BERKHAMSTED FILM SOCIETY
Written for the 40th Anniversary Year, 2006/ 2007
First and foremost we would like to thank all our members, past and present for their enthusiastic and continuing support over the last forty years. Some of you will remember the Society’s first season and dipping into the archives makes interesting reading.
Set up by a group of Berkhamsted cinephiles in 1967, the Society showed its first films on hired 16mm projectors to an opening membership of 127 at the Catholic Hall. The venue moved to the more comfortable surroundings of the Kings Arms Hall in 1969 and then to its present home at the Civic Centre in 1976.
On 8th April 1972, Berkhamsted Film Society was presented the 1971 BFFS Film Society of the Year Award by Gerald Thomas, director of the “Carry On” films at a gala event at the National Film Theatre. This followed rigorous scrutiny by the BFFS adjudicator who was suitably impressed by the Society’s showing of “The Italian Job”.
The first prize was a 16mm projector donated by the Rank Organisation. The surprise bonus was the loan for six-months of a video-cassette player, at that time a major breakthrough in technology, prior to its market release in May. The Society subsequently went on to purchase its own second 16mm projector.
Following on from their success, Jeff and Beryl Edwards, Chairman and Secretary of the Society were invited to take part in Radio London’s film programme “Close Up” and in 1973 scooped another first prize in the BFFS “design-a-logo” competition. Victor Till submitted the winning design for the letterhead logo and won a free film showing. The Society chose Polanski’s “Macbeth” to open the 1973-4 season.
More awards were to come in 1977 with the BFFS Commendation in the Town Category and in 1978 with the Rural Category. A Certificate of Special Merit was awarded in 1986.
To launch the seventh season in 1973-4, local railway enthusiasts staged a special exhibition in Gable Hall called ”25-50-100” marking significant anniversaries in the history of the railway. The main attraction was a working model of how Berkhamsted station looked until electrification. A continuous film show on the Society’s newly won projector featured films supplied by British Rail, including Hemel Hempstead Town Band and how an engine shed was converted into the Round House Theatre.
The Society made the news again when it presented an evening of Victorian and Edwardian Magic Lantern shows at the Civic Centre in conjunction with Berkhamsted Arts Trust. Joe Milburn and his Sciopticons showed slides from 1880 to the 1920s ranging from stories of the slave trade and Christmas in the workhouse to love ballads. Commercial slides advertised cures for baldness, gas mantles, cat meat and Beecham’s pills and a cast of ten in period dress provided the music and narration and acted as lantern coolers.
Colin Davies, who has been a mainstay of the Society for many years as its stalwart Treasurer recalls that the Society used to show films for other groups at Race Nights and cartoons at Chesham Prep School. The Children’s Film Show and Party was a regular event at the Wellcome Foundation Social Club.
In the early days there were no facilities to store loudspeakers and projectors at the venue and these had to be moved to and from Committee members’ homes for every film night. Changing reels in the dark projection room was a tricky business, occasionally resulting in missed cues and coils of film all over the floor!
Across the last forty years the Society has shown a diverse mix representing good mainstream cinema and independent and foreign film. Titles selected have often followed the career of particular directors such as Mike Leigh (Life is Sweet 1991,Career Girls 1997, Secrets and Lies 1995, Topsy Turvy 1999, Vera Drake 2004), Woody Allen (Manhattan 1979, Hannah and Her Sisters 1986, Radio Days 1987, Crimes and Misdemeanours 1989, Husbands and Wives 1992, Mighty Aphrodite 1996), Peter Weir (The Year of Living Dangerously 1982,Witness 1985, Dead Poets Society 1989, Master and Commander 2003 ), Clint Eastwood (Bird 1988, White Hunter Black Heart 1990, Unforgiven 1992, Mystic River 2003 ), Anthony Minghella (The English Patient 1996,The Talented Mr Ripley 1999, Cold Mountain 2003 ), Patrice Leconte (Ridicule 1996, La Veuve de Saint Pierre 2000, L’Homme du Train 2003, Les Confidences Trop Intimes 2004 ) and Pedro Almodovar (High Heels 1991,All About My Mother 1999, Talk to Her 2003, Bad Education 2004) to name but a few.
I996-97 was the Society’s most popular year in terms of membership. All previous records were broken when 298 members signed up.
In 1999 the Society was lucky enough to receive the composer Antony Hopkins CBE, now President of Berkhamsted Music Society, to illustrate a fascinating talk with excerpts of his music from “Billy Budd”.
2002-3 saw a season of significant change as the distributors started to drop new films in 16mm format in favour of VHS and DVD. In the face of declining availability, Berkhamsted Film Society made a decision to retire its 16mm projectors and opt for new digital technology. So the last 16mm films to be shown were “Cider House Rules”, “Brigitta”, “Le Beau Travail”, “Withnail & I”, “Little Ida” and “Like Water for Chocolate”, finishing appropriately with the Christmas song and dance special, “Singin’ in the Rain”.
The new digital era kicked off on 6 January 2003 with the spectacular “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”. From BFI’s archives we showed “South”, Shackleton’s ill-fated expedition, followed by “Amelie”, “Topsy Turvy”, “The Red Violin”, “Enigma”, partly filmed in Berkhamsted, Ken Branagh’s adaptation of “Love Labour’s Lost” and concluding the season with the Coen Brothers wonderfully funny “Oh Brother Where Art Thou”.
And now to 2006-7…our 40th year!! This season the programme selection reflects the themes of “Mood” and “Food”.
Gourmet cuisine provides the back-drop for both Denys Arcands’ witty, provocative “Decline of the American Empire” and “Babette’s Feast”, Gabriel Axel’s film of passion versus faith in an isolated Danish community, an old favourite first shown by the Society back in 1989.
The compelling drama “Crash”, our season opener, explores tension and conflict and so do “Black and White” based on an Australian court case in 1950 and the taut, psychological thriller Caché. Michael Radford’s adaptation of “The Merchant of Venice” is mean and moody and in “The Constant Gardener “, diplomat Justin Quayle risks all to expose a deadly conspiracy as he crosses three continents in pursuit of truth following the murder of his wife.
Place and time also set the mood for Live Schreiber’s intriguing film “Everything is Illuminated”, following a young American’s journey to the Ukraine in search of his grandfather’s past. Look out for the “officious seeing-eye bitch” shown on the front cover of this season’s programme – and the vegetarian supper scene!
Spectacular landscapes feature in “March of the Penguins” and “The Story of the Weeping Camel”, two tales of survival in a hostile climate and in the beautifully shot “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring”, a Buddhist monk’s life is represented by the changing seasons. Both “Beat That My Heart Skipped” and “Tsotsi” portray characters who experience life-changing encounters that challenge their perceptions.
The main programme ends with the endearing film “The World’s Fastest Indian”, starring Anthony Hopkins as New Zealander Burt Munro, who followed his dream to set the world land-speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
The Supper Evening traditionally rounds off the season. It will be special this year, as we will be asking you, the members, to choose the film from a short-list of available titles to be announced later on in the season.
We hope that you will find this year’s programme interesting and enjoyable.
See you at the opening night!!!
In the meanwhile, here are some interesting scans from the archive:
