£6.00 (£4.50 conc.)
Doors 3:00pm
SHORT - THE ART OF SCI-FI BOOK COVERS - 3:30PM
FRANKENSTEIN (1931) - 3:45PM
Welcome to Sci-Fi Sundays at Deptford Cinema. Join us for an afternoon movie on the last Sunday of the month. With quarterly themes, our 2018/2019 programme delves into wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff, Earthly welcomes, post-Earths, new flesh and everything in between when it comes to our favourite Science Fiction cinema.
Alongside each screening we’ve organised a little something extra; quizzes, short-films, panel discussions and much more.
Our final theme for our 2018/2019 programme looks inward at the BODY and its evolution and manipulation at the hands of humankind.
dir. James Whale
year. 1931
country. USA
run-time. 70min
rating. PG
FRANKENSTEIN
The story of Dr Frankenstein, a scientist who cobbles together and animates a monster from parts of dead bodies taken from graves, is one of the best known in fiction. Frankenstein is initially euphoric in successfully creating life, but in spite of his hopes and ambitions for the creature, it is misunderstood and maligned. The monster inspires fear and loathing in those it encounters, as the scientist struggles to contain his creation.
Universal Studios’ 1931 film remains the classic cinematic version of Mary Shelley’s novel, easily surpassing remakes of the film in 1973, 1992 and 2015. The image of Boris Karloff (a relatively normal looking person in real life), transformed for the film into an incarnation of the monster that conveys both its power and vulnerability, now occupies genuinely iconic status in horror, science fiction and cinema more broadly.
Mary Shelley’s novel was 200 years old in 2018 and it continues to serve as a cautionary tale about the extent to which we should intervene in nature, articulating deeply held anxieties about the pace and power of science, and intuitions about the sacred, ‘God-given' character of life. Many of these themes resonate today, and Frankenstein is still frequently cited in public conversations about biotechnology, genetic engineering and artificial intelligence.
THE ART OF SCI-FI BOOK COVERS?
Accompanying the feature we also have a short video essay from The Nerdwriter looking at the history of science fiction novels, the pulp history and the art that accompanies this stature.
The Nerdwriter is Evan Puschak, he creates weekly YouTube videos that puts ideas to work in the form of 5 - 10 minute video essays.
