February 14, 2012

6:30 p.m.

Romeo and Juliet

George Cukor directed this 1936 adaptation of Shakespere's tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer play the love-struck couple whose families are sworn enemies. Both speak the elegant, refined words of Shakespeare with a strongly believable conviction and are perfectly paired, despite their ages. The supporting cast includes John Barrymore as Mercutio, Basil Rathbone as Tybalt, Edna May Oliver as the Nurse, with Agnes de Mille as choreographer. The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor, Best Actress, Best Art Direction, and Best Picture. (125 min.)

March 13, 2012

6:30 p.m.

Everything is Illuminated

Everything is Illuminated is a 2005 film adapted from the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer. Elijah Wood plays Jonathan, who goes on a quest to find the woman who saved his grandfather during the Holocaust in a small Ukranian town wiped off the map by the Nazis. Helped by Alex, a hip-hop obsessed tour guide, Alex's grandfather, and a dog named Sammy Davis Junior Junior, Jonathan searches for the meaning of the present that lies buried in the past, unexpectedly shedding light on the lives of those around him.

April 10, 2012

6:30 p.m.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Showing at the Newport

Performing Arts Center

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 film based on Ken Kesey's 1962 novel. Jack Nicholson stars as Randle McMurphy, an anti-authoritarian criminal who is transferred to a mental hospital. He soon locks horns with Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), who keeps order in the ward through humiliation, unpleasant medical treatments and a mind-numbing daily routine. The film was the second in history to win all five major Academy Awards: Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role, Actress in a Leading Role, Director, and Screenplay.

The Outsiders is a 1983 film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on S. E. Hinton's novel. In 1960s Oklahoma, two poor "Greasers," Johnny and Ponyboy, are assaulted by a vicious gang of rich kids, the "Socs." Johnny kills one of the attackers in self-defense, setting off a turbulent chain of events that changes their lives forever. Starring C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Ralph Macchio, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, and Leif Garrett, this is the film that launched the careers of the Brat Pack.