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Join our tradition: SING-ALONG FIDDLER ON THE ROOF tickets are going fast!

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So few movies stand the test of time and can delight wildly different audiences even decades after their release. Fifty-one years later, Fiddler on the Roof is one of those few. All of which is to say that tickets for our Christmas Eve Sing-Along Fiddler on the Roof screenings at six of our seven theaters are going fast. There is still room for those who want to come out and celebrate, but act soon. Bring your Hanukkah menorah (and candles) to the theatre and help celebrate the miracles in our lives, not least of which is the “Wonder of Wonders” that Laemmle Theatres is still open after a year of closure and two years of halting recovery.  Are brighter days ahead? Who knows. But I’m betting on yes. So buy a ticket, and I’ll feel as “If I Were a Rich Man” because there are still people who value the “Tradition” of seeing a movie in a movie theatre! ~ Greg Laemmle
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ONLY IN THEATRES – 100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Add your review!

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Only in Theaters, the new documentary about the Laemmle family and their film 85-year-old foreign and art film exhibition business, is a critical success, universally praised by critics and audiences alike. You can add your review here (scroll down to the “rate and review” section and click on “what did you think of the movie?”). Now playing at the Monica Film Center.

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“I felt like I was watching a family’s home movie… A celebration of people to whom we owe an enormous debt.” ~ Wade Major, FilmWeek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles)
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“A fascinating and poignant look at the Laemmle family.” ~ Claudia Puig, FilmWeek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles)
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“Watching how it was a struggle to get people into the seats even before the pandemic and all the stress that Greg and Tish Laemmle endure is a little tough to watch at times, but Only in Theaters is essential viewing for every filmgoer.” ~ Jason Delgado, Film Threat
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“Like a knotty, poignant family business saga you might see on one of their screens, the story here is beautiful and complicated, one in which the twin weights of legacy and calling bear down on the need to survive in changing times.” ~ Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times
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“It’s not a film about how important theatrical exhibition is for filmmakers (though that is nice too). Rather, it’s an intimate portrait of a man burdened by legacy, navigating uncharted waters, not even sure that he wants to.” ~ Katie Walsh, TheWrap
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“Only in Theaters isn’t just a celebration of the Laemmles and their love of sharing cinema but the American Dream.” ~ Danielle Solzman, Solzy at the Movies
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“The kind of film where the viewer loses sense of time itself, mesmerized by the beauty and melancholy of each shot,” NANNY opens Friday.

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Nanny, the acclaimed psychological horror fable of displacement, is about Aisha (Anna Diop), a woman who recently emigrated from Senegal. She is hired to care for the daughter of an affluent couple (Michelle Monaghan and Morgan Spector) living in New York City. Haunted by the absence of the young son she left behind, Aisha hopes her new job will afford her the chance to bring him to the U.S., but becomes increasingly unsettled by the family’s volatile home life. As his arrival approaches, a violent presence begins to invade both her dreams and her reality, threatening the American dream she is painstakingly piecing together.

Nanny won the Grand Jury Prize for drama at Sundance at the Directors to Watch award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and is a nominee for the Someone to Watch prize at the Spirit Awards. We open the film Friday at the Monica Film Center, Claremont 5 and NoHo 7.

“Diop’s delicate, fine-tuned performance works harmoniously with movie’s shape-shifting and with the other actors, especially Monaghan’s more full-bodied, quietly violent turn.” ~ Manohla Dargis, New York Times

“Nanny starts as a movie about a reality that we’d rather not face and ends as a movie about reality that we cannot bear. That is the horror of it — and, in Jusu’s hands, the galvanizing thrill.” ~ K. Austin Collins, Rolling Stone

“The film is an experience for the senses; you’ll hold your breath as you’re consumed.” ~ Pilar Galvan, NPR
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“A work of compassion and unease heralding a thoughtful, genre-probing talent.” ~ Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times

“Its feeling and its images stayed with me long after it ended.” ~ Sahir Avid D’souza, TimeOut
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“Jusu digs into her heroine’s psyche in a way that is unsettling and unforgettable.” ~ Esther Zuckerman, Thrillist
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“It’s the kind of film where the viewer loses sense of time itself, mesmerized by the beauty and melancholy of each shot.” ~ Jourdain Searles, Hollywood Reporter

“Wild, boldly expressionistic” EO advance screening with the filmmaker in person Nov. 28; regular engagement begins December 2.

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     With his first film in seven years, legendary director Jerzy Skolimowski (Deep End, Moonlighting) directs one of his most free and visually inventive films yet, following the travels of a nomadic gray donkey named EO. After being removed from the traveling circus, which is the only life he’s ever known, EO begins a trek across the Polish and Italian countryside, experiencing cruelty and kindness in equal measure, all the while observing the follies and triumphs of humankind. During his travels, EO is both helped and hindered by a cast of characters that includes a young Italian priest (Lorenzo Zurzolo), a Countess (Isabelle Huppert), and a rowdy Polish soccer team. Loosely inspired by Robert Bresson’s Au hazard Balthazar, and featuring immersive, stunning cinematography by Michal Dymek coupled by Pawel Mykietyn’s resonant score, Skolimowski’s film puts the viewer in the perspective of its four-legged protagonist. EO’s journey speaks to the world around us, an equine hero boldly pointing out societal ills, and serving as warning to the dangers of neglect and inaction, all while on a quest for freedom.
     We are screening EO on Monday, November 28 at the Monica Film Center as part of the Reel Talk with Stephen Farber series. Mr. Skolimowski will attend for a Q&A. The regular engagements begin December 2 at the Royal and December 9 at our Glendale theater.
     “EO is an astonishment and so too is this wild, boldly expressionistic movie that conveys the life of its largely silent protagonist with a bare minimum of dialogue.” ~ Manohla Dargis, New York Times
     “EO may be one of the greatest movies ever made about the spirit of animals, as much as we can know it.” ~ Stephanie Zacharek, Time Magazine
     “EO’s personality shines thanks to Skolimowski’s daringly imaginative depictions, both visual and emotional, of the donkey’s point of view.” ~ Richard Brody, New Yorker

“A potent emotional charge, very contemporary eco-consciousness, and film-making that at its best fairly sizzles in its strangeness mark out EO as an animal film that stands defiantly on its own hooves.” ~ Jonathan Romney, Screen International

     “EO is a damning polemic on our relationship to other intelligent species — as free labor, food and companions — as seen through the dewy, wide eyes of a donkey whom we come to adore.” ~ Peter Debruge, Variety
     “Think of Skolimowki at this stage of his career and life as a filmmaker happily grazing, indulging in an animal need for cinema.” ~ Mark Asch, Little White Lies
     “In Bresson’s version, it’s the humans around the donkey who are the true center of the story. Not so in EO. This is Donkeyvision, and we’re better off for it.” ~ Adam Solomons, indieWire

Greg Laemmle on ONLY IN THEATERS: The filmmaker “ended up with a front row seat for two of the more tumultuous years in the history of our three-generation family business.”

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From Greg Laemmle:
     February, 2019.  We had recently hosted a screening of L.A. Foodways at the Fine Arts.  This documentary, about the history of agriculture in Los Angeles, and the current situation with food deserts in certain neighborhoods – where people were unable to easily access fresh fruits and vegetables – delved into a social issue that had interested me for many years.  And I was especially happy to see a favorite local charity, Food Forward, as one of the charity beneficiaries of the screening.
Filmmaker Raphael Sbarge
     I was not surprised that the filmmaker, Raphael Sbarge, had found this a worthy subject for a documentary.  His previous film, A Concrete River: Reviving the Waters of Los Angeles has also turned a lens on something of local interest, and it also was able to see the natural land underneath the asphalt and buildings, and express a desire to see the city embrace this topography and hydrology so that L.A. could become a more sustainable and equitable place for its residents.  It didn’t hurt that my wife and I appeared as interviewees in A Concrete River. But beyond that, I truly felt that Raphael and I shared a similar hope for the City of Angels.
     So when Raphael called me in February, 2019, I was happy to make time to meet with him.
Greg Laemmle
     At that meeting, he basically said that he wanted to make Laemmle Theatres the subject of his next documentary.  And given his previous films, I thought it was a natural fit. We may not be an environmental organization, but over 80+ years, we have become part of the fabric of the city, and I always hoped that we could grow and adapt, finding ways as a business where we could address some of the challenges confronting our home.
     Now over the years, many filmmakers have said that someone “should” make a movie about Laemmle Theatres. But Raphael was the first of them to say that he was going to do it. And within weeks, on March 21 and 22 of 2019, we were sitting in the auditorium at the Fine Arts having the first on-camera interviews. Little did we know how things would change over the course of the next two years.
Robert Laemmle
     Without revealing too much, let’s just say that Raphael ended up with a front row seat for two of the more tumultuous years in the history of our three-generation family business. Do we sell? Do we not sell? And then beyond that, how do we survive being closed for 13 months during the coronavirus outbreak?
     The film ends on April 9, 2021. The day of the reopening of our theatres. It was a day of hopefulness, but also a day of reckoning. Clearly, and for a variety of reasons, it was going to take some time to reconnect with the audience, and get our business back on track.
Nancy Laemmle
     As I write this now, with the finished film, Only in Theaters, about to open a theatrical run, how am I feeling? About the film, I feel very honored.  I won’t say proud, since beyond sitting for the interviews, I had nothing to do with the production or editing of the film. I trusted Raphael to make the film as he saw fit, and to be honest with his storytelling. But yes, honored.
     The reaction to the film at festival screenings across the country has been terrific, and while I know that festival enthusiasm does not always translate to the competitive realities of theatrical exhibition, I am confident that people who do see the film will emerge with a greater appreciation for the moviegoing experience, and by extension, the people who make that experience possible.
     The film is not what I thought it would be when I agreed to let Raphael make the movie. But it is honest and true, and that’s what’s important. And as hard as it is for me to watch some portions of the film, I will be forever grateful that it exists.
    Only in Theaters opens this Friday, with a full engagement at the Royal, and limited engagements at Claremont, Glendale, Newhall, NoHo and the Town Center. The filmmaker and I will be appearing at all the venues at some point over the first five days of the run for Q&A. Check here for details on which shows will have a Q&A. Whether you can make one of those screenings or not, I hope you’ll take the time to see the film. According to Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi,” we are destined to only find appreciation for things after they are gone. But really, it doesn’t need to be that way. We can appreciate the things that are unique, and that bring beauty and wonder into our lives. And we can support and nurture those things so that they will always be there for us and those that come after us. And you can start doing that this weekend.

“Sublime,” “meditative and deeply romantic” UTAMA opens Friday the Royal. Plus: Current & coming competitors for the Best International Film Oscar.

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Winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize this year at Sundance, Utama is set in the arid Bolivian highlands and follows an elderly Quechua couple that has been living the same daily routine for years. While he takes their small herd of llamas out to graze, she keeps house and walks for miles with the other local women to fetch precious water. When an uncommonly long drought threatens everything they know, Virginio and Sisa must decide whether to stay and maintain their traditional way of life or admit defeat and move to the city with their descendants. Their dilemma is precipitated by the arrival of their grandson Clever, who comes to visit with news. The three of them must face, each in their own way, the effects of a changing environment, the importance of tradition, and the meaning of life itself. (Watch the trailer.)

This visually jaw-dropping debut feature by photographer-turned-filmmaker Alejandro Loayza Grisi is lensed by award-winning cinematographer Barbara Alvarez (Lucretia Martel’s The Headless Woman).

We open Utama Friday at the Royal. Loayza Grisi and producer Santiago Loayza Grisi will participate in Q&As after the 7:30 PM screenings on Friday and Saturday, November 11 and 12. Moderators: Friday – Carlos Aguilar (Los Angeles Times, New York Times); Saturday – Katie Walsh (Los Angeles Times, The Wrap).

“Sublime. From the breathtaking opening shot… the film looks unlike anything else.” – Variety

“Meditative and deeply romantic. Rarely has the [climate] crisis been addressed as organically—or with quite so many llamas.” – RogerEbert.com

“Visually stunning… combines magical realism with gorgeously precise cinematography. The images conjured in Utama momentarily let us into the language of the unknown, of what we can not comprehend unless we are as in tune with the land as those whose existence is so deeply tied to it.” – IndieWire

Utama is one of several Best International Oscar competitors that we’re already screening, with more to come, including:

Holy Spider (Denmark)
Decision to Leave (South Korea) This one ends Thursday, though we’ll probably bring it back if it gets an Oscar nomination.
EO (Poland)
Return to Seoul (Cambodia)
Corsage (Austria)
Alcarras (Spain)
Last Film Show (India)
Cinema Sabaya (Israel)
Saint Omer (France)
Hirokazu Koreeda’s Broker will not be Japan’s submission but we’re going to show it anyway, of course!

Tribute to Angela Lansbury ~ THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE 60th Anniversary Screening.

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As a tribute to the late Angela Lansbury, we present a 60th anniversary screening of the movie that she considered her greatest achievement, The Manchurian Candidate. When Lansbury joined us in person for a sold-out anniversary screening of Death on the Nile in 2018, she told the audience that The Manchurian Candidate was her favorite of all her film roles. She received her third and final Oscar nomination for her performance in this 1962 movie. The screening is Wednesday, November 16, 7 PM at the Royal Theater.

John Frankenheimer’s film was a hit in 1962 and remains one of the most highly acclaimed of all political thrillers. In 1994 it was selected for the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, an honor reserved for films of “historical, cultural, or aesthetic significance.” This story of a diabolical plot to engineer a Russian takeover of the White House was provocative in 1962 and seems frighteningly prescient today. As Frankenheimer said in remarkably prophetic comments a few years before his death, “I think our society is brainwashed by television commercials, by advertising, by politicians, by a censored press… More and more I think that our society is becoming manipulated and controlled.”

The Manchurian Candidate was adapted from Richard Condon’s novel by screenwriter George Axelrod, who also wrote such films as The Seven-Year Itch and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It tells the chilling story of a soldier in the Korean War, played by Laurence Harvey, who is captured and brainwashed by Russian and Chinese Communists into becoming an assassin in the employ of the Soviet regime. Frank Sinatra plays a fellow soldier trying to halt the assassination plot. Lansbury won awards from the Hollywood Foreign Press and the National Board of Review for her portrayal of Harvey’s manipulative mother, who plays a crucial role in the conspiracy.

In addition to its achievements as a political thriller, the film was one of the first to satirize the anti-Communist hysteria that had gripped the country and divided the Hollywood community during the 1950s. James Gregory plays Lansbury’s husband, a dimwitted U.S. Senator modeled on Joseph McCarthy. This mockery of fanatical politicians enraged right wing pundits at the time of the film’s release, but it received the best reviews of any movie released in 1962. Variety wrote, “Every once in a rare while a film comes along that works in all departments… Such is The Manchurian Candidate.”

Over the years, rave reviews continued to pour in. Roger Ebert called it “a work as alive and smart as when it was first released.” Pauline Kael said, “The picture plays some wonderful, crazy games about the Right and the Left; although it’s a thriller, it may be the most sophisticated political satire ever made in Hollywood.” Writing in Time magazine in 2007, Richard Corliss said, “Lansbury and Harvey are both sensational in a movie that remains pointed and current. It still touches you like a clammy hand in the dark.”

Lansbury’s portrayal of the malevolent Mrs. Iselin was ranked as one of the 25 greatest villains in film history by the American Film Institute. Unlike other female villains in film noir, who were motivated by sex or money, Lansbury’s character had much more grandiose ambitions; her aim was to become the most powerful person in the entire country, a concept that was way ahead of its time in 1962.

After the screening, Stephen Farber and Michael McClellan, co-authors of Cinema ’62: The Greatest Year at the Movies (which includes a lengthy section on The Manchurian Candidate) will discuss the film with the audience. Other surprise guests may join the conversation.

Ingmar Bergman’s PERSONA 55th Anniversary screenings December 13 at Laemmle Glendale, Newhall & Royal

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Abroad Series present the 55th anniversary of Ingmar Bergman’s Persona (1967) on December 13 at three Laemmle locations. The intense, provocative psychological drama was one of the keystone films of the late-period golden age of the art-house in the 1960s and energized the “Film Generation” that came of age in that seminal decade.

The story concerns an actress (Bergman newcomer Liv Ullmann) who stops speaking in the middle of a performance and refuses to communicate. She is placed in the care of a nurse (Bergman regular Bibi Andersson) and they retreat to the isolation of a beach house for her recovery. As their relationship progresses, it takes fascinating twists and turns. Some have compared their relationship to that of a psychiatrist and patient, with Ullmann paradoxically playing the role of the psychoanalyst whose silence prods the nurse into revealing some of her innermost secrets and deep-seated anxieties. Andersson’s confessions include one vivid memory of an uninhibited sexual encounter that critic Pauline Kael described as “one of the rare truly erotic sequences in movie history.”

Swedish auteur and all-time film titan Bergman was one of the directors at the center of the international film explosion that captivated moviegoers during that era. College students and engaged moviegoers debated long into the night, trying to decipher all the mysteries of this utterly compelling but sometimes puzzling film, not unlike the reaction to Alain Resnais’ enigmatic Last Year at Marienbad earlier in the decade. Andrew Sarris, the influential film critic of The Village Voice, noted that the film “seems to bewitch audiences even when it bewilders them.” Michael Wilmington in the Chicago Tribune cited it as “one of the screen’s supreme works and perhaps Ingmar Bergman’s finest film.” Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian called it “sensually brilliant, an endlessly questioning and mysterious disquisition on identity. Persona is a film to make you shiver with fascination, or incomprehension, or desire.”

Persona plays one night only, Tuesday, December 13 at 7:00 PM at three Laemmle locations: the Royal (West Los Angeles), Glendale, and Newhall (Santa Clarita).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu_Jvil6ToY