| Technicolor Dreams
This series also takes place at the Aero Theatre!
Co-presented with Ken Kramer and the Clip Joint For Film
A novelty when it was introduced in the early 1920s, Technicolor
reached its zenith in the 1940s and ’50s, when classics like THE TEN COMMANDMENTS,
THE AFRICAN QUEEN, NORTH BY NORTHWEST and THE RED SHOES were released using the brilliant,
deeply saturated hues of dye-transfer Technicolor (commonly known as I.B. or
"imbibition"). Dye-transfer Technicolor prints are becoming increasingly scarce
since Technicolor stopped U.S. production of them in 1974 (although the process recently
was revived on a limited basis). Following the success of our previous Dye-Transfer
Festivals, this series will feature ultra-rare prints -- including the James Bond films ON
HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE and FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, a comedy double bill
featuring the nuttiness of Peter Sellers in THE PARTY and Danny Kaye in THE SECRET LIFE OF
WALTER MITTY, and more!!
Thursday, September 24 - 7:30 PM
Comedy Technicolor Double Feature: THE PARTY, 1968, MGM Repertory, 99 min. Dir. Blake Edwards.
For most of its length, THE PARTY is a wonderfully restrained homage to Jacques Tati, with
Peter Sellers in perfect pitch as an awestruck Indian actor who disrupts a chic Hollywood
gathering with the help of French songbird Claudine Longet. The final 15 minutes prove
that any great joke deserves a totally outrageous punchline. Cinematography by the great
Lucien Ballard (THE WILD BUNCH). Trailer | Roger
Ebert Review
THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER
MITTY, 1947, MGM Repertory, 110 min. Dir. Norman Z. McLeod. Danny Kaye’s
comic talent finds its perfect showcase in this story of a shy man who lives in two worlds
-- one real, the other the product of his fanciful imagination. Virginia Mayo and Boris
Karloff co-star in this classic (and very loose) adaptation of James Thurber’s short
story. Clip
Friday, September 25 - 7:30 PM
Animated Technicolor Double Feature:
MR. BUG GOES TO TOWN (aka HOPPITY GOES TO TOWN),
1941, Paramount, 78 min. Dir. Dave Fleischer. The residents of Bugville have enough
trouble dealing with the villainous C. Bagley Beetle, but their problems increase when
they learn a skyscraper is to be built on the vacant lot they inhabit. Together the
bugs try to find a way to save their homes in this delightful animated musical.
GULLIVER’S TRAVELS,
1939, Paramount, 74 min. A pioneering animated classic from brothers Max and Dave
Fleischer (who created Betty Boop and brought Popeye to the screen.) GULLIVER’S
TRAVELS was a brave attempt to match the phenomenal popularity of Walt Disney’s SNOW
WHITE. Adapted from the first part of Jonathan Swift’s satirical fantasy, the story
follows Gulliver as he lands in the miniaturized land of Lilliput and finds that
prejudices come in all sizes. Plus, some surprise short films. Animation historian Jerry Beck will introduce the screening. Trailer
Saturday, September 26 - 7:30 PM
Technicolor Double Feature: ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE, 1969, MGM
Repertory, 140 min. Dir. Peter Hunt. When Sean Connery decided to take a hiatus from the
role of Bond, producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman turned to former male model
George Lazenby to play Ian Fleming’s super-spy -- and wound up with one of the most
satisfying (and underrated) of the 1960s Bond films. Lovely Diana Rigg proves more than
Bond’s match as the two team up to topple scar-faced Ernst Blofeld (Telly Savalas) in
the Swiss Alps. Trailer
| BBC
Review
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE,
1963, MGM Repertory, 118 min. Dir. Terence Young. Sean Connery’s second 007 outing
more than lives up to expectations, with Bond scouring exotic Istanbul for the elusive
Lektor decoding machine. He’s helped by sly Pedro Armendariz and seductive Russian
spy Daniella Bianchi as he is hunted by Aryan super-killer Robert Shaw and sinister, butch
Lotte Lenya as stiletto-toed Rosa Kleb. The nerve-shredding fistfight between Connery and
Shaw aboard the Orient Express is not to be missed. Trailer | BBC
Review |
