You’re already reading ArtsEtc., so let’s just assume you are, in fact, interested in the arts. Maybe you’re even a movie buff who’s totally unimpressed with what’s currently in theaters — not to mention at least half of the recent Oscar nominees. Sundance offers some solid choices, but it’s off campus and definitely not in your price range.
So maybe it’s time to revisit the classics, and then some. Every Friday and Saturday night in Vilas Hall, the UW Cinematheque screens a different film ranging from old Hollywood features to more contemporary Japanese cinema. And you can leave your wallet at home — the screenings are free.
Cinematheque Director and UW-Madison Communication Arts professor Lea Jacobs describes the Cinematheque as a “film museum.”
“An art museum would exhibit paintings. Cinematheque exhibits films,” Jacobs explained. “It exhibits films from all of film history and from all over the world.”
For the most part, the Cinematheque screens films in series, of which there are several each semester. Jacobs, who started the Cinematheque 12 years ago, says her favorite film series this spring is “L.A. Treasures: Recent Restorations by the Academy Film Archives ?– Think old Hollywood glamour and big names like Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant.” The head of the Academy Film Archive graduated from UW-Madison, Jacobs explained, so the UW Cinematheque is sometimes the first venue to screen recently restored films.
“This semester they’re bringing Hitchcock’s “Shadow of a Doubt,” Jacobs said. “It’s a movie that you can see on DVD, but they’re bringing this pristine new print that’s maybe never been through a projector, or only been through a projector once or twice.”
The UW Cinematheque hosts more than 30 film screenings each semester. This spring marks the first time the Cinematheque was able to bring a collection of Bollywood films to Madison.
“It’s expensive to bring them, and they’re hard to find,” said Cinematheque programmer and UW-Madison graduate student Heather Heckman. “But we’d always wanted to do it because we never had.”
But just as important as the films themselves is the technology used to screen the films. According to both Jacobs and Heckman, if you’ve never seen a film on 35 mm film, you’re missing out.
“Our focus is bringing films to Madison that wouldn’t always get screened here, and bringing them in their original gauge. So that means if a film was shot on film, we show it in film. We don’t just show DVDs,” Heckman said.
“If you really want to see the film the way it was meant to be seen, you’ve got to see it in 35,” Jacobs said. According to Jacobs, 35 mm film features better resolution, brighter colors and cleaner lines, all of which can be lost when a film is captured on DVD.
“Once you get hooked on 35, DVD is not a replacement,” she added.
According to Jacobs, the Cinematheque is one of the only groups of its kind in the country to offer this sort of exclusive programming to the public. The Cinematheque has access to films that often aren’t available anywhere else, but they’re screening them on our campus for free.
An intense foreign film can be a lot to digest after a long week of classes, exams and deadlines, but Heckman encourages students not to be deterred by the length or complexity of a film.
“We show some very difficult films. But we also show some really easy to watch, fun films, so there’s something for everyone,” Heckman says.
One of the most difficult upcoming films, Heckman says, is the 3-hour long “Andrei Rublev,” which will run on Friday, April 23.
“It’s a beautiful, really great film, and if you love arts cinema, you should be there,” she said. “If you’ve never really attended arts cinema, I guess you should be there too, because it’s something new to try.”
The Cinematheque staff seems to realize students might need some time to ease into arts cinema. In order to do so, several screening events throughout April will begin with recently restored episodes of “The Adventures of Captain Marvel.”
An appetite for lengthy arts cinema is not a prerequisite for attendance at a Cinematheque screening. An open mind, however, is a necessity.
“I want people to go see films that are beyond their comfort zone,” Jacobs said. “That’s my goal as a teacher and a film exhibitor, is to get people to try something new.”
Want some Cinematheque? This Friday’s programming in 4070 Vilas Hall includes Episodes 3 & 4 of “The Adventures of Captain Marvel” at 7:30 p.m., followed by “Shadow of a Doubt” at 8:05 p.m. On Saturday, the Cinematheque will screen Episodes 5 & 6 of “The Adventures of Captain Marvel” at 7:30 p.m, followed by “The Robe” at 8:05 p.m.
