Absolute Beginners – 40th Anniversary Screening
• 12.00pm, Sunday May 31st, 2026
Sydney Opera House – Playhouse
Presented by Groovescooter for
Vivid Festival
Dir: Julien Temple
Adapted from Colin MacInnes’ cult novel, Absolute Beginners winds the clock back to the pivotal British summer of 1958, chronicling a time when teenagers first came into their own and racism was on the rise in England.
Released in 1986, this ambitious musical was a creative gamble for Julien Temple, who made his mark in 1980 with The Sex Pistols’ film The Great Rock’n’Roll Swindle – a gamble that was mitigated by the casting of David Bowie as advertising mogul Vendice Partners, and a breakthrough performance from actress, singer and model Patsy Kensit.
With Bowie’s theme song lodged near the top of the British charts for many weeks, and a soundtrack that also included Paul Weller’s Style Council, Sade, Ray Davies and Jerry Dammers from The Specials, the film nonetheless proved an uneasy fit for 1980s audiences: a lavish, big-budget spectacle that was also trying to grapple with social and political unrest.
40 years later, the film positively glows in a beautiful 4k restoration, and given a more nuanced reading, makes for a truly rewarding rediscovery.
