Event Film and Video Screenings "Alice's Restaurant" (United Artists, 1969 – rated R*)

Arlo Guthrie plays himself in this comedy-drama directed by Arthur Penn, based on Guthrie’s eighteen-minute talking blues ballad "The Alice's Restaurant Massacree." This deadpan protest against the Vietnam War draft follows a comically exaggerated but essentially true story from Guthrie's own life: he is arrested and convicted of illegally dumping trash on Thanksgiving Day, which later leads to him being rejected by the draft board due to his criminal record of littering. Pat Quinn as Alice Brock and James Broderick as Ray Brock co-star in fictional parts of the story and folk singer Pete Seeger appears as himself, performing "Pastures of Plenty" and the "Car-Car Song" with Arlo. Guthrie’s album "The Alice's Restaurant Massacree" was added to the National Recording Registry in 2017 and it is a Thanksgiving tradition at many radio stations across the country. Filmed in and around Stockbridge Massachusetts, “Alice’s Restaurant” received an Oscar nomination for Best Director. Digital presentation, 111 min.* No one under the age of 17 will be admitted without a parent or guardian.

Programs are free and open to the public, but children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Seating at the screenings is on a first-come, first-served basis unless otherwise noted. Short films may be shown before some features.

For general Packard Campus Theater information, call (540) 827-1079 ext. 79994 or (202) 707-9994.