The Rio’s monthly Classic Matinees take place on the first or second Wednesday of the month. There is an interval for every film, and extra seating is provided in the foyer. We are delighted that thanks to funding from the Bridge House Trust we are once again able to offer free admission. We are also able to offer free tea and cake! Please come along and enjoy a film and a chat!

These screenings are also open to everyone else at normal weekday matinee ticket prices.

CASABLANCA (U)

(US 1946) dir. Michael Curtiz 102m.
Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Dooley Wilson, Curt Bois.

Voted the most romantic film of all time by a TCM poll, this is also surely one of the greatest films ever made. Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) and her husband, Czech freedom fighter Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), wander into Rick's Cafe in Casablanca. The two are on the run from the Nazis, and have come to the American-owned nightspot to lie low. Little does Ilsa know that the cafe is run by Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), the one true love of her life. When the two see each other, sparks fly, and memories of an enchanted time in Paris come flooding back.

DREAMGIRLS (12A)

(US 2006) dir. Bill Condon 130m.
Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover, Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose.

Adapted from the award-winning Broadway musical, Dreamgirls follows an ambitious girl group from 1960s Detroit through a soaring career and personal crises. Based on the story of legendary label Motown and chart-topping girl group The Supremes, this is an eye-opener for anyone who thought pop was a white invention. As the world's first African-American-owned major media company, Tamla Motown Records broke down cultural barriers and conquered the white pop charts during a time of segregation and social upheaval. DREAMGIRLS is an appealing, touching and spectacular tribute to one of the most sensational stories in pop music.