ascunnerdarkly:

Since 2011 I’ve been writing introductory notes for screenings of classic & contemporary films at The Station Restaurant in Aberdeenshire. The idea is dinner & a movie.  A three course meal is served before the feature with the food chosen to match the film being shown when possible. Film Mobile Scotland, a company dedicated to bringing the cinema experience to rural areas, provide the films while the restaurant area has been fitted with a cinema screen and surround sound. So far they’ve shown over fifty movies ranging from silent era films, classics from the Golden Age of Hollywood, to more recent fare. Here’s a list of every screening so far. I may also add my accompanying notes for certain films.

Season 1

 Casablanca (1942, Michael Curtiz)

Some Like it Hot (1959, Billy Wilder)

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946, Frank Capra)

The General (1926, Clyde Bruckman)

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961, Blake Edwards)

The Black Pirate (1926, Albert Parker)

Midnight in Paris (2011, Woody Allen)

Touch of Evil (1958, Orson Welles)

The Artist (2011, Michel Hazanavicius)

The Italian Job (1969, Peter Collinson)

The Graduate (1967, Mike Nichols)

The Red Shoes (1948, Michael Powell)

 Season 2

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011, Lasse Hallstrom)

The Angel’s Share (2012, Ken Loach)

North by Northwest (1959, Alfred Hitchcock)

Anna Karenina (2012, Joe Wright)

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012, John Madden)

Skyfall (2012, Sam Mendes)

Pillow Talk (1959, Michael Gordon)

Brief Encounter (1945, David Lean)

The Hobbit (2012, Peter Jackson)

Life of Pi (2012, Ang Lee)

Les Miserables (2012, Tom Hooper)

The Impossible (2012, J.A. Boyona)

Lincoln (2012, Steven Spielberg)

Quartet (2012, Dustin Hoffman)

Song for Marion (2012, Paul Andrew Williams)

Talaash (2012, Reema Kagti)

Hitchcock (2013, Sacha Gervasi)

The Great Gatsby (2013, Baz Luhrmann)

 Season 3

About Time (2013, Richard Curtis)

Rush (2013, Ron Howard)

Philomena (2013, Stephen Frears)

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug (2013, Peter Jackson)

The Railway Man (2013, Jonathan Teplitzky)

12 Years a Slave (2013, Steve McQueen)

The Butler (2013, Lee Daniels)

Hyde Park on the Hudson (2013, Roger Michel)

Sunshine on Leith (2013, Dexter Fletcher)

The Book Thief (2013, Brian Percival)

Noah (2013, Darren Aranofsky)

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013, Justin Chadwick)

The Monuments Men (2014, George Clooney)

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014, Wes Anderson)

Season 4

Pride (2014, Matthew Warchus)

The Hundred Foot Journey (2014, Lasse Hallstrom)

Gone Girl (2014, David Fincher)

Magic in the Moonlight (2014, Woody Allen)

What we did on our Holiday (2014, Andy Hamilton, Guy Jenkin)

Withnail & I (1987, Bruce Robinson)

Mr Turner (2014, Mike Leigh)

Sad to report The Station Restaurant was destroyed in a fire last week along with several other businesses located in the the Old Railway Station at Ballater. It was a wonderful environment to show movies in and the experience of being able to enjoy a three course meal beforehand was unique. The Station also hosted music evenings and was a popular destination for tourists and locals alike. It’s absence will be felt in this small rural community.