A selection of some the most significant films of all time return to the big screen at Huntington’s Cinema Arts Centre this year as part of a new film series, Best of the Big Screen. The series will include screenings of classic films such as Francis Ford Coppola’s Academy Award winning adaptation of Mario Puzo’s mob novel, The Godfather, the acclaimed film adaptation of Harper Lee's 1960 Pulitzer Prize winner, To Kill a Mockingbird, and the Peter O’Toole led historical epic, Lawrence of Arabia.
The films will be screened as new digital restorations, with many also celebrating the anniversaries of their release. The films will be introduced by film historian and NYS librarian Philip Harwood, who will explore the importance of each film to the history of cinema ahead of the screening.
A majority of the films selected as part of the Cinema’s Best of the Big Screen series have been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry and were deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress. The Cinema Arts Centre is thrilled to be able to provide the opportunity to relive the magic of seeing these historically important films in the theater, as they were originally meant to be seen.
Upcoming Best of the Big Screen programs:
The Godfather
50th Anniversary Screening
Tuesday, August 30th at 7:00 PM
Tickets: https://bit.ly/GodfatherCAC
This year the Academy Award-winning masterpiece, The Godfather, celebrates its 50th anniversary. Considered by many to be one of the greatest films of all time, the movie follows the saga of the Corleone crime family led by Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), then later his son Michael (Al Pacino). Gangster films were no longer a popular genre when Paramount optioned Mario Puzo’s novel about an aging head of a crime family and the son reluctant to join the family business, but Francis Ford Coppola’s faithful and emotionally resonant film version was a box office blockbuster as well as one of the most critically acclaimed American films of all time, with many of the finest actors of the modern era playing their first star-making roles. (USA, 1972, 177 min., Color, DCP / Director: Francis Ford Coppola / Cast: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, Talia Shire)
To Kill a Mockingbird
60th Anniversary Screening
Tuesday, September 20th at 7:00 PM
Tickets: https://bit.ly/MockingbirdCAC
Sixty years after it premiered, To Kill a Mockingbird remains one of the most treasured films in Hollywood history. In 1995 it was selected for the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Faithfully adapted by playwright Horton Foote from Harper Lee’s beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the film and the book have become so intertwined in the national consciousness that they have blended as “an inescapable part of our cultural DNA.” Directed by Robert Mulligan, the film gave Gregory Peck the iconic role of a lifetime, that of Atticus Finch, the small-town lawyer who defends Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), a black man accused of raping a white woman, invoking the ire of the bigoted white community. Peck’s performance resonated so strongly that when the American Film Institute conducted a poll of all-time screen heroes, his portrayal of Finch was voted number one, ahead of such screen favorites as Han Solo and James Bond. Peck closely identified with the themes of parenting two young children, and those of social and racial justice at the height of the Civil Rights era. He was awarded a very popular Best Actor Oscar in one of the most competitive Oscar races of the twentieth century. Among the film’s eight total nominations (including Best Picture and Director) is one for Supporting Actress, which went to screen newcomer Mary Badham as Scout, the impressionable six-year-old daughter of Atticus, and it is through her eyes the story unfolds. Her remarkable performance conveys all the wonderment and innocence of childhood imagination, and she is ably supported by a stellar cast, including Robert Duvall in his screen debut in the pivotal role of “Boo” Radley. Harper Lee was involved in the film’s preparation and was “very proud and very grateful” for the fidelity of the finished film. (USA, 1962, 129 min., B&W, DCP / Director: Robert Mulligan / Writer: Horton Foote, based on the novel by Harper Lee / Cast: Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Brock Peters, Robert Duvall)
Lawrence of Arabia
60th Anniversary Screening
Tuesday, October 25th at 7:00 PM
Tickets: https://bit.ly/LawrenceofArabiaCAC
The film that defines “epic,” Lawrence of Arabia is oversized in every way, from director David Lean’s sweeping vision, to its sweeping plot exploring T.E. Lawrence's (Peter O'Toole) experiences in the Ottoman Empire's provinces of Hejaz and Greater Syria during World War I, in particular his attacks on Aqaba and Damascus and his involvement in the Arab National Council. Its grand themes include Lawrence's emotional struggles with the personal violence inherent in war, his own identity, and his divided allegiance between his native Britain with its army and his new-found comrades within the Arabian desert tribes. And then there are its groundbreaking performances (O’Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn), its panoramic vistas, its impact (what “best-of” list isn’t it on?), and, of course, its length. Quite simply, they don’t make ’em like this anymore. (USA/UK, 1962, 216 min., Color, DCP, in English/Arabic/Turkish with subtitles / Rated PG | Dir. David Lean)
Singin’ in the Rain
70th Anniversary Screening
Tuesday, November 29th at 7:00 PM
Tickets: https://bit.ly/SinginintherainCAC
On a short list of the greatest screen musicals ever made, Singin’ in the Rain began with legendary MGM producer Arthur Freed giving screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green a stack of songs he’d written early in his career (with partner Nacio Herb Brown) – including “Broadway Melody,” “You Are My Lucky Star” and the title song – with the simple request to weave a story around the numbers. What emerged was a sublime marriage of song and dance, innocence and nostalgia, heart-tugging romance and surreal comedy (especially in co-star Donald O’Connor’s show-stopping “Make ’Em Laugh” routine). Co-director Gene Kelly shines as silent-movie idol Don Lockwood, whose career (and leading lady, hilariously played by Jean Hagen) is imperiled by the coming of sound – until he hooks up with lovely ingenue Debbie Reynolds. The brilliant supporting cast includes Millard Mitchell, Douglas Fowley and the great Cyd Charisse, whose long-legged “Broadway Melody” ballet with Kelly nearly steals the show! (USA, 1952, 103 min., Color, DCP | Dir. Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly)
White Christmas
New digital restoration
Tuesday, December 13th at 7:00 PM
Tickets: https://bit.ly/WhiteChristmasCAC
Join us for a big screening showing of one of the most beloved holiday movies of all time! Bob (Bing Crosby) and Phil (Danny Kaye) meet during the Second World War, where the latter persuades the former, a Broadway performer, that they should become an entertainment duo. Following the War, the two become a huge hit, eventually becoming musical producers. When the pair audition sisters Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy (Vera-Ellen), they are smitten, though Bob needs some persuading before he will let Betty know how he feels. When the foursome ends up at a Vermont inn owned by the men’s former commanding officer, now fallen on hard times, Bob puts out a call on national television for their former division to come to the inn on Christmas Eve. With a treasury of songs by Irving Berlin, including, of course, White Christmas (first heard in 1942’s Holiday Inn), enjoying this on the big screen is a must for any fan of musicals. (USA, 1954, 120 min., Color, DCP / Director: Michael Curtiz)