2008 Schedule
May 24 |
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Some Like It Hot. When Chicago musicians Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon) accidentally witness a gangland shooting they quickly board a southbound train to Florida disguised as Josephine and Daphne the two newest and homeliest members of an all-girl jazz band. Their cover is perfect...until a lovelorn singer (Marilyn Monroe) falls for Josephine and ancient playboy (Joe E. Brown) falls for Daphne and a mob boss (George Raft) refuses to fall for their hoax! Nominated* for 6 Academy Awards® Some Like It Hot is the quintessential madcap farce and one of the greatest of all film comedies (The Motion Picture Guide). Run Time: 122 minutes |
| June 14 |
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The Sundowners. An episodic account of a family of roving sheepherders in Australia. Paddy Carmody (Robert Mitchum) loves being "someone whose home is where the sun goes down," but his wife (Deborah Kerr) and teenage son are tired of the nomadic life and want to settle down. Director Fred Zinnemann (From Here to Eternity) takes a wonderfully laid-back approach to this likable material, emphasizing the refreshingly grown-up relationship between Mitchum and Kerr as well as the stark scenic attractions of Australia--a continent that, in 1960, was still unfamiliar terrain for the movies. Puckish, portly Peter Ustinov provides the lion's share of the comic relief. One of the high points is a sheep-shearing sequence (the normally self-assured Mitchum was so nervous about accidentally harming an animal that he required a few bottles of beer for fortification before shooting the scene). The Sundowners scored five Oscar nominations, including acting nods for Kerr and Glynis Johns, but won none. Run Time: 133 mins |
| June 21 |
 |
When Harry Met Sally. "Brimming over with style, intelligence and flashing wit" (Rolling Stone), this "splendid and irresistible" (Los Angeles Times) film from director Rob Reiner is one of the best-loved romantic comedies of all time. Featuring dazzling performances from Meg Ryan, Billy Crystal, Carrie Fisher and Bruno Kirby, exceptional music from Harry Connick Jr., and an Oscar)-nominated screenplay by Nora Ephron, When Harry Met Sally is an "explosively funny" commentary on friendship, courtships - and other hardships - of the modern age (Newsweek)! Will sex ruin a perfect relationship between a man and a woman? that's what Harry (Crystal) and Sally (Ryan) debate during their travels from Chicago to New York. And eleven years and later, they're still no closer to finding the answer. Will these two best friends ever accept that they're meant for each other...or will they continue to deny the attraction that's existed since the first moment When Harry Met Sally? Run time 96 minutes. |
| July 5 |
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The Caine Mutiny. Humphrey Bogart is heartbreaking as the tragic Captain Queeg in this 1954 film, based on a novel by Herman Wouk, about a mutiny aboard a navy ship during World War II. Stripped of his authority by two officers under his command (played by Van Johnson and Robert Francis) during a devastating storm, Queeg becomes a crucial witness at a court martial that reveals as much about the invisible injuries of war as anything. Edward Dmytryk (Murder My Sweet, Raintree County) directs the action scenes with a sure hand and nudges his all-male cast toward some of the most well-defined characters of 1950s cinema. The courtroom scenes alone have become the basis for a stage play (and a television movie in 1988), but it is a more satisfying experience to see the entire story in context. Run time 124 minutes. |
| July 12 |
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Fiddler On The Roof. This rousing musical takes place in pre-revolutionary Russia and centers on the life of Tevye (Topol), a milkman who is trying to keep his family's traditions in place while marrying off his three older daughters. Yet, times are changing and the daughters want to make their own matches, breaking free of many of the constricting customs required of them by Judaism. In the background of these events, Russia is on the brink of revolution and Jews are feeling increasingly unwelcome in their villages. Tevye is trying to keep everyone, and everything, together. The movie is strongly allegorical--Tevye represents the common man--but it does it dexterously, and the resulting film is a stunning work of art. The music is excellent (it won Oscars for the scoring and the sound), with plenty of familiar songs such as "Sunrise, Sunset" and "If I Were a Rich Man," which you'll be humming long after the movie is over. Isaac Stern's violin--he provides the music for the fiddler on the roof--is hauntingly beautiful. And despite the serious subject matter, the film is quite comedic in parts; it also well deserves the Oscar it won for cinematography. Run time 181 minutes. |
| August 2 |
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The Big Country.
One of Hollywood's greatest directors teams with a cast of incredible screen legends for this bold,sweeping tale of a ship's captain who ventures west to find a hotbed of jealousy, hatred and dangerous rivalries. As the reluctant hero is thrust into the maelstrom, he must summon all of his resolveto save not only his own life, but also the life of the woman he loves. Four-time Academy AwardÂ(r) winner* William Wyler directs this action-packed adventure that triumphs as "a work of art" (Motion Picture Herald). Starring Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston, Jean Simmons, Chuck Connors and Burl Ives (in an OscarÂ(r)-winning** performance), this magnificently entertaining epic will take your breath away with unbridled suspense, exhilarating excitement and explosive drama on a grand scale. Run time 165 minutes.
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| August 16 |
 |
Tootsie. Michael Dorsey is a talented actor but his demanding nature and stubborn temperament have antagonized every producer in New York. Now his agent insists no one will hire him. But Michael needs money - eight thousand dollars to be exact - and to earn it he's willing to play the role of a lifetime. Dustin Hoffman stars with Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, Bill Murray andGeena Davis in director Sydney Pollack's heart-filled classic that heralded a new era of Hollywood wig-flipping and set a new standard for unpredictable laugh-out-loud comedy. Runtime 116 minutes. |
| August 30 |
 |
Star Wars. Written and directed by George Lucas, the original Star Wars (1977) opens with a rebel ship being boarded by the tyrannical Darth Vader. The plot then follows the life of a simple farmboy, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), as he and his newly met allies -- Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), C-3PO, R2-D2) attempt to rescue a rebel leader, Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) , from the clutches of the Empire. The movie concludes as the Rebels, including Skywalker and flying ace Wedge Antilles, attack the Empire's most powerful and ominous weapon, the Death Star. Star Wars won 6 Oscars. May the force be with you. Run time 121 minutes. |
| Sept. 13 |
 |
The Usual Suspects. Ever since this convoluted thriller dazzled audiences and critics in 1995 and won an Oscar for Christopher McQuarrie's twisting screenplay, The Usual Suspects has continued to divide movie lovers into opposite camps. While a lot of people take great pleasure from the movie's now-famous central mystery ("Who is Keyser Söze?"), others aren't so easily impressed by a movie that's too enamored of its own cleverness to make much sense. Half the fun of The Usual Suspects is the debate it provokes and the sheer pleasure of watching its dynamic cast in action, led by Oscar winner Kevin Spacey as the club-footed con man who recounts the saga of enigmatic Hungarian mobster Keyser Söze. Spacey's in a band of thieves that includes Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollak, and Benicio Del Toro, all gathered in a plot to steal a large shipment of cocaine. The Usual Suspects is enjoyable for the way it keeps the viewer guessing right up to its surprise ending. Run time 106 minutes. |
| Sept. 27 |
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Rain Man. Rain Man is the kind of touching drama that Oscars are made for--and, sure enough, the film took Academy honors for best picture, director, screenplay, and actor (Dustin Hoffman) in 1988. Hoffman plays Raymond, an autistic savant whose late father has left him $3 million in a trust. This gets the attention of his materialistic younger brother, a hot-shot LA car dealer named Charlie (Tom Cruise) who wasn't even aware of Raymond's existence until he read his estranged father's will. Charlie picks up Raymond and takes him on a cross-country journey that becomes a voyage of discovery for Charlie, and, perhaps, for Raymond, too. Rain Man will either captivate you or irritate you (Raymond's sputtering of repetitious phrases is enough to drive anyone crazy), but it is obviously a labor of love for those involved. Hoffman had been attached to the film for many years, as various directors and writers came and went, but his persistence eventually paid off--kind of like Raymond in Las Vegas. Look for director Barry Levinson in a cameo as a psychiatrist near the end of the film. Run time 133 minutes. |
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