Fasten Your Seat Belts: The Essential Bette Davis

May 2 - May 31

"She was no drama queen. She was drama in the flesh."—Terrence Rafferty, The New York Times (read the full article). 

Check out "Bette Davis: A life in pictures" by Susan King inThe Los Angeles Times.

Ruth Elizabeth Davis was born April 5, 1908, in Lowell, Massachusetts, and after a brief stint on Broadway was signed by Warner Bros. as a contract player in 1932. Over the next seventeen years (her career at Warners ended in 1949) the acting dynamo that first stunned critics as the slatternly Mildred in Of Human Bondage became a cinematic icon known by many names among them: "the Fifth Warner Brother"; "Mother Goddam," Davis's own moniker; and "Frankenstein," the nickname Edmund Goulding gave the actress he directed in three films including Dark Victory, her favorite. Demanding, a relentless perfectionist, and in later years a fascinating raconteur, Davis reigned as the "Queen of the Warners lot," from her Oscar-winning performance in Jezebel through a string of carefully crafted women's pictures (Now, Voyager) and prestige stage adaptations (The Little Foxes), the success of which kept her bankable into the late 1950s when a lack of roles inspired her to place a "Job Wanted" ad in the trades.

Her acting style may have been mannered at times, but her range was extraordinary: prostitutes, molls, society girls, career girls, feminist rebels, upper and lower class killers, greedy shrews, noble wives, teachers and governesses, duplicitous twins, and the Broadway diva Margo Channing! Margo, in All About Eve, was Davis's last glamorous lead, but the frumpy characters she played during the 1950s—culminating in the sadistic Baby Jane—are among her most memorable performances. Davis often said, "I can act with my back," and Jane Fonda, Ellen Burstyn, and Meryl Streep are among the modern stars who recognized in Davis an "actress's actress," and who have credited her influence on their own careers.

In all, Bette Davis appeared in 121 films prior to her death in 1989. She is interred at Forest Lawn, and on her tombstone is written, "She did it the hard way." In honor of her centenary, and fifty-five years after she delivered the line "C'mon Oscar, let's you and me get drunk" in The Star, the face of Bette Davis will grace the new forty-two-cent postage stamp, which will be unveiled on May 2 by a post office official on the stage of the Bing Theater, prior to the screening of Jezebel. Turner Classic Movies' Robert Osborne, Davis's adopted son Michael Merrill, and her long-time personal assistant Kathryn Sermak will all be present for the ceremony.

Presented in association with the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. On May 1, the Academy honors Davis with A Centennial Tribute to Bette Davis at 8 pm in the Samuel Goldwyn Theater.  Information: 310 247-3600 or www.oscars.org.

A Tribute to Leonard Schrader

May 15 - May 16

The screenwriter Leonard Schrader, who passed away in late 2006, wrote screenplays in both Japanese and English; his love for and immersion in the culture of Japan resulted in Mishima, an audacious and ravishing film, co-written with and directed by his brother Paul. A year later, Schrader's powerful adaptation of Manuel Puig's Kiss of the Spider Woman earned him, director Hector Babenco, and producer David Weisman Oscar nominations. In addition to teaching and writing, Schrader was a passionate collector of vintage lobby cards, leaving behind a personal collection of over 8,000 original cards, many from rare silent films.

More info on the Leonard Schrader Collection can be found here.

Mongol

May 30

Nominated for a Best Foreign Language Oscar and filmed in Kazakhstan and China, Mongol tells a tale of love and warfare set within an exotic, nomadic world of endless space, extreme climate and ever-present danger. Award-winning Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov (Prisoner of the Mountains) traces the formative years of Genghis Khan, from age nine in 1172 through 1206, the year this legendary warrior united the feuding nomadic clans of the Mongolian steppe under his rule. Having endured a perilous childhood and brutal imprisonment, and inspired by the strength and resourcefulness of Borte, his first wife and lifelong adviser, Khan rose from obscurity to become one of history's most fearless and visionary leaders. "Boasts breathtaking landscapes, dazzling cinematography, bloody battles and … spectacular production design."— Variety.

Screening courtesy of Picturehouse | Check out the film's trailer here 
 

Playboy Jazz on Film

June 5

Jazz historian and commentator Mark Cantor returns to LACMA for a ninth consecutive year to present an exciting program of classic jazz performances drawn from his unique collection. Featured performers include Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, Bill Evans, Louis Armstrong, Dexter Gordon, Buddy Rich and his Orchestra, Bob Crosby and the Bob Cats and the Lee Morgan Quintet. Sponsored by the Playboy Jazz Festival.

Free tickets are available at the LACMA box office beginning at noon on June 5 | Tickets are limited to four per person

War and Peace

June 6 - June 21

Sergei Bondarchuk's stirring adaptation of Tolstoy's novel—about life, love, and death in three aristocratic Russian families before and during the Napoleonic Wars—is a monumental film that featured 100,000 extras culled from the Soviet army and cost the equivalent of 700 million dollars to shoot. Although the six-hour, English-dubbed version released in the United States in 1968 won that year's Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, the original seven-hour, Russian-language film went unseen in America. Following recent screenings in Chicago, Roger Ebert wrote: "You are never, ever going to see anything to equal it! Bondarchuk balances the spectacular, the human, and the intellectual… And always he returns to Tolstoy's theme of men in the grip of history."

We are pleased to present the original film in Russian with English subtitles. Courtesy of Seagull Films.

$15 general admission for parts 1-4, consecutive Fridays/Saturdays only;$10 museum members, seniors (62+), students with valid ID for parts 1-4, consecutive Fridays/Saturdays only.

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.

Acknowledgements
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.

Our thanks to the following individuals and organizations for their assistance: Patrice Courtaban, TV5MONDE; Sarah Finklea, Janus Films, Paul Ginsberg, Dierdre Thieman, Universal Pictures; Emily Horn, Paramount Pictures; Susanne Leroy, Sony Pictures Repertory; Brian Meacham, Fritz Herzog, Academy Film Archive; Merilee Womack, Warner Bros.; Todd Wiener, UCLA Film and Television Archive; Lee Marcuse, volunteer; Pauline Posner, volunteer.

$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.