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“You will not want to be anywhere else.” Iranian comic drama ‘Hit the Road’ delights, opens Friday at the Royal & Town Center, May 13 at the Claremont.

May 4, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore Leave a Comment

Panah Panahi, son and collaborator of embattled Iranian master Jafar Panahi, makes a striking feature debut with this charming, sharp-witted, and deeply moving comic drama. Hit the Road takes the tradition of the Iranian road-trip movie and adds unexpected twists and turns. It follows a family of four – two middle-aged parents and their sons, one a taciturn adult, the other an ebullient six-year-old – as they drive across the Iranian countryside. Over the course of the trip, they bond over memories of the past, grapple with fears of the unknown, and fuss over their sick dog. Unspoken tensions arise and the film builds emotional momentum as it slowly reveals the furtive purpose for their journey. The result is a humanist drama that offers an authentic, raw, and deeply sincere observation of an Iranian family preparing to part with one of their own.

Winner of Best Film at the BFI London Film Festival and an Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival (Directors’ Fortnight), New York Film Festival, and AFI Fest, Hit the Road began earning accolades the minute it premiered last year:

“Critic’s Pick! From the first jokey moments of Hit the Road until its heartbreaking end you will not want to be anywhere else.” – A.O. Scott, New York Times

“A love story, a tragicomedy, and a triumph. Panahi films the drama with aesthetic audacity to match his psychological subtlety… unites intimate conflicts and vast landscapes in framings as wry as they are rhapsodic.” – Richard Brody, The New Yorker

“Sharp and endearing. A warm and realistic comedy, with flashes of the fantastic. Introduces an exciting filmmaker whose journey is just beginning.” — Jacob Oller, Paste

“A stunningly assured road movie.“ – Leigh Singer, Sight & Sound

“A worthy descendant—both stylistic and biological—of Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi, Hit the Road maps its own journey: playful, bittersweet and wholly surprising.“ – Dylan Kai Dempsey, Ioncinema

“An intimate, frequently funny, poignant and deeply moving piece of work… damned near to being a masterpiece – if it isn’t simply one already.” – John Bleasdale, Cinevue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdgWGUX4b5M

HIT THE ROAD – Laemmle Theatres (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdgWGUX4b5M)

Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann in THE EMIGRANTS ~ 50th Anniversary Screenings May 11.

April 27, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore 2 Comments

Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present our latest installment in our Anniversary Classics Abroad program: Jan Troell’s Oscar-nominated Swedish epic, THE EMIGRANTS. Troell made his feature film debut in 1966 with the acclaimed coming-of-age film, ‘Here Is Your Life.’ After seeing that, producer Bengt Forslund tagged Troell to direct the adaptation of the series of popular Swedish novels by Vilhelm Moberg about a family’s decision to emigrate from 19th century Sweden to America. Troell turned the novels into two films: THE EMIGRANTS and its follow-up, ‘The New Land.’ Revered Scandinavian actors Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann starred in both movies, along with Eddie Axberg, the star of ‘Here Is Your Life.’

THE EMIGRANTS begins by documenting the travails of a family struggling to survive in rural Sweden in the 1840s. With their prospects narrowing, they and a few of their neighbors make the decision to migrate to America in search of a better life. The film chronicles their grueling ocean voyage and then their further travels by train and river boat to unsettled land in Minnesota, where they battle to set down roots in a world that is completely alien to them.

The film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language film Oscar of 1971. Warner Bros. decided to distribute the film, and in 1972, it earned four additional Oscar nominations: for Best Picture, Best Actress Liv Ullmann, Best Director for Troell and Best Screenplay by Troell and Forslund. It was only the third foreign language film to ever be nominated for Best Picture, following Jean Renoir’s ‘Grand Illusion’ from 1938 and Costa-Gavras’ ‘Z’ in 1969.

Troell not only directed and co-wrote the film but also acted as his own cinematographer and editor. As critic Pauline Kael wrote, “In the whole history of the screen there have been only a handful of directors who actually shot their own movies, and no other cinematographer-director has ever undertaken a work of this sweep.” She added that Troell “brings a new visual and thematic unity to fiction films.” Roger Ebert wrote that THE EMIGRANTS was “infinitely absorbing and moving.” Writing in Life magazine, Richard Schickel declared, “Jan Troell has made the masterpiece about the dream that shaped America.”

We will screen the original 190-minute version of the film at the Laemmle Glendale, Newhall, Playhouse and Royal on Wednesday, May 11. The version that played in America in 1972 was shortened by 40 minutes and lost some of the rich detail of Troell’s groundbreaking immigrant saga.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h-rHuPF5Ww

THE EMIGRANTS – Laemmle Theatres (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h-rHuPF5Ww)

Virtual Q&A with the CHARLOTTE filmmakers this Sunday, April 24.

April 22, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore Leave a Comment

CHARLOTTE co-directors Tahir Rana and Éric Warin, screenwriter David Bezmozgis and producer Julia Rosenberg will participate in a virtual Q&A on Sunday, April 24. Johanna Schneller of the Globe & Mail will moderate. Click here or scan the QR code below to register.

‘Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen,’ the engrossing behind-the-scenes story of one of our finest movie musicals, opens May 6.

April 20, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore Leave a Comment

The fall of 2021 marked the 50th anniversary of Fiddler on the Roof, the film Pauline Kael called “the most powerful movie musical ever made.” Narrated by Jeff Goldblum, Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen captures the humor and drama of director Norman Jewison’s quest to recreate the lost world of Jewish life in Tsarist Russia and re-envision the beloved stage hit as a wide-screen epic. We have an advance screening of Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen May 5 at the Royal followed by week-long engagements at the Royal, Playhouse and Town Center beginning May 6.

For a taste of the film, here’s a clip in which composer John Williams and Jewison discuss enlisting the brilliant violinist Isaac Stern to provide the title character’s music.

We are planning a series of Q&As at the Royal: Thursday, May 5th – evening show for LAJFF – Q&A with Daniel Raim (director), moderated by Hilary Helstein (LAJFF); Fri. May 6 – 7:30pm – Q&A with Daniel Raim (director), Sasha Berman (producer), and Michael Sragow (co-writer, co-producer); Sat. May 7th – 7:30pm – Moderated by film critic Kenneth Turan, Q&A with Daniel Raim (director), Sasha Berman (producer), and Michael Sragow (co-writer, co-producer); Wed. May 11 at 7:30pm – Q&A with Michael Sragow (co-writer, co-producer).

Director Norman Jewison (pointing) and star Tevye (holding hat) on the set of The Fiddler on the Roof. As seen in Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen. A film by Daniel Raim. A Zeitgeist Films release in association with Kino Lorber.

Finally, here’s an excerpt from a rave review Raquel Stecher recently posted on her site Out of the Past:

“Director Daniel Raim continues his quest to champion the art of filmmaking with his latest documentary Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen (2022). Narrated by Jeff Goldblum, this documentary takes a deep dive into the making of Fiddler on the Roof (1971), director Norman Jewison’s personal and professional journey and all of the key players who came to together to make one of the greatest musical films of all time.

Director Norman Jewison (right) and star Tevye on the set of The Fiddler on the Roof. As seen in Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen. A film by Daniel Raim. A Zeitgeist Films release in association with Kino Lorber.

“Fiddler on the Roof was the brainchild of composer Jerry Bock, lyricist Sheldon Harnick and writer Joseph Stein. The inspiration came from a selection of short stories by Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem called Teyve and his Daughters as well as artist Marc Chagall’s 1912 painting The Fiddler. The play opened on Broadway in 1964 and there was some concern that the story would only appeal to a small Jewish audience. However, Fiddler’s tale of a Jewish dairy farmer who attempts to marry off his five daughters in pre-revolutionary Russia, is a story of family, tradition and the inevitability of change. This gave the story a universal appeal and along with the excellent story and top-notch musical numbers, Fiddler was an international success. And naturally it was destined to become a film.

Filming The Fiddler on the Roof. As seen in Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen. A film by Daniel Raim. A Zeitgeist Films release in association with Kino Lorber.

“Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen explores the history behind the Broadway show, how Norman Jewison came to be involved, the casting, musical direction, art direction, location scouting, choreography, cinematography and many other elements that came to make the film as well as Fiddler‘s legacy. There is so much here to take in but it never feels overwhelming.

“The documentary includes interviews with director Norman Jewison, lyricist Sheldon Harnick, musical director John Williams, actresses Rosalind Harris (Tzeitel), Michele Marsh (Hodel) and Neva Small (Chava) and film critic Kenneth Turan. There are also archival interviews of Jewison back in 2000 as well as actor Topol and art director Robert F. Boyle. The interviews add so much to this documentary. There is nothing quite like firsthand accounts of an important moment in film history. And much like Daniel Raim’s other documentaries, there are illustrations from artist Patrick Mate as well as plenty of archival footage and behind-the-scenes photographs. The documentary is also is chock full of interesting facts even beyond just the making of Fiddler on the Roof. Watching it felt like I was getting two documentaries for the price of one: the making of a film and the biography of its director.”

Read the rest of Ms. Stecher’s review here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D19flnSG79Q

FIDDLER'S JOURNEY TO THE BIG SCREEN – official US trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D19flnSG79Q)

“If you want movie studios to make movies that are good, interesting and original, you need to go see them.” Washington Post on ‘Everything Everywhere,’ ‘Massive Talent’ and ‘The Northman.’

April 13, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore Leave a Comment

Washington Post columnist Sonny Bunch recently published a compelling piece headlined “If you want original movies to survive, get to a theater this April” about returning to movie theatres. Laemmle Theatres has been open for just over a year at this point. If you aren’t going to the movies as frequently as you did before the pandemic, you are contributing to trends in distribution that may be irreversible. Bunch’s piece speaks to this better than we can, which is why we’re sharing it. We understand that we have all been through a very traumatic time. It has been tragic and frightening. But we aren’t where we were when the pandemic started. We have effective vaccines and booster shots and plentiful masks that provide an amazing level (granted, not 100%) of protection. Test & Treat is rolling out so that you can get access for treatments that will minimize illness. And theatres are set up with better ventilation systems to more effectively circulate and filter air inside auditoriums. You can safely return to moviegoing. So, nu?

From the Post: “Are you sick of comic book movies and other franchises? This month, you actually have a chance to do something about it. A trio of big, original new releases comes to theaters this month. Go see one — or all of them. If these movies fail, our theatrical future will be nothing but the disappointing Morbius and its ilk. And movie lovers who have defaulted to home entertainment even after coronavirus vaccines, rapid tests and high-quality masks have become widely available will have only themselves to blame.

“Going wide this Friday is Everything Everywhere All at Once, the heart-rending and mind-bending new picture from the directorial duo Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as Daniels. The writer-director duo, aided by stars Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis, have concocted a masterpiece that manages the tricky balance of feeling sui generis and yet familiar. Here we have a movie about a mother (Yeoh) trying to connect emotionally with her daughter (Hsu) and stave off divorce from her husband (Quan) while saving her business from the taxwoman (Curtis) — this is the familiar — all while careening through the multiverse in an effort to ward off a villain filled with nihilistic, creation-destroying malaise who leads a cult that worships an evil everything bagel.

“Everything Everywhere is an earnest — some cynics will suggest saccharine — movie about families, about the difficulty of watching your kids grow up and change into something you’re not, about the love needed to keep generations together. That earnestness is leavened by what can only be described as a supreme, gut-busting silliness, including, among other wild visuals, people who have hot dogs for fingers and a raccoon puppeteering a Benihana-type chef in the style of Ratatouille.

“Given its visual imagination, emotional range and striking originality, this is exactly the kind of movie that ought to be seen on the biggest screen available with as many people as possible. The communal reaction to Everything Everywhere All at Once is part of its greatness.

“I haven’t seen The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent or The Northman yet, as they’re both opening April 22, so I can’t recommend them in quite the same way. But they are the sort of movie that should be able to succeed — or at least have a chance at succeeding — in a healthy cinematic environment.

“The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a star-driven, high-concept comedy: Nicolas Cage stars as “Nick Cage,” a former A-lister suffering from some money woes who decides to get his finances in order by attending the birthday party of a wealthy criminal. Unbearable Weight is larded up with massive amounts of talent: In addition to Cage, the film stars fan favorites, including Tiffany Haddish, Ike Barinholtz and Neil Patrick Harris.

“Earning nothing but positives reviews from critics at South by Southwest, the film is primed to take advantage of Cage’s much-praised performance in the criminally under-rewarded Pig and will likely make a nice companion piece with Keith Phipps’s excellent book about the actor’s varied body of work, Age of Cage. Most importantly, it’s the sort of star-driven mid-budget comedy that needs to attract eyeballs if theaters hope to rely on anything other than super-powered freaks to sell popcorn.

“Then there’s The Northman. In some ways, this is the hardest sell for audiences. I loved director Robert Eggers’s The Witch — it’s one of the 10 best movies of the 2010s — and The Lighthouse was a perfect lockdown movie released a few months too early. Audiences have been less enamored of his films than critics: The Witch earned a C-minus from CinemaScore, and neither really took off at the box office.

“But Eggers’s vision is compelling, his style is unique, and someone somewhere has decided it’s worth investing $90 million on a historical epic set in the icy Nordic wastes that stars Alexander Skarsgard, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke and Bjork, and reportedly culminates in a nude swordfight atop an active volcano. To say that this is one of my most anticipated films of the year is to put it mildly; we don’t get too many movies like this anymore.”

Read the rest of piece here.

“Dark jewel of 1960s British cinema” THE SERVANT restored and screening at the Royal April 15-21.

April 6, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore 1 Comment

Rejuvenate your spirit with Spring 2022 Culture Vulture films.

April 6, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore Leave a Comment

We began our weekly Culture Vulture series in 2014 to showcase the best films from and about the world of dance, opera, plays, musicals, fine art and more. We screen them every Monday at 7:30 PM at the Playhouse 7, Royal, Newhall, Claremont 5, and Glendale. Can’t make it on Mondays? No problem! Catch discounted encore presentations Tuesdays at 1 PM. Our schedule through May:

April 11-12: The beautifully crafted Easter in Art explores the Easter story as depicted in art, from the time of the early Christians to the present day. Shot on location in Jerusalem, United States and throughout Europe, the film explores the different ways artists have depicted the Easter story through the ages and thus depicts the history of us all.

April 18-19: Raphael: The Young Prodigy tells the story of the Italian Renaissance artist, starting from his extraordinary portraits of women – the Mother, the Friend, the Secret Lover and the Client. From portraits of his mother, who died when the painter was only eight, to the female admirers who helped him on his road to success, Raphael was able to portray an ideal of celestial beauty and focus his gaze more on the psychology of his subjects than on their physical forms, so that their personalities emerge in a striking manner.

April 25-26: In Black Flowers, five Holocaust survivors choose art as a vehicle for healing the wounds of their past. An undeniable bond is visible between the horrors they experienced and the artistic expression they find. The necessity of optimism is eminent in the personalities of these survivors. Screening with Commandment 613, in which Rabbi Kevin Hale joyfully practices the sacred craft of Torah restoration, bringing new life to scrolls saved in Czechoslovakia during the Shoah. Black Flowers filmmaker Tammy Federman will participate in Q&As following the April 25th screening at the Royal and the matinee screening at the Playhouse on the 26th.

May 2-3: Gallant Indies features 30 dancers of hip-hop, krump, break-dancing, and voguing. It’s a first for the Director Clément Cogitore, the choreographer Bintou Dembélé, and the Paris’ Opera Bastille. By bringing together urban dance and opera singing, they reinvent Jean-Philippe Rameau’s baroque masterpiece, Les Indes Galantes. From rehearsals to public performances, it is a human adventure and a meeting of political realities that we follow: can a new generation of artists storm the Bastille today?

May 9-10: 42nd Street – The Musical ~ One of Broadway’s classics, this production of 42nd Street is the largest-ever production of the breathtaking musical. Set in 1933, it tells the story of Peggy Sawyer, a talented young performer with stars in her eyes who gets her big break on Broadway. Filmed in 2018 at London’s Theatre Royal and directed by the original author of the show, Mark Bramble, this eye-watering extravaganza is full of crowd-pleasing tap dances, popular musical theatre standards (“Lullaby of Broadway,” “We’re in the Money,” “42nd Street” and more), and dazzling ensemble production numbers.

May 16-17: To mark the centenary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, Tutankhamun: The Last Exhibition offers audiences an extraordinary opportunity to meet the Pharaoh, with exclusive coverage of how 150 of his treasures were moved to become part of the biggest international exhibition ever dedicated to him. Explore a continuous dialogue of cross-references between the ancient past when the Pharaoh was alive, the more recent times which saw the discovery of his tomb by archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922, and the present day with exhibitions and studies dedicated to Ancient Egypt.

May 23-24: Alain Resnais: Five Short Films ~ Five newly restored early short film masterpieces from the legendary filmmaker. Resnais would go on to make his mark in feature films, including the Oscar-nominated Hiroshima Mon Amour, but these early-career shorts demonstrate an already keenly developed eye. The films are a remarkable compendium of the stylistic elements found in his features, and represent an important contribution to the distinguished French documentary tradition.

Laemmle Oscar Contest, plus Kevin Costner’s Best Director Oscar Presentation.

March 30, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore 3 Comments

Welp, that’s a wrap for the 2022 Oscars and our contest. Laemmle moviegoers were able to foresee the Academy’s choices very accurately with two exceptions: they went for the more conventional Best Picture nominee with CODA over The Power of the Dog and the artier choice with Best Animated Short nominee Windshield Wiper over the family-friendly Robin Robin. The Power of the Dog was in a tight race for Best Adapted Screenplay with eventual winner CODA. Best Original Screenplay split somewhat evenly between Paul Thomas Anderson for Licorice Pizza and eventual winner Kenneth Branagh for Belfast.

See the full results in cool pie charts at laemmle.com/oscars. We’ll announce our winners on this page on Thursday, March 31.

The sad, shocking incident during the ceremony overshadowed everything but one thing worth taking a second look at is Kevin Costner‘s presentation of the Best Director Oscar. It was probably the best presentation of the evening. He has won the award himself, of course, 30 years ago for Dances with Wolves. He spoke movingly and deliberately about the experience of seeing movies in theaters and how seeing How the West was Won at the Cinerama Dome inspired him to become an actor and filmmaker. The in-person audience giggles at first, but by the end you could hear a pin drop. Here’s a transcription and video:

You know, about a half-mile from here, I saw my first full-length adult movie. I know what you’re thinking, but I was seven years old and I was away from my parents and wanted to have some fun. It was a cowboy movie called How the West Was Won. And what I witnessed that afternoon in the Cinerama Dome was perfect. The curtain, when we still had them, opened to a film almost four hours long. It had an intermission where the score continued, subtly signaling at one point that the second half was about to start. I don’t know where everyone went, but I wasn’t going to move an inch. I decided that I would not give up my magic seat. I was determined that I would not miss a minute. And as I sat in that dark that afternoon 60 years ago, all I really knew was that I was in careful hands. Little did I know that three directors would be responsible for that epic moment in my life. They fired my imagination, and they captured my heart. That’s what can happen when you direct a movie. You can change a mind. You can change the trajectory of a life, of a career. You can capture a heart. But you can’t do it alone. And directors, tonight’s directors all know the possibilities. They know what’s at stake. It’s why they give their precious time. It’s why they choose to fight through the long days, and the longer nights, and the endless questions, and the inevitable second guessing that comes from those who would do it differently if given half a chance. These five directors have all managed to stay the course. They have all held the line and masterfully given us the gift of a single vision, and for that we honor them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y52t3CVKeyc&t=167s

Kevin Costner Speech introducing Achievement in Directing – Oscar's Academy Awards 2022 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y52t3CVKeyc&t=167s)