The Boys in the Band
Landmark’s Magnolia Theatre shows its commitment to classic film (and not just the hottest new Hollywood releases) with its weekly Big Movie New Classic Series. Each Tuesday night at 7:30 and 10 p.m., the Uptown arthouse screens a different film with contemporary appeal, from modern comedies to Golden Age epics to camp classics and more — many with gay themes (hey, Dallas Voice is the sponsor). The lineup, released quarterly, helps movie buffs plan their Tuesdays all the way from now through Thanksgiving.
Here, then, is this quarter’s lineup:.
Dec. 1: Saturday Night Fever. A star-making performance by John Travolta, and the movie that made disco an unstoppable craze… for a while.
Dec. 8: In Cold Blood. Truman Capote’s “true crime novel” about a brutal mass murder turned into a compelling film.
Dec. 15: Oliver! Lionel Bart wrote and scored this enchanting adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel, a dark and poignant musical that won five Oscars. 7:30 p.m. only.
Dec. 22: A Christmas Story. Don’t wait for the Christmas Day marathon — see the holiday classic as it was meant to be seen: on the big screen.
Jan 12: The Magnificent Seven. A Western based on Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, it launched Steve McQueen’s career.
Jan. 19: The Boys in the Band. For decades, the seminal “gay film,” about a gay man’s birthday party and the drama (and comedy) that derives from it. The feature film debut of director William Friedkin.
Jan. 26: Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Stanley Kubrick’s scathing black comedy about nuclear annihilation, with Peter Sellers performing three roles.
Feb. 2: On the Town. Sailors on leave paint the town red in this Freed Unit classic with Gene Kellly and Frank Sinatra.
Feb. 9: Mildred Pierce. Joan Crawford won her only Oscar as the doting mother of a spoiled child. Well-acted, but endlessly campy today.
Feb. 16: The Grapes of Wrath. Henry Fonda became an American icon with this career-defining role as an Okie on the march from the Dust Bowl and in search of life in California.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition November 20, 2015.