Outdoor Cinema: And The Oscar Goes To...
As the Oscar season approaches, catch a series of Academy Award winning films on the big screen featuring iconic performances and moments in cinematic history.
This event is presented as part of Open Air at the Square.
Monday 22 February, 8pm | Big Screen
Five-time Academy Award-winning film (Best Picture, Best Actor – Rod Steiger) In the Heat of the Night explores racial tensions in the American South as African American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger), the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. After Tibbs proves not only his own innocence but that of another man, he joins forces with Gillespie to track down the real killer. Their investigation takes them through every social level of the town, with Tibbs making enemies as well as unlikely friends as he hunts for the truth.
“It’s a stylish performance from Poitier and an honest, intelligent contribution from Steiger” – The Guardian
Dir. Norman Jewison | 1967 | 110 mins | USA | English | Classification: M. Moderate violence and course language
Tuesday 23 February, 8pm | Big Screen
In this charming and three-time Academy Award-winning (Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay) romantic comedy written by John Patrick Shanley, widowed Brooklyn bookkeeper Loretta Castorini (Cher) finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for her fiancé’s estranged brother (Nicholas Cage). The film features a showstopping, Academy Award-winning performance from Cher, an Academy Award-winning performance from Olympia Dukakis, and a charismatic performance from Nicholas Cage.
Dir. Norman Jewison| 1987 | 98 mins | USA | English | Classification: PG. Content is mild in impact
Wednesday 24 February, 8pm | Big Screen
Winner of two Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actress.
Two-time Academy Award-winning (Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography) Bonnie and Clyde is considered one of the first films of the New Hollywood era – a turning point in American cinema, where the demise of the studio system gave way to the rise of the influence of the director. Set in Texas during the great depression, Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) is a young waitress seeking excitement, while Clyde Burrow (Warren Beatty) is a small-time criminal recently released from prison. Their chance meeting sparks a romantic and criminal partnership, beginning with minor thefts that quickly escalate into bank robberies and violent confrontations with the law.
Dir. Arthur Penn | 1967 | 111 mins | USA | English | Classification: M. Medium level violence language
Thursday 25 February, 8pm | Big Screen
Written by Monty Python co-founder John Cleese, Academy Award-winning (Best Supporting Actor – Kevin Kline) A Fish Called Wanda is an ensemble heist-comedy, which follows four thieves who double-cross each other after a London diamond robbery, leading to betrayals, seduction and chaotic attempts to recover the hidden loot.
“It’s a deliciously dishy comedy, but like a sushi an acquired taste” – The Washington Post
Dir. Charles Crichton | 1988 | 108 mins | USA | English | Classification: M. Medium level course language and sexual references