At the Chazen: Recent WCFTR Acquisitions

January through April, our monthly series of screenings at the Chazen Museum of Art will put a spotlight on new 35mm prints of hit movies recently acquired by the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research’s collection. First up, get into the groove of Madonna and Rosanna Arquette in Susan Seidelman’s 80s identity swap comedy, Desperately Seeking Susan. Plus, Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple; Dick and Liz in Mike Nichols’ movie of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; and George Clooney as the title character in the celebrated legal thriller, Michael Clayton. Funding for this series provided by the Anonymous Foundation at UW-Madison.

SUN., 1/25, 2 p.m.
Chazen
DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN
USA | 1985 | 35mm | 104 min.
Director: Susan Seidelman
Cast: Rosanna Arquette, Madonna, Aidan Quinn

Roberta (Arquette), the bored wife of a NJ hot tub salesman, becomes infatuated with young couple Susan (Madonna) and Jimmy (Robert Joy), whom she discovers through a newspaper personals section. Bopped on the head, Roberta wakes up thinking she is the headstrong and hedonistic Susan. A full persona swap takes place when Roberta’s husband hires the real Susan to find his missing wife! “What might have been a conventional Hollywood farce about amnesia and switched identities has been given razzle-dazzle treatment by independent NY director Seidelman…delightful” (Danny Peary, Guide for the Film Fanatic). 35mm print courtesy of Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research.

SUN., 2/22, 2 p.m.
Chazen
THE COLOR PURPLE
USA | 1985 | 35mm | 152 min.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey

Spielberg’s deeply moving adaptation of Alice Walker’s celebrated novel follows the heroic Celie (Goldberg) as she endures years of childhood abuse and marriage to the cruel Mister (Glover). As Celie gradually finds her voice and strength, the film transforms her suffering into a powerful story of resilience and hard-won triumph. 35mm print courtesy Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research.

SUN., 3/22, 2 p.m.
Chazen
WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?
USA | 1966 | 35mm | 129 min.
Director: Mike Nichols
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal

A bitterly married couple, George and Martha, invite a young pair, Nick and Honey, for drinks, unleashing a night of sharp-edged games, verbal duels, and emotional cruelty that exposes the raw truths behind their facades. This Oscar-winning adaptation of Edward Albee’s darkly comic play marked director Nichols feature-film debut. 35mm print courtesy Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research.

SUN., 4/26, 2 p.m.
Chazen
MICHAEL CLAYTON
USA | 2007 | 35mm | 120 min.
Director: Tony Gilroy
Cast: George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson
Clooney is the title character, a law firm’s fixer drawn into a deadly conspiracy after a star attorney (Wilkinson) uncovers explosive evidence against a powerful corporate client. Swinton won an Oscar as the client’s slick general counsel in this celebrated legal thriller that is “just about perfect as an exercise in the genre” (Roger Ebert). 35mm print courtesy Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research.