A good fine dining experience tends to get only better with cool classic films for company. In a move that’s met with considerable success, Paper Moon Doha has been screening movies on its terrace on Monday and Wednesday nights for Qatar’s film lovers, and you might want to catch the last few ones before the attraction takes a break for Ramadan.
For a long time now, Monday nights at the Italian restaurant have been special for its patrons and even movie lovers who happen to drop by to catch some open-air cinema magic, with the restaurant screening classic Italian films with English subtitles. Some of the movies that were screened as part of the recent Monday movie nights were La Vita e Bella, Le Amiche, La Strada, I Vitelloni, Viaggio in Italia.
As for the newly unveiled Wednesday movie nights, the whole James Bond series is in the offing. The past two Wednesdays screened the first two James Bond films Dr. No (1962), and From Russia With Love (1963). Both Monday and Wednesday night movies, start at 8pm on the terrace.
?Jozef Pesta, General Manager of Paper Moon Doha, told Community, “Movies, like Italian dishes, are most fun when you share them with people who matter in your lives. Paper Moon is all about gathering families and friends not just to offer them delectable Italian cuisine prepared using authentic techniques and ingredients of highest quality, but also to make sure we provide another layer of entertainment.”
Pesta continued, “Movies are like a slice of life really, and through our classic Italian movie nights every Monday, we transport guests to where it all started and hopefully expose them to the beautiful Italian heritage and make them appreciate the culture more. Our James Bond Movie Nights every Wednesday, on the other hand, are action-packed and appeal to most of the guests.”
The movie screenings at the restaurant are set to continue until the start of Ramadan, and “the aim is to resume middle of September”.
A treat awaits film lovers tomorrow with the screening of Luchino Visconti’s masterpiece Il Gattopardo (The Leopard). The 1963 film recreates drama, and opulence, the tumultuous years of Italy’s Risorgimento – when the aristocracy lost its grip and the middle classes rose and formed a unified, democratic Italy. American star Burt Lancaster stars as the aging prince watching his culture and fortune wane in the face of a new generation, represented by his upstart nephew (Alain Delon) and his beautiful fiancée (Claudia Cardinale). Awarded the Palme d’Or at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival, The Leopard translates Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s novel, and the history it recounts, into an epic film.
On May 25, Wednesday, the fourth James Bond movie in the franchise, Thunderball (1965) will be screened. The film has been hailed as one of the biggest Bond films ever with the finest soundtrack, greatest sets, classic style, the prettiest Bond girls, featuring a sparkling performance by Sean Connery as Bond, but has also been singled out for its “most anti-climactic ending” to perhaps any Bond film. Directed by Terence Young, the film takes Bond to The Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads stolen by SPECTRE agent Emilio Largo in an international extortion scheme.
The budget for Thunderball was more than the combined budgets of the first three Bond films. Adjusted for inflation, this is by far the most successful Bond film with a US gross of $627,572,000, making it, as of last year, the 29th biggest grossing film of all time. The film’s tagline might be just the reason for you to drop by at Paper Moon Doha on Wednesday to catch it: If You’ve Only Seen It Once You Haven’t Seen It All!
A poster of Thunderball, hailed as one of the biggest Bond films ever.
