The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson of the Packard Campus.
Thursday, November 29 (7:30 p.m.)
The Ghost Ship (RKO, 1943)
RKO horror producer Val Lewton teamed with director Mark Robson for this psychological thriller starring Richard Dix as a power-crazy captain of a merchant ship. A young merchant marine officer (Russell Wade) begins to suspect that the captain is mentally unbalanced and endangering the lives of the ship’s crew. The crew, however, believes the vessel to be haunted and cursed after several mysterious deaths occur. Due to legal complications that resulted from a plagiarism suit, The Ghost Ship was pulled from circulation soon after its release and not shown for nearly 50 years. It was not until the film’s copyright was not renewed and it entered the public domain in the 1990s, that it became available again. 35mm film print produced by the Library of Congress Film Preservation Lab in 2018, 69 min.
Friday, November 30 (7:30 p.m.)
The Rules of the Game (Janus, 1939)
Often cited as one of the greatest films ever made, The Rules of the Game (La règle du jeu), by Jean Renoir, is a scathing critique of corrupt French society cloaked in a comedy of manners in which a weekend at a Marquis’ country château lays bare some ugly truths about a group of haut bourgeois acquaintances. The film has had a tumultuous history: it was subjected to cuts after the violent response of the premiere audience in 1939, and the original negative was destroyed during World War II; it wasn’t reconstructed until 1959. That version, which has stunned viewers for decades, is presented here. The satirical comedy-drama film features an ensemble cast of Nora Gregor, Paulette Dubost, Mila Parély, Marcel Dalio, Julien Carette, Roland Toutain, Gaston Modot, Pierre Magnier and Jean Renoir himself. In French with English subtitles. 35mm film print courtesy of Janus Films, 110 min.
Saturday, December 1 (7:30 p.m.)
Love and Basketball (New Line Cinema, 2000)
A young African-American couple navigates the tricky paths of romance and athletics in this sports drama. Quincy (Omar Epps) and Monica (Sanaa Lathan) grow up next door to each other playing basketball, fighting and eventually falling in love. As they struggle to make their relationship work, they follow separate career paths through high school and college basketball, each hoping for stardom in big-league professional ball. Love & Basketball was the first feature film written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, who went on to direct The Secret Life of Bees (2008) and Beyond the Lights (2014). She is a mentor with the Writers’ Lab, for women screenwriters over 40. Love and Basketball was developed at the Sundance Institute’s Directing and Writing Lab and went on to win the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. The film also received Independent Spirit Award nominations for Best First Feature and Best Female Lead for Sanaa Lathan. Rated PG-13. 35mm archival film print, 124 min.
For more information on our programs, please visit the website at: www.loc.gov/avconservation/theater/.