The Friday Film Festival - Fall 2002  Music in the Cinema"

This series is being brought to you by the CUNY Ph.D. Program in Mathematics

All screenings will be held in the Film Screening Room on the "C" level (Rm. C419) of the CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, NYC. There are 15 films in this series.  Each film will be shown on a Friday evening at 6pm, August 30th through December 20th (with the exceptions of two Fridays, Sept. 6th and Nov. 29th).  Doors open at 5:30pm.  Early arrival is suggested as seating is limited.  The running time of each film is indicated in the table below following the year in which the film was released. Click on each title for additional information within this website. Clicking on titles that are listed after the table will take you to further information on that particular film at IMDB [the Internet Movie Database], the web's premiere movie site.  Some of you may prefer, however, to wait until after you have seen the film to read about the plot and analyze the reviews.         The films to be shown this spring are as follows: [The upcoming film in the series is indicated by the moving red arrow.]

#	Screening Date [Starting Time: 6pm]	Film Title	Year	Running Time
1	Friday, Aug. 30th	The Wizard of Oz	1939	1 hr. 41 min.
- -	Friday, Sept. 6th	[No Film: Rosh Hashanah]	- - - -	- - - - - - - -
2	Friday, Sept. 13th	The Harmonists	1997	2 hr. 6 min.
3	Friday, Sept. 20th	Amadeus	1984	2 hr. 38 min.
4	Friday, Sept. 27th	Topsy-Turvy	1999	2 hr. 40 min.
5	Friday, Oct. 4th	Shine	1996	1 hr. 45 min.
6	Friday, Oct. 11th	Mr. Holland's Opus	1995	2 hr. 23 min.
7	Friday, Oct. 18th	Some Like It Hot	1959	2 hrs.
8	Friday, Oct. 25th	Young Man With a Horn	1950	1 hr. 52 min.
9	Friday, Nov. 1st	Bird	1988	2 hr. 41 min.
10	Friday, Nov. 8th	Sweet and Lowdown	1999	1 hr. 35 min.
11	Friday, Nov. 15th	La Bamba	1987	1 hr. 48 min.
12	Friday, Nov. 22nd	Yellow Submarine	1968	1 hr. 30 min.
- -	Friday, Nov. 29th	[No Film: Thanksgiving Recess]	- - - -	- - - - - - - -
13	Friday, Dec. 6th	The Doors	1991	2 hr. 20 min.
14	Friday, Dec. 13th	Almost Famous	2000	2 hr. 42 min.
15	Friday, Dec. 20th	The Blues Brothers	1980	2 hr. 28 min.

Note: The films in this series will be projected from video or DVD. Seating is limited; first-come, first-served. Admission is free.  Fresh, hot popcorn will be available for sale! [Click on image for larger view.]    Note: This site looks best when viewed on the Internet Explorer browser.

——— The Fall 2002 Film Series ———

1) The Wizard of Oz   (‘39)      Just follow the yellow brick road... Dir. by Victor Fleming.  Starring Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Billie Burke, and Margaret Hamilton. Genre: fantasy /adventure /musical A tornado carries Dorothy and her dog Toto from their Kansas farmhouse to the magical land of Oz. Along the way they are hindered by a wicked witch,  helped by a good fairy, and joined on their journey by a scarecrow who needs  a brain, a tin man who desires a heart, and a cowardly lion who desperately  needs courage. They hope to meet the wonderful Wizard of Oz who may be  able to grant their wishes.

2) The Harmonists ('97) Dir. by Joseph Vilsmaier.  Starring Ben Becker, Heino Ferch, Ulrich Noethen, Heinrich Schafmeister, Max Tidof, Kai Wiesinger, Meret Becker, Katja Riemann, and Noemi Fischer.   Genre: drama /musical   The true story of the famous German sextet   The Comedian Harmonists - - five vocalists   and a pianist who caused a sensation   throughout Europe by doing comic and   romantic songs in intricate harmony - - is   told from the day they first met in Berlin in 1927 through 1934 when they ran afoul of the Nazi regime.

3) Amadeus ('84)      "...everything you've heard is true" Dir. by Milos Forman.  Starring F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, and Elizabeth Berridge. Genre: biographical drama The story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — rude, arrogant and vulgar, yet in possession of a supreme musical gift — as told by his tortured, insanely-jealous rival, the court composer Antonio Salieri, a mediocrity who possessed a consuming passion to praise God through his music. The film is a stunning musical and psychological drama based on the Broadway play by Peter Shaffer.

4) Topsy-Turvy ('99)     "Gilbert & Sullivan & so much more..."     Dir. by Mike Leigh.  Starring Jim Broadbent, Allan Corduner,   Timothy Spall, Roger Heathcott, Wendy Nottingham, and   Stefan Bednarczyk.   Genre: drama /musical     The story of the strained relationship between William Gilbert and     Arthur Sullivan during the genesis, preparation, and presentation of their     masterpiece, the comic operetta The Mikado.

5) Shine ('96) Dir. by Scott Hicks.  Starring Geoffrey Rush, Justin Braine, Sonia Todd, Chris Haywood, Alex Rafalowicz, Gordon Poole, and Armin Mueller-Stahl. Genre: drama /romance Based on the true story of Australian piano prodigy David Helfgott, the film charts the pianist's nervous breakdown, his long rehabilitation, and eventual return to the concert stage.

6)   ('95)    "A Symphony of life..."   Dir. by Stephen Herek.  Starring Richard Dreyfuss,   Glenne Headly, Jay Thomas, Olympia Dukakis,   William H. Macy, Alicia Witt, Terrence Dashon Howard, Louis Russ, Damon Whitaker, Jean Louisa Kelly, and Alexandra Boyd. Genre: drama Glenn Holland, a musician whose dream is to make his mark on the world by composing a great symphony, takes a "temporary" job as a high school music teacher.

7) Some Like It Hot ('59)    "The movie too HOT for words!" Dir. by Billy Wilder.  Starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Nehemiah Persoff, and Joan Shawlee.        Genre: screwball comedy   In 1929, two struggling musicians - - a sax player and a   bassist - - flee Chicago one step ahead of the mob after   accidentally witnessing the St. Valentine's Day massacre.   Disguising themselves as women, they join an "all-girls   band."  In addition to hiding, each has his own romantic problems to deal with; one falls for another band member but can't tell her his gender, and the other has a rich suitor who will not take "no" for an answer.

8) Young Man With a Horn (‘50)   Dir. by Michael Curtiz.  Starring Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall,   Doris Day, Hoagy Carmichael, and Juano   Hernandez.        Genre: drama /musical   An aimless young man, after being taught how to play the   trumpet by a legendary musician, comes to New York to make it   in the jazz world.  His personal life and relationships, however, suffer as nothing is as important to him as his instrument and his music. Additionally, his volatile personality and his desire to play jazz rather than the restricted tunes of the bands for which he works leads to career difficulties.

9) Bird (‘88)   Dir. by Clint Eastwood.  Starring Forest Whitaker, Diane Venora,   Michael Zelniker, Samuel E. Wright, Keith David, Michael McGuire,   James Handy, Damon Whitaker, Morgan Nagler, Arlen Dean Snyder,   and Sam Robards. Genre: biographical drama   The troubled life and career of the great jazz saxophonist Charlie   "Yardbird" Parker, an originator of the bebop style.  Known for his   brilliant solos and innovative improvisations, Parker became an icon         of the New York jazz scene until his death in 1955 at the age of 34.

10) Sweet and Lowdown ('99) Dir. by Woody Allen.  Starring Sean Penn, Woody Allen, Samantha Morton, Ben Duncan, Uma Thurman, Daniel Okrent, Dan Moran, Anthony LaPaglia, and Gretchen Mol.    Genre: comedy /drama A pseudo-documentary period piece - - set in the 1930s - - about the adventures of a wild and eccentric jazz guitarist who experiences a number of hilarious and harrowing events as he clashes with lovers, musicians and gangsters.

11) La Bamba ('87)    "Talent made him a star, fate made him a legend..."   Dir. by Luis Valdez.  Starring Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales,   Rosanna DeSoto, Elizabeth Peña, Danielle von Zerneck, Joe Pantoliano,   Rick Dees, Marshall Crenshaw, Howard Huntsberry, and Brian Setzer. Genre: drama /musical The story of Ritchie Valens (1941-1959), the first Mexican-American singer to become a rock 'n roll star.

12) Yellow Submarine ('68)  [ See animation ]  "Nothing Is Real..." Dir. by George Dunning.  Starring The Beatles (singing voices); Paul Angelis, John Clive, Dick Emery, Geoffrey Hughes, and Lance Percival (voices).   Genre: animated feature /fantasy /musical   The Beatles travel in a yellow submarine to "Pepperland" to   defeat the ruling "Blue Meanies" and bring music and love back into the land.  Created during the height of the psychedelic sixties, great care was taken to have the mannerisms of the Beatles'animations match the originals.

13) The Doors ('91) "There are things known and things unknown and in between are The Doors."   Dir. by Oliver Stone.  Starring Val Kilmer, Kathleen Quinlan,   Michael Wincott, Michael Madsen, Josh Evans, Dennis   Burkley, Billy Idol, Kyle MacLachlan, Meg Ryan, Kevin   Dillon, Frank Whaley, and John Densmore.   Genre: biographical drama The story of the "lizard king" - - poet and rock star Jim Morrison, founder of The Doors - - from his days as a film student in Los Angeles through his relentless self-destructiveness leading to his death in Paris in 1971 at the age of 27.

14) Almost Famous (‘00)    "Experience it.  Enjoy it.  Just don't fall for it."   Dir. by Cameron Crowe.  Starring Patrick Fugit, Billy Crudup,   Jason Lee, Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand, Zooey   Deschanel, Michael Angarano, Noah Taylor, John Fedevich,   Mark Kozelek, Fairuza Balk, Anna Paquin, Olivia Rosewood,   Jimmy Fallon, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.          Genre: drama /romance /comedy Set in 1973, a 15-year-old aspiring writer, overcoming his mother's objections, is hired by Rolling Stone magazine to go on tour with Stillwater, an up-and-coming rock band.  On the road he leans about life, love, and independence while writing about and befriending the band and their female admirers. The story is loosely based on writer-director Cameron Crowe's own adventures as a teenaged rock critic.

15) The Blues Brothers ('80)   "They'll never get caught. They're on a mission from God." Dir. by John Landis.  Starring John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Steve Cropper, Donald Dunn, Murphy Dunne, Willie Hall, Tom Malone, Lou Marini, Matt Murphy, Alan Rubin, and Carrie Fisher. Genre: action drama /comedy   /musical After the release of Jake Blues from prison, he and brother Elwood decide to put their blues band back together again in order to raise money for the group home, now in financial straits, where they were raised by nuns. Along the way they manage to make a lot of enemies.  Will they succeed in coming up with the money in time to save the home?  The story, which evolved out of a skit on Saturday Night Live, features great performances by various R&B stars, makes prodigious use of locations in and around Chicago, and contain some of the biggest stunts ever filmed.

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