<< July 5 - 9, 2006 >>>

Discuss this series with other film fans on:
http://www.myspace.com/americancinematheque

Tired out and dazed from all the July 4^th festivities and televised sports events? Come and join us for this rejuvenating spate of effervescent comedies guaranteed to re-energize and lift your spirits from the midsummer doldrums. From cult to classic, from Peter Sellers (DR. STRANGELOVE) to Steve Martin (THE JERK), from John Cleese (A FISH CALLED WANDA) to Frank Capra (ARSENIC AND OLD LACE), guaranteed to bring a smile to your face and put a spring in your step.

DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB, 1964, Sony Repertory, 93 min. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Against a gallery of unforgettable comic grotesques, including Sterling Hayden’s fluoride-hating general and George C. Scott’s oversexed Commie killer, Peter Sellers stands out in arguably his greatest role(s) – as the befuddled U.S. President, veddy-British commander Mandrake, and the maniacal Dr. Strangelove. (Interestingly, Sellers was supposed to play a fourth role – Slim Pickens’ B-52 pilot – before illness forced him to drop out!)

THE JERK, 1979, Universal, 94 min. Dir. Carl Reiner. "The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here!" Before AIRPLANE, Jim Carrey, and The Farrelly Brothers, there was THE JERK. Steve Martin and Carl Reiner team up for one of the most original and influential comedies ever made. Martin, in his screen debut, plays the lovable idiot, Navin R. Johnson, a young sharecropper who leaves his poor black family behind to see the world and be somebody. The talented Bernadette Peters sings, dances, throws knives and plays the trumpet while M. Emmet Walsh shoots and curses his way into film history. "Stay away from the cans!" Discussion following with director Carl Reiner.

Friday, July 7 - 7:30 PM

John Cleese double feature:
A FISH CALLED WANDA, 1988, Sony Repertory,108 min. A tale of murder, lust, greed, revenge, and seafood. It’s the Ealing Studios meets Monty Python and one of the funniest films ever made. Ealing great Charles Crichton (THE LAVENDER HILL MOB, THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT) directs John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin ("Don't call me stupid") Kline in his Oscar-winning performance. The best slapstick comedy this side of the Marx Brothers. A movie that manages to be smart, dumb and mean all at the same time.

CLOCKWISE, 1986, Universal, 96 min. John Cleese is a stuffy headmaster, ruled by punctuality, hurrying on his way to a conference. See director Christopher Morahan and screenwriter/playwright Michael Frayn ("Noises Off" and "Copenhagen") torture poor Cleese’s character worse than Basil Fawlty on Gourmet Night. Great supporting work from Alison Steadman (SECRETS AND LIES) and Geofrey Palmer (A FISH CALLED WANDA). A comedic masterpiece of slow burning pain, CLOCKWISE was a criminally unappreciated film on its initial release. If you have never seen it, what is your excuse?

Saturday, July 8 - 7:30 PM
25^th Anniversary!

AIRPLANE! Paramount, 1980, 88 min. Dirs. Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker. After the whole airplane crew becomes ill, the survival of everyone on board depends on ex Navy pilot Ted Stryker (Robert Hays). Will he be able to safely land the plane? The quintessential movie spoof that spawned an entire genre of parody films, the original still holds up as one of the brightest comedic gems of the '80s. Discussion following with co-directors, producers, writers Jim Abrahams & David Zucker and actors Norman Gibbs (First Jive Dude) & Al White (Second Jive Dude)

Sunday, July 9 - 3:00 PM
Family Matinee:
THE IRON GIANT, Warner Bros., 1999, 86 min. Director Brad Bird's ambitious take on Ted Hughes' 1968 children's book The Iron Man. A delightful tale of friendship between a fatherless boy and a gigantic metal behemoth robot, in a small town in the cold war 50’s. One of the best-animated films to have came out in the past few years, with magical moments for the whole family. Don’t miss the Story Hour at 2 PM at Every Picture Tells A Story July Family Matinees -- Special Pass, Children: 5 Films for $25; Adult: 5 Films for $35. Individual tickets available for each screening at regular prices.

Sunday, July 9 - 7:30 PM
Capra Classic Double Feature:

ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, 1944, Warner Bros., 118 min. Dir. Frank Capra. Theatre critic, Mortimer (Cary Grant) discovers on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are serial killers of lonely old bachelors, and that insanity runs in his family. Just when he believes things can’t get any worse, his psychotic criminal brother (Raymond Massey) returns in the dead of night with alcoholic plastic surgeon sidekick, Peter Lorre. A classic Capra black comedy!

YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU, 1938, Sony Repertory, 126 min. Director Frank Capra won an Oscar for Best Director (the film also won Best Picture) for this adaptation of the play by George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart about an eccentric, strangely happy family. The amazing cast includes Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Lionel Barrymore, Edward Arnold, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson and Ann Miller.