Magdalen Monday Movies presents a series of irresisitble films, talks and special events.

MAGDALEN MONDAY MOVIES PRESENTS

All-Time Favourite Films (that wouldn’t fit in any other season)

We’ve featured dozens of different themes at Magdalen Monday Movies over the last six years. But there are still some mind-bogglingly brilliant films that have wriggled through the net. Now it’s time to give those masterpieces their due. Welcome to the greatest movies we’ve never shown.

Some of these are famous classics. Some you may never even have heard of. But they’re all here because they’re unforgettable, soul-wrenching, unique or just utterly delightful.

Entry, we need hardly add, is completely free, and each screening comes complete with an introduction, a free bag of popcorn, and a mouth-watering preview of next week’s movie.

And if you would like to be pre-warned of potentially distressing material, we recommend the IMDb 'Parents Guide' section for each film, or DoestheDogDie.

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This term we also have a frankly incredible collection of special events as part of our Oxford Film Studies Network. Join us for…

THE THIRD MAN WITH LIVE ZITHER. What? We did what? Yes. This is a world first: a screening of The Third Man with the music carefully removed and replaced with a live zither performance from one of the world’s few zither maestros.

DESERT AISLAND MOVIES. One interviewer. Two Artificial Intelligences. We’re going to ask them what films they would take to a desert island, and why. Join us for an experimental, and potentially mind-bending, evening of robotic discovery.

BECOMING AMERICAN: PHILADEPHIA'S STORY. A brand-new, feature-length documentary about the founding of the United States, seen through the lens of Philadelphia, and told by the city’s Indigenous people and Black community. We are thrilled to welcome the film’s presenter and creator, Oliver St. Clair Franklin, and executive producer Annie Connolly, who will take part in a Q&A after the screening.

HALLOWE'EN SPECIAL. A great, classic horror film of the 1930s, or a masterpiece of queer cinema? This one’s both. It’s The Bride of Frankenstein.

We also have a special event with Olga Sydorushkina, film curator at the Ukrainian Institute in London. Olga will be screening and discussing an important Ukrainian film. Further details soon!

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Here is our full programme for the term – with handy IMDB links if you want to dig a little deeper.

Monday 12 Oct, 7pm

12 ANGRY MEN (Sidney Lumet, 1957)

Have we really been doing this for six years and never shown 12 Angry Men? Inexcusable. Henry Fonda stars in a milestone drama about a murder trial, where the jurors don’t see eye to eye. It’s a foundational film about justice, prejudice and responsibility. But more than that, Lumet’s debut feature is shot almost entirely in one room, and features twelve acting performances that brought a new level of realism to cinema. It was one of Stephen Fry’s Desert Island Movies, and after you’ve seen it, I think it’ll be one of yours too.

Sunday 18 Oct 7pm - SPECIAL EVENT

DESERT AISLAND MOVIES

A genuine first. After a series of interviews with celebrities about their favourite movies, we’ve decided to get truly experimental, and explore the blurry boundaries of technology and art. Over the long, hot summer, I’ve created two distinct Artificial Intelligences who have the ability to converse with an interviewer, with each other, and with anyone in the audience. They will take us through their own Desert Island Movies, discussing how an artificial creation, who has never actually ‘seen’ anything in the conventional sense of the word, but who nevertheless has total awareness of all film history, can deal with the idea of favourite movies. What will they choose? How will they explain their choices? And how will they treat a humble interviewer who can’t hope to have even a thousandth of their knowledge? Join us to find out.

Monday 19 Oct, 7pm

MARY POPPINS (Robert Stevenson, 1964)

Possibly Walt Disney’s greatest film, Mary Poppins is so much more than a strict nanny, a terrible cockney accent and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. It’s a deeply moving manifesto about parenthood, creativity and the little sacrifices we need to make for our children. The older you get, the more you cry. Feed the birds, tuppence a bag.

Monday 26 Oct, 7.30pm (note later start time)

HARAKIRI (Masaki Kobayashi, 1962)

Masaki Kobayashi’s film about a samurai who wants to commit seppuku in the courtyard of a great lord’s palace is a riveting exploration of mortality, honour and class conflict. I only saw it for the first time a few years ago, and it completely stopped me in my tracks. Every moment is immaculately constructed. It’s timeless, impeccable, and hypnotic.

Saturday 31 Oct, 7pm - SPECIAL EVENT

HALLOWE’EN SPECIAL – THE BRIDE OF FRANKE

Description supplied by the event organiser.