Screening: The Driver (1978).

Directed by Walter Hill
Starring Ryan O’Neal, Bruce Dern, Isabelle Adjani, Ronee Blakley, Matt Clark

In November, Studio Canal is bringing Walter Hill’s The Driver (1978) to 4K disc. It’s one of my favorite films of the 70s.

On October 28, The Driver will be headed into UK theaters, with the new restoration screened around the UK. Boy, would I love to ride along!

Boston, December 1955.

Wouldn’t you love to hop into your time machine for this week of wonderful-ness? (Sorry, Bob, no Son Of Frankenstein.)

Screenings: The Bond Films.

The Graham Cinema in Graham, North Carolina, is running a James Bond film every Monday and Tuesday night. Tonight is From Russia With Love (1964).

The Graham Cinema
119 N Main St, Graham, NC 27253
https://www.grahamcinema.net/

This is a great old theater and they typically put a great image on the screen. Of course, you can’t go wrong with these early Bond pictures. I’m hoping they include On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969).

Screening: Smokey And The Bandit (1977).

Directed by Hal Needham
Starring Burt Reynolds, Jackie Gleason, Sally Field, Jerry Reed

TCM and Fathom Events are bringing Smokey And The Bandit (1977) back to theaters for its 45th anniversary — May 29, June 1 and 2. Click the ad to find a time and place in your area.

Saw this on opening day (May 27) at the Mission Valley Cinema in Raleigh, North Carolina. (That’s the ad up top.) My daughter loves this thing, it’s a load of fun, and we’ll be at one of these screenings for sure.

Screening: The Quiet Man (1952).

Directed by John Ford.
Starring John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Ward Bond

This is the 70th anniversary of the release of John Ford’s The Quiet Man (1952), and TCM is celebrating it with a couple screenings around St. Patrick’s Day — March 13 (tonight) and 17 (Thursday). Sorry for the short notice.

Click here to find “a theater near you.”

Screening: What’s Up, Doc? (1972).

Directed by Peter Bogdanovich
Starring Barbra Streisand, Ryan O’Neal, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Austin Pendleton, Michael Murphy

Sorry for the short notice, but tomorrow (February 1), as part of a tribute to director Peter Bogdanovich, The New Beverly Cinema in LA is running a 35mm IB Technicolor print of his What’s Up, Doc? (1972). It’s surely one of the funniest movies of the last 50 years.

What a wonderful movie. And what a splendid way to see it. If you can be there, please be there. My family sure would if we could.

Screening: Jaws (1975).

Directed by Steven Spielberg
Screenplay by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb
Based on the novel by Peter Benchley
Director of Photography: Bill Butler
Film Editor: Verna Fields
Music by John Williams

Cast: Roy Scheider (Brody), Robert Shaw (Quint), Richard Dreyfuss (Hooper), Lorraine Gary (Ellen Brody), Murray Hamilton (Vaughn)

Always try to see Jaws (1975) in a theater at least once every summer. Tonight’s the night, at the wonderful Graham Cinema in nearby Graham, North Carolina.

Of course, Jaws had one of the greatest ad campaigns ever. I especially like the rarely-used tagline “She was the first…”

Screening: The Who At Shea Stadium (1982).

This is a bit of a departure for this blog, but maybe not really. The Who has opened up their vault to put some old shows on their YouTube page — beginning with their show at Shea Stadium on October 13, 1982. It will stream on Saturday, August 8, at 1 PM EST in the States.

While watching the show on YouTube is free (click on the graphic above to get there), The Who is using the event as a way to promote some of the charities they support — the Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America. You can find out more at https://join-together.org.

This show is also available on Blu-Ray, and the Toronto show from the same tour (what was billed as their final show) is on DVD.

Screenings: Jaws (1975).

Directed by Steven Spielberg
Screenplay by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb
Based on the novel by Peter Benchley
Director of Photography: Bill Butler
Film Editor: Verna Fields
Music by John Williams

Cast: Roy Scheider (Brody), Robert Shaw (Quint), Richard Dreyfuss (Hooper), Lorraine Gary (Ellen Brody), Murray Hamilton (Vaughn)

I love the fact that Jaws (1975) turns up in theaters every summer. It’s here in the Raleigh area next week and I can’t wait. Watch for one in your area.

It’s usually not on film anymore, but the digital restoration from a few years ago was terrific. And, of course, on the big screen you can see “the head, the tail, the whole damn thing.”

Screening: Gone With The Wind (1939).

Directed by Victor Fleming
Starring Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Haviland, Thomas Mitchell, Hattie McDaniel, Ward Bond, Yakima Canutt

The Graham Cinema in Graham, North Carolina is running Gone With The Wind (1939) at various times April 28 – May 2.

Sunday, April 28
2:00 PM & 7:00 PM

Monday – Thursday, April 29 – May 2
7:00 PM

They ad above was run when the Graham Cinema featured Gone With The Wind back in 1969.