THE ACADEMY IN FEBRUARY
* Thursday 1 February at 6.30 p.m. Happy Valley 3:3 [last]
* Friday 2 February at 6.30 p.m. Puccini: LaBohème [Puccini died in 1924]
* Thursday 8 February at 6.30 p.m. Blazing Saddles [released 7 February 1974]
* Saturday 10 February at 6.30 p.m. Valentine Concert
* Thursday 15 February at 6.30 p.m. The Return of the Musketeers
* Friday 16 February at 6.30 p.m. The Dante Project – Royal Ballet
* Thursday 22 February at 6.30 p.m. The Commitments
* Friday 23 February at 6.30 p.m. All That Jazz
* Thursday 29 February at 6.30 p.m. Broadchurch – 1 of 3
DVD evenings now cost $2.50 and tickets will be available in books of four at $10.00 making entry to a DVD $2.50 by ticket – or $3.00 cash. ($5.00 cash for two entries will, of course, be entirely acceptable!) We hope this seems reasonable – cinemas in town are at least $5.00 and the Academy has advantages including congenial company and safe parking!
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THURSDAY 1 FEBRUARY AT 6.30 P.M. HAPPY VALLEY – 3 Carriages: 9.00 p.m.
A finale of understated, heartbreaking brilliance. Sally Wainwright and Sarah Lancashire gave Catherine Cawood the denouement she deserved – a sensational end to a truly great drama. [The Telegraph]
What an absolutely electrifying ending. Sally Wainwright masterfully wrongfooted viewers, while the show’s star was outstanding. [The Guardian]
Admission: US$2.50 [free to Film Members]
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FRIDAY 2 FEBRUARY AT 6.30 P.M. PUCCINI: LA BOHÈME Carriages: 8.45 p.m.
Puccini died a hundred years ago in November and will be celebrated across the year, beginning with director Robert Dornhelm’s film of perhaps his best-loved opera, La Bohème, which was made in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Puccini’s birth. The high budget feature-film, which remains faithful to Puccini’s design rather than embarking on a ‘trendy’ contemporary re-creation, stars Rolando Villazon and Anna Netrebko as the protagonists, Rodolfo and Mimi. The chemistry between them is electric, unrivalled in the theatre today. Anna Netrebko is not only beautiful but has a marvellous voice and technique whilst Rolando Villazon, has a wonderful voice and great charisma.
* Breathtakingly dramatic and emotional and full to the brim with some of the best vocal talents of today. Director Robert Dornhelm has not only managed to stay true to Puccini’s story, but has also succeeded in adding another exciting and dynamic dimension to the opera. [Opera News]
* Lavishly detailed, Dornhelm has translated the opera to the screen with imaginative, occasionally arty, touches… Villazon’s singing is glorious. [Sunday Times]
* Chocolatey richness directly into the vein. [The Guardian]
* Robert Dornhelm’s film of La Bohème is amazingly good. At first viewing, it seemed as if I caught my breath at the start and didn’t let it go until the last note died with Mimi. [Amazon]
* The performances are very good indeed. Anna Netrebko as Mimí is pretty much perfect for the role. For once, in Acts 3 and 4, we have a Mimí who actually looks like she’s dying from a wasting disease. She and Villazón have great chemistry. [Opera Ramblings]
* An attractively staged, beautifully performed and ultimately moving production, this is an absolute treat for opera fans. [View London]
* Rest assured, there’s no lack of gusto here, director Dornhelm complementing the virtuosity of his performers with pleasing camerawork and subtle stylistic flourishes- colour fades, split screens, and an impressively stark finale. [Sky Cinema]
* The result is approachable for newcomers, but with Dornhelm’s camera keeping a close watch on group dynamics, it’ll remind old hands to look beyond the creamy melodies. [Time Out]
Admission: US$2.50 [free to Red Carpet Members]
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THURSDAY 8 FEBRUARY AT 6.30 P.M. BLAZING SADDLES
Carriages: 8.20 p.m.
Though critical reviews were mixed when it first opened exactly fifty years ago on 7 February 1974, Blazing Saddles was a huge box-office hit and remains the highest-grossing Western of all time. When the railroad he wants to build is hindered by quicksand, wicked Hedley Lamar wants to destroy a small town called Rock Ridge in order to reroute it so develops a seemingly genius plan to make Bart, one of his workers, the sheriff – he is black and will, Lamar thinks, be unpopular and unable to rise to the challenge. But Sheriff Bart signs up the Waco Kid, a washed-up gunslinger with an obscure past, as his deputy and right-hand man, and things take an unexpected turn…
* Brooks’ western is anything but typical. It is a brazen, punch-drunk, free-swinging spoof of every sagebrush saga that ever came down the Hollywood trail. [New York Daily News]
* Daring, provocative, and laugh-out-loud funny, Blazing Saddles is a gleefully vulgar spoof of Westerns that marks a high point in Mel Brooks’ storied career. [Rotten Tomatoes]
* A model of how not to make a comedy. It is like playing tennis not only without a net but also without a court, and with twenty balls simultaneously. [Esquire]
* This movie just got better the longer it went. Little and Brooks are delightful to watch as the madcap story grows. Blazing Saddles is bold, provocative, irreverent, and hilarious. [Amazon]
* For the adult and not easily offended audience for whom Brooks had done this mad frontier frolic, Blazing Saddles offers an extraordinary quantity of unrestrained laughter. [Solzy at the Movies]
* Mel Brooks has come up with his most outrageous comedy in the brilliantly funny Blazing Saddles. [Hollywood Reporter]
* More than simply a loving spoof of Hollywood westerns, Blazing Saddles is one of the funniest movies ever made… and one of the most audacious satires of racism to come out of Hollywood. [Stream on Demand, 2017]
* The movie was ahead of its time. The jokes in it still feel fresh and overall it’s one of the funniest western movies out there. Strong 10. [Metacritic]
* It’s a crazed grabbag of a movie that does everything to keep us laughing except hit us over the head with a rubber chicken. [ <https://www.rottentomatoes.com/critics/source/67> Chicago Sun-Times]
* This all-singing, all-belching western spoof remains one of Mel Brooks’s finest and funniest creations. [Radio Times]
Admission: US$2.50 [free to Film Members]
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SATURDAY 10 FEBRUARY AT 6.30 P.M. VALENTINE CONCERT
A pre-Valentine celebration in the grounds will feature some amazing singers, a live band and emerging Bulawayo talent!
Dinner will be available for those who would like it – full details to follow!
Admission: $2.00
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MARCH [PROVISIONAL]
* Friday 1 March Rossini: The Barber of Seville [for Rossini’s birthday – he was born on 29 February!]
* Thursday 7 March Broadchurch 2
* Friday 8 March Dvořák: Symphony No.8 / Smetana: Ma Vlast [Smetana was born on 2 March 1824]
* Thursday 14 March Broadchurch 3 (last)
* Friday 15 March Tribute to Jerome Robbins
* Thursday 21 March Star Wars VIII: The Rise of Skywalker
* Friday 22 March Weber: Euryanthe
* Wednesday 27 March Risen
* Thursday 28 March –
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