Jeff Bridges earned an Oscar nomination for his first major film, 1971’s THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, and in the years since has proven himself to be one of America’s most versatile actors, equally at home in big-budget spectacles (TRON, IRON MAN) and character-driven indies (AMERICAN HEART, THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR). A charismatic leading man in films such as AGAINST ALL ODDS and TUCKER: THE MAN AND HIS DREAM, Bridges is also an accomplished character actor, with turns as a naïve alien (STARMAN, for which he garnered another of his Academy Award nominations), Clint Eastwood’s sidekick (THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT, yet another Oscar nomination), and a haunted shock jock (THE FISHER KING) among his many credits.

Join us at the Cinematheque as we honor Bridges with a tribute that includes some of his finest work from the past as well as his latest acclaimed performance in CRAZY HEART.

Series compiled by Grant Moninger and Gwen Deglise. Program notes by Jim Hemphill.

Saturday, January 16 - 8:00 PM SOLD OUT

Jeff Bridges In Person! Double Feature: CRAZY HEART, 2009, 112 min. Fox Searchlight, Dir. Scott Cooper. Jeff Bridges gives one of the best performances of his career as Bad Blake, a once-popular country musician who has been reduced to low-paying gigs in bowling alleys with teenage backup bands. When a young journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal) tracks him down for an interview, Bad Blake embarks on a relationship fraught with risks on both sides. Robert Duvall and Colin Farrell provide support. Trailer | Official Website

THE BIG LEBOWSKI, 1998, Universal, 117 min. Dir. Joel Coen. The Dude (a perfectly cast Jeff Bridges) decides to seek satisfaction when he’s mistaken by some hoods for his uptight, multi-millionaire namesake, Jeffrey Lebowski (David Huddleston). Enlisting the help of his best bowling buddies, short-fuse ‘Nam vet Walter (a brilliantly misguided John Goodman) and wimpy Donny (Steve Buscemi), the Dude is determined to get to the bottom of the confusion of identities. Discussion in between films with actor Jeff Bridges. Trailer

Sunday, January 17 – 7:30 PM

Double Feature: STARMAN, 1984, Sony Repertory, 115 min. Dir. John Carpenter. Oscar-nominated Jeff Bridges delivers a wonderfully offbeat performance as an alien struggling to understand humanity while traveling cross-country with widow Karen Allen – who struggles with the fact that the alien has reincarnated itself in the form of her late husband! Trailer

THE FISHER KING, 1991, Sony Repertory, 137 min. Dir. Terry Gilliam. Jeff Bridges pulls out all the stops as a shattered shock jock trying to escape self-pity and remorse, and Robin Williams is the sanity-challenged homeless vagabond who helps him in director Terry Gilliam’s modern fable of love and redemption. Co-starring Mercedes Ruehl (who won an Academy Award as Supporting Actress), Amanda Plummer, and Harry Shearer. Trailer

Wednesday, January 20 - 7:30 PM

Double Feature: CUTTER'S WAY, 1981, MGM Repertory, 105 min. Dir. Ivan Passer. When Richard Bone (Jeff Bridges) spots a guy dumping something in a garbage can on a rainy night, he doesn’t think much of it – until he learns that a murder took place in the same area. When Bone is placed at the scene and becomes a suspect, he and his friend Alex Cutter (John Heard) try to solve the crime, but find themselves awash in conspiracy theories and moral ambiguities.