May 2 - 15, 2008
“The
inmates are taking over the asylum,” sneered a crusty studio head
when Hollywood titans Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Charles Chaplin,
and D.W. Griffith formed Untied Artists in 1919. Evolving into the first ‘studio
without a studio,’ thus eschewing crushing overhead expenses, UA would
eventually forge partnerships with such independently-minded filmmakers
as Buster Keaton, Billy Wilder, Stanley Kubrick, Woody Allen, Robert Altman,
John Huston, Richard Lester, John Schlesinger, Jules Dassin, Martin Scorsese,
and more – while cleaning up with its James Bond and PINK PANTHER
franchises – resulting in some of the most entertaining, adventurous,
and Oscar-laden American movies of the last nine decades. We are proud to
join other leading arthouses across he country in saluting United Artists
as it heads into its tenth! – adapted from notes for the Film Forum,
NYC
FILM DESCRIPTIONS:
Double
Feature w/THE PINK PANTHERDR. NO
(1962) dir Terence Young w/Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman, Jack Lord, Bernard Lee [110 min]
There's no question, the most indelible trademark of the United
Artists legacy is the James Bond series. For many,
the first exposure to the famous UA symbol is from the first moments of
these legendary spy films, and DR. NO is the first in the series. Connery
as Bond travels to Jamaica to investigate the mysterious death of a fellow
agent and some strange waves that are affecting the U.S. space program.
Along the way, he meets Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder, the very first
Bond girl, and his trusty CIA sidekick, Felix Leiter - and, of course,
the nefarious Dr. No!
Double
Feature w/DR. NOTHE PINK PANTHER
(1963) dir Blake Edwards w/Peter Sellers, David Niven, Robert Wagner, Capucine, Claudia Cardinale [115 min]
When
an international jewel thief (David Niven) schemes
to nab the priceless Pink Panther diamond, it's up
to the idiotic Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter
Sellers) to stop him. Before the film was released Niven was thought the
star but Sellers played Clouseau as a bumbling French jackass and, in
the process, managed to steal the movie - and create one of the most enduring
characters in comedy history.
Double
Feature w/THE MAGNIFICENT SEVENTHE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY
(1966) dir Sergio Leone w/Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach [180 min]
An unlikely trio of Wild West anti-heroes alternately team-up and face-off during an unrelenting quest for buried treasure with Van Cleef as "The Bad", Wallach as "The Ugly" and Eastwood as "The Good." This most famous of Spaghetti Westerns features spectacular widescreen vistas, bravura direction, and, of course, the amazing score by Ennio Morricone.
Double
Feature w/THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLYTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
(1960) dir John Sturges w/Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, Horst Bucholz, Brad Dexter [128 min]
This
iconic Hollywood western is an American retelling
of Akira Kurosawa's THE SEVEN SAMURAI. Transplanted from rural Japan to
a Mexican border town, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN maintains the original story
of villagers in desperate need of protection. However, in this genre remake
Hollywood assembles a crew of world weary cowboys to come to the village's
defense. The gang is headed by superstars Steve McQueen and Yul Brynner
and rounded out by Hollywood greats such as James Coburn and Charles Bronson.
Set to the tune of Elmer Bernstein's iconic score THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
is the embodiment of the classic Hollywood western, fully and expansively
portraying the genre often revisited in some of 2007's most lauded films.
Double
Feature w/ROCKYRAGING BULL
(1980) dir Martin Scorsese w/Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci [129 min]
Repeatedly
referred to as the best film of the 1980s, Martin
Scorsese's RAGING BULL charts the rise and stunning fall of middle-weight
champion boxer Jake La Motta whose uncontrollable temper made him a force
to be reckoned with in the boxing ring but a dangerous beast outside of
it. The tour-de-force direction by Scorsese includes such visual devices
as having Jake fight in progressively larger rings to accentuate his diminishing
career. Shot in sumptuous black-and-white.
Double
Feature w/RAGING BULL
ROCKY
(1976) dir John G. Avildson w/Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers [119 min]
Break
out your sweat suits and crank up the Survivor, Rocky
has arrived! Written by The Italian Stallion himself, Rocky (Stallone)
is a struggling boxer with few prospects going for him, he is struggling
with money, love, career, basically with life in general. When heavyweight
champ Apollo Creed (Weathers) saunters into town, his managers immediately
see a business opportunity in a battle between townie-nobody Rocky and
reigning-champ Apollo. Little do they know that Rocky has more up his
sleeve than just a bulging forearm or two.
JUDGMENT
AT NUREMBERG
(1961) dir Stanley Kramer w/Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, Montgomery Clift [186 min]
Not for the faint of heart or those on a tight schedule, Judgment at Nuremberg takes place three years after the head leaders of the Nazi party have been tried for their crimes. Four judges are now on trial, accused of using their offices for sterilization purposes during the Nazi's reign. As the trial attempts to delve deep into their crimes, Judge Haywood (Tracy) finds that not only is information hard to come by, but even the US government is less than thrilled at the prospect of another lengthy trial, preferring instead to put all Nazi-related matters behind them. Through countless recollections of the horrors of the Nazi regime, and of these four defendants in particular, Judge Haywood comes to form a picture of the atrocities committed, eventually being able to sentence them in the manner in which they deserve.
Double
Feature w/TWELVE ANGRY MENIN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT
(1967) dir Norman Jewison w/Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates [109 min]
Philadelphia homicide detective Virgil Tibbs (Poitier), back home in rural Mississippi to visit his mother, finds himself at the center of a murder investigation - first as an indignant suspect and then as an unwilling advisor to the bigoted sheriff (Steiger). Poitier's stardom was so reviled by the white Southern establishment that he refused to film in Mississippi fearing for his safety - despite this, the film went on to win five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Double
Feature w/IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT
TWELVE ANGRY MEN
(1957) dir Sidney Lumet w/E.G. Marshall, Henry Fonda, Ed Begley [96 min]
A minimalist epic if there ever was one. What seems like an open and shut case regarding patricide in a Spanish-American household turns into a discourse on each of the twelve jurors' own fears and prejudices. Immediately, all but Juror #8 (Fonda) vote guilty, each juror seemingly being able to back up his vote with factual evidence. However, as the group continues to deliberate on the guilt or innocence of the defendant, the hidden prejudices and personality flaws of the jurors themselves come to the surface and effect the final verdict in the most unexpected of ways.
Double
Feature w/THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE
Canceled: BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ
(1962) dir John Frankenheimer w/Burt Lancaster, Karl Malden, Thelma Ritter, Telly Savalas [147 min]
Please Note: Due to a shipping issue, BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ will not screen as originally scheduled. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE will screen in its place. We regret any inconvenience.
Frankenheimer and Lancaster made five films together and BIRDMAN is one of their best. Though Frankenheimer is best known for thrillers (like the excellent Seconds or MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE), BIRDMAN is a film of intense stillness about a man convicted of murder and sentenced to spend life in solitary confinement who finds a new direction in life in the study of birds. Lancaster's outstanding performance was highly celebrated at the time and remains one of the actor's finest achievements.
Double
Feature w/BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE
(1962) dir John Frankenheimer w/Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Lee, Angela Lansbury [126 min]
This legendary political thriller seemed eerily prescient in the wake of JFK's assassination the year after its release and it remains a potent film to this day. Raymond Shaw (Harvey) returns from the Korean War a decorated hero, however, no one can seem to remember exactly what he did to be awarded his Medal of Honor. Army Officer Bennet Marco (Sinatra) questions the truth of Shaw's war-time deeds, refusing to accept round-about explanations. Marco's continued nightmares about Shaw, and those of another in his unit, force him to investigate, eventually unlocking a vast political conspiracy that is at first unbelievable, and then undeniable.
Double
Feature w/THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIRTHE GREAT ESCAPE
(1963) dir John Sturges w/Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, James Coburn [172 min]
Charles
Bronson, James Coburn, [168 min]McQueen rides that cycle, Garner scrounges, Attenborough provides forceful leadership, Bronson - perhaps remembering his beginnings as Charles Buchinsky in Pennsylvania's coal country - gets tunnel claustrophobia, and Coburn is "the lifeguard," in Sturges' rip-roaring recreation of the greatest prisoner of war mass escape of WWII, based on the book by participant Paul Brickhill. One of the best all-star WWII action films made in the 1960s - a particularly fruitful decade for that genre.
Double
Feature w/THE GREAT ESCAPE
THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR
(1968) dir Norman Jewison w/Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway [102 min]
One
of Steve McQueen's most thrilling roles is as the
bored Beacon Hill playboy, Thomas Crown, who gets together a crack team
of crooks and robs a bank just for the thrill of it. Crown thinks he's
gotten off clean but he doesn't expect to meet his match in sultry, determined
insurance investigator Vicki Anderson (Dunaway). Some great Boston locations
and that memorable chess scene highlight this terrific heist flick.
Double
Feature w/WEST SIDE STORYMARTY
(1955) dir Delbert Mann w/Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair [91 min]
It's
all about the acting in this low-key adaptation of
Paddy Chayefsky's TV play. Borgnine, in his Oscar-winning role, plays
the lonely Bronx butcher who gets stuck with a pal's "dog" of
a date, schoolteacher Betsy Blair, and ends up finding love. One of the
1950s' biggest sleepers, MARTY garnered Oscar wins not only for Borgnine
but also for Best Director, Screenplay, and Picture.
Double
Feature w/MARTYWEST SIDE STORY
(1961) dir Robert Wise w/Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno [152 min]
New
York street gangs the Jets and the Sharks duke it
out via dance fight in this urban retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Natalie
Wood stars as Maria, a teenager who falls in love with the leader of a
rival gang. The product of the powerhouse pairing of Leonard Bernstein
and Stephen Sondheim, WEST SIDE STORY features musical greats such as "America" and "I
Feel Pretty." Hailed as one of the greatest musicals of all time
and the winner of 10 academy awards, WEST SIDE STORY
is not to be missed on the big screen.
Double
Feature w/THE APARTMENT
SOME LIKE IT HOT
(1959) dir Billy Wilder w/Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft [120 min]
A
buddy comedy with a twist, Joe (Curtis) and Jerry
(Lemmon) are two musicians who witness a mob hit during the St. Valentine's
Day Massacre. They are found out and quickly need to wrangle enough cash
to get out of town, however, the only paying gig around is in an all-female
band. Mustering up their courage (and their pantyhose), the two dress
- and, amazingly, pass - as women, securing their place in the band and
their salvation from the mob. However, things become more complicated
when Joe falls for their gorgeous band mate (Monroe), and Jerry finds
himself with his own problems after he catches the eye of a male suitor
who won't take no for an answer.
Double
Feature w/SOME LIKE IT HOT
THE APARTMENT
(1960) dir Billy Wilder w/Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray [125 min]
The great Billy Wilder made 10 pictures under the United Artists banner and this is one of the sharpest. Lemmon, as the low man on the corporate ladder, sells his morals for a higher rung by lending the use of his Upper West Side bachelor pad to his superiors for extra-marital trysts. Complications ensue when he falls for the office's favorite elevator girl (MacLaine) who happens to be his boss's mistress.
RAIN
MAN
(1988) dir Barry Levinson w/Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino [133 min]
Cruise's selfish, yuppie Charlie finds his world turned upside-down when his father dies, leaving his fortune to an institutionalized brother that Charlie never even knew he had. The brother, Raymond (Hoffman), is an idiot savant who can instantly calculate mathematical equations that would spin Stephen Hawkings' head. Charlie soon kidnaps his long lost brother in an attempt to steal the $3 million inheritance. Raymond refuses to fly any airline other than Quantas, a fact which drives Charlie up the wall and prompts him to take Raymond on a cross-country roadtrip which will change them both in ways they never would have imagined.
Double
Feature w/MIDNIGHT COWBOYANNIE HALL
(1977) dir Woody Allen w/Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane [93 min]
Arguably
Woody Allen's best film to date, ANNIE HALL tells the story of Alvy
Singer (Allen), a neurotic Jewish comedian (sound familiar?) who relates
the story of his relationship with the clumsy, tie-loving Annie Hall (Keaton).
Allen is at his awkward best, often breaking the fourth wall to give
the audience an insight into his mindset, and Keaton is endearingly ditsy
without ever coming across as dumb. The two dance their way through
the film via Allen's recollections, funny at times, heartbreaking at others,
but always, always awkward.
Double
Feature w/ANNIE HALLMIDNIGHT COWBOY
(1969) dir John Schlesinger w/Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voigt, Sylvia Miles [113 min]
Jon
Voigt plays Joe, a naïve, small-town boy trying to make it as a
prostitute in the upscale world of Manhattan escorts. Predictably,
his Texan upbringing clashes with the hardened world of the Big Apple,
and he becomes an easy target for the hustlers and street-wise minions
of New York. This is how he meets the sickly Ratso Rizzo (Hoffman),
who befriends the youthful entrepreneur, becoming his companion, business
partner, soul-mate, etc... Joe and Ratso set out to make their fortunes,
using Joe's considerable "talents" as their moneymaker. However,
as Ratzo's health continues to deteriorate, their friendship supercedes
their schemes.
