Smokescreen | Double Feature

This year’s Smokescreen series ‘Scene Stealing Style’ looks at how art direction, the look and feel of a film can help to tell the story. You may not have heard of the films on the list but each is iconic, and in its own way set standards and shaped later generations of film making.

The Red Shoes (1948)

A film about dance that is not a musical but an enigmatic depiction of the world of Ballet. The Red Shoes continues to be one of the best ballet films ever made. It was the first film to interrupt the story for an extended dance sequence, a masterpiece of cinematography, as the camera transforms the dancers and stage into a surreal landscape. The Red Shoes remains a haunting masterpiece and is still considered one of the most influential films about the world of dance.

Director: Michael Powell

Starring: Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring, Moira Shearer, Léonide Massine, Robert Helpmann, Albert Bassermann, Esmond Knight, Ludmilla Tchérina

Run Time: 134mins

Rating: G

Bullitt (1968)

All guts and no glory, Steve McQueen is at his best in this stylish action film. Bullitt helped to cement many of the troupes that today we take for granted in any good action film, the tough but world-weary cop, a fast pasted plot, and most notably the iconic car chase. Filmed on location in San Francisco and using newly developed camera technology making it feel like you are in the car, it is still considered one of the best car chase sequences ever filmed. As one reviewer noted ‘nothing before or since has equalled the intensity and impact of Bullitt.’

Director: Peter Yates

Starring: Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset, Don Gordon, Robert Duvall, Simon Oakland, Norman Fell

Run Time: 113mins

Rating: M

Licensing: Roadshow

In partnership with The Establishment Bar Dubbo. Tickets include a 'Buy one, get one free offer' at the Establishment following the film.

Don’t miss out on this year’s Smokescreen Series get your season pass for $75: https://www.123tix.com.au/.../smokescreen-season-pass-2024.

Smokescreen runs from February to November on the First Saturday of the month at WPCC.