Fassbinder’s Berlin Alexanderplatz
VISIT BAM/PFA
Museum Admission is FREE and PFA tickets are 5.50 each with your Cal ID!
To buy advance tickets just click here.
In 1919, Hollywood heavyweights D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Charles Chaplin founded their own company, United Artists. The idea was a "studio without a studio," a company that acted simply as a distributor rather than a conventional Hollywood conglomerate. To some it might have been crazy, but the concept worked, and by the fifties United Artists was one of the most important companies in American cinema. This anniversary series traces the studio's influential and eclectic roster of films from the silent era right into the 1980s, from blockbuster hits to low budget gems.
JUL 5- AUG 31
In the 1950s, television had been introduced, the population moved farther away from theaters, and the film industry suffered greatly. A solution was found in a novelty: widescreen. When 20th Century Fox unveiled Cinemascope in 1953, it introduced the widescreen format to the world—and the other studios quickly latched onto the success with their own versions. Widescreen extended the movie screen to twice its previous width, a proportion televisions could not produce. For some it remained simply a spectacle to attract an audience, but for others it provided an opportunity for cinematic innovation. This celebration mixes westerns, melodramas, thrillers, musicals, and science fiction films that absolutely must be experienced on the big wide screen.
JUL 5- AUG 30
8:50, Saturday, July 5, PFA Theater
Dr. No
What is it? Sean Connery plays the original—and greatest—James Bond. In his debut film, Bond encounters assassins, car chases, megalomaniacal baddies with elaborate headquarters, scantily clad women, and even deadly tarantulas.
Why we picked it: Because it's the original James Bond! Connery's suave performance and the movie's ludicrous plot make this a must-see—a classic of the 60s spy genre.
If you like this movie, check out United Artists: 90 Years.
6:30, Saturday, July 12, PFA Theater
The Apartment
What is it? Jack Lemmon plays CC Baxter, a nebbish desk jockey who climbs the corporate ladder by lending out his apartment to office bigwigs cheating on their wives. But when his boss uses the apartment to meet the girl Baxter loves (Shirley Maclaine), our hero's world is turned upside down.
Why we picked it: This classic comedy treads dangerously close to tragedy, but stellar performances and Billy Wilder's phenomenal direction make it a rare film: a comedy with a hint of gravity.
If you like this movie, check out United Artists: 90 Years.
7:30, Wednesday, July 16, PFA Theater
La dolce vita
What is it? Set in Rome in the 1950s, the film tracks seven days and seven nights in the life of Marcello (Marcello Mastroianni), a reporter who covers movie stars, religious visions, and the decadent aristocracy.
Why we picked it: La Dolce Vita is usually cited as the film that signals the split between
Federico Fellini's earlier neo-realist films and his later, more surreal films.
If you like this movie, check out The Long View: A Celebration of Widescreen.
6:30, Thursday, July 17, PFA Theater
Manhattan
What is it? Woody Allen stars as Isaac Davis, a twice-divorced 42-year old writer who must juggle his lesbian ex-wife (Meryl Streep), his 17-year old girlfriend (Mariel Hemingway), and his best friend's mistress (Diane Keaton).
Why we picked it: The comically brilliant film is a great representation of the culturally prominent movies that United Artists is famous for.
If you like this movie, check out United Artists: 90 Years
8:40, Thursday, July 24, PFA Theater
Los Olvidados
What is it? The story of a group of unfortunate, destitute children in the slums of Mexico City—a world of crime, murder, and vengeance.
Why we picked it: A native Spaniard, director Luis Buñuel employs elements of Italian neorealism to make one of the quintessential films of Mexican cinema.
If you like this movie, check out Hecho por México: The Films of Gabriel Figueroa.
8:45, Saturday, August 2 PFA Theater
Pierrot le fou
What is it? Ferdinand Griffon (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is unhappily married and recently fired from his job at a TV broadcasting company. After a boring party in Paris, he decides to leave his wife and children for his baby-sitter, an ex-girlfriend, Marianne Renoir (Anna Karina).
Why we picked it: As with many of Jean-Luc Godard's movies, no scenario was written until the day before shooting and many scenes were improvised by the actors. Pierrot le fou is his tenth feature film.
If you like this movie, check out The Long View: A Celebration of Widescreen.
3:30, Sunday, August 17, PFA Theater
Lawrence of Arabia
What is it? The film chronicles the emotional, violent life of T.E. Lawrence, a British writer and diplomat who became deeply involved in the struggle between Arabs and Turks in Arabia during World War I.
Why we picked it: The film is one of the greatest historical epics in the history of cinema.
If you like this movie, check out The Long View: A Celebration of Widescreen.
8:40, Friday, August 22, PFA Theater
2001: A Space Odyssey
What is it? Stanley Kubrick presents a futuristic view (circa 1968) of space travel and man's complicated relationship with technology.
Why we picked it: Boasting highly sophisticated visual and sound effects, 2001 is frequently recognized as one of the best movies of all time.
If you like this movie, check out The Long View: A Celebration of Widescreen.
7:00, Thursday, August 28, PFA Theater
West Side Story
What is it? Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet placed in the context of the slums of 20th century New York City.
Why we picked it: Love, ethnic conflict, and gang warfare meet extravagant dancing, gorgeous songs, and vibrant color.
If you like this movie, check out The Long View: A Celebration of Widescreen and United Artists: 90 Years.
At the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, there is so much to see and so little time. That’s where the Student Committee Picks come in: every month we pick a few films and museum programs that we feel you would enjoy. We do our best to highlight programs from each exhibition and film series so you get a taste of BAM/PFA’s diverse programming. For each selected film, we describe the film, explain why we selected it, and recommend connected programs to further your viewing experience. Also, we bring to your attention important dates and times of gallery tours and events pertaining to the exhibitions at the museum. Enjoy!
Make sure to check out the new Picks each month!
In his latest project, artist, writer, and geographer Trevor Paglen looks to the sky and finds a type of dark matter—the hypothetical form of matter known not for its visibility but rather for its indirect interactions with galaxies and stars. Paglen examines the "missing" matter of the US government's intelligence activities: a world that hides in plain sight, visible to the naked eye. The mysteries of the sky and space are captured in his photographs of top-secret US satellites. Paglen's "other night sky" is another view of something that we take for granted, a world beyond the visible and obvious.
Through SEP 14
