2023 Event

Free Online Event: Paths to Paradise

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FREE EVENT Live From New York

With Steve Massa & Ben Model Raymond Griffith in Paths To Paradise

Watch for free at home – streamed live from New York

Date: Thurs 16 Feb, 2023
Time: 15:30 hrs
Dir: Clarence Badger
USA, 67 mins, cert PG

paths to paradise thumb 1

Considered to be one of Raymond Griffith’s finest onscreen comedy performances, PATHS TO PARADISE finds Griffith as a jewel thief matching wits with another, played by Betty Compson.

The film is crammed with clever plot twists that culminate in one of the wildest comedy chases of the silent era. The film will be presented in a new digital restoration by Undercrank Productions made from a 2K scan of a 35mm nitrate print preserved by the Library of Congress.

PATHS TO PARADISE is presented with an introduction by Steve Massa and piano accompaniment by Ben Model streamed live from their homes in NYC, and is not pre-recorded.

EVENT RUNNING TIME APPROX 1 hrs 25 mins.

Register now & watch it live on February 16th


If you have already registered for our live streaming event, you can login using the button below:

I Kiss Your Hand, Madam (1929)

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I Kiss Your Hand, Madam (Ich Küsse Ihre Hand, Madame) (1929)

With an introduction by Kevin Brownlow

Date: Thurs 16 Feb, 2023
Time: 13:30 hrs
Venue: Watershed
Price: £8.50 / £5.00
Dir: Richard Land
Germany, 66 mins, cert PG

With special thanks to Andrea Maguire for the intertitle translation

A rare chance to see Marlene Dietrich in one of the last films she made in Germany before she was spotted by actor/director Josef von Sternberg and taken to the States to star as Lola in THE BLUE ANGEL, thus beginning her stratospheric Hollywood career.

In this, her only silent comedy, she plays a new divorcee who pins her hopes on a future with a rich Russian count, disbelieving her ex’s claims that the man is penniless and working as a waiter.

German intertitles with English translation. With live piano accompaniment by John Sweeney and an introduction
from film historian Kevin Brownlow.

RUNNING TIME APPROX 1 hrs 15 mins.

I kiss your hand Dietrich

Charlie’s London: A Success Story

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Charlie’s London: A Success Story

Date: Thurs 16 Feb, 2023.
Time: 11:40hrs
Venue: Watershed
Price: £6.00/£4.50

Join Ayşe Behçet for insights into how the discovery that she, her mother and grandmother were all born in the same part of
London as Charlie Chaplin led to her becoming an internationally respected authority on the star’s early years, a blogger with
many thousands of social media followers and to gaining enough support from crowd-funders to publish Charlie’s London: From
East Lane to the Limelight – a Chaplin Estate-blessed biography in full-colour graphic comic format.

In conversation with Andrew Kelly (Bristol Ideas) and in partnership with Bristol Ideas. Followed by a book signing with Ayse and illustrator Karl Stephan

RUNNING TIME APPROX 1 hr

Charlies London

East Of Ipswich (1987)

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East Of Ipswich (1987)

With a specially recorded introduction from Sir Michael Palin

Date: Thurs 16 Feb, 2023.
Time: 09:30 hrs
Venue: Watershed
Price: £8.50 / £5.00
Dir: Tristram Powell
UK, 75 mins. Cert 12

A comedy coming-of-age film, scripted by Michael Palin for BBC 2’s Screen Two series and inspired in part by his family holiday to a sleepy seaside resort in 1959, during which he first met his future wife.

Described by many as an overlooked gem and by Sir Michael as his “happiest creative project”. The plot brings together a formidable guest house landlady (Joan Sanderson); parents bewildered by changing attitudes and teenage hormones (Pat Heywood/ John Nettleton), a clergyman running a youth mission, a fanciable neighbour, a new friend preoccupied with girls and an unexpectedly liberated Dutch girl.

Introduced by Andrew Kelly and in collaboration with Bristol Ideas.

RUNNING TIME APPROX 1 hrs 20 mins.

east of ipswich Palin

This Is Spinal Tap

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This Is Spinal Tap

With specially recorded introductions from Harry Shearer (Derek Smalls) and Sir Michael Palin

Date: Weds 15 Feb 2023
Time: 20:30 hrs
Venue: The former Bristol Imax Cinema, Bristol Aquarium
Price: £10 adults / £5 under 16
Dir: Rob Reiner
USA (1984), 82 mins, cert 15

Included in the Slapstick 2023 line-up at the express request of guest curator Sir Michael Palin, who chose the film as his favourite film comedy, Rob Reiner’s 11 out of 10 deserving mockumentary is a scathing lampoon of every heavy metal band that’s ever taken itself too seriously and of rock music documentaries in general.

With a sequel reportedly on the way (with Reiner again in charge and Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer reprising their characters) there’s no better time to revel in this big-screen outing of a film hailed by Rotten Tomatoes critics as “Smartly directed, brilliantly acted, and packed with endlessly quotable moments … an all-time comedy classic.”

With video introductions from Sir Michael and from Harry Shearer, whose many film and TV credits include playing the band’s bassist Derek Smalls and voicing multiple characters in The Simpsons,

RUNNING TIME APPROX 1 hrs 30 mins.

This is spinal tap film
spinal tap Derek Smalls Harry Shearer

Onscreen Wonder Women

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Onscreen Wonder Women

Hosted by Lucy Porter & Jane Duffus

Date: Weds 15 Feb 2023
Time: 18:00 hrs
Venue: Watershed: Waterside 3
Price: £10.00/£5.00

Comedian and Slapstick favourite Lucy Porter and Jane Duffus, author of the What The Frock Book of Funny Women, present and discuss their picks from a new collection of rarely-seen silent comedy films in collaboration with Kino Lober.

The films, made between 1898 to 1926, feature slapstick high jinks, swipes at authority, gender swaps, feminist protests, and rebellions against the behaviour generally expected or demanded of women in those times.

The collection is drawn from international film archives. See this website for film titles.

With live piano accompaniment from John Sweeney. In partnership with Bristol Ideas.

A BSL Interpreted Event

RUNNING TIME APPROX 80 mins.

Wonder women

Fred Karno: The Legend Behind The Laughter

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Fred Karno: The Legend Behind The Laughter

Date: Weds 15 Feb 2023
Time: 16:15 hrs
Venue: Watershed
Price: £8.50/£5.00

Without the wit, grit and creativity of Exeter-born Fred Karno, the Slapstick Festival itself might not exist.

Karno was the acrobat, gag deviser and impresario who recruited and trained many of the physical performers who gave Hollywood its slapstick comedy stars, such as Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel and Will Hay.

The festival is delighted, therefore, to host an illustrated conversation between Andrew Kelly (Bristol ideas) and David Crump – author of a definitive new biography of the man whose mantra “If in doubt, fall on your arse” influences so many of the entertainers Slapstick celebrates.

In partnership with Bristol Ideas.

RUNNING TIME APPROX 1 hrs 15 mins.

Fred Karno

The Cigarette Girl Of Mosselprom (1924)

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The Cigarette Girl Of Mosselprom (1924)

Hosted by Lucy Porter

Date: Weds 15 Feb 2023
Time: 14:00 hrs
Venue: Watershed
Price: £8.50/£5.00
Dir: Yuri Zhelyabuzhsky
Soviet Union, 78 mins, cert 12

In stark contrast to most films made immediately after the Russian Revolution, this is an endearing rom-com filled with likeable characters and some self-effacing insights into the filmmaking process.

At the centre of it all is cigarette seller Zina (played by the future Cannes award-winning director Yuliya Solntseva) and the love tangles that surround her when she is talent-spotted to become an actress.

With an introduction from stand-up comedian and actor Lucy Porter and live piano accompaniment by John Sweeney.

RUNNING TIME APPROX 1 hrs 30 mins.

cigarette girl of mosselprom 1924 movie

Mary Poppins

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Mary Poppins

Date: Weds 15 Feb 2023
Time: 10:30 hrs
Venue: The former Bristol Imax Cinema, Bristol Aquarium
Price: £10 Adult/ FREE under 16
Dir: Robert Stevenson (1964)
USA, 139 mins, cert U

It’s not surprising Walt Disney considered this film the crowning achievement of his long career – it won his studio a record 13 Oscar nominations and five wins, including for best songs.

It is also where Dame Julie Andrews makes her Hollywood debut, portraying the nanny with magical powers in a star-studded cast headed by Dick van Dyke.

Whether you’re seeing it for the first time, or as a nostalgic reminder of your childhood, this is an event that will ensure it’s a happy (half-term) holiday for all ages.

RUNNING TIME APPROX 2 hrs 30 mins.

mary poppins

Some Like it Hot

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some like it hot movie
some like it hot movie
some like it hot movie

Some Like it Hot

With a special pre-screening cabaret intro by dazzlingly drag queen Cynthia Road.

Date: Tues 14 Feb 2023
Time: 20:00 hrs
Venue: The former Bristol Imax Cinema, Bristol Aquarium
Price: £12 / £8 Concs
Dir: Billy Wilder (1959)
UK, USA, 121 mins, cert 12

Voted the all-time best comedy film in a BBC poll of reviewers in 52 countries and a triple Oscar and Golden Globes winner.

Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon portray musicians who escape Chicago mobsters by posing as women and joining a Florida-bound all-girl band in which the singer/ukulele player is Marilyn Monroe.

RUNNING TIME APPROX 2 hrs 10 mins.

Some Like It Hot Poster
Cynthia Road 2

Join us, on Valentine’s day, for this romantic evening of classic comedy.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

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Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Watch the film, and take a look at our copy GEN11 – the most expensive stage prop ever used.

Date: Tues 14 Feb 2023
Time: 14:00 hrs
Venue: The former Bristol Imax Cinema, Bristol Aquarium
Price: £10 Adult/ FREE under 16
Dir: Ken Hughes (1968)
UK, 144 mins, cert U

Slapstick 2023 launches its festival-wide salute to comedy and music with a family-friendly screening of the fantasy adventure centred on a magical car.

Taking inspiration from a novel by James Bond creator Ian Fleming, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was co-scripted by Roald Dahl and features a dozen songs from the Oscar-winning Sherman Brothers and stars lifelong Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel and Buster Keaton fan Dick Van Dyke.

As an added treat for ticket holders, a replica of the car, as seen on Strictly Come Dancing and the 50th Anniversary celebrations at Pinewood Studios, will be in Millennium Square for selfies from 12 midday on the 14th Feb.

RUNNING TIME APPROX 3 hr including an interval.

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Chitty Chitty
Chitty Chitty