Classic films at the local indie theaters

I’m not sure if there’s ever been a serious push to bring the classics back to the big screen—anything from the silent era through the 90s. It would be incredible to catch a Hitchcockian masterpiece or something more recent, like Braveheart, which was practically designed for the theater experience.

And I’m not talking about those obnoxious 3D gimmicks. I mean the actual films, preferably even better if they’ve been digitally restored.

I don't know about you all, but personally, I'd jump at the chance. If tickets were reasonably priced—say, around $6.75—I’d definitely be lining up to see an old favorite. Think about The Godfather. You’ve probably seen it at least three times already, but seeing it in a dark theater? That hits differently.

So, why isn't this happening? Is it just ticket prices? Studio contracts? A lack of imagination? Or maybe theaters are just playing it safe, sticking to those mindless blockbusters that dominate the global box office because it feels like a guaranteed win?

In Washington, D.C., the only place I think about is Central Park... I'm not even sure if they've released their fall schedule yet.

That’s exactly what they’re doing over at Central Park. Here’s their fall lineup: Link
Most of the autumn schedule focuses on newer releases, but towards the end of the year, they’re pulling out the heavy hitters—classics like The Pickpocket, Blue Velvet, and Goal in the saddle, along with works from directors like John Huston, Frank Capra, and mountain man Paskaljević. 👋

neonsurfer6 said:That’s exactly what they’re doing over at Central Park. Here is their fall lineup: Link
The autumn schedule will mostly focus on newer releases, but toward the end of the year, we can look forward to some real classics like The Pickpocket, Blue Velvet, and Goal in the saddle, along with works by directors like John Huston, Frank Capra, and even mountain man Paskaljević. 👋

Where are you finding the full schedule? All I see listed here are those six Japanese films...

Edit: Okay, I just realized I had to click that little arrow... my bad, I'm a bit slow today.

Mark Wood79 said:Where exactly are you seeing the full lineup? All I see listed here are those 6 Japanese tracks...

Edit: Okay, I just realized you have to click that little arrow... my bad, I'm a bit slow today.

Look, we have to be honest—the design is pretty clunky and hard to navigate.

neonsurfer6 said:I have to admit, the layout isn't exactly intuitive or easy to navigate.

To be honest, I’m not really feeling this lineup either.

We've got cycles covering contemporary Japanese, Belgian, Israeli, and Malaysian cinema, followed by an Ibero-American series, and then some tributes to Fehmiu, Swayze, Gable, and Hopper...

While Goal in the saddle and Blue Velvet should be great experiences, seeing just one film each from Capra and Huston feels a bit thin—I was really hoping for a full retrospective.

I've been looking forward to this schedule all summer, and now that it's finally here... I'm pretty disappointed.😢

So, there's this local film archive here in Seattle, and they’re about to kick off their fall lineup...
Over the summer, they ran a series featuring Dennis Hopper and Hitchcockian classics, plus some Fassbinder and Buñuel too...
I'm really curious to see what they have in store for us this season.😁

Karen Martin23 said:there's this indie cinema in San Francisco starting their fall lineup soon...
this summer they did Dennis Hopper and Hitchcock, plus Fassbinder and Buñuel...
curious to see what's coming up this season😁

Actually, at that theater in San Francisco—the Golden Gate one (can't remember if they call it San Francisco Cinema or just Golden Gate)—they didn't do a whole Hitchcock series. They just ran Psycho for its 50th anniversary. Same with Hopper; they only showed Easy Rider because he passed away.
But they did run a Rivette series, then some Gerard Phillipe stuff, followed by Almodovar. It's usually solid programming.
Still waiting on the September schedule though.🤷