July 2 – July 31, 2023 Ultra Cinematheque 70 Fest 2023 Festival | LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, BOOGIE NIGHTS, TENET, THE UNTOUCHABLES, SPARTACUS, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, THE MASTER, THE WILD BUNCH, LAST ACTION HERO, ROMA, INHERENT VICE, APOCALYPSE NOW, BABYLON, ONCE UPON A TIME IN… HOLLYWOOD, NOPE, YEAR OF THE DRAGON, LICORICE PIZZA, MALCOLM X and ZOOT SUIT Aero Theatre
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL: The Golden Age of 70mm filmmaking from 1955 to 1970 brought us nearly 60 Hollywood features, among them such masterpieces as SPARTACUS, THE WILD BUNCH, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (the AC has struck prints of these last two exclusively for our audiences). Our July salute to the large-screen format also includes Martin Scorsese’s beautiful, personal 70mm print of APOCALYPSE NOW, which has not been screened in over 20 years, and is considered a prized possession in the George Eastman Museum archives. 70mm filmmaking has never really gone away – in the 1980s, Luis Valdez put it to impressive use with the Chicano classic ZOOT SUIT, being screened the first time since 1981. Michael Cimino follows with the American neo-noir crime thriller YEAR OF THE DRAGON as does Brian De Palma with THE UNTOUCHABLES. The 1990s produced Spike Lee’s biographical critically acclaimed drama MALCOLM X and John McTiernan’s action-packed LAST ACTION HERO. In recent years, a new generation has embraced large-format presentations. Alfonso Cuarón’s 2018 Academy Award winning ROMA and Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 ONCE UPON A TIME IN… HOLLYWOOD used the format for ambitious period pieces. Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi action thriller TENET, Damien Chazelle’s epic period drama BABYLON, and Jordan Peele’s uncanny sci-fi western NOPE bring 70mm into the 2020s. Paul Thomas Anderson’s 70mm Thursdays this month will include THE MASTER, BOOGIE NIGHTS, INHERENT VICE and LICORICE PIZZA.