SCREEN TIME
LIVING LEGEND See Scorsese’s masterpieces, from Goodfellas (1990) to The Departed (2006), at the Arts Picturehouse
PICTUREHOUSE PICKS Duty manager and events coordinator Chloe Kelly focuses in on the work of Martin Scorsese, in honour of this year’s Cambridge Arts Picturehouse retrospective
C elebrating filmmakers is a priority here at Cambridge Arts Picturehouse, as we are big believers in legacies and accessibility. Reviving lost and found titles to showcase them on our screens for audiences to see all year round has therefore become a highlight in our programming calendar. In 2025, all Picturehouses across the UK paid a year-long tribute to the late David Lynch with David Lynch’s Dream Theatre, a chronological retrospective of his masterful 12 feature-length titles, which were carefully paired with works of ‘Lynchspiration’. My favourite pairing was Lynch’s definitive Inland Empire (2006), which was showcased with Federico Fellini’s 8½ (1963). In Lynch’s book Catching the Big Fish , he names 8½ as one of the perfect examples of filmmaking, saying: “Fellini manages to accomplish with film what mostly abstract painters do – to communicate an emotion without ever
Visit picturehouses.com/scorsese to find out more about this special retrospective theme beating through Scorsese’s films, and with each title chosen for this season you will witness the rise and collapse of the American Dream. Langford’s ego-bruising disinterest leads to Pupkin stalking and kidnapping him, only then to offer him release in exchange for a guest spot on Langford’s show. In an interview with Terrence Rafferty that appeared in Sight and Sound ’s 1983 summer publication, Scorsese described The King of Comedy as a ‘reassessment’ of his directing career. His signature volatile camera work and orchestrated violent outbursts, seen in titles such as Taxi Driver and Mean Streets (1973), were challenged on this production. The movement of the camera and narrative becomes minimised and scenes stretch longer than Scorsese was comfortable with, making this film a ‘no laughing matter’ experience. Death-by-success in America is a
saying or showing anything in a direct manner, just by a sort of sheer magic.” This kind of sheer magic, we believe, can be seen in our newly reimagined 2026 retrospective celebrating the Manhattan- bound brilliance of Martin Scorsese. Best known for his American films such as Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Scorsese kickstarted his directing career back in 1967. Since then, he has been responsible for 26 fiction feature films and 17 feature documentaries, a list too long to name or even screen, so our team of programmers and marketing leaders have carefully handpicked ten Scorsese titles for you to (re)discover this year. Our May pick is his dark comedy The King of Comedy (1982), which stars his long-term muse Robert De Niro. The King of Comedy follows comedian Rupert Pupkin (De Niro) who is a celebrity in his own mind, believing he has what it takes to convince talk-show host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) to give him his big break.
28 MAY 2026 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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