Reel Baroque

From Restoration comedy and costume drama to masques and early opera, enjoy the sumptuous sounds and visions of the Baroque era in these extraordinary films.

During the Scotia Festival of Music, the Gallery is pleased to present the following eight films, selected by the Gallery's film curator Ronald Foley Macdonald, in honour of this year's orchestra-in-residence: the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra.

Monday, 28 May - Restoration

Michael Hoffman, USA, 1996, 118 minutes

Robert Downey Jr. stars as a hapless doctor in the newly restored court of Charles II amidst the calamities of the Plague of 1665 and the Great London Fire of 1666. With Sam Neill as the King, along with Hugh Grant and Meg Ryan, Restoration is a vividly engaging and intelligent look at the beginnings of the Age of Enlightenment and the Baroque era. 

Tuesday, 29 May - Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme

Jean Meyer, France, 1958, 97 minutes

Molière's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme is presented by the Comedie Francaise in the tradition of Commedia dell'Arte. Music by Jean Baptiste Lully, a contemporary of Molière, complements lavish costumes and dances. In French with English subtitles.

Wednesday, 30 May - School for Scandal

England, 1965, 100 minutes

A live television adaptation of the classic satire of the morals and manners of 18th-century England by Richard Sheridan. Featuring Joan Plowright and Felix Alymer. 

Tuesday, 5 June - The Beggar's Opera

BBC TV, 1983, 134 minutes

Roger Daltrey, lead singer of The Who, and Oscar winning actor Bob Hoskins head a distinguished cast in this made-for-TV production of John Gay's 1728 ballad opera. Adapted by Jonathan Miller, the exuberant opera satirizes the corruption, lust and greed of hight- and low-society London.

Wednesday, 6 June - Farinelli

Gerard Corbain, France/Belgium/Italy, 1995, 115 minutes

The story of the great 18th Century castrato unfolds as a rich, sensuous drama fraught with sexual ambiguity and fraternal tension. With Jeroen Krabbe as Handel, Farinelli is an intriguing glimpse of an age when music came before everything. In French with English subtitles. 

Thursday, 7 June - George Frederick Handel: Honour, Profit and Pleasure

England, 70 minutes

A remarkable portrait of Handel in the cultural and social context of the England in which he created - and which his creations mirror. Portrayed by Simon Callow, Handel emerges as an extraordinary musician with ordinary motivations.

Friday, 8 June - Tom Jones

Tony Richardson, Great Britain, 1963, 129 minutes. Winner of four Academy Awards including Best Picture and powered by a bawdy script by John Osbourne, Tom Jones is one of the most succesful literary adaptations ever made. Henry Fielding's novel of 18th-century English life translates to the screen with its earthy humour, tart social commentary and wild narrative intact.