Packard Campus Theater Schedule for August, 2019
The 50th anniversary of the legendary Woodstock Music Festival will be celebrated with two programs on Saturday, August 10 – a 2 p.m. matinee of rare outtakes that didn’t make it into the 1970 documentary and at 7:30, the original release of Woodstock which was added to the National Film Registry in 1996.
Our summer-long film series Kids These Days wraps up with the rarely seen Skatetown U.S.A., Richard Linklater’s classic Dazed and Confused, and the 1968 documentary High School, which was added to the National Film Registry in 1991.
Two silent comedies, Beverly of Graustark starring Marion Davies and Raymond Griffith’s You’d Be Surprised will be shown with live musical accompaniment by Ben Model and special guest Mana Allen, a former Broadway performer now master theater teacher, will introduce the 1957 musical The Pajama Game.
Programs are free and open to the public, but children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Seating at the screenings is on a first-come, first-served basis unless otherwise noted. Short films may be shown before some features. For general Packard Campus Theater information, call (540) 827-1079 ext. 79994 or (202) 707-9994. For further information on the theater and film series, visit //www.loc.gov/avconservation/theater/schedule.html
Thursday, August 1 (7:30 p.m.)
King Kong (RKO, 1933)
Filmmaker Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong), recent discovery Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) and his team discover a giant prehistoric ape, dubbed Kong, while searching for locations on an uncharted jungle island. The crew manages to subdue the primate and bring Kong to New York to exploit him in a stage show from which he promptly escapes, spreading mayhem. Willis O’Brien’s special effects and animation of the monster ape are still amazing on the big screen and the final sequence atop Empire State Building is now cinema folklore. Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack directed this classic beauty-and-the-beast adventure, which was added to the National Film Registry in 1991. 35mm archival print, 100 min.
Friday, August 2 (7:30 p.m.)
Skatetown U.S.A. (Columbia, 1979)
The short-lived fad of roller disco provides the backdrop for this comedy in which two rivals find themselves becoming good friends while competing for a prize of one thousand dollars in cash. The film marks the film debut of Patrick Swayze who did his own skating and stunts in the film. The cast includes a number of stars from popular 1970’s sitcoms including Scott Baio, Flip Wilson, Maureen McCormick, Ron Palillo and Ruth Buzzi while the soundtrack features several popular disco hits such as Shake Your Body (The Jacksons), Boogie Nights (Heatwave) and Feelin’ Alright (Dave Mason).There have been no known licensed home video releases of this rarely screened film. 35mm archival film print, rated PG.98 min.
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 smoking and the “Frampton Comes Alive” album. The film follows the random activities of a sprawling group of Texas high schoolers as they welcome the arrival of summer, their paths variously intersecting at a freshmen hazing, a local pool parlor and finally at a keg party. Featuring a killer soundtrack and an ensemble cast of actors who would later become stars including Ben Affleck, Parker Posey, Milla Jovovich, Adam Goldberg, Renée Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey, Dazed and Confused received overall positive critical reviews with Desson Howe of The Washington Post, writing, “Dazed succeeds on its own terms and reflects American culture so well, it becomes part of it.” 35mm archival film print, 104 min. *No one under the age of 17 will be admitted without a parent or guardian.
Saturday, August 10 (2 p.m.)
Woodstock: Another Look (1970)
Woodstock, the historic outdoor music festival held August 15 – 18, 1969 in Woodstock, NY, drew an audience of more than 400,000 with 32 acts performing throughout the often rainy weekend. The event was captured in the Academy Award-winning, 1970 documentary film Woodstock, which will be shown at the Packard Campus Theater at 7:30 p.m. on August 10. This program of outtakes from the festival includes additional numbers not seen in the original 184 minute release by Richie Havens, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Country Joe McDonald, Santana, John Sebastian, Sly and the Family Stone, The Who, Joe Cocker, Country Joe and the Fish, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, Sha Na Na and Jimi Hendrix, as well as performances by acts that were omitted from the film: Bert Sommer, Tim Hardin, Melanie, Canned Heat, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, Mountain, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, The Band, Johnny Winter and Quill. The program was curated and will be presented by Library of Congress Video Engineer Bill Rush who worked on both the 25th and 40th anniversary home video releases while he was employed at Warner Bros.. Digital presentation, 120 min.
Saturday, August 10 (7:30 p.m.)
Woodstock (Warner Bros., 1970 – rated R*)
This documentary by Michael Wadleigh, with editor/assistant director Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker (Scorsese’s longtime editor), covers the historic rock “happening” in Woodstock, NY, and includes performances by Joan Baez, Joe Cocker, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Santana, Sly and the Family Stone, The Who and another dozen performers. Its official slogan was “3 Days of Peace and Music … An Aquarian Exposition.” The film is distinguished by its innovative use of split frame visuals and a sound track that integrated and overlapped recordings from several sources at once. “Woodstock” was added to the National Film Registry in 1996. Digital presentation of the original 1970 version. 184 min. *No one under the age of 17 will be admitted without a parent or guardian.
Friday, August 16 (7:30 p.m.)
Beverly of Graustark (MGM, 1926)
Marion Davies stars in this romantic comedy as Beverly, an American college girl, who gets talked into masquerading as her cousin Oscar (Creighton Hale) who happens to be the Prince of Graustark, a small European monarchy. Complications arise when she falls for her bodyguard (Antonio Moreno), a shepherd who rescues the “prince” from an ambush. The film, often cited as Davies’ most profitable, was directed by Sidney Franklin with a screenplay by Agnes Christine Johnston based on one of the Graustark series of novels by George Barr McCutcheon. Also on the program, the two-reel comedy short You’re Darn Tootin’ (1928) starring Laurel and Hardy. Live musical accompaniment will be provided by Ben Model. 35mm archival film print from the Library of Congress Film Preservation Lab in 1978. 70 min.
Saturday, August 17 (2 p.m.)
You’d Be Surprised (Paramount, 1926)
Raymond Griffith, the tuxedoed and top-hatted comedian who delighted silent movie audiences with his quirky plots and witty comedic touch, stars as a coroner detective called to the scene of a murder most foul, which ruins his plans to spend the evening at the theater. When the search for the killer turns out to be more complicated than he had expected, he must use every trick in the book to reveal the culprit. This sophisticated comedy murder mystery was directed by Arthur Rossen and the title cards written by humorist Robert Benchley are a particular highlight. Also on the program, the two-reel comedy short Dog Shy (1926) starring Charley Chase. Live musical accompaniment will be provided by Ben Model. 35mm archival film print, 66 min.
Saturday, August 17 (7:30 p.m.)
The Pajama Game (Warner Bros., 1957)
This adaptation of the hit Broadway musical – with much of its original cast intact – virtually defines the word “exuberance.” Doris Day is a joy as the head of a factory grievance committee who unexpectedly falls in love with the new foreman (John Raitt, in his only starring film). Richard Adler and Jerry Ross’ songs include Hey, There and Hernando’s Hideaway. Choreography by Bob Fosse includes the famous “Steam Heat” number performed to perfection by Carol Haney. Guest speaker Mana Allen will share stories about her mother Mary Stanton’s experience in the original Broadway cast of The Pajama Game and in the film with Raitt and Day. Mana Allen made her Broadway debut in the original cast of Merrily We Roll Along, and currently serves on the faculties of Manhattan School of Music, Barnard College and Fordham University. Her former students have performed, are performing in or helped create over 50 Broadway shows. 35mm archival print, 101 min.
Thursday, August 22 (7:30 p.m.)
High School (Zipporah Films, 1968)
Filmmaker Fred Wiseman employed the techniques of a burgeoning documentary style known as direct cinema to capture reality truthfully and without narration. Wiseman roamed freely through Philadelphia’s Northeast High School to document students continually clashing with administrators who confuse learning with discipline. Richard Schickel, writing in Life magazine, called this a “wicked, brilliant documentary about life in a lower-middle-class secondary school.” This is one of Wiseman’s shortest documentaries, yet the impact is as memorable as his longer films. The film was added to The National Film Registry in 1991. Wiseman’s film Hospital, made two years later, is also on the Registry. 35mm film print produced by the Library of Congress Film Preservation Lab in 2015, 75 min.
Friday, August 23 (7:30 p.m.)
L’Avventura (Janus Films, 1960)
Michelangelo Antonioni invented a new film grammar with this masterwork. An iconic piece of challenging 1960s cinema and a gripping narrative on its own terms, L’avventura concerns the enigmatic disappearance of a young woman during a yachting trip off the coast of Sicily, and the search taken up by her disaffected lover (Gabriele Ferzetti) and best friend (Monica Vitti, in her breakout role). Antonioni’s controversial international sensation is a gorgeously shot tale of modern ennui and spiritual isolation. The film won the 1960 Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize and went on to international box office success. 35mm film print courtesy of Janus films, 144 min.
Saturday, August 24 (2 p.m.)
Jumanji (TriStar, 1995)
When two siblings discover an enchanted board game that opens the door to a magical world, they unwittingly invite into their living room a man who’s been trapped inside the game for 26 years — and whose only hope for freedom is to finish the game. Robin Williams stars in this family adventure comedy that was adapted from the 1981 children’s book. The cast also features Bonnie Hunt, Kirsten Dunst, Bradley Pierce, Jonathan Hyde, Bebe Neuwirth and David Alan Grier. Jumanji was a box office hit and was followed by Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), with an upcoming film, Jumanji: The Next Level set to be released in December 2019. 35mm archival film print, 104 min.
Saturday, August 24 (7:30 p.m.)
The Dark Crystal (Universal, 1982)
Master Muppeteers Jim Henson and Frank Oz co-direct this puppet animated, dark fantasy adventure film that tells the mythical tale of Jen, the last of the Gelfling race, who is charged with healing the Crystal of Truth after its mutilation ushered in an era of terror at the hands of the wicked Skeksis. Jen must find a missing shard in the observatory of an ancient astronomer before the Skesis are given the power to rule for all eternity. The screenplay was written by The Muppet Show veteran David Odell, based on a story concept by Henson. The animatronics used in the film were considered groundbreaking and the primary concept artist was fantasy illustrator Brian Froud, famous for his distinctive fairy and dwarf designs. A prequel television series, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, will premiere on Netflix on August 30, 2019. 35mm archival film print, rated PG. 93 min.
Friday, August 30 (7:30 p.m.)
Denny Laine Live
Recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Denny Laine will bring his solo show to the Packard Campus Theater. As the co-founder of the British Invasion group The Moody Blues, Laine first hit the charts with the 1964 hit song Go Now! Next followed a stint fronting his own Electric String Band and then playing in the supergroup Ginger Baker’s Air Force. In 1971, when ex-Beatle Paul McCartney was looking to start a new band, his first call was to Laine, who along with Paul and Linda McCartney, formed the nucleus of Wings. Laine played guitar, bass, keyboards and other instruments on the Wings records and was a featured performer on many of the band’s biggest hits including Band on the Run, Silly Love Songs, Maybe I’m Amazed, and Mull of Kintyre. Laine’s show will be in the “Songs & Stories” format that he has successfully toured with for the last few years. Tickets for the free program will be available at www.dennylaineloc.eventbrite.com beginning July 30 at 9:00 a.m.