Friday 22 February 2013

GFF 2013: Location, Location, Location

Over the course of this year’s festival, the cargo hold of the Glenlee hosts a quartet of movies with maritime themes: Alexander McKendrick’s evergreen Ealing comedy Whisky Galore!; tense Aussie slasher Dead Calm; Disney’s take on JM Barrie’s piratical tale Peter Pan; and, naturally, the film that taught a generation to fear ocean paddling, the definitive nautical horror flick, the taut and terrific Piranha 3DD… er, I mean Jaws. With such a fine selection of sea-linked fare attracting land-lubbing cinebuffs from near and far, the folks at the Tall Ship are quite possibly going to need a bigger boat (sorry). Imagination sparked, we consider four more themed pairings of movie and place that we’d like to see…

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Dawn of the Dead (dir. George A. Romero, 1978)
The location: Braehead shopping centre

With high street stores already displaying some rather zombie-like behaviour (what else do you call HMV’s recent back-from-the-dead reprieve?), Romero’s masterful synthesis of commerce and corpses feels fresher than ever. Set up a screen after closing time and you’ve got the perfect locale for a right good frightening.

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Underground (dir. Emir Kusturica, 1995)
The location: The Arches

First off, the venue already has a close relationship with the fest, with events like last week’s Sonic Cineplex pushing the silver screen in innovative directions. Second, its cavernous vaults would make the perfect setting for this brilliant (albeit controversial) Balkan satire, in which an arms manufacturer keeps his workers subterranean for decades by convincing them that World War 2 still rages overhead. Add booze and runaway brass bands for extra atmosphere.

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The Angels’ Share (dir. Ken Loach, 2012)
The Location: Auchentoshan distillery

Speaking of booze, a wee trip west to Glasgow’s closest distillery seems a fitting place to revisit Ken Loach’s charming comedy. Best of all, drinks are on the house – provided you time your distraction well and bring your own hosepipe and glass cheque decanter…

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The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (dir. Joseph Sargent, 1974)
The Location: A between-stations carriage on the Glasgow Underground (Secret Subway 2 anyone?)

OK, the close confines of the clockwork orange aren’t best suited for comfortable reclining, but what better way to put an audience on the edge of its seat than by giving them no room to do otherwise? Just be sure not to screen the daft and dreadful Washington/Travolta remake or you’ll have despairing punters hot-footing it down the tracks to safety before you can say 'gesundheit'.


Dead Calm: 22 Feb – The Tall Ship @ 18.15
Jaws: 22 Feb – The Tall Ship @ 20.20

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