THE MERCURY CINEMA

The Mercury and Iris Cinemas are run by the Media Resource Centre to enhance screen culture and to give screening opportunities to emerging South Australian film, video and digital media artists.

Cinemas are also available for hire. For more information CLICK HERE.

CONTACT
Operations Manager, Jeremy Chance e-mail

Exhibition Manager, Toby Bramwell e-mail
Ph. (08) 8410 0979

This webpage is a work in progress - comments?

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST MERCURY CINEMA CALENDAR!

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST!
Be among the first to see our quarterly program - email us your name and contact details, including postal address.

TICKET SALES

Call 8410 0979 9-5:30 Mon to Fri with you credit Card handy.
Call into the MRC 13 Morphett St Adelaide (behind the Mercury) 8-5:30 Mon-Fri
Buy tickets at the box office from one hour prior to the advertised screening time.

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MERCURY for hire

The Mercury and Iris Cinemas are available for hire. We offer highly competitive rates for your screening, conference, lecture or party. We can screen just about anything from 35mm CinemaScope to your Powerpoint or web based presentation. AND we can look after your catering and liquor requirements with the minimum of fuss!

A CERTAIN RATIO: 16mm SCOPE

4 September – 11 September

The ever-growing diversity of screen formats has caused much confusion and debate over what is the most authentic way to see a film. With an aspect ratio of 1.33, films projected from 16mm may be seen cropped, open matte or with black bars in an effort to maximize the clarity of the image and the integrity of its framing. This selection of films however preserve the original widescreen format by employing an anamorphic technique that stretches the image out on the screen. For many years this was the only means by which cineastes could view a film the way it was intended to be seen.

HARLEQUIN || HOUSE OF BAMBOO || TOKYO OLYMPIAD

7:30pm Thursday 4 September

HARLEQUIN (M)

Dir: Simon Wincer
Australia 1980 93mins 16mm Cinemascope
Transposing the story of Rasputin to a contemporary context, hypnotic faith healer Gregory Wolf appears to miraculously cure a boy who is terminally ill with leukaemia. The boy’s father happens to be Nick Rast, a politician being groomed for power. Both the politician and his wife fall prey to the enigmatic Harlequin’s spellbinding powers of manipulation but Rast’s political backers see him as a fraud and plot his demise in this supernatural thriller. Soundtrack by Adelaide composer Brian May. Stars Robert Powell, David Hemmings and Broderick Crawford.

7:30pm Monday 8 September

HOUSE OF BAMBOO (18+)

Dir: Samuel Fuller
US 1955 102mins 16mm Cinemascope
In Fuller’s hard-boiled world the only difference between the criminals and the law is a badge. An American military policeman, infiltrating a criminal organisation responsible for the robbery of a munitions train outside Tokyo, travels to Japan as it still recovers from the devastation of World War II. There he immerses himself in a nation torn between old traditions and the progressive attitudes of the west in this gritty film noir. Much praised for its excellent use of widescreen photography. Stars Robert Ryan and Robert Stack.

7:30pm Thursday 11 September

TOKYO OLYMPIAD (18+)

Dir: Kon Ichikawa
Japan 1965 130mins 16mm Cinemascope
Documenting the events of the 1964 Summer Olympics from opening to closing ceremonies, Ichikawa celebrates the challenges and triumphs of the human spirit. Using the telephoto lens, slow motion and freeze frame to probe and generate empathy for the athletes and spectators, the audience is invited to get to know selected individuals, winners and losers, all striving to overcome their limitations. Perhaps the only sporting documentary to rival Leni Riefenstahl's Olympia.

Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die