AN INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY CINEMA SHOWING A DIVERSE SELECTION OF HIGH QUALITY FILMS.
Waltham Forest Cinema Project presents a double header of cycling classics that capture tour cycling in its 1970s heyday. We will screen A Sunday in Hell and The Head of the Pack, two films that show the poetic highs and punishing lows of the sport.
About the films
19:30PM Thursday 25th June– The Head of the Pack
UK premiere of new restoration!
Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx is widely considered the greatest racing cycling of all time. The Head of the Pack is the rarely-seen classic that captures him during his peak. Visual poetry, intimate home life and thrillingly up-close race photography combine to make this a gripping portrait of both the man and the sport of tour racing.
Waltham Forest Cinema Project is proud to screen the UK premiere of the stunning restoration, following its debut at Cannes. Without commentary, the film is an opportunity to dig deep into what makes a legend, the loneliness of towering over your competition. Soundtracked by a wild electronic early music score and full of thoughtful interventions and editing, The Head of the Pack is the best sport film you’ve never seen.
19:30 Thursday 30th July – A Sunday in Hell
A Sunday in Hell – hailed as “arguably the best film ever made about professional cycling” – captures three titans of tour cycling at the peak of their game. Eddie Merckx, Roger de Vlaeminck and Freddy Maertens were all world-conquering talents when they competed in 1976 race. But their skill becomes nothing against the feat of the brutal horror of the 168 miles of the Paris–Roubaix race: cobbled, tire-shredding roads; enveloping dust and slick mud; and racers crashing in churning chaos.
Director Jørgen Leth (who was also a noted cycling commentator) sought to capture the genuine experience of cycling the race, removed from cliché, combining technical precision, lyrical beauty and the riders’ dogged charisma to make this a brilliant portrait of the best of the sport.
We will be screening the Danish version of documentary, an extended cut with Leth’s own commentary.
The Head of the Pack (1974) / Directed by Joël Santoni / 110 mins / Advised 12A certificate
A Sunday in Hell (1977) / Directed by Jørgen Leth / 111 mins / Advised 12A certificate
To read more about Waltham Forest Cinema Project, click here.
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