MADISON — The UW Cinematheque launches its Fall 2015 screening series on Friday, Sept. 4 with Orson Welles 1948 Shakespeare adaptation, Macbeth. The Labor Day weekend screenings continue on Saturday, September 5 with both English and Japanese language versions of When Marnie Was There, which promises to be the last feature film release from Japan’s fabled animation house, Studio Ghibli. On Sunday, September 6, our Fall Cinematheque at the Chazen series begins with Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, the first in an exciting series of classic movies showing in recently struck 35mm prints.
While VOD movies at home become more and more easily accessible and new foreign and American independent movies become even more difficult to find in a cinematic setting, the UW Cinematheque has increasingly served as the only Madison-area theatrical venue for many critically acclaimed new releases. In the past year alone, the Cinematheque was the only place to see such celebrated movies as the Cannes prize-winner Winter Sleep; Viggo Mortensen in Lisandro Alonso’s Jauja; Kelly Reichardt’s Night Moves; and the final film of Alain Resnais, Life of Riley.
This fall, the Cinematheque’s Premiere Showcase series offers your one chance to see some of the most talked-about movies of the season, including the aforementioned When Marnie Was There; Bob Byington’s comedy 7 Chinese Brothers starring Jason Schwartzman; Operation Popcorn, a fascinating new documentary that also functions as a political thriller; Director Sean Baker will join us in person to present Tangerine, a sometimes hilarious look at contemporary fringe-dwellers in Los Angeles, shot entirely on iphones; Heaven Knows What, an unusual look at the life of a drug addict from the talented Safdie Brothers; and Guy Maddin’s delirious fever-dream of a movie, The Forbidden Room.
And that’s not all, of course. The multi-part centennial tribute to Orson Welles concludes with several screenings and an in-person visit from Welles scholar Joseph McBride; plus movies by Agnes Varda, Cy Endfield, Jean Gremillon, and Satyajit Ray’s Apu trilogy presented in a new 4K restoration!
All Cinematheque screenings are free and open to the public. Check out the Facebook page for more for links to reviews and trailers and other programming updates.
