GREAT ROMANCES
February 12-16 , 2006

To celebrate the Brattle's annual Valentine's Day screenings of CASABLANCA, we've put together a series of some of the most indelibly romantic films of the classic Hollywood era. Alongside Bogie and Bergman, we offer Cary Grant in HOLIDAY and THE AWFUL TRUTH, Rhett and Scarlett in GONE WITH THE WIND, and of course, King Kong and Fay Wray in a new 35mm print of the 1933 original KING KONG! Bring a date to the Brattle this February!

DATES & SHOWTIMES

Sunday 2/12
GONE WITH THE WIND at 4:00, 8:00

Monday 2/13
Double Feature!
THE AWFUL TRUTH at 7:30
HOLIDAY at 5:30, 9:30

Tuesday 2/14
Happy Valentine's Day!
CASABLANCA at 5:00, 7:15, 9:45

Wednesday 2/15 & Thursday 2/16
The Original! New 35mm Print!
KING KONG (1933) at 5:15, 7:30, 9:45

FILM DESCRIPTIONS

GONE WITH THE WIND
(1939) dir Victor Fleming w/Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Butterfly McQueen [222 min]

Troubling, racist throwback or supreme cinematic romance... or perhaps both, GONE WITH THE WIND has been called many things since its release in 1939 but one of the constants is that it is a truly epic film that encompasses much in the way of human emotion. A powerful love story but also a tale of one woman's passionate self-reliance and independence, GONE WITH THE WIND remains a classic American film that deserves to be seen and discussed.

THE AWFUL TRUTH
(1937) dir Leo McCarey w/Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Ralph Bellamy, Cecil Cunningham [91 min]

What's more romantic than learning to laugh together? Cary Grant was, undoubtedly, the king of romantic comedy and this priceless one features him alongside Irene Dunne as a divorcing couple who can't seem to stay away from each other. McCarey won an Oscar for directing the terrific cast, with Bellamy stealing the show as the straightest of straight men.

Double Feature w/HOLIDAY

HOLIDAY
(1938) dir George Cukor w/Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Doris Nolan, Lew Ayres, Edward Everett Horton, Jean Dixon, Henry Kolker [95 min]

Another brilliant romantic comedy featuring the dynamic duo of Grant and Hepburn, HOLIDAY shines as a superbly written film about the value of maintaining one's free-spirit, staying true to your values, holding out for true love, and knowing when being impulsive is the right thing to do. Grant plays a successful businessman who is close to achieving his dream of retiring young, Nolan is his socialite fiancée who doesn't want to leave her comfortable life, and Hepburn shines as the future-sister-in-law who may be his salvation.

Double Feature w/THE AWFUL TRUTH

CASABLANCA Happy Valentine's Day!
(1942) dir Michael Curtiz w/Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Sidney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Dooley Wilson [102 min]

This wonderful, timeless film retains all of the romance, drama, and beauty that it had upon its first release. In the repertory cinema heyday of the '60s, people were known to arrive in costume and many were able to say every line right along with the film. The film has prompted numerous proposals to be made and (we hope) accepted in the balcony throughout the years. So bring a new sweetheart or an old flame and come down to the Brattle to be reminded that "a kiss is still a kiss..." and enjoy this classic film the way it was meant to be seen Ð on the big screen, with a big crowd and a big tub of popcorn.

KING KONG (1933)
(1933) dir Merian C. Cooper, Ernest Schoedsack w/Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot, Frank Reicher [100 min]

Thanks to Peter Jackson's homage/remake, the original KING KONG is staging a comeback! Blessed with a wonderful DVD release in 2005, the original is now back in a new 35mm print so we can see it in the only place where Kong can be done justice: on the big screen. Much as in Jackson's recent film, the full magic of filmmaking is on hand here, as Fay Wray struggles with her lot as the damsel-in-distress and the strangely moving Kong struggles with his lot as killer brute.