This film is part of Rentals
Piccadilly
The glitter of Jazz Age clubland meets the Far East (of London) in this stunningly restored silent classic, starring Anna May Wong.
Crime 1929 109 mins Silent
Director: E.A. Dupont
Overview
Stunningly designed and photographed, Piccadilly brings a sparkling cocktail of influences to its presentation of 20s London, from West End glitter to a seedy dive bar in cosmopolitan Limehouse. Tragic heroine Shosho (Chinese-American star Anna May Wong) beguiles her way from lowly nightclub kitchen hand to the star attraction; but will a love tryst with her boss be this deco diva's undoing?
Director E.A. Dupont was a German émigré who brought an international flair to late-1920s British cinema. Shosho's dance routines exploit the contemporary fad for eastern exoticism, but Dupont also offers a rare depiction of London's Chinese community and tackles the then risqué subject of interracial sex - though the censors ruled out an actual kiss between Anna May Wong and co-star Jameson Thomas. Piccadilly was restored by the BFI National Archive and is presented here with a specially commissioned score by Neil Brand.
Contains mild violenceRelated
Crime
Miss Mactaggart Won't Lie Down
Comedy 1966 28 mins Director: Francis Searle
Sprightly Scottish spinster Miss MacTaggart makes an unexpected return from the dead in this gentle character comedy.
Serial Mom
Comedy 1993 94 mins Director: John Waters
Kathleen Turner is brilliant as a house-proud serial killer in John Waters' gloriously funny suburban satire.
Sicilian Ghost Story
Drama 2017 119 mins Director: Fabio Grassadonia
A gripping real-life story of a Mafia kidnapping in Italy is enthrallingly re-imagined as supernatural fantasy by the directors of the acclaimed Salvo.
Discreet
Crime 2017 80 mins Director: Travis Mathews
From the director of Interior. Leather Bar. comes this eerie and powerful psychological thriller that offers a disturbing insight into the dark heart of Trump’s America.
The Third Murder
Crime 2017 125 mins Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
A clear-cut murder case is revealed to be much more layered than it first appears, in this gripping and intelligent crime drama from Palme d'Or-winning director Hirokazu Kore-eda.
The Nile Hilton Incident
Crime 2017 111 mins Director: Tarik Saleh
A murder investigation is mired by bureaucratic corruption in this dark Egyptian thriller, where everyone is on the make.
Soho Stories
The Small World of Sammy Lee
Drama 1962 107 mins Director: Ken Hughes
Seedy Soho strip-club compere Sammy (Anthony Newley) races to escape the heavies who hunt him in this gritty, engrossing 1960s London thriller.
Design for Loving
Comedy 1962 69 mins Silent Director: Godfrey Grayson
A grubby Soho beatnik becomes a fuzz-faced fashionista for a leading London fashion house in this 1960s rom com.
The Green Cockatoo
Action and Adventure 1940 64 mins Director: William Cameron Menzies
From an original scenario by Graham Greene, this is a neat crime thriller about a girl (René Ray) who witnesses a murder, becomes a suspect herself, and gets mixed up with a sleazy Soho gangster (John Mills).
All Night Long
Drama 1962 91 mins Director: Basil Dearden
Othello is transposed to the 1960s Soho jazz scene as a malevolent drummer sows mistrust between husband-and-wife jazz luminaries.
Love is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon
Biopic 1998 87 mins Director: John Maybury
Derek Jacobi and Daniel Craig star as artist Francis Bacon and his muse George Dyer in John Maybury’s darkly exquisite biopic.
Where Has Poor Mickey Gone
56 mins Director: Gerry Levy
A fairground showman (Warren Mitchell) exacts a terrible revenge upon the hooligans who terrorise him in this haunting tale of mystery and magic
Featuring Anna May Wong
The Flame of Love
Melodrama 1930 75 mins Director: Richard Eichberg
Chinese-American star Anna May Wong dazzles as a Chinese dancer forced to give herself to a Russian General in order to save her brother.
Directed by E.A. Dupont
Two Worlds
War 1931 89 mins Director: E.A. Dupont
An Austrian officer falls in love with a Jewish villager in this early sound epic set during WWI
Moulin Rouge
Drama 1928 127 mins Silent Director: E.A. Dupont
E. A Dupont’s (Piccadlly, Variete) tale of intrigue amid the famous dance-halls of Paris was one of the most lavish British films of the silent era.
New
An Elephant Sitting Still
Drama 2018 234 mins Director: Hu Bo
Over the course of a single, suspenseful day, the troubled lives of four desperate people unfold in this resonant film about the human condition — director Hu Bo’s first and, tragically, final feature.
Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.
Documentary 2018 96 mins Director: Steve Loveridge
Fascinating delve into the career, personality and politics of award-winning musician M.I.A.
Postcards from London
Drama 2017 89 mins Director: Steve McLean
A stylish, sexy film about a young man’s journey into an unusual form of escort work.
Tides
Drama 2017 100 mins Director: Tupaq Felber
Four thirtysomethings find some much-needed time to reconnect in this beautifully observed and subtly insightful debut.
The Special World of Nigel Hunt
1967 27 mins Director: Ian Mcfarlane
An edition of This Week reporting on the restricted lives of young people with Down’s syndrome living in homes away from their families.
The Wild Pear Tree
Drama 2018 189 mins Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s follow-up to his Palme d’Or-winning Winter Sleep is a persuasive portrait of a young writer at odds with his hometown and family.