I got a call last night from a friend who had just attended a screening of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (part of Lyric Opera San Diego‘s “Classics of Comedy” summer film series) and she reminded me just how brilliant a filmmaker John Hughes was. She said, “I never get sick of that movie,” and I had to second that emotion. I guess that’s what a “classic” movie really is — one you never get sick of.
So far this summer, plenty of classics have been screened around town, and the fun continues during the “Classics of Comedy” movie series showing at Birch North Park Theatre, right here in my neck of the woods.
Next in the series:
Harold and Maude
Sunday August 23 at 2:30 P.M. & Wednesday, August 26 at 7:00 P.M.
Young Frankenstein
Sunday, August 30 at 2:30 P.M. & Wednesday, September 2 at 7:00 P.M.
Tickets are $9 for general admission and $7 for seniors and students.
And the Comedy Classics Keep Comin’!
From mere comedy, we now bust into downright mirth with Lyric Opera San Diego’s “Music and Mirth at the Movies,” presenting simultaneous performances on both stage and screen.
On Friday, September 11 at 7:00 P.M., Lyric Opera San Diego will present a special screening of Buster Keaton in Sherlock, Jr. with live musical accompaniment by film accompanist, Dr. Philip Carli, on the keys.
Tickets for this performance are $12 for general admission, $10 for seniors and students, and $8 for children. Aside from the live performer, the extra couple of bucks gets you two short subjects and a cartoon.
I have to tell you that one of my earliest and fondest memories of San Diego is of an outdoor screening of Buster Keaton’s The General at Spreckels Organ Pavillion in Balboa Park. There was live accompaniment that time, too — on Spreckels’ giant pipe organ, no less! A lot of folks might not think old movies like this are for them, but I remember how hysterical the entire audience — young and not-so-young — became during that flick, and I’m sure it had everything to do with the communal experience and “live” performance. And here we go again.
Think you’re too cool for silent movies? I promised you mirth, didn’t I? Take my Buster Keaton challenge on the 11th. You’ll be on the floor with the rest of us. (Of course, the music will be a little different from this clip.)
I have no idea whether or not this violates any copyright laws. All I know is Buster Keaton belongs to everyone.
Harold and Maude
Sunday August 23 at 2:30 P.M. & Wednesday, August 26 at 7:00 P.M.
Young Frankenstein
Sunday, August 30 at 2:30 P.M. & Wednesday, September 2 at 7:00 P.M.