At the foot of Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, stands a bronze statue of Joseph Cowen (1829-1900), strategically placed to remind contemporary Geordies of his extraordinary influence as they travel up towards the Tyne Theatre and Opera House which was designed and operated under his guidance. Cowen dominated Tyneside politics between the years 1850-1900: as… Continue reading Joseph Cowen: Geordie Entrepreneur, Politician and Radical
As we emerge from the depths of winter, as the snowdrops sink back into the earth, replaced by the heads of daffodils peeping at the spring light, there is a discernible enthusiasm in the air, excitement for what is to come – could it be the Great British Summer? – while North Shields – where… Continue reading Winter Film Viewing
Recently, I talked to Tom Jackson about a few British films. Here is the transcript of our recorded conversation Tom Draper: Unlike our previous talk Documentary Ethics and Aesthetics which looked at how a few contemporary documentaries experiment with the form and methods of documentary practice, today we are going to discuss British fictional… Continue reading British Cinema: Northern Realism vs. Southern Splendour? In Conversation with Tom Jackson
Newcastle’s historic art-deco Odeon Cinema is facing demolition at the hands of billionaire businessmen David and Simon Reuben.
Yesterday, I was frantically trying to take the perfect photo of the crumbling Old Paramount Theatre (also known as the Old Odeon) on Pilgrim St. for a forthcoming blog post on this site, from Pilgrim St., Blackett St. and High Friar Lane, but unfortunately could never get quite the right angle (this will be obvious from… Continue reading A Few Views from the Tyneside Cinema Roof
Yesterday, I spoke to Tom Jackson about a few documentaries that we’ve enjoyed in the past few years. Here’s the transcript of our recorded conversation: Tom Draper: I think we can agree that we are here today to talk about three films that we not only find interesting but would say are experimenting with the… Continue reading Documentary Ethics and Aesthetics: In Conversation with Tom Jackson
Last week, I watched Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown at the BFI Southbank in glorious 35mm, the first time I had seen a film in this format for over a year. The Tyneside Cinema – my local independent cinema and employer – like most mainstream and independent cinemas since the beginning of the digital (projection) age,… Continue reading A Personal Note on 35mm v Digital Film Projection
For Geordies, Newcastle Brown Ale, Broon or dog – never Newky Brown – still remains as one of the defining icons of Tyneside’s culinary heritage. A dark brown, malty brew, said by some to work like rocket fuel, and said by others, to cause you to go on a mad one in Toon. While the… Continue reading Newcastle Brown Ale: from Miners to Hipsters
As many of you will know, we have entered the part of the year where mainstream film distributors – after saving up such films for the majority of the year – saturate the market with ‘more intelligent content’ in the race for the Oscars. Of course it is mad to assume that audiences only want… Continue reading Autumn Film Viewing
It would be easy to suggest that the major theme of Peter Flannery’s historical epic Our Friends in the North (1996) is corruption, as politicians, the police and seedy London gangsters are all seen to engage in dishonest activities, protecting themselves, bribing those in positions of power and selling out their friends in order to make a… Continue reading Toon on Television: Our Friends in the North
