Classic Films
Our Classics on Sundays Series runs year-round at 2pm on Sunday afternoons. Each month is programmed around a theme. Our upcoming themes are: September – Akira Kurosawa Centennial; October – Other Worldly Horror; November – Hitchcock in England.
Click here to download a copy of our complete Summer schedule.
Stray Dog
Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Japan. 1949. NR. Running time: 122 min.
- Sun, Sep 5, 2:00 pm
Presented on a new 35mm print!
“Stray Dog is an early collaboration with Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura. Kurosawa and Mifune would go on to make 16 films together before a falling out occurred during the making of Akahige (Red Beard). On an especially hot summer day, a young homicide detective named Murukami (Mifune) has his pistol stolen on a crowded bus. More »
Rashomon
Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Japan. 1950. NR. Running time: 88 min.
- Sun, Sep 5, 4:30 pm
Presented on a newly restored 35mm print!
“One of the most influential films ever made, the idea was taken from Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s story “In the Grove.” A rape and a murder are committed in a wooded area near the Rashomon gate, but four different versions of the incident from four different witnesses emerge at the trial. Whose version is true? And, what is truth? More »
Seven Samurai
Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Japan. 1954. NR. Running time: 207 min.
- Sun, Sep 12, 2:00 pm
Presented on 35mm.
In the year 1586, a village under constant attack from bandits hires seven Ronin to help them defend themselves. A simple enough story, but within that framework Kurosawa weaves a tale of honor, justice and camaraderie with stunning visual fluidity and power. More »
Throne Of Blood
Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Japan. 1957. NR. Running time: 110 min.
- Sun, Sep 12, 5:30 pm
Presented on 35mm.
Originally intended to be made in the 40’s, Kurosawa’s version of Macbeth was long delayed, partly by Orson Welles’s own production that was underway. In this reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic, the setting is transferred to feudal Japan, a decision that yields new insight into a familiar story. More »
The Hidden Fortress
Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Japan. 1958. NR. Running time: 139 min.
- Sun, Sep 19, 2:00 pm
Presented on 35mm.
The story takes place in war torn feudal Japan. Two peasants, Tahei (Minoru Chiaki) and Matakishi (Kamatari Fujiwara), have escaped from a prisoner-of-war camp and encounter General Rokurota Makabe (Toshiro Mifune). The General appeals to their greed and persuades them to join him in transporting Princess Yuki (Misa Uehara) and her gold treasure to safety. More »
Yojimbo
Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Japan. 1961. NR. Running time: 110 min.
- Sun, Sep 19, 4:30 pm
Presented on 35mm.
Yojimbo is a nod to the American western Kurosawa was so fond of. This one is set in the 1800’s after the collapse of the Tokugawa Dynasty and at beginning of the end of the Samurai era. A wandering, out-of-work Samurai strolls into a town where two rival gangs have taken over. More »
Red Beard
Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Japan. 1965. NR. Running time: 185 min.
- Sun, Sep 26, 2:00 pm
Presented on 35mm.
Red Beard is a film about humanity and healing. A young intern, Dr. Noboru Yasumoto, (Yuzo Kayama) has been trained in modern methods in Nagasaki and wishes to become the doctor for a prominent family. He is sent instead to a small public clinic to work under the older, well known Dr. Kyojo Niide (Toshiro Mifune). More »
Ran
Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Japan. 1985. NR. Running time: 162 min.
- Sun, Sep 26, 5:30 pm
Presented on 35mm.
Kurosawa has said that Kagemusha (1980) was a dry run for Ran. According to him, this was a way of spreading the costs of costumes and props across the two films. He created storyboards for every shot in Ran over a period of ten years. The story was loosely based on Shakespeare’s King Lear, but it also has roots in Samurai legend. More »
Cat People
Directed by Jacques Tourneur. US. 1942. NR. Running time: 73 min.
- Sun, Oct 3, 2:00 pm
To start off our month–long excursion into the depths of the haunting (and haunted) domains of the supernatural, we are presenting a true horror classic. Imagine, if you will, that there is a race of beings who, rather than being descended from primates, are descended from large jungle cats, and who tend to transform into ferocious, bloodthirsty creatures when strong emotions (love, anger, etc.) are aroused. Now imagine what would happen if a human, quite unaware of this unfortunate propensity in his beloved, were to marry such a being…and she were to become jealous. More »
The Seventh Victim
Directed by Mark Robson. US. 1943. NR. Running time: 71 min.
- Sun, Oct 10, 2:00 pm
In this, another (though quite different) hauntingly atmospheric tale from Val Lewton, a young Kim Hunter (in her first featured role), while searching for her missing sister, traces her to a strange and sinister cult of modern-day satanists, operating in Greenwich Village. Much like in Rosemary’s Baby, which was written and filmed a quarter century later, this classic develops an almost palpable atmosphere of dread and paranoia. More »
Silent Comedy Classics
Presented by The Theatre Organ Society of the Delaware Valley
- Sun, Oct 10, 4:00 pm
The Theatre Organ Society of the Delaware Valley presents a collection of classic silent shorts including such silent greats as Charlie Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. Organist Wayne Zimmerman will accompany on our newly restored Wurlitzer! This show will run approximately 2 hrs. More »
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Directed by Jim Sharman. UK. 1975. R. Running time: 100 min.
- Sat, Oct 16, 10:00 pm
Experience the king of cult classics as it was meant to be seen when Rocky Horror returns to the Colonial. More »
The House On Haunted Hill
Directed by William Castle. US. 1959. NR. Running time: 74 min.
- Sun, Oct 17, 2:00 pm
Taking a break from the brooding horror masterpieces of Val Lewton, we bring you a film that, though imbued with the atmosphere and mystery of a true horror tale, is also filmed with a goodly share of tongue-in-cheek wit. In a plot as old as cinema itself, Vincent Price (who else?) portrays a rich eccentric who offers a diverse group of people $10,000 if they will spend a night in a spooky old mansion with a blood-drenched history. More »
The Haunting
Directed by Robert Wise. US. 1963. NR. Running time: 113 min.
- Sun, Oct 24, 2:00 pm
In a variation on the age-old premise so ably satirized in last week’s film, Robert Wise (renowned director of such diverse classics as West Side Story, The Sound of Music, The Set-Up, and The Day The Earth Stood Still) provides us with an exercise in true terror. More »
Carnival Of Souls
Directed by Herk Harvey. US. 1962. NR. Running time: 83 min.
- Sun, Oct 31, 2:00 pm
Here we have a genuine low-budget cult oddity, a classic of the “other-worldly” and one which has become increasingly well-respected over the years. More »
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. 1934. NR. Running time: 84 min.
- Sun, Nov 7, 2:00 pm
Before legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock came to America and began making a fabled series of hit films, often in the suspense mode (Rebecca, Notorious, Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, etc.) he had achieved well-deserved renown in his native country. More »
A Night at the Opera
Directed by Sam Wood. US. 1935. Ages 5+. Running time: 96 min.
- Sat, Nov 13, 2:00 pm
“A Night at the Opera contains some of the most unforgettably classic Marx Brothers scenes ever: the `Party Of the First Part’ contract scene, the backstage bed-switching, the opera house chase scene, the stateroom scene, Harpo’s Tarzan impression and Chico in a virtuoso turn proving once and for all that in his hands the piano is a very, very funny instrument. More »
Sabotage
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. UK. 1936. NR. Running time: 76 min.
- Sun, Nov 14, 2:00 pm
Hitchcock returned to the theme of espionage with this thrilling envisioning of Joseph Conrad’s classic novel, The Secret Agent. The story follows the heroine (Sylvia Sidney) as she grows to suspect that her seemingly kindly husband (Oscar Homolka), a movie-theater manager, might be the mysterious terrorist who is behind a series of vicious bombings throughout London. More »
Bringing Up Baby
Directed by Howard Hawks. US. 1938. Ages 6+. Running time: 102 min.
- Sat, Nov 20, 2:00 pm
“The definitive screwball comedy and one of the funniest films ever made. Cary Grant gives his best comic performance as a befuddled, bespectacled anthropologist who becomes mixed up with daffy, but determined heiress Katharine Hepburn. More »
The 39 Steps
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. UK. 1935. NR. Running time: 89 min.
- Sun, Nov 21, 2:00 pm
In this humorous, yet highly suspenseful, film Hitchcock topped the tremendous success of The Man Who Knew Too Much by bringing us the story of an innocent man (Robert Donat) who must flee London to find the leaders of a spy ring that has, most inconveniently, placed the body of a murdered woman in his flat. More »
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Directed by Terry Gilliam. US. 1975. PG. Running time: 90 min.
- Fri, Nov 26 to Mon, Nov 29
Consistently listed by critics and fans as one of the greatest film comedies of all times, Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a very silly retelling of the epic story of King Arthur’s search for the Holy Grail. Along the way, King Arthur and his Knights come upon the Black Knight, the Knights That Say Ni, the Castle Anthrax, the killer rabbit, the bridge of Death, and more. More »
The Lady Vanishes
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. UK. 1938. NR. Running time: 97 min.
- Sun, Nov 28, 2:00 pm
Leave it to Hitchcock to take one of the hoariest of plots, “the mystery on a train,” and turn it into a rousing, witty and thrilling joyride. When a seemingly innocuous old lady (Dame May Whitty) suddenly vanishes from aboard a moving train, a young woman acquaintance (Margaret Lockwood) is amazed to find that other passengers claim to have never heard of her, let alone seen her. More »
It’s a Wonderful Life
Directed by Frank Capra. US. 1946. NR. Running time: 130 min.
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- Sun, Dec 19, 2:00 pm
“Look closer: Frank Capra’s heartwarming holiday perennial is really a pretty dark tale of stifling small-town life, deferred dreams and attempted suicide. James Stewart gives a remarkable performance as a man whose big plans for his own life are constantly thwarted by family responsibilities. Not a big success at the time of its release, it’s gone on to become one of the most popular movies ever made.” (TV Guide)
White Christmas
Directed by Michael Curtiz. USA. 1954. NR. Running time: 120 min.
- Sun, Dec 26, 2:00 pm
“This holiday-themed musical is essentially a buddy film. Well sort of, it’s certainly got two buddies in it, but it’s also a love story, a Christmas fable, and a vehicle to hang some exceptionally catchy hits on. More »