Glendale Archives - Page 2 of 25

Luis Buñuel’s THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL 60th Anniversary Screenings October 12 at Three Laemmle Locations

September 28, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

Continuing the 60th anniversary celebration of the milestone film year 1962, Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Abroad Series present Luis Buñuel’s scathing surreal satire, THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL. The film plays one night only, Wednesday, October 12 at 7:00 PM at three Laemmle locations: The Royal in West Los Angeles, the Laemmle Glendale, and the Laemmle Newhall in Santa Clarita.

Buñuel, a Spanish-born iconoclast and provocateur, spent most of his career working outside his native country. In 1962, at the age of 62, Bunuel was enjoying international acclaim after being coaxed out of Mexican exile the year before to make ‘Viridiana,’ which was suffused with his characteristic caustic wit and anti-religious sentiment. The film’s notoriety revived his career and placed him at the center of international film culture for the remainder of his career. THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL, made in Mexico, further cemented his credentials as a mordant satirist. The story, written by Buñuel and Luis Alcoriza, deals with a lavish dinner party at the home of wealthy opera patrons in which the upper-class guests find themselves unable to leave after the meal. After a few days a rescue party is organized but the would-be rescuers cannot enter the house, and chaos ensues. During the ordeal the guests find their veneer of civilization slowly stripped away.

Critics were struck by Buñuel’s unrepentant approach to skewering the ruling elites.Andrew Sarris, the esteemed film critic of The Village Voice, called Buñuel “The last of the classic surrealists of the screen,” and was impressed with his “stylistic serenity. Where he was once merely profane, he is now eminently profound.” Leonard Maltin called it a “wry assault on bourgeois manners,” while Roger Ebert more exuberantly cited it as “a macabre comedy, a mordant view of human nature that suggests we harbor savage instincts and unspeakable secrets.” Although a curmudgeonly Bosley Crowther of the New York Times gave it an unfavorable review upon its delayed U.S. release in 1967 after years of legal issues over distribution rights, the film’s stature and influence were fully recognized by its inclusion in The New York Times publication, “The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made” in 2004.

THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL premiered at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival and was selected as the opening night entry of the first New York Film Festival the following year. Buñuel was propelled into the most successful phase of his long career, and he followed it with a number of memorable films, ‘Belle de Jour’ (1967), ‘The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie’ (1972), and his final film, ‘That Obscure Object of Desire’ (1977) among them. Later, THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL’s influence extended beyond the screen—in 2016 it was adapted as an opera of the same name by composer Thomas Ades.

Akira Kurosawa’s THRONE OF BLOOD 65th Anniversary Screenings September 21.

September 14, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series are proud to present this month’s installment in our popular Anniversary Classics Abroad program: Akira Kurosawa’s unique Shakespearean adaptation, Throne of Blood. The Japanese auteur was always an admirer of the Bard. His late film Ran offered a variation on King Lear. The power, majesty and craftsmanship of a film like Throne of Blood can only fully appreciated in a theatrical setting: with an audience, with a big screen, and sound you can feel. We’ll be showing a DCP.

For many years Kurosawa dreamed of adapting Macbeth, and he put the film together in 1957, with his favorite actor Toshiro Mifune starring as the ambitious, murderous leader. Isuzu Yamada co-stars as the Lady Macbeth character, with Takashi Shimura as the equivalent of Shakespeare’s Macduff. Kurosawa wrote the screenplay with Hideo Oguni, Shinobu Hashimoto, and Ryuzo Kikushima. They transposed the story from medieval Scotland to feudal Japan and Kurosawa came up with striking visual concepts to revitalize the classic story. The castle exteriors were filmed on the slopes of Mount Fuji and the memorable climax—with a massive array of arrows aimed at the deranged protagonist—remains one of the greatest images in any Kurosawa movie.

Writing of this climactic scene, The New Yorker’s Anthony Lane declared,“No stage production could match Kurosawa’s Birnam Wood, and, in his final framing of the hero — a human hedgehog, stuck with arrows — he conjures a tragedy not laden with grandeur but pierced, like a dream, by the absurd.” British critic Derek Malcolm of the Guardian acclaimed Throne of Blood as “a landmark of visual strength… possibly the finest Shakespearean adaptation ever committed to the screen.”

On its original American release, Time magazine praised the film as “a visual descent into the hell of greed and superstition.” In his four-star review, Leonard Maltin called the film a “graphic, powerful adaptation of Macbeth in a samurai setting.” It was not simply film critics who endorsed the film. Renowned literary critic Harold Bloom said that Throne of Blood was “the most successful film version of Macbeth.”

Laemmle Theatres will screen Throne of Blood on September 21 at our Glendale, Newhall and Royal theaters on Wednesday, September 21 at 7 o’clock.

Watch Laemmle Theatres’ Isaac Wade on Spectrum News 1 for National Cinema Day + a Cinema Day poll!

September 7, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

Saturday’s National Cinema Day was such a success, drawing more than eight million moviegoers for the best moviegoing weekend of 2022, that it might become an annual event. Laemmle Royal and Monica Film Center General Manager Isaac Wade and a theater customer even got interviewed by journalist Nathalie Basha of local station Spectrum News 1. Isaac spoke about the experience of welcoming big crowds back to his theater: “To see people back and in line and excited to be here and wanting to support the industry, I think…that’s incredible. It’s exciting, it’s moving.”

We are so pleased about the day’s results that we want to learn more, so here’s a poll. Did you take advantage of National Cinema Day? What movie did you see? Was Saturday your first return to the movies since before the pandemic? Inquiring minds want to know! Thank you and see you at the movies!

Celebrate moviegoing this Saturday, National Cinema Day: $3 tickets for all films, all day.

August 31, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

Celebrate moviegoing and enjoy some monetary time travel this Saturday, September 3 by participating in National Cinema Day when movie theaters across the nation will charge prices circa 1980 — three bucks per ticket! This applies to any film at any time on Saturday, from François Ozon’s latest, Peter Von Kant, to Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man: No Way Home – The More Fun Stuff Version, from the new A24 comedy about the underground comics scene, Funny Pages, to Javier Bardem’s Goya-winning The Good Boss. Catch the summer sleepers Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, Fire of Love, RRR or Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song while they’re still on big screens.

They say you can’t get something for nothing, but National Cinema Day is close! Super cheap movie tickets and, oh, did we mention the air conditioning?

Greg Laemmle on summer 2022 word-of-mouth success stories: RRR, MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS, HALLELUJAH, FIRE OF LOVE and more.

August 24, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

From Greg Laemmle:

After an amazing start to the summer box office season, things are going out with more of a whimper than a bang. And I’m OK with that. Ticket sales are only going to be as strong as the films that are in release at any given time. And to borrow the joke from the Catskills, the food isn’t so good …and such small portions. But that joke is only half right. Right now, there is a shortage of new films entering the marketplace. It’s largely another example of the supply chain being interrupted because of how the pandemic impacted the production schedule. Also, some of the films hitting the marketplace aren’t the most “commercial” titles. There are, however, some very worthy films that are currently in theatres. And I want to focus in on these films because they demonstrate one of the silver linings in the current marketplace, and that’s the power of WORD-OF-MOUTH.

Word-of-mouth publicity is the thing that gets people to see a film that they might not otherwise see. Maybe the reviews aren’t through the roof. Or maybe the marketing didn’t make it seem like it was a film that they would enjoy. Or maybe there wasn’t enough advertising support to bring a film to your attention. Whatever the case, we are talking about a film that you were initially not going to see. And then you hear something about the film. Someone tells you how much they enjoyed it. Or perhaps you start seeing posts about the film on your social media feed. Or maybe you talk to an employee at your local theatre and they tell you how much people are enjoying the film. However it gets started, enthusiasm and awareness begins to build. And in an environment (like now) where we theatre operators are searching for films that can draw ticket buyers, the ground is more fertile to allow a word-of-mouth success to grow.

This phenomenon is not limited to arthouse films. This summer alone, we have three legit word-of-mouth winners. Number one in the bunch is TOP GUN: MAVERICK, which has been playing in theatres since Memorial Day weekend. Everyone knew about the film. Everyone knew it would be a hit. But in this day and age, it is amazing for a film to still be in theatres over Labor Day weekend after opening in May. Baz Luhrmann’s ELVIS has also outperformed based on the initial opening numbers. The film started off well enough, with about $30M over the opening weekend. Based on that opening, pundits figured the film would top out well under $100M in total. And yet, the film, now just shy of $150M, showing that word-of-mouth around Luhrmann’s fine direction and Austin Butler’s star-making performance overcame the early focus on Tom Hanks’ less-than-successful supporting turn. Not to be left out is the adaptation of WHERE THE CRAWDAD’S SING, which also looks like it will end up grossing five times its opening weekend, well in excess of the usual multiple.

But this is Laemmle Theatres, and what we care about are the arthouse word-of-mouth successes. And we have several to mention. The most commercial of the bunch is MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS, starring Lesley Manville in a fairy tale story. I’m not saying the film deserves to be part of the Oscar discussion, but it is an utterly charming film. And if you don’t want to take my word for that, consider that this semi-wide release is going to gross five to six times its opening weekend business. So clearly, I’m not the only one who had something nice to say about the film after seeing it.

We also have a couple of long-running documentaries that have been hanging around in theatres for a while. FIRE OF LOVE is perhaps the higher profile film, given its acquisition at the Sundance Film Festival, which set the film up with some early Oscar buzz. But there is another doc which opened even before FIRE OF LOVE, and is now heading into its third month of release. That’s HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG. I’ll admit to being a huge fan of Leonard Cohen’s music. But this story about his most famous (and most covered) song is something more. It’s a film about the search for meaning in our lives, and how this song seems to capture that searching by Mr. Cohen, by the artists who recorded this song, and by extension, by all of us. HALLELUJAH is just playing one show a day at the Monicas this week, but it is absolutely worth seeking out. And, again, if you don’t want to take my word for that, consider the “votes” of random ticket buyers who keep coming out to see the film, now in its ninth week of consecutive release in L.A.!

Last, but definitely not least, is the word-of-mouth surprise hit of the first half of 2022. This is a film that wasn’t even reviewed by the L.A. Times when it first came out (no surprise there), but ended up at the top of Justin Chang’s list of the best films of the first half of the year. And it absolutely deserved to be there. RRR is a Telegu-language film that has taken the entire film world by storm. It started out playing in theatres that cater to the Southeast Asian expatriate audience. But from there, word spread about the amazing special effects, the incredible stunt work, and the overall fun of the experience of seeing the film. That led to the film coming back into theatres on June 1 for a one-night event cinema #EncoRRRe screening. But that didn’t sate audience demand, so we extended our run for several weeks. And now, with students back from summer break, we want to give you one more chance to see this film in theatres. Yes, it is a bit of a commitment to see a three-hour film. But that’s only 20 minutes longer than ELVIS (which we already established as “worth it”), and I can assure that you’ll love every one of those extra minutes. Maybe you heard about this film, and you started watching a bit on some random streaming service. Sorry, but that’s just not the way to see RRR. This film demands to be seen with an audience so you can share in all the oohing, awwing, and laughter. Who knows, you may even need to get up and dance along during the big dance number.

Yes, we are at the end of a long summer of movies. And there are plenty of stories about the box office being down, and the impact that this may have on certain exhibition companies. But don’t believe that there isn’t anything worth seeing at the movies. If you haven’t already seen these pictures, find a theatre that is playing MRS. HARRIS, FIRE OF LOVE, HALLELUJAH or RRR, and make plans to see them. And don’t just take my word for it. Trust the ticket buyers like you that have made them in word-of-mouth winners.

See you at the movies!

~ GL

DELICATESSEN 30th Anniversary screenings at three Laemmle locations August 31.

August 24, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present the latest installment of the popular Anniversary Classics Abroad series, the 30th anniversary of the U.S. release of the international cult classic, DELICATESSEN. The surrealist black comedy about the inhabitants of a post-Apocalypse French city was the collaboration of tyro feature filmmakers Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who co-directed and co-wrote, with a writing assist by Gilles Adrien.

The story centers on three characters, the owner of an apartment building with a ground floor delicatessen (Jean-Claude Dreyfus); his daughter (Marie-Laure Dougnac); and a former clown hired to be the dilapidated building’s maintenance man (Dominique Pinon). They inhabit a world in which food is scarce and lentils are used as currency. The landlord/butcher lures job seekers, murders them, and then prepares “delicacies” to sell to his odd tenants. His daughter falls in love with the latest victim and tries to foil her father’s scheme with the aid of the “lentil-men,” underground rebels.

The film’s hybrid mix of genres had critics and audiences somewhat bewildered and equally delighted amidst generally favorable reviews. Critic Emmanuel Levy provided appropriate praise: “Part macabre humor, part romantic drama, part childlike fable, this ingeniously original French farce defies categorization, but is successful on all these levels.” Janet Maslin of the New York Times cited its “fun-house atmosphere,” calling it “weirdly hilarious” and “lightweight but a sometimes subversively stylish farce.” Stephen Rea of the Philadelphia Inquirer found it “indescribably wild,” and Michael Wilmington in the Los Angeles Times noted “the whole movie has been conceived in grandiose, garishly witty comic book images,” along with the advisory, “out-shocks and outplays the American horror comedies at their own game…a nasty, childlike, murderously funny show.”

Jeunet handled directing the actors, while Caro was responsible for design and effects, and the two would tap into their fervid imaginations again for THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN, another provocative fantasy, in 1995. Their talents were recognized by Hollywood when they were hired as the director (Jeunet) and design supervisor (Caro) for ALIEN: RESURRECTION in 1997. Jeunet went onto international acclaim for the more conventional romantic comedy AMELIE (2001), nominated for five Academy Awards, including best foreign language film and a screenplay nod for Jeunet. But all this success started with DELICATESSEN, which will be presented for one night only Wednesday, August 31 at 7:00 pm at three Laemmle locations: Glendale, Newhall, and the Royal in West Los Angeles.

A parable of power, the slickly entertaining Javier Bardem film THE GOOD BOSS opens August 26.

August 17, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

One of the most magnetic movie stars in cinema, Javier Bardem’s new workplace comedy-drama The Good Boss starts August 26 at the Royal. We’ll expand it to our other theaters in the subsequent weeks. The film is about Básculas Blanco, a Spanish company producing industrial scales in a provincial Spanish town, as it awaits the imminent visit from a committee which holds the firm’s fate in their hands: will they honor Básculas with a local Business Excellence award? Everything has to be perfect for the visit. Working against the clock, the company’s proprietor, Blanco (Bardem) pulls out all the stops to address and resolve issues with his employees, crossing every imaginable line in the process.

“Reminiscent of the Coen brothers’ trademark cinematic sarcasm… slickly entertaining.” ~ Jordan Mintzer, Hollywood Reporter

“It’s Javier Bardem’s show as he reunites with Fernando Leon de Aranoa for this parable of power.” ~ Jonathan Holland, Screen International

“Javier Bardem gives a powerhouse performance.” ~ David Stratton, The Australian

Here’s a clip from the film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmdsIHGhiL8&feature=youtu.be

The Good Boss | Official Clip | Welcome (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmdsIHGhiL8&feature=youtu.be)

#BringBackMovieReviews: Marketplace on Nashville’s Belcourt Theatre

August 4, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

The journalists at the American Public Media business and economic news radio program Marketplace do in-depth reporting by repeatedly profiling and interviewing people, establishing long-term relationships they return their listeners to. One such person is Stephanie Silverman, executive director of the Belcourt Theatre, a non-profit movie theater in Nashville. Kai Ryssdal, the host and senior editor of Marketplace, recently spoke with Silverman again about adjusting to the pandemic and streaming. She is an extremely articulate advocate for the theatrical experience and what she said in the interview — “studios are understanding that the long tail for their movie happens when it starts in exhibition…it needs the word-of-mouth energy that only exhibition spaces can give it” — relates directly to what we’ve been advocating for recently in regards to the L.A. Times film section. Traditionally, talented, knowledgeable film critics guide moviegoers to culturally and artistically important films they might have otherwise missed. Filmmakers and film lovers alike rely on the critics for this and the film critics rely on big platforms like the Times. It is a crucial step in the process that makes unique, fine films and their L.A. theatrical exhibition possible. If the paper of record in the movie capital of the world abdicates its role, film culture suffers. We run the risk of a monoculture consisting of superheroes and sequels. #BringBackMovieReviews

Laemmle Theatres

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