Featuring classics by Alfred Hitchcock, Federico Fellini, Buster Keaton and Ingmar Bergman — just to name a few — the series also includes contemporary films such as N.C. School of the Arts graduate David Gordon Green’s “All the Real Girls” and Peter Webber’s acclaimed “Girl with a Pearl Earring.”
This year’s films include new 35mm prints — in regional revival premieres — of foreign-language classics, including the French film “Playtime,” directed by and starring Jacques Tati; the Italian classic “I Vitteloni,” directed by Federico Fellini; and the Swedish film “Fanny and Alexander,” directed by Ingmar Bergman. The series also presents a pair of 35mm Hitchcock prints (”Shadow of a Doubt” and “Saboteur”) from the Library of Congress.
“The 2005 Winter Film Series boasts a diverse and fascinating array of films,” says George Holt, the museum’s director of performing arts and film. “Ranging from the original classic ‘King Kong,’ to the contemporary ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring,’ there are films from various genres and time periods, sure to please film buffs and casual moviegoers alike.”
A special art-themed evening in January features “Un Modèle Pour Matisse,” a documentary about artist Henri Matisse and his nurse, muse and model, Sister Jacques Marie. The 2003 film is directed by Barbara F. Freed, who will be on hand to introduce it. In February, another art-themed film, “Girl with a Peal Earring,” evokes Dutch master Johannes Vermeer’s 17th-century Holland. Director Peter Webber tells the story of the artist and his serving-girl muse with exquisite photography. Dennis P. Weller, the museum’s curator of Northern European art, will introduce the film.
Director David Gordon Green, a graduate of N.C. School of the Arts, won the Jury Prize for Emotional Truth for his 2003 film “All the Real Girls.” Devin Orgeron of the N.C. State Film Studies Department will introduce the film, which is scheduled for February.
February features the Tennessee Williams classic “A Streetcar Named Desire,” directed by Elia Kazan, starring Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh and Karl Malden. Also in February, the museum screens “Sherlock, Jr.,” written, directed by and starring Buster Keaton. This film will be shown with live music by David Drazin.
In March, look forward to Merian C. Cooper’s renowned 1933 classic “King Kong” as well as “In the Mood for Love,” the 2000 Chinese film directed by Wong Kar-Wai and starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung.
Laura Boyes curates the Winter Film Series and will also be on hand to introduce each film.
All films in the Winter Film Series are shown in the auditorium at the N.C. Museum of Art on Friday nights at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5 ($3.50 for students, Museum and Cinema Inc. members) and are available through the museum’s box office at (919) 715-5923; Ticketmaster, (919) 834-4000; or ticketmaster.com. For more information on the Winter Film Series, visit the Museum Web site at www.ncartmuseum.org or call (919) 839-6262, ext. 2108.
The North Carolina Museum of Art’s permanent collection spans more than 5,000 years, from ancient Egypt to the present, making it one of the premier visual arts museums in the Southeast. The museum uses its collection to provide educational, aesthetic, intellectual and cultural experiences for the citizens of North Carolina and beyond.
The North Carolina Museum of Art, Lawrence J. Wheeler, director, is located at 2110 Blue Ridge Road in Raleigh. Museum hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Monday. Admission is free.
