Tag Archives: Ron Robinson Theater

Terror Tuesdays return to CALS Ron Robinson Theater. Up first – NOSFERATU

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Nosferatu (1922, NR)

$2 Terror Tuesdays are back! The first one is tonight (June 4).

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, or simply Nosferatu, is a 1922 German Expressionist horror film, directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as the vampire Count Orlok.

The film, shot in 1921 and released in 1922, was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), as The Stoker Estate held the books copyright and refused permission. Various names and other details were changed from the novel including “vampire” to “Nosferatu” and “Count Dracula” to “Count Orlok.” Stoker’s heirs sued over the adaptation, and a court ruling ordered that all copies of the film be destroyed. However, a few prints of Nosferatu survived, and the film came to be regarded as an influential masterpiece of cinema.

The showing starts at 7pm.  Cost is $2. (Which begs the question: should this be called Terror TWOsday?)

Czech That Film festival returns to Little Rock for fifth year June 7 & 8

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On June 7-8, the Czech That Film (CTF) festival hits Little Rock packed with a program to whet any film-goer’s appetite: A guest director Jakub Šmíd in person and five stellar films showcasing the best in Czech cinema.

The Honorary Consulate of the Czech Republic has partnered with the Arkansas Cinema Society, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, and CALS Ron Robinson Theater to bring the the Czech That Film festival to Little Rock. The festival begins on June 7 with the family drama Short Cut (Na krátko). A Q&A with director Jakub Šmíd will follow the film screening.

On the following day, June 8, Ron Robinson will screen the drama/comedy Patrimony (Tátova Volha) followed by the sports drama The Golden Betrayal (Zlatý podraz). This will be followed by the Winter Flies (Všechno bude) film which received the Best Director award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival; and a historical drama Jan Palach (Jan Palach) honored with the best film award for 2018 from the Czech Film Critics’ Awards.

Q&A June 7th with
Director of SHORT CUT, Jakub Šmíd

Friday June 7th After-party
The Pantry Crest

Tickets can be purchased here.

End your May DAZED AND CONFUSED at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater

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Dazed and Confused PosterAlright, alright, alright!

Kick off the summer with the first screening in the CALS Ron Robinson Theater Rock & Reel film series: Dazed & Confused!

The screening starts at 7pm.  Admission is $5.

Richard Linklater’s coming-of-age film follows the mayhem of group of rowdy teenagers in Austin, Texas, celebrating the last day of high school in 1976.

The graduating class heads for a popular pool hall and joins an impromptu keg party, however star football player Randall “Pink” Floyd (Jason London) has promised to focus on the championship game and abstain from partying. Meanwhile, the incoming freshmen try to avoid being hazed by the seniors, most notably the sadistic bully Fred O’Bannion (Ben Affleck).

Others in the cast are Matthew McConaughey, Milla Jovovich, Rory Cochrane, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, Marissa Ribisi, Cole Hauser, Wiley Wiggins, Parker Posey, Nicky Katt, and Renee Zellweger.

Joey Lauren Adams also stars in the movie. When the Culture Vulture first saw the movie he said in a too loud voice in the Missouri movie theatre where the late night screening was taking place, “Oh my God! I went to high school with her!”

Tonight (5/28) at CALS Ron Robinson Theater – MASH

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MASH PosterAs the Vietnam War raged on, Robert Altman looked at another recent undeclared war, the Korean War. His 1970 film MASH is part of the CALS Ron Robinson Historic Cinema series.

This irreverent black comedy follows the exploits of a host of offbeat characters at a medical unit during the Korean War, including surgeons Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John McIntyre who create havoc with their martini parties and practical jokes while the war rages around them. The film won an Oscar for best screenplay (for Ring Lardner, Jr.) and spawned the successful television series M*A*S*H, which ran for 11 seasons.

The movie stars Donald Sutherland, Elliot Gould, Robert Duvall, Sally Kellerman, Tom Skerritt, Rene Auberjonois, Roger Bowen, Fred Williamson, and Michael Murphy (an Altman fixture). Gary Burghoff would be the only person to play the same role in the film and in the TV series.

Celebrate Memorial Day with Historic Cinema: MASH! Military members, veterans, and their families receive FREE admission. Cost for others is $5.  The screening starts at 7pm.

JAWS on the big screen tonight at CALS Ron Robinson Theater

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Jaws

duunnn dunnn… duuuunnnn duun… duuunnnnnnnn dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnn dunnnn

The terrifying motion picture from the terrifying No. 1 best seller – Steven Spielberg’s breakout movie Jaws will be shown at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater tonight as part of their “Movies Meant for the Big Screen” series.

Based on Peter Benchley’s bestselling book, the film starts Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss.  It is, in many ways, the ultimate Summer movie — beach, action, special effects, and a hearkening back to simpler times.

The cast also includes Lorraine Gray and Murray Hamilton as well as Bruce the Shark. Spielberg’s dog at the time also made an appearance.  It also features the iconic score by John Williams. Nominated for four Academy Awards, it won three: Score, Sound and Film Editing. The only Oscar it lost was Best Picture.

Originally slated for Christmas 1974 release, the movie was so far behind schedule the release did not happen until June 20, 1975. At the time, summer was the dumping ground for movies. But based on the success of Jaws, the concept of the Summer Blockbuster was born.

Tonight’s screening starts at 7pm.  Admission is $5.

Redford, Newman and Ross light up CALS Ron Robinson Theater screen tonight with BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID

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Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid

As part of the CALS Ron Robinson Theater’s series of films that turn 50 in 2019, tonight (May 21) they are showing Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Nominated for seven Oscars (and winner of four), this is the true story of fast-draws and wild rides, battles with posses, train and bank robberies, a torrid love affair and a new lease on outlaw life in far away Bolivia. It is also a character study of a remarkable friendship between Butch – possibly the most likable outlaw in frontier history – and his closest associate, the fabled, ever-dangerous Sundance Kid.

Directed by George Roy Hill, it paired Paul Newman and Robert Redford as the title characters.  Katharine Ross also starred in a cast that included Strother Martin, Henry Jones, Cloris Leachman, George Furth, Jeff Corey, and Kenneth Mars.  The screenplay was written by William Goldman.

The four Academy Awards were for Goldman’s Screenplay, Cinematography by Conrad L. Hall, Musical Score by Burt Bacharach, and Best Song by Bacharach and Hal David. The song was “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.”

The movie starts tonight at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater at 7pm.  Admission is $5.

(In 1969, the cost to see it was probably $1.50. With inflation, that would be close to $10 today. So a $5 movie ticket is like seeing it for half price in 1969.)