The American Cinematheque Presents…By Adrienne Papp

The Old And New Hollywood of

Peter Bogdanovich

This Week!

Thur., August 6 – Sun., August 9, 2015

Aero Theatre · 1328 Montana Ave

Santa Monica, CA · 90403

Like his mentor Howard Hawks, Peter Bogdanovich has made a career out of intelligent, varied entertainments that have two things in common: a love of humanity and a deep sense of the craft of film. Few directors are as well-versed in cinema history; NICKELODEON was a love letter to silent film, while PAPER MOON played like a Depression-era road movie. If his flair for period films is well known, Bogdanovich doesn’t need vintage costumes and production design to evoke the spirit of Old Hollywood. WHAT’S UP DOC? and THEY ALL LAUGHED bring the screwball shenanigans of Preston Sturges and Ernst Lubitsch to contemporary settings with a self-assured ease.

Lubitsch is quoted at length in SHE’S FUNNY THAT WAY, a tale of misdirected affection with Owen Wilson and Imogen Poots leading a superb ensemble cast. Set in the orbit of a Broadway theater director, the new romantic comedy confirms that a film directed by Peter Bogdanovich remains sure-fire entertainment.

Series also includes the recent documentary ONE DAY SINCE YESTERDAY: PETER BOGDANOVICH AND THE LOST AMERICAN FILM.

We are thrilled to welcome Peter Bogdanovich to the Aero Theatre! He will appear with the Friday and Sunday night programs.


PAPER MOON 1973, Paramount, 102 min, USA, Dir: Peter Bogdanovich Director Peter Bogdanovich’s Depression-era tale of confidence man Ryan O’Neal and his young daughter (Tatum O’Neal, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar) fleecing naive citizens from town to town in the American Midwest is rendered in glistening and appropriately gritty black, gray and white tones by cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs. Co-starring Madeline Kahn and John Hillerman.			WHAT’S UP, DOC? 1972, Warner Bros., 94 min, USA, Dir: Peter Bogdanovich A luggage mix-up leads to stuffy academic Ryan O’Neal being taken on a wild ride by free spirit Barbra Streisand in this outrageous farce. Working from a precise and hilarious script by Buck Henry, David Newman and Robert Benton, director Peter Bogdanovich crafts a tribute to 1930s screwball comedies that is fast, funny and packed with delirious supporting performances; Madeline Kahn is a standout in her screen debut. More Info \|
Friday, August 7 – 7:30 PM – Aero Theatre Discussion between films with director Peter Bogdanovich.
THE LAST PICTURE SHOW 1971, Sony Repertory, 118 min, USA, Dir: Peter Bogdanovich Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms and Cybill Shepherd star as a trio of teens trapped in a dying, dust-blown town. Flawlessly directed by Peter Bogdanovich and photographed by Robert Surtees, with a letter-perfect supporting cast led by Ben Johnson (Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner), Cloris Leachman (Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner) and Ellen Burstyn.			NICKELODEON 1976, Sony Repertory, 122 min, USA, Dir: Peter Bogdanovich Black And White Director’s Cut! A hugely entertaining slapstick farce and heartfelt Valentine to the earliest days of the Hollywood movie industry. Ryan O’Neal stars as the bumbling young lawyer who accidentally stumbles into directing, Burt Reynolds is the hot-tempered leading man, Tatum O’Neal is the brains behind the operation, and lovely Jane Hitchcock is the object of everyone’s affections. Co-starring John Ritter, Stella Stevens and Brian Keith. More Info \|
Saturday, August 8 – 7:30 PM – Aero Theatre
THEY ALL LAUGHED 1981, HBO Films, 115 min, USA, Dir: Peter Bogdanovich Director Peter Bogdanovich uses the private-eye genre as a vehicle to deliver deeply romantic insights about love, marriage and regret. John Ritter and Ben Gazzara work for the Odyssey Detective Agency, a firm where the investigators are more concerned with their own complicated love lives than with solving any cases. Audrey Hepburn and Dorothy Stratten co-star in this hilarious ensemble dramedy, a film that Quentin Tarantino declared one of the 10 greatest ever made.			SAINT JACK 1979, Concorde-New Horizon, 112 min, USA, Dir: Peter Bogdanovich One of director Peter Bogdanovich’s best and most underrated films is adapted from the Paul Theroux novel and features Ben Gazzara as an easygoing, expatriate American pimp in Vietnam-era Singapore. Exceptionally authentic location atmosphere highlights this fascinating character study. With Denholm Elliott, Joss Ackland and George Lazenby. More Info \|
Sunday, August 9 – 7:30 PM – Aero Theatre Discussion between films with director Peter Bogdanovich.
SHE’S FUNNY THAT WAY 2014, Lionsgate, 93 min, USA, Dir: Peter Bogdanovich Advance Screening! Director Peter Bogdanovich’s first feature in more than a decade kicks into gear when Broadway director Owen Wilson takes a fancy to call girl-turned-actress Imogen Poots and casts her in his latest play – along with his wife (Kathryn Hahn) and her ex (Rhys Ifans). Jennifer Aniston, Will Forte and a host of cameos too good to spoil here add to the romantic chaos in this effervescent comedy. “It’s a hysterical screwball fantasia that openly steals from Lubitsch, Hawks, Capra and Sturges and wants to be caught with its fingers in the till. The result is a highly sexed Jenga-pile of silliness, to which Bogdanovich can’t resist adding block after teetering block.” – Robbie Collin, The Telegraph.			ONE DAY SINCE YESTERDAY: PETER BOGDANOVICH AND THE LOST AMERICAN FILM 2014, 120 min, USA, Dir: Bill Teck When Peter Bogdanovich’s highly personal THEY ALL LAUGHED got short shrift from its studio, the director bought the film back to distribute himself; while not a box office hit, the romantic comedy’s reputation has risen steadily over the years. This work-in-progress documentary, re-edited since its Venice Film Festival premiere, takes an affectionate look at an underseen gem and illuminates its place in Bogdanovich’s filmography. More Info \|
Plus! At The Egyptian Theatre This Month: THE ADVENTURES OF BIFFLE AND SHOOSTER Sunday, August 16 – 3:00 PM 6712 Hollywood Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90028
			THE ADVENTURES OF BIFFLE AND SHOOSTER 2015, 103 min, USA, Dir: Michael Schlesinger America’s favorite fake 1930s comedy team is back in four all-new, all-different, all-hilarious shorts: “The Biffle Murder Case,” “Imitation of Wife,” “Schmo Boat” (in Cinecolor!) and the instant-classic horror spoof “Bride of Finklestein” (featuring Max Davidson in his talkie comeback). With Nick Santa Maria, Will Ryan, Janet Klein and Rusty Frank. Come for the slapstick, stay for the horrendous puns and swell musical numbers. Plus bonus bits and outtakes! Discussion following with cast & crew. More Info \|
Egyptian Theatre 6712 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood			Aero Theatre 1328 Montana Ave, Santa Monica