Thursday, November 21, 1996
FILM:
Laemlle Theater offers alternative twist to moviegoers this
winterBy Ash Steffy
Daily Bruin Contributor
With the recent blockbuster opening of last weekend’s "Ransom,"
this fall’s movie season may become the most profitable ever.
Recent hits like "Sleepers," "First Wives’ Club," and "William
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet" have been attracting enormous
crowds to the theaters, amassing large chunks of revenue for the
entertainment industry.
But one movie theater is offering a festival that counters the
traditional hype and hot-air of the holiday season. At Laemmle’s
Santa Monica 4-Plex, the Shakespeare and "Shakespeare?" film
festivals premiered Nov. 2 on a more literary note with "Richard
III," and "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead."
The theater will showcase two Shakespeare films every weekend
morning until Christmas. The more traditional programs features
"straight" adaptations of Shakespeare works  classics such as
Franco Zefferelli’s "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet."
Another alternative "Shakespeare?" festival will show films like
"West Side Story," and "My Own Private Idaho," which are only based
loosely on the famous writer’s work.
Greg Laemmle, vice president of the Laemmle Theaters, originated
the dualistic aspect of this year’s Shakespeare festival.
"For years we have been showcasing the classic Shakespeare
films, but this year I wanted to show something different," said
Laemmle. He has noticed the recent popularity of films like
"William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet," that borrow material from
famous Shakespeare plays and transform it into a different place
and time.
But many previous films also used this approach successfully,
according to Laemmle. As a salute to these creative cinematic
deviations, every "straight" Shakespeare film will show
concurrently with a less traditional rendering of that same play,
said Laemmle.
This weekend the festival features Joseph Mankiewicz’s "Julius
Caesar" and Gus Van Sant’s "My Own Private Idaho." The latter 1991
film incorporates actual bits of dialogue in a gay variation of
"Henry IV, Part I."
Laemmle Theaters’ Shakespeare festival has so far proven
popular, said Normand Isaac, assistant manager of Laemmle’s Monica
4-Plex.
"Business was fairly good last weekend," said Isaac about the
simultaneous showings of Orson Welles’ "Othello," and George
Cukor’s "A Double Life." He added that high-school and college
students made up nearly half of last weekend’s audience, many of
them seeking extra credit for a class.
"Shakespeare has always been an intriguing role model for
filmmakers," said Laemmle. "His stories are great drama, often
violent. I wanted to show that the influence of Shakespeare comes
through not only classical filmings, but also through other films
using his archetypal stories."
UCLA lecturer S.J. Dickey is not surprised that the Bard’s work
has been used so extensively by filmmakers through the years. He
teaches two Shakespeare courses this quarter.
"His plays are very dramatic, and they always have good plots,"
said Dickey. He also cites the industry’s desire to congratulate
itself as the other main reason that Shakespeare films remain so
popular.
Dickey does not offer extra credit to his students for attending
Laemmle’s Shakespeare Film Festival. However, he encourages his
classes to attend Shakespeare movies when they show.
In past years, the Shakespeare festivals succeeded in part
because many high school and college instructors assigned the films
to their students, said Laemmle. But the surge of home-video in the
last 15 years took much of the audience away from the theater’s
screenings.
Also, Laemmle mentioned the so-called "Space Crunch" in the
media this fall. According to Laemmle, local newspapers refuse to
promote more artistic films, like the ones playing at the festival,
in order to devote more space in hyping expensive
blockbuster-hopefuls like Warner Brothers’ "Space Jam."
"In Hollywood, you have to accept the fact that commerce, not
art, is the main focus," said Laemmle, who still expects this
year’s festival will attract a large demography of
substance-seeking moviegoers.
"Seeing Shakespeare acted out on the big screen is a great way
to see the plays comes alive," said Laemmle.
On Nov. 23 and 24, Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s "Julius Caesar" will
show opposite "My Own Private Idaho." The following weekend, Franco
Zefferelli’s "Romeo and Juliet" will play along with the 1961 Best
Picture Oscar winner "West Side Story."
On Dec. 7 and 8, Peter Greenaway’s "Prospero’s Books," and
Kenneth Branagh’s "Henry V" will play alongside George Sidney’s
"Kiss Me Kate."
Zefferelli’s "Hamlet" and Branagh’s "A Midwinter’s Tale" will
play on the weekend of Dec. 21 and 22. The film festival will
conclude with Branagh’s "Hamlet," opening on Dec. 25 at Laemmle’s
Royal theater in West Los Angeles. "Hamlet" will show in 70 mm.
FILM: For more information call the Laemmle Santa-Monica 4-Plex
at 394-9741.
ICON DISTRIBUTION
Franco Zefferelli’s "Hamlet," starring Mel Gibson and Glenn
Close, plays at the Laemmle Monica 4-Plex on Dec. 21 and 22.