MUFF 24 Special Events

Wednesday December 11
8pm Tribute to Frank Howson

MUFF is proud to present two films by Frank Howson, as a tribute to our old friend and festival Patron. Hunting, starring John Savage from The Deer Hunter and Kerry Armstrong, it is often considered one of Frank’s best films, Frank and I agreed with the sentiment. See a young Guy Pearce in an early role, Frank helped launch his career. Hunting will be followed by an Encore screening of Frank’s final film, Remembering Nigel.

Frank’s final film started as a short at MUFF and soon became a feature. Frank meant this film as his epitaph, and with him gone, it is indeed that. Starring a stellar cast including Martin Landau, Steven Berkhoff John Savage, Michael J. Pollard, Bert Newton, John Micael Howson, Tommy Dysart, Molly Meldrum, John Flaus, Kristen Condon and many others including MUFF festival director Richard Wolstencroft, this is the perfect Frank Tribute and send off movie for Our Frank, frankly.
Notes by RW

Conspiracy Corner

I asked my old mucker David Thrussell from SNOG and No Goat Show
fame to pick three essential Conspiracy movie masterpieces for MUFF 24 here they are - RW

WINTER KILLS (1979) - US - 90min. 4.30pm Tuesday December 10th
Essentially unknown, this taught, surreal conspiracy thriller is one of the greatest 'political' films to ever come out of Hollyweird. Jeff Bridges plays the brother of a slain US President (AKA JFK) who falls down the 'rabbit hole' investigating the murder while under the shadow of his oligarch father, played by John Huston, (AKA Kennedy family patriarch Joseph Kennedy). Adapted from the book by Richard Condon ('The Manchurian Candidate'), with Anthony Perkins as J. Edgar Hoover (!) and a bizarre cameo from Elizabeth Taylor (!!)

FLASHPOINT (1984) - US - 90min. 4.30pm Wednesday December 11th
An intriguing yet forgotten film that stars Kris Kristofferson as a disgruntled Texas border guard, who stumbles upon the dark secrets of a deep US political conspiracy. Scored by Tangerine Dream and unfairly neglected, this well-crafted yet cynical film (think 'JFK' meets 'The X-Files') deserves serious reappraisal.

THE FORMULA (1980) - US - 90min. 6pm Thursday December 12th
Starring George C. Scott, Marlon Brando and Sir John Gielgud, 'The Formula' revolves around a murderous international conspiracy to keep resources 'scarce' and thus energy (and oil) prices unnaturally high (it could never happen!). Shot mostly on location in a rainy and grim Germany and featuring cunning Nazis and perfidious Big Oil operatives, 'The Formula' has slow burn tension and real world relevance.
Notes by David Thrussell - Snog, Black Lung, et al