Matt and Jim's Film Forum

Fri., Nov. 4 Fargo (1996) (credits) (detailed film notes) The most recently added movie to the U.S. National Film Registry, this 2006 black comedy by the Coen Brothers introduces us to the intelligence, skill, and dry wit of a pregnant police chief (Frances McDormand--winner of an Academy Award for Best Actress) who outsmarts a local car salesman (William Macy) who thinks he has pulled off the perfect crime. Not for the faint of heart (there are some grisly scenes), this clever, and brilliantly written film (also winner of the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay) will make you reevaluate your opinions about the American Heartland. (Rated R)

Sat., Dec. 3 City Lights (1931) (credits) (detailed film notes) Our first time showing a silent film, City Lights seems the perfect place to start. Chaplin's 1931 film, made after talkies had become popular, was one of his favorites and immediately became a hit in an America two years into the Great Depression. The Little Tramp returns to make us laugh and also feel the separation of class. The film, in the words of the IMDB, contains a blend of humor and humanity that make it memorable for everyone who watches it.

Sat., Jan. 21 My Man Godfrey (1936) (credits) (detailed film notes) William Powell and Carole Lombard star in this wonderful Depression Era comedy where one of the items in a scavenger hunt for the weathy is to find "a forgotten man." Powell is that man, and Lomard's character soon falls in love with him, posing the question, what is the difference between the rich and the poor? Nominated for six Academy Awards.

Fri., Feb. 17 The Rules of the Game / La règle du jeu (1939) (credits) This 1939 film by the great French director Jean Renoir looks at upper class French society just before World War and is a classic comedy of manners. This movie is often cited as one of the top ten films in World Cinema and clearly influenced Altman's Gosford Park.

Sat., Mar. 31 Gosford Park (2001) (credits) Robert Altman's 2001 film about the upstairs/downstairs worlds of a 1932 mansion. The film is in the Altman style but also very much speaks to Renoir's Rules of the Game. (We encouage you to see both films, and we hope our post-film discussion will be able to refer to both.) Maggie Smith steals the show, but the entire cast is top notch. (Rated R for some language and brief sexuality.)

Sat., Oct. 23 Ruggles of Red Gap (1935) (credits) Charles Laughton stars in Leo McCarey's comedy gem about an English valet won in a poker game and taken to the "uncivilized" American west

Fri., Dec. 3 Some Like It Hot (1959) (credits) (detailed film notes) This Billy Wilder comedy (rated #22 of all-time by the AFI and starring Jack Lemon, Tony Curtis, and Marilyn Monroe) shows that even gender is not black and white.

Sat., Jan. 22 In the Heat of the Night (1967) (credits) (detailed film notes) Winner of 5 Academy Awards, this powerful film deals with 1960's race relations as a black detective (Sidney Poitier) tries to help a white sheriff (Rod Steiger) solve a murder case in the rural South.

Sat., April 9 Transamerica (2005) (credits) The classic-American road picture told in the most non-traditional of ways, with Felicity Huffman (nominated for an Academy Award as best actress) plays a man about to become a woman. (rated R)

Fri., Jan. 29 The Graduate (1967) (credits) Tim Bakland presents this Mike Nichol's classic, starring Dustin Hoffman as a recent college graduate who does not know what to do with his life.

Fri., Feb. 19 La Grande Illusion (1937) (credits) Christiane presents Renoir's brilliant study of social class and humanity during WWI

Sat., April 3 The Lives of Others (2006) (credits) A fascinating German film about an East German surveillance officer who becomes (too?) absorbed in the lives of his subjects.

Fri., Oct. 17 The Election: The War Room (1993) (credits) A documentary of Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign and the organization that ran it.

Fri., Nov. 14 A long, futile war: Paths of Glory (1957) (credits) (detailed film notes) Masterful anti-war film by Stanley Kubrick with a powerful performance by Kirk Douglas as a French WWI colonel who takes on his superiors.

Fri., Jan 23 Paul Newman: The Hustler (1961) (credits) (detailed film notes) Paul Newman as Fast Eddie, an up-and-coming pool hustler, who plays against the legendary Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) in a single, high-stakes match.

Fri., Feb. 13 The uncertain moral universe: Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) (credits) Complex Woody Allen film about crime, moral responsibility, and human relations.

Fri., Apr. 17 The energy crisis and Big Oil: Local Hero (1983) (credits) One of the best "little films" of all time, about an American oil company man who goes to Scotland for a big oil deal and winds up discovering much more than he bargained for.

Fri., Nov. 2 Philadelphia Story (1940) (credits) (detailed film notes) George Cukor's film of a Broadway comedy about a society girl (Katherine Hepburn) who longs for down-to-earth romance. Cary Grant plays her ex-husband, and Jimmy Stewart a fast-talking reporter who falls in love with her.

Sat., Dec. 1 Casablanca (1942) (credits) (detailed film notes) (shot by shot analysis of final scene) "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship..." The timeless romantic classic starring Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, and Claude Rains. Come see the film that all those great lines came from!

Fri., Jan. 11 Twelve Angry Men (1957) (credits) (detailed film notes) Special guest host: Matt Crowley (Waring '07) Henry Fonda tries to convince 11 other jurors that their hasty conviction of a boy on trial should be reconsidered. Gripping courtroom drama with an all-star cast including Lee J. Cobb, Jack Klugman, E. G. Marshall, Jack Warden, and Martin Balsam.

Fri., Feb. 8 Manhattan (1979) (credits) Woody Allen's love poem to New York, beautifully filmed in black and white, with Gershwin score. Starring Allen, Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, and Muriel Hemingway.

Sat., March 29 Unforgiven (1992) (credits) (detailed film notes) "Modern" western about a one-time killer who comes out of retirement to make one more hit because he needs the money for his family. Powerful examination of morality and hypocrisy in the Old West. Stars Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, and Morgan Freeman.

Fri., Dec. 1 The Dead (1987) (credits) Director John Huston's final film, a masterful translation to the screen of James Joyce's powerful novella. (text of novella)

Sat., Feb. 10 Vertigo (1954) (credits) (detailed film notes) Many critics consider this Hitchcock's greatest film and one of the ten best of all time. Come judge for yourself!

Fri., April 6 Double Indemnity (1944) (credits) (detailed film notes) Billy Wilder's classic film noir, with Fred MacMurray as you've never seen him!

John Wayne’s first film with classic director John Ford. Stagecoach defined the American Western and began a rich 20-year collaboration between Wayne and Ford, ending in The Searchers (see our 2001-02 season).

Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, and Billy Wilder. Need we say more? OK, we will just say: 5 Academy Awards , the spaghetti cooking scene, and a film that ushers in the questioning of authority of the 1960’s.

What would you do if you were forced to live one day in your life, again and again? Bill Murray (costarring with Andie MacDowell, and directed by Harold Ramis) shows us his modus operandi and in the process makes us question how we live our lives.

Louis Malle teams up with Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon to take an outsider’s look at American culture and the American Dream. This “small” film reveals tenderness and dignity in unlikely places.

This Italian neo-realist film tells the post-WWII story of a Roman father and son as they try to eke out a life dependent on a bike as their primary means of existence. Vittorio De Sica’s film raises important moral questions that are not easily answered.

In the bleak midwinter, more than 100 years ago, a small Danish town comes alive from the hands of a talented French chef. The gourmet experience, a feast for all the senses, will have the guests (of course, that includes those of you who attend the film) “tasting” the world in new ways. (Gløgg will be served.)

Vittorio De Sica, the director of The Bicycle Thief, is unforgettable as the second owner of the jewels. Come follow the peregrinations of the bijoux, and, along the way, learn about love in fin de siècle France.

Five people witness a violent crime and each tells a different version. This great Japanese film by Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshifo Mifune, looks at the nature of truth and asks, what can we really know?

This epic fictional biography is rarely shown in theaters, and we feel lucky to be able to share it with you. Roger Livesey plays Blimp and Deborah Kerr plays his three loves over the course of his life. You may never see two finer screen performances. This two and a half hour film from the great team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger is worth every minute.


	Matt & Jim's Film Forum Please join us for a classic film and lively discussion afterward! (all screenings are at 7 pm in the Polygon Room of the Forum) 2011-12: 11th season (Class): Fri., Nov. 4 Fargo (1996) (credits) (detailed film notes) The most recently added movie to the U.S. National Film Registry, this 2006 black comedy by the Coen Brothers introduces us to the intelligence, skill, and dry wit of a pregnant police chief (Frances McDormand--winner of an Academy Award for Best Actress) who outsmarts a local car salesman (William Macy) who thinks he has pulled off the perfect crime. Not for the faint of heart (there are some grisly scenes), this clever, and brilliantly written film (also winner of the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay) will make you reevaluate your opinions about the American Heartland. (Rated R) Sat., Dec. 3 City Lights (1931) (credits) (detailed film notes) Our first time showing a silent film, City Lights seems the perfect place to start. Chaplin's 1931 film, made after talkies had become popular, was one of his favorites and immediately became a hit in an America two years into the Great Depression. The Little Tramp returns to make us laugh and also feel the separation of class. The film, in the words of the IMDB, contains a blend of humor and humanity that make it memorable for everyone who watches it. Sat., Jan. 21 My Man Godfrey (1936) (credits) (detailed film notes) William Powell and Carole Lombard star in this wonderful Depression Era comedy where one of the items in a scavenger hunt for the weathy is to find "a forgotten man." Powell is that man, and Lomard's character soon falls in love with him, posing the question, what is the difference between the rich and the poor? Nominated for six Academy Awards. Fri., Feb. 17 The Rules of the Game / La règle du jeu (1939) (credits) This 1939 film by the great French director Jean Renoir looks at upper class French society just before World War and is a classic comedy of manners. This movie is often cited as one of the top ten films in World Cinema and clearly influenced Altman's Gosford Park. Sat., Mar. 31 Gosford Park (2001) (credits) Robert Altman's 2001 film about the upstairs/downstairs worlds of a 1932 mansion. The film is in the Altman style but also very much speaks to Renoir's Rules of the Game. (We encouage you to see both films, and we hope our post-film discussion will be able to refer to both.) Maggie Smith steals the show, but the entire cast is top notch. (Rated R for some language and brief sexuality.) 2010-11: 10th season (Not Just Black and White): Sat., Oct. 23 Ruggles of Red Gap (1935) (credits) Charles Laughton stars in Leo McCarey's comedy gem about an English valet won in a poker game and taken to the "uncivilized" American west Fri., Dec. 3 Some Like It Hot (1959) (credits) (detailed film notes) This Billy Wilder comedy (rated #22 of all-time by the AFI and starring Jack Lemon, Tony Curtis, and Marilyn Monroe) shows that even gender is not black and white. Sat., Jan. 22 In the Heat of the Night (1967) (credits) (detailed film notes) Winner of 5 Academy Awards, this powerful film deals with 1960's race relations as a black detective (Sidney Poitier) tries to help a white sheriff (Rod Steiger) solve a murder case in the rural South. Sat., Feb. 12 private screening, off campus (The Last Picture Show) Sat., April 9 Transamerica (2005) (credits) The classic-American road picture told in the most non-traditional of ways, with Felicity Huffman (nominated for an Academy Award as best actress) plays a man about to become a woman. (rated R) 2009-10: 9th season (Les invités): Sat., Nov. 14 It Happened One Night (1934) (credits) Frank Capra's sparkling comedy, starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. Fri., Jan. 29 The Graduate (1967) (credits) Tim Bakland presents this Mike Nichol's classic, starring Dustin Hoffman as a recent college graduate who does not know what to do with his life. Fri., Feb. 19 La Grande Illusion (1937) (credits) Christiane presents Renoir's brilliant study of social class and humanity during WWI Sat., April 3 The Lives of Others (2006) (credits) A fascinating German film about an East German surveillance officer who becomes (too?) absorbed in the lives of his subjects. 2008-09: 8th season (Contemporary Resonances): Fri., Oct. 17 The Election: The War Room (1993) (credits) A documentary of Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign and the organization that ran it. Fri., Nov. 14 A long, futile war: Paths of Glory (1957) (credits) (detailed film notes) Masterful anti-war film by Stanley Kubrick with a powerful performance by Kirk Douglas as a French WWI colonel who takes on his superiors. Fri., Jan 23 Paul Newman: The Hustler (1961) (credits) (detailed film notes) Paul Newman as Fast Eddie, an up-and-coming pool hustler, who plays against the legendary Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) in a single, high-stakes match. Fri., Feb. 13 The uncertain moral universe: Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) (credits) Complex Woody Allen film about crime, moral responsibility, and human relations. Fri., Apr. 17 The energy crisis and Big Oil: Local Hero (1983) (credits) One of the best "little films" of all time, about an American oil company man who goes to Scotland for a big oil deal and winds up discovering much more than he bargained for. 2007-08: 7th season (American Films): Fri., Nov. 2 Philadelphia Story (1940) (credits) (detailed film notes) George Cukor's film of a Broadway comedy about a society girl (Katherine Hepburn) who longs for down-to-earth romance. Cary Grant plays her ex-husband, and Jimmy Stewart a fast-talking reporter who falls in love with her. Sat., Dec. 1 Casablanca (1942) (credits) (detailed film notes) (shot by shot analysis of final scene) "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship..." The timeless romantic classic starring Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, and Claude Rains. Come see the film that all those great lines came from! Fri., Jan. 11 Twelve Angry Men (1957) (credits) (detailed film notes) Special guest host: Matt Crowley (Waring '07) Henry Fonda tries to convince 11 other jurors that their hasty conviction of a boy on trial should be reconsidered. Gripping courtroom drama with an all-star cast including Lee J. Cobb, Jack Klugman, E. G. Marshall, Jack Warden, and Martin Balsam. Fri., Feb. 8 Manhattan (1979) (credits) Woody Allen's love poem to New York, beautifully filmed in black and white, with Gershwin score. Starring Allen, Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, and Muriel Hemingway. Sat., March 29 Unforgiven (1992) (credits) (detailed film notes) "Modern" western about a one-time killer who comes out of retirement to make one more hit because he needs the money for his family. Powerful examination of morality and hypocrisy in the Old West. Stars Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, and Morgan Freeman. 2006-07: 6th season (Films We Love): Fri., Dec. 1 The Dead (1987) (credits) Director John Huston's final film, a masterful translation to the screen of James Joyce's powerful novella. (text of novella) Fri., Jan. 19 Mean Streets (1973) (credits) Scorcese and DeNiro's first film shows them already at the top of their form. Sat., Feb. 10 Vertigo (1954) (credits) (detailed film notes) Many critics consider this Hitchcock's greatest film and one of the ten best of all time. Come judge for yourself! Fri., April 6 Double Indemnity (1944) (credits) (detailed film notes) Billy Wilder's classic film noir, with Fred MacMurray as you've never seen him! 2005-06: 5th season (American Films): Fri., Nov. 4 Stagecoach (1939) (credits) (detailed film notes) ("Mythic Paradigms in The Searchers") John Wayne’s first film with classic director John Ford. Stagecoach defined the American Western and began a rich 20-year collaboration between Wayne and Ford, ending in The Searchers (see our 2001-02 season). Fri., Dec. 2 Rear Window (1954) (credits) (detailed film notes) Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly, and Alfred Hitchcock. Need we say more? Fri., Jan. 20 The Apartment (1960) (credits) (detailed film notes) Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, and Billy Wilder. Need we say more? OK, we will just say: 5 Academy Awards , the spaghetti cooking scene, and a film that ushers in the questioning of authority of the 1960’s. Sat., Feb. 11 Groundhog Day (1993) (credits) (radio program) (link to many articles about the film) What would you do if you were forced to live one day in your life, again and again? Bill Murray (costarring with Andie MacDowell, and directed by Harold Ramis) shows us his modus operandi and in the process makes us question how we live our lives. Fri., April 7 Atlantic City (1981) (credits) (detailed film notes) Louis Malle teams up with Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon to take an outsider’s look at American culture and the American Dream. This “small” film reveals tenderness and dignity in unlikely places. 2004-05: 4th season (International Films): Fri., Nov. 12 Italy: The Bicycle Thief (credits) This Italian neo-realist film tells the post-WWII story of a Roman father and son as they try to eke out a life dependent on a bike as their primary means of existence. Vittorio De Sica’s film raises important moral questions that are not easily answered. Fri., Dec. 10 Denmark: Babette's Feast (credits) (links to many articles and essays about the film) In the bleak midwinter, more than 100 years ago, a small Danish town comes alive from the hands of a talented French chef. The gourmet experience, a feast for all the senses, will have the guests (of course, that includes those of you who attend the film) “tasting” the world in new ways. (Gløgg will be served.) Fri., Feb. 11 France: The Earrings of Madame de ... (credits) This luxurious French drama (by Max Ophuls) traces the life of an expensive pair of earrings from wife, to lover, to...? Vittorio De Sica, the director of The Bicycle Thief, is unforgettable as the second owner of the jewels. Come follow the peregrinations of the bijoux, and, along the way, learn about love in fin de siècle France. Fri., Apr. 8 Japan: Rashomon (credits) (detailed film notes) Five people witness a violent crime and each tells a different version. This great Japanese film by Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshifo Mifune, looks at the nature of truth and asks, what can we really know? Sat., June 18 Britain: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (credits) This epic fictional biography is rarely shown in theaters, and we feel lucky to be able to share it with you. Roger Livesey plays Blimp and Deborah Kerr plays his three loves over the course of his life. You may never see two finer screen performances. This two and a half hour film from the great team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger is worth every minute. 2003-04: 3rd Season (Illusion and Reality): Oct. 24 The Awful Truth (credits) (detailed plot analysis) Nov. 21 Notorious (credits) (detailed plot analysis) Jan. 23 To Be Or Not To Be (credits) March 5 Sunset Boulevard (credits) (detailed plot analysis) June 4 The Crying Game (credits) 2002-03: 2nd Season (American Films by European Directors): March 31 Roman Holiday (credits) (detailed plot analysis) May 30 Trouble in Paradise (credits) (detailed plot analysis) 2001-02: 1st Season: (American Films) Feb. 1 The Searchers (credits) (detailed plot analysis) March 29 Chinatown (credits) (detailed plot analysis) April 19 Shadow of a Doubt (credits) (detailed plot analysis) May 10 The Lady Eve (credits) (detailed plot analysis) Miscellaneous Links: Internet Movie Database (invaluable for cast lists, directors, etc.) Tom Dirk's Greatest Films (detailed analysis of hundreds of films, memorable scenes, quotes) Stanley Fish (NYTimes) 10 Best American Movies Some of Matt's favorite films