The Official Blog of Laemmle Theatres.

blog.laemmle.com

The official blog of Laemmle Theatres

You are here: Home / Theater Buzz / Royal

Virtual Cinema 2: Electric Boogaloo

by

[JUMP TO FILMS]

Dear Laemmle Fans,

I know I just contacted you a couple days ago about the launch of the Laemmle Virtual Cinema program, but we’ve got a number of excited distributors who wanted to share some additional films. And since many of you are looking for stuff to do while sheltering in place, I figured another message wouldn’t hurt.

We’ve also created a page to answer any questions you may have about Laemmle Virtual Cinema. If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out via our company email, or to submit a comment via our website. I can’t promise we will be able to answer all your questions directly, but your feedback helps make sure our FAQ is useful.

Click here to learn more about Laemmle Virtual Cinema.

Lastly, thank you again for your support, and know that every purchase you make on Laemmle Virtual Cinema helps us get through this mandatory closure, so that we can continue to serve you again when we reopen. And please, continue to stay safe and follow best practices.

All the best,
Greg Laemmle

………………………………………………………

Laemmle’s Virtual Cinema
New Releases for MARCH 27 • Click posters for “Watch Now” instructions.

            

Introducing “Laemmle’s Virtual Cinema”

by

Dear Laemmle Fans,

As an exhibitor, I’m supposed to hate VOD (video on demand), seeing it as an enemy out to destroy my family’s 80+ year old business. However, I believe that people will always love going to the movie theatre, and that they recognize movie-going as the best way to appreciate what the filmmaker has created.

But right now, going to the movie theatre isn’t an option. We all know why this is the case, and we’re just going to have to accept it until we can get through this crisis.

These unprecedented times call for new alliances. So in partnership with a number of our indie distributors, we are launching the “Laemmle Virtual Cinema” program.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS LAEMMLE VIRTUAL CINEMA

While the theatres are closed, we’ll be emailing to let you know about new films which you can watch on VOD. The distributors will be sharing revenue directly with us, so that we have the resources to get through this mandatory closure, and can reopen our actual doors as soon as the coast is clear.

So please go ahead and pay to watch a movie online. You’re not cheating on us. You’ll actually be helping us. And together, we can keep the fires of arthouse cinema burning until this storm has passed.

All the best,

Greg Laemmle

Dear Laemmle Fans

by

A letter from Greg Laemmle about the closing of the theaters sent on March 20.

………………………………………………..


Dear Laemmle Fans,

My family has been in this business in Los Angeles since 1938. I’ve been doing my job for over 30 years. During that time, we’ve had fires, earthquakes, a couple very serious instances of civic unrest, a major terrorist attack on our country, and countless other threats and instances of adversity. But even when curfews curtailed our hours of operation, we managed to be open and showing movies. Even if most people didn’t want to get out, there were always those who found solace and escape in getting out to the movies. And we wanted to be there for them.

The word “unprecedented” gets thrown around a lot. But what we are all living through today definitely fits the bill. And adjusting to this new reality, and accepting that it is going to be with us for at least a month if not more, is a challenge.

As much as movies and the business of showing movies is important to me and all the employees at Laemmle Theatres, we recognize that there is a more important societal issue at stake here. We understand that we need to shut down so that we can do our part to help stop the spread of the Coronavirus. We hope that you will do your part as well by staying safe at home, washing your hands, maintaining recommended social isolation distancing, and generally following best practices. Together, we can flatten the curve so that the contagion spreads as slowly as possible, and we don’t overburden our medical infrastructure. That’s #1.

Second, even though we won’t be opening new movies for a while, we hope that you’ll still stay engaged with us via email, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. We don’t have much to tell you today, but we should have some announcements in coming weeks that we think you’ll find interesting, including how to bring some of the best of Laemmle into your home.

And finally, if you have the means, it does help if you buy a Gift Card or a Premiere Card. These funds will help us get by in the immediate period. There’s a lot of discussion about doing something for impacted businesses, but nothing (as yet) actually happening. So until then, every bit helps. And is MUCH appreciated!

It’s hard to stay positive right now. But if we all look ahead to the day when we can return to our favorite theatre and enjoy a great arthouse film coupled with popcorn (would you like butter on that?) and a beverage, it will make this period a little easier to endure.

Stay safe, and hope to see you all soon.

Sincerely,
Greg Laemmle

All Laemmle Venues Temporarily Closed.

by

Dear Laemmle Family,

In accord with L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti’s executive order and in efforts to “flatten the curve,” we have temporarily closed all of our venues including those in municipalities not covered by the Mayor’s order.

We will contact ticket holders via email with refund instructions for tickets purchased in advance.

We appreciate your patience as we navigate this unprecedented situation.

Visit laemmle.com for updates.

Please take care of yourselves and those most at risk. Hope to see you soon.

– Team Laemmle

EAST/WEST 20th Anniversary Screenings March 18 in Glendale, Pasadena, and West L.A.

by

Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present this month’s film in our popular Anniversary Classics Abroad program: Regis Wargnier’s compelling and increasingly timely thriller, East/West. Wargnier had won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for his earlier historical epic, Indochine. The Oscar-nominated star of that movie, Catherine Deneuve, collaborated with him again in another fascinating historical drama with an exotic backdrop.

Inspired by true events, East/West tells a story of Russian émigrés living in Paris who were lured back to the Soviet Union after the end of World War II. Russian dictator Josef Stalin promised these refugees a complete pardon if they returned to their homeland. But when they actually returned, many of these refugees were executed or sent to labor camps or forced to live in squalor. The main characters in the story are a doctor (Oleg Menchikov) with a French wife (Sandrine Bonnaire). Deneuve has a vivid supporting role as a visiting French actress who ultimately plays a key role in helping the married couple.

At a time of increasing oppressiveness under the Putin regime in Russia, this reminder of harsh living conditions under the rule of an earlier dictator takes on renewed relevance. Wargnier wrote the screenplay for East/West with Louis Gardel and two Russian writers, Rustam Ibragimbekov and Sergei Bodrov. Bonnaire, the star of earlier French films Vagabond, La Ceremonie, and Monsieur Hire, confirmed her enormous appeal in this picture. Oscar-nominated composer Patrick Doyle (A Little Princess, Sense and Sensibility, Gosford Park), who had worked with Wargnier on Indochine, again contributed a vibrant score.

The Los Angeles Times’ Kevin Thomas declared, “East/West has the scale and rich period atmosphere of Indochine while gradually evolving into an acutely suspenseful thriller.” Writing in Movieline magazine, Stephen Farber paid tribute to the director: “Regis Wargnier has a gift for making sweeping popular entertainment,” and he added, “Sandrine Bonnaire gives a marvelously expressive performance.” The New York Times’ A.O. Scott called East/West a “sumptuous, moving new film,” and Rene Rodriguez of the Miami Herald hailed it as “a suspenseful and hugely engrossing drama.”

Our 20th anniversary presentation of EAST/WEST screens Wednesday, March 18, at 7pm in Glendale, Pasadena, and West L.A. Click here for tickets.

Format: DVD

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962) Special Screenings and Book Signings March 26 in Pasadena and April 1 in West L.A.

by

Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series invite you to celebrate the publication of Stephen Farber and Michael McClellan’s new book, Cinema ’62: The Greatest Year at the Movies, with screenings of one of the most memorable movies from 1962, John Frankenheimer’s The Manchurian Candidate.

The film will be shown on March 26 at the Playhouse in Pasadena (co-sponsored by Vroman’s Bookstore) and on April 1 at the Royal in West L.A. The authors will introduce both screenings and will sell and sign their book before and after the screenings. Special guests may appear at these screenings.

The Manchurian Candidate was a hit in 1962 and remains one of the most highly acclaimed of all political thrillers. In 1994 it was selected for the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, an honor reserved for films of “historical, cultural, or aesthetic significance.”

This story of a diabolical plot to engineer a Russian takeover of the White House was provocative in 1962 and seems frighteningly prescient and startlingly relevant in the aftermath of the 2016 election. As Frankenheimer said in a prophetic interview a few years before his death, “I think our society is brainwashed by television commercials, by advertising, by politicians, by a censored press… More and more I think that our society is becoming manipulated and controlled.”

The film was adapted from Richard Condon’s novel by screenwriter George Axelrod, who also wrote such films as The Seven-Year Itch and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It tells the chilling story of a soldier in the Korean War, played by Laurence Harvey, who is captured and brainwashed by Russian and Chinese Communists into becoming an assassin in the employ of the Soviet government. Frank Sinatra plays a fellow soldier trying to halt the assassination plot. Angela Lansbury was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of Harvey’s manipulative mother, who plays a crucial role in the conspiracy.

In addition to its achievements as a political thriller, the film was one of the first to satirize the anti-Communist hysteria that had gripped the country and divided the Hollywood community during the 1950s. James Gregory plays Lansbury’s husband, a U.S. Senator modeled on Joseph McCarthy. As Frankenheimer told one reporter, “This country was just recovering from the McCarthy era and nothing had ever been filmed about it. I wanted to do a picture that showed how ludicrous the whole McCarthy Far Right syndrome was and how dangerous the Far Left syndrome is. It really dealt with the whole idea of fanaticism, the Far Right and the Far Left being exactly the same thing.”

As a result of these controversial themes, the film was attacked by both right-wing and left-wing pundits at the time of its release. But the reviews were mainly positive. As Variety wrote, “Every once in a rare while a film comes along that works in all departments…Such is The Manchurian Candidate.” The New York Times’ Bosley Crowther had high praise for John Frankenheimer’s direction, which he called “so exciting in the style of Orson Welles when he was making Citizen Kane.”

When the film was re-released in 1987, reviews were even more ecstatic, and it has continued to resonate. Roger Ebert called it “a work as alive and smart as when it was first released.” Pauline Kael said, “The picture plays some wonderful, crazy games about the Right and the Left; although it’s a thriller, it may be the most sophisticated political satire ever made in Hollywood.” Writing in TIME magazine in 2007, Richard Corliss said, “Lansbury and Harvey are both sensational in a movie that remains pointed and current. It still touches you like a clammy hand in the dark.” Lansbury’s portrayal of the malevolent Mrs. Iselin was ranked as one of the 25 greatest villains in film history by the American Film Institute. The supporting cast includes Janet Leigh, Henry Silva, Leslie Parrish, and Khigh Dhiegh. Ferris Webster earned an Oscar nomination for his superb editing of the movie’s suspense sequences.

Cinema ’62 provides fascinating anecdotes about this classic thriller and about many of the other masterpieces of this landmark year. Read all about them after you enjoy this innovative, frightening, wickedly funny, and ever-timely highlight from a year full of cinematic wonders.

Farber and McClellan are the co-producers of Laemmle’s Anniversary Classics series. Stephen Farber has written film criticism for many prominent newspapers and magazines and has published four previous books on film. Michael McClellan is the former Senior Vice President/Head Film Buyer for Landmark Theatres.

The Manchurian Candidate screens on March 26 at 7pm in Pasadena and on April 1 at 7pm at the Royal in West L.A. Cinema ’62: The Greatest Year at the Movies will be available for purchase at the screenings. It is also available at retailers like Vroman’s Bookstore and Amazon.com.

Format: DCP

LAEMMLE LIVE Cancelled: Samohi Chamber Orchestra March 15 in Santa Monica

by

CANCELLED: We regret to inform you that this Sunday’s Laemmle Live concert featuring Samohi Chamber Orchestra has been cancelled. This is in line with the school’s decision to cancel other large public gatherings. We appreciate your understanding of the situation.

LAEMMLE LIVE proudly welcomes back our hometown band – Samohi Chamber Orchestra. Orchestra Directors are Joni Swenson and Jason Aiello. Santa Monica High School, fondly referred to as Samohi, is a large urban public high school.  Founded in 1891, Samohi has an enrollment of 3,000 diverse students and is situated on a twenty-six acre campus just a short walk from the Pacific Ocean. 

The Santa Monica Orchestra was founded in 1903, making 2020 its 117th anniversary.  During this time, the program has grown to include seven orchestras at Samohi. The Santa Monica High School Chamber Orchestra is comprised of twenty-two talented and dedicated young musicians who are leaders in the Samohi Symphony Orchestra.  In past years, the Santa Monica High School Chamber Orchestra has performed in Carnegie Hall in 2009, at the American String Teachers Association National Orchestra Festival in Kansas City, Kansas in 2011; at the Northwest Orchestra Festival in Portland, Oregon in 2013 and in 2017, and in Vancouver, British Columbia in 2015.  Last year, the Samohi Chamber Orchestra performed in New York City at the National Orchestra Cup Festival held at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center where they received the best string ensemble in the festival.  The Chamber Orchestra is delighted for its fourth performance in the Laemmle Live Concert Series. 

1st Violin

Rubani Chugh
Kielor Tung
Gina Kim
Ryan Lee
Sarah Michlin

2nd Violin

Anouk Jouffret
Emily Taylor
Chloe Schwartz
Isabella Miele-Okada
Lily Rafat
Janet Yang

Viola

Layla Shapouri
Dyllan Zhou
Grace McFalls
Naomi Villafana

Cello

Kaya Ralls
Lily Stern
Giulia Trevellin
Shoshanah Israilevich

Bass

Weston Kerekes
Alec Raymond
Silas Garcia-George

Samohi Orchestra Parents Association
Ann Raziel, President

Santa Monica High School
Dr. Antonio Shelton, Principal

Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District

Sunday, March 15, 2020
11:00 AM
Monica Film Center
1332 Second Street
Santa Monica

 

“Forever Looking for Love.” Kenneth Turan on the Newly Restored PANDORA AND THE FLYING DUTCHMAN in the L.A. Times.

by

From Kenneth Turan’s February 14, 2020 Critics Choice column in the Times:

“Independent films were not an invention of Sundance, they existed in the golden age Hollywood as well, and one of the most unusual, and the most gorgeous, was 1951’s Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. It was directed by Albert Lewin and starred James Mason and, looking especially beautiful, Ava Gardner in a pleasantly surreal supernatural tale of a cursed sea captain and a heedless young woman who lives only for pleasure. Or so she thinks.

“Gardner looked as photogenic as she did because Pandora’s cinematographer was the great Jack Cardiff, famous for works like Black Narcissus, and because the film was shot in the knockout process known as three-strip Technicolor.

“Restoring Pandora to its original glory has taken more than a dozen years, with the Cohen Media Group ultimately funding a glorious 4K version, which included more than 700 hours of digital restoration lavished on 177,120 frames of the film. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

“Begins Feb. 21 at Laemmle Royal, West Los Angeles.”

Cohen commissioned several terrific new posters for Pandora by New York-based key art designer, illustrator, and art director Mark McGillivray:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcnLjk-hyP8&feature=youtu.be

 

Ava Gardner and James Mason in a scene from “Pandora and the Flying Dutchman.” (Cohen Media Group)