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BBC Radio (Leeds): Fantastic Films Weekend

 

Bob Walmsley: All weekend here at the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, in Bradford, the Fantastic Films Festival is taking place and showcasing some of the best science-fiction, horror and fantasy films. Here to tell us more is Head of Film Programming at the museum, Tony Earnshaw.

BW: Good morning to you. Tell us about the festival, Tony.
TE: Well, it has a fairly wide remit as your introduction suggests. It covers classic horror, classic sci-fi, classic fantasy and modern films of the same type running all the way from silent film in the 1920s through to Korean slasher movies from 2005.

BW: I’ve never paid to see one. What is a ‘Korean slasher movie’?
TE: It’s a throwback to the 1980s slasher/gore movies, but made in the Far East. They have a very peculiar aesthetic and consequently they often attract a very peculiar audience but it’s exactly the kind of thing that we like to showcase in the festival.

BW: So are we showing some classics here?
TE: Yes. Today, for instance, we have a silent film called Destiny, directed by Fritz Lang, and that has live musical accompaniment. They always seem to go down very well at the museum whether it’s a horror movie or a Hitchcock thriller. Then, this evening, we have 2001 – A Space Odyssey in 70mm. And in between all of that we have The Exorcist playing, we have Susannah Gent’s film Jelly Dolly and on the Imax screen the Matrix trilogy – one film after another, all throughout the day. So basically what we’re trying to do is give people an opportunity to buy into this eclectic programming so that there really is something for everybody – something for people of all ages.

BW: Are you into these kinds of films?
TE: I grew up watching BBC double-bills of horror movies in the 1980s and catching stuff like Salem’s Lot when it was on. My parents wouldn’t let me watch stuff like that so I used to sneak down and watch it anyway. This festival came about because we were looking to do something that was out of the ordinary, that wasn’t just part of a standard festival or on a standard festival format. The museum obviously gives us the opportunity to screen all sorts of different formats - from Imax to 70mm to standard 35mm to all the video formats, etcetera - all under one roof. So we’re hoping people buy into that concept.

BW: And Tony you’ve also written a book based on cult horror films.
TE: Well, based on one cult horror film. We’re launching a book tomorrow called Beating the Devil – The Making of Night of the Demon. Night of the Demon is a 1950s British ghost story, really, and the background to it is rather controversial. The villain is a fire demon conjured from hell by a human wizard, and the story behind it is that the producer wanted a demon figure to bring in the kids but the director wanted a very suggestive, psychological horror movie. And the story of the film really is the clash of wills between the producer, who was a showman and who wanted a commercial film, and the director who was something of a French auteur and wanted to make a very different type of film. It seemed to be a good idea to have a go at putting something together. It began as a pamphlet for the museum but there was such a lot to write about that it’s become a fully fledged book, so we’re launching that tomorrow evening and then following up with a screening of Night of the Demon.

BW: Marvellous. It sounds like a fun weekend. You’re praying for bad weather, aren’t you?
TE: I’m praying for bad weather, for people not to watch Star Wars or the FA Cup Final or the Eurovision Song Contest! Basically, come to watch these great films.

This is an edited transcript of an interview conducted by Bob Walmsley and broadcast by BBC Radio (Leeds) on Saturday, May 21. All content © BBC Radio.