FILM CRITIC DAVID STRATTON TO GET SCREEN TIME IN DUBBO
AN icon of the Australian cinema landscape will soon visit the city to help celebrate Dubbo Film Society’s 30th anniversary.
Film critic, historian and author David Stratton is looking forward to a great day of cinema in Dubbo.
“I am thrilled to be a part of the Dubbo Film Society’s 30th anniversary celebrations,” he told Dubbo Photo News this week.
“Since my teenage years I’ve been involved with the film society movement in small towns, and I wholeheartedly support the dedication and vision of film societies that bring the best of world cinema to their local communities.”
Mr Stratton’s first experience of the cinema is a fond memory for him.
“From the age of about two, my grandmother took me to the cinema up to four times a week. I still have vivid memories of some of the films we saw – not only the Disney classics like Dumbo, Snow White and Bambi, but westerns, musicals, comedies with Bob Hope and Danny Kaye, and even thrillers that were really quite unsuitable for a small child. I loved them all.”
Growing up in the UK, Mr Stratton started his own film society at the age of 19.
“My obsession with films led me first to the film society movement and then to the Sydney Film Festival (SFF),” he explained.
“I was invited to become the SFF Director in 1966, when I was 26, and I remained in that position for 18 years.”
This position led to more and more opportunities, and Mr Stratton’s knowledge and passion became his career.
“I was asked by SBS TV to programme feature films on the network and to introduce some of them on camera. I began to review films for the American newspaper Variety. Then I teamed with Margaret Pomeranz for The Movie Show which began in 1986 and continued – as ‘At The Movies’ on the ABC – until 2014. I still review films every week for The Australian.”
Mr Stratton’s favourite movie is “Singin’ in the Rain” and musicals were among his favourite films as a child and teenager.
“Singin’ in the Rain is the best, funniest, most charming and in many ways most original of these movies. I have always been an admirer of Gene Kelly, who co-directed and starred in the movie.”
Mr Stratton actually got to meet the late actor whose star rose during the Golden Age of Hollywood.
In that regard, Mr Stratton said movies reflect the time and the place of their origin.
“They tell us so much about the history of the 20th century. And they last forever.”
He also loves Australian cinema and was part of the documentary A Cinematic Life, which provides insight into his own life through an ongoing passion for film.
“At their best, Australian movies tell us stories about ourselves and reflect our values, aspirations and achievements. Being part of it (the documentary) was rather unsettling. But I thought director Sally Aitken did a great job with it.”
Instrumental in challenging draconian censorship laws in the 1960s and 1970s and dedicating his life to the film industry, Mr Stratton has been described as a national treasure.
But it’s not a title that sits well with him.
“I think the true national treasures are those unsung heroes and heroines who work as volunteers
to help the under-privileged,” he said.
Being true to his art, Mr Stratton refuses to watch a movie on a digital device – or a plane. And he loves reliving the beautiful moments of cinema.
“The vast majority of films produced are designed for the cinema screen and that’s where I see them,” he said.
“We can still enjoy the performances of the young Greta Garbo and Humphrey Bogart, something generations born before the advent of cinema could never experience with the leading actors of the day whose work is now lost.”
Dubbo Film Society president Steve Clayton is looking forward to Mr Stratton’s visit, where he will be the guest of honour and curator of the special event.
“The Dubbo Film Society is proud to be celebrating its 30th year of continuous operation in bringing well-reviewed films of exceptional quality and from diverse cultures across the globe to its members,” he said.
The film festival will feature a retrospective of movies screened during the last 30 years. A shortlist was chosen by committee members with David Stratton curating the final selection.
“Over this time, we have screened over 400 films representing a back catalogue of ‘must see’ films from the last three decades and we are determined to make this 30th anniversary celebration a very special event.” Dubbo Film Society’s 30th anniversary festival will be at the Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre on Sunday, July 19. Casual or festival subscriptions available at https://davidstratton.eventbrite.com.au. The film society’s next regular screening is on Sunday, May 26, 4pm at DRTCC.