Paramount Summer Film Series Kicks Off Tonight

The Paramount's Summer Film Series begins tonight with, as is traditional at the Paramount, Casablanca. This year, the film is paired with Key Largo for a Bogie double-feature.

The summer film series' schedule runs through early September, with the usual Gone with the Wind on Labor Day weekend and Lawrence of Arabia the weekend after. Other perennial faves include Breakfast at Tiffany's (how all of you can get past that awful Mickey Rooney character is beyond me, but I know tons of people adore this film); 2001: A Space Odyssey, because it looks so cool on a big screen; and the 70mm visual extravaganza Baraka. Many of the films are paired with Warner Brothers cartoons this year, which I usually enjoy (and prefer to the live-action serials Paramount has sometimes included in the past).

The schedule has few surprises, but that's what the Paramount's summer films are all about. For cultural diversity, you go to Austin Film Society screenings. For edgy culty programming, you go to Alamo Drafthouse. If you want to see a beloved Hollywood film with an audience that loves that film as much as you do, you go to the Paramount.

It's not all Hollywood films, though. In August, the Paramount lineup includes a mini-series called "Art House Essentials" that features a number of lesser-known or foreign films -- AFS members get a discount on tickets. These films include Children of Paradise, A Knife in the Water, and a Bunuel double-feature of That Obscure Object of Desire and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.

Some films I'd like to see this year include The Cincinnati Kid (a Steve McQueen film I haven't yet watched!), Peeping Tom because I haven't seen it since college, The French Connection because I want to see it in a theater, Shampoo because I've never seen it, All About Eve because it really springs to life with the right audience, and possibly the double-feature of Harold and Maude and The Loved One because I didn't like The Loved One when I last saw it, but wonder if it might fare better with a crowd. Maybe the Chinatown and L.A. Confidential double-feature too.

Normally some of the Paramount double-features feel a bit like someone stuck their hand in a box and drew out two random films starring the same actor or actress, but this year they've created some inspired pairings. My favorite, which I urge you all to see, is the Destry Rides Again and Blazing Saddles pairing in August. You've got to go on the night when Destry Rides Again plays first, so you can then truly appreciate some of Mel Brooks' spoofing. You can't beat the combination.

We'll probably get a Flix-Tix book again this year, and may also get a membership in the Paramount's Film Fans Club, which offers ticket discounts and other benefits. This year, one of the benefits is "reserved seating in the Mezzanine," which I assume refers to the lower balcony.