TCM Classic Movie Fan Club - LOS ANGELES

 
 
 

NOTE: This will be a "hostless event" that Jono thought was still worth announcing for our members to attend on their own accord (he unfortunately has a conflicting friend's 60th birthday celebration on this same night).
On this Saturday night will be a rare screening of what has been described as "one of the best movies you have never seen!" WHEN THE CLOUDS ROLL BY from 1919 (not to be confused with the 1946 film musical "Till The Clouds Roll By") starring Douglas Fairbanks in a silent film comedy directed by Victor Fleming (famous for directing "The Wizard Of Oz" and "Gone With The Wind" (both 1939). In this story Douglas Fairbanks plays Daniel Boone Browne, whom the mad Dr. Metz hilariously tries to drive to suicide through psychological manipulation.

Spoofing the then "new" psychoanalysis craze, this film is loaded with bizarre ideas, including a wild dream sequence featuring Fairbanks climbing the walls and walking across the ceiling, an effect copied 30 years later by director Stanley Donen and actor Fred Astaire for his famous "dancing on the ceiling" number in the 1951 movie "Royal Wedding." And further this all leads to a great storm scene, which many believe was a direct inspiration for the cyclone sequence in Buster Keaton's "Steamboat Bill, Jr." (1928).

This special screening will have live piano accompaniment and will be presented at the historic 1922 Womens Club Of Hollywood by the non-profit Retroformat organization which is dedicated to educating the public about silent films and inspiring enthusiasm for them.

Even though Jono will sadly NOT be able to attend this exciting movie screening, it will be attended by other classic film buffs of all ages so you can likely meet a new friend or two here.

TICKETS: Special EARLY BIRD $15 tickets (plus $2.85 handling charge) will be available online only until May 31, 2023 after which online ticket prices will jump to $18 (plus a $3.05 handling charge) so you are encouraged to buy your ticket right away. Below is the online ticket purchase weblink...
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/onscreen-douglas-fairbanks-in-when-the-clouds-roll-by-1919-tickets-636720146097

PARKING: Arrive early for limited free lot parking behind the building. Otherwise you may have to street park. Or better yet take rideshare.

 
 
 

When Jono the founder of this group was in his early 20's (in the late 1970's) he drove from his home in Lakewood to the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood for an exclusive engagement of Walt Disney's FANTASIA being shown for the first time since a mid 1950's re-release in multi-channel stereophonic sound and became so moved by the film's music and animation artistry, that he felt almost like it was a religious experience.

Many modern day film buffs have likely only seen the movie on a flat screen TV and often in mono one channel sound, but never on a big movie theater screen with an audience because it was considered a specialty Disney film title and was not shown in wide theatrical re-releases like most of Disney's other animated classics. Until home video became popular in the 1980's, Disney used to reissue its most popular classics (such as "Snow White," "Pinnochio," "Bambi" and "Cinderella") to movie theaters--about every 7 years to reach a new generation of audiences.

What is monumental is that upon its 1940 release FANTASIA was the first major studio film in movie history to be presented in mulichannel 8 channel "Fantasound" stereophonic sound--not just the 4 or 6 channel stereo that would emerge nearly 20 years later and become synonymous with roadshow movie showings of the late 50's and later--with front left, left center, center, right center, right and rear surround channels in premium movie theaters. So Fantasia's audio technology was literally years ahead of its time. Unfortunately, only 13 movie theaters in the entire country would ever end up showing FANTASIA in "Fantasound" because they had to be retrofitted with a complex sound system developed in partnership with RCA. Here in Los Angeles the only theater wired especially for Fantasound was the former Carthay Circle Theater near Beverly Hills on San Vicente Blvd. near Crescent Heights Blvd. (which was sadly demolished in 1969).

Fantasia premiere at the Carthay Circle

The cost of presenting Fantasia in Fantasound sadly made the movie very unprofitable and its soundtrack of classical based music did not seem to appeal to mainstream audiences. So sadly after its initial release in 1940, Fantasia would never again be shown in its breaktaking, original Fantasound every again. However, in the late 1950's while Walt was still alive, the Disney Studios attempted a more simplified 4 channel stereo remix of the movie for limited Cinemascope stereo film engagements. Then in the late 1970s the Disney Studios more ambitiously decided to remix Fantasia's stereo tracks into the then standard and more simplified 6 channel stereo mix which could be added to 70mm film prints using magnetic audio tracks. In was in this version Jono experienced this Disney classic at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood.

In the 1990's Roy Disney (Walt's nephew) discovered the studio had animation footage that was cut from the original release version of the Fantasia that he ambitiously added back to the movie along with newly created animated sequences that was released under the name of "Fantasia 2000" and shown exclusively on a limited basis at IMAX movie theaters.

Composer Leopold Stokowski with Lilian and Walt Disney

Because of the release of FANTASIA on Blu-Ray discs, the studio once again remixed the original stereo tracks into a digital format to further clean up the sound quality from the limited technology which existed in the 1940's. This special Disney 100th anniversary Academy Museum showing from a DCP file will include the latest technology audio filtering to improve the fidelity of the original release version and it will be shown at the David Geffen Theater--the most state of the art theater in the entire world and on one of the biggest movie screens.

PLEASE DO NOT R.S.V.P. FOR THIS EVENT UNTIL YOU HAVE FIRST PRE-PURCHASED YOUR TICKET ONLINE.

TICKETS: General admission tickets are only $10 (or $7 for seniors). Seats are reserved at the Geffen Theater and you can buy tickets online at the below weblink...
https://www.academymuseum.org/en/programs/detail/fantasia-01872aae-06da-2dc3-c10e-1b7901a65b35

PARKING: Unfortunately, the Academy Museum has to share the LACMA museum parking lot (which costs more than your movie ticket) though if you are patient and persistent you should be able to find street/metered parking within walking distance (or take an Uber or Lyft ride). There may also be a more affordable pay lot on Wilshire Blvd. west of Fairfax. For more detailed parking info you may also visit the below weblink...
https://www.google.com/maps/place/LACMA+Parking/@34.0631838,-118.3616635,17z/data=!4m9!1m2!2m1!1sParking!3m5!1s0x80c2b924ba987d75:0x5807184005942156!8m2!3d34.0646471!4d-118.3592391!15sCgdQYXJraW5nkgEOcGFya2luZ19nYXJhZ2U

 
 
 

It is NOT a typo, this screening will truly be at 10pm on a Monday night, but it is on 4th of July eve and part of an extended four day holiday weekend. This kitschy 1977 disaster movie ROLLERCOASTER will be having a special one-time showing at the American Cinematheque's Los Feliz Theater under the banner of its "Cinematic Void" cult movie series.

ROLLERCOASTER was the brainchild of producer Jennings Lang, who when he began as a flamboyant Hollywood agent first made industry headlines back in 1951 when producer Walter Wanger shot him in the groin apparently under the suspicion he was having an affair with his then wife and actress Joan Bennett. Apparently his testicles survived because he still had the audaciousness ("the balls") to make this movie.

ROLLERCOASTER was one of several disaster movies that were originally released in Sensurround (with a specially added low vibrating audio frequency) by Universal Studios. Though it was not the most commercially viable of its many disaster flicks--partly due to the fact it was released at the same time as the original "Star Wars"--in retrospect its storyline is now considered to be more of a true suspense melodrama than its counterparts--along the lines of Alfred Hitchcock rather than just another cookie cutter action film. The cast includes Henry Fonda, Timothy Bottoms, Richard Widmark, George Segal, Susan Strasberg and an early appearance by Helen Hunt.

This movie is almost never shown on the big screen and will be presented in the DCP format which means the projection will be film splice free, color corrected and have a decent audio track (even though it unfortunately will not be shown in Sensurround).

NOTE: As the event nears, if enough members are interested in attending, Jono may add dinner before the movie at a nearby restaurant

The below YouTube video clip tells you more about the history of the making of the movie without spoiling the experience of seeing it at the Los Feliz.
https://youtu.be/paJl-uD3t2Y

TICKETS: $13 general admission $8 American Cinematheque members Tickets should be available at the boxoffice, but if you want to guarantee you will get a seat you can prepurchase your ticket online at the below weblink..
https://www.americancinematheque.com/now-showing/cinematic-void-presents-rollercoaster-7-3-23/

PARKING: Street parking, lot parking behind the theater (read posted signs to make sure you don't have to feed the electronic meter or parking in the closed post office across the street

 
 
 

It is funny because ordinarily our group has seldom embraced 70s films because they never seemed quite old enough to be considered classics, but THE WAY WE WERE is now turning 50 years old and seems deserving of being acknowledged on more than one level. First and foremost, its storyline strongly coincides with Hollywood during the unfortunate blacklist era of the 1950s when so many entertainment figures were wrongly accused of being communists and which unfairly destroyed so many careers.

THE WAY WE WERE features then superstars Barbara Streisand and Robert Redford. Although to modern day audiences this film in some ways may be slightly dated in physical appearance (since hairstyles and other film elements are more 70s than true to the time period), the underlying story of how a political witch hunt took place in Hollywood still has poignancy with today's volatile political climate including more recent events involving racism against the Asian, Jewish and other communities--even locally here in L.A.

When thos movie came out, Streisand also released an album of hit songs that bolstered interest in the movie--although unlike her many other films THE WAY WE WERE is a drama and love story--not a musical.

Also interesting is that there is a brand new book on behind the scenes aspects of making THE WAY WE WERE by writer Robert Hofler that reveals the some of the good gossip--epic battles and bruised egos that brought the movie to the screen, as well as various controversies that remain to this day--which would be fun to read before attending the screening if you are so inclined. It is available in hardcover or audio book formats from Amazon.com

FYI--this actual movie showing does NOT begin until 8:30pm, but our members are encouraged to arrive early because our admission ticket will also gain us access to check out the Skirball's current indoor exhibition "Blacklist: The Hollywood Red Scare" in addition there will be food and drink (including beer and wine) available before the screening. Since the movie is outdoors and the Skirball is located in the canyon-like Sepulveda Pass, attendees are encouraged to dress warmly because the outdoor air will become chilly after nightfall.

Our group has not been to the Skirball in many years, the last time was for an indoor screening in its movie auditorium. For those of you who may not be familiar, the Skirball is a large scale Jewish cultural center that opened in 1996 and presents museum-type shows and displays that reflect Jewish history in a very modern day setting. So much of our movie and music industries have been richly overseen by various rosters of Jewish talent--studio moguls, writers, actors, composers and others.

NOTE: This screening is on a FRIDAY NIGHT which means increased 405 Freeway traffic. Please take that into account so you can allow extra commuting time to the venue. Again the movie itself does not actually start until 8:30pm so that takes some of the early arrival time pressure off.

TICKETS: $20 general admin or $15 for Skirball members. Pre-purchase your ticket online at the following weblink... https://www.skirball.org/programs/outdoor-movies-skirball-way-we-were-1973

PARKING: I believe parking is free for events if you show your ticket to the parking garage attendant. You have to use the facilities parking garage or Uber/Lyft there because there is no nearby street parking outside the complex.