The Official Blog of Laemmle Theatres.

blog.laemmle.com

The official blog of Laemmle Theatres

You are here: Home / Theater Buzz / Playhouse 7

Our Filmic Cup Runneth Over: Drink Deep of the Oscar-Nominated Foreign Features and Documentaries.

by

Now is the time to enjoy fantastic films from around the world. All five of the Oscar-nominated documentary features — THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY, THE CAVE, FOR SAMA, AMERICAN FACTORY and HONEYLAND are in theaters now, before the awards show on February 9. Four of the five Oscar nominees for Best International Feature — LES MISÉRABLES, PAIN AND GLORY, PARASITE and HONEYLAND (deservedly, it’s nominated twice!) are now in theaters.

We hope to open the Polish drama CORPUS CHRISTI, the fifth foreign film nominee and the dark horse in the race, on March 6 at the Monica Film Center, Playhouse and Town Center.

The film is about 20-year-old Daniel, who is released and sent to a remote village to work as a manual laborer after spending years in a Warsaw prison for a violent crime. The job is designed to keep him busy, but Daniel has a higher calling. While imprisoned he became deeply religious and now aspires to join the priesthood, but his criminal record makes it impossible. When Daniel arrives in town, one quick lie allows him to be mistaken for the town’s new priest, and he sets about tending to his newfound flock. An international sensation with an electrifying lead performance by a previously unknown actor, CORPUS CHRISTI is the twelfth Polish film to earn an Oscar nomination. Only one of them has taken home the prize, IDA in 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B27ORUHlp6E&t=4s

FELLINI SATYRICON 50th Anniversary Screenings January 22 in Glendale, Pasadena, and West L.A.

by

Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series launch 2020 and the new decade with the 50th anniversary of the American release of FELLINI SATYRICON, the first installment of our monthly Abroad program.

The provocative adaptation of Petronius’s Satyricon, written in the first century AD during the reign of Nero in imperial Rome, is our fourth presentation of the films of Federico Fellini, one of the most acclaimed filmmakers in the history of cinema. Fellini garnered the third of four directing Oscar nominations for this effort; the Anniversary Classics Series has now showcased all of these nominated films, including La Dolce Vita, 8 ½, and Amarcord.

FELLINI SATYRICON, written by the Italian director with frequent collaborators Brunello Rondi and Bernardino Zapponi, is a freeform adaptation, emulating the fragmentary nature of Petronius’s work that survived. Petronius retold “degenerate” versions of Roman and Greek myth, and Fellini was fascinated by the gaps in the narrative, choosing a style that simulated hallucinatory dreams.

In the fevered tale, two students, Encolpius (Martin Potter) and Ascyltus (Hiram Keller), pursue the love of their young slave Giton (Max Born) through nine episodes of lurid hedonism. Petronius was a sensualist who celebrated and mocked decadence simultaneously, and Fellini matched that vision in the students’ travels and adventures in “grotesque drama and lurid fantasy,” as noted by Roger Ebert. Fellini achieved that effect through the vivid use of color, which was an ironic embrace of a medium the director disdained earlier in his career, preferring black-and-white hues in the 1950s and early 1960s in masterpieces like La Strada, Nights of Cabiria, and La Dolce Vita.

Another frequent collaborator, cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno, fully realized Fellini’s vision; as described by TV Guide, “The masterful cinematography and stunning use of color, achieved through the use of deliberately artificial light sources, lend the film an almost hypnotic sheen.”

Fellini was questioned why he employed non-Italian actors to play the leads, and he elaborated on his casting choices, “They looked innocent…with Italians there is always a feeling of morality, but the Anglo-Saxon face has something detached, something crazy, something elegant.”

Critical reception varied from measured appraisals such as Rex Reed, who saw it as an “explosion of madness and perversion, designed like grand opera of the absurd,” to full endorsement from the New York Times’ Vincent Canby, calling it “the quintessential Fellini film, a travelogue through an unknown galaxy, a magnificently realized movie of his and our wildest dreams.”

In a retrospective review in 2001, Roger Ebert wrote, “It is so much more ambitious and audacious than most of what we see today that simply as a reckless gesture, it shames these timid times.”

See it Wednesday, January 22nd at 7pm in Glendale, Pasadena, and West L.A. Click here for tickets.

Format: Blu-ray

2020 OSCARS SPOTLIGHT: DOCUMENTARIES at the Monica Film Center & Playhouse.

by

We are thrilled to announce that beginning this weekend we will be screening all of the documentaries short-listed for the 2020 Oscars. Together the 15 films offer a breathtaking portrait of our world, from the micro — the freelance Mexico City ambulance drivers of Midnight Family and the Macedonian beekeeper of Honeyland — to macro —  the data theft crisis depicted in The Great Hack and the savage forced family planning of One Child Nation, all told with peak cinematic genius. The final five Oscar nominees will be announced January 13 and the 92nd annual Academy Awards ceremony is set for Sunday, February 9, but all of these documentaries are as good as the finest fiction films and well worth your time to experience with the big canvass of a movie screen.

December 28-29

MAIDEN is the story of how Tracy Edwards, a 24-year-old cook on charter boats, became the skipper of the first ever all-female crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World in 1989.

THE GREAT HACK uncovers the dark world of data exploitation with astounding access to the personal journeys of key players on different sides of the explosive Cambridge Analytica/Facebook data scandal. (Also playing January 3-9 at the Laemmle Glendale.)

AQUARELA takes audiences on a deeply cinematic journey through the transformative beauty and raw power of water. Captured at a rare 96 frames-per-second, the film is a visceral reminder that humans are no match for the sheer force and capricious will of Earth’s most precious element.

ADVOCATE ~ Since the early 1970s, Jewish-Israeli attorney Lea Tsemel has made a career out of defending Palestinians in Israeli courts: from feminists to fundamentalists, from non-violent demonstrators to armed militants, including suicide bombers.

THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM follows two dreamers and their beloved dog when they make a choice that takes them out of their tiny L.A. apartment and into the countryside to build one of the most diverse farms of its kind in complete coexistence with nature.

January 4-5

MIDNIGHT FAMILY ~ In Mexico City’s wealthiest neighborhoods, the Ochoa family runs a private ambulance, competing with other for-profit EMTs for patients in need of urgent help. As the Ochoas try to make a living in this fraught industry, they struggle to keep their dire finances from compromising the people in their care.

HONEYLAND ~ Hatidze lives with her ailing mother in the mountains of Macedonia, making a living cultivating honey using ancient beekeeping traditions. When an unruly family moves in next door, what at first seems like a balm for her solitude becomes a source of tension as they, too, want to practice beekeeping, while disregarding her advice.

FOR SAMA is both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war. A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. (Also playing December 28 & 29 at the Royal.)

THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY ~ A cautionary tale for these times of democracy in crisis – the personal and political fuse to explore one of the most dramatic periods in Brazilian history. Combining unprecedented access to leaders past and present, including Presidents Dilma Rousseff and Lula da Silva, with accounts of her own family’s complex past, filmmaker Petra Costa witnesses their rise and fall and the tragically polarized nation that remains.

THE APOLLO chronicles the unique history and contemporary legacy of the New York City landmark, the Apollo Theater.

January 11-12

KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE ~ At a moment of historic volatility in American politics, four women decide to fight back, setting themselves on a journey that will change their lives and their country forever. Without political experience or corporate money, they build a movement of insurgent candidates challenging powerful incumbents in Congress. Their efforts result in a stunning upset.

THE CAVE is an unflinching story of the Syrian war. For besieged civilians, hope and safety lie underground inside the subterranean hospital known as the Cave, where Dr. Amani Ballor and her female colleagues have claimed their right to work as equals alongside their male counterparts, doing their jobs in a way that would be unthinkable in the patriarchal culture that exists above.

Crafted from a newly discovered trove of 65mm footage, and more than 11,000 hours of uncatalogued audio recordings, APOLLO 11 takes us straight to the heart of NASA’s most celebrated mission—the one that first put men on the moon, and made Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin household names.

AMERICAN FACTORY ~ In post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand blue-collar Americans. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.

China’s One Child Policy may have ended in 2015, but the process of dealing with the trauma of its brutal enforcement is only just beginning. The sweeping ONE CHILD NATION explores the ripple effect of this devastating social experiment, uncovering one shocking human rights violation after another. (Also currently playing at the Laemmle Glendale through at least January 2.)

Fellini, Godard, and Renoir Begin Our Anniversary Classics Abroad Series for 2020.

by

We are delighted to announce the first four films of 2020 in our Anniversary Classics Abroad series! A companion to our American repertory film series Anniversary Classics, our Abroad program screens great foreign films one Wednesday every month at three venues simultaneously: the Royal in West L.A., the Glendale, and the Playhouse 7 in Pasadena.

Laemmle patrons with a Premiere Card save $3 on tickets and receive 20% food and drinks! Learn about the perks of our Premiere Card here.

January 22: FELLINI SATYRICON
Federico Fellini’s surreal depictions of ancient Rome is loosely based on Petronius’s Satyricon, written during the reign of the Nero and set in imperial Rome. The film is divided into nine episodes and follows the scholar Encolpius and his friend Ascyltus as they try to win the heart of the young boy Gitón, whom they both love. Roger Ebert said, “It is so much more ambitious and audacious than most of what we see today that simply as a reckless gesture, it shames these timid times.” Click here for tickets.

February 19: ALPHAVILLE
In ALPHAVILLE, Jean-Luc Godard’s hard-boiled detective/science fiction fusion, Lemmy Caution (Eddie Constantine), comes to Alphaville, the capital of a totalitarian state, in order to destroy its leader, an almost-human computer called Alpha 60. While on his mission, Lemmy meets and falls in love with Natacha (Anna Karina), the daughter of the scientist who designed Alpha 60. Their love becomes the most profound challenge to the computer’s control. Click here for tickets.

March 18: EAST/WEST
EAST/WEST, French director Regis Wargnier’s (Indochine) romantic period drama, is set in 1946 when Stalin launched a propaganda campaign offering amnesty to Russians who had settled in the West. Alexei Golovin (Oleg Menshikov) decides to takes his young French wife Marie (Sandrine Bonnaire) and son Serioja with him on the long journey back to his homeland but Stalin’s offer is not what it appeared. This 1999 Best Foreign Language nominee also stars Catherine Deneuve and Bohdan Stupka. Click here for tickets.

April 22: FRENCH CANCAN
Jean Renoir’s musical dramedy chronicles the revival of Paris’ most notorious dance as it tells the story of a theater producer who turns a humble washerwoman into a Moulin Rouge star. The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw said, “The glorious final sequence, in which the cancan is finally unveiled to the rowdy audience, is some kind of masterpiece, perhaps the equal of anything Renoir ever achieved: wild, free, turbulent, exhilarating.” Click here for tickets.

Again, we will show all Anniversary Classics Abroad films at three venues, the Royal, Playhouse, and Glendale, at 7pm. Come experience these classics of world cinema as they were intended to be experienced, on a big screen in a dark auditorium full of fellow cinephiles. Click here for full details.

Culture Vulture 2020 Commences.

by

Begin the new year and the new decade by taking in some of the esoteric cinema of our Culture Vulture series, now entering its seventh year.

January 13 & 14 ~ THE PRADO MUSEUM: A COLLECTION OF WONDERS celebrates the 200th anniversary of the storied Prado Museum — one of the most-visited museums in the world.  Hosted by Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons, this cinematic journey offers viewers a spell-binding experience, telling the story of Spain and beyond, through the works of Vélazquez, Rubens, Titian, Mantegna, Bosch, Goya, El Greco, and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSIvsf5-COg

 

AFTERWARD January 20 & 21 ~ Jerusalem-born trauma expert Ofra Bloch forces herself to confront her demons in a journey that takes her to Germany, Israel and Palestine. Set against the current wave of fascism and anti-Semitism sweeping the globe, AFTERWARD delves into the secret wounds carried by victims as well as victimizers, through testimonies ranging from the horrifying to the hopeful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSw1jeyE6NI

 

GAUGUIN FROM THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON January 27 & 28 ~ This fascinating new cinema event, Gauguin from the National Gallery, London, opens with a brand-new documentary about the life and work of Paul Gauguin, one of the world’s most popular and important artists. Filmed in Tahiti, France, the Marquesas Islands and the UK, this cinematic film explores Gauguin’s extraordinary – and at times controversial – artistic achievement, with commentary from his descendants, artists and world experts. It is followed by an exclusive private view of the National Gallery exhibition, The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Gauguin Portraits.

https://vimeo.com/365857943?utm_source=Full+Exhibitor+List&utm_campaign=0f6f2c4ca5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_11_19_04_37&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_11aeb814de-0f6f2c4ca5-216267177

 

IN SEARCH OF BEETHOVEN February 3 & 4 ~ The makers of IN SEARCH OF MOZART return with a new feature-length bio-doc about Beethoven. Director Phil Grabsky brings together the world’s leading performers and experts on Beethoven to reveal new insights into the legendary composer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAkWBMdoBrQ

 

February 10 & 11 ~ EARTH was filmed at seven locations that humans have transformed on a grand scale: Entire mountains being moved in California; a tunnel being sliced through rock at the Brenner Pass; an open-cast mine in Hungary; a marble quarry in Italy; a copper mine in Spain; the salt mine used to store radioactive waste in Wolfenbüttel; and a tar sands landscape in Canada. Initially shown from above as abstract paintings, these terrains are subsequently explored on the ground: The film weaves together observational footage of machines in operation with conversations with the workers.

February 17 & 18 ~ MATTHEW BOURNE’S ROMEO + JULIET has been hailed as ‘the single most eagerly awaited dance show for 2019’ by The Daily Telegraph. This passionate and contemporary re-imagining of Shakespeare’s classic story of love and conflict is set in the not-too-distant future in ‘The Verona Institute.’ Here ‘difficult’ young people are mysteriously confined by a society that seeks to divide and crush their youthful spirit and individuality. Our two young lovers must follow their hearts as they risk everything to be together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsSFV8B4CI4

 

February 24 & 25 ~ GISELLE touches upon great and universal romantic themes. In this brand new production, renowned choreographer Alexei Ratmansky brings a fresh perspective to one of the oldest and greatest works of classical dance, giving the audience an opportunity to discover this iconic ballet anew.

Our 12th Annual Christmas Eve FIDDLER SING-ALONG is Just Around the Corner – Tickets On Sale!

by

UPDATE! We’re pleased to announce our Fiddler Hosts for 2019!  Click here for bios.
(skip to main article)

Town Center 5
Stephen Sass (4:30pm) – of the Jewish Historical Society of Southern CA – BUY TIX
Cantor Mike Stein (7:30pm) – NEW! – singer, fiddler, and Grammy winning artist – BUY TIX

NoHo 7
Cantor Aviva Rosenbloom – Jewish songwriter and woman cantor pioneer –  BUY TIX

Royal
Isaac Wade  – accomplished thespian and Laemmle General Manager  – BUY TIX

The Fine Arts Theatre
Kenny Ellis (7:30pm) – entertainer, comedian, singer of Hanukah Swings! – BUY TIX

Playhouse
Judy Sofer – of Jewish Federation of the San Gabriel and Pamona Valleys – BUY TIX
Jason Moss – of Jewish Federation of the San Gabriel and Pamona Valleys – BUY TIX

Lumiere Music Hall
Dan Messinger – NEW! – writer, comedian and renowned baker – BUY TIX

Claremont 5
Cantor Paul Buch  – of Temple Beth Israel – BUY TIX

Jump below to find out more about our hosts.

—————————————————–

Can you believe it’s the 12th year of our Christmas Eve FIDDLER SING-ALONG!?  Join us in coming together as a community to celebrate the song, shtick, and shenanigans of Laemmle’s legendary Christmas Eve experience.

For 2019, this ever-popular event will be occurring in several of our neighborhood venues (see below for full listing and ticket links).  PLUS, due to the convergence of Xmas and Chanukah (3rd night!), we’ll be celebrating the Festival of Lights with candle lighting and song.

(Jump down to watch the Sing-A-Long trailer.  For tickets, visit Laemmle.com/Fiddler).

In addition to movie and song, the evening will feature TRIVIA with PRIZES being awarded to Fiddler buffs with the quickest recall.  Dressing in COSTUME is not required, but highly encouraged! Who knows, perhaps the best costume will garner a prize?  Or perhaps this is the year you’ll be given an opportunity to do your best Tevye or Golde impression?  That will be up to the emcee.  Indeed, each location will feature its own host (to be announced).

As Greg Laemmle is fond of saying “Christmas Eve isn’t just Chinese food!”  He elaborates, “This is your once-a-year chance to be the star of the shtetl. Join with friends and neighbors and sing your heart out alongside Fiddler’s screen legends. And it’s okay if you haven’t memorized all the songs. We provide the lyrics.”

Song highlights include the iconic “TRADITION”, “IF I WERE A RICH MAN”,  “TO LIFE”, “SUNRISE SUNSET”, “DO YOU LOVE ME?” and “ANATEVKA”, among many, many more.

Don’t be late! Those who wish to attend the program are advised to purchase tickets in advance as the program has traditionally sold to capacity. We welcome all those in the community who are looking for an alternative Christmas Eve.

See you in the shtetl…

PROGRAM DETAILS
DATE: Tuesday, December 24th
TIME: 7:30pm

PRICING:
General – $18
Senior 62 & Over / Child 11 & Under – $15
Premiere Card General – $15
Premiere Card Senior 62 & Over / Child 11 & Under – $12
Note: Premiere Card pricing not available at the Fine Arts Theatre or Lumiere Music Hall.

LOCATIONS:
Claremont – Get Tickets
The Fine Arts in Beverly Hills – Get Tickets
Lumiere Music Hall – Get Tickets
North Hollywood – Get Tickets
Playhouse in Pasadena – Get Tickets
Royal in West L.A. – Get Tickets
Town Center in Encino – Get Tickets


https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=CnuyNaOEBt4&feature=emb_logo

Fiddler Hosts – 2019

Mike Stein at the Town Center 5 (Encino, 7:30pm show)
Cantor and world renowned performer, composer and recording artist MIKE STEIN will be our 7:30pm host at the Town Center 5 in Encino. A GRAMMY AWARD WINNER (cELLAbration) and nominee (Dreamosaurus), his songs have been recorded by the late PATSY MONTANA and have been included in many films. He has recorded fiddle for artists such as MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER and TOM PAXTON. Stein also serves as the cantor at Temple Aliyah in Woodland Hills, California. He has taught extensively in communities in Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Poland. He has produced albums for the late THEODORE BIKEL, the Abayudaya and the Lemba Jews of Zimbabwe. Stein is the father of three sons who are accomplished musicians of their own. Together with his wife, Kelley, they perform nationally with their group, The Rolling Steins. Stein’s appearance will benefit our community partner, the JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. BUY TIX

STEVE SASS at the Town Center 5 (Encino, 4:30pm Show)
Community leader STEPHEN SASS currently serves as President of the JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. As founding president of the BREED STREET SHUL PROJECT, he has been instrumental in the ongoing revitalization of one of L.A’s earliest synagogues built in 1915 in Boyle Heights. He co-wrote and executive-produced “Meet Me at Brooklyn & Soto” an award-winning documentary on East L.A.’s Jewish Heritage. What’s more, Sass is the chair of the L.A. COUNTY HISTORICAL LANDMARKS AND RECORDS COMMISSION, appointed by Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. In professional life, he is the Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs for HBO. Sass’ appearance will support our partner, Jewish Historical Society of Southern California. BUY TIX

Cantor AVIVA ROSENBLOOM at the NoHo 7 (N. Hollywood)
Creator of the FEMINIST SHABBAT at Temple Israel of Hollywood and female cantor pioneer AVIVA ROSENBLOOM headlines proceedings at Laemmle’s NOHO 7. An anti-war activist and veteran of the Civil Rights Movement, Rosenbloom’s life trajectory changed after a transformational trip to Israel. With the realization that Jewish music was her calling, her journey soon led her to become the first full-time woman Cantor in Los Angeles. She served as Cantor at TEMPLE ISRAEL OF HOLLYWOOD for over 30 years from 1975 to 2008. She is also a songwriter, with several recordings of Jewish music to her credit, including the career retrospective “Viva Aviva: A Life in Song.” BUY TIX

KENNY ELLIS at the Fine Arts Theatre (Beverly Hills)
Known as “The Man Behind the Matzoh Ball,” cantor and comedian KENNY ELLIS will be our host at the Fine Arts Theatres in Beverly Hills. He appears in support of our partner, the LOS ANGELES JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL. As a cantor and comedian, Ellis has entertained audiences all around the globe. His television credits include recent appearances on CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM as well as LAW & ORDER. Ellis achieved further success with HANUKKAH SWINGS! a recording that broke new ground as the first ever big band Hanukkah album. Large YouTube audiences have enjoyed “Swingin’ Dreidel” and other tracks from the hit record. BUY TIX

JUDY SOFER at the Playhouse 7 (Pasadena, 4:30pm Show))
Cantor JUDY SOFER is the Cultural Arts Program Coordinator of the JEWISH FEDERATION of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valley’s Cultural Arts program, as well as the Cantor at TEMPLE BETH SHALOM of Long Beach. She began her music and theatre studies at UC Irvine. While living in Israel from 1974-1985, she performed at Tel Aviv’s CAMERI THEATER and appeared in a number of programs for Israeli educational television. Sofer also toured the country with her own children’s theater and taught music and piano. Upon her return to California, she received the Award for Excellence in Children’s Theater for her play, A Journey to Noteland. She is well known for conducting Adult and Teen Choirs, and producing/directing concerts and show throughout the Greater Los Angeles area. BUY TIX

jason-photo_02_edit_cropJASON MOSS at the Playhouse 7 (Pasadena, 7:30pm Show))
Executive Director of the JEWISH FEDERATION of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys JASON MOSS will be our host at the Playhouse 7 in Pasadena. Under his leadership, the Federation has doubled its programming with the creation of such programs as the Cultural Arts Program, PJ LIBRARY, a nationally recognized program to reach and connect with unaffiliated Jewish families. In addition, Moss recently launched JLife SGPV, a lifestyle magazine celebrating Jewish life in the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys. BUY TIX

ISAAC WADE at the Royal (West L.A.)
Laemmle’s very own ISAAC WADE is the General Manager of our Monica Film Center location and has been working with the company for over 16 years. He will be hosting at the LAEMMLE ROYAL. Wade is the former GM of the storied LAEMMLE SUNSET 5 in W. Hollywood as well as the company’s signature ROYAL venue in West L.A. Additionally, the talented Wade is an accomplished thespian, working overseas and with several local companies such as the L.A. THEATRE ENSEMBLE and cARTel: THE ARTS COLLABORATIVE. During his youth in Kansas, he performed the role of TEVYE in the Galena High School production of Fiddler. Laemmle audiences who love and appreciate Wade in his role as theater manager are in for a treat as he reveals yet another facet of his dynamic persona. BUY TIX

DAN MESSINGER at the Lumiere Music Hall (Beverly Hills)
World-class baker and entertainer DAN MESSINGER will be our host at the Lumiere Music Hall in Beverly Hills. Messinger is the owner of Bibi’s Bakery and Café and the founder of The Kosher Cookie Company.  Prior to entering the world of baking, Dan was a writer, producer and standup comic, performing for audiences across North America.  He is a longtime fan of Fiddler on The Roof and is so delighted by Sholem Aleichem that he sings a song about him every Friday … he is also a loyal member of “Team Horse.” BUY TIX

Paul Buch_prCantor PAUL BUCH at the Claremont 5 (Claremont)
Cantor PAUL BUCH has served Temple Beth Israel in Claremont since 2003. He came to the cantorate after a 25 year career in TV and film production in Los Angeles, New York, and Portland. In addition to his cantorial duties, Buch is President of the Claremont Interfaith Council and serves on the Faith-Based Roundtable of the Pomona Unified School District. He is also Chair of the City of Claremont’s Human Relations Committee and serves on an advisory committee at the Claremont School of Theology. This will be his sixth year as our Fiddler host in Claremont! BUY TIX

Show Me the Popcorn! Buy Tickets Online and Save on Concessions.

by

Listen up Laemmle-ites!

For a limited time, receive $1 off concessions for EACH ticket you buy on Lammle.com.  We know, “unthinkable!”  But we made it happen.

Here’s the scoop:

• Good at all Laemmle locations EXCEPT the Fine Arts.

• No menu restrictions – good for ANY concession item!  “Even booze?” you ask.  “Yes, indeed!” we reply.

• Not valid for merchandise.

• You can only use savings for ONE purchase, in-person, during the show you purchased tickets for.

• You can’t redeem it for cash.  Meaning, there’s no money back if the price of your order comes in below the value of your discount. (But hey, if that does happen, you’ll get your entire order gratis!  Not too shabby.)

To access these savings, simply buy your next movie on our website.  Your ticket confirmation info will specify the amount of your discount.  Just print out or be ready to present on your phone at the concessions stand.

Of course, such things never last!  Offer expires on December 12th.

So get in while the gettin’ is good…

 

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

by

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