Capital Celluloid 2013 - Day 357: Sun Dec 22

No1 The Bishop's Wife (Koster, 1947): Ritzy Cinema, 4pm



This festive film also screens at the Ritzy on December 17th, Details here.

Time Out review:
Pleasant enough Goldwyn-produced whimsy, cashing in on the success of '40s angelic fantasies such as Here Comes Mr Jordan and It's a Wonderful Life. Angel Grant responds to a bishop's plea for help after his devotion to his plans for a new cathedral has alienated him from family and parishioners. Cary's charm works as successfully upon audiences as it does upon the film's characters, and his relaxed wit plus Loretta Young's delicate loveliness makes for a frothily touching comedy.
Geoff Andrew

Here (and above) is the trailer.

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No2 Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962): Curzon Mayfair, 3.35pm


Wonderful chance to see Peter O'Toole's greatest role as Lawrence in this 1962 epic, one of the greatest films ever made.

Chicago Reader review:
David Lean's 1962 spectacle about T.E. Lawrence's military career between 1916 and '18, written by Robert Bolt and produced by Sam Spiegel, remains one of the most intelligent, handsome, and influential of all war epics. Combining the scenic splendor of De Mille with virtues of the English theater, Lean endeared himself to English professors and action buffs alike. The film won seven Oscars, including best picture and direction, yet the ideological crassness of De Mille and most war movies isn't so much transcended as given a high gloss: the film's subject is basically the White Man's Burden—despite ironic notations—with Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, and Omar Sharif called upon to represent the Arab soul, and Jose Ferrer embodying the savage Turks. The all-male cast helps make this one of the most homoerotic of all screen epics, though the characters' sexual experiences are at best only hinted at.
Jonathan Rosenbaum


Here (and above) is the famous officers' bar scene.

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