This September, our exploration of the Michael J Murphy catalogue continues with three more selections – one from the early 90’s and two of his final works from the mid 2010’s.
SECOND SIGHT
dir. Michael J. Murphy, 1991
UK. 89 min.
In English.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 – 7:30PM
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 – 7:30PM
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 – 10PM
A celebrated horror novelist and his wife’s lives are in danger when her abusive ex-husband suddenly appears.
A domestic thriller done the way only Michael J Murphy can. Once again featuring his loyal stable of actors, SECOND SIGHT follows a horror novelist and his young wife on an isolated estate, where he’s stuck on his new novel. His wife soon grows bored and isolated, killing time by flirting with the groundskeeper and setting off a thorny love triangle.
ZK3
dir. Michael J. Murphy, 2012
UK. 78 min.
In English.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 – MIDNIGHT
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 – 10PM
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 – MIDNIGHT
A respected journalist manages to obtain an interview with a reclusive author. But as the interview progresses, the reality between the writer’s latest novel and the world around her begin to blur.
“25 years, 21 novels?” / “Tried hard, could have done better”
The first of Michael J Murphy’s digital years that we’ve played – and while the change comes with the usual hang-ups of the early digital days (looks like shit, sounds like shit), there is much to admire in the continued dedication to making a movie by any means necessary.
This is also the first of MJM’s features that we’ve programmed that takes place outside the UK, relocated to a small sunny island in Greece.
THE RETURN OF ALAN STRANGE
dir. Michael J. Murphy, 2015
UK. 81 min.
In English.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 – 10PM
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 – 7:30PM
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 – 7:30PM
With a planned movie reboot of the 60s time-travelling detective show “Alan Strange,” down-at-heel actor Peter Hennessey (who originated the role) receives an invitation to a New Year’s Eve party with a difference.
Murphy’s final feature before his sudden death of a heart attack has more than a whiff of melancholy about it – shot digitally in his usual haunts of the rural UK, it is easily the most meta and self reflexive of any of his works.
Set at a New Year’s Eve party hosted by the actor who replaced the original Alan Strange after a public scandal, THE RETURN OF ALAN STRANGE wrestles with a life lived at the margin of showbiz.
Using the framework of an imagined Twilight Zone style series called ‘Alan Strange’ gives Murphy the opportunity to look back on his works so far, with his most loyal actors – Patrick Oliver, Phil Lyndon, and Judith Holding – watching clips of old Michael J Murphy movies billed as old episodes of Alan Strange, leading to incredible moments like Patrick Oliver watching a scene from ATLANTIS (1991) and saying “I shaved my head for this?”
A fitting, if tragically early, endnote for one of the UK’s most underseen and prolific filmmakers.
All films screened from new remasters courtesy of Powerhouse Films Ltd.