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After a 45-Year Run, Laemmle to Leave the Music Hall.

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With a wistful acknowledgement that all things must pass, Laemmle Theatres announces that Thursday, November 21, 2019 will be our last day screening movies at the Music Hall. We began operating the theater in 1974 and have shown literally thousands of movies from all over the planet. Bergman’s SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE was one of the first films we played there. LA CAGE AUX FOLLES and MY LIFE AS A DOG were hits at the Music Hall. One tiny highlight of countless funny highlights was Jason Schwartzman standing on the desk in the tiny office behind the box office in 1999 to autograph the RUSHMORE poster on the wall with “Rock on, Music Hall! Jason Schwartzman.”

Laemmle Theatres President Greg Laemmle said, “It has been my family’s privilege to operate the Music Hall for 45 years but it’s time to end our stewardship. For the sake of efficiency, we plan to use the other screens in our circuit to provide a platform for the types of films we’ve been showing in Beverly Hills.”

There is a distinct possibility of a renaissance, and movies and moviegoers will return to 9036 Wilshire Boulevard, but if it happens it will be after a hiatus and with different operators.

Check out CinemaTreasures.org for some history of the Music Hall.

 

Vittorio De Sica’s THE BICYCLE THIEF: 70th Anniversary Screenings on November 19.

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present this month’s installment in our popular Anniversary Classics Abroad program: a landmark in the Italian neorealist movement and a special Academy Award winner in 1949, Vittorio De Sica’s THE BICYCLE THIEF.

De Sica and screenwriter Cesare Zavattini, another of the key figures in this new wave of filmmaking, worked together several times over the course of their careers, on such films as Shoeshine, Umberto D, Miracle in Milan, Two Women, Boccaccio ’70, and the director’s final film, A Brief Vacation.

One of the hallmarks of the neorealist movement was to shoot on the streets of postwar Italy rather than in the studio and often to cast non-actors for increased verisimilitude. For THE BICYCLE THIEF, De Sica cast a newcomer and former factory worker, Lamberto Maggiaroni, in the title role.

The story, very loosely adapted from a novel by Luigi Bartolini, highlights the desperate circumstances of a working class family in Rome. The father finds a job as a courier, but when his bicycle is stolen, the family’s livelihood is threatened. He and his young son set out to find the thief and retrieve the bicycle, but there turn out to be no easy solutions for this family in crisis. Enzo Staiola plays the son, and Lianella Carell plays the hero’s wife.

In addition to its special Oscar (in the years before the Academy introduced a regular category for foreign-language films), THE BICYCLE THIEF earned a nomination for best screenplay.

Although some Italian critics disparaged the film for promoting a negative picture of postwar Italy, THE BICYCLE THIEF was embraced in most other parts of the world.

When it opened in America, the New York Times’ Bosley Crowther raved, “Again the Italians have sent us a brilliant and devastating film in Vittorio De Sica’s rueful drama of modern city life.”

In 1952 the British magazine Sight and Sound polled international critics to name the ten greatest movies in cinema history, and The Bicycle Thief topped the list.

Endorsements continued over the years. Pauline Kael wrote, “This neorealist classic, directed by Vittorio De Sica and written by Cesare Zavattini, is on just about everybody’s list of the greatest films.”

When a restored version was released in the United States many years later, Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times observed, “This film manages to appeal to the better angels of our nature in a way that only deepens as we grow older along with the film.”

THE BICYCLE THIEF also inspired filmmakers in many other countries, including India’s Satyajit Ray and Britain’s Ken Loach.

Don’t miss our 70th anniversary screenings on Tuesday, November 19, at 7PM in Glendale, Pasadena, and West LA. Click here for tickets.

Format: DCP

LAEMMLE LIVE presents: American Youth Symphony with Rich Capparela December 15

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LAEMMLE LIVE proudly ushers in the 2019 holiday season with the new American Youth Symphony Brass Ensemble, performing classical and holiday melodies. Beloved radio host Rich Capparela returns to host the festivities.

Forrest Johnston, trumpet

Tyler Norris, trumpet

Valerie Ankeney, french horn

Michael Dolin, trombone

Errol Rhoden, tuba

Founded in 1964 by renowned conductor Mehli Mehta, the American Youth Symphony inspires the future of classical music by training the next generation of professional musicians and building new audiences for orchestral music.  AYS presents ambitious seasons that feature thoughtful programming of exceptionally high quality, covering a breadth of symphonic music, including beloved classics, film scores, chamber works, and contemporary pieces. AYS is committed to reflecting the diversity of Los Angeles in its programming, representing artists and composers of all genders, generations, and ethnicities. AYS is also committed to equity within the orchestra, by holding blind, free auditions, and by paying musicians instead of charging tuition. AYS concerts are presented for free or low cost, at world-class concert halls and local community venues alike, with the goal of welcoming anyone who is interested to enjoy this beautiful art form. https://aysymphony.org/

RSVP USING EVENTBRITE

This is a Free Event
Sunday, December 15, 2019
11:00 AM
Monica Film Center

HALA Q&A with Filmmaker Opening Weekend at the Monica Film Center.

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HALA Q&A with director Minhal Baig following the 7:20 pm show on Saturday, 11/23.

https://youtu.be/4aS-qGHH6E0

Ahrya Fine Arts Theater News: 25th Anniversary Screening of THE LAST KLEZMER, New Operator, Israel Film Festival,

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The propulsive Jewish folk music known as klezmer that was played by itinerant bands throughout Eastern Europe before World War II has earned many sobriquets, among them “Jewish jazz.” The pumping rhythms, modal harmonies and cantorial cry of this European roots music have filtered into countless Broadway musicals. Probably no one did more to perpetuate klezmer traditions, especially in Europe, than Leopold Kozlowski, the subject of Yale Strom’s absorbing 1994 documentary The Last Klezmer. Strom will participate in a Q&A and play his violin following a 1:00 pm screening on Sunday, November 3rd at the Fine Arts in Beverly Hills.

In other Fine Arts news, on November 1 Laemmle Theatres will cease operation of the theater, turning the facility over to Screening Services Group. SSG will return the theater to its longtime name, the Fine Arts Theatre. Laemmle operated the Fine Arts from 1985 to 1994 and again from September 2015 until now. Laemmle Theatres President Greg Laemmle said, “It has been our privilege to show movies at this beautiful single-screen theater and we’re happy that Screening Services Group will continue to maintain it as a destination for Los Angeles cinephiles.”

According to CinemaTreasures.org, the Fine Arts first opened in April 1937 as the Wilshire Regina, with seating for 800.

Longtime Beverly Hill resident Shawn Far purchased the theater in May of 2015. He has a great respect for historical buildings and owns several in the Los Angeles area. The theater was closed from 2010 to 2015 and once Mr. Far purchased it he began renovations using a state-of-the-art Digital Cinema system including a fully equipped 3D system as well as 35mm and 70mm projectors.

Screening Services Group is an excellent screening room operator in the Los Angeles area, operating three screening rooms in Beverly Hills and one in West LA. The Fine Arts Theatre will be operated as a public movie theatre and a special venue for movie premieres and other special events.

The theatre will host Israel Film Festival next month, and tickets will still be available on the Laemmle website once the schedule is finalized.  We hope to continue working with SSG on Sing-Along Fiddler on the Roof  Christmas Eve screenings (2019 host TBA) and other programs into 2020. Onward!

Fantastic Fungi Opening Weekend Q&A’s with Filmmaker and Special Guests at the Monica Film Center.

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FANTASTIC FUNGI Q&A’s after select showtimes.

https://youtu.be/oR4jzC2JDTs

10/25 – Fri., 5:20pm Director Louie Schwartzberg, Ryan Munevar, Decriminalize CA and Ashley Booth, Aware Project

7:40pm Director Louie Schwartzberg, Ryan Munevar, Decriminalize CA, Ashley Booth, Aware Project, Brad Adams, Los Angeles Medicinal Plant Society, and Tara Rodriquez, PsychedeliciA Integration

10/26 – Sat., 7:40pm Director Louie Schwartzberg Andy Lipkis, Founder of TreePeople

10/27 – Sun, 5:20pm Director Louie Schwartzberg, Andy Lipkis Founder of TreePeople, Michael Martinez, Founder of L.A Compost and Jonathan Palfrey, Executive Director, Climate Resolve

Laemmle’s Anniversary Classics presents THE TINGLER and THEM, a Halloween Eve Double Feature on October 30 in North Hollywood.

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present our annual scary October program of classic fright films with a double bill of 1950s black-and-white hits: the 65th anniversary of THEM! (1954), paired with the 60th anniversary of THE TINGLER (1959). The vintage horror entries will show in a retro double feature (two movies for the price of one) on Halloween Eve, Wednesday, October 30 at the Laemmle NoHo.

THEM!, considered one of the very best of the 1950s monster movies, tapped into the era’s nuclear paranoia with its tale of giant mutated ants terrorizing the American Southwest.

Unlike many of the low-budget films that capitalized on atomic era fears, THEM! was a major production for Warner Bros., hoping to repeat the commercial success of their 1952 release, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. They assigned studio contract director Gordon Douglas to helm a script written by Ted Sherdeman, Russell Hughes, and George Worthing Yates with a strong cast headed by James Whitmore, Oscar winner Edmund Gwenn (Miracle on 34th Street), James Arness, Joan Weldon and newcomer Fess Parker.

Accomplished cinematographer Sidney Hickox (The Big Sleep, White Heat) and venerable composer Bronislau Kaper (San Francisco, Lili, Mutiny on the Bounty) contributed first-rate work, along with special effects that garnered an Academy Award nomination that year.

Variety capsulized the favorable reviews: “top-notch science fiction shocker. It has a well-plotted story, expertly directed and acted in matter-of-fact style to rate a chiller payoff and thoroughly satisfy fans of hackle-raising melodrama.”

THE TINGLER is a classic of another sort – cultish camp – with its outlandish story of a doctor who discovers a fear-bred organism in the base of the spine. If released, the centipede creature’s grip can kill, only alleviated by a scream.

Producer-director William Castle, one of the period’s rival “king of the Bs,” enlisted writer Robb White to concoct the story, cited by Time Out as “ingeniously ludicrous.” Castle and White had collaborated twice before and hit box office pay dirt with the low-budget hit House on Haunted Hill in 1958. But shlockmeister Castle’s real talents were as a huckstering showman, and he provided a marketing gimmick doozy in “Percepto,” with vibrating buzzers wired to theater seats to jolt the audience when the creature is unleashed.

The good doctor, played by Vincent Price, would then instruct the theater audience to “scream for your lives” to keep the marauding tingler at bay. Price had been the star of House on Haunted Hill and then went on to become the “the master of menace” for a dueling “king of the Bs,” Roger Corman, with his adaptations of the works of Edgar Allan Poe in the early 1960s.

At the time of its release, the New York Times’ Howard Thompson dismissed THE TINGLER as a prime example of Castle “serving some of the worst, dullest little horror entries ever to snake into movie houses.”

Today audiences are mightily amused by the brand of scary mayhem Castle specialized in, endorsing Leonard Maltin’s assessment of THE TINGLER as a ”preposterous but original shocker.”

One night only, enjoy an early Halloween treat (no tricks here) – two vintage horror movies back on the big screen in a classic double feature on Wednesday, October 30 at the Laemmle NoHo. Click here for tickets.

Formats: THE TINGLER, DCP; THEM!, Blu-ray.

THE NATURAL 35th Anniversary Screening and Q&A with Cinematographer Caleb Deschanel & Screenwriter Roger Towne.

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At the climax of baseball season, Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a screening of the film regarded as one of the greatest of all baseball movies, Barry Levinson’s THE NATURAL.

Adapted from the acclaimed 1952 novel by Bernard Malamud, the film earned four Academy Award nominations in 1984: Best Supporting Actress Glenn Close, Best Cinematography Caleb Deschanel, Best Musical Score Randy Newman and Best Art Direction.

The beautiful, impeccably designed recreation of an earlier era in American sports history also scored at the box office. Robert Redford plays the title character, and the all-star cast also includes Robert Duvall, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley, Barbara Hershey, Richard Farnsworth, and Joe Don Baker.

Malamud’s story, adapted for the screen by Roger Towne and Phil Dusenberry, tells the story of a young baseball prodigy named Roy Hobbs (Redford) who travels from his bucolic Midwestern home to try out for the Chicago Cubs. On his journey he is assaulted by a mysterious woman, and disappears for some 15 years. When he reappears and tries out for a New York team, the owners and manager are skeptical that a middle-aged man can ever succeed in the majors. But Roy’s skills as a slugger silence the skeptics and encourage the owners to give him a shot. His rise to the top is complicated by his romance with a rather shady woman (Basinger) and by the reappearance of his childhood sweetheart (Close), who has a surprise revelation that disorients Roy.

In addition to the rousing baseball scenes and the poignant personal story, the film captivates as a lush evocation of a more innocent American past. Cinematographer Deschanel, who had made his mark with his work on Carroll Ballard’s ‘The Black Stallion’ and Philip Kaufman’s ‘The Right Stuff,’ made a major contribution in bringing the era to life. Levinson also made an unconventional choice in selecting new composer Randy Newman to create the rousing symphonic score.

Although the filmmakers altered the dark ending of Malamud’s novel, they retained his piercing insights into some of the contradictions of the American character. The film earned mixed reviews at the time, but its reputation has grown. James Berardinelli of ReelViews called THE NATURAL “arguably the best baseball movie ever made,” and ESPN also called it one of the best sports movies of all time. On its original release Gene Siskel declared, “Redford scores in an uplifting celebration of the individual.”

Deschanel has earned six Oscar nominations over the course of his career. In addition to nominations for THE NATURAL and ‘The Right Stuff,’ he was cited for his work on Mel Gibson’s blockbuster, ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ and for ‘The Patriot,’ ‘Fly Away Home,’ and last year’s Oscar nominee for best foreign language film, ‘Never Look Away.’ This year Deschanel shot Disney’s smash-hit live-action version of ‘The Lion King.’

Our 35th anniversary presentation of THE NATURAL (1984) and Q&A with cinematographer Caleb Deschanel and screenwriter Roger Towne screens Thursday, October 24, at 7PM at the Royal in West LA. Click here for tickets.

Format: DCP