3 Caper films September 23, 2011

Capers
For Money, Love or Laughs
In The Movies

At The Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre
54 Journal Square, Jersey City, NJ 07306
Tel. (201) 798-6055 Fax: (201) 798-4020 Web: www.loewsjersey.org

A Not-For-Profit Arts Center in a Landmark Movie Palace

All Titles Screened in 35mm
On our BIG 50ft Wide Screen

Friday, September 23 at 8PM
The Original The Thomas Crown Affair Starring Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, Paul Burke. Directed by Norman Jewison. 1968. 102 mins. MPAA: R

This stylish romantic caper begins as a cat-and-mouse game between a wealthy businessman (Steve McQueen, in a rare cerebral role), who has masterminded a spectacularly complex bank heist for his own amusement, and the brilliant insurance investigator (Faye Dunaway) assigned to the case. But the film slides into a higher gear when the two fall for each other, capitalizing on the powerful chemistry of the two stars, who were never photographed as stunningly as here by the legendary Haskell Wexler. In a celebrated six-minute set piece, a wordless chess game between the two develops into an increasingly intense pas de deux of visual foreplay. The wariness of the couple, who can never entirely trust one another, only heightens the atmosphere of erotic frisson. The catchy score by Michel Legrand is layered with interlocking ostinatos which echo the film's visual motif of circularity, while adding an undercurrent of playfulness. In both its look and feel, the film is a great time capsule of the 1960s. But mostly, it is masterfully concocted entertainment.

$7 for Adults, $5 for Seniors (65+) and Children (12 & younger).

Saturday, September 24 6:15PM
Take The Money And Run Starring Woody Allen, Janet Margolin, Marcel Hillaire. Directed by Woody Allen. 1969. 85 mins. MPAA: PG

This was Woody Allen’s directorial debut, and if his later style came to epitomize a dry wit with a manic undertow, here “manic” definitely has the upper hand. It’s a goofy mock documentary about the career of a bumbling criminal, played by Allen with his signature - some would say neurotic - use of self deprecation to great comic effect. The film's most celebrated sequence involves Virgil's inability to write coherent holdup notes ("I have a gub"), but others include Virgil's losing battle with a recalcitrant coke machine. In his determination to cram in as many jokes and sight gags as possible, Allen presaged the uproarious style of later comedy films such as “Airplane!”. Contributing to the film are great supporting performances by Janet Margolin, Marcel Hillaire, and (uncredited) Louise Lasser, as well as the energetic musical score of Marvin Hamlisch. The movie is a genuinely hilarious comic gem.

$7 for Adults, $5 for Seniors (65+) and Children (12 & younger).

Saturday, September 24 8:15PM
The Sting Starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw. Directed by George Roy Hill. 1973. 135mins. MPAA: PG

The most obvious “sting” – or con – in “The Sting” is the elaborate hoax that con men Paul Newman and Robert Redford construct to fleece big time mobster Robert Shaw. But in a sense the movie is riddled with cons and contradictions being played on – and for the benefit of – the audience. Set in the grim time of Depression-era America amid crooks, thugs and people just down on their luck, but acted and directed with a deftly light touch, the movie keeps us wondering if it’s a comedy masquerading as a crime drama or vice versa. Cops are bad but con men are good – or maybe only seem good. The action unfolds in the Jazz Age of the ‘30s with sets and costumes that are meticulously period, but the jaunty soundtrack that adds so much to the atmosphere is ragtime, which in fact was popular 20 years earlier. And the script has so many twists and turns that sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s going on. But the biggest con of all is that if all of this sounds like a hopeless muddle – it’s not. Instead, it is great entertainment. Smart writing, confident direction, clever cinematography, a slick pace and high production are all important. But the success of the film is rooted in the great chemistry between Newman and Redford (who only worked together one other time, in 1969’s “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”). Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston and a constellation of great supporting players all add in. And then there’s that irresistible soundtrack. The film won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

$7 for Adults, $5 for Seniors (65+) and Children (12 & younger).

The Loew's Is Easy To Get To: The Loew's Jersey Theatre, at 54 Journal Square, Jersey City, NJ, is directly across JFK Boulevard from the JSQ PATH Center with trains to and from Lower and Midtown Manhattan and Newark's Penn Station, and is minutes from the NJ Turnpike, Rts 3 and 1&9 and the Holland & Lincoln Tunnels. We're easy to reach by car or mass transit from throughout the Metro Region.

Discount off-street parking is available in Square Ramp Garage adjoining the Loew's at the foot of Magnolia Avenue off of Tonnelle Avenue, behind the Loew's. Patrons must validate their parking ticket before leaving the Theatre.

What’s Special About Seeing A Movie At The Loew’s? The Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre is one of America’s grandest surviving Movie Palaces. We show movies the way they were meant to be seen: in a grandly ornate setting – on our BIG 50 ft wide screen! The Loew’s runs reel-to-reel -- not platter -- projection, which often allows us to screen an archival or studio vault print that is the best available copy of a movie title.

PLUS – Live organ entrance music (from the Loew’s magnificently restored pipe organ) before most screenings.

The Loew’s Jersey is managed by Friends of the Loew’s, Inc. as a non-profit, multi-discipline performing arts center.

Classic Film Weekends are presented by Friends of the Loew’s, Inc.

The Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre receives support from the City of Jersey City, Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy and the Municipal Council, and the Hudson County Open Space Trust Fund, administered by the Hudson County Division of Planning, Thomas A. DeGise, County Executive, and the Board of Chosen Freeholders.