<<< October 2004 >>>

Friday, October 1 – 8:00 PM
Friday, October 8 – 8:00 PM

[Spielberg Theatre]

OSCAR SHORTS – This is probably your last chance to see this fine selection of 2004’s nominated and winning short films selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Florian Baxmeyer’s "Die Rote Jake" ("The Red Jacket," 18 min.) A boy finds a discarded jacket in war-torn Sarajevo. Adam Elliott’s Animation Winner! "Harvie Krumpet" (22 min.) Funny, moving look at our title character. Stefan Arsenijevic’s "Torzija" (14 min.) A choir in Sarajevo is asked to do something other than sing. Chris Hinton’s "Nibbles" (4 min.) Animated tale of a family fishing trip in the forests of Canada. Lionel Bailliu’s "Squash" (27 min.) The game of squash is a metaphor for all kinds of power struggles in this powerful, funny short. Kimberly Miner’s 2003 Student Academy Award Winner Animation! "Perpetual Motion" (2 min.) Combining cats and jelly toast yields surprising results. Apollo Cinema's official website about the Oscar Shorts.

Monday, October 4 – 7:30 PM

Special Sneak Preview!!!

THE HILLSIDE STRANGLER, 2004, Tartan USA/Vitagraph, 98 min. Director Chuck Parello (ED GEIN) coaxes hair-raising performances from C. Thomas Howell (THE OUTSIDERS) as Kenneth Bianchi and Nicholas Turturro (NYPD BLUE) as Angelo Buono in this fact-based re-creation of the murdering duo’s reign of terror in late-70s Los Angeles. With Allison Lange, Lin Shaye. Discussion following with cast & crew members.

ON SET WITH FRENCH CINEMA

Co-presented with Unifrance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the French Film & TV Department - Consulate General in Los Angeles.

October 5 – November 22, 2004

American Cinematheque is thrilled to once again be part of On Set with French Cinema, a partnership between Unifrance and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs that brings some of the most exciting voices in contemporary French Cinema into American universities for MFA seminars in the fall. We couldn't pass up this opportunity to invite these same directors to share their films with our own audiences at the historic 1922 Egyptian Theatre and the 1939 Aero Theatre while they are visiting Los Angeles.

Join us this fall for screenings and discussions with French Master Filmmakers Luc Besson, Jean-Paul Rappeneau and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (both in November).

Tuesday, October 5 – 7:30 PM

Luc Besson In-Person!

One of the most phenomenally successful and influential French directors of the past two decades, genre specialist Luc Besson (LA FEMME NIKITA, LEON [aka THE PROFESSIONAL], THE FIFTH ELEMENT, THE BIG BLUE) has had an affectionate fascination for the sea that originally started him on the road to becoming a marine biologist. But these dreams came crashing down when he suffered a diving accident at the age of 17. After a stint in the military, then a short Hollywood sojourn as a studio hand at age 19, he returned to France with the determination to become a filmmaker. In 1980, at the age of 20, he made his first film, a short called "L'Avant Dernier" which he remade as his award-winning first feature, the post-apocalyptic LE DERNIER COMBAT in 1983. Besson's next, a black comedy called SUBWAY, received an astonishing 13 Cesar nominations. More kudos followed with his subsequent film, the shot-in-English THE BIG BLUE, winning four Cesars and enjoying an astonishing commercial success in France, something unfortunately not repeated when the film was drastically cut and re-edited for American release. But Besson's international renown increased by leaps and bounds with the release of popular cult action hits LA FEMME NIKITA (1990) and LEON (aka THE PROFESSIONAL) (1994). Besson went on to more audience and critical acclaim with 1998's THE FIFTH ELEMENT, which won him the Cesar for Best Director that year. His latest directorial effort, THE MESSENGER: THE STORY OF JOAN OF ARC, was released in 1999, but Besson's workload continues at an exhausting pace. Not only a director and writer, since 1997 the bulk of his output has been as producer with nearly three dozen credits in that capacity, the majority being in the vein of the hellzapoppin’, tongue-in-cheek cult action genre that has made him famous.

Double Feature!

SUBWAY, 1985, Gaumont, 104 min. Director Luc Besson’s second film and first bona-fide hit is a delicious neo-noir, live action comic book, a hymn to the new wave rhythms of nocturnal street life and private romantic fantasies. Inhabitant of the Paris subway and wannabe rocker Fred (Christopher Lambert) falls for Helena (Isabelle Adjani) after first trying to blackmail her. A rogue’s gallery of colorful sub-urban dwellers make up Fred’s neighbors. With Richard Bohringer, Jean-Hugues Anglade.

LE DERNIER COMBAT, 1983, Les Films du Loup, 93 min. Shooting in luminously stark black-and-white, director Luc Besson paints a bleak, evocative post-apocalyptic portrait of a dying world where people no longer speak and sometimes the sky rains fish. For this, his debut feature, Besson remade his first film, the sci-fi short, "L'Avant Dernier." With Pierre Jolivet and Jean Reno. Discussion in between films with director Luc Besson.

Thursday, October 7 - 7:30 PM    ALTERNATIVE SCREEN INDEPENDENT FILM SHOWCASE
L.A. Premiere! RICK (2003, 93 min., USA.) Curtiss Clayton, a veteran film editor with over 20 films to his credit, including Gus Van Sant’s DRUGSTORE COWBOY & TO DIE FOR and Vincent Gallo's BUFFALO 66, makes his directorial debut with the stylish New York thriller/satire - and indictment of American Corporate Culture. Based on the opera "Rigoletto," the film stars Bill Pullman (JU'ON: THE GRUDGE) as a middle-aged corporate climber who has lost sight of his humanity. RICK was written by Daniel Handler, a.k.a. Lemony Snicket, the author of the popular children's book series soon to be a motion picture starring Jim Carrey. Director Curtiss Clayton, writer Daniel Handler and actors Bill Pullman and Aaron Stanford (X-MEN 2) will appear for discussion following the screening. Actress Sandra Oh will make a pre-screening appearance. 

>>Official Website for RICK.

Saturday, October 9

In Honor of our 82nd Anniversary on Oct. 18 we will present a slide show with the tour this weekend only!

Egyptian Theatre Historic Tours & FOREVER HOLLYWOOD

10:30 AM Behind the Scenes Tour

11:30 AM, 2:00 PM & 3:30 PM FOREVER HOLLYWOOD

Sunday, October 10

In Honor of our 82nd Anniversary on Oct. 18 we will present a slide show with the tour this weekend only!

Egyptian Theatre Historic Tours & FOREVER HOLLYWOOD

10:30 AM Behind the Scenes Tour

11:30 AM, 2:00 PM & 3:30 PM FOREVER HOLLYWOOD

Monday, October 18 - 6:00 PM    EGYPTIAN THEATRE 82nd ANNIVERSARY!
Co-Presented by the Art Deco Society Los Angeles
CLEOPATRA, 1934, Paramount (Universal), 100 min. Mogul and architect of epics, Cecil DeMille weaves an historical tapestry poised somewhere between high camp and outlandish spectacle, directing the scintillating Claudette Colbert in her youthful prime as the wily Egyptian queen. With Warren William as Julius Ceasar and Henry Wilcoxon as Marc Antony.

Join us for cake and beverages, plus a short pre-screening slide show on ‘Egyptomania’ in the Art Deco era.

Original costumes from the film will be on display in the lobby prior to the film, courtesy of Greg Schreiner.

The reception will begin at 6 PM. There will be a booksigning with author Robert S. Birchard, of Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood

The film will start at approximately 8:30 PM. Preceding the film is "The Hollywood You Never See" (1934) a one reel (10 min.) production short on the making of "Cleopatra" from the DeMille Society.

The American Cinematheque  is pleased to offer Egyptian Theatre enthusiasts a limited edition, 100% cotton, black t-shirt in men's and women's sizes featuring a beautiful rendering of the Egyptian Theatre by Los Angeles artist David Trulli. The shirts will go on sale at the Egyptian Theatre's 82nd Anniversary Celebration on October 18th and will be available after that, while supply lasts. T-shirts are $15 for American Cinematheque Members and $20 for non-members. Click here to view the image silkscreened on the t-shirt. Also on David Trulli's website, are many more examples of his "noirish" scratchboard interpretations of the Los Angeles lanscape, as well as information about the scratchboard technique.

Tuesday, October 19 – 7:30 PM

SHORT SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL

The Short Shorts Film Festival wraps up its sixth annual tour this month after a summer of screenings in seven cities in Japan. Short Shorts will celebrate its third annual event at the American Cinematheque with a program of shorts chock full of U.S. premieres from Japan, Korea, Hungary and France. Culled from over 1,400 submissions, this eclectic selection of films offers something for everyone, including Japanese subtitles!

U.S. Premiere! Hiroyuki Nakao’s "Zero" (Japan, 16 min.) With fifteen minutes remaining until the close of business, a salesman will do anything to meet his daily quota. Harvey Wang’s "Milton Rogovin: The Forgotten Ones" (USA, 12 min.) A detailed look at the life’s work of a 93-year-old photographer and his subject – generations of common New Yorkers. Terje Rangnes’s "Redd Barna/Save the Children" (Norway, 6 min.) Winner of the Short Shorts Award presented in Tokyo. Eli and Tarald sell lottery tickets for the benefit of blind children in Africa. The film was inspired by a right-wing Norwegian political party. L.A. Premiere! Asier Altuna’s "Topeka" (Spain, 4 min.) In a small rural village, the men become overly enthusiastic about watching two rams fight. L.A. Premiere! Uri Bar-on’s "A Kiss Is a Kiss Is a Kiss" (Israel, 5 min.) What happens when four mis-matched couples from a region of political and social differences are put on the spot to kiss? U.S. premiere! Han Woo-Jung’s "Blanket Area" (S. Korea, 22 min.) In a distorted manifestation of maternal instinct, a battered wife kidnaps and torments one of her daughter's playmates. Andrew Silke & David Clayton’s "Cane Toad" (Australia, 4 min.) A yobbo cane toad learns the dangers of being one of the less-adored icons of the Aussie landscape. U.S. Premiere! Isamu Hirabayashi’s "Helmut" (Japan, 9 min.) A beautiful and intense film about the rules of the road. U.S. Premiere! Marton Nyitrai’s "601-S" (Hungary, 2 min.) If you want a challenge, buy an East German, Trabant 601-S auto! U.S. Premiere! Samuel Jadock’s "How I Walked On The Moon" (France, 12 min.) France wishes to send a French person to the moon to challenge the Americans... but who? U.S. Premiere! Rintaro Ichikawa’s "Knocking On Heaven’s Door" (Japan, 4 min.) A comedic short film about how elderly people spend their last days: some in fear, some in love, and some somewhere in between. [Note: All films contain English and Japanese subtitles.]

Monday, October 25 – 8:00 PM

SAINT JACK, 1979, Concorde-New Horizon, 112 min. One of director Peter Bogdanovich’s best and most underrated films is adapted from the Paul Theroux novel and features a fine, alternately funny and poignant performance by Ben Gazzara as an easygoing, expatriate American pimp in Vietnam era Singapore. Exceptional authentic location atmosphere highlights this fascinating saga, a perfect balance of character study focusing on redemptive individual independence (think Bogart or Mitchum), and the treachery of sexual and Cold War politics. With Denolm Elliot, Joss Ackland, George Lazenby. Introduction to screening by director Peter Bogdanovich.

Director Peter Bogdanovich will also appear from 6:30 PM – 7:45 PM for a signing of a his new book WHO THE HELL'S IN IT: Portraits and Conversations in the Lobby of the Theatre!

Thursday, October 28 – 7:00 PM SOLD OUT

Double feature:

BEFORE SUNRISE, 1995, Columbia Pictures, 105 min. Director Richard Linklater’s charmingly wistful and intelligent ode to fleeting romance sparks on the impulse of American train passenger, Ethan Hawke persuading his lovely fellow traveler, Julie Delpy to disembark in Vienna and share his final night on the Continent.

BEFORE SUNSET, 2004, Warner Independant Pictures, 80 min. Director Richard Linklater’s touching but unsentimental sequel to BEFORE SUNRISE, finds parted lovers, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, reuniting briefly as he returns to Paris as a successful writer promoting his latest bestseller. Much more genuine and reality-based than the typical Hollywood treatments of romance, and consequently much more affecting. Seeing these two films together shows the nuances of not only ongoing, closely-linked love-and-friendship but also the subtle, sometimes painful experience of growing up. Discussion in between films with director Richard Linklater, cinematographer Lee Daniel, actress Julie Delpy and actor Ethan Hawke (TBC).