Penn State Altoona Film Series: Spring 2008

All films shown on Sundays at 7 p.m. at the Devorris Downtown Center
Admission is free - Everyone is invited
JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL

January 27 - The Lady Vanishes (1938) is the last film the great director Alfred Hitchcock made in England before being lured to Hollywood by producer David O. Selznick. In this fast-moving comedy thriller, a sweet old lady (the wonderful Dame May Whitty) suddenly disappears from a moving train. Soon, Iris (Margaret Lockwood), the young woman who chatted with her, can’t convince anyone that Miss Foy really was on the train. Fortunately a handsome male stranger (Michael Redgrave) comes to her rescue, as well as two cricket-crazed Englishmen named Charters and Caldicott (Basil Radford and Nauton Wayne). Throw in a suspicious German doctor (Paul Lucas), a high-heel wearing nun, and a gaggle of Nazis, and you’ve got the makings of a delightful filmic treat. 96 min. B/W. NR.

February 10 - Waitress (2007) is both more and less than it appears on the surface. If it seems like a conventional feel-good “chick-flick” comedy, it certainly is all that—but it has a darker, less cheerful tone as well. The comedy comes from waitress Jenna’s offbeat names for the amazing and delicious pies she bakes, but the darker side is the result of her unannounced pregnancy. The radiant Jenna (Keri Russell) just happens to be married to a controlling and unsympathetic husband, Earl (Jeremy Sisto) whom she dreads raising a child with. Joe (Andy Griffith) is the owner of Joe’s Pie Diner, where Jenna and her two waitress friends (Cheryl Hines and Adrienne Shelly) work and discuss their problems with the men in their lives. To complicate matters for Jenna, her married doctor (Nathan Fillion) is both handsome and understanding. This wonderful film manages to be warm and human without being overly sentimental or predictable. Sadly, writer/director Adrienne Shelly, who plays Dawn in the film, was murdered before the film’s release. 100 min. PG-13.

February 17 - Young Frankenstein (1974), a collaboration between Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder, is not only one of the funniest films ever made, it also perfectly parodies the classic Universal monster movies of the ‘30s (using the same laboratory equipment of the originals). Comedy fans also savor the film’s plethora of laugh lines: “Could be worse, could be raining,” “Roll, roll, roll in the hay,”and “He vas my boyfriend!” When Frederick Frankenstein (Wilder) learns that his grandfather’s notes still exist, he travels to his castle in Transylvania. Aided by a hunchback named Igor (Marty Feldman) and a buxom maid named Inga (Teri Garr), he proposes to vindicate his grandfather and his legacy by not only creating life but also getting it “right” this time. As he tries to uncover his grandfather’s secrets, he is unaware that his progress is being guided by Frau Blucher (Cloris Leachman) and observed by a suspicious policeman (Kenneth Mars). Unfortunately, Igor’s bungling (he steals the abnormal brain, not the normal one), leads the increasingly hysterical Frankenstein to create another monster, albeit one who only wishes to be accepted by the world (Peter Boyle). An uncredited Gene Hackman is a riot as a well-meaning blind hermit and Madeline Kahn is perfect as Wilder’s uptight fiancé Elizabeth. A comedy classic! 106 min., B/W, Rated PG.

February 24 - Cold Comfort Farm (1995) Based on Stella Gibbon's 1932 novel, director John Schlesinger’s slyly satiric (and completely British) comedy tells the tale of a saucy London society girl named Flora Poste (Kate Beckinsale) who whimsically decides to visit her country cousins. A budding writer, Flora guesses—correctly, it seems—that her eccentric relatives would provide ample fodder for a novel. Amos Starkadder (Ian McKellen) seems to be the head of the clan, but the whole household is really ruled by the mysterious Aunt Ada (Sheila Burrell), who hasn’t ventured out of her room in ages because “I saw something nasty in the woodshed!” Others of note include cousin Judith (Eileen Atkins) and two brothers named Reuben and Seth (the latter played by the brooding and darkly handsome Rufus Sewell). Flora’s mission, once she enters their tangled affairs, is simple: with determination and grit (and a little soap and water) she will help them change their lives for the better—whether they want to or not! 95 min. Rated PG.

March 2 - The Lookout (2007) This tense thriller was largely ignored when it appeared in theaters last March. Although it co-stars Jeff Daniels (as a feisty blind man named Lewis), the lead actors are not especially well known and the film is the directing debut of screenwriter Scott Frank (Minority Report). Frank has fashioned a compelling drama focusing on a young man named Chris (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) whose future promise is dimmed by a brain injury. Forced to write himself lists of things to do each day, he would like to start a small business with Lewis but needs money. A savior, in the form of a new “friend,” slowly draws Chris into a situation where he may be compelled to do something criminal. When Chris starts to understand what is expected of him, he reacts in unexpected ways and the film becomes a tense cat-and-mouse thriller that is as satisfying as it is surprising. 99 min. Rated R.

March 30 - Green For Danger (1946) is a droll WWII mystery by writer/director Sidney Gilliat. When a policeman dies on the operating table at a rural British hospital, it soon becomes a question of whether it was an accident or murder. Scotland Yard’s insouciant Inspector Cockrill (Alistair Sim) is called to investigate. There are suspects aplenty—any of the five doctors and nurses on duty in the operating room could be the murderer. While the film also stars British stalwarts Trevor Howard, Leo Genn, and Sally Gray, it is Alistair Sim’s off-kilter police inspector who dominates the screen with his unorthodox personality and procedures. Sim, who would gain world renown as Scrooge (A Christmas Carol), is a delight and both he and the film wink at “whodunit” conventions with gusto. 91 min. B/W. Not rated.

April 6 - Sicko (2007) is activist/documentarian Michael Moore’s blistering examination of America’s healthcare system. Because this film is less strident than his past efforts, it is more successful. Moore himself takes a backseat (no more confronting Congressmen on the Capitol steps) and shows the viewer what happens to people who aren’t uninsured but underinsured. When patients apply for benefits they seem eminently qualified for, their insurance companies all but stand on their heads to deny them the care they deserve. Moore reveals why Canadians and others are reluctant to visit the U.S. (hint: they had better not fall ill or be injured while here), and how special interests have co-opted both the political parties and all of our “public servants.” You may disagree that the systems of Canada, France, and Great Britain could work here (and they certainly pay high taxes to see that all are insured), but it’s difficult to argue with the unfairness of a major health problem wiping out an American family’s savings and plunging them into bankruptcy. Moore’s two major points: 1) you can’t afford to be uninsured, and 2) being insured is no guarantee that you’ll receive the benefits you’re entitled to. An important, angry film that should be seen by all Americans. 123 min. Rated PG-13.

April 13 - The Princess Bride (1987) simultaneously succeeds as a very funny romance, a very romantic comedy, an adult fairy tale, and as a film for the whole family. Director Rob Reiner’s film has rightfully taken its place in the pantheon of favorite films. The witty script by William Golden, based on his own novel, has its share of great lines: “Hello—my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die,” “Inconceivable!” “Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!” “Luv, twu luv,” and “As you wish.” The simple story has a grandson, sick in bed, being read a book by his grandfather. The book accounts the adventures of Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright), an admiring farm boy named Wesley (Cary Elwes), a revenge-seeking swordsman (Mandy Patinkin), a giant (Andre the Giant), a six-fingered villain (Christopher Guest), and an evil prince (Chris Sarandon). Billy Crystal and Carol Kane make a brief but memorable appearance as Miracle Max and his wife Valerie. “Have fun storming the castle!” 98 min. Rated PG.

April 20 - Fahrenheit 451 (1966) François Truffaut’s English language debut was a surprising one—he took Ray Bradbury’s tale of a future society in which “firemen” burn books rather than put out fires and turned it into a cautionary film. Bradbury and Truffaut’s protagonist is Montag (Oskar Werner), a fireman who is beginning to question what he does. A copy of a Dickens novel turns Montag into an avid reader, to the dismay of his drugged, bored wife (Julie Christie, who also plays a teacher). The film’s deliberate pace and oddly-stilted quality has endeared it to neither science fiction fans or lovers of the novel. Truffaut and Bradbury’s point is that a lack of reading has turned people in social and intellectual zombies. It is in its final half hour, when we are introduced to a colony of readers who ARE the books they have rescued, that film achieves moments of transcendence. 112 min. NR.

April 27 - Paris Je T’aime (2006), is a cinematic love letter to the City of Light. Eighteen directors (including Ethan and Joel Coen, Wes Craven, Alonso Cuaron, and Gus Van Sant) helm eighteen segments, each set in a different arrondissement (or district) of Paris, from the Eiffel Tower to the underground Metro. The cast is remarkable, and includes Elijah Wood, Steve Buscemi, Ben Gazzara, Gena Rowlands, Gerard Depardieu, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Nick Nolte, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Bob Hoskins. Each story is a delectable bon-bon, although like any film consisting of vignettes, some are better than others. Rather than overstay its welcome, the film ends with the charming "14th Arrondissement," directed by Alexander Payne, a video postcard in which a lonely middle-aged American postal worker (Margo Martindale) recites, in labored but earnest French, the quiet and eternal pleasures of the city. Rated R. 120 min.

All descriptions and comments are provided by Dr. Kenneth R. Von Gunden, Lecturer in Integrative Arts.
Dates or films may change due to unforeseen circumstances. MPAA ratings enforced.
Funding provided by the Division of Arts of Humanities: Dr. Kenneth A.Womack, Head.
Film Series Director: Dr. Kenneth Von Gunden