| Vivid Obsession:
Hitchcock's Technicolor Films
This is an Aero Theatre Exclusive!
The most beloved mass entertainer in Hollywood history, Alfred Hitchcock gave his
delightfully chilling obsessions free creative rein for the world to enjoy. His command of
cinematic form and content, and his wildly prolific career (he directed over 50 films!),
is virtually unrivaled.
The Cinematheque previously showcased a sampling of Hitchcock’s greatest
black-and-white films, and now it’s time to celebrate his Technicolor masterpieces!
Join us for a chromatically vivid (and, of course, thrillingly suspenseful) program
including such favorites as NORTH BY NORTHWEST, REAR WINDOW, THE BIRDS,
MARNIE, ROPE, FAMILY PLOT, TO CATCH A THIEF and THE MAN WHO
KNEW TOO MUCH.
Thursday, September 16 – 7:30 PM
Double Feature: FAMILY
PLOT, 1976, Universal, 121 min. Director Alfred Hitchcock’s dazzling,
masterful and overlooked final film follows a phony medium (Barbara Harris) and a
dim-witted cab driver/out-of-work actor (Bruce Dern) who cross swords with a ruthless,
duplicitous criminal couple (William Devane and Karen Black). Greed, kidnappings, jewel
heists and car chases ensue. Trailer
ROPE, 1948, Universal, 80 min. This
startling Alfred Hitchcock film was doubly daring for 1948: First, it risked depicting the
Leopold & Loeb-like tale of homosexual lovers committing murder solely for the thrill.
If that weren’t enough, it told the tale in a series of long, 10-minute takes, unlike
anything any director had previously attempted. With James Stewart, Farley Granger, John
Dall. Discussion between films with Karen Black and Bruce Dern
(schedule permitting). Buy
Tickets
Friday, September 17 – 7:30 PM
Double Feature: NORTH BY NORTHWEST, 1959, Warner Bros., 136 min. Dir.
Alfred Hitchcock. Cary Grant gives one of his greatest performances as womanizing,
mama’s boy executive Roger Thornhill, whose cozy life of afternoon cocktails is
turned upside down when he’s mistaken for an elusive government operative by suave
villain James Mason and his murderous crony, Martin Landau. Includes some of the most
superb set pieces ever filmed - from a seemingly innocuous cornfield to the monolithic
Mount Rushmore. Eva Marie Saint co-stars as Mason’s elegant mistress. Trailer
TO CATCH A THIEF, 1955,
Paramount, 106 min. Retired cat burglar Cary Grant and ravishing American party girl Grace
Kelly fall in love against a backdrop of fireworks, the French Riviera and a string of
unsolved jewel robberies - all while wearing some of Edith Head’s most singularly
stunning costumes. Alfred Hitchcock’s tongue-in-cheek soufflé, complete with
surprisingly daring sexual innuendo, is perfect escapist fare. Discussion
between films with Eva Marie Saint (schedule permitting). Trailer | Buy
Tickets
Saturday, September 18 – 7:30 PM
Double Feature: REAR
WINDOW, 1954, Universal, 112 min. James Stewart is L.B. Jeffries, an ace
photographer stuck in a wheelchair after breaking his leg. Despite receiving visits from
his high-fashion sweetheart, Lisa (Grace Kelly), Jeffries is bored and soon resorts to
spying on his tenement neighbors through a telephoto lens. Suddenly, he realizes he may be
privy to the alarming disappearance of his neighbor’s ill wife. Trailer
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH,
1956, Universal, 120 min. Alfred Hitchcock remakes his own entertaining but lightweight
1934 thriller as a melancholy examination of the pleasures and nightmares of family life.
When the son of James Stewart and Doris Day is kidnapped while on vacation, the
couple’s long-simmering resentments threaten to get in the way of their attempts to
rescue him. Trailer | Buy
Tickets
Sunday, September 19 – 7:30 PM
Double Feature: THE
BIRDS, 1963, Universal, 119 min. Director Alfred Hitchcock’s fascination with
northern California climaxed with this primal, harrowing shocker about the residents of
picturesque coastal town Bodega Bay, who find themselves targeted by a murderous invasion
of birds. The phone booth scene ranks as one of horror film’s finest moments. Tippi
Hedren’s film debut is a brave one as Hithcock had the young actress pelted with live
birds! Also with Rod Taylor. Trailer
MARNIE, 1964, Universal, 130 min.
Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Wealthy Mark Rutland's (Sean Connery) erotic obsession with thief
Marnie (Tippi Hedren) gradually evolves into full-fledged but excessively manipulative
love as he tries to "help" her overcome a past trauma. Discussion between films with Tippi Hedren. (TBC) Buy
Tickets |
