Laemmle Through the Decades: 1938-2008 ~ 70 Years in 7 Days

In celebration of its 70th anniversary, Laemmle Theatres is pleased to present LAEMMLE THROUGH THE DECADES: 1938 – 2008, 70 YEARS IN 7 DAYS. Laemmle will show seven foreign language cinematic classics that have graced its screens, each one representing a decade of the company’s existence and screening several times per day. The series will run from Friday, December 12th through the 18th at the Royal Theatre in West Los Angeles. All net proceeds from the box office will be donated to the Library Foundation of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Conservancy via the Laemmle Theatres Charitable Foundation. All films will screen from high quality 35 mm prints that have been restored when necessary.

December 12, 2008
1938 – 1947
CHILDREN OF PARADISE (1945)

December 13, 2008
1948 – 1957
LA STRADA (1954)

December 14, 2008
1958 – 1967
JULES & JIM (1962)

December 15, 2008
1968 – 1977
THE CONFORMIST (1970)

December 16, 2008
1978 – 1987
FANNY & ALEXANDER (1982)

December 17, 2008
1988 –1997
WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN (1988)

December 18, 2008
1998 – 2007
Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN (2001)

This series was curated by Greg Laemmle. Here are his notes:

Let’s start by admitting that this entire exercise is insane. Worse than an annual top 10 list. Worse than the Oscars. I mean seriously, how can you try to sum up seven decades of film exhibition and of cinema history with seven movies? It can’t be done or at the very least it can’t be done well. So we accept all complaints and corrections as valid. How could we not include a film by so-and-so, and why isn’t classic film X part of the program? You’re right. I promise we’ll try to do a better job at our next significant anniversary should business conditions allow us to survive as an independent, family-run operation for another five or 15 or 25 years.


So how did we go about picking these seven films? Well, we’ve been the home for any number of English-language foreign films, whether that’s meant premiering the costume dramas of Merchant-Ivory, or the breakthrough films of the Australian New Wave. We’ve also supported American independent filmmakers over the years, from pioneers like Orson Welles and John Cassavetes, to later filmmakers like John Sayles, Alan Rudolph, Wayne Wang and Jim Jarmusch, and on into the cross-over successes of the current Sundance generation.

But I’d like to think that when people think of something as a “Laemmle” movie, that’s often shorthand for “subtitled.” And we embrace that. After all, the motto on our t-shirts is, “Not Afraid of Subtitles.” So for this anniversary we’re going to stick with foreign-language fare. Perhaps that’s an arbitrary decision. But as I said at the beginning, this whole exercise is a little bit crazy.

1938 – 1947
Our first decade of operation. What are we doing here? My grandfather Max was doing independent film distribution in Paris. His brother Kurt was running a neighborhood theatre in Lowell, Indiana. Originally born in Germany, the brothers knew that it wasn’t safe for any member of the family to stay anywhere in Europe. Max was driven by a desire to bring European films to America. And Kurt, ever the more pragmatic of the two, knew that they could make a living and support their new families in exhibition. So they settled on L.A. – why I don’t know – and went into business, operating two neighborhood theatres in the Highland Park area. Mostly they showed Hollywood films, double bills off the break, with kiddie matinees on the weekend and raffles during the week. But always in the mix were the occasional films from Europe. Any of the pre-war works of Jean Renoir, Fritz Lang or Sergei Eistenstein could (well) represent this period of time. But my grandfather’s favorite was CHILDREN OF PARADISE (LES ENFANTS DU PARADIS) a film produced in Paris under the watchful eyes of the German occupation. And seemingly, a film directed by no one. I mean, scan the list of films we’ve chosen, and you can immediately name the director and probably rattle off several other items on their filmography. But quick, name another film directed by Marcel Carné. No matter. This film, consistently ranked as one of the greatest works in the history of cinema, is a joy to watch. Amazingly fresh, consistently enjoyable, alive with the magic of cinema, we can’t think of a better film to open this series.

1948 – 1957
While the world recovers from the horrors of war, the U.S. becomes infatuated with the introduction of television. Not good for the neighborhood film business. Our chain, which had grown to include six theatres throughout L.A., shrinks to just one venue, the Los Feliz. And with the reduced circumstances, Kurt voluntarily leaves to find another career, leaving his brother Max to carry on. More and more, the emphasis shifts away from playing Hollywood films and toward programming of art and foreign films. As luck would have it, the timing couldn’t be better. Japanese cinema enters the world’s consciousness with landmark works by Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujiro Ozu. In France, Jean Cocteau and Marcel Ophüls produce some of their best work. And in Sweden, the early works of Ingmar Bergman come to light. But the defining foreign films of this period are the Neo-Realist films from Italy, led by Roberto Rosselini, Vitorrio De Sica and others. Our choice to represent this decade is Federico Fellini’s LA STRADA, winner of the first Oscar for Best Foreign Language film. Although Fellini would move far away from neo-realism in his later works, this deeply moving film is firmly rooted in that style. Marked by terrific performances by Anthony Quinn and Guilietta Masina, LA STRADA strikes a chord with American audiences and serves as an introduction for many to the joys of foreign film.

1958 – 1967
If the previous decade belonged to the Italians, this decade belongs to the French. From the moment François Truffaut’s 400 BLOWS premieres, followed a year later by Godard’s BREATHLESS, American audiences look forward to every new film from the French New Wave. The “major” films premiere at the Monica Theatre on Santa Monica Boulevard (now the Tomkat) or the Sunset (at Sunset and Western), so the Los Feliz ends up with move-over engagements and premieres of the “smaller” films. But there’s nothing “small” about films like Louis Malle’s ZAZIE DANS LE METRO, Jacques Demy’s BAY OF ANGELS, Claude Chabrol’s LES COUSINS, or Agnes Varda’s CLEO FROM 5 TO 7. Even Roger Vadim gets into the swing of things with a spectacularly jazzy version of LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES. Max’s son Robert joins and expands the company, opening the Esquire in Pasadena in 1964 and the Regent in Westwood in 1966. As we complete our third decade of operation, we program a move-over engagement of Claude Lelouch’s A MAN AND A WOMEN into the Regent, where it runs for almost two straight years! So which film do we chose to represent these years? If you are looking for l’amour, look no further than Truffaut’s JULES AND JIM. Jeanne Moreau stars as the apex in a triangle relationship that starts in pre-World War I Paris. The cinematography of Raoul Coutard and Georges Delerue’s memorable score help make this one of the most perfectly realized films.

1968 – 1977
Revolution is in the air, both on the streets and the screen. When we play THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS, a group of Black Panthers shows up one night, followed by a group of LAPD officers the next night. When Costa-Gavras’ Z premieres at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival, and later wins the 1970 Oscar for Best Foreign film, the audience’s interest in political cinema is made crystal clear. Foreign films no longer have a lock on adult subject matter, though. Stanley Donen’s TWO FOR THE ROAD demonstrates a new level of maturity for Hollywood, and a new generation of filmmakers rushes in to change American cinema forever. But foreign filmmakers still lead the way in crafting works that push the envelope both politically and sexually, and no filmmaker better defines this new focus than Bernardo Bertolucci. For this series we chose THE CONFORMIST, based on Alberto Moravia’s novel about a man who agrees to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident, in order to rise up the fascist ranks in Mussolini’s Italy. Stars Jean-Louis Trintignant and Stefania Sandrelli are beautifully captured by Vittorio Storaro’s cinematography in a film that demands to be seen on the big screen. Bertolucci went on to direct (in rapid succession) THE SPIDER’S STRATAGEM, LAST TANGO IN PARIS and 1900. On the strength of these titles, we can’t think of a better filmmaker to represent this period.

1978 – 1987
Enthralled with blockbusters like JAWS and STAR WARS, Hollywood turns away from the adult themes that had characterized the films of the late 60’s and early 70’s. Audiences looking for films that push the boundaries must again look overseas, and new voices begin to emerge. Some come from familiar places, like Jean Jacques Beneix in France with his stylish DIVA, one of the biggest hits of the period. Others, like Bruno Barreto and Carlos Diegues of the Cinema Novo movement from Brazil, or Paul Verhoeven from the Netherlands, expand the cinematic map. But the old giants of foreign film continue to produce seminal works too. Truffaut’s THE LAST METRO, Kurosawa’s RAN, and Fellini’s AND THE SHIP SAILS ON all demonstrate that the old masters can still draw an audience. And no movie better demonstrates this than Bergman’s FANNY & ALEXANDER. Working without any of his usual stars, but with his cinematographer Sven Nykvist, this perfectly crafted film is powerfully alive in a way that most period costume dramas are not. Robert’s son Greg joins the company around this time. VHS takes hold, a format that favors English-language films, which paves the way for the rise of American indie movies.

1988 – 1997
Audience familiarity with foreign directors declines as one after another talented directors abandon their native lands to make films in Hollywood. Paul Verhoeven, so stylish and mature with films like SOLDIER OF ORANGE and SPETTERS, is reduced to directing ROBOCOP and SHOWGIRLS. Lasse Hallström makes just one foreign hit with MY LIFE AS A DOG before moving on to Hollywood films like ONCE AROUND and SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT. One wonders how many more (and better) films talented directors like these would have been able to make had they stayed home and avoided the delays and mediocrity of Hollywood development hell. So to mark this period, our sixth decade in existence, we choose to honor Pedro Almodóvar, a filmmaker who avoided the siren call of Hollywood. His work from earlier in the 80’s – films like WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS, MATADOR and LAW OF DESIRE – established a following among the critics. But with the release of WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN in 1988, Almodóvar breaks through to a wider audience. He follows in quick succession with TIE ME UP! TIE ME DOWN! (1990), HIGH HEELS (1991), KIKA (1993), THE FLOWER OF MY SECRET, (1995) and LIVE FLESH (1997). That his work reaches an even greater level of maturity in the coming decade does nothing to take away from Almodóvar’s supreme contribution to foreign language cinema in this period. While other filmmakers may have contributed individual films that had more popular appeal, no other body of work can compare to Pedro’s.

1998 – 2007
If in the previous decade, we complained about the trend of foreign filmmakers migrating to Hollywood, in this decade we celebrate the return of so many to their native lands. Ang Lee returned to China to make CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, the highest-grossing foreign language film in history. Jean-Pierre Jeunet returned to France after his Hollywood stint to direct AMELIE and A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT. And Paul Verhoeven, after doing 20 years in Hollywood, returned to the Netherlands (and terrific form) with BLACK BOOK in 2006. These are just a few examples, with other filmmakers like Guillermo del Toro and John Woo proving that this can (hopefully) be seen as something of an ongoing trend. To honor this fabulous development, we choose Alfonso Cuarón’s Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN as the best representative of the world of subtitled film in this period. Diego Luna and Gabriel García Bernal together with the beautiful Maribel Verdú form a triangle relationship that obliquely examines the politics of modern-day Mexico through the framework of a coming-of-age story that could almost be pitched at a studio as a teen sex comedy. With great acting, a fabulous screenplay, and an arresting visual style, this is a film that will be remembered long after other, more commercially successful films have fallen in esteem. It’s that good!

Royal Theatre, 11523 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Los Angeles
(310) 477-5581

www.laemmle.com

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