We acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the Country on which the Art Gallery of New South Wales stands.

Film series: European cinema classics 11 November 2015 – 7 February 2016

By Robert Herbert, curator, film (until June 2017)
A figure with a white face wearing a floor-length black robe extends an arm. Behind them are cliffs, the sea and clouds.

Still from The seventh seal, 1957

A season of movie masterpieces

This series of European cinema classics screens at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 11 November 2015 to 7 February 2016, in conjunction with The Greats: Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland – an exhibition of some the world’s most revered old master paintings and drawings.

Comprised primarily of historical dramas, literary adaptions and biographies, these sumptuous films draw subtle parallels between the moral and political issues of both the past and modern times. And by portraying the reality of everyday life, illuminate social transformations and reinforce the idea that there is no single European identity.

Films

  • 11, 15 November – Cyrano de Bergerac (director Jean-Paul Rappeneau, France, 1990, 35mm)

  • 18, 22 November – All the mornings of the world (director Alain Coreneau, France, 1991, 35mm)

  • 25, 29 November – The Gospel according to St Matthew (director Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italy, 1964, 35mm)

  • 2, 6 December – Beauty and the Beast (director Jean Cocteau, France, 1946, 35mm)

  • 9, 13 December – Andrei Rublev (director Andrei Tarkovsky, USSR, 1966, 35mm)

  • 6, 10 January – Macbeth (director Roman Polanski, UK, 1971, 35mm)

  • 13, 17 January – The seventh seal (director Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 1957, 35mm)

  • 20, 24 January – Aguirre: the wrath of God (director Werner Herzog, Germany, 1972, 35mm)

  • 27, 31 January – The accompanist (director Claude Miller, France, 1992, 35mm)

  • 3, 7 February – Grand illusion (director Jean Renoir, France, 1937, 35mm)

A man screams closely into the face of another man as several people look on.

Still from Cyrano de Bergerac, 1990

Two people seated in a bedroom playing cellos. They are looking at each other as they play.

Still from All the mornings of the world, 1991

A close-up of a person's face in repose. Around their head is a crown of thorns.

Still from The Gospel according to St Matthew, 1964

A woman and a figure with a hairy, cat-like face look at each other.

Still from Beauty and the beast, 1946

A man with light skin dressed in a dark hooded cape stands in front of fallen fence posts and slabs of stone.

Still from Andrei Rublev, 1966

A man with light skin and long brown hair gazes forlornly. Behind him are soldiers carrying flags.

Still from Macbeth, 1971

A figure with a white face wearing a floor-length black robe extends an arm. Behind them are cliffs, the sea and clouds.

Still from The seventh seal, 1957

A soldier wearing a helmet looks over their shoulder.

Still from Aguirre: the wrath of God, 1972

Two young people seated side by side. One of them is laughing, and the other is smiling.

Still from The accompanist, 1992

A frowning person in a military uniform is seated at a table. They are holding a knife and fork in their hands.

Still from Grand illusion, 1937