International Women’s Day 2009

The Femme Fatale from 3 – 25 March

‘I’m running the show, don’t forget it.’ – Kathie in Out of the Past

The 1940s saw the first appearance in American cinema of the style that would become known as film noir. These dark cinematic narratives have often been linked to male anxieties about the changing roles of women as a consequence of World War II, which fundamentally altered women’s position in the public and domestic spheres and therefore challenged the economic and ideological function of the family.

Discussions around gender in film noir have focussed on the threat of unrestrained female sexuality presented by the character of the femme fatale. These female characters often exploit sex for personal gain, but the (anti-) heroines of film noir also seek sexual gratification for their own enjoyment; ‘What else is there to think about?’ as Scarlet Street’s Kitty slyly asks. In classic film noir, the femme fatale tends to be punished for her transgressive behaviour. But despite the moral limitations dictated by the Hollywood Production Code, these narratives can be seen to articulate female fantasies of unrestrained sexuality and power. The contribution of female producers and writers to this genre suggests that assumptions about film noir as solely a male fantasy need to be investigated.

The femme fatale represented in this programme is not just defined through her sexuality; razor-sharp wit features prominently among her weapons. Undermining conventional gender stereotyping, female characters in these films are not nurturing or caring, and they often share the hard-boiled cynicism of their male counterparts; terms like ‘tough’, ‘realistic’, and ‘cynical’, frequently used to describe the film noir genre, also suit its female characters. In a society where female promiscuity and extramarital relations are frowned upon, the femme fatale’s disrespect for the sanctity of marriage can function as a positive act of transgression.

Yet the variety of representations complicates any straightforward assumption about the femme fatale. The female protagonists in this programme are not always deliberate agents of the hero’s destruction. In recent neo-noirs, the heroine frequently emerges triumphant at the end. But even in the classics, it is the strength and complexity of the femme fatale that resonate, not her demise.

Programme:

Birds Eye View Opening Night
Thu 5 Mar 20:10 NFT1
Join the Birds Eye View Film Festival opening night party, with special guests and live music.

Body Heat
Tue 10 Mar 20:40 NFT3
Thu 12 Mar 20:40 NFT3
Sat 21 Mar 18:20 NFT2
Lawrence Kasdan makes his directorial debut with this steamy, contemporary film noir.

Chinatown
Fri 20 Mar 20:30 NFT2
Sun 22 Mar 20:30 NFT1
Tue 24 Mar 20:30 NFT1
Private eye JJ Gittes is drawn into a web of shocking lies and uncomfortable truths.

Criss Cross
Sat 14 Mar 18:30 NFT1
Sat 21 Mar 20:40 NFT2
A man is drawn into the underworld by his fickle ex-wife.

Detour
Mon 16 Mar 21:15 NFT1
Sun 22 Mar 18:20 NFT2
Chance events trap hitch-hiker Al Roberts in a tightening net of film noir trouble

Devil in a Blue Dress
Sun 15 Mar 20:40 NFT2
Tue 24 Mar 18:00 NFT2
An Afro-American private eye gets embroiled in a murderous political scandal.

Double Indemnity
Tue 3 Mar 18:00 NFT1
Wed 4 Mar 14:30 NFT2
Sun 8 Mar 20:45 NFT2
A leggy blonde persuades an insurance man to kill her husband.

The File on Thelma Jordon
Thu 5 Mar 20:40 NFT2
Sun 8 Mar 18:20 NFT2
Barbara Stanwyck delivers a strikingly ambiguous performance in this underappreciated gem.

Gilda
Sun 15 Mar 14:40 NFT1
Thu 19 Mar 20:40 NFT2
Classic love triangle with a compelling gay subtext.

Gun Crazy
3 – 12 March
Electrifying love-on-the-run classic.

The Killers
Tue 3 Mar 14:30 NFT2
Wed 4 Mar 20:40 NFT2
Wed 11 Mar 18:20 NFT2
An insurance inspector investigates the killing of a gas station attendant.

The Lady From Shanghai
Thu 19 Mar 14:30 NFT3
Mon 23 Mar 20:45 NFT1
Wed 25 Mar 18:30 NFT2
This bizarre, dream-like thriller is one of Orson Welles’ most fascinating works.

The Last Seduction
Sat 14 Mar 18:20 NFT2
Wed 25 Mar 20:40 NFT2
Linda Fiorentino shines as the calculating and relentlessly cruel Bridget.

The Long Goodbye
Fri 6 Mar 20:40 NFT2
Wed 11 Mar 20:50 NFT1
Fri 13 Mar 20:45 NFT1
Robert Altman’s brilliant re-imagining of Raymond Chandler’s penultimate novel.

The Maltese Falcon
Thu 19 Mar 18:30 NFT1
Sun 22 Mar 15:20 NFT1
Humphrey Bogart stars in what is often considered the first film noir.

Niagara
Thu 5 Mar 18:00 NFT1
Sat 7 Mar 20:40 NFT2
Compelling Marilyn Monroe star vehicle which uses its iconic setting brilliantly.

Out of the Past
Mon 9 Mar 21:10 NFT1
Tue 10 Mar 14:30 NFT2
Sat 14 Mar 16:00 NFT2
A private eye is hired by a villain to find his homicidal girlfriend.

Scarlet Street
Wed 18 Mar 18:20 NFT2
Fritz Lang reunites the stars of The Woman and the Window to great effect.

Vertigo
Fri 6 Mar 17:50 NFT1
Fri 20 Mar 17:45 NFT1
Arguably Hitchcock’s finest; inarguably a landmark of film history.

Where Danger Lives
Tue 3 Mar 20:40 NFT2
A kind-hearted doctor falls in love with a patient after her attempted suicide.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/bfi_southbank/film_programme/march_seasons/
birds_eye_view/the_femme_fatale

The Vamp 5 – 12 March

‘V stands for vampire and it stands for vengeance, too. The vampire I play is the vengeance of my sex upon its exploiters. You see… I have the face of a vampire, perhaps, but the heart of a ‘feministe.”

Theda Bara, one of the earliest screen vamps, articulates some of the reasons why this ubiquitous figure in silent cinema should merit our attention today. Vengeful vamps, merciless and murderous vamps, vamps with a conscience; these diverse representations reflect the complexity of contemporary responses to modernity and the ‘New Woman’. The popularity of these films suggests that the vamp was not just a projection of male fear or hatred of women.

The appearance of the vamp in cinema coincided with the stirrings of feminism and such independent-minded, sexually aware characters arguably functioned as role models for a largely female audience. The films in this programme frequently demonstrate the power of sexuality to drive individual actions, and yet not all function as cautionary tales.

Featuring some of the most sublime actresses ever to illuminate the screen – including Louise Brooks and Greta Garbo (in a film adapted by prolific screenwriter Dorothy Farnum) – alongside less well-known but no less hypnotic stars like Brigitte Helm and Alla Nazimova (also producer), these films are well served by equally superlative design and lighting. Natacha Rambova’s art deco costumes and sets for Salome, for instance, are breathtaking. Prepare to be seduced on every level by films that delight in depicting the complexities of modern female desire.

Programme:

Alraune
Thu 12 Mar 18:00 NFT3
Forgotten gem which mixes folk legend with a whiff of science fiction.

Birds Eye View Opening Night
Thu 5 Mar 20:10 NFT1
Join the Birds Eye View Film Festival opening night party, with special guests and live music.

A Fool There Was + The Vampire
Mon 9 Mar 18:00 NFT3
Two of the earliest screen vamps, accompanied by live music.

Pandora’s Box
Wed 11 Mar 18:00 NFT1
Louise Brooks shines as the free-spirited, luminous Lulu.

Salome
Sat 7 Mar 17:30 NFT1
Undervalued adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s play starring lesbian icon Alla Nazimova.

The Temptress
Tue 10 Mar 18:00 NFT3
Emotional rollercoaster starring Greta Garbo as a melancholy vamp.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/bfi_southbank/film_programme/march_seasons/birds_eye_view/the_vamp