Please note: This was screened in July 2016
Cinema Rediscovered teams up with Park Circus and Check the Gate to bring you this late night 35mm treat as selected by director Richard Ayoade (Submarine, The Double). Nicolas Roeg’s and Donald Cammell’s explicit and experimental thriller about a hunted gangster taking refuge with a reclusive rock star is a classic of British cinema. Experience it and understand why.
Amid swinging sixties London, in underworld terms, Chas Devlin (James Fox) is a performer - a psychotic East End gangster with a talent for violence and intimidation. By contrast Turner (Mick Jagger) is a washed-up junkie and reclusive rock superstar. So when their worlds collide, the impact is both exotic and explosive. Forced to flee both from the law and his boss, Harry Flowers, after killing a rival in self-defense, fugitive Chas hides out in Turner’s house along with his female companions Pherber (Anita Pallenberg) and Lucy (Michéle Breton). After initially clashing with his new found tenant, Turner becomes fascinated with Chas' life as a criminal and events begin to spiral into an eerie breakdown of barriers and roles. Through drugs and a series of psychological battles, Chas begins to see his sense of reality vanish and Turner's experiment of self-discovery leads to a shocking final performance of his own.
Even in an era of cinematic experimentation, Performance stands out as a visually daring studio film that deals with questions of sanity and identity, representing the furthest that truly underground filmmaking has ever penetrated into the mainstream. A psychedelic blend of fantasy, freaks and pioneering ideas and sensibilities, with an incredible soundtrack to boot.
- Join us in the Café/Bar before the screening for a specially curated vinyl set by Bristol’s HellFire Video Club DJs.
Check the Gateis a collaborative celebration of the big screen celluloid experience produced by some of the nation’s finest independent programmers, journalists and film fans. Cigarette Burns Cinema, The Badlands Collective, The Bechdel Test Fest, Tim Robey (The Telegraph), Tom Huddleston (Time Out), Sandra Hebron (NFTS) and the team at The Prince Charles Cinema are a few of the curators who have scoured Park Circus’ extensive collection of film prints to compile a diverse programme united by a common passion. The season takes place at The Prince Charles Cinema from 9 July - 20 August. Presented in partnership with Park Circus.
