Moviedrome 2026

"A cult film is one that has a passionate following but does not appeal to everyone: James Bond movies are not cult films, but chainsaw movies are. Just because a film has become a cult movie does not automatically guarantee quality. Some are very bad; others are very, very good…

"One thing cult movies do have in common is that they are all genre films - for example, gangster films or westerns. They also have a tendency to slosh over from one genre into another, so that a science fiction film might also be a detective movie, or vice versa. They share common themes as well, themes that are found in all drama: love, murder and greed." Alex Cox, Moviedrome The Guide, BBC, 1990

Our very own version of cult TV programme Moviedrome - which aired on BBC4 between 1988 and 1994 - aims to present a programme of screenings to inspire, excite, agitate and spark conversation. With a film a month chosen and presented by local film expert George Cromack, the connective tissue is that the films are all offbeat in some way; lower-budget, edgy, political, daring and/or containing elements of excess.

They might be films you already know, or titles you've had on your 'to watch list' for years - either way, come and discover - or rediscover! - our first Moviedrome titles for 2026. All we ask is keep an open mind, enjoy yourself, and spread the word.

• White Heat (1949, 15) - 30 January

James Cagney stars as Cody Jarret, the psychotic gang leader with a mother complex, in this must-see classic crime noir. 

Following a prison break Cody reunites with his old gang and plans a big payroll heist on a chemical plant.

• La Belle et la Bête (80th anniversary screening) (1946, PG) - 27 February

A young woman is sent to a castle hidden deep within a forest to marry a beast in French poet and filmmaker Jean Cocteau’s highly influential adaptation of the classic 17th century Folk tale.

• Being There (1979, 12A) - 20 March

A simple-minded gardener named Chance has spent all his life in the Washington D.C. house of an old man. When the man dies, Chance is put out on the street with no knowledge of the world except what he's learned from television. 

After a run-in with a limousine, he ends up a guest of a woman and her husband Ben, an influential but sickly businessman. Now called Chauncey Gardner, Chance becomes friend and confidante to Ben, and an unlikely political insider...

• Sunset Boulevard (1950, 12A) - 1 May

Iconic, darkly comedic, and thrilling, the three-time Oscar® winning Sunset Boulevard is a haunting look at Hollywood’s unrelenting cycle where youth is currency, talent is fleeting, and no one stays in the spotlight forever. 

Fame isn’t forever - just ask Norma Desmond. Once a Hollywood legend, now a forgotten relic, she refuses to fade away. When struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis stumbles into her decaying mansion, he becomes trapped in her web of obsession, control, and delusion. 

• Clerks (1994, 15) - 29 May

A day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof.

• A Fistful of Dollars (1964, 15) - 26 June

A nameless stranger rides into the Mexican border town of San Miguel and quickly finds himself in the middle of a bloody battle for power between two rival families, the Baxters and the Rojos.

Cannily realising there's money to be made from playing each side against the other, the Man with No Name soon finds himself caught in the crossfire as the body count escalates, his only chance of escape a standoff against the Rojos' mercilessly cruel leader, Ramón.

Tickets are £9, and you can get them online, by popping in to Box Office or calling 01723 370 541.