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Lily Tomlin In Person for THE LATE SHOW (1977) on Saturday, March 24th in Beverly Hills

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics series present a screening of one of the forgotten gems of the 1970s, Robert Benton’s homage to the detective genre, THE LATE SHOW, produced by Robert Altman and starring Oscar winner Art Carney and Oscar nominee Lily Tomlin. Tomlin, a Tony, Emmy, and Grammy winner, will join us for a discussion of one of her most charming films.

Carney plays an aging private eye who swings into action after the murder of his friend and fellow detective, played by Howard Duff. This plot element recalls the opening of the archetypal private eye movie of Hollywood’s Golden Age, The Maltese Falcon. But Carney’s age and infirmities add a touch of vulnerability to the portrait that wasn’t evident in the classic films with Bogart and other stars of the 1940s.

Tomlin plays a Hollywood kook who initially hires Carney to find the kidnapper of her cat but ultimately joins him in his detective work. As Variety wrote, “Benton has fashioned a contemporary tribute to the private eye yarns of the 1940s and in the process has given Carney and Tomlin the freedom to create extremely sympathetic characters. Both performances are knockout.” Time’s Richard Schickel agreed that The Late Show was “by far the most intelligent, engaging attempt at reincarnation of the private eye genre.”

Benton, the co-writer of Bonnie and Clyde and What’s Up, Doc?, had made his directorial debut in 1972 with Bad Company, starring Jeff Bridges. The Late Show was only his second film as director, and his third, Kramer vs. Kramer, the best picture winner of 1979, earned Oscars for Benton as both writer and director. He earned another Oscar for writing Places in the Heart in 1984. The tasty supporting cast of The Late Show includes Joanna Cassidy, Bill Macy, Eugene Roche, and John Considine, in addition to Duff.

After her hilarious work playing multiple characters on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In and her Emmy-winning TV specials, Tomlin made her feature film debut in Altman’s Nashville and earned an Oscar nomination. The Late Show was only her second feature.

Pauline Kael wrote, “If anyone else were playing Margo, she might be a mere kook; Tomlin makes her a genuine eccentric—she isn’t just the heroine, she’s the picture’s comic muse.”

Tomlin’s later films include the hit comedy, 9 to 5, The Incredible Shrinking Woman, All of Me with Steve Martin, Flirting with Disaster, and Altman’s final film, A Prairie Home Companion. She won a Tony award for her one-woman show, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, and she has received three Emmy nominations for her performance in the current hit comedy series, Grace and Frankie, in which she appears with her 9 to 5 co-star, Jane Fonda. Tomlin has also been honored by the Kennedy Center and received the Life Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild.

THE LATE SHOW (1977) with Lily Tomlin in person screens Saturday, March 24, at 7:30 PM at the Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills. Format: DVD Click here for tickets.

55th Anniversary Screening of TOM JONES March 21st in Pasadena, Encino, and West LA

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present the latest in our Anniversary Classics Abroad program: a 55th anniversary presentation of the Oscar-winning film of 1963, TOM JONES.

Tony Richardson’s spirited comic romp was the first all-British production to be named best picture by the Academy since Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet in 1948. The film won three other Oscars—best director for Richardson, best adapted screenplay by award-winning British playwright John Osborne, and best musical score by a gifted new composer, John Addison. The film received six other nominations, including a record-tying five acting nods—Albert Finney for best actor, Hugh Griffith for best supporting actor (he had won in this category four years earlier, for Ben-Hur), and an unprecedented three nominations in the supporting actress category—for Diane Cilento, Edith Evans, and Joyce Redman.

Up to this point, Richardson was best known for hard-hitting social protest dramas filmed in black and white—Look Back in Anger (based on Osborne’s hit play), A Taste of Honey, and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. For his new film, adapted from Henry Fielding’s 18th century novel, Richardson made his first period piece, his first comedy, and his first film in color, with superb lensing by Walter Lassally. The director took a playful approach to the material, experimenting with a variety of film techniques, including a silent film opening, and a number of moments when characters broke the fourth wall to address the camera. Yet Richardson and Osborne retained the essence of Fielding’s picaresque tale of a young orphan adopted by a rich nobleman but then thrown into jeopardy by scheming enemies.

The film is remembered for several striking set pieces, including a savage hunt sequence and an erotic eating scene that commingled lust and gluttony. The outstanding cast also includes Susannah York, David Warner, Joan Greenwood, and Peter Bull.

In addition to its Oscar win, the film was named best picture of the year by the New York Film Critics Circle. The New York Times’ Bosley Crowther called Tom Jones “surely one of the wildest, bawdiest and funniest comedies that a refreshingly agile filmmaker has ever brought to the screen.”

Time magazine also extolled “a way-out, walleyed, wonderful exercise in cinema” but added that the film was not completely different from Richardson’s gritty earlier films. As the magazine noted, “It is also a social satire written in blood with a broadaxe.” Audiences turned the innovative film into a box office smash.

TOM JONES screens at 7:00pm on Wednesday, March 21st in Pasadena, Encino, and West LA. Click here for tickets.

Format: DCP

Sci-Fi Weekend Returns March 16 – 18 at the Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills with Special Guests Elliott Gould, Ann Robinson, Peter Hyams, and James Brolin

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series showcase a three-day festival of vintage science fiction and fantasy films at the Ahrya Fine Arts Theater in Beverly Hills!

WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953), 65th Anniversary

In Person: Actress Ann Robinson
Friday, March 16th at Ahrya Fine Arts at 7:30 PM

This science fiction movie classic was best described in the original Variety review for the movie’s opening in August, 1953: “a socko science-fiction feature, as fearsome a film as was the Orson Welles 1938 radio interpretation of the H.G. Wells novel.” Brought to the screen by producer and animator George Pal (When Worlds Collide, The Time Machine), directed by Byron Haskin and written by Barre Lyndon (Alfred Edgar), who transposed the setting of Wells’ novel from Victorian England to contemporary Los Angeles. Gene Barry was cast as the scientist who leads the battle against a Martian invasion, with support from Les Tremayne and our special guest, Ann Robinson, who will appear at the 65th anniversary screening on opening night of the Anniversary Classics’ Sci-Fi and Fantasy Weekend, March 16-18 at the Ahrya Fine Arts theatre in Beverly Hills. Nominated for three Academy Awards and winner for Best Visual Effects. Inducted into the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2011. As noted by the New York Times reviewer, “the cast and even Sir Cedric Hardwicke and his voice of doom narration play second fiddle to the intricate and ominous Martian craft. Mind those heat rays!” Format: DCP. (March 16 at 7:30 PM).

THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD (1958) in 4K, 60th Anniversary

Saturday, March 17th, at Ahrya Fine Arts at 2:30 PM

Sci-Fi Weekend expands to the realm of fantasy with this high-spirited and popular adventure that opened for the holiday season at the end of 1958. Produced by Charles Schneer (20 Million Miles to Earth, Jason and the Argonauts), written by Ken Kolb, and directed by Nathan Juran, a previous Oscar winner (art direction, How Green Was My Valley), who also helmed the camp classic, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. This fun-for-all ages, princess-in-peril tale features Kerwin Matthews as Sinbad, Kathryn Grant as the imperiled princess, plus Torin Thatcher and Richard Eyer. But the real star of the movie is special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen, who was uncredited in also writing and producing the picture. The result is mid-century movie magic, and is a showcase for Harryhausen’s array of creatures that steal every scene. The New York Times reported that the game cast “haven’t got a chance. The odds are in favor of the Cyclops, the Roc, the dragon and company.” The memorable music is by Bernard Herrmann. Added to the National Film Registry in 2008. Format: 4K DCP. (March 17 at 2:30 PM).

THE FLY (1958), 60th Anniversary

Saturday, March 17, at Ahrya Fine Arts at 4:45 PM

Twentieth Century Fox advertised this sci-fi fantasy thriller as the “absolute end in horror” when it opened in the summer of 1958. This hair-raising tale of a scientist, whose experiments with teleportation go awry when his atomic pattern is inadvertently mixed with a fly, was written by author James Clavell (The Great Escape, To Sir, With Love) adapting a short story by George Langelaan. Directed by Kurt Neumann (Kronos), with rich color cinematography by Karl Struss (Oscar winner for Sunrise in 1927). Starring David Hedison as the ill-fated scientist, Vincent Price in one of his rare benevolent roles, Herbert Marshall, Patricia Owens and Kathleen Freeman. Aside from the macabre effects (“Help Me! Help Me!”), the movie plays effectively as a mystery suspense story. Remade by David Cronenberg in 1986. Format: DCP. (March 17 at 4:45 PM).

PLANET OF THE APES (1968), 50th Anniversary

In Person: Oscar-nominated makeup artist Daniel Striepeke
Saturday, March 17th, 2018 at Ahrya Fine Arts at 7:30 PM

This landmark sci-fi movie opens with a spacecraft landing on a distant planet, some 2000 years in the future. Charlton Heston and two surviving astronauts discover that the planet is ruled by intelligent apes who consider humans to be an inferior species. The movie was a box office and critical success, spawned four sequels, a TV series, and several reboots (the most recent just last year). In addition to Heston, the cast includes Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, and James Whitmore as the apes and Linda Harrison as one of the mute humans on the planet. Franklin J. Schaffner (later an Oscar winner for Patton) directed the screenplay by Rod Serling (the creator of The Twilight Zone) and Michael Wilson (A Place in the Sun, Lawrence of Arabia), from a novel by Pierre Boulle, who also wrote The Bridge on the River Kwai. John Chambers earned a special Oscar for his ingenious makeup, and the film was also nominated for costume design and for Jerry Goldsmith’s avant garde score. Pauline Kael wrote, “Planet of the Apes is one of the best science-fiction fantasies ever to come out of Hollywood,” and she added, “Leon Shamroy’s excellent color photography helps to make the vast exteriors (shot in Utah and Arizona) an integral part of the meaning.” The climax, in which Heston finally discovers his “destiny,” is one of the most memorable in all of science fiction. The film entered the National Film Registry in 2011. Oscar-nominated makeup artist Daniel Striepeke will join us at the screening. His many credits in addition to the original Planet of the Apes movies include Patton, The Deer Hunter, My Favorite Year, Wag the Dog, Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, and Apollo 13. Format: DCP. (March 17 at 7:30 PM).

SOYLENT GREEN (1973), 45th Anniversary

Sunday March 18 at Ahrya Fine Arts at 1 PM

Charlton Heston, who had become the go-to star of science fiction after Planet of the Apes and The Omega Man (1971), returned to the genre in this dark dystopian look at New York in 2022. This prescient film was one of the first to address issues of pollution, global warming, overpopulation, and an epidemic of homelessness. In many ways it predicted the dark future imagined in Blade Runner, made a decade later. The script was adapted by Stanley R. Greenberg from an acclaimed novel, Make Room! Make Room!, by Harry Harrison. The director, Richard Fleischer, was no stranger to science fiction, having made hit movies 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Fantastic Voyage. Heston portrays a police detective trying to solve the murder of an executive at the mysterious Soylent Corporation, which leads him to uncover a diabolical conspiracy. The supporting cast includes Leigh Taylor-Young, Chuck Connors, Joseph Cotten, Brock Peters, and Paula Kelly but the most memorable performance is given by Edward G. Robinson in his final screen appearance. Playing Heston’s wise colleague, Robinson gives a performance that the Hollywood Reporter called “witty, cultivated and endlessly appealing.” The trade publication added that the film “conjures a terrifying vision of the future.” Soylent Green won the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film of the year. Later Saturday Night Live skits helped to keep the film in the public consciousness. Format: DCP. (March 18 at 1:00 PM).

CAPRICORN ONE (1978), 40th Anniversary

In Person: Director Peter Hyams, Actors Elliott Gould and James Brolin
Sunday, March 18th at Ahrya Fine Arts at 3:15 PM

In the paranoia-soaked atmosphere of the 1970s, more than a few cynics wondered if the celebrated moon landing of 1969 could have been faked. This ingenious sci-fi thriller written and directed by Peter Hyams plays with that premise, imagining a journey to Mars that is fabricated for the TV cameras in order to stir up patriotic fervor. But then an intrepid journalist (Elliott Gould) begins to investigate, and he and the three hapless astronauts find themselves in jeopardy as government bigwigs try to prevent them from exposing the truth. In addition to Gould, the cast includes James Brolin, Sam Waterston, Karen Black, Telly Savalas, and Brenda Vaccaro, with Hal Holbrook as the conniving villain. Leonard Maltin praised the film: “Lots of great chases punctuated by Hyams’ witty dialogue.” This screening will be followed by a Q & A with Hyams, the director of other sci-fi movies Outland, 2010, and Timecop, and Elliott Gould, the Oscar-nominated star of Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, MASH, and The Long Goodbye. Just added to the Q&A: James Brolin, whose storied career includes roles in films such as Westworld, Gas Food Lodging, Traffic, Catch Me If You Can and Emmy-winning turns in his breakthrough series, Marcus Welby M.D., and the series Hotel, The West Wing, the TV movie The Reagans, and the current series Life in Pieces. Format: Blu-ray, unavailable on DCP or 35mm. (March 18 at 3:15 PM).

Tickets are $13 for each screening. Premiere card holders pay $10 per screening.

Q&A with DIE HARD Co-Stars Bonnie Bedelia and Reginald VelJohnson and Screenwriter Steven E. de Souza

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a 30th anniversary screening of one of the most popular modern action movies, DIE HARD, which made a movie star of Bruce Willis and set the template for many subsequent thrillers set in a confined space on a single day or night. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, and in 2007, Entertainment Weekly named it the best action film of all time. In 2017 it was selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry.

Details:

Tuesday, March 6, at 7:30 PM at the Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre
Q&A with Co-Stars Bonnie Bedelia and Reginald VelJohnson
Plus, Screenwriter Steven E. de Souza
Format: DCP
Click here for tickets

Willis plays New York policeman John McClane, who travels to Los Angeles on Christmas Eve to try to reconcile with his estranged wife, who has taken a top job with the Nakatomi Corporation in a sleek new office building (actually the brand new Fox Plaza building in Century City). But he walks into a terrorist attack and has to use both brains and brawn to foil a gang of European thugs. John McTiernan directed the script by Steven E. de Souza and Jeb Stuart.

Acclaimed British theater actor Alan Rickman made his feature film debut as the leader of the terrorists, Hans Gruber, ranked as one of the greatest villains of all time by the American Film Institute. The excellent, eclectic supporting cast includes Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson, DeVoreaux White, James Shigeta, Alexander Godunov, Hart Bochner, and William Atherton. Leonard Maltin called the picture a “dynamite action yarn.” The movie was a box office smash and spawned four sequels.

Oscar-winning director Brad Bird recently paid tribute to the film: “Hands down, the original DIE HARD is one of the greatest action movies ever made—it’s relentlessly inventive, engaging and funny at the same time.”

Bonnie Bedelia, who plays Holly McClane, started her film career with memorable roles in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? and Lovers and Other Strangers. She also co-starred in The Big Fix, Violets Are Blue, Presumed Innocent, DIE HARD 2, Sordid Lives, and earned rave reviews for her starring role in Heart Like a Wheel. She has appeared in many acclaimed TV movies and in the popular series The Division and Parenthood.

Reginald VelJohnson, who plays Sgt. Al Powell, the policeman who comes to McClane’s aid, also reprised his role in DIE HARD 2. He appeared in many other films and TV series but is probably best remembered for his starring role in the long-running TV sitcom, Family Matters.

Screenwriter Steven E. de Souza also wrote 48 Hrs, The Running Man with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ricochet with Denzel Washington, Beverly Hills Cop III, and Judge Dredd.

Double Feature: THE WAY WE WERE and SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE on February 13th in NoHo, Pasadena, and West LA

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Twofer Tuesdays return just in time for Valentine’s Day. Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a double feature of two all-time romantic favorites, THE WAY WE WERE and SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE.

Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford demonstrate matchless chemistry in THE WAY WE WERE, which received six Oscar nominations in 1973, including a nod for Streisand as Best Actress. The picture won two Oscars, for Marvin Hamlisch’s memorable score and Best Song, written by Hamlisch, Marilyn and Alan Bergman.

Streisand plays a college radical who falls in love with the apolitical campus jock, who also happens to be a gifted writer. The film follows their tumultuous romance over two decades from the 1930s to the 1950s and reaches its climax in the era of the Hollywood blacklist, which destroyed families and careers. Arthur Laurents (West Side Story, Gypsy, The Turning Point) provided the screenplay, and Sydney Pollack, a master of movie romance, directed. The supporting cast includes Bradford Dillman, Viveca Lindfors, Patrick O’Neal, and Lois Chiles.

Pauline Kael wrote of the film, “It’s hit entertainment, and maybe even memorable entertainment…The movie is about two people who are wrong for each other, and Streisand and Redford are an ideal match to play this mismatch.” The finale, in which the lovers meet several years after their divorce and contemplate what might have been, has had audiences weeping for decades.

SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE from 1993 also boasts a tearjerking finale that packs a wallop. In the Oscar-nominated screenplay by director Nora Ephron, David S. Ward, and Jeff Arch, geography is the main obstacle keeping the star-crossed lovers apart. Tom Hanks plays an architect from Seattle who is still grieving over his dead wife. His son (Ross Malinger) decides that he needs to find a new mate and helps to orchestrate a radio confessional that attracts the attention of Meg Ryan, a journalist living in Baltimore.

Ephron, a celebrated journalist, novelist, and screenwriter, came into her own as a director when this rom-com became a surprise summertime smash. Ryan, who had starred in Ephron’s screenplay for When Harry Met Sally, demonstrated perfect rapport with Hanks, and they reteamed in Ephron’s You’ve Got Mail five years later. Rosie O’Donnell, Bill Pullman, Rob Reiner (the director of When Harry Met Sally), Rita Wilson, and Gaby Hoffmann as Malinger’s pint-sized co-conspirator contribute delicious cameos. Despite all the prodding and plotting, the potential lovers keep missing each other until a meeting atop the Empire State Building offers them a last chance at connection.

The New York Times’ Vincent Canby wrote, “Not since Love Story has there been a movie that so shrewdly and predictably manipulated the emotions for such entertaining effect.” The rousing soundtrack, which included a series of romantic standards performed by unexpected singers (including two numbers by Jimmy Durante), rose to the top of the pop charts and contributed to the movie’s success.

The double feature screens Tuesday, February 13th at our North Hollywood, Pasadena, and West LA venues.

Click here to purchase tickets for the 5pm screening of SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE with admission the the 7:10pm THE WAY WERE included.

Click here to purchase tickets for the 7:10pm THE WAY WE WERE with admission to 9:30pm SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE included.

Format: Both films on DCP

THE GREAT ESCAPE 55th Anniversary Screening Saturday, February 10 at the Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a 55th anniversary screening of one of the best loved adventure movies of all time, John Sturges’ all-star production of THE GREAT ESCAPE.

Adapted from a nonfiction book by Paul Brickhill, the film told the mainly true story of the successful escape from one of the Nazis’ top-security POW camps during World War II. The screenplay was written by James Clavell (King Rat, To Sir, With Love, Shogun) and W. R. Burnett (High Sierra, This Gun For Hire, The Asphalt Jungle).

In reality the prisoners were almost all British, but the producers decided to add some American characters to beef up the film’s box-office potential. This decision was shrewd since it allowed for the casting of up-and-coming American actors Steve McQueen (who became a superstar largely as a result of this film), James Garner, James Coburn, and Charles Bronson. They were joined by British actors Richard Attenborough, Donald Pleasence, James Donald, and David McCallum. Because of his love of motorcycles, McQueen asked that a spectacular motorcycle jump be added to the escape sequence, and it became one of the iconic scenes in the film, even though it never really happened.

Released in the summer of 1963, the film emerged as one of the year’s biggest box-office hits, and most reviews were ecstatic. Time magazine wrote, “Producer-director John Sturges has created classic cinema of action… The Great Escape is simply great escapism.” Leonard Maltin called it “Rip-roaring excitement with marvelous international cast.” Sturges was known for his direction of other action classics, including Bad Day at Black Rock and The Magnificent Seven, the latter of which also featured McQueen. Oscar winning cinematographer Daniel Fapp shot on location in Germany, and Elmer Bernstein provided the memorable score. Ferris Webster was nominated for an Academy Award for his taut editing.

The film’s reputation has not dimmed over the years. In 2001 Esquire magazine called The Great Escape “the greatest boys’ movie of all time.” Writing in the Los Angeles Times to celebrate the film’s 40th anniversary in 2003, Michael Sragow declared, “It is an escape, and it is great: It renders vividly and fully an experience that encompasses a panorama of emotions—fear, audacity, loyalty, panic, giddiness, intransigence, and fortitude.”

THE GREAT ESCAPE screens Saturday, February 10th at 7:30pm at the Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills. Click here for tickets.

Format: DCP

TCM Big Screen Classics Series Starts January 14th in Encino, Claremont, Pasadena, and Beverly Hills

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Six decades of Hollywood hits come to select Laemmle Theatres in Encino, Claremont, Pasadena, and Beverly Hills as Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies present stars like Humphrey Bogart, Bing Crosby, James Dean, Tom Hanks, Katharine Hepburn, Kim Novak, James Stewart, Gloria Swanson, John Travolta, Gene Wilder, Bruce Willis, Natalie Wood – and dozens more – in the yearlong “TCM Big Screen Classics” series.

“TCM Big Screen Classics” series will present 13 unforgettable films spanning the 1930s to the 1990s, each accompanied by insightful, specially produced commentary from favorite TCM hosts. It starts Sunday, January 14 at 7pm with THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE with an encore screening Tuesday, January 16th at 2pm.

The 2018 “TCM Big Screen Classics” series includes:

1/14 + 1/16: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Many critics consider The Treasure of the Sierra Madre to be director John Huston’s finest cinematic offering, a gritty depiction of the cancerous effects of gold lust upon a man’s soul. From the direction of Huston, to the performances of Humphrey Bogart and Huston’s father, Walter, to the stellar camera work of Ted McCord, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre achieves an uncompromising look into the dark side of human nature. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre celebrates its 70th anniversary by leading the 2018 “TCM Big Screen Classics” series. This 70th Anniversary event includes exclusive insight from TCM host Ben Mankiewicz. Tickets.

2/18 + 2/21: The Philadelphia Story
In one of her most famous roles, Katharine Hepburn plays Tracy Lord, the daughter of a well-to-do Pennsylvania family in The Philadelphia Story. The young socialite is about to embark on a second marriage and the lucky groom is George Kittredge (John Howard), a comparatively staid but extremely wealthy gentleman. Her first husband was C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant), who is certainly more colorful than Kittredge, if slightly less responsible. When Dexter makes an unexpected appearance at the Lords’ home on the eve of Tracy’s wedding, it is not so much to wish her well as to shield her from the prying eyes of an overly ambitious reporter (James Stewart) assigned to cover the nuptials. Includes exclusive insight from TCM host Ben Mankiewicz. Tickets.

3/18 + 3/21: Vertigo
Dreamy, suspenseful and hypnotic – not to mention enormously influential – Alfred Hitchcock’s San Francisco-set thriller is a unique blend of ghost story, mystery and romance. James Stewart stars as John “Scottie” Ferguson, a detective with a crippling fear of heights who is hired to trail, but falls in love with, the mysterious Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak). When he witnesses Madeleine fall to her death, Scottie is despondent … until his paths cross with Judy Barton, a woman who seems eerily familiar. With a haunting score by Bernard Herrmann, Vertigo is a cinematic milestone that has lost none of its ability to captivate audiences, even as it celebrates its 60th anniversary. Tickets.

4/8 + 4/11: Grease
John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John star in the beloved classic featuring an explosion of song and dance that made an indelible impact on popular culture. Boasting a world-famous soundtrack including “Greased Lightnin’,” “Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee,” “Summer Nights,” “Hopelessly Devoted To You,” and “Beauty School Drop Out,” the film remains an iconic, feel-good celebration that’s perfect to watch with friends or for an unforgettable date night. Tickets.

5/13 + 5/16: Sunset Boulevard
Director Billy Wilder’s cinematic masterpiece Sunset Boulevard captures the often disturbing reality behind Hollywood’s illusions with stellar performances by Gloria Swanson and William Holden. The film was nominated for 11 Oscars, including Best Picture, and won three for Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White, Best Original Music Score and Best Story and Screenplay. Tickets.

6/3 + 6/6: The Producers
“Bialystock and Bloom! Bialystock and Bloom!” Writer-director Mel Brooks delivered one of the most uproarious comedies ever made with The Producers – one that almost didn’t see the light of day as the original distributor felt it was “in bad taste.” Fifty years later, The Producers not only proved to be an Oscar® winner (Best Original Screenplay) but cemented the status of Gene Wilder (Oscar® nominated for his role) as a comedy legend and inspired one of the most popular musicals in Broadway history. Newly restored by Studiocanal for its 50th Anniversary, the film stars Zero Mostel, Kenneth Mars and Dick Shawn. Tickets.

7/15 + 7/18: Big
It’s been 30 years since Josh Baskin (played by Tom Hanks and David Moscow) first met the mechanized carnival genie Zoltar and uttered: “I wish I were big” – and his ensuing adventure turned the already-popular Hanks into a mega-star. Directed by Penny Marshall, Big became a box-office sensation as audiences fell in love with the exploits of 12-year-old Josh becoming a 30-year-old man overnight. Voted by the American Film Institute as one of the 10 best fantasies in American movie history, Big is a delight for all movie lovers – big and small. Tickets.

8/5 + 8/8: The Big Lebowski
Part absurdist comedy, part noir crime drama, and utterly Coen, The Big Lebowski has continued to grow in both popularity and reputation since its first release in 1998. Loosely inspired by the writings of Raymond Chandler, The Big Lebowski is almost impossible to define — except as a modern classic. So much so, that in 2014 the Library of Congress named The Big Lebowski to the esteemed National Film Registry, citing its “tale of kidnapping, mistaken identity and bowling.” With Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi and David Huddleston, it’s a singular achievement from the singular filmmaking team of Joel and Ethan Coen. Tickets.

8/26 + 8/29: South Pacific
It’s some enchanted evening for movie fans as director Joshua Logan’s widescreen, color-soaked adaptation of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s classic musical makes a rare cinematic return in honor of its 60th anniversary. Filled with impossibly lush scenery – shot both in Kauai and on the island of Ibiza – and memorable performances by Mitzi Gaynor, Rossano Brazzi, Ray Walston and Juanita Hall, the Oscar®-winning South Pacific was a box-office smash upon release. Its soundtrack, which also set records, includes such unforgettable songs as “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair,” “Some Enchanted Evening” and “Bali Ha’i.” Tickets.

9/23 + 9/26: Rebel Without a Cause
One of James Dean’s three major starring roles, Rebel Without a Cause turned an actor into a Hollywood legend when it was released less than a month after Dean’s untimely death. On its own, though, the film set off cultural shock waves as teenagers flocked to see one of the first realistic portrayals of youth Hollywood had attempted. Director Nicholas Ray catches lightning in a bottle not just with Dean’s performance, but with perfectly cast Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo as equally troubled youths and a revelatory performance by Jim Backus as Dean’s ineffectual father. Rebel Without a Cause remains as riveting as the day it was released. Tickets.

10/14 + 10/17: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Appointed on a whim to serve a vacant seat on the U.S. Senate, Boy Rangers leader Jefferson Smith (James Stewart) moves to Washington filled with enthusiasm – which quickly turns to disbelief bordering on cynicism when he sees how the nation’s political system actually works. This classic, directed by Frank Capra, with story by Lewis R. Roster and screenplay by Sidney Buchman, was a milestone of Hollywood’s “golden year” of 1939. It quickly became a lightning rod of controversy among real politicians, and a perennial favorite among moviegoers. Whether they’ve seen it a dozen times or it’s brand-new to them, audiences rally behind Jeff Smith, proving that the power of an individual to change the way of the world is an optimistic American ideal. Tickets.

11/11 + 11/14: Die Hard
Yippee-ki-yay … John McClane is back in the iconic action-thriller. In his first major movie role, Bruce Willis is a sly, sardonic combination of action-hero and wisecracker who has to single-handedly protect L.A.’s fictional Nakatomi Plaza from a team of terrorists led by the suave Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman, also making his big-screen debut). Inside the 35-story high-rise, McClane can use little more than his wits to save the day. Under the assured direction of John McTiernan (The Hunt for Red October, Predator), Die Hard became a game-changing action film that remains the gold standard three decades later. Tickets.

12/9 + 12/12: White Christmas
One of the best-loved, most quintessentially American of all holiday classics, White Christmas will charm longtime fans and young audiences alike with its blend of timeless music and big-hearted emotion. Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen star in the delightful musical directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca), which features unforgettable songs by the legendary Irving Berlin. The 2018 “TCM Big Screen Classics” series wraps up by celebrating the season with a rare cinematic presentation of this holiday favorite that moviegoers of all ages can enjoy together. Tickets.

55th Anniversary Screening of Federico Fellini’s 8 ½ on January 17th in Pasadena, Encino, and West LA

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series launch our Anniversary Classics Abroad program for 2018 with one of the most influential and highly acclaimed of all foreign films: Federico Fellini’s autobiographical masterpiece, 8 ½.

8 ½ screens Wednesday, January 17 at 7pm in Encino, Pasadena, and West LA. Click here for tickets.

Fellini had already won two Oscars in the 1950s, and in 1963, 8 ½ scored the most Oscar nominations of any foreign film up to that time, with a total of five, including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay (by Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli and Brunello Rondi). It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and Piero Gherardi won for his stunning black-and-white costume design.

Marcello Mastroianni, who had starred in Fellini’s international smash, La Dolce Vita, three years earlier, plays Guido Anselmi, a film director struggling to complete his newest film while also juggling a wife, a mistress, and several other women as he meditates on sexuality, religion, and mortality.

The film is set primarily at a lavish spa, where Guido’s personal and professional turmoil is continually interrupted by poignant childhood memories and wickedly witty fantasies. Esteemed Italian novelist Alberto Moravia compared the film to James Joyce’s stream-of-consciousness novel, Ulysses, and the film’s visual flourishes changed the entire language of cinema.

The New Republic’s Stanley Kauffmann wrote, “In terms of execution I cannot remember a more brilliant film… We see a wizard at the height of his wizardry.”

Writing in Esquire, Dwight Macdonald called 8 ½ “the most brilliant, varied, and entertaining movie since Citizen Kane.”

In addition to Mastroianni, the cast includes Anouk Aimee, Sandra Milo, Claudia Cardinale, Rossella Falk, and Barbara Steele. Other important collaborators include cinematographer Gianni di Venanzo and composer Nino Rota, whose jaunty circus melodies help to propel the movie.

8 ½ had a major influence on directors all over the world, including Mike Nichols, Paul Mazursky, Woody Allen, Francois Truffaut, and recent Oscar winner Paolo Sorrentino.

Presented digitally.