• Southeast Anchor Library   Saturday, Feb 13, 2010 (2:00 p.m.)

• Adults
 
• Seniors
 

(Joseph H. Lewis, USA, 1950, 86 minutes, b&w)

Joseph H. Lewis’ Gun Crazy (aka Deadly Is the Female) is both a classic film noir and a love story – albeit one of a strange, obsessive love in which the couple, John Dall and Peggy Cummins, go together like guns and ammo. Certainly no film ever  mixed sex and sidearms with the reckless abandon of this cult thriller (which clearly influenced Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde) or made better use of an automobile (as J. Hoberman observed, “Gun Crazy was built for speed”). 

The story (co-written by the blacklisted Dalton Trumbo) follows the ill-fated romance between carnival sharpshooters Bart Tare (Dall) and Annie Laurie Starr (Cummins) as they abandon sideshow performance for the loot-and-shoot thrills of bankrobbing.

Cast: Peggy Cummins, John Dall, Barry Kroeger, Anabel Shaw, Morris Carnovsky.

For more information, see:

Internet Movie Database entry for "Deadly Is the Female"
Wikipedia entry for "Gun Crazy"
Filmsite.com review (Tim Dirks)
"Gun Crazy" video clip (YouTube)

• Central Library   Saturday, Feb 13, 2010 (2:00 p.m.)
    Wheeler Auditorium

• Adults
 

A British bomber pilot (David Niven), whose plane has just been hit by enemy fire, falls in love with an American radio operator (Kim Hunter) as he goes to a sure death (no parachute). But, due to a mix-up in heaven, he survives, leading to many complications. The young lovers are aided in their plight by a British doctor-turned-lawyer (Roger Livesey).

Beautifully shot in color (earth) and black & white (heaven), in a reversal of the Wizard of Oz color scheme, AMOLAD (as it is affectionately known by film buffs) was an attempt by the producing/writing/directing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, I Know Where I’m Going) to better post-war British American relations, but its lasting value is as one of the great romantic fantasy films.  (Directed by Michael Powell, Great Britain, 1946, 104 minutes.)

For more information on A Matter of Life and Death, see:

Movie Review Query Engine

Internet Movie Database 

Pacific Film Archives 

Turner Classic Movies  

Thelma Schoonmaker on Michael Powell -- (TCM Original) A Matter of Life and Death 

On Powell & Pressburger

• Central Library   Saturday, Feb 13, 2010 (10:15 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.)
     Wheeler Auditorium

• Adults
 

(Directed by Peter Docter and Bob Peterson; Rated PG; 96 minutes; 2009)

Carl Fredricksen spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and now in his 78th year he launches his house into the sky via thousands of balloons. Right after liftoff he discovers he has a stowaway in the form of an over optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell. This hilarious journey takes you into a lost world with the least likely duo on Earth. Voices by: Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger.

• Central Library   Saturday, Mar 13, 2010 (3:00 p.m.)
    Wheeler Auditorium

• Whole Family
 

This smash comedy about "boys-behaving-badly-in-Las Vegas" has nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day - except the part about the killer hangover! As such, we think director Todd Phillips' hilarious tale of three groomsmen who lose their about-to-be-wed buddy during a drunken weekend in Sin City is the perfect chaser to this week's St. Patty's Day festivities. You'll laugh out loud as the hapless trio - who could use a little "luck of the Irish" - retrace their steps in order to find the groom and get him to the church on time. The cast includes Ed Helms (from U.S. TV's  "The Office"), Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, and Heather Graham.

Directed by Todd Phillips, USA, 2009, 99 minutes

• Central Library   Saturday, Mar 20, 2010 (2:00 p.m.)
    Wheeler Auditorium

• Adults
 
• Seniors
 

The Quiet Man was a project close to Irish-American John Ford’s heart. He first bought Maurice Walsh’s Saturday Evening Post story in 1936, informally signed stars John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, and Victor McLaglen in 1944, but wasn’t able to make the film until 1952. The chemistry between Wayne and O’Hara (they did five films together for Ford), and a script by Frank Nugent (one of 11 he did for Ford), made the film into a classic battle of the sexes tale, colored Kelly green. Shot in Ireland, with a cast of Ford regulars (though Victor McLaglen was not actually Irish!) and actors from the Irish theater (including Barry Fitzgerald’s brother, Arthur Shields), The Quiet Man served as his ode to a somewhat mythical ancestral home. (US, 1952, directed by John Ford, 129 min., color)

For more information on The Quiet Man, see:

Turner Classic Movies 

Internet Movie Database

Senses of Cinema on John Ford

Trailer 

• Central Library   Saturday, Mar 20, 2010 (10:15 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.)
    Wheeler Auditorium

• Adults
 

Directed by Christopher Miller and Phil Lord (Rated PG; 90 minutes; 2009)

Based on the children’s book, this animated adventure follows a scientist who tries to solve world hunger only to see things go awry as food falls from the sky in abundance. This is the most delicious event since macaroni met cheese. Voices by: Andy Samberg, Anna Faris, James Caan. 

• Central Library   Saturday, Apr 10, 2010 (3:00 p.m.)
    Wheeler Auditorium

• Whole Family
 

In an isolated Danish village, two adult sisters who have devoted their lives to their puritan pastor father and his church take in a mysterious French woman, a refugee from the 1871 Paris Commune. Some years later, Babette prepares a sumptuous meal for her benefactors and the rest of the village that unexpectedly becomes a sensual and spiritual feast.

One of the great "food" films (along with Tampopo and Like Water For Chocolate), Babette's Feast is also a meditation on art, sacrifice, and spirituality. Winner of the 1988 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. (Denmark, 1987, 102 min., color, in Danish, Swedish, & French with English subtitles)

For more on Babette's Feast, see:

Movie Review Query Engine

Internet Movie Database 

Babette's Feast (from the Karen Blixen - Isak Dinesen Information Site) 

• Central Library   Saturday, Apr 24, 2010 (10:15 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.)
    Wheeler Auditorium

• Adults
 
• Seniors
 

Spring is a time of new beginnings and no film fits that description better than 2009's "Star Trek." In this imaginative prequel, director J. J. Abrams (co-creator of cult TV series "Lost") reinvents - and reinvigorates - the characters associated with Gene Roddenberry's "Star Trek" franchise. You'll meet the fresh-faced youngsters - including the hot-tempered "Jim" Kirk (Chris Pine), the emotional Spock (Zachary Quinto), the pre-crotchety Bones (Karl Urban), and the alluring Uhura (Zoe Saldana) - who will become the famed crew of the Enterprise, as they embark on their first mission out of Starfleet Academy. The winning cast also includes Bruce Greenwood (Pike), Simon Pegg (Scotty), John Cho (Sulu), Anton Yelchin (Chekhov), Eric Bana (Nero), and Leonard Nimoy (Spock Prime).

Directed by J. J. Abrams, USA, 2009, 126 minutes)

• Central Library   Saturday, Apr 24, 2010 (2:00 p.m.)
    Wheeler Auditorium

• Teens
 
• Adults
 

Aging ex-lawman Steve Judd (Joel McCrea) is hired by a bank to transport a gold shipment through dangerous territory. He recruits his down-and-out former partner, Gil Westrum (Randolph Scott), along with his young protege Heck (Ron Starr) to help him -- but doesn't know the two are planning to steal the treasure for themselves. On the trail, the three become involved in a young woman's (Mariette Hartley) efforts to escape first from her repressive father, then from her brutish fiance and his dangerously psychotic brothers. Sam Peckinpah's second feature film is both an exciting adventure tale and an affectionate tribute to two great western stars -- McCrea and Scott, who retired after this film. (USA, 1962, 100 min., color)

For more on Ride the High Country, see:

Ride the High Country (Turner Classic Movies) 

"Sam Peckinpah" (Senses of Cinema) 

"Inside the Head of Sam Peckinpah" (The Guardian) 

• Central Library   Saturday, May 15, 2010 (10:15 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.)
    Wheeler Auditorium

• Adults
 
• Seniors
 

The sixth of eight collaborations between director Zhang Yimou and star Gong Li, To Live follows the lives of a struggling couple (Li and actor Ge You) through three tumultuous decades of Chinese history. The struggle between the Communists and Nationalists of the 1940s, the economic "Great Leap Forward" of the 1950s, and the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s are all shown obliquely through the experiences of ordinary citizens. Despite its emphasis on the personal over the political, To Live was banned by the Chinese government, which also blacklisted its director and star for two years. (China, 1994, 130 min., color, Mandarin with English subtitles)

For more on To Live, see:

"Zhang Yimou" (Senses of Cinema)

"Zhang Yimou on his creative independence" (Financial Times)

"Zhang Yimou's Long Road Home" (Boston Review)

• Central Library   Saturday, Jun 19, 2010 (10:15 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.)
    Wheeler Auditorium

• Adults
 
• Seniors