If you survived last month’s quota of sitting in darkened rooms then take in a quick dose of Vitamin D and get ready for more of the same in April. With Melbourne’s most iconic film house, The Astor Theatre, celebrating a milestone 75th Anniversary on Sunday April 3rd, including a special screening of the 1933 classic King Kong, there are more than just five reasons to get excited about that silver screen in April…

MINI SEASON SPECIALS: The Astor Theatre

FIVE EASY PIECE - Sunday April 10: 2pm, 5pm and 8pm

ERASERHEAD Sunday April 17 and Monday April 18: 7pm and 9pm,

You have to write these dates in your diary NOW because otherwise it’s all too easy to let Mini Season Specials pass you by. Both single session presentations will feature brand new 35mm film prints and offer not only an affecting film-going experience but also an educational look at iconic films and significant film movements in American cinema.

Five Easy Pieces (1970) along with Easy Rider ushered in the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking. Eraserhead (1977) was one of the six original Midnight Movies to screen in New York in the 1970s, marking a significant advance in the American Underground. Existential, a little bit terrifying and absolutely awesome, these are two very special mini seasons indeed.

AMERICAN GRAFFITI & TWO-LANE BLACKTOP

The Astor Theatre,
Sunday April 24 to Saturday April 30,
Sunday: 2pm and 7pm,
Monday and Wednesday to Saturday, 7.30pm

The re-release of two brand new 35mm prints from Chapel Distribution this April, screening exclusively at The Astor Theatre, is a sure cinematic highlight. A coming-of-age teen classic with what is honestly the best soundtrack around and the road movie that will transport you to new heights in existentialism; this is one truly remarkable double bill.

The Future Of Film: Sergei Eisenstein’s Revolutionary Aesthetics

Melbourne Cinematheque, ACMI - Wednesday April 6 and Wednesday April 13

If the opportunity to see Ivan the Terrible Part 1 (1944) and Part 2 (1958) back to back isn’t enough to get your cinephilia on then the promise of another two canonical films from this Soviet master, Strike (1925) and October: Ten Days that Shook the World (1928) most certainly will be. Some of the most influential and stunning films ever made, Cinematheque get it right once again in April.

AUDI FESTIVAL OF GERMAN FILMS

Palace Kino and Palace Como - April 7 to April 18

If you lapped up the films on offer at the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival last month then you’ll no doubt be pleased to know that Palace will now play host to the a fantastic showcase of German gems. With thirty-seven features and thirteen shorts to choose between you’ll be hard pressed to find a better selection of the country’s finest films and filmmakers. The Day I Was Not Born (2010) is one I highly recommend; its examination of familial dynamics and the problems of reconciling political, personal and social crimes of the past, poignantly and beautifully explored.

BRIGHTON ROCK

UK theatrical release opening April 14

Graham Greene’s novel is adapted for the screen once again, and this updated version is yet another example of the former UK Film Council’s significant contribution to screen representations of “Britishness” as well as their continued development of the nation’s very accomplished formal filmmaking craft. Brighton Rock (2010) is a faithful literary adaptation and it establishes the seedy underworld of Brighton’s crime scene through the use of contrastingly stark and opulent art direction and mise-en-scene with aplomb.

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