HOME is delighted to announce that Danish film director Nicolas Winding Refn is curating an exclusive season of his favourite movies in July to accompany the release of his new film The Neon Demon.
Refn introduced the film at HOME in June, direct from its screening at the Cannes Film Festival. The Neon Demon opens at HOME on Friday 8 July.
To lead into the season, on Wed 6 July, The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant (15), will
be screened, in association with The Skinny. Directed by Rainer Werner
Fassbinder, this heart-breaking classic of European cinema from 1972 about a
tragic ménage à trois harks back to the women’s pictures of Hollywood’s
yesteryear. Like Refn’s The Neon Demon, The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant is a
berserk study in manipulation and desire, set within the fashion world.
The season itself starts with George Miller’s Mad Max (15) on Sat 9 July. Starring
Mel Gibson as a motorcycle policeman at some unspecified time in the near
future. Regarded as one of the most influential in the history of Australian
cinema, the film, released in 1979, turned Mel Gibson into an international star
overnight. Refn describes the film as “just great cinema – it’s relentless. George
Miller is such a natural director, so stylish. He was on the Cannes jury this year so
I’m not sure he liked The Neon Demon so much, but nobody’s perfect.”
The first British film in the season is 1971’s Man of Violence (15) on Fri 15 July. Pete
Walker’s affectionate low-budget homage to the gangster thriller genre, set as
the swinging sixties were about to become the less certain 70s. “Man of Violence
was introduced to me by a friend of mine called Sam Dunn,” recalls Refn, “who
runs the BFI’s Flipside label. I was hooked from the second he mentioned it; I just
loved the title. Peter Walker never got his due because of the type of genre films
he made, but I really respect him.”
Italian horror film Planet of the Vampires (15), from 1965, is the next in Refn’s
selection. Made on a shoestring budget by Spanish director Mario Bava, the film,
screening on Sat 16 July, is regarded by many as having influenced Ridley
Scott’s Alien. Refn is a huge lover of the film. “It’s one of those incredible films
that’s a combination of all genres: it’s science-fiction, it’s a horror film, it’s a
whodunit, it’s an existentialist film. It was so cool to present the new restoration of
Planet of the Vampires in Cannes Classics this year. It was an honour to help
bring Bava that recognition he so much deserves.”
Polish director Jerzy Skolimowsky’s Deep End (15), from 1970, is a coming-of-age
film made in Germany but set in a run-down London swimming baths. Jane
Asher stars, and the film is adorned by a superb cameo by Diana Dors. Showing
on Sun 17 Jul, Krautrock legends Can supply the soundtrack. “This truly brilliant
coming-of-age story is a great view of London in the late 60s,” explains Refn,
“but what’s so ironic is that it’s made by a Polish guy and mostly shot in
Germany, which gives it this really unusual tone. Anyone who’s been a teen in
love with someone older can really relate to Deep End.”
Only God Forgives (18), from 2013, the follow up to Drive made two years
previously, is the only film in the season directed by Refn. In Thailand, a drug
trafficker’s icy mother (a potty mouthed Kristin Scott Thomas, spouting pure filth)
sends him on a mission to avenge his older brother, who was killed for beating an
underage prostitute to death. Only God Forgives closes the season, on Wed 20
July.
“I like my films to shock, provoke and challenge,” says Refn. “I am not a fan of
complacency. All of the films I have selected for HOME are very distinct. They
make you think. And feel. I hope you enjoy/endure them.”
PROGRAMME
The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant (15)
(screened in association with The Skinny)
Wed 6 Jul, 20:20
Mad Max (15)
Sat 9 Jul, 16:00
Man of Violence (15)
Fri 15 Jul, 20:30
Planet of the Vampires (15)
Sat 16 Jul, 20:40
Deep End (15)
Sun 17 Jul, 18:00
Only God Forgives (18)
Wed 20 Jul, 20:40
