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From Sidney Poitier to Groundhog Day
February 2022 repertory movie roundup
Stephen Silver
There's a huge lineup of classic movies on Philadelphia screens in the month of February, with several area theaters offering calendars more packed than at any time since before the pandemic. Hopefully, omicron will continue to recede and fuller calendars will remain in our future.
There are several films to watch in celebration of Black History Month, including many works starring the late Sidney Poitier. Also, plenty of screenings timed for a pair of February's other holidays, including Groundhog Day and the even more divisive Valentine’s Day.
The 39 Steps
Media Arts Council, 11 E. State Street, Media
Wednesday, February 2, 7pm
The latest in the State Street Movie Night series comes to Media on Groundhog Day, with a screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 masterpiece.
The Matrix
Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr
Wednesday, February 2, 7pm; Sunday, February 6, 1pm
Whatever you thought of the belated sequel The Matrix Resurrections, Bryn Mawr Film Institute is offering a rare opportunity to see the Wachowskis’ 1999 original on the big screen. The film starred Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, and some effects never seen on the big screen before that time.
Groundhog Day
Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia
Thursday, February 3, Time TBD
Harold Ramis’s 1993 comedy with Bill Murray was a hit comedy right out of the gate, but over time, it’s gained even more appreciation as one of the most philosophically rich of Hollywood comedies. On the day after the actual holiday, the film is the latest Throwback Thursday Quizzo & Movie.
A Raisin in the Sun
Ambler Theater, 108 E. Butler Avenue, Ambler
Thursday, February 3, 7:30pm
Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia
Saturday, February 5, 6pm
The Philadelphia Film Society (PFS) is paying tribute to the recently deceased Sidney Poitier with four of his films in February, while other local theaters are exhibiting his significant films, as well. Both Ambler and the Film Center are showing 1961’s A Raisin in the Sun, described by PFS as “one of the most emotionally eye-opening and insightful depictions of contemporary Black life committed to the silver screen.”
In the Heat of the Night
The Colonial Theater, 227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville
Friday, February 4, 7pm
Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia
Friday, February 11, 7pm
Two theaters will also be showing another Poitier classic, 1967’s In the Heat of the Night. Directed by Norman Jewison, it’s a racially charged police drama that stars Poitier as a Philadelphia detective visiting Mississippi. The film contains Poitier’s famous line “They call me Mr. Tibbs”—the PFS bundle of the four films is titled “They Call Him Mr. Poitier.”
Possession
Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia
Saturday, February 5, 9pm
PFS’s After Hours series is back, with 1981’s Andrzej Żulawski's French/West German psychological horror film Possession. Starring Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani, the film is presented in its new 4K restoration for its 40th anniversary last year.
Across the Universe
Colonial Theater, 227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville
Sunday, February 6, 1:30pm
Anyone still on a Beatles kick following The Beatles: Get Back will have a chance to see 2007’s Across the Universe, the Julie Taymor-directed jukebox musical that shoehorned a couple dozen Beatles songs into a love story about the 1960s counterculture.
Before Sunrise
Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr
Thursday, February 10, 7pm; Monday, February 14, 7pm
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with the first film in Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy, which came out in 1995. The film introduced a very young Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy as a man and woman who meet on a train and spend one long night walking and talking around Vienna. The subsequent films would detail what became of these two, but the original was a sweet funny tale about the promise of young love.
Shaft
Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia
Thursday, February 10, 7pm
Also at the Film Center is this 1971 blaxploitation touchstone, directed by Gordon Parks, that introduced Richard Roundtree as New York’s coolest private eye. The film is being presented in 35mm.
A Patch of Blue
Ambler Theater, 108 E. Butler Avenue, Ambler
Thursday, February 10, 7:30pm
Another Poitier film is headed to Ambler. This one, directed by Guy Green, came out in 1965, and starred Poitier as a Black man who befriends a young, band white girl.
Twilight
Colonial Theater, 227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville
Friday, February 11, 9:45pm
The first film in the five-film vampire series from 2008, starring future indie darlings Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, is getting a 35mm revival, as part of the Cult Cinema series.
Akira
Ritz Five, 214 Walnut Street, Philadelphia
Friday, February 11, 11:59pm
The Ritz midnight movie series continues with Katsuhiro Otomo’s 1988 anime/sci-fi cult hit, presented in 4K.
Miami Connection
PhilaMOCA, 531 North 12th Street, Philadelphia
Friday, February 11, 7:30pm
Speaking of cult movies, PhilaMOCA is presenting a rare look at Y.K. Kim’s 1987 martial arts film, featuring drug deals and motorcycle-riding ninjas in South Florida.
To Catch a Thief
Colonial Theater, 227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville
Sunday, February 13, 1:30pm
Another Hitchcock film, this one from 1955 and starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, comes to Phoenixville for a digital showing.
Dirty Dancing
Ambler Theater, 108 E. Butler Avenue, Ambler
Sunday, February 13, 5pm
For Valentine’s Day, the Ambler Theater is presenting the 1987 romantic classic, with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, about one special summer in the Catskills in 1963.
The Wedding Singer
Ambler Theater, 108 E. Butler Avenue, Ambler
Monday, February 14, 7:30pm
Adam Sandler movies don’t get repertory screenings all that often, but his 1998 80s-set romantic comedy with Drew Barrymore is coming to Ambler on Valentine’s Day.
Black Narcissus
Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr
Wednesday, February 16, 7pm; Thursday, February 17, 7pm; Monday, February 28, 7pm
This controversial 1947 film, directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, is about the relationship between a nun (Deborah Kerr) and a government agent (David Farrar). It's getting a three-night stand at BMFI, in addition to a Cinema Classics Seminar, taught by Jennifer Fleeger, Ph.D., on February 24.
In the Mood For Love
Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia
Thursday, February 17, 7pm
Ambler Theater, 108 E. Butler Avenue, Ambler
Thursday, February 17, 7:30pm
Often called Wong Kar-wai’s masterpiece, this 2000 film about a couple (Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung) who bond after their spouses have an affair, is showing in two places at once, with the PFS showing as part of the Film Essentials series.
Exhumed Films From the Vaults
PhilaMOCA, 531 N. 12th Street, Philadelphia
Friday, February 18, 7:30pm
The latest version of the Exhumed Films series at PhilaMOCA will be projected in 16mm, using a theme of "Hong Kong action/girls and guns/femme fatales.”
The Olive Trees of Justice
Lightbox Film Center, 401 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia
Friday, February 18, 7pm
The Lightbox is presenting a 4K restoration of this 1962 film from American documentary filmmaker James Blue, who shot the film during the Algerian War.
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia
Saturday, February 19, 7pm
The Sidney Poitier series continues with the 1967 film, starring Poitier as a doctor brought to dinner with the family of his white fiancee.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville
Sunday, February 20, 1:30pm
The Colonial is hosting this John Ford-directed Western classic from 1962, starring John Wayne, Lee Marvin, and Jimmy Stewart, on its 60th anniversary.
Love and Basketball
Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr
Wednesday, February 23, 7pm
As part of its Date Night series, BMFI is showing Gina Prince-Bythewood’s 2000 romance starring Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan. All in attendance, the theater says, “will receive a free chocolate treat.”
Shakespeare's Shitstorm/Tromeo & Juliet
PhilaMOCA, 531 North 12th Street, Philadelphia
Friday, February 25, 7:30pm
It’ll be a Troma Entertainment night at PhilaMOCA with a double feature of films from the famed independent studio, with its legendary founder Lloyd Kaufman in attendance. The evening starts with #ShakespearesShitstorm, the newest Troma film, which is a musical satire of the opioid epidemic based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest. That will be followed by another Troma Shakespeare adaptation, 1997’s Tromeo & Juliet.
Beverly Hills Cop
Colonial Theater, 227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville
Saturday, February 26, 8pm
Eddie Murphy’s hit comedy from 1984 about a Detroit cop in LA, directed by Martin Brest, comes to Phoenixville for a Saturday night show.
Casablanca
Colonial Theater, 227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville
Sunday, February 27, 1:30pm
Of all the gins joints in all the towns in all the world… also in Phoenixville at the end of the month, is a chance to see one of the greatest films of all time, which celebrates its 80th anniversary this year. Directed by Michael Curtiz, the 1942 film starred Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Claude Rains.
Sneakers
Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia
Sunday, February 27, 7:30pm
And the month ends with the last of PFS’s Poitier series, one very different from all of the others: it’s Phil Alden Robinson’s 1992 caper comedy, in which Poitier starred along with Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd, and River Phoenix. That film is marking its 30th anniversary.
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