Ahrya Fine Arts

Our 12th Annual Christmas Eve FIDDLER SING-ALONG is Just Around the Corner – Tickets On Sale!

November 14, 2019 by Marc H

UPDATE! We’re pleased to announce our Fiddler Hosts for 2019! Click here for bios.
(skip to main article)

Town Center 5
Stephen Sass (4:30pm) – of the Jewish Historical Society of Southern CA – BUY TIX
Cantor Mike Stein (7:30pm) – NEW! – singer, fiddler, and Grammy winning artist – BUY TIX

NoHo 7
Cantor Aviva Rosenbloom – Jewish songwriter and woman cantor pioneer – BUY TIX

Royal
Isaac Wade – accomplished thespian and Laemmle General Manager – BUY TIX

The Fine Arts Theatre
Kenny Ellis (7:30pm) – entertainer, comedian, singer of Hanukah Swings! – BUY TIX

Playhouse
Judy Sofer – of Jewish Federation of the San Gabriel and Pamona Valleys – BUY TIX
Jason Moss – of Jewish Federation of the San Gabriel and Pamona Valleys – BUY TIX

Lumiere Music Hall
Dan Messinger – NEW! – writer, comedian and renowned baker – BUY TIX

Claremont 5
Cantor Paul Buch – of Temple Beth Israel – BUY TIX

Jump below to find out more about our hosts.

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Can you believe it’s the 12th year of our Christmas Eve FIDDLER SING-ALONG!? Join us in coming together as a community to celebrate the song, shtick, and shenanigans of Laemmle’s legendary Christmas Eve experience.

For 2019, this ever-popular event will be occurring in several of our neighborhood venues (see below for full listing and ticket links). PLUS, due to the convergence of Xmas and Chanukah (3rd night!), we’ll be celebrating the Festival of Lights with candle lighting and song.

(Jump down to watch the Sing-A-Long trailer. For tickets, visit Laemmle.com/Fiddler).

In addition to movie and song, the evening will feature TRIVIA with PRIZES being awarded to Fiddler buffs with the quickest recall. Dressing in COSTUME is not required, but highly encouraged! Who knows, perhaps the best costume will garner a prize? Or perhaps this is the year you’ll be given an opportunity to do your best Tevye or Golde impression? That will be up to the emcee. Indeed, each location will feature its own host (to be announced).

As Greg Laemmle is fond of saying “Christmas Eve isn’t just Chinese food!” He elaborates, “This is your once-a-year chance to be the star of the shtetl. Join with friends and neighbors and sing your heart out alongside Fiddler’s screen legends. And it’s okay if you haven’t memorized all the songs. We provide the lyrics.”

Song highlights include the iconic “TRADITION”, “IF I WERE A RICH MAN”, “TO LIFE”, “SUNRISE SUNSET”, “DO YOU LOVE ME?” and “ANATEVKA”, among many, many more.

Don’t be late! Those who wish to attend the program are advised to purchase tickets in advance as the program has traditionally sold to capacity. We welcome all those in the community who are looking for an alternative Christmas Eve.

See you in the shtetl…

PROGRAM DETAILS
DATE: Tuesday, December 24th
TIME: 7:30pm

PRICING:
General – $18
Senior 62 & Over / Child 11 & Under – $15
Premiere Card General – $15
Premiere Card Senior 62 & Over / Child 11 & Under – $12
Note: Premiere Card pricing not available at the Fine Arts Theatre or Lumiere Music Hall.

LOCATIONS:
Claremont – Get Tickets
The Fine Arts in Beverly Hills – Get Tickets
Lumiere Music Hall – Get Tickets
North Hollywood – Get Tickets
Playhouse in Pasadena – Get Tickets
Royal in West L.A. – Get Tickets
Town Center in Encino – Get Tickets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=CnuyNaOEBt4&feature=emb_logo

Fiddler Sing-a-Long (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=CnuyNaOEBt4&feature=emb_logo)

Fiddler Hosts – 2019

Mike Stein at the Town Center 5 (Encino, 7:30pm show)
Cantor and world renowned performer, composer and recording artist MIKE STEIN will be our 7:30pm host at the Town Center 5 in Encino. A GRAMMY AWARD WINNER (cELLAbration) and nominee (Dreamosaurus), his songs have been recorded by the late PATSY MONTANA and have been included in many films. He has recorded fiddle for artists such as MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER and TOM PAXTON. Stein also serves as the cantor at Temple Aliyah in Woodland Hills, California. He has taught extensively in communities in Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Poland. He has produced albums for the late THEODORE BIKEL, the Abayudaya and the Lemba Jews of Zimbabwe. Stein is the father of three sons who are accomplished musicians of their own. Together with his wife, Kelley, they perform nationally with their group, The Rolling Steins. Stein’s appearance will benefit our community partner, the JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. BUY TIX

STEVE SASS at the Town Center 5 (Encino, 4:30pm Show)
Community leader STEPHEN SASS currently serves as President of the JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. As founding president of the BREED STREET SHUL PROJECT, he has been instrumental in the ongoing revitalization of one of L.A’s earliest synagogues built in 1915 in Boyle Heights. He co-wrote and executive-produced “Meet Me at Brooklyn & Soto” an award-winning documentary on East L.A.’s Jewish Heritage. What’s more, Sass is the chair of the L.A. COUNTY HISTORICAL LANDMARKS AND RECORDS COMMISSION, appointed by Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. In professional life, he is the Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs for HBO. Sass’ appearance will support our partner, Jewish Historical Society of Southern California. BUY TIX

Cantor AVIVA ROSENBLOOM at the NoHo 7 (N. Hollywood)
Creator of the FEMINIST SHABBAT at Temple Israel of Hollywood and female cantor pioneer AVIVA ROSENBLOOM headlines proceedings at Laemmle’s NOHO 7. An anti-war activist and veteran of the Civil Rights Movement, Rosenbloom’s life trajectory changed after a transformational trip to Israel. With the realization that Jewish music was her calling, her journey soon led her to become the first full-time woman Cantor in Los Angeles. She served as Cantor at TEMPLE ISRAEL OF HOLLYWOOD for over 30 years from 1975 to 2008. She is also a songwriter, with several recordings of Jewish music to her credit, including the career retrospective “Viva Aviva: A Life in Song.” BUY TIX

KENNY ELLIS at the Fine Arts Theatre (Beverly Hills)
Known as “The Man Behind the Matzoh Ball,” cantor and comedian KENNY ELLIS will be our host at the Fine Arts Theatres in Beverly Hills. He appears in support of our partner, the LOS ANGELES JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL. As a cantor and comedian, Ellis has entertained audiences all around the globe. His television credits include recent appearances on CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM as well as LAW & ORDER. Ellis achieved further success with HANUKKAH SWINGS! a recording that broke new ground as the first ever big band Hanukkah album. Large YouTube audiences have enjoyed “Swingin’ Dreidel” and other tracks from the hit record. BUY TIX

JUDY SOFER at the Playhouse 7 (Pasadena, 4:30pm Show))
Cantor JUDY SOFER is the Cultural Arts Program Coordinator of the JEWISH FEDERATION of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valley’s Cultural Arts program, as well as the Cantor at TEMPLE BETH SHALOM of Long Beach. She began her music and theatre studies at UC Irvine. While living in Israel from 1974-1985, she performed at Tel Aviv’s CAMERI THEATER and appeared in a number of programs for Israeli educational television. Sofer also toured the country with her own children’s theater and taught music and piano. Upon her return to California, she received the Award for Excellence in Children’s Theater for her play, A Journey to Noteland. She is well known for conducting Adult and Teen Choirs, and producing/directing concerts and show throughout the Greater Los Angeles area. BUY TIX

JASON MOSS at the Playhouse 7 (Pasadena, 7:30pm Show))
Executive Director of the JEWISH FEDERATION of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys JASON MOSS will be our host at the Playhouse 7 in Pasadena. Under his leadership, the Federation has doubled its programming with the creation of such programs as the Cultural Arts Program, PJ LIBRARY, a nationally recognized program to reach and connect with unaffiliated Jewish families. In addition, Moss recently launched JLife SGPV, a lifestyle magazine celebrating Jewish life in the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys. BUY TIX

ISAAC WADE at the Royal (West L.A.)
Laemmle’s very own ISAAC WADE is the General Manager of our Monica Film Center location and has been working with the company for over 16 years. He will be hosting at the LAEMMLE ROYAL. Wade is the former GM of the storied LAEMMLE SUNSET 5 in W. Hollywood as well as the company’s signature ROYAL venue in West L.A. Additionally, the talented Wade is an accomplished thespian, working overseas and with several local companies such as the L.A. THEATRE ENSEMBLE and cARTel: THE ARTS COLLABORATIVE. During his youth in Kansas, he performed the role of TEVYE in the Galena High School production of Fiddler. Laemmle audiences who love and appreciate Wade in his role as theater manager are in for a treat as he reveals yet another facet of his dynamic persona. BUY TIX

DAN MESSINGER at the Lumiere Music Hall (Beverly Hills)
World-class baker and entertainer DAN MESSINGER will be our host at the Lumiere Music Hall in Beverly Hills. Messinger is the owner of Bibi’s Bakery and Café and the founder of The Kosher Cookie Company. Prior to entering the world of baking, Dan was a writer, producer and standup comic, performing for audiences across North America. He is a longtime fan of Fiddler on The Roof and is so delighted by Sholem Aleichem that he sings a song about him every Friday … he is also a loyal member of “Team Horse.” BUY TIX

Cantor PAUL BUCH at the Claremont 5 (Claremont)
Cantor PAUL BUCH has served Temple Beth Israel in Claremont since 2003. He came to the cantorate after a 25 year career in TV and film production in Los Angeles, New York, and Portland. In addition to his cantorial duties, Buch is President of the Claremont Interfaith Council and serves on the Faith-Based Roundtable of the Pomona Unified School District. He is also Chair of the City of Claremont’s Human Relations Committee and serves on an advisory committee at the Claremont School of Theology. This will be his sixth year as our Fiddler host in Claremont! BUY TIX

Ahrya Fine Arts Theater News: 25th Anniversary Screening of THE LAST KLEZMER, New Operator, Israel Film Festival,

October 30, 2019 by Lamb L.

The propulsive Jewish folk music known as klezmer that was played by itinerant bands throughout Eastern Europe before World War II has earned many sobriquets, among them “Jewish jazz.” The pumping rhythms, modal harmonies and cantorial cry of this European roots music have filtered into countless Broadway musicals. Probably no one did more to perpetuate klezmer traditions, especially in Europe, than Leopold Kozlowski, the subject of Yale Strom’s absorbing 1994 documentary The Last Klezmer. Strom will participate in a Q&A and play his violin following a 1:00 pm screening on Sunday, November 3rd at the Fine Arts in Beverly Hills.

In other Fine Arts news, on November 1 Laemmle Theatres will cease operation of the theater, turning the facility over to Screening Services Group. SSG will return the theater to its longtime name, the Fine Arts Theatre. Laemmle operated the Fine Arts from 1985 to 1994 and again from September 2015 until now. Laemmle Theatres President Greg Laemmle said, “It has been our privilege to show movies at this beautiful single-screen theater and we’re happy that Screening Services Group will continue to maintain it as a destination for Los Angeles cinephiles.”

According to CinemaTreasures.org, the Fine Arts first opened in April 1937 as the Wilshire Regina, with seating for 800.

Longtime Beverly Hill resident Shawn Far purchased the theater in May of 2015. He has a great respect for historical buildings and owns several in the Los Angeles area. The theater was closed from 2010 to 2015 and once Mr. Far purchased it he began renovations using a state-of-the-art Digital Cinema system including a fully equipped 3D system as well as 35mm and 70mm projectors.

Screening Services Group is an excellent screening room operator in the Los Angeles area, operating three screening rooms in Beverly Hills and one in West LA. The Fine Arts Theatre will be operated as a public movie theatre and a special venue for movie premieres and other special events.

The theatre will host Israel Film Festival next month, and tickets will still be available on the Laemmle website once the schedule is finalized. We hope to continue working with SSG on Sing-Along Fiddler on the Roof Christmas Eve screenings (2019 host TBA) and other programs into 2020. Onward!

GOING ATTRACTIONS, a Love Letter to Historic Movie Theaters, to Premiere October 24 at Our Historic Ahrya Fine Arts with Director & Expert Q&A’s.

October 16, 2019 by Lamb L.

Laemmle Theatres and the Culture Vulture series present GOING ATTRACTIONS: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace, a tribute to the spectacular monuments created as temples for the enjoyment of movies.

The film’s L.A. run kicks off Thursday, October 24 with the world theatrical premiere at the historic Ahrya Fine Arts, followed by a discussion with filmmaker April Wright and subject Escott O. Norton, executive director of the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation. Several of the film’s other subjects will be in attendance as well!

Other countries built palaces for royalty. In the United States, we built them to watch movies.

Following the premiere, GOING ATTRACTIONS will play for a week, from October 25-31, at the Music Hall (showtimes here), and Monday, October 28 & Tuesday, October 29 at four additional Laemmle theatres — the Claremont, Playhouse, Royal and Town Center — as part of the Culture Vulture series (see list of shows and ticketing links below).

GOING ATTRACTIONS captures the splendor and grandeur of the great historic cinemas of the U.S., built when movies were the acme of entertainment and the stories were larger than life, as were the venues designed to show them: Giant screens, thousands of seats, ornate interiors, amazing marquees, in-house organs and orchestras, and air conditioning back when peoples’ homes had none. The film also tracks the eventual decline of the palaces, through to today’s current preservation efforts — with a special focus on Los Angeles, which enjoys two separate historic theater districts (downtown and Hollywood).

“I feel passionately about both the text — these beautiful structures — and the subtext of GOING ATTRACTIONS, how we have changed so much in the past 50 years as a people in how we spend our time, socialize and experience entertainment,” director April Wright said. “Our content is personalized now, at our fingertips — but I fear we are losing something important by not having the local, communal experiences we used to have with our friends, families and fellow movie-going audiences.”

“Awesome and Wonderful!” — TC Kirkham, ECinemaOne

Escott O. Norton, who will participate in a Q&A at the October 24 premiere.

Culture Vulture screenings:

Claremont:

Playhouse:

Royal:

Town Center:

Speakers after three of the Culture Vulture screenings:

Mon., Oct. 28 7:30 pm at the Playhouse: David Saffer, LAHTF board member, and Ross Melnick, film historian, UCSB professor

Mon., Oct. 28 7:30 pm at the Royal: Mike Hume, LAHTF board member and filmmaker April Wright

Tue., Oct. 29 1 pm at the Town Center: filmmaker April Wright

Director of Photography Fan Chao in Person for a Tribute Screening of the Chinese Masterpiece AN ELEPHANT SITTING STILL.

October 9, 2019 by Lamb L.

On Sunday, October 27 at the Ahrya Fine Arts, we’ll screen one of the finest films of the year, AN ELEPHANT SITTING STILL, in honor of its late creator. Set under the gloomy skies of a small town in northern China, the movie follows different protagonists whose lives are intertwined in a furious tale of nihilistic rage. Written, directed and edited by Hu Bo, it’s the novelist-turned-director’s first and only feature. On October 12, 2017, at the age of 29, he killed himself soon after completing the film. Based on a story with the same title from his 2017 novel Huge Crack, it premiered at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Best First Feature (Special Mention) and FIPRESCI prizes, nominations for Best First Feature and the C.I.C.A.E. awards and acclaim from other established directors such as Bela Tarr, Wang Bing, Ang Lee and Gus Van Sant. It went on to screen at prestigious festivals and cinemas around the world.

From AN ELEPHANT SITTING STILL. Courtesy of KimStim.

As a fellow Beijing Film Academy graduate and close friend of Hu Bo, cinematographer Fan Chao was one of his chief collaborators for much of Hu’s too-brief career. Fan worked on several of Hu’s short films and served as DP to AN ELEPHANT SITTING STILL, for which Fan received a Best Cinematography nomination at the Golden Horse Awards (the Chinese language Oscars). Fan will be present for a post-screening Q&A.

One of the most talked about films this year, AN ELEPHANT SITTING STILL is an intense epic drama sure to be remembered as a masterpiece and a landmark in Chinese cinema.

“Powerfully absorbing…an act of solemn, disciplined and passionate protest.” —A.O. Scott, The New York Times

“Should become an enduring classic…one of the greatest recent films.” —Richard Brody, The New Yorker

“This is a film of extraordinary beauty, invention, and grace.” —Jonathan Romney, Film Comment

Fan Chao’s travel is made possible through the generous support of the Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation.

Celebrate 40 years of George Harrison’s HandMade Films at THE OTHER HANDMADE’S TALE FILM FESTIVAL

October 2, 2019 by Lamb L.

HandMade Films was the boutique movie company created by George Harrison to finance MONTY PYTHON’S LIFE OF BRIAN. Started by a Beatle to help some Pythons, the company went on to revitalize the British film industry with movies such as TIME BANDITS, WITHNAIL & I, MONA LISA, and many others.

Celebrate 40 years of HandMade Films with the first-ever U.S. retrospective of the films made by the studio. THE OTHER HANDMADE’S TALE runs Thursday, October 10th through Sunday, October 20th at the Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills. presented by The Mods & Rockers Film Festival in association with Laemmle Theatres.

Opening night on Thursday, October 10th will feature the U.S. Premiere of the brand-new documentary about HandMade Films, AN ACCIDENTAL STUDIO, with unreleased archive interviews and footage with Harrison, new and exclusive interviews with Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, Richard E. Grant and Neil Jordan plus previously-unseen interview footage with Bob Hoskins.

A few additional highlights from the festival include:

A Bob Hoskins double feature of MONA LISA (1986) and THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY (1981).
MONTY PYTHON’S LIFE OF BRIAN (1979) with producer John Goldstone and musical director John Altman in person!
A Richard E. Grant double feature of HOW TO GET AHEAD IN ADVERTISING (1989) and WITHNAIL AND I (1987).
TIME BANDITS (1981).
NUNS ON THE RUN (1990) in 35mm.
And much, much more!

Click here for full details and schedule of films!

FIlm Noir Double Feature: 75th Anniversary Screenings of DOUBLE INDEMNITY and LAURA

September 12, 2019 by Lamb L.

Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a double dose of classic film noir in the popular Twofer program (two features for the price of one) with 75th anniversary screenings of DOUBLE INDEMNITY and LAURA, two of the most lauded films of 1944 and the entire noir canon.

The double feature will screen at two Laemmle locations: Pasadena Playhouse on September 26 and Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills on September 28.

DOUBLE INDEMNITY is writer – director Billy Wilder’s film adaptation (with co-scripter Raymond Chandler) of a crime novella by James M. Cain, a tawdry tale of an insurance salesman (Fred MacMurray) and duplicitous dame (Barbara Stanwyck), who scheme to murder Stanwyck’s businessman husband for the insurance proceeds. After pulling off the seeming “perfect crime,” the lethal lovers come under the scrutiny of MacMurray’s claims adjuster colleague (Edward G. Robinson), who smells something rotten in the film’s setting, the Hollywood hills.

LAURA is producer-director Otto Preminger’s film version of Vera Caspary’s novel (adapted for the screen Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, Betty Reinhardt, Ring Lardner Jr. and Jerry Cady, the latter two uncredited) about the murder of a beautiful socialite (Gene Tierney) and the spell she cast over three suitors: cynical columnist (Clifton Webb), playboy gigolo (Vincent Price), and necrophiliac detective (Dana Andrews).

The title character’s wealthy aunt (Judith Anderson), who yearns for Price, is also among the suspects. When Tierney, who is more a fascinating female than an archetypical femme fatale, turns up very much alive, the mystery deepens. Set among the sophisticates of Manhattan, Laura is a cosmopolitan counterpart to the middle class denizens and atmosphere of Double Indemnity.

Both films share key film noir elements, including sharp edged black-and-white cinematography (John Seitz, Double Indemnity; Joseph LaShelle, Laura), taut structure, well-crafted dialogue (Raymond Chandler’s main contribution to Double Indemnity), and low motives matched with high style. The two films also showcase masterful music (Miklos Rosza’s Oscar-nominated Double Indemnity score and David Raskin’s memorably haunting Laura).

Among the acting highlights, Clifton Webb’s acid-tongued turn in Laura was described wryly as “sophistry personified” by the New York Times, which also praised Dana Andrews as closely matching Webb’s incisive performance. Double Indemnity features Barbara Stanwyck’s expert take on the noir wicked woman, described by Pauline Kael as “the best acted and the most fixating of all the slutty, cold-blooded femme fatales of the film noir genre.” Kael also singled out Edward G. Robinson’s “easy mastery” in his sympathetic role.

Double Indemnity reaped seven Academy Award nominations, including best picture, director, actress, and screenplay. Laura scored five nods, including director, supporting actor (Webb), and screenplay, winning for LaShelle’s black-and white cinematography. Both films were added to the National Film Registry in the Library of Congress.

Laemmle’s Anniversary Classics twofer program of Double Indemnity and Laura will screen on separate dates and venues: Thursday, September 26 at the Pasadena Playhouse, and Saturday, September 28 at the Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills.

On Thursday, September 26th in Pasadena, LAURA screens at 5:15pm and 9:15pm. DOUBLE INDEMNITY screens at 7pm. Click here for tickets to the 5:15pm LAURA with the 7pm DOUBLE INDEMNITY included. Or, click here for tickets to the 7pm DOUBLE INDEMNITY with the 9:15pm LAURA included.

On Saturday, September 28th in Beverly Hills, DOUBLE INDEMNITY screens at 7:15pm with the 9:15pm LAURA with included. Click here for tickets.

Format: DCP.

THE PLAGIARISTS Q&A’s with Filmmaker Opening Weekend at the Ahrya Fine Arts.

August 30, 2019 by Lamb L.

THE PLAGIARISTS Q&A’s:

Friday, August 30: 7:30pm–– James N. Kienitz Wilkins, moderated by critic Carson Lund

Saturday, August 31: 5:15pm & 7:30pm––Q&As w/ James N. Kienitz Wilkins, moderated by author and filmmaker Brandon Harris (5:15pm) and artist and actress Nour Mobarak (7:30pm)

EASY RIDER 50th Anniversary Screening and Tribute to Peter Fonda

August 22, 2019 by Lamb L.

Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a tribute to the late Peter Fonda with a screening of his landmark movie, EASY RIDER on Saturday, September 7th at the Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills.

When the movie opened to huge grosses in the summer of 1969, it changed the course of Hollywood, setting the entire industry on a quest for films that would appeal to the same younger generation that had embraced the ultimate motorcycle movie made by Fonda and director Dennis Hopper. It is a film that many have cited as their inspiration for getting their own motorbike, some going as far as to get it transported to them across the country with CarsArrive Auto Relocation and similar services. That’s the sway that the movie has. Easy Rider, produced and co-written by Fonda, was made for less than $400,000 and grossed $60 million, a feat that no other youth movie was ever able to match. It also earned two Academy Award nominations, for the original screenplay by Fonda, Hopper, and Terry Southern, and a best supporting actor nod for Jack Nicholson, an actor in B-movies who was propelled to the A-list as a result of Easy Rider.

Fonda, Hopper, and Nicholson knew each other from the low-budget movies made by Roger Corman and American International Pictures in the late 1960s. Hopper co-starred with Fonda in Corman’s The Trip, a movie about an LSD trip which was written by Nicholson. Peter had the idea of taking the character of the motorcycle-driving outlaw that he had played in Corman’s The Wild Angels and inserting him into a major studio film. Nevertheless, Columbia Pictures was nervous about financing Easy Rider and only got fully behind the film after it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and began to generate box office heat.

The picture is essentially a road trip movie, in which Hopper’s Billy and Fonda’s Wyatt (also known as Captain America) ride their motorcycles from California to New Orleans, where they hope to celebrate Mardi Gras. They finance the trip by selling cocaine, a detail that suggests the film was far from an idealized portrayal of rebellious American youth. On their travels they spend time on a Southwestern farm as well as a hippie commune. They meet a young lawyer played by Nicholson when they are all jailed in a Southern town. He agrees to join them on their motorcycle journey, which takes a darker turn as they encounter Southern bigots who disapprove of the young heroes’ freewheeling style.

The supporting cast includes Karen Black, Toni Basil, Luke Askew, and Robert Walker Jr. Up-and-coming cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs helped to create the vivid images of rural Americana, and the groundbreaking rock score incorporated songs by The Band, the Byrds, Steppenwolf, and Jimi Hendrix. Editor Donn Cambern had put together the rough cut of the film to many of those songs, and the filmmakers retained many of them in the final cut.

Although the film enshrines the young heroes, it is not uncritical. Their use of marijuana and LSD is honestly depicted, and when Fonda’s Wyatt sums up their journey near the end of the film, he offers a memorably hard-edged judgment: “We blew it.” Nevertheless, the darkest forces in the film are the rednecks who resent the freedom of these easy riders. Writing at the time, John Mahoney of The Hollywood Reporter said, “Easy Rider is very likely the clearest and most disturbing presentation of the angry estrangement of American youth to be brought to the screen.” Writing several decades later, Chuck Bowen of Slant drew a connection to the present: “This legendary tale of a motorcycle odyssey gone wrong remains timeless for its diagnosis of the early stages of a social ennui that has now fully bloomed.”

Most reviews in 1969 were enthusiastic. Life magazine’s Richard Schickel called the film “a loose, lovely-to-look-at, often laughing, often lyric epic.” Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times added, “Fonda and Hopper give immense performances.” The film was added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 1998.

Join us for our 50th anniversary screening and tribute to Peter Fonda at 7:30pm on Saturday, September 7th at the Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills. Special guests to be announced. Tickets are available here.

Format: DCP

Laemmle Theatres

Ahrya Fine Arts

Fiddler Hosts – 2019

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