In The Court of the Crimson King

Robert Fripp and the members of prog-rock giants King Crimson look back on 50 years of art, discipline and transcendence in this fascinating, funny and moving film.

King Crimson is a band that people literally are dying to be in. In the Court of the Crimson King is a dark, comic film for anyone who wonders whether it is worth sacrificing everything for just a single moment of transcendence. For more than 50 years Robert Fripp, also famous for his work with Bowie and Eno, has overseen a unique creative environment in which freedom and responsibility conspire to place extraordinary demands on the band’s members – only alleviated by the applause of an audience whose adoration threatens to make their lives even harder. It’s a rewarding and perilous space in which the extraordinary is possible, nothing is certain, and not everyone survives intact.

Contains extraordinary music, complex time signatures, meditations on mortality, and bad jokes.

Stick around on the Friday night for a Q&A after the screening with director Toby Amies.
Plus, late bar after the screening on Saturday night.

"This unflinching portrait of the prog rock band is like an episode of The Office but with huge drum kits, grizzled roadies and rapturous fans. The great thing about this thoughtful, intimate portrait of them is that one doesn’t even need to like their music all that much to find this film utterly enthralling. Somehow it ends up being about a lot more than just King Crimson.” - The Guardian

• “In the Court of the Crimson King” is really about as good as rock documentaries get, in capturing the essence of a group of musicians and how they relate to each other, the world and a muse whose demands result in literal and figurative calluses."  Variety
• “By turns comical and melancholy, it may be the most revealing film about working life in a band since Spinal Tap.” - The Telegraph
• “Robert Fripp forms the intense, magnetic centre of a film that is less a traditional music documentary, more a gripping psychological case study.”  - The Economist
• “There’s a deft balancing act in the film between sandpaper dry humour and genuine emotional weight, with themes of time, death and mortality all ever-present throughout.” - The Quietus

Screening as part of Summer Music Season 2023, presented by music journalist and author, David Quantick. Check out the rest of the films in the series! David will be hosting Friday night's Q&A with director Toby Amies.

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