As The Matrix celebrates its twentieth anniversary with a Film4 Summer Screen screening on 12 August, we revisit the year of the film’s release and ask: Was 1999 the greatest year in modern movie history?
That’s what many critics and film fans believe, with the likes of Being John Malkovich, Eyes Wide Shut, Cruel Intentions, American Beauty, Magnolia and Fight Club backing up their case. But was 1999 really twelve months of masterpieces or are we romanticising the last gasp of the last millennium?
We investigate further as a panel of experts reject the rose-tinted specs and take a clear-eyed look back at the favourites and the flops from 1999, as well as offering up other years that could compete for the crown. There’ll be plenty of opportunities for the audience to have their say too, making this a debate that could last all-night.
This event is part of Film4 Summer Screen's Behind the Screen talk series, and includes a complimentary drink.
Panel:
- BFI's Anna Bogutskaya (Curator of the BFI’s 1990s season)
- Film critic Charles Gant
- Musician and filmmaker Elizabeth Sankey (one half of the band Summer Camp and director of the documentary Romantic Comedy)
- Producer Stephen Woolley (Carol, The Crying Game and 1999’s The End of the Affair)