''At the Movies'' is an Australian television program on ABC hosted by film critics Margaret Pomeranz and

David Stratton David James Stratton (born 10 September 1939) is an English-Australian award-winning film critic, as both a journalist and interviewer, film historian and lecturer and television personality and producer. Life and career Born in Trowbridge, ...

, where they discussed the films opening in theatres that week. Margaret Pomeranz

History

The program, which began in mid-2004, is a continuation of the pair's earlier program ''

The Movie Show ''The Movie Show'' is an Australian film review program which was broadcast on SBS TV. Its history is divided into three parts, until it finally wound up in 2008. History The original format, which ran from 30 October 1986 to 12 May 2004, had ...

'', which aired on

SBS One SBS is a national public television network in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally. In 2018, SBS had a 7.7% audience share. As of 2022, SBS is the lowe ...

from 1986 to 2004. The pair left SBS after expressing dissatisfaction with high-level decisions. The weekly half-hour program consists of film reviews and discussions as well as interviews with cast and crew members. The hosts also occasionally broadcast from film events such as the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

. The pair's 25 years of presenting film reviews on television was celebrated in a special show on 26 October 2011, filmed before an audience and special guests, hosted by

Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received n ...

and

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. He is known for his eccentric leading man roles on stage and screen. He is among 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting, having received an Academy Award, a Primetime Emm ...

. On 16 September 2014, Stratton and Pomeranz announced they would be retiring at the end of the 2014 series. The final episode aired on 9 December 2014, and Stratton and Pomeranz said farewell to over 700,000 viewers, making it one of the most-watched season finales on the ABC in the history of the station.

5-star films

Only seven films have achieved a perfect 5-star rating by both Pomeranz and Stratton. * '' Good Night, and Good Luck'' * ''

Brokeback Mountain ''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx, the screenplay was written ...

'' * '' No Country for Old Men'' * '' Samson and Delilah'' * '' A Separation'' * '' Amour'' * '' Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)'' In the previous SBS format, several films achieved 5 stars from both Margaret and David, including films such as ''

Goodfellas ''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book '' W ...

'', '' The Thin Red Line'', ''

Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the 1982 novel ''Schindler's Ark'' by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The film f ...

'', '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', ''

Aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

'', ''

Eyes Wide Shut ''Eyes Wide Shut'' is a 1999 erotic mystery psychological drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick. It is based on the 1926 novella '' Traumnovelle'' (''Dream Story'') by Arthur Schnitzler, transferring the story's set ...

'', '' Russian Ark'', '' The Thin Blue Line'', '' Evil Angels'', '' Return Home'', '' The Piano'',''

Lantana ''Lantana'' () is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in ...

,'' and '' Three Colours: Red''.

In other media

Pomeranz and Stratton both appeared in a parody of themselves and ''At the Movies'' in the fourth episode of the ABC show ''

Lawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure ''Lawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure'' is a six-part Australian television comedy series, starring and primarily written by Melbourne comedian Lawrence Leung and produced by Chaser Broadcasting. The series was filmed over nine weeks fr ...

''. They have also appeared in the ABC shows ''

The Chaser's War on Everything ''The Chaser's War on Everything'' is an Australian television satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television station ABC1. It has won an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Television Comedy ...

'', ''

Review with Myles Barlow ''Review with Myles Barlow'' is an Australian satirical black comedy television series which screened on Thursday nights on ABC2 and Friday nights on ABC 1. The series began screening on 16 October 2008. It is co-written and directed by Trent O' ...

'' and '' Good Game''. In December 2020, they appeared in a spoof YouTube video reviewing the year 2020. Around 2006

Hopscotch Entertainment Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television s ...

released a DVD ''Margaret & David At the Movies interactive quiz'', hosted by Stratton and Pomeranz, containing around 1500 film-based questions (and answers), with list of rules and scoresheet.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, id=0421288, title=At the Movies 2004 Australian television series debuts 2014 Australian television series endings 2000s Australian television series ABC News and Current Affairs Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Australian non-fiction television series Cinema of Australia English-language television shows Film criticism television series