Steven Spielberg’s spectacular version of West Side Story is screened as part of the City Open Air Cinema programme outside the palace on 29 July  20th Century Studios.

Steven Spielberg’s spectacular version of West Side Story is screened as part of the City Open Air Cinema programme outside the palace on 29 July  20th Century Studios.

A mix of modern blockbusters, timeless classics and cult favourites are on the programme at the City Open Air Cinema in the last week of July.

Film fans can enjoy screenings of a selection of movies under the stars in a regal setting starting 22 July courtesy of the Luxembourg city Cinémathèque. The film library has held open-air screenings in various locations over the years, but the most popular by far have been on the terrace outside the grand ducal palace. They were put on hold during the pandemic but now the big screen returns to the “parvis” with seating for over 500 and an eclectic programme of popular films.

The Cinémathèque has included a trio of very recent films in this year’s line-up, notably Kenneth Branagh’s take on Death on the Nile in which he plays Hercule Poirot for the second time, the hit animated film musical Encanto and Steven Spielberg’s spectacular version of West Side Story.

The oldest film on the programme is Charlie Chaplin’s 1928 silent classic The Circus, but vintage 50s cinema is also represented by Jacques Tati’s hilarious Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot and Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much.

The rest of the programme includes two films from the 1960s--Sergio Leone’s brilliant spaghetti western A Fistful of Dollars and Blake Edwards’ beautiful romantic comedy Breakfast at Tiffany's.

And a stone-cold classic from 2001, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain rounds off the programme.

Screenings are scheduled to start at around 9.30pm What’s more, it’s all free of charge--seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. The screenings will take place even if it rains, with plastic ponchos distributed to the audience if required.

The full programme (all films in English unless otherwise indicated)

Friday 22 July:  Death on the Nile directed by Kenneth Branagh

Saturday 23 July:  Breakfast at Tiffany's directed by Blake Edwards

Sunday 24 July:  Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot directed by Jacques Tati (in French with English subtitles)

Monday 25 July:  The Man Who Knew Too Much directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Tuesday 26 July: Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (in French with English subtitles)

Wednesday 27 July:  A Fistful of Dollars directed by Sergio Leone

Thursday 28 July:  The Circus directed by Charles Chaplin

Friday 29 July:  West Side Story directed by Steven Spielberg

Saturday 30 July: Encanto directed by Jared Bush, Byron Howard & Charise Castro Smith

Check out the  for more details.