In some ways, Kappa’s summer film series has never gone away.
The classic film series has continued in Ohio theater during the pandemic, but the last two editions were different than any other edition.
In September 2020, a 10-day series was held at the same time as theaters reopened to a low-capacity audience, while last July and August were aided by a five-week compact series with digital screenings instead of hard-to-obtain 35mm film prints. Classic movie fans are satiated.
Now, the movie series is gearing up for a full return: Twenty-five feature-length films, as well as two animated short programs, will be shown over the course of nine weeks, from June 16 to August 14.
CAPA officials haven’t stopped for the past two years completely, but they felt that way when they ramped up for the full series’ comeback.
“Coming out of COVID, it was like, ‘Oh, we’re just going to do the movie series,'” said Vice President of Programming Rich Corsi.
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For example, regulators are again tracking 35mm prints for as many films as possible – a difficult task as other film programs resume across the country, making some prints scarce. Corsi said films that cannot be obtained in print will be shown digitally.
What movies can movie fans expect in the summer movie series?
All that hard work is sure to please fans of classic films, who will be treated to an eclectic selection of films from the 1920s through the 1990s.
Among the more recent films to be shown, the series opening June 16, is Mike Nichols’ 1996 comedy “The Birdcage,” starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane as a gay couple who resort to subterfuge to smooth the laws of their future son, a Republican politician and his equally conservative wife: Lynn’s character, the drag queen, introduces herself as Williams’ wife.
Corsi said the film was chosen to coincide with Pride Month. (Stonewall Columbus Pride Festival set for June 17-18, Pride March on June 18.)
“There are so many amazing and wonderful Pride activities going on this weekend,” he said. “We thought this would be really cool for the people who are entering the city and the people who live here.”
Also playing during the first weekend, on June 17-19, is Frances Ford Coppola’s 1972 Academy Award-winning Mafia masterpiece “The Godfather,” which celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this year.
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“We’ve shown it a few times and people love it,” Corsi said. “It’s as if they come and live here for 3 and a half hours… It’s a fairly long movie!”
Classic films will also be shown
Other highlights include a series of fare produced during Hollywood’s golden age – including the musical “My Fair Lady” (June 25-26), Frank Capra’s “It Happened One Night” (July 13-14) and The Grapes of Anger” by John Ford. (July 27-28) – to a series of series premieres from recent years.
The 1992 Kevin Costner-Whitney Houston romantic thriller “The Bodyguard” will premiere on July 20, as will the original 1989 movie “Batman,” starring Michael Keaton, August 5-6.
One of the amazing movies not included in the series is “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope,” which premiered July 8-9, which was hard to show until Disney acquired the 20th Century Fox film and television studio in 2019. .
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Prior to acquiring the studio, Corsi said, it was impossible to license the Star Wars films to show.
As usual, Alfred Hitchcock’s cinema will be well represented: the 1946 “Infamous” thriller directed by Master of Suspense, starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, releases July 30-31 and the 1956 true crime story “The Wrong Man,” starring Henry Fonda and Vera Miles, August 11-12.
Entering into his 31st summer film series, organist Clark Wilson will play before, after, and during breaks for the majority of shows, and will accompany the entire screening of this year’s silent film, comedy Buster Keaton “Our Hospitality,” July 21-22.
“You want to keep the chain light,” Corsi said.
In fact, this year’s schedule has something of a focus on comedy in general, including a parody of the disaster movie “Airplane!” (23-24 June); Comedy Peter Bogdanovich “What Up, Doc?” Starring Ryan O’Neal and Barbra Streisand, as The Godfather celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this year (July 10); Mel Brooks horror film “Young Frankenstein” (23-24 July).
The presence of organist Wilson – combined with the opulent atmosphere of the Ohio theater itself – continues to make the Summer Film Series a distinct cinematic experience.
“Every year, people say, ‘How do you keep a series like this? “I can watch[movies]on Turner Classic Movies or whatever,” Corsi said. “And as we tell everyone every year, once we get them out the door once, it’s a completely different experience.”
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In a glance
The CAPA Summer Film Series runs from June 16 through August 14 at Ohio Theatre, 39 E. State St. Single tickets cost $6 or $5 for seniors and go on sale June 1. It can be purchased for $40. Tickets can be purchased in person, by calling 614-469-0939, or by visiting www.capa.com.
This year’s series includes the following films:
• June 16: “birdcage”
• June 17-19: “The Godfather”
• June 22: “In the heat of the night”
• June 23-24: “an airport!”
• June 25: capers cartoon
• June 25-26: “My Fair Lady”
• June 29-30: Wuthering Heights
• July 6-7: ‘sudden fear’
• July 8-9: Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
• July 10: “What’s the matter, Doctor?”
• July 13-14: “One Night Happened”
• July 15: “Frightening Friday Night with Fritz!” Show “Halloween”
• 16-17 July: “rooftop player”
• July 20: “Bodyguard”
• From 21 to 22 July: Silent movie “Our Hospitality”
• July 23-24: “Young Frankenstein”
• 27-28 July: “Grapes of Wrath”
• July 29: The comedy double theme of “My Little Chickadee” and “Who Done It?”
• July 30: capers cartoon
• July 30-31: “Has bad reputation”
• 3-4 August: “The Rising Twenties”
• August 5-6: “Batman”
• August 7: “fools”
• August 10: “The Adventures of Robin Hood”
• August 11-12: “wrong man”
• August 13-14: “high society”