Headfirst Editor's Pick
"Sell out warning! True cinephiles judge the time of year by the days until the cult horror/action/sci-fi Forbidden Worlds bonanza. 4 days of mind-bending screenings from must-revisit blockbusters (Speed, Stargate, Timecop) to rarely-shown gems (Soviet dystopian comedy Kin-dza-dza). Plus a deep dive into the Killer Queens of the screen with a special 4K restoration of Luc Besson’s uber-stylish sociopath Nikita."
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A event on Friday 17th May. The event starts at 11:00.
Friday 17 May 2024
11am: KIN-DZA-DZA! (1986)
Dir: Georgiy Daneliya | USSR | 135 mins | Cert. 18
“The best sci-fi film you’ve never heard of” - Little White Lies
Soviet-era science-fiction cinema has long been dominated by the twin shadows of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris and Stalker. Two masterpieces of the genre, without a doubt, but also somewhat lacking in humour. Kin-Dza-Dza!, released in 1986, serves as a corrective: an absurdist slice of dystopia, dipped in black comedy and visually reminiscent of Terry Gilliam’s post-Python flights of fancy.
A foreman and a student musician encounter a shoeless man on the streets of Moscow. Claiming to be from another planet, he pulls an object from his pocket, stating that it is a teleportation device. The foreman, not believing the man, presses the object… and both he and the musician are instantly transported to a post-apocalyptic planet in the galaxy of Kin-Dza-Dza.
Please note: this film will be shown in its original Russian language with English subtitles.
2pm: ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN (1958)
Dir: Nathan Juran | USA | 66 mins | Cert. PG
Fresh from directing the classic Ray Harryhausen fantasy The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Nathan Juran’s next assignment was a cheaper affair, but one that has also continued to resonate with genre movie fans.
Heiress Nancy Archer, wife to a philandering husband and a recent patient at the local psychiatric institution, chances upon a mysterious sphere while driving through the Californian desert. The local townsfolk refuse to take her seriously, but her husband sniffs a nefarious plan: go along with her story in the hope that it’s the consequence of a nervous breakdown and inherit her $50 million fortune. Only the object is real and the next time Nancy sees it, she has a close encounter with its alien host – and that contact causes her to grow and grow… and grow.
Best known for its iconic title, and much parodied, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman is much more than a camp relic of its time. In an era where discussions around gender equality and representation are at the forefront, the film offers a window to the past and an intriguing lens through which to examine ideas of female empowerment, unchecked greed, and societal norms – all the while delivering over-the-top genre thrills and pure B-movie entertainment.
3.30pm: CAPRICORN ONE (1978)
Dir: Peter Hyams | USA | 118 mins | Cert. PG
In an age marked by widespread scepticism towards institutions and the proliferation of conspiracy theories, Peter Hyams’ Capricorn One resonates as a cautionary tale about the power dynamics between government agencies and the media.
Three astronauts (played by James Brolin, Sam Waterston, and O.J. Simpson) are about to launch into space on the first manned mission to Mars. But when a mechanical failure surfaces that would kill the three men, NASA removes them from the Capricorn One capsule. To prevent a public outcry and losing funding, NASA launches the capsule unmanned and requires the astronauts to film fake mission footage in a studio. However, the plan is compromised when an ambitious journalist (Elliott Gould) discovers the conspiracy.
Eerily prescient in its exploration of truth, trust, and the lengths to which authorities will go to maintain control, Capricorn One is both a thrilling and thought-provoking cinematic experience.
7pm: STARGATE (1994)
Dir: Roland Emmerich | USA | 121 mins | Cert. PG
Having spent the eighties making genre movies in his native Germany, Roland Emmerich made the move to Hollywood in 1992 with Universal Soldier, which teamed Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme, and attracted plenty of critical ire, but went on to become a firm favourite with action and sci-fi fans. For his follow-up, Emmerich, alongside his regular producer and co-writer Dean Devlin, was granted a larger budget and Stargate was born.
A mysterious stone object, first discovered by archaeologists in the 1920s, is being held at a military installation by the US Air Force as part of a classified project. Linguist Dr Daniel Jackson (James Spader) is brought in to help translate its hieroglyphic engravings, which leads to the discovery that is a ‘Stargate’ – a device capable of creating wormholes and enabling travel millions of light years away. Jackson and a unit headed up Colonel Jack O’Neil (Kurt Russell) pass through the Stargate and encounter an ancient civilisation ruled by a powerful alien being.
A success on its original release, Stargate would spawn a franchise encompassing novels and multiple TV series, while also providing a gateway for Emmerich and Devlin to create box-office behemoth Independence Day.
9.30pm: FEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPION (1972)
Dir: Shun'ya Itô | Japan | 87 mins | Cert. 18
Actor and singer Meiko Kaji has long been a much-loved cult figure for fans of Japanese cinema and genre fare. Her run of film performances in the early seventies – including her starring role in Blind Woman’s Curse, all five films in the Stray Cat Rock series of far-out juvenile delinquent movies, and her two iconic turns as Lady Snowblood – is untouchable, and impossible to talk about without mentioning the Female Prisoner Scorpion series.
The first instalment, Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion, is both women-in-prison movie and delirious revenge thriller. Based on the manga by artist Tōru Shinohara, the film focuses on Matsu the Scorpion (Kaji), a woman double-crossed by her corrupt detective boyfriend and incarcerated in a sadistic institution where she must face violence from both the guards and fellow inmates – all the while plotting her revenge…
Kickstarting an epic film-four saga, Matsu became one of Kaji’s defining roles, embodying feminist resilience, empowerment, and independence within the realms of grindhouse and exploitation cinema. Visually astonishing, Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion is the perfect cinematic treat to experience on a gigantic screen with a late-night crowd.
The screening will be introduced by Harriet Taylor, producer, writer and director of SWITCH.
Please note: this film will be shown in its original Japanese language with English subtitles.
This film contains scenes of sexual assault.
Entry requirements: no age restrictions
11am: KIN-DZA-DZA! (1986)
Dir: Georgiy Daneliya | USSR | 135 mins | Cert. 18
“The best sci-fi film you’ve never heard of” - Little White Lies
Soviet-era science-fiction cinema has long been dominated by the twin shadows of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris and Stalker. Two masterpieces of the genre, without a doubt, but also somewhat lacking in humour. Kin-Dza-Dza!, released in 1986, serves as a corrective: an absurdist slice of dystopia, dipped in black comedy and visually reminiscent of Terry Gilliam’s post-Python flights of fancy.
A foreman and a student musician encounter a shoeless man on the streets of Moscow. Claiming to be from another planet, he pulls an object from his pocket, stating that it is a teleportation device. The foreman, not believing the man, presses the object… and both he and the musician are instantly transported to a post-apocalyptic planet in the galaxy of Kin-Dza-Dza.
Please note: this film will be shown in its original Russian language with English subtitles.
2pm: ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN (1958)
Dir: Nathan Juran | USA | 66 mins | Cert. PG
Fresh from directing the classic Ray Harryhausen fantasy The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Nathan Juran’s next assignment was a cheaper affair, but one that has also continued to resonate with genre movie fans.
Heiress Nancy Archer, wife to a philandering husband and a recent patient at the local psychiatric institution, chances upon a mysterious sphere while driving through the Californian desert. The local townsfolk refuse to take her seriously, but her husband sniffs a nefarious plan: go along with her story in the hope that it’s the consequence of a nervous breakdown and inherit her $50 million fortune. Only the object is real and the next time Nancy sees it, she has a close encounter with its alien host – and that contact causes her to grow and grow… and grow.
Best known for its iconic title, and much parodied, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman is much more than a camp relic of its time. In an era where discussions around gender equality and representation are at the forefront, the film offers a window to the past and an intriguing lens through which to examine ideas of female empowerment, unchecked greed, and societal norms – all the while delivering over-the-top genre thrills and pure B-movie entertainment.
3.30pm: CAPRICORN ONE (1978)
Dir: Peter Hyams | USA | 118 mins | Cert. PG
In an age marked by widespread scepticism towards institutions and the proliferation of conspiracy theories, Peter Hyams’ Capricorn One resonates as a cautionary tale about the power dynamics between government agencies and the media.
Three astronauts (played by James Brolin, Sam Waterston, and O.J. Simpson) are about to launch into space on the first manned mission to Mars. But when a mechanical failure surfaces that would kill the three men, NASA removes them from the Capricorn One capsule. To prevent a public outcry and losing funding, NASA launches the capsule unmanned and requires the astronauts to film fake mission footage in a studio. However, the plan is compromised when an ambitious journalist (Elliott Gould) discovers the conspiracy.
Eerily prescient in its exploration of truth, trust, and the lengths to which authorities will go to maintain control, Capricorn One is both a thrilling and thought-provoking cinematic experience.
7pm: STARGATE (1994)
Dir: Roland Emmerich | USA | 121 mins | Cert. PG
Having spent the eighties making genre movies in his native Germany, Roland Emmerich made the move to Hollywood in 1992 with Universal Soldier, which teamed Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme, and attracted plenty of critical ire, but went on to become a firm favourite with action and sci-fi fans. For his follow-up, Emmerich, alongside his regular producer and co-writer Dean Devlin, was granted a larger budget and Stargate was born.
A mysterious stone object, first discovered by archaeologists in the 1920s, is being held at a military installation by the US Air Force as part of a classified project. Linguist Dr Daniel Jackson (James Spader) is brought in to help translate its hieroglyphic engravings, which leads to the discovery that is a ‘Stargate’ – a device capable of creating wormholes and enabling travel millions of light years away. Jackson and a unit headed up Colonel Jack O’Neil (Kurt Russell) pass through the Stargate and encounter an ancient civilisation ruled by a powerful alien being.
A success on its original release, Stargate would spawn a franchise encompassing novels and multiple TV series, while also providing a gateway for Emmerich and Devlin to create box-office behemoth Independence Day.
9.30pm: FEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPION (1972)
Dir: Shun'ya Itô | Japan | 87 mins | Cert. 18
Actor and singer Meiko Kaji has long been a much-loved cult figure for fans of Japanese cinema and genre fare. Her run of film performances in the early seventies – including her starring role in Blind Woman’s Curse, all five films in the Stray Cat Rock series of far-out juvenile delinquent movies, and her two iconic turns as Lady Snowblood – is untouchable, and impossible to talk about without mentioning the Female Prisoner Scorpion series.
The first instalment, Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion, is both women-in-prison movie and delirious revenge thriller. Based on the manga by artist Tōru Shinohara, the film focuses on Matsu the Scorpion (Kaji), a woman double-crossed by her corrupt detective boyfriend and incarcerated in a sadistic institution where she must face violence from both the guards and fellow inmates – all the while plotting her revenge…
Kickstarting an epic film-four saga, Matsu became one of Kaji’s defining roles, embodying feminist resilience, empowerment, and independence within the realms of grindhouse and exploitation cinema. Visually astonishing, Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion is the perfect cinematic treat to experience on a gigantic screen with a late-night crowd.
The screening will be introduced by Harriet Taylor, producer, writer and director of SWITCH.
Please note: this film will be shown in its original Japanese language with English subtitles.
This film contains scenes of sexual assault.
Entry requirements: no age restrictions
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