June 12, 2016 July Screenings Salute Olivia de Havilland, Foreign Films

The Library of Congress Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, will commemorate the 100th birthday of Academy Award-winning actress Olivia de Havilland with screenings of three of her films on consecutive Thursdays in July. Born on July 1, de Havilland was one of the leading movie stars of the golden age of Hollywood. The Library’s Film Preservation Lab produced new 35 mm prints of the three films—"The Great Garrick," "Four’s a Crowd" and "The Santa Fe Trail"—that will be shown during the month.

Guest programmer John Snelson, a processing technician in the Moving Image Section, has also selected a number of foreign films from the Library’s collection, including the 1964 Palme d’Or winner "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" and Pedro Almodovar’s "Talk to Her," which won the Academy Award for best writing of an original screenplay in 2003.

Also scheduled in July are two 1990s adaptations of children’s novels by Frances Hodgson Burnett: "A Little Princess" and "The Secret Garden," as well as the popular summer blockbuster "Jaws," which was added to the National Film Registry in 2001. For more information on the National Film Registry, visit loc.gov/film/filmnfr.html.

All Packard Campus 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. For general Packard Campus Theater information, call (540) 827-1079 ext. 79994 or (202) 707-9994. For further information on the theater and film series, visit loc.gov/avconservation/theater/. In case of inclement weather, call the theater information line no more than three hours before showtime to confirm cancellations.

The Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation is a state-of-the-art facility funded as a gift to the nation by the Packard Humanities Institute. The Packard Campus is the site where the nation’s library acquires, preserves and provides access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of motion pictures, television programs, radio broadcasts and sound recordings (loc.gov/avconservation/). The Packard Campus is home to more than 7 million collection items. It provides staff support for the Library of Congress National Film Preservation Board (loc.gov/film/), the National Recording Preservation Board (loc.gov/rr/record/nrpb/) and the national registries for film and recorded sound.

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States—and extensive materials from around the world—both on site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov, access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov, and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.

Library of Congress Packard Campus Theater Schedule

Thursday, July 7 (7:30 p.m.)
"The Great Garrick" (Warner Bros., 1937)
James Whale directed this entertaining fictional comedy based on a real person, the great 18th-century British actor David Garrick. Before Garrick (Brian Aherne) goes to Paris to star at the Comedie Francaise, the most important theatre in France, he is mistakenly quoted as saying that he is "going to France to teach the French how to act." The actors and director of the Comedie Francaise take this as a serious insult and thus plot to embarrass The Great Garrick with a great prank. Olivia de Havilland co-stars as the love interest with a supporting cast featuring Edward Everett Horton, Melville Cooper, Lionel Atwill and Lana Turner. A new 35-mm print of the film, recently produced by the Library of Congress Film Preservation Lab, will be screened.

Friday, July 8 (7:30 p.m.)
"The Killing Fields" (Warner Bros., 1984, R-rated *)
The true story of New York Times reporter Sidney Schanberg and his Cambodian friend Dith Pran during the U.S. pullout from Vietnam in 1975 and the horrors that followed. Director Roland Joffe and cinematographer Chris Menges create an intense film experience that is only truly captured by seeing it on the big screen in a theater. The cast includes Sam Waterston, John Malkovich, Spalding Gray and Haing S. Ngor. "The Killing Fields" won 29 major film awards, including Oscars for both Haing S. Ngor (best supporting actor) and Chris Menges (best cinematography).
*No one under the age of 17 will be admitted without a parent or guardian.

Saturday, July 9 (2 p.m.)
"Jaws" (Universal, 1975)
The original summer blockbuster, "Jaws" set the standard for edge-of-your-seat suspense, quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon and forever changing the movie industry. When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town’s chief of police (Roy Scheider), a young marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and a grizzled shark hunter (Robert Shaw) embark on a desperate quest to destroy it. Featuring an unforgettable score by John Williams that evokes pure terror, "Jaws" remains one of the most influential and gripping adventures in motion-picture history. Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film was added to the National Film Registry in 2001.

Saturday, July 9 (7:30 p.m.)
"The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" (Zeitgeist Films, 1964)
Actress Catherine Deneuve was launched to stardom by this dazzling musical heart-tugger from director Jacques Demy. Deneuve plays an umbrella-shop owner’s delicate daughter, glowing with first love for a handsome garage mechanic, played by Nino Castelnuovo. When the boy is shipped off to fight in Algeria, the two lovers must grow up quickly. Exquisitely designed in a kaleidoscope of colors and told entirely through the lilting songs of the great composer Michel Legrand, "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" is one of the most revered and unorthodox cinematic musical dramas of all time. Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival, the film is in French with English subtitles.

Thursday, July 14 (7:30 p.m.)
"Four’s a Crowd" (Warner Bros., 1938)
The four in the screwball comedy "Four’s a Crowd" are a quartet of Warner Brothers’ biggest stars of 1938—Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Rosalind Russell and Patric Knowles. Michael Curtiz directed the fast-paced romance that finds Flynn as a publicity agent hired to stir up "good press" for a nasty millionaire (Walter Connolly). Along the way he takes a job as an editor at a newspaper owned by Knowles and romances both de Havilland, who plays Connolly’s daughter, and Russell, a star reporter. A new 35-mm print of the film, recently produced by the Library of Congress Film Preservation Lab, will be screened.

Friday, July 15 (7:30 p.m.)
"Black Narcissus" (Universal, 1947)
This explosive work about the conflict between the spirit and the flesh is the epitome of the sensuous style of the British filmmaking team Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. A group of nuns—played by some of Britain’s finest actresses, including Deborah Kerr, Kathleen Byron and Flora Robson—struggle to establish a convent in the Himalayas, while isolation, extreme weather, altitude and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad. A darkly grand film that won Oscars for Alfred Junge’s art direction and Jack Cardiff’s cinematography, "Black Narcissus" is considered one of the greatest achievements by two of cinema’s true visionaries.

Saturday, July 16 (2 p.m.)
"A Little Princess" (Warner Bros., 1995)
In this film adaptation of the beloved children’s classic by Frances Hodgson Burnett set during WWI, a young girl, reared in India, lives an enchanted life filled with wealth, exotic adventures and a father’s love. However, when tragedy strikes, she must rely on her will and imagination to relive the joy of her wondrous childhood. From Academy Award-winning director Alfonso Cuarón ("Gravity," "Children of Men," "Harry Potter and The Prisoner Of Azkaban"), the film was critically acclaimed and garnered Oscar nominations for cinematography and art direction-set decoration. The film stars Eleanor Bron, Liam Cunningham (in a dual role) and Liesel Matthews as the title character, Sara Crewe.

Saturday, July 16 (7:30 p.m.)
"Monsoon Wedding" (USA Films, 2001, R-rated *)
Cultures and families clash in director Mira Nair’s beloved, insightful and energetic blend of Hollywood and Bollywood styles. Focusing on the preparations for the arranged marriage of a modern upper-middle-class Indian family’s only daughter, Aditi (Vasundhara Das), the exuberant and colorful "Monsoon Wedding" is a mix of comedy and chaotic melodrama and a celebration of modern-day India, family, love and life. Nair won the Golden Lion Award, the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival.
*No one under the age of 17 will be admitted without a parent or guardian.

Thursday, July 21 (7:30 p.m.)
"The Santa Fe Trail" (Warner Bros., 1940)
After graduating from West Point, Jeb Stuart (Errol Flynn) and George Custer (Ronald Reagan) are both stationed at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. Once there, they find that the abolitionist John Brown (Raymond Massey) is killing those who get in the way of his anti-slavery crusade. While the duo must work together to defeat Brown, they also come to blows over their competing love for Kit Carson Holliday (Olivia de Havilland). Michael Curtiz directed this entertaining action drama, based on historical events that climax with the attack at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. Among the stellar supporting cast are Alan Hale, Ward Bond and Van Heflin. A new 35-mm print of the film, recently produced by the Library of Congress Film Preservation Lab, will be screened.

Friday, July 22 (7:30 p.m.)
"Talk to Her" (Sony Pictures Classics, 2002, R-rated *)
Spanish auteur Pedro Almodovar’s Oscar-winning film (best writing for original screenplay) redefines love in all its weird and surprising permutations with this characteristically eccentric tale involving a lady bullfighter, a male nurse, a ballet dancer and a journalist with hyperactive tear ducts. A precarious balance between comedy and drama, "Talk to Her" is ultimately a tribute to the hypnotic quality of its storytelling—the balm that words provide, the infinite variations of rending compassion and artistry, and the ease with which it invites tears or laughter. Almodovar also received an Oscar nomination for best direction. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles.
*No one under the age of 17 will be admitted without a parent or guardian.

Saturday, July 23 (2 p.m.)
"The Secret Garden" (Warner Bros., 1995)
In this story, based on the classic family novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, a young girl sent to live in her uncle’s forbidding Victorian manor discovers an invalid cousin and a garden that has fallen into disrepair. As the two children nurture their secret place, they discover wonder, power and magic within the garden. Produced by Francis Ford Coppola ("The Godfather," "Apocalypse Now") and directed by multiple award-winning Polish director Agnieszka Holland, the film stars Kate Maberly as Mary Lennox and Maggie Smith, who received a BAFTA Award nomination for best supporting actress for her role as Mrs. Medlock.

Saturday, July 23 (7:30 p.m.)
"Underground" (New Yorker Films, 1995)
Director Emir Kusturica’s epic black comedy about Yugoslavian gun-runners and racketeers won the Palme d’Or, the highest honor at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. In his New York Daily News review, Dave Kerr said, "’Underground’ represents one of those rare, exhilarating moments when an outsize artistic vision is fueled by an apparently unlimited budget. Not to be missed!!" Featuring multiple languages with English subtitles, the film is not rated, but contains adult subject matter.

Friday, July 29 (7:30 p.m.)
Dennis Hopper Double Feature
"The American Dreamer" (Corda Productions, 1971)
Filmed after Dennis Hopper’s breakout hit as writer-director and star of "Easy Rider," and in the midst of his follow-up "Last Movie," this documentary was little-seen. The high-definition digital copy is on loan from Vinegar Syndrome distribution company and film archive.

"The Last Movie" (Universal, 1971– R-rated *)
Dennis Hopper wrote, directed and stars in this tale of a stunt man working on a Western being shot on location in Peru. When he stays behind after the crew leaves, he discovers that the villagers are ritualistically re-enacting the making of the film, but they don’t understand that all the violence they’d seen was make-believe. Seen as an allegory of Hollywood’s cultural imperialism, the film won the Critics Prize at the 1971 Venice Film Festival. The cast also includes Julie Adams, Peter Fonda, Kris Kristofferson, Michelle Phillips and Dean Stockwell. László Kovács, winner of the American Society of Cinematographers Lifetime Achievement Award, was the film’s cinematographer. The 35-mm print is courtesy of the Academy Film Archives.
*No one under the age of 17 will be admitted without a parent or guardian.

Saturday, July 30 (6 p.m.)
"La belle noiseuse" (MK2 Diffusion, 1991)
A renowned artist (Michel Piccoli) attempts to create his definitive painting of the female form with his wife as his muse. Unable to find his voice, he quits painting. Ten year later and at the age of 60, he attempts to finish the art piece with a new muse. Legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa named "La belle noiseuse" as one of his two favorite films made in the 1990s, calling it the best cinematic depiction of an artist struggling with his craft. This rare screening of Jacques Rivette’s four-hour masterpiece will be presented on 35 mm and un-cut with an intermission. The film won the Grand Prix and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. It is in French and English with English subtitles. It is not rated, but contains adult subject matter.