I spent yesterday afternoon buried in a deep, squishy armchair at Soho House (a bit too squishy, I needed four cushions to prop myself up) watching Woody Allen's Manhattan - the first time I've seen it in a cinema since 1979. Can it really be 38 years? I'd forgotten how beautiful it is - my favourite city - Gershwin - Mariel Hemingway's eyebrows ... even if they did have to bring their own park bench to the bridge. Ranked at number 76 of the 500 greatest movies ever made. (I'd place it higher. I've just checked out the list and Raiders of the Lost Ark was number 2 for heaven's sake!) It has just been re-released in cinemas. Don't think, "Oh, I've seen it before" ... it was even better than I remembered it.
Oh that is excellent news. I will look out for it. I watch it from time to time but don't remember seeing it on the big screen! The Truman Show is another one I'd like to see full size.
ReplyDeleteWent to The Mousetrap last night. I'm short but the legroom was not sufficient even so. I had an aisle seat mercifully but the view was obstructed by a lot of vertical and horizontal railings at the front of the Upper Dress Circle. All in all, not conducive to enjoying the rather slow moving performance. Got my celeb spotting fix though with Mark Rylance and Rory McGrath passing by within minutes of each other.
I've never seen The Mousetrap -but expect it will be on for the rest of my life! Was Mark Rylance there? Surely not ... must have been on the street!
ReplyDeleteSympathise with your seat problems. Lucille. I was at the Orange Tree Theatre earlier this week, wedged into possibly the most uncomfortable seat in London, no room to manoeuvre as there was an iron bar blocking my leg. Think I was just unlucky as I've been there before without any problems. It didn't do anything for my enjoyment of the play!
Well I'm not sure what he was doing. We were waiting outside and saw him pop into The Ivy opposite with his fold up bike He left it there, emerged and crossed the road to me, so I accosted him and asked if he ever had his windows done (he'd been to see ours you may recall), which he had, but naturally looked a little stunned as he obviously wasn't expecting to meet me again, and then he did sort of dodge into the St Martin's Theatre main door. We had to go in through the other entrance for the Dress Circle of Hell so maybe he popped out again. He is a little bit like the White Rabbit.
ReplyDeleteHe probably says the same about you, Lucille!
ReplyDeleteOh that sounds like a really good cinema experience! You must be very small, Mary...
ReplyDeleteRaiders of the Lost Ark at No.2? A joke, surely?
Errrr ...no, Veronica, just a very big chair!
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough I watched Raiders recently with two little boys who loved it - and I'd quite forgotten how awful it is. It seemed very dated, too.
It is years since I last saw this film.I will look out for it turning up at the local Arts Picturehouse as I'd love to see it again, esp on a big screen. I am not quite sure how they get the running order on those Best of... lists, what/who on earth do they ask? And, very odd how some films are dated and clunky when you rewatch them years later, and not at all as remembered.
ReplyDeleteI nearly cried off, Sue, thinking I'd seen it before. So glad I didn't! It's the best film I've seen this year.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I would love to watch Manhattan again. I'm sure I've not seen it since it was first released so a treat to look forward to. I'm girding my loins for an evening at my local theatre. It was built in the brutalist style in the 1960s and named for Sybil Thirndike, but the seats have never been renewed and are so uncomfortable. I'm seeing a touring production of JA's Emma and will treat myself to an ice cream in the interval. Thank you for the review of Giacometti.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Sarah - have only just discovered your comment in the spambox. Hope you enjoyed Emma - there was an opera version of Persuasion on recently, but I wasn't persuaded to go!
ReplyDeleteI used to go to a lovely cinema - sadly now a wine bar! - where the seats were so rickety that all the locals used to bring cushions from home. The seats were very cheap - the popcorn was often free - but there was always a chair spring poking into your back.