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Archive for the National Film Registry Category (168 posts)

Now Playing at the Packard Campus Theater (Dec. 12 – 14, 2019)

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The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson of the Packard Campus.

Thursday, December 12 (7:30 p.m.)
Trading Places (Paramount, 1983 – rated R*)
Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy star as a stuffy upper-class commodities broker and a homeless street hustler whose lives cross paths when they are unknowingly made part of an elaborate bet in this comedy set during the Christmas holidays. Veteran actors Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche play the Duke brothers, owners of a successful commodities brokerage firm, who hold opposing views on the issue of nature versus nurture and make the wager that sets the story in motion. John Landis directed the hit film that was inspired by Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper. Trading Places was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Comedy or Musical and supporting players Denholm Elliott and Jamie Lee Curtis each won Best Supporting acting BAFTA awards. Author and critic Richard Schickel of Time magazine called the film “one of the most emotionally satisfying and morally gratifying comedies of recent times.” 35mm archival film print. 116 min.* No one under the age of 17 will be admitted without a parent or guardian.

Friday, December 13 (7:30 p.m.)
Children of Paradise (Tricolore, 1945)
With its poetic realism, Children of Paradise is widely considered to be one of the greatest French films of all time. This nimble depiction of nineteenth-century Paris’s flamboyant theatrical world, filmed during World War II, follows a mysterious woman (Arletty) loved by four different men (all based on historical figures): an actor, a criminal, a count, and, most poignantly, a mime (Jean-Louis Barrault). With sensitivity and dramatic élan, director Marcel Carné and screenwriter Jacques Prévert resurrect a world teeming with hucksters and aristocrats, thieves and courtesans, pimps and seers. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Thanks to a major new restoration, this iconic classic looks and sounds richer and more detailed than ever. 35mm film print courtesy of Janus Films 190 min.

Christmas in Connecticut (WB, 1945)

Saturday, December 14 (2 p.m.)
Christmas in Connecticut (Warner Bros., 1945)
Barbara Stanwyck stars as Elizabeth Lane, columnist for Smart Housekeeping, THE magazine for aspiring homemakers. Lane touts herself as a blissful wife, mother and expert homemaker living on an idyllic Connecticut farm. Trouble is, it’s all a sham. When her publisher (Sydney Greenstreet) cooks up a scheme to boost circulation by having Elizabeth entertain a war veteran (Dennis Morgan) on Christmas Eve, comic entanglements ensue. Directed by Peter Godfrey, this romantic comedy also stars Reginald Gardiner, S.Z. Sakall, Una O’Connor and Joyce Compton. Curiously released in August, Christmas in Connecticut was nonetheless a box office hit and remains a treasured holiday classic today. 35mm archival film print. 101 min.

Saturday, December 14 (7:30 p.m.)
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (MGM, 1925)
Adapted from General Lew Wallace’s popular novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ published in 1880, this epic production featured one of the most exciting spectacles in silent film: the chariot race that was shot with 40 cameras on a Circus Maximus set costing a staggering (for the day) $300,000. In addition to the grandeur of the chariot scene, a number of sequences shot in Technicolor also contributed to the extraordinary status of Ben-Hur, which was directed by Fred Niblo and starred Ramon Novarro as Judah Ben-Hur and Francis X. Bushman as Messala, and literally a cast of thousands. While this lavish film did not initially recoup its investment, it did help to establish its studio, MGM, as one of the major players in the industry. Andrew Simpson will provide musical accompaniment for this silent film that was selected for the National Film Registry in 1997. 35mm archival film print. 143 min.

For more information on our programs, please visit the website at: //www.loc.gov/avconservation/theater/

Film Night at the Pickford Theater: Thursday, November 21, 2019

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NATIONAL FILM REGISTRY Each year, the Librarian of Congress selects 25 films of enduring importance to American culture for inclusion in the National Film Registry. The selection takes into account thousands of titles nominated annually by the public, as well as recommendations of the National Film Preservation Board and the Library’s film curators. Once a […]

At the Packard Campus — December 2019

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Packard Campus Theater Schedule for December 2019 As a follow-up to the November video presentation of musical highlights from David Letterman’s late night program on NBC (from 1982-1993), the Packard Campus Theater kicks off the month with musical performers seen on Letterman’s CBS series, Late Show with David Letterman (1993-2015). Two films depicting the Battle […]

Film Night at the Pickford Theater: Thursday, November 7, 2019

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NATIONAL FILM REGISTRY Each year, the Librarian of Congress selects 25 films of enduring importance to American culture for inclusion in the National Film Registry. The selection takes into account thousands of titles nominated annually by the public, as well as recommendations of the National Film Preservation Board and the Library’s film curators. Once a […]

Now Playing at the Packard Campus (October 3 – 5, 2019)

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The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson of the Packard Campus. Thursday, October 3 (7:30 p.m.) Vibrations, 1972 (WNET, 1972) Produced for PBS by WNET, Vibrations was a Music Magazine program that ran for only one season (1972-73) and covered a wide assortment of musical genres. The selected segments for this program include […]

Now Playing at the Packard Campus Theater (Sept. 26 – 28, 2019)

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The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson of the Packard Campus. Thursday, September 26 (7:30 p.m.) They Made Me a Criminal (Warner Bros., 1939) John Garfield stars as Johnnie Bradfield, a world-champion boxer who goes on the lam after he is falsely accused of murder and ends up on an Arizona ranch run […]

Now Playing at the Packard Campus Theater (Sept. 12 – 14, 2019)

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The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson of the Packard Campus. Thursday, September 12 (7:30 p.m.) …One Third of a Nation… (Paramount, 1939) Adapted from a controversial play originally produced by the Federal Theatre Project (part of the WPA), this Depression-era story contrasts the lifestyles of tenement dwellers with the existence of the […]

Now Playing at the Packard Campus Theater (August 22 – 24, 2019)

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The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson of the Packard Campus. UPDATE All weekend screenings (Friday, August 23 and Saturday, August 24) at the Packard Campus Theater have been cancelled due to a power outage at the facility.   Thursday, August 22 (7:30 p.m.) High School (Zipporah Films, 1968) Filmmaker Fred Wiseman employed […]

At the Packard Campus — September 2019

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In September, the Packard Campus Theater celebrates the 80th anniversary of what film historians often rate as “the greatest year in the history of Hollywood” with eight films released in 1939, including two from the National Film Registry: Only Angels Have Wings and The Women. Two foreign films will be screened, The Marriage of Maria […]

Now Playing at the Packard Campus Theater (August 9 -10, 2019)

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The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson of the Packard Campus. Friday, August 9 (7:30 p.m.) Dazed and Confused (Gramercy Pictures, 1993 – rated R*) Director Richard Linklater’s affectionate look at the youth culture of a bygone era is set during the bicentennial year of 1976, celebrating the joys of beer blasts, pot […]