The Screen at Contemporary: Hotel Hotel!
Hotels and Motels in eight classic films
“Hotels throw strangers together in chance arrangements”
Wayne Koestenbaum, Hotel Theory
This season of The Screen we invite you to check in to our new season of classic films set in hotels and motels. Hotels have long been the scene for mischief, excess and transience. We go to be alone, to be seen, or to be someone else.
Lost in Translation (2005)
Dir. Sophia Coppola
A young woman and an ageing actor cross paths at the Park Hyatt Tokyo. A subtle and affirming film about the connections made between strangers, and the adventures that can occur when you’re away from home.
Barton Fink (1991)
Dir. Joel & Ethan Cohen
A Broadway playwright begrudgingly moves to 1940s Hollywood and into the Hotel Earle. Whilst battling with a case of writers block, he meets host of oddballs; a bellboy, a psychotic salesman and a boorish studio boss. This is the Coen Brothers at their most delightfully strange and fun.
Psycho (1960)
Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
The master of suspense executes one of the greatest horror films of all time. A thief, a blonde, a loner, a creepy house, a mother and of course The Bates Motel! Still revered for its searing soundtrack and masterful filmic technique, this is truly one of cinema timeless treats.
2046 (2004)
Dir. Wong Kar-Wai
A writer has an affair with a series of intriguing women at the Hotel Oriental. This unique film employs a stunning 1960s noir aesthetic, and mixes a sci-fi twist with heavy loneliness and erotic sadness.
Don’t Bother to Knock (1952)
Dir. Roy Ward Baker
Set over one night at the McKinley Hotel in New York, a guest, babysitter, bar singer, hotel detective and bellhop get tangled in this noiresque thriller. Marylin Monroe gives a serious and thoughtful performance as a young woman suffering from mental health problems.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Dir. Wes Anderson
Set in a 1930s European ski resort where the rich come to play, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a candy coloured chocolate box of quirky characters. Extremely stylish, thoughtful, funny and entertaining, this murder mystery feels all at once contemporary and traditional in its storytelling.
The Shining (1980)
Dir. Stanley Kubrick
A writer moves his family to the isolated Overlook Hotel for the winter. The welcome solitude to write his book gradually turns into a nightmare where psychological decent and supernatural interventions take hold. Widely regarded as the best Stephen King film adaptation, this is not to be missed.
A Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Dir. George Seaton
A sceptical shop manager and her daughter make friends with the Macys’ Santa Clause she employs. When he gets wrongly accused of a crime, he has to prove that he is the real Santa Clause. Do you believe? One of the best feel good Christmas films of all time. Grab a mulled wine or hot chocolate and enjoy!