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Taking place from October-December 2024, Art of Action is a major UK-wide celebration from the British Film Institute of big screen action done for real, focusing on the actors and stunt performers risking life and limb to create some of the most memorable on-screen action.
Three thrilling classics from across 70 years of cinema will be screening at the Electric Picture House Cinema, Wotton-under-Edge in October and November, starting with Buster Keaton’s The General (U) – the 1925 silent comedy often held up as the actor/director’s masterpiece.
Set during the American Civil War, Keaton stars as plucky but lovelorn railway engineer. When union spies steal his locomotive, the General, (along with his girlfriend), Keaton pursues them doggedly across enemy lines, in one of the most memorable chase sequences in the history of filmmaking.
The General is showing on Sunday 6 October at 7.30pm and Monday 7 October at 2pm.
We journey to Japan for Seven Samurai (PG), the 1954 film famously remade in Hollywood as The Magnificent Seven. Rice farmers hire a band of samurai to defend them against marauding bandits in Akira Kurosawa’s influential epic, a touchstone for action movies ever since. Boasting terrific performances, superb camerawork, and expertly mounted battle sequences, it is now considered one of the most influential action films of all time.
Seven Samurai is showing on Sunday 20 October at 7pm.
The following month, 1991 cult classic Point Break (15) stars Keanu Reeves as FBI agent Johnny Utah, who goes undercover with a gang of surfers, led by Patrick Swayze’s Bodhi, who are suspects in a series of bank robberies. The thrilling film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who went on to become the first woman to win an Academy Award for Best Director with The Hurt Locker in 2010.
Considerable time was spent by the actors preparing for their very physical roles, which involved doing their own surfing and some stunt work. Patrick Swayze was a classically trained dancer whose athletic background included gymnastics, swimming and diving. An accomplished sky diver, he did all his own skydiving stunts. The spectacular skydiving sequences included some falls that had never been seen before on film.
Point Break is showing on Sunday 24 and Thursday 28 November at 7.30pm. Tickets for all the films can be booked on www.wottoncinema.com.
Notes
THE BFI FAN NETWORK (FAN) is central to the BFI’s aim to ensure the greatest choice of film is available for everyone. Established in 2012 to build wider and more diverse UK cinema audiences for UK and international film, FAN is a unique, UK-wide collaboration made up of eight Hubs managed by leading film organisations and venues strategically placed around the country. FAN also supports talent development with BFI NETWORK Talent Executives in each of the Hubs in England, with a mission to discover and support talented writers, directors and producers at the start of their careers.
ABOUT THE BFI
We are a cultural charity, a National Lottery distributor, and the UK’s lead organisation for film and the moving image. Our mission is:
• To support creativity and actively seek out the next generation of UK storytellers.
• To grow and care for the BFI National Archive, the world’s largest film and television archive.
• To offer the widest range of UK and international moving image culture through our programmes and festivals - delivered online and in venue.
• To use our knowledge to educate and deepen public appreciation and understanding of film and the moving image.
• To work with Government and industry to ensure the continued growth of the UK’s screen industries. Founded in 1933, the BFI is a registered charity governed by Royal Charter. The BFI Board of Governors is chaired by Jay Hunt.