John Cranko
Sam Riley (Control) stuns in this biopic about South African dancer and choreographer John Cranko, who overcame self-destructive habits and homophobic persecution as he whipped the 1960s Stuttgart Ballet into an internationally renowned dance company.
Join Seattle Speaks German for an informal meetup at Cloudburst Brewing before the May 23 screening! At 5:00pm, the conversation starts in German, and at 5:45pm, we’ll walk to the theater together. Open to all!
If you love queer cinema, you'll love the chance to win tickets to the Queer & Trans Film Festival, also at the May 23 screening.
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Tickets
Select showtime for pricing, tickets, and reserved seating selection (see floor plan).
Thursday, May 22, 2025
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
Friday, May 23, 2025
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
Monday, May 26 - Sunday, June 1, 2025
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
"With a terrific performance by Sam Riley in the title role, this handsome production—with no end of first-rate terpsichorean performance onscreen—should reignite interest in a figure whose rising international stature got curtailed." —Dennis Harvey, Variety
When was the last time you saw a film that sang with tension, not from bad timing, bad luck, injustice, or some crude movie villainy, but from the simple struggle with reality to make great art? John Cranko is that film. If the Stuttgart Ballet is among the world’s great dance ensembles—and it has been for decades—it is because the South African-born British choreographer Cranko, hounded from his post in London and prosecuted for being gay, took a chance in 1961 and accepted a gig in a provincial German capital. There, against the odds, he found support, acceptance, inspiration, and a family of dancers eager to create something beautiful together. Like good classical ballet, the film takes us along with it through simple gestures, executed with extraordinary skill and grace. Played with equal parts of sweetness, longing, and drive by Sam Riley (Control), the film’s Cranko lives in a world of music and movement, and sees choreography everywhere: the dance sequences seem to stop time without arresting the film’s momentum. Cranko wanted so badly to bring the dance he saw to life, and improbably, he succeeded. Joachim Lang’s film fills us with wonder and gratitude that he was able to do so.
- Original Language Title: Cranko
- Director: Joachim Lang
- Principal Cast: Sam Riley, Elisa Badenes, Max Schimmelpfennig, Hanns Zischler
- Country: Germany
- Year: 2024
- Running Time: 135 min.
- Producer: Michael Souvignier, Till Derenbach, Sandra Maria Dujmovic
- Screenplay: Joachim Lang
- Cinematographers: Philipp Sichler
- Editors: Jan Henrik Pusch
- Music: Hank Trede
- Website: Official Film Website
- Filmography: Goebbels and the Führer (2024), Mack the Knife - Brecht’s Threepenny Film (2018)
- Language: German
- Has Subtitles: Yes
- Format: DCP
- International Sales: Beta Cinema