Art of Action

From the jaw-dropping stunts of the silent era to the intricate dynamic choreography of today’s biggest action films, via the daredevil ethos of Hong Kong filmmaking, Art of Action at GFT will feature screenings of Safety Last! (1923), Seven Samurai (1954), The Train (1964), The Wild Bunch (1969), the Police Story Trilogy (1985-1992), Run Lola Run (1998), Polite Society (2023) and many more. The centrepiece of Art of Action is a BFI re-release of Kathryn Bigelow’s Point Break (1991) starring Keanu Reeves as FBI agent Johnny Utah, who goes undercover with a gang of surfers, led by Patrick Swayze’s Bodhi, who are suspects in a series of bank robberies. Bigelow’s kinetic masterpiece, which has rarely been seen on big screens in the UK in recent years, will be on at GFT from 8 November, newly restored in 4K.

Our season also includes two mini-seasons within it in partnership with Invisible Women/TAPE Collective and Reclaim the Frame. She Packs a Punch celebrates the action-laden, camp and curious world of 1960s Mexican pulp cinema with two recently restored films from director René Cardona, presented by feminist film collective Invisible Women and T A P E collective. Call to Action, a programme curated by Reclaim the Frame, centres women of colour working in front of and behind the camera in the action genre, from the 1990s to the present day (film details, dates and booking links are below).

Supported by National Lottery and BFI Film Audience Network.