LMU’s School of Film and Television announces the return of its eminent film festival, Il Cinema Ritrovato On Tour, from Thursday, Nov. 1, to Wednesday, Nov. 7.
Taking selections from Cineteca di Bologna’s annual festival featuring newly restored films, Il Cinema Ritrovato, LMU’s SFTV staff handpicks something for everyone in its Il Cinema Ritrovato On Tour line-up.
The festival includes: a recently restored classic from India; a Mexican B-movie; the 40th-anniversary restoration of high-school musical “Grease”; the original version of suspense-thriller “Suspiria”; and perennial classics “City Lights”, “In a Lonely Place” and “The Tree of Wooden Clogs”.
Enjoy the screenings on Loyola Marymount University’s Westchester campus – see individual film listings for further details.
Thursday, Nov. 1
10:15 a.m. – Restoration Workshop
Analog/Digital: Moving Image Archiving and Practices
Presented by Juana Suarez, director of the Moving Image Archiving and Preservation program at New York University.
Workshop: Hannon Library, Von der Ahe Family Suite (Room 322)
Sunday, Nov. 4 (free on-campus parking today!)
4 p.m. Opening Film – Shiraz
Copy restored in 2017 by the British Film Institute, distributed in the US by Juno Films. Scanned in 4K by BFI at Dragon Digital laboratory from the original camera negative and a preservation master fine-grain positive.
India/UK/Germany/1928/B&W/105 minutes
Director: Fran Osten
Cast: Himansu Rai, Enakshi Rama Rau, Charu Roy, Seeta Devi
This epic romance is based on the building of the world’s most opulent monument to love, the Taj Mahal. Himansu Rai plays the humble Shiraz, who follows his childhood love when she is sold to the future emperor. Shot entirely in India, this classic film showcases lavish costumes and gorgeous settings. In 2017, the British Film Institute restored the film and added an original score by Anoushka Shankar. Now considered a treasure of its era with both large crowd scenes and tender personal moments that have withstood the test of time.
Screening: Mayer Theater
Join us between screenings for free food and drink at 5:30 p.m.
Grease costume judging starts at 6:30 p.m.
7 p.m. – Grease
Restored in 2018 by Paramount Pictures at WB MPI and Deluxe Audio Laboratories from the original camera negative.
USA/1978/Color/110 minutes
Director: Randal Kleiser
Cast: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway
Good girl Sandy and greaser Danny are summer lovers, but can they stay hopelessly devoted to each other when they return to high school? Relive the musical highlights, dance numbers, romance and heartache of senior year at Rydell High. Special prizes on the night for the best Grease-themed costumes in our audience. Join us for some family friendly fun in this outdoor screening on Lawton Plaza – wear your best 1950’s garb and sing along to the most successful movie musical of all time.
Screening: Outdoors, Lawton Plaza – bring a low chair or blanket for seating
Enjoy your own picnic or grab some free food and drink from 5:30 p.m.
Grease costume judging starts at 6:30 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 5
7:30 p.m. – City Lights
Restored by Criterion Collection in collaboration with Cineteca di Bologna, distributed in the US by Janus Films.
USA/1931/B&W/Silent/86 minutes
Director: Charles Chaplin
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Harry Myers, Al Ernest Garcia
Chaplin’s masterpiece is as funny as it is poignant, featuring the ultimate Little Tramp story as Charlie falls for a blind woman who mistakes him for a millionaire. Though made a few years years after the advent of sound, Chaplin embraced the expressive beauty of silent cinema in his most beloved romantic comedy.
Screening: Mayer Theater
Tuesday, Nov. 6
5 p.m. – Victimas del Pecado (Victims of Sin)
Restored in 2017 by Cineteca Nacional Mexico.
Mexico/1951/B&W/90 minutes
Director: Emilio Fernández
Cast: Ninón Sevilla, Tito Junco, Rodolfo Acosta, Rita Montaner
Legendary director Emilio “El Indio” Fernández’s classic cabaret melodrama centers on Afro-Caribbean music, showcasing its greatest star, the incandescent Ninón Sevilla. Considered one of the best films of Mexico’s cinematic Golden Age, the film explores the mysterious underworld of postwar Mexico City. Incudes stirring musical numbers by mambo king Damaso Perez Prado and singer Pedro Vargas.
Screening: Mayer Theater
7:15 p.m. – In a Lonely Place
Restored in 2018 by Sony Pictures Entertainment at Roundabout Entertainment, Cineric, Inc., Deluxe Audio Services, L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratories, from a 35mm original nitrate picture negative.
USA/1950/B&W/94 minutes
Director: Nicholas Ray
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame
Film noir doesn’t get any darker than this emotionally charged tale featuring Humphrey Bogart as a fading screenwriter suspected of murder and Gloria Grahame as a neighbor with her own troubled past. Iconoclastic auteur Nicholas Ray directs this brilliant mix of suspenseful noir and turbulent melodrama, fueled by powerhouse performances.
Screening: Mayer Theater
Wednesday, Nov. 7
5 p.m. – Suspiria
Restored in 2017 by Synapse Films, distributed in the US by Criterion Pictures.
Italy/1977/Color/97 minutes
Director: Dario Argento
Cast: Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci
The 1977 blood-soaked original by Italian horror director Dario Argento features Jessica Harper as a ballet dancer who discovers the dark secrets of a dance academy in an unrelenting, suspenseful tale of the supernatural that is a shock to the senses. This gorgeous restoration highlights the film’s vibrant colors and Argento’s striking visual style.
Screening: Mayer Theater
7:15 p.m. – The Tree of Wooden Clogs
Restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory with funding provided by The Film Foundation, distributed in the US by Janus Films.
Italy/1978/Color/186 minutes
Director: Ermanno Olmi
Cast: Luigi Ornaghi, Francesca Moriggi, Omar Brignoli
Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, Ermanno Olmi’s film lovingly focuses on four families working for one landowner on an isolated estate in this painterly and sensual immersion in late nineteenth-century Italian farm life.
Screening: Mayer Theater
