Triple threats: Foreign, domestic and otherworldly
Once again, the Orinda Theatre has recalled those good old days when there were repertory houses which showed all manner of films, giving us lucky Lamorindites a wide variety of movies to enjoy and learn from.
And they’re wasting no time this August, starting on the very first day of the month with the 1968 classic “Planet of the Apes.” The year 1968 was a good, nearly revolutionary time for films as it gave us, not only “Apes” but that other classic, “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
Both films advanced the art form, “Odyssey” for its groundbreaking special effects and “Apes” for its makeup achievements, for which it won an Academy Award. Add to that its screenplay by Rod Serling and the mother of all twist endings and you have a history-making cinematic masterpiece. It’s part of the Disney Restoration Classics Series and screens twice on Aug. 1, at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
“Chef” is also on its way to becoming a masterpiece, not only cinematically but culinarily as well. If a movie could be said to be mouth-watering, this would be it. In fact I would not be surprised if all the restaurants surrounding the Orinda Theatre had a brisker trade than usual after viewing this movie.
Acting as director, writer, producer and star, Jon Favreau leads us through the follies and foibles of not only becoming a master chef but being recognized for it. Equal parts comedy and underdog story, you might find yourself digesting this movie, rather than seeing it. As it’s part of the 50 Movies You May Not Have Seen That You Should! series, you will have a chance to do both on Aug. 3 at 6:30 p.m.
Next we have one of those template movies that lay the groundwork for many of the films that came after it. “Yojimbo” is the figurative giant’s shoulders on which Sergio Leone stood. Just as “The Hidden Fortress” may have served as the foundation for the “Star Wars” franchise, “Yojimbo” lays the groundwork for the spaghetti westerns. For this we owe Akira Kurasawa, who directed both movies, a debt of gratitude. Brought to you by Back Door films, it shows on Aug. 8 at 9 p.m.
“Grandeur” would be the most apropos word to describe the next in the Wide Screen Roadshow series. “Dr. Zhivago” is one of those sweeping epics that were so popular during the late ‘50s through the ‘70s.
“Zhivago” uses history as a backdrop to the more personal, romantic travails of its main characters. It also requires an intermission, which is pretty much par for the course for director David Lean, who is also known for “Lawrence of Arabia” – but as “Lawrence” is all desert and sand, “Zhivago” practically needs a good winter coat to view.
As it has been with all of the other films in this series, there will be much more than just the movie, with shorts and period previews, replicating the experience one would typically have had when seeing a movie of this scale. It screens Aug. 9 at 11 a.m.
It is rare when the Orinda Theatre is privileged to have an actual filmmaker visit them, and even rarer when that filmmaker is a celebrity known by many. Mike Farrell, who is better known as BJ Hunnicut from the popular M.A.S.H. television show, will be stopping by to present “The Strawberry.”
Our central character is Herb, who has been diagnosed with a terminal disease, giving him a limited time to live. With this realization, he goes about healing family rifts and making sure that when his time does come, he will be able to go on his own terms. This is a red carpet event that you will not want to miss, especially as there will be a Q&A with the cast and crew afterwards. It screens Aug. 10 at 6:30 p.m.
Speaking of having limited time, there’s “Thelma and Louise.” Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon play the title characters and if you’d like a slightly flippant rundown on what the film is about, you might say this is a movie about a girls’ night out that goes incredibly wrong.
To add a little more detail, though, this film is very much about women’s empowerment which, in light of both of their circumstances, is a hard road to hoe. Quickly finding themselves fugitives, they manage to evade capture until … Also, look for a very young Brad Pitt. It shows Aug. 20 at 6:30 p.m. As part of the Free Movie Series, admission is complimentary.
We have the ever erudite and cinema savvy Matías Bombal to thank for our next entry. (The two of us should team up. We could be the next Siskel and Ebert.) That would be “Sabrina” (1954), and never has a romantic triangle had bigger star power.
Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn and William Holden, with Billy Wilder at the helm, present a story about a girl recently returned from Paris and the two brothers who find themselves smitten with her. Wit and pacing play a part in this light-hearted little diversion and Bombal himself will be on hand to offer additional information. It shows on Aug. 25 at 1 p.m.
Juxtaposition, when it happens in cinema, has always been a favorite thing with me. Nowhere is this more evident than this month’s offering in the Certain Woman’s Film Series.
To be more specific, horror is not a genre one usually associates with women filmmakers, but I’m glad to report that this film, “I Saw the TV Glow,” dispels that assumption. This movie is very much a singular effort that could be dismissed as “an acquired taste” but that would be simplifying it to an egregious degree.
Eschewing conventional storytelling, it requires you to meet it halfway. On the surface it’s about being a teenager in a media-drenched environment, but then surrealism enters the narrative, but to say more would be a betrayal on my part. Instead, I urge you to go to the Orinda Theatre on Aug. 27 at 7:30 p.m. and experience it for yourself.
The Cinema Craft entry this month is, in many ways, the very embodiment of both cinema and craft. “What Dreams May Come” is a sumptuous visual feast and there has never been a film that deals with life after death like it does.
Though the plot is a little convoluted, the heart of the film rests on the talented shoulders of Robin Williams, who finds himself taking one unforgettable journey after another with the ultimate goal of being eternally reunited with his wife. Along the way, the places he visits are as wonderful as they are hallucinatory. Truly, this is a feast for the eyes and the mind. It screens on Aug. 30 at 1 p.m.
And lastly there’s the International Film Showcase gracing us with a film that could very easily be a contemporary companion piece with “Dr. Zhivago” but instead of World War I and the October Revolution, we have the unrest and turmoil that’s going on in Lebanon right now. “A Sad and Beautiful World” follows two lovestruck people as they try to navigate their relationship against the political and civil unrest going on all around them. This movie has been recognized by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Venice Film Festival as well as just about everyone who has seen it. No solid showtimes have yet been announced but it will be well worth your while to keep checking both internationalshowcase.org and orindamovies.com for additional trailers and showtimes.
So, now that I’ve totally filled your calendar, all that’s left for you to do is veer towards those wonderful images made from sound and light – for that’s where the reel magic lies.
