Get out of the house on the third Wednesday evening of each month and enjoy films on the big screen with us!

The Drill Hall Film Society screens classic films at an affordable price in comfortable tiered seating in our air-conditioned theatre. Grab a delicious snack and beverage from the bar, and be part of our lively film discussions after each show.

Become a Film Society subscriber for just $75 and gain entry to 11 films/year (or $60 if you’re a Drill Hall Theatre Company associate member). Casual guest rates cost $10/film.

Renewals due in July.

Contact Peter on [email protected] for more information or to become a member.

Wednesday 18th March @ 7:00pm

A hugely successful buddy cop movie written and directed by John Michael McDonagh. His first feature, this was his breakthrough at the age of 44.

He is married to the Australian film producer Elizabeth Eves and he wrote our very own Ned Kelly, in the Heath Ledger incarnation, based on Robert Drewes’ novel, Our Sunshine.

He won several awards for the film including the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screen Play. Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) is a police officer in the Connemara district of the west of Ireland. He is crass and indulges in drugs and alcohol while on duty but is concerned for his ailing mother, Eileen.

The FBI sends agent Wendell Everet (Don Cheadle) to liaise in hunting four Irish drug traffickers led by Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, believed to be awaiting a massive seaborne delivery of cocaine from Jamaica.

“As a director, McDonagh avoids the grand gesture and focuses on his web of odd characters that call to mind the comedies of Preston Sturges.” – Screen International.

“The film-making crackles with energy, from Chris Gill’s crisp editing and Calexico’s ever-inventive score to Larry Smith’s dynamic camerawork.” – Variety.

“This sly, witty and provocative Irish black comedy is an exceptionally funny crowd-pleaser and a playful cine-literate exercise, laced with arcane movie references.” The Times.

“Scabrous, profane, violent, verbally adroit and very often hilarious, this twisted and exceptionally accomplished variation on the buddy-cop format is capped by a protean performance by Brendan Gleeson.” – The Hollywood Reporter

The Guard is the most successful independent Irish film of all time in terms of box office receipts.

Wednesday 15th April @ 7:00pm

Some call it a “timeless classic” and “brilliant absurdist satire.” They praise the “Buster Keatonesque” slapstick and the film’s message against consumerism, represented by the “evil” Coca-Cola bottle.

Others flag the movie for “stereotypical portrayals” of the San people of the Kalahari Desert as “naive but wise” and “childlike”. Ther are some that point out that it was produced during the height of apartheid, calling it “white-washed garbage” or “imperialist propaganda”.

Despite the controversy, latest reviewers still find the cinematography of the African landscape “breathtaking” and the “sped-up” chase scenes “hilariously original”.

You will have to make up your own mind, but keep in mind it was made 45 years ago.

Director Jamie Uys defended the film until his death, maintaining, ”It’s just a slapstick comedy, with no message. I’ve been making comedies most of my life, and I never put a message in – It’s bad for business. It’s arrogant to put messages in. You rob your audiences of putting in their own messages.”