May’s First Thursday

Apr 17, 2025Aug 14, 2025 / fohpph / Leave a comment

Please join us on May 1st at 9pm onwards in the cinema bar to discuss all things film including but not exclusively Licorice Pizza which HPPH is screening as part of its Philosophy and Film strand that evening from 6pm.

Licorice Pizza has been selected by Dr. Colette Olive and will be followed by a short talk from Colette exploring the philosophical themes raised.

Tickets are already selling fast for this screening so we recommend booking if you want to join us.

‘First Thursday’ is our monthly meet up to give members and anyone interested in the Friends, or cinema in general, a chance to get together.

Please note: due to a licensing issue the screening will no longer be from 35mm and will be projected digitally.

Philosophy and Film: Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

Apr 20, 2016Oct 9, 2016 / fohpph / Leave a comment

Tuesday 26th April 6:15pm

The second session of the Philosophy and Film series at the Hyde Park Picture House will show Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), directed by Michel Gondry, with a screenplay by Charlie Kaufman. Eternal Sunshine is about an unhappy estranged couple, Clementine (Kate Winslet) and Joel (Jim Carrey), who separately decide to have their tormented memories of their failed affair deleted by a professional service, Lacuna Inc. Then they accidentally meet again, not knowing who they are.

Here’s one idea. We’ve all had bad experiences, and bad memories of those experiences. They can make us feel defeated, depressed, even paralyzed. Wouldn’t we be better off without them? Here’s another idea. Our memories naturally decay. By and large, we don’t think this is a tragedy. It protects us against being entombed in the past, and leaves us free to live in the present, and to plan for the future. But if this forgetting doesn’t ruin us, and may even benefit us, then why would it be a bad idea, if we could, to take deliberate steps to erase these memories? And, if it turns out that it would be a bad idea to deliberately erase our memories, then should we try to fight against the natural processes of decay? The film obliquely explores ideas like these in a variety of ways, and from a variety of angles. Dr. Gerald Lang (University of Leeds) will be talking about them after the screening of the film.

Philosophy and Film: Badlands

Mar 17, 2016Nov 21, 2020 / Stephen / Leave a comment

Showing Tuesday 22nd March 6:15pm

Badlands (1973)

Terrence Malick’s directorial film follows two young lovers on a road trip across South Dakota, as they kill people along the way. It is a beautiful film, and touches upon many things that will occupy Malick throughout his career – nature, wonder, innocence, love and morality.

Dr. Joe Saunders (University of Leeds) will provide a short talk after the film, exploring Malick’s treatment of love and morality. This will be followed by a discussion with the audience.

This is the inaugural session of a philosophy and film series at the Hyde Park Picture House. The series explores philosophical issues raised by some of cinema’s most engaging films.