by Lani
Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies Now Playing guide for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)
Drive-In Double Features - Thursdays in June
6/2, 8 PM - Godzilla, King of Monsters (1956)
9:45 PM - Rodan (1957)
11:15 PM - Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster (1965)
1 AM - Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1970)
Celebrate the bygone summer tradition of drive-in movies with classics remembered (The Thing from Another World, 6/30) and forgotten (Mars Needs Women, 6/16). This month-long series kicks off June 2 with four movies starring the Godzilla Gang - Mothra, Rodan, and the "king of monsters" himself. While these films are best seen on a large, outdoor screen, if you plan on watching them in your living room consider opening the windows to let in the summer air.
6/6, 10:15 AM - Once Upon a Time (1944)
Cary Grant plays a Broadway producer with an exciting new act - a dancing caterpillar!
There's probably a reason why no one talks about this movie in the same breath as The Awful Truth or Arsenic and Old Lace; but the premise sounds so ridiculous, and Cary Grant is always good, I'm willing to give it a try.
6/8: Bogie + Alexis 4EVER
12:30 PM - The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947)
2:15 PM - Conflict (1945)
Two specimens from the little-recognized sub-genre of "films in which Humphrey Bogart plays a creep who murders his wife in order to be with Alexis Smith." I haven't seen Conflict yet, but The Two Mrs. Carrolls is a fun little thriller, helped by the always reliable Barbara Stanwyck in the lead role.
6/21, 9:45 PM - Angel Face (1953)
I always think of "Star of the Month" Jean Simmons as the good girl who falls prey to the cads around her (see Guys and Dolls on 6/21 or Uncle Silas on 6/7), even though in reality she had a much more diverse range. So, I'm interested to see her play "against type" and use her angel face to mask sinister intentions.
6/29: A Night in Scotland
8 PM - I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
10 PM - Brigadoon (1954)
12 AM - Let's Be Happy (1957)
2 AM - Bonnie Scotland (1935)
3:30 AM - Castle in the Air (1952)
5 AM - Mary of Scotland (1936)
Scotland is one of my favorite places to visit, so I'll take any opportunity to go back, even if it is only vicariously through films. And what a line-up! Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, Van Johnson, Vera-Ellen, Wendy Hiller, Laurel & Hardy, David Tomlinson, Margaret Rutherford, Katharine Hepburn, and Frederic March are the stars of the night; and the directors represented include John Ford, Vincente Minelli, and Michael Powell. So while it's not quite the same as a vacation, I can still enjoy the scenery and culture of film-world Scotland, while avoiding the cold winds and rain of real-world Scotland.
Spotlight on Vincente Minnelli
I recently read A Hundred or More Hidden Things: The Life and Films of Vincente Minnelli by Mark Griffin and now I'm eager to catch up with the Minnelli films I haven't seen like Designing Woman, Some Came Running, and Bells Are Ringing. June on TCM is actually full of some of Minnelli's best films, including the one that earned him the Best Director Oscar, Gigi.
6/3, 8 PM - Father of the Bride (1950)
6/7, 8:30 AM - Bells Are Ringing (1960)
6/7, 10:45 AM - Some Came Running (1958)
6/10, 9:30 AM - The Clock (1945)
6/10, 11:15 AM - The Pirate (1948)
6/12, 8 AM - Designing Woman (1957)
6/12, 2 PM - Gigi (1958)
6/12, 10 PM - The Bandwagon (1953)
6/19, 1:30 PM - Father of the Bride (1950)
6/19, 3:30 PM - The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963)
6/26, 6 AM - The Pirate (1948)
6/27, 10:45 AM - Gigi (1958)
6/29, 10 PM - Brigadoon (1954)
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Summer Classics at the Paramount
by Lani
This is my summer film guide to what's playing at a theater near me, specifically the Paramount Theater, Austin's only movie palace. This year the Summer Classics Film Series has stretched the definition of "classic," expanding the schedule to include everything from an obscure Mexican silent film (El Tren Fantasma) to a movie which left theaters only a few months ago (The Coen brothers' True Grit).
The series kicks-off this Friday, May 20, with a special screening of Casablanca hosted by filmmaker, historian, and ascot enthusiast Peter Bogdonovich. As a young director, Bogdonovich befriended many stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood, so that later he could do funny impressions of them (this may not be the only reason). On this evening, I expect we'll hear his Bogie impression along with colorful tales of Hollywood, and after Casablanca Bogdonovich will also screen a surprise Bogie film of his own choosing. Bogdonovich's own films will get the spotlight in another special screening hosted by Sam Beam, better known to music fans as Iron & Wine. On July 27, Beam will show Paper Moon and on the following night he'll screen Last Picture Show.
I'm also looking forward to several restored prints starting with three Charlie Chaplin films June 9-12: City Lights, The Gold Rush, and Modern Times. And July 2-3 is "Burt Lancaster weekend" featuring a restored print of The Leopard, a lush Italian epic directed by Luchino Visconti and co-starring two of the most beautiful stars to ever appear onscreen, Claudia Cardinale and Alain Delon.
Visconti isn't the only foreign director featured this summer; in fact, a surprising number of foreign films have been included in this summer's series. From France alone there's the ingenious comedy of Jacques Tati in Playtime (August 11-14), two films from the Nouvelle Vague - Truffaut's Soft Skin and Godard's Vivre Sa Vie (August 20-21), and crime dramas from Jean-Pierre Melville and Robert Bresson. But it's not all arthouse fare. Sci-Fi week, July 5-8, includes the monster movie classic Them! and the original, uncut version of Godzilla.
Texas summers can be brutally hot, but the Paramount keeps moviegoers cool with an obscene level of air conditioning. I am only slightly embarrassed to say that I have worn a Snuggie in the Paramount before, and I think I may need it again this year. Cat People (1942), showing August 4-5, is sure to bring the temperature down a few more degrees and I'll need something to hide under during the other scary movies playing that week: The Shining, The Haunting, and Kuroneko - a ghost tale from Japan.
But this overview has only scratched the surface. There will also be several double features spotlighting classic film favorites like Audrey Hepburn, Jack Lemmon, Grace Kelly, and Paul Newman. We'll even have a "Patrick Swayze Christmas (in July)" with a Roadhouse/Red Dawn double feature, July 16-17. If you will be in Austin this summer, check out the full film schedule online and I'll see you at the movies!
This is my summer film guide to what's playing at a theater near me, specifically the Paramount Theater, Austin's only movie palace. This year the Summer Classics Film Series has stretched the definition of "classic," expanding the schedule to include everything from an obscure Mexican silent film (El Tren Fantasma) to a movie which left theaters only a few months ago (The Coen brothers' True Grit).
The series kicks-off this Friday, May 20, with a special screening of Casablanca hosted by filmmaker, historian, and ascot enthusiast Peter Bogdonovich. As a young director, Bogdonovich befriended many stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood, so that later he could do funny impressions of them (this may not be the only reason). On this evening, I expect we'll hear his Bogie impression along with colorful tales of Hollywood, and after Casablanca Bogdonovich will also screen a surprise Bogie film of his own choosing. Bogdonovich's own films will get the spotlight in another special screening hosted by Sam Beam, better known to music fans as Iron & Wine. On July 27, Beam will show Paper Moon and on the following night he'll screen Last Picture Show.
I'm also looking forward to several restored prints starting with three Charlie Chaplin films June 9-12: City Lights, The Gold Rush, and Modern Times. And July 2-3 is "Burt Lancaster weekend" featuring a restored print of The Leopard, a lush Italian epic directed by Luchino Visconti and co-starring two of the most beautiful stars to ever appear onscreen, Claudia Cardinale and Alain Delon.
Visconti isn't the only foreign director featured this summer; in fact, a surprising number of foreign films have been included in this summer's series. From France alone there's the ingenious comedy of Jacques Tati in Playtime (August 11-14), two films from the Nouvelle Vague - Truffaut's Soft Skin and Godard's Vivre Sa Vie (August 20-21), and crime dramas from Jean-Pierre Melville and Robert Bresson. But it's not all arthouse fare. Sci-Fi week, July 5-8, includes the monster movie classic Them! and the original, uncut version of Godzilla.
Texas summers can be brutally hot, but the Paramount keeps moviegoers cool with an obscene level of air conditioning. I am only slightly embarrassed to say that I have worn a Snuggie in the Paramount before, and I think I may need it again this year. Cat People (1942), showing August 4-5, is sure to bring the temperature down a few more degrees and I'll need something to hide under during the other scary movies playing that week: The Shining, The Haunting, and Kuroneko - a ghost tale from Japan.
But this overview has only scratched the surface. There will also be several double features spotlighting classic film favorites like Audrey Hepburn, Jack Lemmon, Grace Kelly, and Paul Newman. We'll even have a "Patrick Swayze Christmas (in July)" with a Roadhouse/Red Dawn double feature, July 16-17. If you will be in Austin this summer, check out the full film schedule online and I'll see you at the movies!
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