CASABLANCA
from the 1940s

Not much that's new can be said about “Casablanca” that hasn't been said already. Numerous books have been written about it (the titles include “You Must Remember This,” “Casablanca: As Time Goes By,” “Casablanca: Script and Legend,” and “Round Up the Usual Suspects: The Making of Casablanca,” just for starters). When the American Film Institute (AFI) took a poll to name the 100 top movie romances of all time, it was numero uno. Among the 100 greatest American movies of all time, the AFI named it number two, just after “Citizen Kane.” Further, “Casablanca” won the Academy Award as the best picture of its year.

It’s been an icon among movies since 1957, the year of Humphrey Bogart's death, when the film played a reissue run at the Brattle theatre near Harvard University in Boston and was held over for several weeks, after which it became an annual revival and a must-see ritual for Harvard and Cambridge students.

We're delighted to be presenting it in our festival to give everyone the chance, perhaps for the first time, to see it on a big movie screen, and I think you'll be shocked, and pleasantly surprised, how differently it jumps off a giant screen and grabs you in a much different way than when watching it at home in TV-size dimensions.

Set amidst World War II political intrigue in and outside Rick's Café Americain in Northern Africa, it has a cast that's extraordinary and a haunting love song borrowed from a minor 1931 Broadway show called “Everybody’s Welcome.” Probably the only person who never fell under the spell of this extraordinary film was its leading lady Ingrid Bergman. To the end of her life, she was surprised, and somewhat chagrined, that after all the extraordinarily fine films she'd made (three of which earned her Academy Awards), the one people mentioned to her most often, and with the most enthusiasm, was “Casablanca” which she felt was “oh, so…ordinary.” On that point, Ms. Bergman is definitely in the minority.

1943. (N.Y. pre-release engagement 1942). 102 minutes. Producer: Hal B. Wallis. Director: Michael Curtiz. Screenplay: Julius J. Epstein, Philip H. Epstein, Howard Koch, from the unproduced play “Everybody Comes to Rick's” by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison. Cinematography: Arthur Edeson. Editor: Owen Marks. Music: Max Steiner. Song: “As Time Goes By” by Herman Hupfeld. Cast: HUMPHREY BOGART, INGRID BERGMAN, PAUL HENREID, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, S. Z. Sakall, Madeleine LeBeau, Dooley Wilson,Joy Page, John Qualen, Leonid Kinskey, Helmut Dantine, Curt Bois. From Warner Bros.

CINEMA PARADISO
from the 1980s

In 1989, someone finally made a film which capsulizes the passion so many of us have for movies. “Cinema Paradiso” is that film, made in Italy, a beautifully-crafted Italian film by director Giuseppe Tornatore about a young boy named Toto coming of age in a small Sicilian town where the hub of his life is a small local cinema, where he is befriended and counseled by the movie theatre's owner who is also the projectionist. As Toto grows and experiences World War II, the death of his father, first love and manhood, his beloved hometown movie house remains the center of his world, and a safe harbor from the realities of poverty all around him. He eventually becomes a successful filmmaker in Rome.

It's a joyous film, one that became everyone's favorite here in America when it was shown, something which stunned Italians. When the film had earlier opened in Europe, it had generated no enthusiasm whatsoever. But overseas they'd seen a much different version, one that ran 53 minutes longer and included several subplots that had been scissored for the American release. Because of the wide popularity of the shortened version in America, in 2002, that original 174-minute Italian version was finally shown here as well, called “Cinema Paradiso: The Original Version” with all the edited footage restored. The result: moviegoers here were as unimpressed with it as the Italians had been. Having seen the two versions, I think the shorter one (the one we're showing at our festival) is definitely the better one; it's richer, sharper, more to the point and on target throughout, proving that it's often true that less is more.

“Cinema Paradiso” was a Grand Jury prize winner at Cannes, and won our own Academy's award as the Best Foreign Language film of 1989, along with a long list of citations and kudos. More importantly, it's a film that will touch you and, best of all, make you feel good—just what a first-rate movie is supposed to do. 

1989. Color. 121 minutes. Producer Franco Cristaldi.  Direction-screenplay: Giuseppe Tornatore. Music: Ennio Morricone.  Cast: PHILIPPE NOIRET, JACQUES PERRIN, Antonella Attili. Pupella Maggio, Salvatore Cascio, Marco Leonardi. Miramax release.

HUD
from the 1960s

Few films from the 1960s hit with the impact of Marin Ritt's “Hud,” taken from Larry McMurty's novel “Horseman, Pass By” and turned into a striking, modern western about a ruthless, virile son (Paul Newman), his honest, cattleman father (Melvyn Douglas) and a worldly-wise woman (Patricia Neal) who cooks and cleans for the household, mockingly aware of the son's corruption but nevertheless fascinated by his hormones.

The film won three Oscars, including ones for Neal (as best actress), Douglas (as best supporting actor) and for James Wong Howe's cinematography; it also earned nominations for Newman (best actor), Ritt (best director), as well as for its screenplay and art direction. It wasn't, however, nominated in the coveted Best Picture category although I'd bet my last dollar that if a vote were taken today, “Hud” would win that best picture prize over any of the five films which were nominated that year (“America, America,” “Cleopatra,” “How the West Was Won,” “Lilies of the Field” and the one which did win in 1963, the British comedy “Tom Jones”).  “Hud” definitely stands heads above them all.

It's said Paul Newman deliberately picked the role of the no-good rotten Hud Bannon because it was as uncompromising a part as he could find, at a time he felt bruised by the compromises which had to be made because of censorship restrictions on two of his earlier films, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Sweet Bird of Youth.”

The film was a particular triumph for Patricia Neal who admitted “I thought that the days when I'd be offered a part this good were over.” She was further stunned when the awards started rolling in and, especially, when she was nominated in Oscar's Best Actress rather than the supporting category. But she won in a walk—a great performance among many in this film. You won't, in fact, ever witness better ensemble acting than you'll see in this classic example of the kind of cynicism that permeated many of the best movies of the 60s. 

1963. 112 minutes. Producers: Martin Ritt, Irving Ravetch.  Director: Martin Ritt. Screenplay: Irving Ravetch, Harriet Frank Jr., based on the novel Horseman, Pass By by Larry McMurtry. Cinematography: James Wong Howe. Editor: Frank Bracht. Music: Elmer Bernstein. Cast: PAUL NEWMAN, MELVYN DOUGLAS, PATRICIA NEAL, Brandon DeWilde, Whit Bissell, John Ashley, Crahan Avery, Sheldon Allman, Pitt Herbert, Peter Brooks, Curt Conway, Yvette Vickers, George Petrie, Montie Montana. From Paramount Pictures.

MARLENE
from the 1980s

It's difficult to imagine anyone being able to make a documentary about Marlene Dietrich that would be a fraction as interesting and jaw-dropping as was the woman herself. But Maximilian Schell, the Academy Award-winning star of “Judgment at Nuremberg,” did just that in his 1984 inspection of Dietrich called “Marlene,” a project that was anything but a walk in the sun for Dietrich or Schell.

For years the enigmatic actress had wooed various directors, including Billy Wilder, to do a documentary about her, promising cooperation. At the last moment, she'd always veto the project. When Schell expressed an interest, she was all for it—after all, they had become friends while both appeared in “Nuremberg” for producer Stanley Kramer. Marlene had even made and delivered soup to Schell when he was ailing. But, as usual, after all the prepping for the project was done, Marlene again got cold feet again and refused to be photographed. It looked as if the project was doomed again since Dietrich was, after all to be the centerpiece of the feature.

But this time her actions didn't stop or discourage the director. Schell used film clips from her past work, all the way from early German silent films to Dietrich's last feature, the 1978 “Just a Gigolo;” he also obtained concert footage, moments from various television talk shows and stills. Dietrich did grumblingly agree to one concession: she would do six days of vocal-only interviews: three in German, three in English. As it tuned out, all the roadblocks she put up only makes this documentary more spellbinding, compelling and entertaining. It is, thanks to Schell's creativity and Dietrich's argumentative behavior, a more revealing look at a great star than any on-camera visit with a celebrity could ever be.

“Marlene” was nominated for the Academy Award as the best documentary feature of 1984 and also received awards from the New York Film Critics, the National Society of Critics and the National Board of Review. It's easy to see why.

1984. 97 minutes. Black & White and Color.  Producers: Zev Braun, Karel Dirka. Director-screenwriter: Maximilian Schell. Cinematographers: Henry Hauck, Ivan Slapet, Pavel Hispler. Editing: Heidi Genee, Dagmar Hirtz. Art direction: Zbynek Hloch, Heinz Eickmeier. USA Release by Alive Films (1986).

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST
from the 1970s

This is, believe it or not, the 30th anniversary for Milo’s Forman’s biting, often funny and always disturbing 1975 blockbuster which took 13 years to get off the Hollywood drawing boards and onto the screen, but ultimately succeeded in the grandest way possible—by hitting the Academy Award jackpot. It won the awards for Best Picture, Best Actor Jack Nicholson, Best Actress Louise Fletcher, Best Director Milos Forman and Best Screenplay Adaptation (Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman), making it the first film to win all four of the Academy’s most famous awards (Picture, Actor, Actress, and Director) since “It Happened One Night” 42 years earlier.

Based on Ken Kesey’s powerful anti-establishment novel, it was filmed at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, Oregon, and is the story of a non-conforming con man (Nicholson) who feigns insanity to avoid prison work, then is sent to a mental hospital where he is ultimately challenged by “the system” in the form of a poisonous nurse, played by Fletcher.

Interestingly, Kirk Douglas had played the lead in a Broadway version 12 years earlier, with an eye towards his also doing it as a film. The play failed, and he couldn’t interest Hollywood backers in putting it on screen. His son, Michael, fared better, producing this film with Saul Zaentz and taking home Oscar gold. Others who were considered for the part eventually played by Nicholson in the film included Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando and Burt Reynolds. The younger Douglas told “Newsday” in 2001, “I think my dad was disappointed when I didn’t give him the role.”  

The film cost $4.4 million and was an immediate hit; it is ranked at No. 20 on the American Film Institute’s list of America’s 100 Greatest Movies and it played in theatres in Sweden for 11 consecutive years. One of the great treats in seeing it today is spotting the many supporting actors, unknown at the time, who have since become familiar faces to movie and television viewers, including Danny De Vito and Christopher Lloyd who soon became costars and staples in the TV series “Taxi.”

1975.  129 minutes. DeLuxe Color. Producers: Saul Zaentz, Michael Douglas. Director: Milos Forman. Screenplay: Lawrence Hauben, Bo Goldsmith based on the book by Ken Kesey and the play by Dale Wasserman. Cinematography: Haskell Wexler, William A. Fraker, Bill Butler. Editing: Richard Chew, Lynzee Klingman, Sheldon Kahn. Music: Jack Nitzsche. Cast: JACK NICHOLSON, LOUISE FLETCHER, William Redfield, Brad Dourif, Peter Brocco, Scatman Crothers, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Will Sampson, Michael Berryman, Mwako Cumbuka, Alonso Brown, William Duell.  Released by United Artists.

ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD
from the 1930s

It's likely there never has been or will be a better adventure film than this one—certainly there's never been one that's more Technicolorful, more rousing or more thoroughly entertaining. It moves like a speeding train, its screenplay is both witty and literate and its casting impeccable. The film’s rousing action is accompanied by one of the best musical scores ever written for a motion picture.

Today it's considered the definitive Errol Flynn swashbuckler but, Flynn wasn't the one initially set to play the title role. It was initially planned as a vehicle for James Cagney, a reigning box office star for Warner Bros. studio at the time; the studio was eager to present Cagney in a Technicolor project since, after he'd done a color test, he had made a vivid impression with his red hair and green eyes. Ultimately, wiser heads prevailed and the studio realized they had their ideal Robin Hood in 28-year-old Flynn, who'd become an immediate star and favorite just three years earlier with his performance in 1935's “Captain Blood” opposite Olivia de Havilland. That film, along with 1936's “The Charge of the Light Brigade” had established the Flynn-deHavilland combination as a popular new screen twosome.

Because of the enormous budget on “Robin Hood” (it was the most expensive project Warner Bros. had greenlighted to date, a then-whooping $2 million) it was decided to add as much box office insurance as possible by casting de Havilland as Robin's Maid Marian, a role originally announced for Warner contractee Anita Louise.

William Keighley, who'd successfully directed Flynn a year earlier in 1937's “The Prince and the Pauper,” was given the directorial reigns but when the initial rushes lacked the sweep and action the studio bosses were expecting, Keighley was switched to another film and Michael Curtiz, who'd so brilliantly directed those two earlier Flynn-de Havilland projects, took over. The result, in the words of Tony Thomas in his book “The Great Adventure Films” is “the most glorious of all adventure movies.”

1938. 102 minutes. Technicolor. Producer: Hal B. Wallis. Directors: Michael Curtiz and William Keighley. Screenplay: Norman Reilly Rainbe and Seton L. M iller. Music: Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Cinematography: Sol Politoi and Tony Gaudio. Cast: ERROL FLYNN, OLIVIA de HAVILLAND, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patric Knowles, Eugene Pallette, Alan Hale, Melville Cooper, Una O'Connor, Herbert Mundin, Montague Love. From Warner Bros.

SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS
from the 1950s

There's never been a more entertaining musical than this zesty and spirited audience pleaser from MGM in 1954. That’s exactly why we picked it for the opening attraction of our film festival. It's also a great example of what this festival is all about—the chance to enjoy classic films in all their sizeable glory on a big screen just as they were meant to be seen.

In the case of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” at the Classic Center, it's the first time many will have been able to experience it on a screen big enough to see all the brides and the seven brothers in the same shot, something that's rarely been possible since the days when the film first opened at New York's mammoth Radio City Music Hall. 

Produced by Jack Cummings, directed by Stanley Donen and choreographed brilliantly by Michael Kidd, the film is based on Stephen Vincent Benet's story “Sobbin' Women,” which itself came from the Greek fable of the Rape of the Sabine Women. This bright, satirical version is set in the Oregon backwoods territory of the 1850s where seven hard-working but rowdy brothers are tamed by a saucy, no-nonsense new sister-in-law Jane Powell, who then has her hands full when six of the brothers kidnap six girls from a nearby town after their older brother Howard Keel tells them about “them Romans in olden times and their Sobbin' women.” 

The film was nominated for 1954's Best Picture Academy Award, which came as a shock to MGM at the time because the studio initially considered it a run-of-the-mill project. It was anything but thanks in no small measure to its athletic, artful choreography by Michael Kidd, which contains some of the best dancing ever seen on screen.

“Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” became the sleeper hit of the year and a giant moneymaker for the studio, and remains one of MGM's best loved films, every bit as entertaining and watchable in 2005 as it when it made its debut 51 years ago.

1954. 104 minutes. CinemaScope. AnscoColor. Producer: Jack Cummings. Director: Stanley Donen. Screenplay: Francis Goodrich, Albert Hackett. Choreographer: Michael Kidd. Songs: Johnny Mercer, Gene de Paul. Cinematography: George Folsey.   Editor: Ralph E. Winters. Cast: JANE POWELL, HOWARD KEEL, Jeff Richards, Russ Tamblyn, Tommy Rall, Jacques d'Amboise, Marr Mattox, Marc Platt, Virginia Gibson, Julie Newmeyer (Newmar), Ruta Kilmonis (Lee).  From MGM.

THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE
from the 2000s

Can a film made as recently as 2003 be considered a “classic”? It can if it's “The Triplets of Belleville,” a nominee last year in the Academy's new Best Animated Feature category. We included it in our festival because it's a movie that too few people, outside of Academy voters, have had a chance to see, and it's too good to be missed by anyone.

Don't let the fact it's from France scare you away—you won't have to read subtitles because there's no dialogue, but it's as hilarious at every turn as any movie that's been made. Needing no words, it tells the tale of a boy named Champion who obsessively trains for the Tour de France, encouraged by his ever-faithful grandmother and his equally-attentive dog, Bruno, who has a weight problem and spends most of his time trying to climb the stairs to more easily bark at passing trains.

Finally making it to the Tour, Champion and some fellow racers are kidnapped and sprinted off to a place called Belleville to aid an illegal gambling operation. With that, it's Grandma and the bulky Bruno to the rescue, aided by a trio of former scat-singing jazz belles from Belleville.

It's all decidedly off-beat, creative, refreshing, fun-filled and surprisingly touching. It is also a triumph for its talented creator Sylvain Chomet, a 40-year-old artist who was born in France but since 1993 has been based in Canada. He published his first book-length comic ”Secrets of the Dragonfly” at 23, and hasn't stopped meeting deadlines since, starting work on his first animated film short “The Old Lady and the Pigeons” in 1991. It went on to win the Cartoon d'Or prize and received nominations for both the French Cesar and the 1997 Academy Award. But everything else has since paled in comparison to “The Triplets of Belleville.”

Now, animation movies may not be your cup of tea. You may find foreign films tough going. But you'll be sorry if you miss “The Triplets” because it's more fun than that proverbial barrel of monkeys. Trust us on this one.

2003. Running time: 80 minutes. Color. Producers: Didier Brunner, Paul Cadieux: Write-Director:  Sylvain Chomet. Original Music: Benoit Charest. Sony Pictures Classics release.