Hackney Bicycle Fim Society
Posted on Tuesday 2 February 2010 by Nick Bloom
For the tifosi:
The inaugural showing of the Hackney Bicycle Film Society will be on Monday 8th February.
The main Film will be A Sunday in Hell the 1977 100min documentary directed by Jørgen Leth.
The film is a chronology of the 1976 Paris-Roubaix bicycle race from the perspective of participants, organizers and spectators. Paris-Roubaix is the most famous and usually the most dramatic of the spring classic cycle races. Much of the latter portion is over narrow, cobbled tracks that choke with dust on dry days and become slick and muddy in rain. For the riders it’s a challenge to keep going without puncturing or crashing.
The film captures not just the events of the 1976 edition but the atmosphere of a professional race. It begins by introducing the contenders: Eddy Merckx, Roger De Vlaeminck (the previous year’s winner), Freddy Maertens, and Francesco Moser, each with their supporting riders (the domestiques), who are charged with helping their team leader win. The film gives views of the team director, protester (the race is halted for a while), spectator, mechanic and rider. As the Hell of the North is entered the selection begins. Riders puncture, crash, make the wrong move – the race plays out. By the finish in the velodrome in Roubaix only a few are in with a chance. The winner is a surprise, but that is part of the appeal. Post-race the exhausted riders, mired in dirt, give interviews in the velodrome’s showers. They look like men who have been to hell and back.
“You can see every bead of sweat on the cyclists and every smashed-up ankle. It really makes you never want to get on a bike again. But it is an amazing film.” – Nick Fraser, BBC commissioning editor
“Arguably the best film ever made about professional cycling” – Peter Cowie, International Film Guide
The film show starts at 19.00 and will be held Upstairs at the Calthorpe Arms 252 Grays Inn Road, London, WC1X 8JR
The showing is free but to attend you must become a member of the HBFS a minimum of 24hrs before the show membership is also free but you need to e-mail HBFS clearly showing your full name, address a contact number and occupation to hackneybicyclefilmsociety@googlemail.com
A membership card will be e-mailed back to you. You need to show your membership on the door to gain admittance.