Naked
Dir. Mike Leigh, English, 1993
-
Sun 1 March 2009 // 19:30
/ Cinema
" Mike Leigh's masterpiece" - Time Out
THE FILM
An impressive long list of some of the most prestigious awards for this incredible film from one of the most famous British Directors, Mike Leigh.
Johnny flees Manchester for London, to avoid a beating from the family of a girl he has raped. There he finds an old girlfriend, and spends some time homeless, spending much of his time ranting at strangers, and meeting characters in plights very much like his own.
AWARDS
Naked won some of the most prestigious awards in the world of cinema, especially the prizes of Best Director and Best Actor at the Cannes Film festival.
The film was also nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival - this is one of the awards some directors try to obtain for the whole of their life!
More awards, here, with special international acclaim for David Thewlis' performance:
- Cinéfest: winner of Best International Film (1993)
- New York Film Critics Circle Awards: winner of Best Actor - David Thewlis (1993)
- Toronto International Film Festival: winner of the Metro Media Award (1993)
- Evening Standard British Film Awards: winner of Best Actor - David Thewlis (1994)
- London Critics Circle Film Awards ALFS Award: winner of British Actor of the Year - David Thewlis (1994)
- National Society of Film Critics Awards: winner of Best Actor - David Thewlis (1994)
REVIEWS
" Mike Leigh's masterpiece" - Time Out
"One of the most powerful British films of the 90s. Mike Leigh directs David Thewlis in an unrelenting, uncompromising portrayal of alienation. (...) A Masterpiece." - Channel Four Review - Maximum of 5 Stars
"It is Mike Leigh's finest work and arguably the best British film in recent history." - The Guardian blog of novelist Ben Myers
ABOUT MIKE LEIGH
Here’re some facts about one of the grandfathers of British film:
He has made 17 full-length films that no one (studios/producers etc) has interfered with.
He has had 4 Oscar nominations, 1 for best screenplay for Happy-go-Lucky in this year’s ceremony.
Happy-go-Lucky is also nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear this year.
He has won 51 international awards, including 6 lifetime/honorary awards.
He made a TV commercial for MacDonalds in 1994.
He was once married to Alison Steadman who features in several of his films and plays.
He is the chairman of the London Film School.
He has said of his career: ‘There are moments when you make those decisions, like the moment when I decided I would never, ever direct a conventional script someone else had written - or indeed try to write a conventional script. After that, I felt I could move on.’
+ DISCUSSION!
The film will be followed by a discussion led by members of the Newcastle Philosophy Society.
MADNESS ON FILM (12 Feb - 1 March)
This film is being shown as part of a film season on MADNESS ON FILM.
The other films of the season include:
Thu 19 Feb, Repulsion (1965) - Mastrepiece of the psychological thriller from the French-Polish director Roman Polanski
Thu 26 Feb, Madness Open Film Night - for films made by your gandad, your neighbourand you