| Special One Night Events &
Limited Engagements, Sneak Previews in December:
http://www.myspace.com/americancinematheque
Wednesday, December 2 - 7:30 PM Kevin
Thomas' Favorites: CARRIE, 1952,
Paramount, 118 min. Dir. William Wyler. Restaurant manager Laurence Olivier loses
everything due to his obsession with small-town girl Jennifer Jones in William Wyler's
expert adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's novel SISTER CARRIE. Film
Critic Kevin Thomas will introduce the film. Clip
Sunday, December 6 - 7:30 PM SPECIAL SCREENING + RECEPTION
Presented by the French Film & TV Office, French
Embassy, Los Angeles and the Irish Film Board: LONDON
RIVER, 2009, 3B Productions, 87 min. Dir. Rachid Bouchareb. On July 7, 2005, four
Muslim assassins, traveling on London’s public transport during morning rush hour,
activate a series of bombs. LONDON RIVER tells the emotional story of an unlikely
friendship that develops between Mrs. Sommers (Brenda Blethyn), a prejudiced Christian
mother, and Ousmane, a Muslim father (Sotigui Kouyaté, 2009 Berlin Silver Bear winner as
best actor), who search for their children following the attacks. In French, Arabic, and
English with English subtitles.
Official Website | Trailer
Plus: "The Door," 2009, Octagon Films,
17 min. Dir. Juanita Wilson. A father’s desperate attempt to come to terms with the
devastating effects of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. In Russian with English subtitles. Cocktails following the screening.
Wednesday, December 9 - 7:30 PM
50TH ANNIVERSARY ON THE BEACH,
1959, MGM Repertory, 134 min. Dir. Stanley Kramer. Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Anthony
Perkins and Fred Astaire lead the all-star cast in director Stanley Kramer's harrowing
anti-war drama. In the wake of a nuclear war, several survivors struggle to hold on to
their humanity - even though they know their days are likely numbered. Adapted from Nevil
Shute's novel. Actor and Activist Ed Begley Jr. will introduce
the screening. Discussion following with Stanley Kramer’s widow, Karen Kramer and
actress Donna Anderson.
Friday, December 11 - 7:30 PM
OFFICIAL MEXICAN & TURKISH OSCAR ENTRIES
Double Feature: THE
BACKYARD (EL TRASPATIO), 2009, Mexico, 122 min, Dir. Sabina Berman. Mexico City
Police Academy graduate Blanca Bravo is young, strong, stern and idealistic when
she’s confronted with a series of murdered women. Blanca begins investigating, and
very soon discovers a society at odds with itself; a society alienated by injustice and
violence - and by the indifference of its people. Based on events that took place in 1996
in the Mexican border town of Juarez. In Spanish with English subtitles. Trailer
I SAW THE SUN (GÜNESI GÖRDÜM), 2009, Turkey, 120
min. Dir. Mahsun Kirmizigul. With the introduction of forced migration policies, the Altun
clan finds itself wrenched from the mountain village it has called home for generations.
Spanning a period of 25 years, the film recounts the experiences of the family members as
they struggle to find their feet in alien surroundings. In Turkish with English subtitles.
Official Website | Trailer
Saturday, December 12 - 7:30 PM
Jane Campion In Person! From
a series of highly original and stylish shorts to a masterful early feature (SWEETIE), a
series of evocative period pieces (PORTRAIT OF A LADY, THE PIANO), forays into feminist
genre filmmaking (IN THE CUT) and unconventional biopics (AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE, BRIGHT
STAR), Jane Campion has proven herself to be one of the cinema's most distinctive and
talented voices.
BRIGHT STAR, 2009, Apparition, 119 min. Jane Campion's
latest film follows the true-life relationship between poet John Keats (Ben
Whishaw) and his neighbor Fanny Brice (Abbie Cornish), whose passionate feelings for
each other are continually thwarted by John's illness and societal pressures. Paul
Schneider plays Keats' jealous best friend. Official Website | Trailer
SWEETIE, 1989, Avenue Pictures Productions, 97 min. Jane
Campion's first theatrical feature follows two sisters in a highly dysfunctional
family who engage in a physical and psychological battle of wills. Their father only
adds to their problems when his wife leaves him to fend for himself, turning the family
home into a darkly comic war zone. Discussion in between films
with director Jane Campion and actress Abbie Cornish, plus actor Paul Schneider and
Cinematographer Greg Fraser. Clip
Sunday, December 13 - 7:30 PM
Live Commentary! THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA. 2004, Sony Repertory, 89 min. Dir.
Larry Blamire. In this lovingly deadpan recreation of those ultra-cheap '50s sci-fi/horror
films, a gaggle of cherished B-movie stereotypes descend upon Bronson Canyon in search of
the mysterious element "atmosphereum" - most of them unaware that the cranky
(and e-e-evil) title character wants it as well. Live
commentary by writer-director Larry Blamire, Mike Schlesinger, Fay Masterson, Andy Parks and
Susan McConnell and other members of the cast. Trailer
SERIOUS FILMMAKING: A Coen Brothers Retrospective
Coen Bros Triple Feature
From their
electrifying debut with BLOOD SIMPLE in 1984 to their Academy Award-winning triumph NO
COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN in 2007 and the recent masterpiece A SERIOUS MAN, brothers Ethan and
Joel Coen have established themselves as a formidable creative force. Join us at both the
Aero and Egyptian Theatres for triple features of the Coens' best films, movies that
traverse the worlds of comedy, film noir, and domestic melodrama with immense wit and
style. One admission price for all 3 films.
Monday, December 14, 2009 - 5:30 PM
RAISING ARIZONA,
1987, 20th Century Fox, 94 min. Dir. Joel Coen. This staggeringly hilarious chronicle of
the romance between inept bad boy Nicolas Cage and straight arrow cop Holly Hunter was an
unexpected follow up to the Coen Bros.' chilling BLOOD SIMPLE. The kidnap scheme that
follows when the loving couple learn they can't conceive kids is guaranteed to provoke
more laughs per minute than any American comedy since the heyday of 1930's screwball
cinema.
7:30 PM: A SERIOUS MAN, 2009, Focus
Features, 105 min. Dir. Ethan Coen, Joel Coen. Jewish physics professor Larry Gropnik
(Michael Stuhlbarg) can't catch a break: his wife (Sari Lennick) wants a divorce, his
malady-laden brother (Richard Kind) is living on his couch, and his tenure is endangered
by a small misunderstanding that snowballs into a fiasco. Only the Coen brothers could
make such a modern-day Job's plight so painfully hilarious; their return to the world of
Minnesota academia in which they grew up yields one of their richest, most personal films
to date.
9:30 PM BLOOD SIMPLE,
1984, MGM Repertory, 99 min. Joel and Ethan Coen's first feature film is one of the most
assured moviemaking debuts in recent history. Hangdog Texas bar owner Marty (Dan Hedaya)
hires a corrupt and corpulent detective (M. Emmet Walsh) to kill Abby, his unfaithful wife
(Frances McDormand) and her lover (John Getz). Winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize-Dramatic.
"...it's the noir-style humor, not the
violence, that makes this tribute to James M. Cain and Alfred Hitchcock so good."
- Desson Thomson, The Washington Post;
"Grisly, stylish and often weirdly funny,
BLOOD SIMPLE is a reminder of how rarely an original artistic sensibility is announced to
the world and how much better movies are when that sensibility is allowed to keep going
its own way." - Anne Hornaday, The Baltimore Sun
More Coen Brothers at the Egyptian Theatre
Tuesday, December 15 - 7:30 PM
ITVS Documentary Series: YOUNG@HEART,
120 min. Director Stephen Walker documents the true story of the final weeks of rehearsal
for the Young@Heart Chorus in Northampton, Mass. The average age of the members is 81, and
many of them have to overcome ill health to participate. Their music choices are
unexpected, as they go against expectations of "age appropriate material" to
include songs by the like of James Brown and Sonic Youth. Free admission! RSVP to CommunityCinema@gmail.com for priority
seating. Panel discussion following with participants to be announced. About
ITVS Community Cinema: Community Cinema, produced by the Independent Television Service,
is a free monthly screening series in nearly 60 cities across the U.S., featuring films
from PBS’ Emmy Award-winning series "Independent Lens." www.communitycinema.org Trailer
SPOTLIGHT ON TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
More Tennessee Williams December 9 at the Egyptian Theatre
Playwright and screenwriter Tennessee Williams is one of the most acclaimed authors
in the history of the American theatre. Among his notable credits are the Pulitzer
Prize-winning A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE and CAT ON A HOT
TIN ROOF, plus THE GLASS MENAGERIE, THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA, and THE ROSE
TATTOO. His recently discovered screenplay THE LOSS
OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND has been made into a film that will sneak preview as
part of this series.
Wednesday, December 16 - 7:30 PM
Sneak Preview: THE LOSS OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND, 2009, Paladin, 102 min.
Dir. Jodie Markell. This new drama based on a recently rediscovered original screenplay by
Tennessee Williams is set in the Roaring Twenties and tells the story of Fisher
Willow (Bryce Dallas Howard) a headstrong young southern heiress who rebels by asking the
impoverished but handsome Jimmy Dobyne (Chris Evans) to escort her to the major social
events of the season. The relationship is purely a business arrangement, with Fisher
paying for Jimmy’s time and attention, but when she discovers she really loves him,
she finds it impossible to earn the affection she tried to buy. Also starring Ellen
Burstyn, Ann-Margret and Will Patton. Discussion
following with director Jodie Markell and actor Bryce Dallas Howard. There will be a
display of some of the beautiful 1920s era costumes from the film on display in the lobby
as well. Special thanks to Palace Costume and Revamp Vintage Reproduction Clothing. Trailer |
