Classic Films
Our Classics on Sundays Series runs year-round at 2pm on Sunday afternoons; however you’ll sometimes see films from our Young Audiences or First Friday Fright Night series show up here too, because, well, they’re classics! Each month is programmed around a theme. Our upcoming themes are:
April: It Always Rains on Sundays
May: From Book to Screen
June: Projector Takeover: Mike Lemon
Sponsoring a program is a great way to support the Colonial and get 50 free passes to a show! Click here to download a pdf that explains how it works.
Click here to download a pdf of our current schedule (updated 3/25/13).
In Cold Blood
Directed by Richard Brooks. US. 1967. R. 134 min. Sony. 35mm.
- Sun, May 26, 2:00 pm
Truman Capote’s book “In Cold Blood” became an immediate best-seller and cause celebre at the time of its publication, as it was considered to be the first non-fiction novel and provided an exceedingly detailed depiction of the events and people involved in a horrific home-invasion and slaughter of a Kansas family by two psychopathic killers in 1959. The film of this book, produced a year after the book was published, is a model of docudrama film-making. More»
Capote
Directed by Bennett Miller. US. 2005. R. 114 min. MGM. 35mm.
- Sun, May 26, 4:30 pm
“At one point in Capote, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Truman Capote mockingly reads Catherine Keener’s Harper Lee an acceptance speech that convicted killer Perry Smith wrote just in case he ever won an award. Lee is understandably horrified by the narcissism on display, but it’s Capote’s narcissism that makes her recoil, not Smith’s. Bennett Miller’s Capote is at heart a cautionary tale about the way narcissism can poison relationships and warp values. In Hoffman’s haunting, dead-on Capote, it boasts an anti-hero whose self-infatuation borders on pathological. More»
Projector Takeover: Mike Lemon
Sundays in June -- Roll over to view showtimes.
We’ve asked Mike Lemon of Mike Lemon Casting to take over our projectors and program this month’s classic films and he’s picked some great ones – three of which we’ve never shown before! All film details are in the posts below. Mike has been a casting director for 30 years, casting local actors in over 10,000 projects, including the films “Philadelphia” and “The Sixth Sense.” He’s also been an actor, director, teacher, writer and filmmaker, winning awards for his short film, “Touched.” He’s on the Advisory Board of the Philadelphia Film Society and is a member of the Casting Society of America. Mike’s a classic movie fan and will host a Q&A following each film.
Bringing Up Baby
Directed by Howard Hawks. US. 1938. NR. 102 min. Fox. 35mm.
- Sun, Jun 2, 2:00 pm
“The definitive screwball comedy and one of the funniest films ever made. Cary Grant gives his best comic performance as a befuddled, bespectacled anthropologist who becomes mixed up with daffy, but determined heiress Katharine Hepburn. Together, they tear apart the Connecticut countryside searching for leopards, pet terriers, and an intercostal clavicle, all the while being mistaken for the notorious Leopard Gang, big game hunters from Brazil. Grant and Hepburn’s flawless comic timing and Hawks’ inspired direction combine to make this a timeless and much adored classic.” TLA Film & Video Guide)
The Hurricane
Directed by John Ford. US. 1937. NR. 110 min. Samuel Goldwyn. 35mm.
- Sun, Jun 9, 2:00 pm
A stunning big blowout; this South Seas spectacular from the great John Ford is a rare perennial. The story is pretty much hooey with a dollop of tropical glamour on top, but anyway, marvelously self-serving. The beauteous Lamour is in love with barrel-chested Hall, whose hot temper lands him in hot water with corrupt island governor Massey. Theres a fine assist from Astor, Mitchell, Cowan, Carradine, and Smith. Then the hurricane comes–a real lulu–and steals everyones thunder. These scenes are terrifyingly spectacular, done on actual and miniature scales so cleverly edited that it is next to impossible to discern where one leaves off and the other takes over. (TV Guide)
Jaws
Directed by Steven Spielberg. US. 1975. PG. 124 min. Universal. 35mm.
- Sat, Jun 15, 4:30 pm
Join usat 2PM, before “Jaws,” for a special screening of “The Shark is Still Working,” a documentary about the enduring legacy and impact of this movie classic. The doc’s producer James-Michael Roddy will be here to introduce the film and for a Q&A afterwards. This screening is FREE with your purchase of a ticket to see “Jaws!” There are very few films in the history of cinema that can be considered perfect. “Jaws” is, without a doubt, one of them. Plagued with production problems of all sorts “Jaws” emerged as the first summer blockbuster and changed movies forever. This is a true classic of the silver screen and one of the most quotable movies of all time. Get to the theater early because there is a good chance were going to need a bigger boat.” (Bob Trate)
The Uninvited
Directed by Lewis Allen. US. 1944. NR. 99 min. Universal. 35mm.
- Sun, Jun 23, 2:00 pm
“Set in a distinctly Hollywoodian but nevertheless persuasive Cornwall, this is an impressive supernatural thriller, not unlike Rebecca in its use of an eerily atmospheric house and a sense of morbid brooding about the troubled past. Milland and Hussey are the siblings who buy the old house, only to find it haunted and exerting a sinister influence over the previous owner’s granddaughter (Russell). More»
Helen of Troy
Directed by Robert Wise. US. 1956. NR. 118 min. Warner Bros. DVD.
- Sun, Jun 30, 2:00 pm
Rossana Podesta may not quite possess the face that would launch a thousand ships, but she is otherwise convincing in the title role of Helen of Troy. Filmed in Italy, this super-epic costars Jacques Sernas as Paris of Troy, who sails to Sparta to secure a peace treaty between the two powerful Greek city-states. When he falls in love with Helen, Queen of Sparta, Paris loses all sense of diplomacy. More»