Steve enthuses about a diverse range of films he’s enjoyed at film club and recalls being wowed by Steven Spielberg on the big screen.
You can follow Steve on Twitter @stevejbowden
What was the first film you saw at film club?
I wish I could remember!
What’s been your favourite film at film club?I can’t choose just one! These are some of my favourites:
The White Reindeer – Amazing, almost surreal film from Finland as old as me.
Saint Jack – great portrayal of self integrity, enjoyable depiction of sleaze and corruption.
Frances Ha – my first view of Greta Gerwig, she’s amazing. I’m in love…
Wonder Boys – Charming portrait of New England college professor, falling apart. It contains my favourite ever soundtrack including Bob Dylan’s Oscar-winning Things Have Changed
Autumn Sonata – Ingmar Bergman’s investigation into the psychology of the relationship is stunning. It’s difficult to choose between this and Persona
What’s been your least favourite film at film club?
Can’t remember the title, saw it at The Star, sleazy made-for-TV movie. Left halfway through. (That’l be The Last Seduction!)
Which film that you voted for are you most annoyed has lost the vote?
So many, but the one that springs to mind is Rebecca. As we were voting, I remembered the opening scene – “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again” and desperately wanted to experience it once more.
What’s a favourite film of yours you’d love to see at film club?
LA Confidential – a favourite of mine, great ‘Hollywood movie’ (in more ways than one) with a great police detective storyline and strong narrative. Should appeal to the TPFC audience with the cast on top form and special appearances by Veronica Lake and “Rolo Tomassi”.
Tell us a theme and three choices you’d put up for the vote.
Ken Loach, Life in England: Kes, Cathy Come Home and I, Daniel Blake
What’s your earliest memory of going to the cinema?
Bambi probably, next one was Davy Crockett, where I’m reliably informed that I stood up and joined in the chorus (Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier) at the start of the film. I don’t remember them at all well. But I do remember the film North West Frontier, a 1959 British film starring Kenneth More, Lauren Bacall, Herbert Lom, Wilfrid Hyde-White. I was 7 at the time. Shocking really, as its themes were: Colonialism good, white Anglo-Saxons good, foreign Muslims bad. It was the fifties!
What’s your most memorable cinematic experience?
For sheer wow factor - seeing Close Encounters of the Third Kind at the Odeon Leicester Square. It was the first time that I got maximum impact from Dolby stereo – helicopters coming from behind your head. I also remember coming out of an NFT screening of a Tarkovsky film being left totally speechless.
What was the last film you saw and would you recommend it?
Apart from the films recommended by yourselves and not counting the comfort films like the James Bond movies we’re now watching, the must-see film to watch on TV during the pandemic is Steve Soderbergh’s Contagion, but I guess we’ve all seen it now.
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