The Kutler Center is the proud sponsor of Cinema Sundays, hosted by Ted Walch. Each year, a series of films is screened followed by a thought-provoking discussion. It’s casual. It’s fun. And it’s free. You may attend as many or as few of the screenings/discussions as you wish. The films vary widely in kind and flavor. The series is open to Parents, Alums, Parents of Alums, Community Members, and current students.
Below are the dates for the 2017-2018 series. Each film begins at 3:00 PM, and the discussion usually concludes by 6:00 PM. Click here for the series poster.
October 1, 2017: SAFETY LAST!
Silent film star Harold Lloyd plays an everyman who challenges the world around him. He’ll take your breath away with his astonishing stunts, even as he keeps you laughing. He’s a comic genius par excellence, and his granddaughter, SUZANNE LLOYD, is a celebrated and riveting spokesperson for his films. She will be joined by pianist MICHAEL D. MORTILLA who will accompany the film, live and in person, just as it might have been back in the day. It’s a grand way to begin the season.
October 8, 2017: GET OUT
An instant masterpiece, Get Out is a mystery thriller that grabs you by the throat every time you start to laugh – and vice-versa. Host TED WALCH and A GUEST TO BE ANNOUNCED will lead an invigorating discussion of this film, which has staked out new territory in the barren field that is sometimes Hollywood.
October 22, 2017: ON THE WATERFRONT
JULIE COBB presents her father, Lee J. Cobb, in his larger-than-life portrayal of a mob-corrupted union boss in Elia Kazan’s masterpiece, On the Waterfront. It’s an all-star cast, including Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Rod Steiger, and Cobb. Leonard Bernstein’s score is the icing on the cake. Julie Cobb will be in charge. It’s a Sunday not to be missed.
February 25, 2018: RANGO
As a break-out experience for all of us, visual artist and magnetic presenter CRASH McCREERY will tell us the whole story behind the visual development and extraordinary character design for the offbeat, richly entertaining animated Western Rango. Host Ted Walch admits that this is for him this season’s most exciting Sunday. Once you’ve met Crash and experienced the evolution of his designs, you’ll understand why.
March 11, 2018: MASTERS OF SEX
Cinema Sundays continues its look at television with the deliciously racy Masters of Sex. Using the story of sex researchers Masters and Johnson as their springboard, show-runner MICHELLE ASHFORD and executive producer SARAH TIMBERMAN weave stories that leap from fact to fiction to get at the truth of our animal natures. It’s all wildly entertaining. Ashford and Timberman promise to bring an actor or two with them. We’ll show the pilot and then a specially selected episode. Stay tuned.
March 18, 2018: THE CONVERSATION
Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation won the Grand Prize at Cannes in 1974. Gene Hackman gives what many believe to be his finest performance as a surveillance expert caught in a moral quandary with the highest possible stakes. This film not only gets under your skin, it burrows there. It asks hard questions. It fascinates at every turn. Alumna REBECCA VAN DUSEN, winner of Walch’s Cinema Studies Award in 2013, leads the discussion.
April 22, 2018: ANATOMY OF A MURDER
Called “the finest pure trial movie ever made,” director Otto Preminger’s masterpiece both skewers and celebrates our judicial system. James Stewart is brilliant in his portrayal of a dogged defense attorney, as are Lee Remick and Ben Gazzara. Duke Ellington’s score and Sam Leavitt’s photography perfectly capture the bleak beauty of Michigan’s Upper Penisula. Author and Cinema Sundays favorite, SAM WASSON, is our presenter. Because of the film’s length, the day will end at 6:30 pm.
April 29, 2018: THE WILD CHILD
Taken from a true account (1798) of “the wild child of Aveyron,” this nearly perfect film is a dispassionate, yet heartfelt look at education. François Truffaut directs and stars, as Dr. Itard, the teacher/researcher who tames the wild child. We are riveted from start to finish in this finely focused meditation on what we do with “the other,” and how we think about “the normal” and “the teachable.” Your host, TED WALCH, will hold forth with psychologist DR. SOPHIE WASSON.
May 6, 2018: TOOTSIE
Ranked #2 on AFI’s list of “Funniest American Movies of All Time,” Tootsie earns its laughs by digging deeply into a question that burns even more keenly today – what does gender really mean? It’s one of the funniest movies ever made. It’s also one of the most heartfelt. Your host loves this film, and he cannot wait to share it with you.
May 13, 2018: DAYS OF HEAVEN
A dark and haunting romantic drama, exquisitely told with fiercely spare dialogue and lush visual majesty, becomes a cinematic poem of rare beauty. Starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, and the late Sam Shepard, Days of Heaven is director Terrence Malick’s undisputed masterpiece. Alumnus and 2016 Cinema Studies Award Winner JAVI ARANGO, who last year explicated BIUTIFUL so eloquently, will present the film and take your questions.
May 20, 2018: SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN
What better way to close the season than with the sunniest, funniest, most infectiously entertaining movie musical ever made, Singin’ in the Rain. The late Debbie Reynolds was just 19 when she was cast alongside dancing giants Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor. Together, they dazzle. Our season began with a silent movie. Enjoy season’s end in this glorious movie musical set late in the silent era, when movies were beginning to find their voice and Hollywood was set on its ear in more ways than one. It just doesn’t get any better than Singin’ in the Rain.
For more information, please contact Ted Walch.