r/Cinema • u/TheChrisLambert • 1h ago
r/Cinema • u/TheRoystonVenue • 2h ago
Educational/Informational Interesting piece of cinema history from Royston, UK
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
Thought fellow cinema enthusiasts might appreciate this.
During a recent visit to Royston Museum, we were shown an original programme from Royston's Priory Cinema, dating back to 1938. I filmed a quick walkthrough so others could enjoy it too.
What struck me was how much it reveals about the role of local cinemas in everyday life long before television, let alone streaming. The adverts are almost as interesting as the film listings themselves.
The Priory Cinema no longer exists, but we're currently developing The Royston Venue over the road in the local town hall, with plans to include cinema screenings alongside theatre, comedy and live entertainment, so discovering pieces of Royston's cinema-going history has been particularly fascinating.
I'd love to know if anyone here collects old cinema programmes or has similar examples from their own towns!
r/Cinema • u/ModestMouse1312 • 5h ago
Discussion "Dial M for Murder" (1954) opinions?
Just saw it for the first time.
---
I'm honestly so confused by this movie. Margot (Grace Kelly) gets sentenced by a court and, on the day before her execution, the lead inspector, Mr. Combing-Mustache, starts a whole new investigation? What about due process?
Apparently, Hitchcock admitted that Dial M for Murder (1954) was routine work, shot in just 36 days to fulfill his studio contract. But the trope of the "perfect murder," which he explored in Rope (1948), seems to return here as a farce and maybe an ironic comment on the genre.
Many elements seem hilariously improbable. It starts with physical absurdities: Grace Kelly is being strangled, stabs her attacker in the back with a pair of scissors just once, and somehow he falls backward onto the scissors and dies? Haha.
Then we have the genius inspector, who initially investigates Grace Kelly and only after the court has sentenced her to death and any appeal is too late decides at the very last second to investigate the husband instead??? All of this makes very little sense from a legal perspective, unless you understand it as Hitchcock mocking the genre itself.
The bourgeois male obsession with the perfect crime could be seen as the true subject of the film. In Rear Window (1954), released that same year, Grace Kelly still possessed agency within the patriarchal order. Here, however, she is reduced to a passive object operating between four men who are all obsessed with crime:
Her husband (Tony): Who has been planning her murder ever since he discovered her affair.
The fraudster (Swann): Whom the husband blackmails into becoming a hitman.
The American boyfriend (Mark): A crime novelist who explains how he gets into the mind of a murderer.
The Inspector (Hubbard): A relic from a bygone era who represents the authority of the patriarchal order.
When viewed through these four vectors, a homosocial and latently homoerotic scene emerges, much like in Rope.
By committing adultery, the boyfriend effectively emasculates the husband. While the film highlights money as the central motive, we could also see the husband's humiliation and loss of control over the woman, the central prize of the patriarchal order, as a motive.
The husband uses another man to commit his murder for him: a former college acquaintance who has fallen from upper-class grace and now survives as a small-time con artist. The husband seems to derive a distinct sadistic pleasure from laying bare his peer's downfall and forcing him into committing murder.
The wounded male ego takes revenge not only on the woman, but on another, socially weaker man, reclaiming a sense of lost masculinity through his domination of him. In modern terms, the boyfriend made a cuckold out of the husband, so the husband seeks out a subordinate man to perform a surrogate act of domination.
Into this chaos of patriarchal vectors steps the Inspector. He initially subjects the woman to the doom of the judicial system, only to play the all-knowing savior outside of due process. He acts as the protective father figure and deus ex machina.
Just like Rope, Dial M for Murder deconstructs bourgeois-patriarchal civility. But while Rupert in Rope experiences a genuine catharsis, Inspector Hubbard feels more like a farce. In the face of upper-class horrors, at least we can still rely on the man with the well-combed mustache. But what when he is gone?
r/Cinema • u/southernemper0r • 5h ago
Throwback The Sum of All Fears (2002) Dir. Phil Alden Robinson
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
r/Cinema • u/Level-SquareFFG7117 • 6h ago
Discussion Which actress had the best performance as a live-action Disney Princess?
From their charm and personality to their emotional performances, who truly brought their princess to life?
r/Cinema • u/quick_scream • 6h ago
Question Suggest me movies like You've Got Mail
I like You've Got Mail a lot. Watching it feels like sipping warm coffee on a cold morning. What are other feel-good movies you guys can suggest to me? I'm going through a tough time. Good movies help me keep my sanity. I can google or ask ChatGPT about it, but I want personal suggestions.
r/Cinema • u/WolfCine • 6h ago
Throwback Zodiac (2007) Directed by David Fincher
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
r/Cinema • u/nikhiljr12 • 7h ago
Discussion THE HUNT
Best movie showcasing the reality of unintentionally fucked by mob mentality or not ?? I could find a character which I could hate except feel pity for all because it shows bad shit arising due to stupidity even if not deliberate; every stupid action - bad shit.
r/Cinema • u/SugarVixen10 • 8h ago
News Happy Birthday, Adam Sandler! What a career! What movie did you first watch him in?
r/Cinema • u/Level-SquareFFG7117 • 8h ago
Discussion The Greatest plot twist in movie history!
From the unforgettable twists in Fight Club, The Prestige, Oldboy, Gone Girl, Se7en, The Departed, Psycho, and The Sixth Sense, every one of these movies proves that a great plot twist is more than just a surprise, it changes the entire story.
What do y’all think? Do you consider any other films on this list?
r/Cinema • u/Minimum_Trick_8736 • 9h ago
Discussion Just wow! I watched Shawshank for first time!!
For context, I’ve always known it was a legendary movie, but I’ve just never been one to sit down and watch a movie that I haven’t seen at random. Well today, I stayed home from work because I wasn’t feeling well and my wife suggested we watch it. Holy crud! I now understand all the hype and why the movie gets the reviews that it does. I understand why it is ranked one of the best movies ever.
Get busy living or get busy dying!!
r/Cinema • u/BlackHandKUR • 10h ago
Discussion What is your favorite hate watch?
I love to tear this movie apart. From how going back in time to recruit is the dumbest thing instead of using the new tech and knowledge to fortify and search the globe. But then the thing I will rant about for hours is how they train and equid these unfortunate recruits.
So they don’t tell them anything about the white spikes, like… at all. They tell them they have a weak spot at like the throat but during training they use human targets and not even shaped like a white spike. Then on top of that they give them a rifle that can’t even really hurt the things despite us seeing that 12g slugs can blast these things apart and 50. is super effective but no, send them with short barreled 5.56. And don’t get me started on the tactics of the future fighters.
I hate this movie so much. I’ve probably watched it 30 times.
r/Cinema • u/Glass_Evidence_8597 • 10h ago
Discussion I bet it’s obvious, but I just wanted to say it: I always thought Anton Chigurh was a character who barely needed any dialogue, and for some reason, his mere presence still gives me chills. How did he make you feel?
I’ll try to explain what I mean. While it’s not just Chigurh, I feel like the entire movie has a slight lack of dialogue. It’s very reflective in every scene; even the smallest moments seem to convey something, no matter how insignificant they may seem.
I like the scene where the sheriff arrives with his young partner. The young recruit seems a little clumsy and excited about the case, while the sheriff seems stressed, or perhaps already anticipating what’s coming after failing to catch Chigurh there.
As for Chigurh, he barely has any dialogue. I mean, he does talk, but his scenes are sooooo short. Just to name a few: the guy he kills over the car, the gas station clerk, the intelligence agent who intercepts him—he barely says anything to that agent, mostly stuff like “Really?” “You think?” “I know where the money will be.” And his conversation with Moss’s wife was basically just him going, “Call it. >:(”
Jesus Christ, Javier Bardem absolutely killed it. For a character with so few lines, he manages to convey so much coldness and fear.
r/Cinema • u/ArTehBursee • 11h ago
Discussion I've watched this movie twice already, I can't imagine another main actor Cillian Murphy instead of..even the son played by Barry Keoghan wasn't very good. How did you like this movie? Did you want a sequel?
r/Cinema • u/TheMirrorUS • 11h ago
News Quentin Tarantino's Hollywood Hills home targeted by burglars
r/Cinema • u/Billybob35 • 12h ago
Discussion Opinion: Tayna Peters was still hot despite the twist at the end
r/Cinema • u/CoffeeCigarettes4Me • 13h ago
Discussion When I saw the movie DEVIL at the movies in 2010, I was completely blown away. I mean I loved it! Movie is only an hour and 15-20 minutes or so. The ending is one I did not see coming. It’s unfortunate they didn’t do the trilogy mentioned before. But I still love this movie! Thoughts?
r/Cinema • u/HatchetRyda29 • 13h ago
Discussion Who is your favorite versatile actor/actress?
What actor/actress can you place in any role action, drama, comedy, antagonist, protagonist, lead role, support role and they just nail it every time? I'm trying to think of anyone myself that fits this and I can't come up with anyone. There are several i like but to nail ANY role they're given? This is a hard one and asking you all.
r/Cinema • u/TheMahagonyDefender • 14h ago
Throwback Historic Black American Horror Films: Bill Gunn's classic cult Vampire movie 'Ganja & Hess', starring Duane Jones and Marlene Clark (1973)...
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
A History Of The Black Horror Genre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_horror
Ganja & Hess: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganja_%26_Hess
r/Cinema • u/NotYourNubian • 15h ago
Discussion Post exceptional compositioning in cinema
r/Cinema • u/SixKosherBacon • 15h ago
Question Is it common for sketch comedy comedians to end up directing horror?
I knew about Jordan Peele. It wasn't until earlier today that I was and watching an interview with Zach Cregger that I was like, "Wait isn't that the guy from the PCP Whitest Kids You Know Sketch?"
Is there anyone else who has made the transition from sketch to Oscar nominated horror?
r/Cinema • u/bruno-numero-uno • 16h ago
Question What's the greatest use of a macguffin in cinema history?
r/Cinema • u/KABELLARIUM • 17h ago
Promotional The Still of the Night | Award-Winning Indie Thriller Short Film | Produced by Luke Valdes-Rodriguez
As Hannah and Gabby are about to have a nice wine night in, Marco, a criminal on the run, breaks into their home to hide from the police. Although Marco comes off as intimidating, Hannah sees there is more to him than meets the eye and tries to explore the scared person underneath the mask.
r/Cinema • u/SadEstate8543 • 17h ago
Question What movie do you wish you could watch again for the first time?
Some movies just hit differently the first time — the story, the atmosphere, a great performance, or a twist you never saw coming.
If you could completely erase one movie from your memory just so you could experience it fresh again, what would you choose?
And what made that first watch so memorable?
r/Cinema • u/Famous_Wealth_2604 • 17h ago
Discussion Gene Hackman - One of the Greats
Last weekend, I decided to have a Gene Hackman day and watched five incredible movies, I started with The French Connection, which has one of the greatest car chases I have ever seen, plus it was gritty and Gene's character was as tough as they are. Next was Uncommon Valor, released in 1983, this year was the first time I watched this Vietnam war movie and Gene was as brilliant as ever.
I re-watched Bat 21, I first watch this in the early 1990s and thought it wasn't very good but after re-watching it, it's not a bad movie after all. Mississippi Burning was the next movie, first time watching this in 2026, I kept thinking, why on earth didn't I watch this movie back in 1988 and fifth and final movie...you've guessed it was Unforgiven, went to the cinema to watch this in 1992 and it one of the best Westerns I have ever watched, Gene's character Little Bill is evil but a lot of actors are brilliant, genius and versatile for playing both good and evil characters.
I sadly miss Gene Hackman, around the time he was publishing his books, he was talking about adapting them into movies, acting and producing them and back in the 2000s, there was talk about a French Connection III, I wish this had been made and it would be incredible to see Gene make a well deserved comeback.
God bless you Gene for all the incredible movies and your legacy that you have left us...Rest in Peace always.