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The Room returns, celebrating Michelle Yeoh, and lots of baseball flicks
April 2022 repertory movie roundup
Stephen Silver
Spring is here, but on those days that the weather doesn't cooperate, there are plenty of opportunities to see older movies at Philadelphia theaters. Some of the highlights include The Godfather and its 50th-anniversary run, The Red Shoes, Charade, and a return of Tommy Wiseau—director and star of the cult classic The Room. The Philadelphia Film Center also pays tribute to Michelle Yeoh ahead of the worldwide release of her new film, Everything Everywhere All at Once.
The Godfather
April 1-7, various times
Ritz at the Bourse, 400 Ranstead Street, Philadelphia
The 1972 mob classic marked its 50th anniversary in March with a rerelease, a 4K set, and a too-brief Oscars tribute. The theatrical run continues throughout April.
The Piano
Thursday, April 7, 7:30pm
Ambler Theater, 108 East Butler Avenue, Ambler
Thursday, April 21, 7pm
Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia
Celebrate the recent best director Oscar win for Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog with her 1993 drama The Piano. The film starred Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, and a very young Anna Paquin—who won an Oscar for the film at age 11. You'll have two chances to see the film this month, with the Film Center presentation in 4K.
Wild Strawberries
Thursday, April 7, 7pm
Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr
In a rare Ingmar Bergman screening here in town, BMFI presents one of the Swedish master's more acclaimed and influential films. The film tells the story of a widowed doctor's eventful visit to his alma mater.
Charade
Thursday, April 7, 7pm
Media Arts Council, 11 East State Street, Media
The State Street Movie Night series returns with Stanley Donan's 1963 romantic mystery starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, and featuring Henry Mancini's score. Viva Video’s Roxy Snavely hosts the screening.
Angels in the Outfield
Friday, April 8, 6pm
The Bourse, 111 South Independence Mall East, Philadelphia
With baseball back, the Bourse—the food court, not the movie theater—is hosting baseball-themed movies on Friday nights in April outside on the patio. First up is the 1994 Disney baseball fantasy Angels in the Outfield starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Danny Glover, and Christopher Lloyd.
The Room
Friday, April 8 and Saturday, April 9, 11:59pm and 12:15am
Ritz Five, 214 Walnut Street, Philadelphia
The “Citizen Kane of bad movies" is back in Old City for midnight showings, moving over to the Ritz Five after the closing of its longtime home at the Ritz East. For the first time since before the pandemic, director and star Tommy Wiseau returns for Q&A sessions before the movie on both nights.
The Red Shoes
Tuesday, April 12, 7pm
Monday, April 18, 7pm
Tuesday, April 19, 6:30pm
Thursday, April 21, 7pm
Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr
Directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's 1948 classic about ballet returns to BMFI as part of the theater's All I Want to Do is Dance series. It includes a Cinema Classics seminar on Tuesday, April 19 hosted by Christopher Long.
Shampoo
Thursday, April 14, 8pm
Lightbox Film Center, 401 South Broad Street, Philadelphia
Director Hal Ashby's 1975 political satire, starring Warren Beatty as an LA hairdresser who romances a succession of women (including Lee Grant, Goldie Hawn, and Carrie Fisher) against the backdrop of the 1968 election, comes to the Lightbox in 35mm.
House
Friday, April 15, 9pm
Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia
Nobuhiko Obayashi's 1977 horror film described as a "hallucinatory coming-of-age spooky thrill ride" heads to the film series as part of the Film Center’s After Hours series.
A League of Their Own
Friday, April 15, 7pm
The Bourse, 111 South Independence Mall East, Philadelphia
The Bourse's baseball series continues with the 1992 hit directed by Penny Marshall that explored the history of the World War II-era All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Lori Petty, and Madonna, the film is getting an Amazon Prime reboot this year created by Philly's own Abbi Jacobson.
Zabriskie Point
Saturday, April 16, 5pm
Lightbox Film Center, 401 South Broad Street, Philadelphia
Michelangelo Antonioni's 1970 follow-up to Blow-Up was the Italian director's US debut. He tackled the US counterculture at the end of the 60s. Featuring music by the likes of the Grateful Dead, the film was a flop at the time but has had its image rehabilitated in the ensuing half-century.
Mulholland Drive
Saturday, April 16, 7pm
Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia
David Lynch's weirdo masterpiece from 2001 gets shown in town occasionally, but this time it's special: it features an accompanying concert by singer Rebekah Del Rio, who performs in the film's iconic Club Silencio scene, just over a mile away from the Eraserhood.
The Big Lebowski and How High
Wednesday, April 20, 7pm
Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia
On 4/20, naturally, the Film Center presents "Dudes and Doobies," a double feature of 1998's The Big Lebowski and 2001's How High. It's part of the Film Society's monthly Throwback Thursday Quizzo and Movie series.
Spirited Away
Thursday, April 21, 7:30pm
Ambler Theater, 108 East Butler Avenue, Ambler
One of the most beloved animated films of all time is Hayao Miyazaki's 2001 masterpiece, which tells the story of a Japanese girl who enters the world of kami spirits, and must free her family from a curse.
Celebrating Michelle Yeoh at the Philadelphia Film Center
The Heroic Trio
Friday, April 22, 7pm
Executioners
Friday, April 22, 9pm
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Saturday, April 23, 7pm
Supercop
Saturday, April 23, 9:30pm
Veteran actress Michelle Yeoh is currently starring in Everything Everywhere All At Once, an exhilarating film which many critics, myself included, are calling one of the best films of the year. The Film Center is celebrating Yeoh's career with a two-day retrospective of the actress's most memorable action roles. Highlights include both Heroic Trio films, Ang Lee's celebrated 2000 Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and Supercop, which teamed up Yeoh with Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat.
Rookie of the Year
Friday, April 22, 6pm
The Bourse, 111 South Independence Mall East, Philadelphia
The Bourse's baseball series continues with Daniel Stern's Rookie of the Year, which stars Thomas Ian Nicholas as a kid who after a freak arm injury becomes a Chicago Cubs pitcher.
Chinatown
Sunday, April 24, 1:30pm
The Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville
One of the greatest films of all time, Chinatown stars Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in a story of Los Angeles in the 1930s and the unspeakable corruption therein. John Huston plays one of the old-time villain roles as industrialist Noah Cross.
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