By BTL Staff
The Michigan Theater and State Theatre, in partnership with Nicola's Books, are pleased to present The Noir Film Series, which began Monday, Jan. 12 with a presentation of "The Maltese Falcon" (1941). The series will continue weekly through the end of April. The series is billed as being full of "Guns! Dames! Cigarettes!"
Michigan Theater Senior Programmer Brian Hunter and Nicola's Bookstore Event Manager Lynn Riehl teamed up to curate a thorough mix of noir treasures, all adapted from classic crime novels. The connection of film and book is an essential element of this series, as the term was inspired by a line of paperbacks from hard-boiled American crime authors translated for the French audience. Each screening will start with a brief discussion of the history of the specific film and book. Roger Ebert has said film noir is "the most American film genre, because no society could have created a world so filled with doom, fate, fear and betrayal, unless it were essentially naive and optimistic."
In addition to "The Maltese Falcon," the film festival has also played "Laura" (1944) and "Double Indemnity" (1944) among many other great hits, such as "Leave Her to Heaven" (1945); "Blade Runner" (1982); "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946); "The Big Sleep" (1946); and "The Killers" (1946) most recently on Feb. 23. All films will be shown at 7 p.m. The rest of the series includes the following films:
"Lady in the Lake" (1947) on March 2
"The Lady from Shanghai" (1947) on March 9
"Born to Kill" (1947) on March 16
"They Live by Night" (1948) on March 23
"The Asphalt Jungle" (1950) on March 30
"The Big Heat" (1953) on April 6
"Kiss Me Deadly" (1955) on April 13
"Blood Simple" (1984) on April 20
"Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" (1988) on April 27
"We're excited to offer this series and hope to give viewers the opportunity to step back in time and see these classic films in the setting they were originally shown, a real movie house," said Brian Hunter of the Michigan Theater. "And Nicola's partnership offers a great way for film goers to appreciate the original source from which the screenplay was adapted."
Nicola's Books will be at the theater for each screening, selling copies of the featured title as well as other noir crime novels.
Both the Michigan Theater and State Theatre are considered historic and cultural gems; each have carved their place in Ann Arbor history. The Michigan Theater is in its 87th year as Ann Arbor's award-winning non-profit historic center for fine film and performing arts. The Michigan Theater welcomes more than 250,000 visitors each year to its art house films, concerts, lectures, live theater and special programs such as Sundance Film Festival USA and Cinetopia International Film Festival.
Now owned and operated by the Michigan Theater Foundation, The State Theatre, designed a classic Art Deco style by renowned architect C. Howard Crane, opened in 1942. Since the 1980s, The State Theatre has been known for its campy midnight screenings and first-run independent films, the State has been a favorite of University of Michigan students for decades.
Visit http://michtheater.org or call 734-761-8667 for schedule and ticket information for both venues.
