Secret Cinema: Back to the Future
Spoiler for both the event and the film!
There was once a time where there was no cinematic event like The Rocky Horror Picture Show: a risque, campy film which somehow evolved into a cult phenomenon, with the audience often arriving in costume, able to sing and quote every word, whilst actors performed simultaneously with the film projection.
With the arrival of Secret Cinema, those times are long gone. Since it’s launch in 2007 with a screening of Gus Van Sant’s Paranoid Park, the company’s objective has been to create immersive film experiences, often in fantastical locations and a full cast and crew on hand. This summer saw the launch of Back to the Future, Secret Cinema’s most ambitious project to date. However, the show was plagued from the start, as the last-minute cancellation of the first two dates received international press attention and condemnation. With ticket prices of over 50 pounds, the question was beginning to be asked: was Secret Cinema running out of steam?
With about 3 or 4 events each year, my fingers are still crossed for a Harry Potter or perhaps even a High School Musical screening (because let’s face it, Grease is just too obvious).
Upon arriving at Stratford, where a huge compound has been taken over to create the world of Hill Valley, California, it was clear that the answer is a resounding no. The production is of an enormous scale – mainly based around the Town Square containing the iconic Clock Tower, a Diner, several shops depicted in the film, and of course Hill Valley High School, which was hosting the ‘Enchantment under the Sea’ dance. The attention to detail was outstanding, from George McFly’s chocolate milk on sale in the Diner right down to the posters for the Stanwyck/Reagan film Cattle Queen of Montana, which appear as background mise-en-scène in 1950’s Hill Valley.
Having only attended one Secret Cinema event previously – Lawrence of Arabia in 2010, it is very apparent that the company have progressed almost beyond recognition. This is largely due to their use of actors, who are now given specific roles and spend the hours preceding the start of the film improvising in full character. Even before entering the compound, I witnessed George McFly having his bike stolen by Biff and his gang. Once inside, a group of audience volunteers helped Doc Brown with a ‘scientific experiment’ in his laboratory, whilst in the Diner, a 3 hour long romance played out between a waitress and one of the Texaco Mechanics. Just before the start of the film, we found ourselves inside the school bus, hurling paper balls out the windows as we drove around the town square.
The production is of an enormous scale – mainly based around the Town Square containing the iconic Clock Tower, a Diner, several shops depicted in the film.
The start of the film marked the end of audience interactivity, but the beginning of some incredible car chases and pyrotechnics. From the outset, where a real life ‘Marty’ skateboards to school whilst attached to a car, to the conclusion where Doc zip-wires off the top of the clock-tower, the cast members recreated the most pivotal points of Back to the Future with incredible precision of movement and timing. Sadly, the screening was followed by a concert by the in-film band ‘Marvin Berry and the Starlighters’, but for many of us this was the time to leave, as late night transport from Stratford isn’t particularly easy to navigate.
To misquote ‘The Power of Love’, it very much takes a credit card to ride this train, as refreshments and merchandise are also pricey, but for Back to the Future, at least, it was absolutely worth the expenditure. Secret Cinema’s success is largely based on their ability to select well-loved films with an iconic location and then recreate it to an extremely dedicated level. With about 3 or 4 events each year, my fingers are still crossed for a Harry Potter or perhaps even a High School Musical screening (because let’s face it, Grease is just too obvious). Regardless, despite a growing amount of controversy, Secret Cinema is going from strength to strength. Pass it on.
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