A new strand at the Irish Film Institute will bring back the fun of film serials this summer. It’s a bowl of blockbuster breakfasts on offer this June and July with the IFI’s Saturday Serial.
In the first decades of cinema, serial series would keep audiences coming back to the cinema week after week, eager to see the resolution of the previous episode’s cliffhanger. These would have been analagous to the first blockbusters, as foundational film series like The Perils Of Pauline (1914), Fantômas (1913-14), and Les Vampires (1915-16) gave way in later decades to family friendly adventure films like Flash Gordon, Superman or that guy Annie Wilkes got mad at.
A love of these series inspired Golden Age of Hollywood film brats like Spielberg and George Lucas, who paid homage to their old faves in Indiana Jones and Star Wars, films whose popularity promptly exploded and set the stage for the kind of megafranchises we have today. Now, the IFI returns to the idea with weekly franchise screenings, and they’ll be starting with the inspired Indiana Jones series, screening each of Indie’s movies every Saturday from June 29th onwards.
June 29 – Raiders Of The Lost Ark
July 6 – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
July 13 – Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
July 20 – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
July 27 – Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
All films will show at the IFI at 11am, and tickets are on sale now for €8. You can also pick up a bundle for every film for €30 from IFI Box Office, available in-person or over the phone on 01 679 3477.