In the strange but wonderful story of Pee-wee’s search for his beloved bicycle, the late, great Reubens made his leading man(child) debut, becoming one of the iconic figures of the 1980s. Director Burton and screenwriters Reubens, Phil Hartman, and Michael Varhol managed to craft a narrative and emotional atmosphere that constantly surprises and pays homage to all kinds of cinema, from Godzilla to James Bond to Italian neorealism.  

Cera stars as a poker addict returning to his hometown in this characteristically offbeat and perceptive dramedy from the director of Person to Person. As he reconnects with his two sisters in the house they grew up in, the siblings revert to their childhood language of inside jokes and make-believe—and their accompanying long-buried grudges. Building on a trifecta of bravura performances from Cera, Gross, and Asteroid City’s Lillis, the film’s apparently lowkey amiability builds to a bounty of funny, raw, and resonant revelations about family relationships. (MK)

Although filmed at the same time as the previous year’s The Three Musketeers, Lester’s sequel is a decidedly darker and more risqué conclusion to the classic tale. Reed as Athos and Dunaway as Milady de Winter step into the spotlight alongside another batch of brilliantly staged and photographed sword fights. As was the case with its companion movie, The Four Musketeers boasts a crackerjack screenplay by novelist George McDonald Fraser, vivid cinematography by David Watkin, and some of the most breathtaking costumes, production design, and stunt work ever committed to celluloid. A new 4K restoration will be screened. (BR)

In Godard’s first big-budget film, a screenwriter (Piccoli) struggles with rewriting a screenplay of The Odyssey for a demanding director (noted filmmaker Fritz Lang) and an obnoxious American producer (Palance), while his marriage to Camille (Bardot) falls apart. Godard chaffed under the constant pressure of his own producers, and Contempt, screened here in a new 4K restoration, is often a thinly veiled attack towards them.

Browning’s classic, which shocked early 30s audiences and was partly responsible for the enforcement of Hollywood’s production code, is still as fascinating and unsettling as it was over 90 years ago. Featuring a supporting cast of genuine sideshow acts like the conjoined Hilton sisters and “The Amazing Half Boy” Johnny Eck, Freaks tells the circus story of a corrupt trapeze artist (Baclanova), her seduction of little person Hans (Earles), and the subsequent revenge of Hans’ fellow performers.

A once thriving community, Braddock, PA was one of the country’s largest producers of steel. After the first steel mill closings in the 1970s, filmmaker and Braddock resident Tony Buba began chronicling the decline of his hometown with a series of short documentaries, culminating with this wildly creative feature-length movie. Against a backdrop of shuttered businesses and crumbling homes, Buba attempts to complete a film project centered around the eccentric, combative, tough-talking, and frequently delusional Braddock denizen, Salvatore “Sweet Sal” Caru, who credits himself for Buba’s success. This screening will be preceded by Buba’s latest addition to his Braddock Chronicles, Mon Valley Trilogy (2023, 5 min.). After the program, Tony Buba will discuss his work and answer questions.

A dad and step-dad attempt to bond with their 13 year-old son Branson on a weekend getaway in this drolly hilarious take on modern masculinity. Constantly looking to one-up each other and impress their disinterested son, the two dads squabble in hushed tones over life lessons ranging from grill etiquette to puberty. Marrying the improvised bickering of Curb Your Enthusiasm with the laid-back tranquility of Joe Pera Talks With You, this is the kind of absurd comedy that can pull off having a full-grown adult play the adolescent Branson. “Endlessly quotable and unexpectedly poignant” (Screen Slate). “Perfect, comedy gold” (Screen Anarchy). (MK)

In the first screen version of Ursula Parrott’s novel, Morgan (The Wizard of Oz) plays a neglected middle-aged husband and businessman who is reunited with his former secretary and old flame (Barnes). This screening will be introduced by Marsha Gordon, author of Becoming the Ex-Wife: The Unconventional Life & Forgotten Writings of Ursula Parrott.

Five twentysomethings-- an overlapping mix of old friends, flames, and distant relatives—convene at a chilly Michigan lake house for a weeklong getaway. Faced with ample downtime and a steady supply of weed and booze, the group is left to reckon with their collective millennial malaise. Elegantly staged with each scene unfolding in an unbroken master shot, Linh Tran’s preternaturally confident and wise debut feature is all the more remarkable for being produced with fellow students at DePaul University. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Slamdance Film Festival. “Insightful and genuine… a launchpad for a major career” (rogerebert.com). Director Linh Tran will join us in person to discuss Waiting for the Light to Change. Presented as part of the 2023 Asian American Spotlight, with the support of Asian American Studies at UW-Madison. (MK)

Russell stars as truck-driving Jack Burton, who, along with his sidekick Wang Chi (Dennis Dun), fights sorcerers and kung fu masters to rescue Wang’s kidnapped fiancée in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Carpenter’s satirical variation on Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu stories adds dazzling special effects, brilliant martial arts choreography, and loads of humor, resulting in one of the most beloved of 80s cult movies. Presented as part of the 2023 Asian American Spotlight, with the support of Asian American Studies at UW-Madison.

This moving and sensitive biopic tells of Finnish visual artist Tove Jansson (Pöysti), author and illustrator of the beloved Moomin cartoon series and books. Director Bergroth explores Jansson’s early romantic relationships with men and women, the power her successful and overbearing artist father had on her psyche, and her eventual self-acceptance and success as an artist.

Filmed over 13 years, this astonishing portrait of a young painter searching for her artistic voice won the grand prize at IDFA, the world’s most prominent documentary festival. Born into a bohemian Parisian theater company, Apolonia Sokol runs the gauntlet of the male art world—from the prestigious Beaux Arts academy (where she is told her personality is more interesting than her paintings) to the ruthlessly capitalist Los Angeles collectors’ market. A feminist reckoning with art world paternalism, Apolonia, Apolonia is itself as much a testament to resilience and the artistic spirit as the remarkable woman at its center. (MK)

An FM radio DJ (Williams) and a former Texas ranger (Hopper, at his most unhinged) are drawn into the web of the cannibalistic family at the center of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. With a sharp screenplay by L.M. Kit Carson (Paris, Texas) and fearless performances by all involved, director Hooper amped up the gore and the satire and defied the odds to come up with a worthy sequel to his 1974 horror classic. (BR)

On a class trip to Washington, D.C., senior Lillian (Ryder) runs away, getting into and out of trouble up and down the East coast. Along the way, she takes up with a variety of patriotic misfits played by a game cast that includes Red Rocket’s Simon Rex, Ayo Edebiri, and Jacob Elordi. Having shot features for the Safdies, Alex Ross Perry, and numerous others, cinematographer Sean Price Williams has long been a key player in contemporary independent cinema. His much-anticipated directorial debut is a button-pushing, freewheeling picaresque through America’s activist underbelly. “Fun and hot, smart and dumb, a total blast” (The Film Stage). (MK)

Experimenting with teleportation, brilliant inventor and scientist Seth Brundle (Goldblum) accidentally splices his genes with those of a common house fly. Initially becoming a physically powerful sex addict and sugarholic, Brundle and his new love, journalist Veronica (Davis), must eventually reckon with his deterioration and transformation. Director and co-screenwriter Cronenberg’s superb remake of the 1958 sci-fi classic skillfully blends operatic levels of gore and make-up effects with a touching and tragic love story. 35mm print courtesy Chicago Film Society.

In an Estonian forest lush and verdant enough for a postcard, a group of women gather at a handcrafted lakeside sauna. Enveloped in the smoky darkness, they share their deepest thoughts and desires, the surrounding woods ringing with their laughter and tears. Shot primarily in ethereally beautiful close-ups, this soulful documentary is as restorative as a cleanse. "The small, smoky, steamy miracle of this film is how it creates something so intangible, so lyrical, from the absolutely elemental: fire, wood, water and lots of naked female flesh" (Variety). (MK)

De Niro, in a tour-de-force, is Travis Bickle – a super-alienated NYC cabbie, Vietnam Vet and dutiful diary writer. Travis’ psychotic fantasies ultimately lead him to violence as he attempts to “save” child prostitute Iris (Foster). Scorsese’s moody visuals are enhanced by the seductive saxophone in Bernard Herrmann’s final score. A 4K restoration from Sony Pictures will be screened.

One of the most distinct and idiosyncratic talents to ever direct movies inside and outside the Hollywood system, UW Madison alum Terry Zwigoff achieved major national attention with the 1995 release of Crumb, an independently made documentary about his friend, artist Robert Crumb. Six years later, United Artists released Zwigoff’s first narrative feature, an adaptation of Daniel Clowes’ graphic novel, Ghost World, the screenplay for which earned Zwigoff and Clowes an Oscar nomination. In 2003, Zwigoff directed Billy Bob Thornton in the cult classic comedy Bad Santa, the release version of which was partially reshot and re-edited by others. All of Zwigoff’s movies show a deep understanding and affection for the American outsider and a healthy skepticism for popular culture. Zwigoff learned his trade as a director and screenwriter through watching great movies, and in this special session, Zwigoff will present a series of clips from his favorite films and discuss how they influenced his work, followed by a Q&A with the audience.

Femme fatale Billie Nash (Michaels) gets a job at a bar, seduces bartender Matt (Egan), and comes up with a plan for them to rob Dora, Matt’s drunk, nagging wife, who also happens to be the bar’s owner. The lovers’ getaway to Mexico is stalled when a nosy neighbor (Helton) gets wind of their sleazy scheme. Overflowing with marvelously colorful dialogue, Wicked Woman is a personal favorite of filmmaker and cinephile Terry Zwigoff, who will join us in person to discuss his affection for this ripe-for-rediscovery film noir.

Eastwood is a veteran secret service agent, haunted by his inability to protect JFK in 1963 and now on the hunt for Malkovich, a chameleonic would-be presidential assassin. Both are in top form in Petersen’s sharply scripted thriller. A sterling supporting cast, several shocking twists, and a bevy of supremely suspenseful set-pieces all conspire to make this sleek cinematic rollercoaster one of the best of the 90s. (BR)

As we approach the 60th anniversary of JFK’s assassination, we go down the rabbit hole with the mother of all conspiracy theories in this film version of Mark Lane's muckraking book. Lane, a lawyer, serves as host, conducting a series of interviews with eyewitnesses to the assassination and the events that followed. Aimed at pointing out flaws and poking holes in the Warren Commission's report, the film is an indelible document of the mystery, paranoia, and grief that swept the country in the months and years that followed the tragedy. Even if one is not prone to believe in cover ups and vast conspiracies, Rush to Judgment is a fascinating exploration of the nature of eyewitness accounts and a clear eyed time capsule of one of the darkest moments in American history. New 4K Restoration from the Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research & Sphinx Productions!

New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Costner), troubled by several local connections to the November, 1963 death of President Kennedy, launches his own investigation to determine who was involved with the assassination. In the several years that follow, Garrison uncovers a vast network of potential plotters and subversives, convincing him that Lee Harvey Oswald (Oldman) did not act alone. Controversial upon its original release, Stone’s fascinating, epic-length conspiracy theory (or theories) is brilliantly conveyed through groundbreaking editing by Joe Hutshing and Pietro Scalia, who, along with cinematographer Robert Richardson, won Oscars for their work. In addition to Oldman and the Oscar-nominated Jones, the jaw-dropping supporting cast includes Sissy Spacek, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, John Candy, Kevin Bacon, Donald Sutherland, Edward Asner, and an unforgettable Joe Pesci as David Ferrie.

Before he tackled Crumb, director Zwigoff’s first movie was this intimate, funny, and moving documentary portrait of musician, artist, and raconteur Howard “Louie Bluie” Armstrong (1909-2003), whose 1930s recording of State Street Rag captivated the filmmaker. Filmed in Chicago while in his mid-seventies, Armstrong shares personal and professional anecdotes that collectively deliver a colorful portrait of an American life that should not be forgotten, and it’s all set to the wonderful music of Armstrong and his fellow musicians, like guitarist Ted Bogan.

Shortly following their impulsive wedding, the naive, young Nazar is pressured by his family into divorcing his new wife, Reyhane, after rumors circulate of her mother's possible sex-work. Still deeply in love, he insists on paying back Reyhane's marriage dowry despite his insolvency. Nazar is soon on the run from creditors and finds himself hiding out in the desert where he insists on working with a taciturn snake hunter until he earns enough money to return to the city and make good on his mistakes. "Engrossing and eye-catching" (Variety), Farhadi's debut feature ultimately reveals itself to be a tale of love, sacrifice, and redemption. (FM)

After spending two years in juvenile detention for killing his girlfriend as a teenager, the troubled, young Akbar is transferred to an adult facility shortly after turning 18. No longer a minor, his death sentence will soon be legally carried out. Meanwhile Akbar's sister Firoozeh and his pal Ala set out to convince the victim's bereaved father to forgive Akbar, which could potentially reduce his sentence from death to life in prison. Navigating the complexities of Iran's judicial system together, the two form a close bond in their desperate attempts to seek clemency before it is too late. Farhadi’s second feature is a “well-acted [and] compelling human drama," (The Hollywood Reporter). (FM)