by Luke Dunne
This summer the Smithfield cinema is screening some of the best movies from a year sometimes cited as the best in film history: 1999. From blockbusters to cult hits, debuts to denouements, the Light House will be showing a whopping 24 90s hits across July and August.
Members of the Light House’s Loyalty+ will also be able to book tickets for season events at 1999 pricing (€4.99)
The season kicks off Saturday 6th July with screening of CRUEL INTENTIONS, to be followed by a Secret Society Party hosted by Louise Bruton - only those wearing their 90s power dressed-best will be let in.
"The year 1999 was certainly a formative one as I spent a huge portion of it planning to go to my local cinema to absorb sights and sounds that would stay with me for the next 25 years. The 20th century went out on a cinematic high with masters like Stanley Kubrick, Pedro Almodovar, Spike Lee, David Lynch and Martin Scorsese releasing films alongside newcomers like Sofia Coppola, Paul Thomas Anderson, Lynne Ramsay and Spike Jonze.
It was a year that changed the mainstream cinematic landscape with genre defining releases such as The Blair Witch Project and The Matrix taking horror and action to terrifying and incredible new heights. 1999 gave us some of greatest coming of age movies of all time in 10 Things I Hate About You, Cruel Intentions, But I’m a Cheerleader and razor-sharp satires such as Election and Drop Dead Gorgeous. It’s a delight and honour to dedicate and entire season to one of cinema’s greatest years." - David Kelly, Light House Cinema Programmer
You can see some of these films in their original format, as both Lynch’s The Straight Story and PTA’s Magnolia will be shown in glorious 35mm, while Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides receives a 4k restoration. The Staff Pick from the Light House crew will be the Queer Classic But I’m A Cheerleader, screening on 25th July. Kubrick’s final film Eyes Wide Shut will screen again in Smithfield, showing stars Cruise and Kidman in all their pot-paranoid glory, while you can catch Ratcatcher, the seminal debut feature by Lynne Ramsay, in time for its 25th anniversary in August. Anyone who enjoyed Andrew Scott’s turn in the Netflix Ripley series can check out the Matt Damon/Jude Law Talented Mr Ripley to see how they compare.
CGI was starting to come together, studios were at a competitive peak and some of the biggest directors of the 21st century were letting loose - the Light House’s impressive selection has a huge variety of names and genres and still some of the biggest blockbusters of the year like The Phantom Menace or Fight Club miss out. From the Brian Raftery book Best. Movie. Year. Ever to the season of 1999 episodes by Ireland’s own The 250 Podcast, the year’s place in Hollywood history is well-documented. It’s not all just American movies though. The Light House are screening All About My Mother, one of Pedo Almodóvar’s finest, while the international success of Claire Denis’ Beau Travail will also be celebrated.
Also The Coolest Movie Of All Time, The Mummy, is going to be showing , so you KNOW this season is going to be all that AND a bag of chips.
** KEEP SCROLLING to see the full programme for the Light House’s 1999 season **