AFTER its near demise a few years ago Ilkley Film Society is now going from strength to strength.

Last season was the most successful in many years and the Society nearly reached the stage of having to close its books to new members.

Ilkley Film Society meets on Sundays (with one exception) at 8pm in the comfortable main auditorium of Ilkley Playhouse, with the added convenience of a bar available from 7.30pm on film nights.

The relationship with the Playhouse, before, during and after its major refurbishment has been a major factor in the society's success (and actually represents a return to the society's roots, having started at the Playhouse some 33 years ago).

It is anticipated that the Society will again be near to fully subscribed and potential members are being encouraged to sign up early.

Films during this, the society's 33rd season, include a wide and varied selection of recent films, including a number from countries other than the UK or USA, as well as two classics from the archives.

At least one show will involve a new, and possibly even clearer projection method, an indication that the society is still moving forward, and possible a sign of things to come.

English language films released in the last two years include The Talented Mr Ripley, The Cider House Rules, Mansfield Park, A Midsummer Night's Dream and East is East.

Eyes Wide Shut is the final film of the late, great Stanley Kubrick, featuring Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise (his best performance in years). Also from Kubrick is A Clockwork Orange, originally released in 1971 but withdrawn by the director after much controversy and only re-released following his death.

Waking Ned is a delightful comedy, set in an Irish village which comes up with an elaborate scheme to get hold of the lottery winnings of an elderly villager who died before he could collect his money.

Topsy Turvy deals with the ups and downs of the successful comic opera partnership of Gilbert and Sullivan, while Happy Texas, presented with the support of Ilkley Millennium Arts Festival), is a comedy dealing with the adventures of two escaped con-men who arrive in a small Texas town only to be mistaken for a gay couple who are to host the town's beauty pageant.

From Germany comes Run Lola Run, (an energetic thriller mixing film animation and numerous effects in a breathless melange) and Trains and Roses, described at the Edinburgh Film Festival as part tender love story, part laconic comedy thriller.

All About My Mother, from Spain, was the winner of this year's Oscar for Best Foreign Language film and is presented with the support of Ilkley Millennium Arts Festival.

Finally, from the archives comes The Third Man, a British noir classic, recently voted number one in the British Film Industry poll to establish the best British films of the millennium.

For further details of the society's activities and how to join, ring (01943) 86225 or (01535) 653471.