Tararua Cinematheque

26/03/2023

Thank you all for a wonderful night.

23/03/2023

Sunday the 26th at 6pm, Gary Cooper lights up the big screen as Sheriff Will Kane who, on his wedding day, discovers the noon day train will bring the killer Frank Miller to town.

The terrified townsfolk refuse to stand alongside Kane who must face Miller and his gang alone on the emptied streets of their one-horse town.

The pulse-pounding lead up to the inevitable showdown is tremendously exciting, but it’s the characters, the direction, the music, and the messaging that make this 1952, 4x Oscar-winner a wonderful watch today. And the fact that John Wayne called it “the most un-American movie ever made” makes it that much more intriguing.

Don’t miss “High Noon” this weekend.

21/03/2023

This weekend at 6pm

Sunday at 6pm, presents Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly in one of the greatest, most exciting and pulse-pounding westerns ever made - Fred Zinnemann’s “High Noon.”

The doors open at 5:30, and tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults. The film will be proceeded by an overture featuring Tex Ritters classic tune, an historical introduction, a post show discussion and more.

13/03/2023

On this day in 1997, 89yo Oscar-winner and director Fred Zinnemann died.

Zinnemann, who directed 19 Oscar-nominated performances as well as the film debuts of Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, and Meryl Streep, was born in 1907 but grew up in Vienna, Austria dreaming of one day being a celebrated violinist.

While studying at university, he changed his path to law, but after a growing interest in American film, he decided law wasn’t right and that being a Hollywood director was.

He began in European films working in Germany and France and becoming friends with writer-and-some-day-director Billy Wilder. His first job on an American film set was as an extra in 1930’s .

In the late 30s, he would co-direct , his first feature film, shot in Mexico, and pioneering a style that would one day be called neorealism.

Zinnemann would continue to direct B-features in the early 40s, shooting on location rather than in studio and casting established actors alongside amateur townsfolk, continuing his fascination with bringing “the real” to the big screen. In the 1950s, his career soared, and he’d become one of the most admired and celebrated directors of the era and of all time.

By the end of his career in the early 1980s, Zinnemann had garnered 4 Academy Awards of his own. 1952’s “High Noon” would be his only western but WHAT. A. WESTERN! And the behind the scenes stories are almost as fascinating as the film itself.

See “High Noon” in a gorgeous 4K restoration at on March 26th at 6pm.

04/03/2023

What a group photo!

Late TBT:
John Ford and cast of "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance".

28/02/2023

Jaime Lee Curtis, daughter of Tony Curtis (Joe/Josephine in Some Like it Hot), just won the SAG Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her speech is terrific.

Jamie Lee Curtis receives the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once. ...

26/02/2023

To those interested in the full "Some Like it Hot" letter from the Catholic Legion of Decency, here it is. A hint of snark can be found in the MPAA's response.

Thanks to all who came out last night to see the movie!

26/02/2023

“Indecent. Morally objectionable. Borderline condemnable. It promotes homos*xuality, transvestism, and lesbianism and the dialogue is outright smut.”

Come see what the Catholic Legion was on about in tonight’s presentation of Billy Wilder’s “Some Like it Hot,” starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon.

05/02/2023

Have you read our latest newsletter? Visit RegentUpstairs.com and click the cinematheque link to sign up!

In the meantime, here’s the latest!

I’m lousy at documenting events via photos, but the crowd was big and the enthusiasm topnotch. Thanks to all who came out to enjoy the movie and support our cinema. Join us for Spielberg’s latest The Fabelmans, now playing at The Regent Pahiatua.

24/01/2023

Sneak peak of our special edition tickets for this weekend's Tararua Cinematheque Presents : Duel. Get yours when the doors open at 6:30pm Sunday night!

20/01/2023

These s*xy, dangerous, and deadly lovebirds had their Paris premiere on this day in 1968.

Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde" was a milestone of filmmaking and of cultural shift. The s*x and violence pushed the bounds of audience acceptance, and the hipness of Dede Allen’s editing (heavily inspired by Godard and the French New Wave) was like a 10 ton sledgehammer, ushering in The New Hollywood era.

The film earned 9 Academy Award nominations and is still hip, cool, and vile (not as much as it was, but still…). See Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in “Bonnie and Clyde,” preferably on a big screen near you!

11/01/2023

The whole reason for choosing Steven Spielberg's "Duel" for this month's program was to celebrate this wonderful man and the release of his latest film "The Fabelmans." Seems the world is celebrating along too.

See the Best Picture and Best Director, Golden Globe-winning "Fabelmans" when it opens at The Regent Pahiatua on 3 February. But before that, see a young, 24yo Spielberg's first feature at Tararua Cinematheque Presents : Duel (1971) on January 29th.

Big winners on the night include The Banshees of Inisherin and Abbott Elementary.