The Chauvel in Paddington is hosting a season of hard-boiled modern crime classics on Tuesday evenings. Tickets are a measly $10, and you can grab a beer for just $5.
In time for the release of Sicario: Day of the Soldado, they are kicking off with Sicario (2015) on June 26 – a dark and violent poem that’s as intelligent as it is thrilling, from the director of Arrival and Blade Runner 2049.
Then they're jumping back 30 years with William Friedkin’s brutal cult classic To Live and Die in LA (1985) on July 10. Featuring the young Willem Dafoe, it's arguably the ultimate ’80s crime action thriller, with coke fiends, over-the-top style, and one of the greatest car chases in movie history.
More car chases are on offer with Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive (2011) on July 24, with its hyper-stylised blend of violence, music, and Ryan Gosling.
Michael Mann’s Thief (1981) is an underseen masterpiece – a philosophical thriller filled with modernist cool, screening on August 7.
On August 21, the Coen Brothers’ Miller’s Crossing (1990) takes us back to the depression era with a gangster tale filled with dialogue so sharp it could cut glass. It's one of their very best films.
Wrapping up the crime season on September 4 will be the 35th anniversary of the immortal Scarface (1983). Director Brian De Palma and star Al Pacino take it to the limit in this ultra-violent and eminently quotable gangster epic.