Anniversary Classics Archives - Page 25 of 26

Anniversary Classics in June: William Friedkin with THE FRENCH CONNECTION and Russ Tamblyn and George Chakiris (Bernardo and Riff!) with WEST SIDE STORY

June 8, 2016 by Lamb L.

I love New York in June. How about you? Well, this month we have two superb New York movies as part of our Anniversary Classics and some of the key talent behind them in person to talk about it.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of THE FRENCH CONNECTION, the gritty and gripping police thriller that won five Academy Awards in 1971, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Gene Hackman, Best Screenplay and Best Director for our special guest, William Friedkin. One of the key figures in the American cinematic renaissance of the 1970s, Mr. Friedkin has directed such films as The Birthday Party, The Boys in the Band, the enormously successful The Exorcist, Sorcerer, To Live and Die in L.A., Rules of Engagement, and the more recent Killer Joe.

We’ll screen THE FRENCH CONNECTION on June 18 at the Fine Arts Theatre. Beyond its adrenaline-fueled chase scenes, the movie boasts acute characterizations and potent social commentary about the moral compromises that may be endemic to police work. It also stands as one of the most vivid renditions of a decaying New York City ever committed to celluloid. Roy Scheider and Bunuel favorite Fernando Rey (as the suave European criminal kingpin) co-star. Reviews were ecstatic. Judith Crist called it “a movie-movie supreme.” Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote that THE FRENCH CONNECTION was “a slam-bang, suspenseful, plain-spoken, sardonically funny, furiously paced melodrama.” Even highbrow Stanley Kauffmann, writing in The New Republic, hailed “the most exciting picture I’ve seen since Z.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwBbkSTfKa8

June 29 won’t be just any night, because we’ll be celebrating the 55th anniversary of WEST SIDE STORY at the Fine Arts with ~~Bernardo~~ and Riff themselves, ~~George Chakiris and~~ Russ Tamblyn. NOTE: Unfortunately, George Chakiris had to cancel for health reasons. One of the most honored and commercially successful of all movie musicals, WEST SIDE STORY earned a near-record 10 Academy Awards in 1961. The film version of the groundbreaking stage musical that re-imagined Romeo and Juliet in contemporary New York City retained and deepened the play’s emotional impact by bringing together a show business all-star team. The show’s director and choreographer, Jerome Robbins, worked with veteran filmmaker Robert Wise to transform the theatrical experience into electrifying cinema. Robbins and Wise reworked the classic Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim score and came up with fresh casting ideas for this ever timely story of racial prejudice and conflict. The stars of the movie included Natalie Wood, Oscar nominee Mr. Tamblyn, Oscar winner Mr. Chakiris, and Oscar winner Rita Moreno.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFahVIspakE

WEST SIDE STORY – Back in Cinemas 2011 – Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFahVIspakE)

Our screening will be followed by a Q&A with the charismatic leaders of the movie’s rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. Mr. Chakiris (Bernardo) had been a dancer in several 1950s musicals, including Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and White Christmas. Following his Oscar-winning performance in WEST SIDE STORY, he appeared in such films as Diamond Head with Charlton Heston, Flight from Ashiya with Yul Brynner, and the Jacques Demy musical The Young Girls of Rochefort, co-starring Catherine Deneuve and Gene Kelly. He also has extensive credits in theater and television.

Russ Tamblyn (Riff) played Elizabeth Taylor’s younger brother in Father of the Bride in 1950. He displayed his dance abilities in such musicals as Hit the Deck and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and earned an Oscar nomination for his dramatic turn in the 1957 film, Peyton Place. His later work includes The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, the horror classic, The Haunting (also directed by Robert Wise), David Lynch’s cult TV series, Twin Peaks, and a cameo in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained.

Both Q&A’s will be moderated by Los Angeles Film Critics Association president Stephen Farber.

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S 55th Anniversary Screening ~ A Tribute to Audrey Hepburn and Henry Mancini

April 13, 2016 by Lamb L.

Laemmle’s Anniversary Classics presents one of the most iconic romances in movie history, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S (1961), with a 55th anniversary screening as a birthday celebration for its beloved star, Audrey Hepburn, and a tribute to her unique collaboration with the legendary composer Henry Mancini. Besides the image of Hepburn in that famous black Givenchy dress, the most enduring legacy of the movie is the song “Moon River,” composed by Mancini for Hepburn, and a “melody of a lifetime.” Henry Mancini’s widow, Ginny Mancini, and daughter, singer Monica Mancini, will participate in a Q&A before the screening, moderated by LAFCA President Stephen Farber. Want to refresh your memory of this iconic film ahead of the Q&A event? You can find BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S on DVD, Blu-Ray, and on a wide range of streaming services that you can access via your streaming box. Streaming services are an excellent way to enjoy classic films in remastered quality and high definition.

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S was adapted from a popular Truman Capote novella and brought to the screen by director Blake Edwards and writer George Axelrod, with considerable alterations to the story about a flighty call girl from the country aspiring to the high life in New York City. Capote had envisioned Marilyn Monroe in the role, but it was Audrey Hepburn who immortalized Holly Golightly for the screen. Henry Mancini, who had a smash hit with his music for Edwards’ television series, Peter Gunn, provided the Oscar and Grammy-winning soundtrack that accompanied her romantic adventures. TIFFANY’S was a box office hit, and was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Hepburn as best actress and best screenplay. Mancini wrote one of the most popular songs of the twentieth century, “Moon River,” with frequent partner lyricist Johnny Mercer, and the pair won an Oscar (double-winner Mancini also won for his score). Hepburn had inspired Mancini for his most famous melody, and TIFFANY’S was the first of four collaborations for them, with CHARADE, TWO FOR THE ROAD, and WAIT UNTIL DARK to follow in the 60s; they remained lifelong friends.

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S, also starring George Peppard, Patricia Neal, Mickey Rooney, and Buddy Ebsen, will screen on Wednesday, May 4, 2016 at the Ahyra Fine Arts theater in Beverly Hills. So join us as we celebrate Audrey Hepburn’s birthday and the creative bond she shared with her “huckleberry friend,” Henry Mancini. Tickets are on sale now.

“A completely unbelievable but wholly captivating flight into fancy composed of unequal dollops of comedy, romance, poignancy, funny colloquialisms and Manhattan’s swankiest East Side areas captured in the loveliest of colors.” (A.H. Weiler, New York Times)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THXpUvMrY14&feature=youtu.be

May 4th at Ahrya Fine Arts – Breakfast at Tiffany's (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THXpUvMrY14&feature=youtu.be)

SCI-FI WEEKEND: Re-visit the Golden Age of Science Fiction with Six Classic Films April 15-17 at the Ahrya Fine Arts

March 25, 2016 by Lamb L.

Re-visit the Golden Age of the Science Fiction Film as Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series presents SCI-FI WEEKEND, a festival of six classic films April 15-17 at the Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills.

It was dawn of the Atomic Age and the Cold War, as Communist and nuclear war paranoia swept onto the nation’s movie screens to both terrify and entertain the American public. All the favorite icons are here: Robby the Robot from FORBIDDEN PLANET, the pod people from INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, the blood-seeking creature from THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, and so much more.

Schedule:

Date	Title	Tickets
04/15 at 7:30PM	THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951)	Available
04/16 at 2:30PM	THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951)	Available
04/16 at 5:00PM	WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE (1951)	Available
04/16 at 7:30PM	INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956)	Available
04/17 at 2:30PM	FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956)	Available
04/17 at 5:00PM	FANTASTIC VOYAGE (1966)	Available

Tickets:

Tickets for individual shows are available NOW on Laemmle.com & at the Ahrya Fine Arts box office:

Single film Ticket: $13
Premiere Card Holders (Single Ticket): $12

Anniversary Classics Sci-Fi Weekend Ticket Specials (Available only at Box Office):

6 Admissions for $48 (For any Sci-Fi Weekend Film 4/15-4/17)
Saturday Triple Bill: $30 (Ticket to 3 Saturday 4/16 films)
Sunday Double Feature: $20 (Ticket to 2 Sunday 4/17 films)

Trailer:

Movies:

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) – 65th Anniversary

“Klaatu barada nikto”: One of the most famous phrases in all science fiction was first uttered in The Day the Earth Stood Still, which cast its spell over audiences in September 1951, in the early years of the Cold War and Atomic Age. This tale of a humanoid alien visitor (Michael Rennie), with a message and ultimatum for the human race, was directed by Robert Wise from a screenplay by Edmund H. North, and featured a memorably eerie score by Bernard Herrmann. Also starring Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, and our special guest, Billy Gray, the only survivor of the cast and crew. Gray, who is also well known for his role in the classic 1950s sitcom Father Knows Best, will appear at the 65th anniversary screening on opening night of the Anniversary Classics Sci Fi Weekend, April 15-17. (April 15 at 7:30 PM) [Read more…]

Anniversary Classics: February Screenings include LA DOLCE VITA in Santa Monica, WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? with George Segal in West LA

February 8, 2016 by Lamb L.

We’re celebrating Oscar season with screenings of two Academy Award powerhouses in our continuing Anniversary Classics Series.

First, we offer a 55th anniversary screening of LA DOLCE VITA, one of the most influential of foreign films, and the recipient of 4 Academy Award nominations in 1961 – Best Director and Original Screenplay for Federico Fellini, Art Direction and Costume Design (an Oscar winner for Piero Gherardi). Fellini’s sardonic take on the decadence of Rome in the 1960s reverberated throughout modern film history, and heavily influenced the 2013 Oscar foreign-language winner THE GREAT BEAUTY. So cruise along the Via Veneto with Marcello Mastroianni, then take a dip in the Trevi Fountain with the voluptuous Anita Ekberg, and see it all at the sleekly elegant, newly re-opened Monica Film Center!

LA DOLCE VITA will screen on Tuesday, February 16 at 7:30 PM at the Monica Film Center in Santa Monica. Tickets on sale now at laemmle.com/ac.

Next, we look back 50 years to celebrate one of the most provocative films in cinema history – WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966). The film adaptation of playwright Edward Albee’s scathing dissection of a marriage was brought to the screen with most of its graphic dialogue intact due to the relaxation of the censorious Production Code in its fading, final gasp. VIRGINIA WOOLF garnered a near-record 13 nominations including Best Picture and Best Director for tyro film director Mike Nichols, winning 5 Oscars including Elizabeth Taylor (Best Actress) and Sandy Dennis (Supporting Actress). The rest of the 4 character cast were also nominated: Richard Burton (Best Actor) and our special guest, George Segal (Supporting Actor) who will join us for a Q & A after the screening.

We are also presenting this screening as a tribute to the late Haskell Wexler who died late last year at the age of 93. Wexler won his first Oscar for filming VIRGINIA WOOLF in glorious black and white, an art form endangered by the mid-sixties.

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? with special guest George Segal will screen on Tuesday, February 23 at 7:00 PM at the Royal Theater in West LA. Tickets are on sale now at laemmle.com/ac.

Join the conversation in our Anniversary Classics Facebook Group.

Kenneth Turan in today’s L.A. Times: “John Ford-directed ‘Rio Grande’ to get the big-screen treatment in West Los Angeles”

January 8, 2016 by Lamb L.

If you haven’t been keeping up with our Anniversary Classics Series, you’ve been missing out! Last week’s screening of YOUNG CASSIDY honoring legendary film editor Anne V. Coates was a prime example of how film history lives and breathes. The youthful 90-year old Coates passed on the wisdom of her more than sixty year career (and still going strong!) to an appreciative audience of admirers. More importantly, it demonstrated how vibrant industry veterans can be in our youth obsessed culture and film industry.

Now there’s another chance to celebrate film history and those witness to it with our tribute to the late Maureen O’Hara in our 65th anniversary screening of John Ford’s RIO GRANDE.

In today’s L.A. Times, Kenneth Turan wrote, “John Ford is the acknowledged master of the western, and his Cavalry trilogy one of the highpoints of his career, but “Rio Grande” the third film of the group (after “Fort Apache” and “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon”) is not revived as often as the other two.

“Now, in honor of its 65th anniversary, the 1950 film will get a big screen appearance on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Laemmle’s Royal in West Los Angeles, a location that is sure to flatter the picture’s expansive Monument Valley setting. More than that, costar Claude Jarman will make an appearance and participate in a Q&A after the screening.

“Jarman played Trooper Jefferson “Jeff” Yorke, assigned to the command of the father he hardly knows, Lt. Colonel Kirby Yorke, gruff as only John Wayne knew how to be. Adding spice to the story is the appearance of the trooper’s mother and Yorke’s estranged wife, played by Maureen O’Hara in the first of five on-screen pairings with Wayne. Sparks, as they say, will fly.”

Los Angeles Film Critics Association President Stephen Farber will moderate the Q&A with Mr. Jarman.

RIO GRANDE is part of our Anniversary Classics Series. For tickets, details, and more, visit:
www.laemmle.com/ac.

Anniversary Classics – 2015 Wrap-up, John Ford’s YOUNG CASSIDY to Kickoff 2016

December 21, 2015 by Lamb L.

Our Anniversary Classics Series closed out 2015 in grand fashion with a sold out 35th anniversary screening of SOMEWHERE IN TIME at the Royal on 12/15. This romantic fantasy cast its spell once again to an appreciative crowd, many of whom had not seen their favorite on the big screen since its original opening in 1980. Through the years it has developed a cult following and after viewing again last night its easy to see why.

Jane Seymour with Michael McClellan and Stephen Farber at the 35th anniversary screening of SOMEWHERE IN TIME.

The film’s co-star Jane Seymour and director Jeannot Szwarc entertained the audience with remembrances about making the film and even a few heretofore unknown secrets. Some fans came dressed in period costumes so altogether it was quite a memorable evening!

We will have many more memorable screenings in 2016, and to start the new year off we feature the 50th anniversary of John Ford’s YOUNG CASSIDY, starring Rod Taylor, Maggie Smith and Julie Christie. Our special guest is the film’s Oscar-winning editor, Anne V. Coates, the recipient this year of a lifetime achievement award by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. This screening takes place on January 6, 2016 at 7:00 pm at the Royal in West LA.

More about this and other Anniversary Classics events for 2016 very soon. For the latest updates visit www.laemmle.com/ac or join our Facebook group! Happy Holidays!

arts•meme: SPARTACUS Meets Its Maker, Dalton Trumbo

November 4, 2015 by Lamb L.

The terrific fine arts blog arts•meme, published by longtime dance critic Debra Levine, gave our Anniversary Classics screening of SPARTACUS a nice plug last week. We’re showing it this Friday night November 6th at 7:30 in the Royal’s big auditorium on the same day that Trumbo opens in theaters. (We open it a bit later.) The new film celebrates the life of Dalton Trumbo, and with this 55th anniversary screening of their Oscar-winning film we pay our own tribute to the blacklisted screenwriter, as well as actor-producer Kirk Douglas and director Stanley Kubrick. The picture, adapted from Howard Fast’s novel about a slave revolt in ancient Rome, is generally regarded as “the best-paced and most slyly entertaining of all the decadent-ancient-Rome spectacular films,” as critic Pauline Kael wrote. Douglas bravely decided to break the blacklist by allowing Trumbo to use his own name on the screenplay for the first time in more than a decade.

dalton-trumbo The all-star cast includes Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton, Jean Simmons, Tony Curtis, Woody Strode, and Peter Ustinov, who won the Academy Award for best supporting actor for his droll performance as a sycophantic slave dealer. (The film also won Oscars for cinematography, art direction, and costume design.) See this grand, thrilling sand-and-sandals epic—a precursor of Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning Gladiator—on the big screen, in a brand new restoration.

Anniversary Classics: Actress Blythe Danner In-Person After THE GREAT SANTINI on 10/27 at the Royal! Plus, a Pre-Halloween Double Feature 10/30 at the Fine Arts.

October 19, 2015 by Lamb L.

After celebrating the 65th anniversary of ALL ABOUT EVE this past Tuesday, we look ahead to the two remaining Anniversary Classics events on the October calendar! Next up is the 35th anniversary of the Oscar-nominated drama THE GREAT SANTINI (1980), with special guest Blythe Danner, who played the long-suffering wife of domineering Marine pilot and Oscar nominee Robert Duvall. Danner received some of the best notices of her career this past summer for I’LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS, a performance which is being touted for year-end awards consideration. Join us for THE GREAT SANTINI and a conversation with Blythe Danner on Tuesday, October 27th at the Royal in West LA at 7:00 pm.

Then don’t forget our special Halloween program on Friday, October 30th – a retro double feature of the 80th anniversary of THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935), one of the great horror classics, paired with bonus feature ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948), a scary and very funny vintage horror-comedy. Both features are from the vaults of Universal studios and to complete our trip into yesteryear are being presented at the beautifully restored and newly re-opened Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills. The classic double bill (yes, two for the price of one!) begins at 7:30 on the 30th.

Tickets are now on sale for both events and can be purchased online at www.laemmle.com/ac. See you soon at the Anniversary Classics series!