SPIRIT OF CINEMA
A return to a beloved venue, with a suitably beloved sci-fi film
We’re relaunching our space and sci-fi screenings at the Planetarium with a long weekend leading into the August Bank Holiday, starting with the perennial Festival favourite WALL•E. This delightful sci-fi misadventure is both an epic voyage into humanity’s future, and a nod to silent comedy cinema, which will delight the entire family.
Spice up your life with Part One of Denis Villeneuve’s epic adaptation
Our first night back at the Planetarium continues with a screening of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, the first of two acclaimed films bringing a worthy adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal novel to the big screen. Delivering blockbuster panache while faithfully and respectfully handling the complex source material, this is a stunning spectacle that deserves to be seen on the big screen!
Revisit the origins of Marvel’s heavy metal hero this August
Our long weekend at the Planetarium this August continues with a double bill from the early days of Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting with Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr.’s debut outing as the “genius billionaire playboy philanthropist” is a brilliant origin story, both for the superhero and the wider franchise to come.
“There was an idea to bring together a group of remarkable people…”
Our double bill from the early days of the MCU continues with the epic ensemble film, and denouement of Phase One, Avengers Assemble. Witness the first gathering of the boldest and bravest in this epic battle to save New York City - and the world - from their most nefarious foe to date!
Captain Kirk faces up to his fiercest foe in this epic showdown
Our long weekend return to the Planetarium continues with cult classic Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan. This box office record-breaker is widely regarded as the greatest Star Trek film of all; Ricardo Montalbán’s turn as the eponymous villain is more than a match for Shatner, Nimoy and the rest of the USS Enterprise crew…!
In space, no-one can hear you laugh
Our long weekend return to the Planetarium concludes with the hilarious sci-fi comedy Galaxy Quest. This loving parody of Star Trek and similar franchises is also a homage to the power of fandom, and we’re thrilled to be screening it for the first time at the Festival in its 25th anniversary year!
If Groundhog Day were a dystopian sci-fi battle for humanity’s future…
We’re back at the Planetarium in September for an evening of Tom Cruise sci-fi films, starting with a 10th anniversary screening of the time-loop action thriller Edge Of Tomorrow (also known as Live. Die. Repeat.). It’s a mind-bending misadventure with great supporting turns from Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson, as Cruise fights for his lives…
What would you do if you were accused of a murder, you had not committed... yet?
Our Tom Cruise sci-fi double bill at the Planetarium continues with Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed and award-winning thriller Minority Report. Loosely inspired by a Philip K. Dick novella, we’re only 30 years away from the year in which its set - and in the two decades since its release, it has already proved rather prescient in some of its tech predictions…
A film about contact with aliens that will leave you speechless
This September we’re screening Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar-winning tour de force, Arrival. Amy Adams shines in this cerebral, thought-provoking drama that focuses on the complexities of communication with extraterrestrial life, woven into a nail-biting and mind-bending narrative.
Mark Watney’s a long way from home - 140,000,000 miles to be precise…
Our September screenings at the Planetarium conclude with Ridley Scott’s Robinson Crusoe-esque space epic, The Martian. Matt Damon excels as the titular astronaut stranded on the Red Planet in a story that’s full of thrills, laughs and drama and will have you on the edge of your seat!
This scathing satire of military might takes you to the heart of the ugly bugs’ crawl
Just in time for Halloween, we’re bringing a double bill of 90s nastiness to the Planetarium, starting with the bombastic Starship Troopers. The irony of Paul Verhoeven’s startling send-up of fascism went over some contemporary critics’ heads, but its cult reputation as an action-packed sci-fi satire endures. Would you like to know more? Then enlist in the brutal battle against the bugs…
Star Trek meets The Shining in this chilling cult horror
Just in time for Halloween, we’re bringing a double bill of 90s nastiness to the Planetarium, concluding with the cult horror Event Horizon. Paul W.S. Anderson’s “haunted house in space” movie horrified studio execs with its disturbing imagery; if you’ve never seen this delightfully creepy gem, you’re in for a night that will linger long in the memory…!
Duncan Jones has really made the grade with this space oddity
Just in time for its 15th anniversary, we’re screening Moon at the Planetarium this November. Sam Rockwell stars in Duncan Jones' moody, unsettling debut feature; it’s a gripping watch, made all the more impressive by the film’s comparatively low budget, proving you don’t it doesn’t cost the earth (surely “moon”? - Ed.) to make top quality sci-fi!
Reality is a thing of the past - 1999, to be precise
We’re excited to present a 25th anniversary screening of the seminal 90s sci-fi action film, The Matrix! This hugely influential piece of cinema has withstood the test of time and remains a high-octane, high-concept rollercoaster ride of a movie that will leave you saying “Whoa…!”
Video games become a matter of life and death in this retro spectacular
We’re hacking into the mainframe this November to bring you a screening of Tron, the grandfather of CGI sci-fi! Its visuals were groundbreaking at the time and helped inspire everyone from Pixar to Daft Punk - it’s an electrifying retro treat for all ages.
The seminal sci-fi thriller, as the director always intended it
We’re rounding off November’s screenings at the Planetarium with a special screening of Blade Runner: The Final Cut. This is the only cut of the legendary sci-fi thriller that director Ridley Scott had complete artistic control over, and was only released in 2007; Scott considers it the definitive version, and we’re thrilled to be bringing it to the big screen.
“In space, no-one can hear you clean”
An extra screening of the family-friendly sci-fi fantasy hit, presented back on the big screen at the Planetarium. The eponymous robot is a global sensation in waste allocation - until he embarks on an out-of-this-world misadventure…
We’re bringing the blockbuster biopic back to the big screen
If you missed Oppenheimer in cinemas, then you need to see it in the Planetarium this December. If you saw Christopher Nolan’s multi-Oscar-winning magnum opus, then you already know that only the big screen does it justice! Join us for this astonishing epic biopic that sees one of the 21st Century’s most acclaimed directors raise the bar once again.
It would take a heart of stone not to warm to this iron man
Our final weekend of Planetarium screenings in 2024 starts with a double bill of classics from 1999, as they celebrate their 25th anniversaries. First up is Brad Bird’s magical and moving directorial debut, The Iron Giant. Inspired by Ted Hughes’ novel, it’s a powerful story that balances glorious sci-fi action with moments of pathos and joy that will leave you glowing.
Something’s bugging earth’s foremost extraterrestrial experts - something big…
It’s back to the 90s again for our screening of the darkly comic action sci-fi, Men In Black. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones team up to save the planet from a seriously ugly alien menace (no offence, Vincent D’Onofrio!) in this tongue-in-cheek misadventure from the director behind Addams Family Values.
Take a walk on the Dark Side for the first prequel’s 25th birthday
Our second sci-fi selection from 1999 at the Planetarium this December is the original Star Wars prequel, The Phantom Menace. Debate over the prequels still rages, but if you’re a millennial then memories of podracing, John Williams’ score and that lightsaber battle surely stir some deep-rooted emotions. Search your feelings; you know it to be true.
Mel Brooks tackles the sci-fi genre. May the Farce be with you
Our final film of the year in the Planetarium is the delightfully daft Spaceballs. Mel Brooks’ idiosyncratic parody of Star Wars and the wider sci-fi genre is packed with his trademark zany humour, and a host of memorable characters from Lord Dark Helmet to Pizza the Hutt…!