Dermot proposed three films for us to watch this month (see below). Nominations have now closed and Casablanca (8 votes) was preferred to Zorba The Greek and Gone With The Wind (3 votes each).
Location: Spirit of Life Yoga, Lefktron
Date: Saturday, 25th November
Time: 19:00 onwards for a 19:30 start.
On the evening we will ask for a €2 contribution to defray the cost of wine and nibbles (see below).
When the film ends those who wish to leave can do so, but for those who would like to stay and discuss the film we will rearrange the chairs and provide wine and nibbles to ensure a convivial atmosphere for discussion underneath the stars.
Zorba The Greek
On the Greek isle of Crete, Basil (Alan Bates), a shy inhibited writer from England is befriended by Zorba (Anthony Quinn) a boisterous peasant with an astonishing love for life. When Zorba agrees to work at Basil’s abandoned mine, it is the beginning of a lesson for the young man as he gradually moves from an observer of the world to a participant. This acclaimed classic co-stars Irene Papa and Lila Kedrova in an Oscar winning performance.
Casablanca
Academy Award winners Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman light up the screen in one of the most enduring romances in movie history–Casablanca. Rick Blaine (Bogart–The African Queen, The Caine Mutiny) owns a nightclub in Vichy-controlled Casablanca, frequented by refugees desperate to escape German domination. Despite the ever-present human misery, Rick manages to remain uninvolved in World War II now raging across Europe and Northern Africa. But all that changes when Ilsa Lund (Bergman–Gaslight, Notorious) walks through the front door of Rick’s club–Rick must now choose between a life with the woman he loves and becoming the hero that both she and the world need.
Gone With The Wind
Producer David O. Selznick’s acclaimed screen adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s best-selling novel tells of the romance between the tempestuous Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) and the dashing Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), against the tragic backdrop of the Civil War. This legendary classic earned 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress, (Leigh) Best Director (Victor Fleming), and Best Supporting Actress to Hattie McDaniel, the first Oscar ever awarded to an African American performer. One of the highest-grossing films of all time (when adjusted for inflation), it is also very much a product of its time, and unfortunately reflects depictions of characters and themes which are offensive and problematic when viewed by contemporary audiences. The film is presented here as originally released in 1939, because to do otherwise would be the equivalent of stating the prejudices and attitudes never existed.
