Five best open air cinemas

From trendy rooftops in Shoreditch to palatial surroundings in Chiswick here's our pick of the best outdoor cinemas
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Matthew Hull24 April 2012

With the weather warming up - sometimes, in patches - it spells the start of the open air cinema season. Grab a blanket, a lover or some friends and check out these outdoor beauties across London and the summer.

Queen of Hoxton

A cinema experience taking place at the very highest level; the Rooftop Film Club returns to The Queen of Hoxton this May. While the venue has a hipster pedigree that verges on the intimidating you don’t have to wear thick rimmed glasses and an ironic cardigan to enjoy a drink and a movie on the glorious roof terrace. From hard-hitting independent features like Requiem for a Dream to nostalgia trips such as The Neverending Story there is something for every cinematic taste.

Queen of Hoxton, 1-5 Curtain Rd, EC2A 3JX, queenofhoxton.com

Somerset House

A staple of the London Cinephile calendar, Summer Screen at Somerset House is a 12-day season (to be announced soon) of outdoor screenings which take place amongst the elegant colonnades of Somerset House’s expansive courtyard. The line-up of films for 2012 has yet to be announced but last year’s highlights included Billy Wilder’s peerless 1960 comedy The Apartment and a rubber-masked monster of a triple-header with Gremlins, Troll Hunter and Tremors all playing on one evening.

Somerset House, Strand, WC2R 1LA, somersethouse.org.uk

Netil House

If you prefer your grand buildings concrete and brutalist to neoclassical then head to Netil House in London Fields. The stomping ground of in-the-know art-kids this reconditioned office block is home to recording facilities, fashion labels and photographer’s studios and is celebrating its first anniversary with the Rooftop Film Club, opening its rooftop bar for screenings of cult favourites like The Big Lebowski.

Netil House, 1 Westgate St, E8 3RL, netilhouse.com

Chiswick House

A little out of the city, in the rarefied gardens of a Georgian villa, the Chiswick House Open Air Film season is a short but gloriously mixed-up affair taking place around the August Bank Holiday Weekend. On Thursday 24th of the bank holiday, the theme is blue blood, with a screening of Joe Wright’s 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice while on Friday it’s all about the Blues Brothers as Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi duck mob goons and belt out soul standards in this infinitely quotable comedy classic.

Chiswick House, Chiswick, W4 2RP, chgt.org.uk

Kensington Roof Gardens

The bunting is out at Kensington Roof Gardens as the Rooftop Film Club set up their third and final projector in this green and pleasant space. Brit flicks are the order of the season with the likes of Richard Curtis’ Notting Hill and Oscar-winning The Queen showing throughout the summer. Launching the series will be the film that inspired a hundred straight-to-video mockney imitators, Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels introduced by one of its stars, and now newly-acclaimed director, Dexter Fletcher. All screenings will be accompanied by that perpetual jinx on British summertime – a barbecue.

Kensington Roof Gardens, 99 Kensington High St, W8 5SA, roofgardens.virgin.com

Follow Matt on Twitter @hulloyou

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