MASSIVE SEPTEMBER RETRO FILM FESTIVAL AT RANDWICK RITZ Review

Every single day at Ritz there’s a retro film playing, with some days screening up to five retro choices at various times.

The Bondathon has begun, with every (Eons Productions official) James Bond film playing in chronological order of release on Wednesday and Sunday nights at 007pm, in the lead up to the release of the 25th film in the series, No Time to Die, on November 12 this year. September sees the end of the Sean Connery films; Aussie James Bond George Lazenby’s one film, the fantastic On Her Majesty’s Secret Service on Father’s Day (Sunday 6 September); and the start of the Roger Moore films round out September.

This month, some of the featured programs include the continuing Hitchcock Retrospective, which started last year at Ritz and sees Hitchcock’s films playing in chronological order of release every Wednesday and Sunday at 2pm. The retrospective concludes on Wednesday 23 September with Family Plot.

Then there’s the Fellini Centenary Retrospective, celebrating what would have been Italian maestro filmmaker Federico Fellini’s 100th birthday this year. Fellini’s films have been screening every Monday night at 7pm, but they continue through September every Tuesday night at 7pm.

Babs Fest highlights nine of Barbra Streisand’s best films on Monday nights at 7pm starting from Monday 31 August.

The Star Wars re-release seasons continue with the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, screening nightly at 6.30pm for a week from Thursday 10 to Wednesday 16 September.

Other highlights include 70mm screenings of Aliens, Titanic and Lawrence of Arabia; a double feature of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey on Saturday 5 September at 4.30pm; and a meow-along/dress-up screening of the blockbuster musical Cats on Friday 4 September at 9pm with ‘Rum-Tum-Tugger’ cock-tales available from the Ritz Bar.

FULL RETRO PROGRAM

Tuesday 1 September

7pm – Nights of Cabiria (1957) – Fellini Centenary Retrospective

Wednesday 2 September

2pm – Torn Curtain (1966) – Hitchcock Retrospective

7pm – You Only Live Twice (1967) – Bondathon

Thursday 3 September

7pm – All the President’s Men (1976)

Friday 4 September

9pm – Cats (2019) – Meow-along Screening

Saturday 5 September

1pm – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

4.30pm – Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) + Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991) – Double Feature

Sunday 6 September

2pm – Topaz (1969) – Hitchcock Retrospective

4pm – Nights of Cabiria (1957) – Fellini Centenary Retrospective

7pm – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) – Bondathon

Monday 7 September

7pm – Hello, Dolly! (1969) – Babs Fest

Tuesday 8 September

7pm – Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

Wednesday 9 September

2pm – Topaz (1969) – Hitchcock Retrospective

7pm – Diamonds are Forever (1971) – Bondathon

Thursday 10 September