 Summer Screen
Somerset House, Strand,
WC2
W
somersethouse.org.uk/film;
!
Covent
Garden, Charing Cross or Holborn.
This is the big one: for
ten days or so in late July and early August, this
magnificent setting (see p.139), home to the Courtauld
gallery and an ice rink in winter, is a venue for classic, indie
and new movies, with DJs and “behind the screen” talks
and events; bring your own cushion. Tickets sell out fast.
More London Free Film Festival
Near Tower
Bridge, SE1
W
www.morelondon.com;
!
London
Bridge or Tower Hill.
The location - a modern mixed-
use development that includes City Hall - may sound
unpromising, but More London's vibrant annual festival
in mid-September screens free, family-friendly films -
box-o
ce hits, guilty pleasures and a few golden
oldies - in the “Scoop”, an eight hundred-seat, riverside
amphitheatre.
Nomad Cinema
W
whereisthenomad.com.
Showing
classics, arthouse movies and fond old favourites, this
peripatetic screen might turn up anywhere - a circus tent
in Mile End, under the trees in a royal park, in the elevated
surrounds of the Old Royal Naval College - always
offering intriguing movie “happenings” and superb food
and drink from London's best restaurateurs and street
food sellers. Profits go to The Sustainability Institute, a
sustainable living charity based in South Africa.
Rooftop Film Club
Queen of Hoxton 1 Curtain Rd,
EC2
W
rooftopfilmclub.com;
!
Liverpool Street or
Old Street or Shoreditch High Street Overground.
Settle down in a comfy seat, grab a cocktail and hook
up to your own wireless headphones at these trendy
summertime screenings - cultish blockbusters and
kitsch 80s classics, mostly - in the rooftop garden of a
hip bar/club/gallery. Around five nights a week May-
Sept. Plus one-off screenings at Kensington Roof
Gardens. Advance booking recommended.
screening rooms with afternoon tea, lunch or a fancy dinner (
W
firmdalehotels.com). Many of London's more cultish
arthouse
cinemas - showing obscure and B-movies to a keen crowd of cinephiles - may have gone, but the gap has been
filled somewhat in recent years by a rash of
indie film clubs
, which colonize pub basements, back rooms and pop-up
spaces all over the city. Organized by enthusiasts and often free, these offer a splendid night out with their witty double
bills and themed nights, often adding music, quizzes and all sorts of extras to the mix.
Tickets
West End screens and multiplexes will charge at
least £12 for a standard adult ticket; independent cinemas
may be a little cheaper and arthouse shows can be a lot
less. Concessionary rates are offered for some shows at
virtually all cinemas, usually at off-peak times on
weekdays, and anyone with an Orange phone can make
use of the two for one “Orange Wednesday” tickets.
glazed drum in the middle of Waterloo roundabout where
the colossal screen (20m high by 26m wide) is not
recommended for anyone with vertigo.
Cinema Museum
2 Dugard Way, SE11
T
020 7840
2200,
W
cinemamuseum.org.uk;
!
Elephant & Castle
or Kennington.
There's always something interesting
going on here, with cult movies, silent films, kooky double
bills (
Star Trek V
with Blaxploitation, for example) and
themed nights, all presented by knowledgeable industry
experts, and staged either in their bijou vintage screening
room or larger hall. It's a great opportunity to look around
the lovingly assembled movie memorabilia collection,
which is otherwise open for tours by appointment only.
Electric
191 Portobello Rd, W11
T
020 7908 9696,
W
the-electric.co.uk;
!
Notting Hill Gate or Ladbroke
Grove.
One of the oldest cinemas in the country (opened
1911), the Electric keeps much of its lovely old interior, but
has added trendy leather armchairs, footstools, two-seater
sofas and even a few double beds in the front row. The
in-house fresh donuts are the icing on the cake, while the hip
ARTHOUSE CINEMAS
Ì
Barbican
Silk St/Beech St, EC2
T
020 7638 8891,
W
barbican.org.uk;
!
Barbican or Moorgate.
Comfy
seats, three screens and a terrific rota of obscure classics
and world cinema plus silent movies with live music
accompaniment and excellent festivals, talks and seasons.
BFI Southbank
Belvedere Rd, South Bank, SE1
T
020
7928 3232,
W
bfi.org.uk;
!
Waterloo.
Exhaustive,
eclectic programmes based around themed seasons,
showing between seven and fourteen films daily on four
screens. The BFI, in association with Odeon, also runs the
IMAX (
T
0330 333 7878,
W
bfi.org.uk/imax), a huge
