Bird's Eye View

Retrospective

From Eve to Cleopatra, Salome to Sharon Stone, women have always been able to win men over with their sexual powers. Obviously this is naughty, and a thinly disguised evil plot to render quivering (and probably kill) all otherwise fine upstanding gentlemen.

But BEV is feeling a little rebellious this year. We're celebrating transgressive women in film, strong and complex seductresses, with razor-sharp wit and unrestrained sexuality. Some say it's all a product of post-war male anxiety about the changing roles of women, but let's not forget the crucial role women played in producing and writing these films. And, of course, the stunning talent a host of actresses brought to cinema - so radical for their time and still startlingly good.

We begin with THE VAMP, a fabulous and alluring figure of silent cinema. Louise Brooks, Theda Bara, Greta Garbo and Alla Nazimova shine like the stars they are in six stunning and rarely-screened films, with specially commissioned live music from cutting edge female artists including Bishi, Natalie Clein and The Broken Hearts.

And then to a month-long season of FEMMES FATALES - the (anti-) heroine of Hollywood's film noir from the 1940s to the present day, including Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity, Kim Novak in Hitchcock's Vertigo, and Chinatown from Roman Polanksi, with Faye Dunaway. This is the largest ever collection of this kind screened at the BFI Southbank - so enjoy devouring its delights!

BEV Retrospective programmers Kelly Robinson and Ingrid Stigsdotter give us an enticing insight into the lives of these amazing Vamp actresses, the original A-list movie stars, on our BEV blog.

And for a broader look at the various forms of the femme fatale throughout cinema's history, read The Independent's article Whatever happened to the femme fatale?