Film Heritage Academy

Restoring the audience with classic silent and sound films!

Tribute to early cinema. Presentation and 1929 film.

Friday 28 August 2026

Tribute to early cinema and its relationship with breaking the sound barrier and negotiating pre-codes and censorship in 1929. Introduced by Ursula Dubosarsky AM, acclaimed Australian prize-winning author of over 60 books for children and young adults. https://ursuladubosarsky.squarespace.com/biography After the introduction, there will be a presentation of the early sound classic, The Letter (1929). “Early adaptation of Somerset Maugham’s play provides a powerful structure for the astonishing performance of Jeanne Eagels in this celebrated drama film. Australian born star of stage and film O.P. Heggie plays a key role. An affair, the shooting of a lover, the torrid aftermath and trial all combine to deliver an early talkie that attracted widespread critical acclaim and established that sound movies had a unique artistic potential that differed from silent film. This film and its success helped to normalise sound and establish its dominance.”

Royal Australian Historical Society

Movies at East Sydney - Speedy (1928)

Sunday 30 August 2026

With live music accompaniment, 85 minutes. General seating. (T 0419 267 318) Stephen Robertson, cinephile and loyal supporter of the sessions, will introduce the classic. “Harold Lloyd's final silent film, the Oscar nominated Speedy, is regarded by many as one of the greatest silent action comedies. Its perfect balance of romance, humour, breathtaking chase scenes and an affectionate portrayal of a rapidly changing city showcase Lloyd’s deserved place as one of the silent Kings of Comedy. Lloyd plays the title character possessed of endless energy who cannot hold a job but battles to prevent harm to his beloved and her family. Everyman, Lloyd, faces the villainous railroad company that seeks to drive the old horsecar line out of business and take over its tracks. Modern audiences are drawn to this ordinary man making his way in this extraordinary city at this extraordinary time. Another star of the film is New York City itself with fascinating views of New York City as it looked in the late 1920s. The feature displays an unparalleled visual time capsule of its bustling streets. Appropriately the first title card says, ‘New York, where everybody is in such a hurry that they take Saturday’s bath on Friday so they can do Monday’s washing on Sunday.’ Speedy was a hit both in the U.S. and abroad, earning total grosses of more than $2 million. Director Ted Wilde was nominated for an Oscar for his work on the film. Lloyd like Chaplin and Keaton was intensely focused on what it meant to keep audiences laughing and he possessed and applied a keen understanding of the art of comedy.”

Sydney Unitarian Church

Movies at East Sydney - Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928)

Saturday 12 September 2026

Stephen Robertson, cinephile and loyal supporter of the sessions, will introduce the classic. “In one of his signature roles, Lon Chaney is the despairing circus clown who delights crowds with his performances, all the while coping with the heartache of a love that cannot be. Raising an abandoned child who grows up as a transcendent beauty, played by the Oscar winning Loretta Young, presents the clown with a soul-destroying vale of tears all while he wears his grotesque clown makeup. A box office success, critics then and now agreed that the legendary Chaney’s talent brilliantly turned melodrama into heartbreaking tragedy. Unrequited love ensures that the Pagliacci-like clown’s heart is broken.” Stellar behind the screen talents powered this late silent wonder, including dual Oscar winning cinematographer, James Wong Howe, with his astonishing camerawork, and art director, Cedric Gibbons, winner of 11 Oscars.

Sydney Unitarian Church

Movies at East Sydney - Lucky Star (1929)

Sunday 20 September 2026

With live music accompaniment on grand piano (Mauro Colombis) 100 minutes. General seating. (T 0419 267 318) Stephen Robertson, cinephile and loyal supporter of the sessions, will introduce the classic. “This beautiful and unforgettable film, rich in Frank Borzage’s warm and sensitive sentimentality, features two great stars of the era: Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, who were "America's Favorite Lovebirds" making a dozen movies in seven years. Their successful onscreen partnership began with Borzage’s silent masterpiece, Seventh Heaven (1927), and continued well into the sound era until 1934. Lucky Star was the third Gaynor-Farrell film that Frank Borzage directed, and it is obvious that the qualities that made Seventh Heaven such an outstanding film have been refined and expertly crafted into another special cinematic experience. Borzage was a pioneer of the soft focus look, allowing him to capture love at its purest and most romantic through sentimentally framed images rather than the spoken word. Together with carefully painted settings and backdrops also shot in soft lighting, the effect becomes magical, as if stepping inside a classical painting and experiencing a life-like dream; or perhaps an old-fashioned fairytale picture book. The farmhouses in particular are similar to those in Sunrise, one of silent cinema’s great classics for which Janet Gaynor won the first Academy Award for Best Actress in 1927. Its director F.W. Murnau was inspired by the artistic Expressionist style from his home country, Germany, and his production of Sunrise inspired other directors to use similar backdrops, sceneries and techniques. While Charles Farrell plays the straightforward honest, good guy in Lucky Star, the talented and petite Janet Gaynor took on a more challenging role, namely that of Mary, the poor, uneducated and hard-working farm girl. She is just a mischievous teenage tomboy when she first meets Tim (Farrell) and his co-workers, who are called to war shortly thereafter. In fact, The Great War intruding upon deep and romantic love in its purest form is a recurring theme for Frank Borzage, and it is carried right through to his famous sound picture, A Farewell to Arms. In Lucky Star, the tragedy of war is always present in the form of Tim sitting in a wheelchair, his legs crippled in action on the front in France. Unable to work, he has plenty of time on his hands to reform the loutish and unwashed tomboy Mary, who often visits him, and in the course of trying to make a young lady out of her, they fall in love. Believing it to be hopeless and without a future, it takes certain dramatic circumstances to reveal what is in each one’s heart, making for some surprisingly intense and thrilling scenes at the climax. At the end, viewers are deeply moved by the transforming power of true love as they once again experience the romantic beauty so eloquently on display in this silent masterpiece from Frank Borzage.” Barbara Underwood.

Sydney Unitarian Church

Tribute to early cinema and Marie Dressler.

Friday 25 September 2026

Tribute to early cinema, Marie Dressler and breaking the sound barrier. Introduced by Ursula Dubosarsky AM, acclaimed Australian prize-winning author of over 60 books for children and young adults. https://ursuladubosarsky.squarespace.com/biography After the introduction, there will be a presentation of the early sound classic, Min and Bill (1930). “This delightful early sound era comic melodrama, featuring one of early Hollywood’s great romantic teams, award winning stars Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery, a pair of ageing, overweight comics, was a huge hit with audiences and the critics. The crusty Min, who runs a seedy waterfront hotel with the assistance of the old sea salt, Bill, navigates the challenges of raising an abandoned young child. The film resonated strongly with Depression era audiences as its deeply tragic undertones were counter-balanced by the immense personal sacrifice of Min in her existence along the docks. Audiences then and now are drawn to the timeless warmth, humour and grief of a simple comic tale, possessed of such emotional depth.”

Royal Australian Historical Society

Tribute to Laurel and Hardy. The Boys are back in town!

Saturday 10 October 2026

Laughter is the best medicine! Stephen Robertson, cinephile and loyal supporter of the sessions, will introduce the classic comedy. After the introduction, there will be a presentation of The Flying Deuces (1939). “Stan and Ollie are in Paris when Ollie falls head-over-heels for a charming innkeeper’s daughter — only to discover she’s already married. Heartbroken, they absurdly decide the only cure is to enlist in the French Foreign Legion together. What follows is a riotous chain of misadventures: bungled military training, chaotic camp life, wrongful desertion charges — and, in true Laurel & Hardy style, a madcap escape via stolen plane. Between the slapstick chaos, a surreal jail-cell harp solo, and a whimsical musical number, this is a full-length feature that blends romance, despair, and classic physical comedy into one unforgettable ride. Our companions? Master comedians, Stan and Ollie of course.”

Sydney Unitarian Church

The Most Dangerous Game (1932)

Saturday 15 August 2026

Stephen Robertson, cinephile and loyal supporter of the sessions, will introduce the classic early sound era pre-code film. “Joel McCrea is the quarry for the deranged yet charismatic Count Zanoff in this superbly paced, haunting, tightly constructed adventure film with moments of dark, Germanic horror that stick in the mind, a movie that moves. The ‘dangerous game’ of the title is man, the only quarry who can reason. It is also the game played with those who wash up on a remote island. The striking cinematography, stunning production designs and wonderful optical effects enhances the chilling melodrama with its moments of horror, humour and mystery. As the cinema world embraced sound, this gem from the past continues to bewitch audiences in the 21st century.”

Sydney Unitarian Church

Movies at Roseville -Charlie Chaplin Shorts with live music.

Friday 31 July 2026

Charlie Chaplin, Our Mutual Friend, produced some of his most brilliant comic work in 1916. 110th Anniversary Tribute to the Tramp. The Pawnshop, Behind the Screen and The Rink with live music accompaniment (Graeme Costin), 80 minutes. “In these shorts he explored and developed further his celebrated Little Tramp persona, one of the immortal comic characters in the pantheon of world culture. Critics agreed that Chaplin was “the single most important artist produced by the cinema, certainly its most extraordinary performer and still its most universal icon.” Thank you Charlie! Introduced by Ursula Dubosarsky AM, acclaimed Australian prize-winning author of over 60 books for children and young adults. https://ursuladubosarsky.squarespace.com/biography

Roseville Uniting Church

Movies at East Sydney - The Docks of New York (1928)

Sunday 26 July 2026

“Silent drama. Roughneck ship stoker (George Bancroft) gets into all sorts of trouble during a brief shore leave when he falls hard for Mae (Betty Compson), a wise and weary dance-hall girl, in von Sternberg’s evocative portrait of working-class waterfront folk. Fog-enshrouded cinematography by Harold Rosson, expressionist set design by triple Oscar winner Hans Dreier, and sensual performances by the leads, make this one of the legendary director’s finest works, and one of the most exquisitely crafted films of the silent era. This compelling and heartfelt late silent wonder features Australian born Clyde Cook in a key role in the film.”

Sydney Unitarian Church

A Tribute to Anna May Wong. SYDNEY CBD - July 24

Friday 24 July 2026

Tribute to Anna May Wong 80 minutes. (Wong Liu Tsong, winner of two Photoplay Medals,) was an acclaimed Chinese American film star of the silent and early sound eras in US and European classics such as The Thief of Bagdad; Peter Pan; Piccadilly; Pavement Butterfly; Song; and Shanghai Express. She carved out a four-decade career in film, theatre and radio, acting alongside icons including Dietrich, Crawford, Fairbanks and Olivier. Introduced by Ursula Dubosarsky AM, acclaimed Australian prize-winning author of over 60 books for children and young adults. After the introduction, there will be a presentation of the silent short The Toll of the Sea .

Royal Australian Historical Society

Show Boat (1936)

Saturday 11 July 2026

.Stephen Robertson, cinephile and loyal supporter of the sessions, will introduce the classic. “Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II’s immortal musical adaptation of Edna Ferber’s sprawling novel receives its most faithful and enduring cinematic treatment under the elegant direction of James Whale. A rich portrait of changing American entertainment traditions and race relations, Show Boat spans five decades and three generations as it follows the fortunes of the stagestruck Magnolia (Irene Dunne), an aspiring actor whose journey takes her from her family’s humble floating playhouse in the 1880s South to the bright footlights of the 1930s North. The cast of show-business legends includes Helen Morgan, Hattie McDaniel, Charles Winninger, and the great Paul Robeson, whose iconic, soul-shaking rendition of “Ol’ Man River” is one of the crowning glories of the American stage and screen.”

Sydney Unitarian Church

King Kong (1933)

Saturday 27 June 2026

Digitally restored with soundtrack. 100 minutes. “The 8th Wonder of the World in Hi-Definition! The remastered film is presented in its 1933 entirety and includes scenes that were originally considered too shocking for the 1938-1956 re-releases. A film ahead of its time, King Kong defied the technological limitations of the 1930s. Special effects pioneer Willis O’Brien’s revolutionary stop-motion animation was not only technically brilliant but also highly imaginative. With equal parts adventure, horror and old-fashioned romance, King Kong is a milestone of moviemaking that has endured for more than seven decades.”

Sydney Unitarian Church

Movies at Roseville -La Bohème (1926)

Friday 26 June 2026

Silent drama with live music accompaniment (Graeme Costin), 93 minutes. Tickets $25/$20 General seating-not reserved or numbered (T 0419 267 318) Introduced by Ursula Dubosarsky, acclaimed Australian prize-winning author of over 60 books for children and young adults. https://ursuladubosarsky.squarespace.com/biography

Roseville Uniting Church

Movies at East Sydney - The Cameraman (1928)

Sunday 21 June 2026

Cameraman (1928) with live music (Mauro Colombis). 70 minutes. Keaton plays a hapless newsreel cameraman desperate to impress both his new employer and his winsome office crush as he zigzags up and down Manhattan hustling for a scoop. Along the way, he goes for a swim (and winds up soaked), becomes embroiled in a gang war, and teams up with a memorable monkey sidekick (the famous Josephine).

Sydney Unitarian Church

Movies at East Sydney - A Story of Floating Weeds (1934)

Sunday 31 May 2026

A Story of Floating Weeds (浮草物語, Ukigusa monogatari) (1934) with live music (Mauro Colombis). 86 minutes. Japanese and English subtitles. A silent film from Master Director, Yasujirō Ozu, “An ageing actor returns to a small town with his troupe and reunites with his former lover and illegitimate son, a scenario that enrages his current mistress and results in heartbreak for all.”

Sydney Unitarian Church

Movies at Roseville - Our Hospitality (1923)

Friday 29 May 2026

Silent comedy with live music accompaniment (Graeme Costin), 75 minutes. Tickets $25/$20 General seating-not reserved or numbered (T 0419 267 318) Introduced by Ursula Dubosarsky, acclaimed Australian prize-winning author of over 60 books for children and young adults. https://ursuladubosarsky.squarespace.com/biography

Roseville Uniting Church

Movies at East Sydney - Innovation and Style in early cinema

Sunday 26 April 2026

The extraordinary set includes seven fantasy shorts and excerpts from 1919 to 1928 in which key figures of the silent era explore narrative, technique and design in ways that influenced mainstream cinema for decades. The rich potential of film, at its centre and on the edges, as developed and examined in the early 20th century is on display. The talents on and behind the screen include literary giant Edgar Allan Poe; master cinematographers Leo Shamroy, 18 Oscar nominations and 4 Oscar wins; Oscar winning Gregg Toland; Karl Brown; Doug Fairbanks; Oscar winning director Victor Fleming; James Cruze; Edward Everett Horton; multi oscar winning William Cameron Menzies; and Robert Florey. The generous assistance of film curator and preservationist Bruce Posner and the late David Shepard, legendary figure in silent film preservation, restoration and presentation, for this session is acknowledged.

Sydney Unitarian Church

Movies at Roseville - Lonesome (1928)

Friday 24 April 2026

Lonesome (1928) with live music (Graeme Costin). 80 minutes. Restored silent romantic drama. Introduced by Ursula Dubosarsky, acclaimed Australian prize-winning author of over 60 books for children and young adults (https://ursuladubosarsky.squarespace.com/biography). . “ Its story is simple: in the bustling heart of New York City live two ordinary people, both surrounded by teeming masses of people but both very much alone, and lonely. It’s a holiday weekend, the 4th of July, and both boy and girl watch disconsolately as their friends pair off and embark on holiday celebrations. To assuage their loneliness, each decides to spend the day at Coney Island. While there, they strike up a casual flirtation which develops, as the day continues, into something deeper. Late in the day they become separated in the crush of the crowd. Will they find each other again?” General seating - not reserved or numbered.

Roseville Uniting Church

Movies at East Sydney - Lady Windermere's Fan (1925)

Sunday 29 March 2026

With live music accompaniment (Mauro Colombis), 90 minutes. General seating - not reserved or numbered. Stephen Robertson, cinephile and loyal supporter of the sessions, will introduce the Lubitsch classic. Oscar Wilde and Ernest Lubitsch, astonishing talents with wit and style in abundance. A society woman believes her husband is having an affair, a misconception which may have dire personal consequences for all involved.

Sydney Unitarian Church

Movies at Roseville - Safety Last! (1925) with live music.

Friday 27 March 2026

“The comic genius of silent star Harold Lloyd is eternal. Chaplin is the sweet innocent, Keaton the stoic outsider, but Lloyd—the modern guy striving for success. Perfectly executed gags and astonishing stunts. Restored silent classic comedy. With live music accompaniment (Graeme Costin), 80minutes. General seating - not reserved or numbered. First come first serve seating. Introduced by Ursula Dubosarsky, acclaimed Australian prize-winning author of over 60 books for children and young adults. https://ursuladubosarsky.squarespace.com/biography

Roseville Uniting Church

Movies at Roseville - The Enchanted Cottage (1924)

Friday 27 February 2026

The Enchanted Cottage (1924) with live music (Graeme Costin). 80 minutes. Restored silent romantic drama. Introduced by Ursula Dubosarsky, acclaimed Australian prize-winning author of over 60 books for children and young adults (https://ursuladubosarsky.squarespace.com/biography). Based on a successful Pinero play, this silent film explores the illusion of beauty within a magical cottage where lovers can see beyond surface imperfections. A World War 1 veteran retreats to a countryside cottage where he is befriended by an individual’s kindness. The setting is a spot haunted by newlywed spirits who cast a spell on the couple that leads to romance between an unlikely pair. Two lonely and damaged people are transformed by the power of love. General seating - not reserved or numbered. First come first serve seating.

Roseville Uniting Church

MOVIES AT EAST SYDNEY - 30 Nov - Lady Windemere’s Fan (1925)

Sunday 30 November 2025

Lady Windemere’s Fan (1925) with live music (Mauro Colombis). 90 minutes. In its 100th Anniversary Year. “This silent feature comedy adaptation fuses the genius of Oscar Wilde and the extraordinary skills of master director, Ernst Lubitsch, to deliver the essence of Wilde’s sophisticated comedy of manners. It stands as one of the great achievements of silent film, an alignment of form and feeling that grows more impressive with each viewing.”

Sydney Unitarian Church

MOVIES AT EAST SYDNEY - 19 Oct - The Last Command (1928)

Sunday 19 October 2025

The Last Command (1928) with live music (Mauro Colombis). 88 minutes. Silent drama from acclaimed director, Josef von Sternberg. “Emil Jannings won the first best actor Academy Award for his performance as a sympathetic tyrant: an exiled Russian general turned Hollywood extra who lands a role playing a version of his former tsarist self, bringing about his emotional downfall. Josef von Sternberg’s The Last Command is a brilliantly realized silent melodrama and a witty send-up of the Hollywood machine, featuring virtuoso cinematography, grandly designed sets and effects, and rousing Russian Revolution sequences. Towering above it all is the passionate, heartbreaking portrayal by Jannings.”

Sydney Unitarian Church

MOVIES AT SYDNEY CBD - 17 October 2025 - Snow White (1916)

Friday 17 October 2025

Snow White (1916) 65 minutes. An early silent film adaptation of a successful play based on the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. The story here draws also from another European folktale with an odious stepmother as found in Cinderella. Two Australians in the leads: Dorothy Cumming and May Robson. This romantic fantasy was seen by a 14 year old Walt Disney 109 years ago who was struck by its enchantment to such an extent that he chose the tale 21 years later as the theme of his hugely successful animated feature.

Royal Australian Historical Society

MOVIES AT EAST SYDNEY - 21 Sep - Master of the House (1925)

Sunday 21 September 2025

Master of the House (1925) with live music (Mauro Colombis). 107 minutes. Stephen Robertson, cinephile and loyal supporter of the sessions, will introduce the classic feature. “Before he turned to the story of Joan of Arc, the Danish cinema genius Carl Theodor Dreyer fashioned this ahead-of-its-time examination of domestic life. A deft comedy of gentle revenge, it is the story of a housewife who, with the help of a wily nanny, turns the tables on her tyrannical husband. In it, Dreyer combines lightness and humour with his customary meticulous craft and sense of integrity. Master of the House, an enormous box-office success in its day, is a jewel of the silent cinema.”

Sydney Unitarian Church

MOVIES AT ROSEVILLE - 30 August 2025 - Snow White (1916)

Saturday 30 August 2025

Snow White (1916) with live music (Graeme Costin). 65 minutes. An early silent film adaptation of a successful play based on the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. The story here draws also from another European folktale with an odious stepmother as found in Cinderella. Two Australians in the leads: Dorothy Cumming and May Robson. This romantic fantasy was seen by a 14 year old Walt Disney 108 years ago who was struck by its enchantment to such an extent that he chose the tale 21 years later as the theme of his hugely successful animated feature.

Roseville Uniting Church

MOVIES AT EAST SYDNEY - 24 August 2025 - The Unknown (1927)

Sunday 24 August 2025

The Unknown (1927) with live music (Mauro Colombis). 67 minutes. “This silent horror classic is the most celebrated and exquisitely perverse of the many collaborations between Tod Browning and his legendary leading man Lon Chaney. The Unknown, a true masterpiece of the silent era, showcases Chaney at his peak in the role as a circus performer who throws knives with his feet at his beautiful assistant, Joan Crawford. Obsession, deception, murder, disfigurement, and a spectacular climax combine with astonishing intensity.”

Sydney Unitarian Church

MOVIES AT EAST SYDNEY - 27 Jul 2025 - Walk Cheerfully (1930)

Sunday 27 July 2025

Walk Cheerfully (1930) with live music (Mauro Colombis). 95 minutes. English and Japanese subtitles. “Master director Yasujiro Ozu’s silent film draws on inspirations and references to Hollywood silent films. The film works with multiple plot layers but its focus is on an accomplished petty hoodlum, who attempts to go straight to win the heart of a gentle office worker with traditional values, but becomes enmeshed in the intrigue of a femme fatale, the lure of a life of crime and the police in pursuit.”

Sydney Unitarian Church

MOVIES AT ROSEVILLE - 19 July 2025 - Go West (1925)

Saturday 19 July 2025

Go West (1925) with live music (Graeme Costin). 80 minutes. In its 100th Anniversary Year this comedy showcases Buster Keaton’s genius. Buster burlesques the Western in this comedy about a friendless drifter who befriends a cow named Brown Eyes and accompanies her on the cattle train to the stockyards. When rustlers attack, he saves her, and the two of them ride off into the sunset in the back of a motor car!

Roseville Uniting Church

MOVIES AT ROSEVILLE - 28 June 2025 - Oliver Twist (1922)

Saturday 28 June 2025

Oliver Twist (1922) with live music (Graeme Costin). 74 minutes. Black and white and colour toned silent drama. Acclaimed silent era adaptation of Dickens’ novel featuring an excellent cast led by Jackie Coogan as Oliver and Lon Chaney as Fagin. In a faithful but highly condensed presentation of the iconic novel, this version followed four earlier ones, the first being an 1897 short. The production design and cinematography are first class and guided by the skilled director, dual Oscar winning Frank Lloyd.

Roseville Uniting Church

MOVIES AT SUTHERLAND-15 June 2025-The Flickers (1915-1926)

Sunday 15 June 2025

The Flickers: a Treasure Chest of Early Cinema 1915 - 1926 with live music accompaniment (Graeme Costin). 85 minutes. Kings of Comedy. Live music and the wonder, pathos and laughter. One of Charlie Chaplin’s best comic shorts from 1915 in tribute to his 110th Anniversary Year; and a 1926 feature from the astonishing Harold Lloyd.

Sutherland Uniting Church

MOVIES AT EPPING - 5 April 2025 - The King of Kings (1927)

Saturday 5 April 2025

The King of Kings (1927) with live Christie Theatre Organ accompaniment (Graeme Costin). 155 minutes. The King of Kings is the Greatest Story Ever Told as only Oscar winning Cecil B. DeMille could tell it. In 1927, working with one of the biggest budgets in Hollywood history, DeMille spun the life and Passion of Christ into a silent-era blockbuster. Featuring text drawn directly from the Bible, a cast of thousands, and the great showman’s singular cinematic bag of tricks, The King of Kings is at once spectacular and deeply reverent. The accomplished NSW born May Robson, the first Australian actor to be nominated for an Oscar, plays a minor role.

Epping Baptist Church

MOVIES AT ROSEVILLE - 29 March 2025 Film Heritage Double.

Saturday 29 March 2025

Australia’s first Oscar winner, Damien Parer’s 1942 sound era Kokoda Front Line, with soundtrack. 10 minutes. Presented with the assistance of Cinesound Movietone Productions and Glenn Eley. Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1924), restored silent comedy, with live music (Graeme Costin). 71 minutes.

Roseville Uniting Church

MOVIES AT ROSEVILLE - 8 February 2025 - Sunrise (1927)

Saturday 8 February 2025

Sunrise (1927) with live music (Graeme Costin). 94 minutes. Winner of 3 Oscars at the very first Academy Awards, this famous film is a masterpiece in camera and photography techniques, as well as telling a beautiful and moving love story. The rest of Sunrise plays out like an epic but intimate morality Play from days of yore, with redemption and even salvation offered in the film's closing moments. This simple story of a farmer, his wife and the woman with murderous intent from the city who has captivated him was made in the twilight of the silent era and became both a swan song for a vanishing medium and one of the few films to instantly achieve legendary status. Sunrise is one of the most technically proficient films of all time, something made all the more astounding with the realization that it truly was made at the dawn of the sound age. Australian born actors, Sidney Bracey (Melbourne) and Tempe Pigott (Queensland) play supporting roles.

Roseville Uniting Church

MOVIES AT ROSEVILLE - 12 October 2024 - Sparrows (1926)

Saturday 12 October 2024

Sparrows (1926), restored silent classic drama with the legendary Mary Pickford. With live music (Graeme Costin), 90 minutes. “Sparrows has been described as a Gothic Suspense Thriller which was based on real-life news of the 1920s, but nearly a century later this Mary Pickford feature still conveys a somber darkness and subtle horror right from the very first scene. Superior photography and superb acting by all players enhance the overall impact of this unforgettable silent film which gives modern-day audiences a glimpse into the shocking circumstances of “baby farms” of the distant past. The film is further enhanced by its star – a silent film legend and affectionately known by her adoring public as “America’s Sweetheart”. Pickford won the hearts of millions with her delightful acting style in roles of young girls in sentimental, heart-warming stories, and her small stature and doll-like face made it easy for her to play young teenage girls very convincingly, such as in Sparrows."

Roseville Uniting Church

MOVIES AT ROSEVILLE - 24 August 2024

Saturday 24 August 2024

Sherlock Jr. (1924) & Easy Street (1917), restored silent comedies with live music (Graeme Costin), 75 minutes. Sherlock Jr. (1924) - Buster’s film of perpetual motion is laden with jaw dropping stunts. Acclaimed then and now by critics and audiences around the world, his skills excel with this short feature. The humour is more character driven, the storyline more complex and the complications aided by dream sequences build to a breathtaking climax. The second film showcases Charlie, the reformed tramp, becoming a police officer to tame a villainous giant and his criminal world. And in so doing wins the fair damsel’s heart, and that of his audience. Easy Street (1917) - This short is superb in its balancing of comedy with a social heart. The Tramp becomes a cop whose assigned patrol is Easy Street a violent no-go area. 107 years on, Charlie captures us as goes on his rounds and defeats the lawless attackers amidst inventive gags and stunts.

Roseville Uniting Church

MOVIES AT ROSEVILLE-13 July-The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

Saturday 13 July 2024

The Phantom of the Opera (1925), restored silent classic with live music (Graeme Costin), 90 minutes. "The Phantom of the Opera is a 1925 American silent horror film adaptation of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, directed by Rupert Julian and starring Lon Chaney in the title role of the deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House, causing murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star. The film remains most famous for Chaney's ghastly, self-devised make-up, which was kept a studio secret until the film's premiere.”

Roseville Uniting Church

MOVIES AT ROSEVILLE-29 June-The Last of the Mohicans (1920)

Saturday 29 June 2024

The Last of the Mohicans (1920), restored black and white silent classic with tints. Remarkable adaptation of Fenimore Cooper’s classic novel. With live music (Graeme Costin), 75 minutes. “Two of the silent era’s most talented and prominent directors, Maurice Tourneur and Clarence Brown, joined forces to create an unforgettable and visually delightful rendition of this classic 1826 American novel of frontier life by James Fenimore Cooper. Set in 1757, amidst the turmoil of a war-torn nation struggling for its identity, the British fight French forces which have rallied together with native Indian tribes. Basing his novel on real people who played a significant part in the French and Indian War, history is realistically re-enacted while also telling a deeply moving personal story of individuals."

Roseville Uniting Church

MOVIES AT EPPING - 25 May 2024 - Christie Theatre Organ

Saturday 25 May 2024

The Flickers: a Treasure Chest of Early Cinema 1904 - 1925 with live Christie Theatre Organ accompaniment (Graeme Costin). 80 minutes. Live music and the wonder, pathos and laughter. The program showcases an Edison short from 1904 and superb classic comedies from Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton and Stan Laurel. A wonderful cocktail of early cinema treats. These filmmakers understood the importance of the audience as the final creative contributor to the process of making a film. Their goal: entertainment, spectacle, enchantment and laughter, for the audience.

Epping Baptist Church

MOVIES AT ROSEVILLE - 27 April 2024 - Peter Pan (1924)

Saturday 27 April 2024

Peter Pan (1924) restored silent classic with authentic colour tints and first film version of Barrie’s iconic story. Share the adventure to Never Never Land in this pictorial masterpiece. With live music (Graeme Costin). 100 minutes. Ingeniously capturing the mysteries and adventures of childhood, James M. Barrie's timeless play became one of the most popular films of the twenties. Betty Bronson stars as Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up, who charms Wendy and her brothers to fly with him to Never Never Land. On this distant island of dreams and magic, they struggle to rescue the Lost Boys from Captain Hook and his band of pirates, encountering along the way the delightful fairy Tinkerbell, a man-eating crocodile, and a band of valiant natives (led by Anna May Wong).

Roseville Uniting Church

MOVIES AT EPPING - 6 April 2024 - Christie Theatre Organ

Saturday 6 April 2024

The Flickers: a Treasure Chest of Early Cinema 1916 - 1927 with live Christie Theatre Organ accompaniment (Graeme Costin). 70 minutes. Live music and the wonder, pathos and laughter. The program showcases superb classic comedies from Charlie Chaplin in his 110th Anniversary Year, Harold Lloyd and Laurel and Hardy. A wonderful cocktail of early cinema treats. These filmmakers understood the importance of the audience as the final creative contributor to the process of making a film. Their goal: entertainment, spectacle, enchantment and laughter, for the audience.

Epping Baptist Church

MOVIES AT ROSEVILLE-16 Mar 2024-Clash of the Wolves (1925)

Saturday 16 March 2024

Clash of the Wolves (1925) restored silent classic starring the wondrous Rin Tin Tin, with live music (Graeme Costin). 75 minutes. “Lobo, wolfdog leader of a wolf pack, has a price on his head. One day suffering from a thorn in his paw, he is found by Dave Weston, a borax prospector and befriended. The animal returns love and loyalty. Later Lobo saves Dave from attacks of scheming villain William 'Borax' Horton, who has designs on Dave's claim. Once again the villain attacks the young prospector and leaves him for dead on the site of the claim. Lobo arrives and Dave sends him with a message to town for help. In the meantime a posse is hunting Lobo, but he manages to escape them and at the same time, decoy them to Dave. There, they learn that Lobo is man's best friend.”

Roseville Uniting Church

MOVIES AT EPPING - 9 March 2024 - Christie Theatre Organ

Saturday 9 March 2024

The Flickers: a Treasure Chest of Early Cinema 1918 - 1928 with live Christie Theatre Organ accompaniment (Graeme Costin). 80 minutes. Live music and the wonder, pathos and laughter. The program includes animated shorts and classic comedies from Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton and Laurel and Hardy. A wonderful cocktail of early cinema treats. These filmmakers understood the importance of the audience as the final creative contributor to the process of making a film. Their goal: entertainment, spectacle, enchantment and laughter.

Epping Baptist Church

MOVIES AT EPPING - 24 February 2024 - Christie Theatre Organ

Saturday 24 February 2024

The Flickers: a Treasure Chest of Early Cinema 1916 - 1926 with live Christie Theatre Organ accompaniment (Graeme Costin). 80 minutes. Live music and the wonder, pathos and laughter. One of Charlie Chaplin’s best comic shorts from 1916 in tribute to his 110th Anniversary; and two classic shorts from clown titans, Harold Lloyd and Charley Chase. These filmmakers understood the importance of the audience as the final creative contributor to the process of making a film. Their goal: entertainment, spectacle, enchantment and laughter.

Epping Baptist Church

MOVIES AT ROSEVILLE-10 Feb-Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)

Saturday 10 February 2024

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) restored silent classic, with live music (Graeme Costin). 80 minutes. This famous story has been filmed many times, but this silent version captures the Victorian atmosphere and struggle between good and evil realistically, while legendary actor, John Barrymore is unforgettable in the lead role. A true horror movie, this film is considered to be most faithful to the original book.

Roseville Uniting Church

MOVIES AT RICHMOND - 3 Feb 2024 - EARLY CINEMA 1917 - 1926

Saturday 3 February 2024

A Treasure Chest of Early Cinema 1917 - 1926 live organ accompaniment from keyboard wizard (Tom Barber). 85 minutes. Live music and the wonder, pathos and laughter of silent shorts from three comedy superstars of the silent era: Chaplin, Chase and Keaton. These filmmakers understood the importance of the audience as the final creative contributor to the process of making a film. Their goal: entertainment, spectacle, enchantment and laughter.

Richmond School of Arts

MOVIES AT EPPING - 20 January 2024 - Christie Theatre Organ

Saturday 20 January 2024

The Flickers: a Treasure Chest of Early Cinema 1914 - 1928 with live Christie Theatre Organ accompaniment (Graeme Costin). 80 minutes. Live music and the wonder, pathos and laughter of one of Charlie Chaplin’s earliest appearances in his first year in cinema, 1914! And a classic comedy feature from Buster, a genius of the silent era. These filmmakers understood the importance of the audience as the final creative contributor to the process of making a film. Their goal: entertainment, spectacle, enchantment and laughter.

Epping Baptist Church

MOVIES AT EPPING - 28 October - Christie Theatre Organ

Saturday 28 October 2023

The Flickers: a Treasure Chest of Early Cinema 1913 - 1926 with live Christie Theatre Organ accompaniment (Graeme Costin). 85 minutes. Live music and the wonder, pathos and laughter of a silent short from Lois Weber, a leading female director-screenwriter in early Hollywood, and a feature from Harry Langdon, the Fourth King of Comedy. An inventive short and one of the great silent feature comedies are on offer here. These filmmakers understood the importance of the audience as the final creative contributor to the process of making a film. Their goal: entertainment, spectacle, enchantment and laughter.

Epping Baptist Church

MOVIES AT EPPING - 30 September - Christie Theatre Organ

Saturday 30 September 2023

The Flickers: a Treasure Chest of Early Cinema 1923 100th Anniversary Year films with live Christie Theatre Organ accompaniment (Graeme Costin). 80 minutes. Live music and the wonder, pathos and laughter of a silent treat with the incomparable Australian born Snub Pollard and a feature from Harold Lloyd. An inventive comic short and one of the greatest silent feature comedies, both in their 100th Anniversary Years, are on offer here. These filmmakers understood the importance of the audience as the final creative contributor to the process of making a film. Their goal: entertainment, spectacle, enchantment and laughter.

Epping Baptist Church

MOVIES AT EPPING-26 August-Christie Theatre Organ

Saturday 26 August 2023

The Flickers: a Treasure Chest of Early Cinema 1901-1928 with live Christie Theatre Organ accompaniment (Graeme Costin). 80 minutes. Live music and the wonder, pathos and laughter of silent shorts from James Williamson, Buster Keaton, Max Davidson, George Stevens, Joe Keaton and Hal Roach. A broad variety of shorts is on offer here: comedies, drama, impossible stunt-work and a unique special effects treat. These filmmakers understood the importance of the audience as the final creative contributor to the process of making a film. Their goal: entertainment, spectacle, enchantment and laughter.

Epping Baptist Church

MOVIES AT EPPING-29 July-Christie Theatre Organ

Saturday 29 July 2023

The Flickers: a Treasure of Early Cinema 1909-1929 with live Christie Theatre Organ accompaniment (Graeme Costin). 90 minutes. Live music and the wonder, pathos and laughter of silent shorts from D. W. Griffith, Mack Sennett, Charlie Chaplin, Charley Bowers, Laurel and Hardy. A broad variety of shorts is on offer here: comedies, a melodrama, and a unique special effects treat. These filmmakers understood the importance of the audience as the final creative contributor to the process of making a film. Their goal: entertainment, spectacle, enchantment and laughter.

Epping Baptist Church

MOVIES AT EPPING - 24 June - The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

Saturday 24 June 2023

The Phantom of the Opera (1925) with live organ and grand piano music (Graeme Costin). 95 minutes. “The Phantom of the Opera is a 1925 American silent horror film adaptation of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, directed by Rupert Julian and starring Lon Chaney in the title role of the deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House, causing murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star. The film remains most famous for Chaney's ghastly, self-devised make-up, which was kept a studio secret until the film's premiere.”

Epping Uniting Church

MOVIES AT EPPING - 27 May 2023 - The General (1926)

Saturday 27 May 2023

The General (1926) with live music (Graeme Costin). 80 minutes. Today, Buster Keaton stands alongside Charlie Chaplin as the most famous and best-loved comedian of the silent era, and of his many feature-length films, The General has been repeatedly hailed as one of the best ten films of all time. The General rightly deserves its reputation as one of Buster Keaton’s most highly praised and popular movies, encompassing a broad range of features which appeal to a wide audience. From the old-world romance of authentic steam engines and trains, surprising and impressive attention to historic detail, likeable characters and a rollicking fun and action-packed adventure, it has everything that modern-day audiences around the world enjoy over and over again. It is also a great action adventure epic and an impressive historic costume drama depicting a real event of the Civil War.

Epping Uniting Church