Ivan the Terrible, Parts I & II

July 10 - July 11

This two-part historical epic, Sergei Eisenstein's final film, depicts the life and murderous exploits of the sixteenth-century Ivan IV, the first czar and unifier of the Russian people. A spectacle of baroque splendor, the film opens with the teenaged ruler's opulent coronation in 1546. As Ivan struggles to consolidate his power by expanding his territory eastward, he attracts the enmity of the Russian nobility—especially his aunt, who plots to put her son, a simpleton, on the throne—and "the boyars," a centuries-old alliance of high-ranking landowners who refuse to swear allegiance to Ivan's one-year-old son. As the battles rage and the court intrigue plays out, Eisenstein's command of light and shadow creates a series of dynamic, eye-filling scenes. This unique visual quality, featuring ornate set design and costumes, along with a performance style influenced by Russian classicism, grand opera, and Kabuki theater, makes Ivan the Terrible, Parts I & II one of the great masterpieces of world cinema. With a symphonic score by Sergei Prokofiev. "A majestic synthesis of disparate forms…seems to be as much a ballet or an opera or a moving painting (or a mutant kabuki show) as it is a movie."—J. Hoberman.

New 35mm print supplied by Seagull Films.

BIGGER THAN LIFE: James Mason on Film

July 17 - August 1

James Mason was born in Yorkshire on May 15, 1909. Abandoning architecture for acting, Mason got his break in 1933 when Alexander Korda invited him to join the Old Vic. His prominence as a stage actor led to a string of low-budget British movies culminating in 1946 with his acclaimed performance as a wounded Irish revolutionary in Carol Reed's Odd Man Out. Arriving in Hollywood a year later, he rapidly became one of the cinema's most unlikely and distinctive leading men. Blessed with dark good looks and a mellifluous voice, Mason possessed an uncanny ability to suggest rampant emotion beneath a demeanor of absolute calm, and he projected an other-worldliness and melancholy that allowed him to play both romantic leads and charismatic villains. With age, Mason remained in demand as a prestigious supporting actor in a wide range of roles. Though known as a man who preferred his privacy to the public life of an international star, Mason was nonetheless an indefatigable worker: the last of his astonishing 151 films and television credits came in 1985, a year after he died of a heart attack at his home in Switzerland.

This centenary tribute comprised of ten films contains many of James Mason's most memorable performances: the mysterious, haunted sailor in the ravishing Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (screened in a new restored color print); the alcoholic, suicidal actor Norman Maine in A Star is Born (for which he received one of three Oscar nominations), the loving family man Ed Avery who is transformed into a psychotic bully by the new "miracle drug" cortisone in Bigger Than Life; the tragic, despotic visionary Captain Nemo in Disney's spectacular adaptation of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; and, in a tailor-made role turned down by most Hollywood actors, Humbert Humbert, the erudite pedophile and sardonic narrator of Nabokov's and Kubrick's Lolita.

Julie & Julia

July 28

Writer-director Nora Ephron’s beguiling new comedy intertwines the true stories of two women: Julia Child (Meryl Streep), a 39-year-old housewife on the road to becoming a chef extraordinaire in 1950s Paris; and Julie Powell (Amy Adams), a 29-year-old Brooklyn secretary at a crossroads in life who vows to make the 564 recipes in Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 365 days. Though separated by time and space, Julie and Julia both discover that the right combination of passion, fearlessness, and butter makes anything possible. 

View the film's trailer here.

Screening courtesy of Sony Pictures.

Being Jewish in France (Comme un Juif en France)

August 7 - August 9

Yves Jeuland's sweeping new documentary explores the rich and complex history of Jews in France, the first country to grant them citizenship. Beginning with Revolutionary cries of "Vive la France" in Yiddish, the film explores the explosive Dreyfus Affair, the Vichy government's collaboration with the Nazis, and the absorption of Sephardic Jews from Arab countries in the decades after WWII. With interviews with more than a dozen leading French politicians, intellectuals, and artists-amid a treasure trove of archival material—Being Jewish in France masterfully interweaves human testimony and historical evidence. Narrated by Mathieu Almaric, a regular in Arnaud Desplechin's films and the star of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, the film won the Jewish Experience Award at the Jerusalem International Film Festival.

Special thanks to Lisa Rivo, The National Center for Jewish Film.

Léon Morin, Priest

August 14 - August 15

During the Occupation in a provincial French village, Communist widow Riva becomes enthralled by serenely devout Belmondo, fresh off Breathless and switching gears from hardboiled gangster to enigmatic man of the cloth. Under the taut direction of noir master (and Jewish atheist) Jean-Pierre Melville and based on an autobiographical novel by Beatrice Beck, the platonic encounters and intellectual jousts of this unlikely couple are at once erotic and cerebral. This reissue of a film rarely seen on the big screen may help to secure its place in the canon of transcendental cinema.

Read a review by Manohla Dargis in The New York Times here.

New 35mm print supplied by Rialto Pictures.

Program Notes
Friday and Saturday screenings begin at 7:30 pm unless otherwise noted. There is a ten-minute intermission between features on a double bill. All programs are subject to change. Films are in 35mm unless otherwise indicated. Foreign-language films are subtitled in English. Many films are unrated and may not be appropriate for younger viewers. If a film is listed as "sold out," a standby line will form one hour before the screening. Any cancellations or seats that become available will go to people waiting in this line. Please note that there is no guarantee that everyone in the standby line will be accommodated.

The Leo S. Bing Theater is equipped with a DTS digital sound system courtesy of Universal Pictures, an SDDS digital sound system courtesy of Sony Cinema Products, and Dolby digital sound.

$5 second film only of a double-feature; no advance purchase.

$2 Tuesday matinees.
$1 Tuesday matinees, seniors (62+).

Where to Buy
Buy tickets at the museum box office (tel. 323 857-6010) or online. Many programs sell out so try to purchase in advance.

Included
Your film ticket covers both films in a double bill, except where noted, and includes entrance to the museum galleries as well.

Film Department
Tel. 323 857-6177
Ian Birnie, Director
Bernardo Rondeau, Program Coordinator
Lee Marcuse, Volunteer
Pauline Posner, Volunteer

If you would like to subscribe to the Film Department’s e-mail newsletter, please send a message to film@lacma.org.