The Illusion of Depth

 Hello, everyone, and welcome to Act II of our series of films featuring adaptations and re-workings of da classics ! As you know, we have had a vaguely involuntary hiatus while they filled the Church basement with scaffolding. This they have now done, and we will be back in action on Thursday, the 3rd of March. It should be noted that scaffolding we were promised, and scaffolding we have received. Our venue is looking a tad "brutalist" at the moment, but we should still be able to show films down there (and possibly swing from the rafters, should the urge overtake us).      Anyway, this Thursday's film is possibly the most esoteric I have yet shown - not least because it isn't actually a film at all. Antigone was written by the Ancient Greek playwright Sophocles in the year 441 BC, and is one of the three so-called "Theban Plays". These plays recount the story of King Oedipus of Thebes, and the first of these plays ( Oedipus Rex ) is the one that has become...

  Does it bother anyone else that "Raise the Roof" and "Raze the Roof" have opposite meanings? It's just me? Okay, then. Those of you who have been attending our weekly film nights will know that the roof of the Church has been quite exploded lately. Perhaps this is one of the more obscure side-effects of COVID, but for whatever reason, the Church roof has thoroughly failed to fulfil its obligations as a roof, and consequently we have been assembling in the basement (which would seem to be a reasonably safe distance from a recalcitrant roof). Unfortunately, the roof appears to have caught up (or down , presumably) with us. For the next two weeks, the basement of the Church will be out of action while the construction crew install scaffolding down there, as part of their efforts to repair the afore-mentioned roof. I'm still not completely convinced by the idea that repairing a roof requires scaffolding in the basement , but who am I to second-guess the noble ...

  Macbeth . A play so dark and violent, actors refuse even to speak its name out loud; although truthfully, there are far worse in Shakespeare's repertoire. Titus Andronicus , anyone? Coriolanus ? And don't even get me started on John Webster (but I digress). Macbeth , of course, tells the story of the extremely brutal Medieval Scottish warrior who is told by a trio of witches that he will one day be King and (with a little encouragement from his wife) decides to murder, well, everyone, really.  Things do not go well (sorry; spoilers). Over the years, several films have attempted to update this ultra-violent tale of ambition, blood-lust and walking trees. Depressingly, the basic story seems to work beautifully in virtually any historical context, as long as that context features aggressive, ambitious men (hmmm). To wit, there have been re-tellings of Macbeth set in the American Mafia... in Michelin-starred restaurants... in hamburger joints (don't ask)... and (most relevant...