For Immediate Release: February 2, 2012
Media Contact: Marketing and Communication Department
Media Advisory: Things to Come: The City Imagined on Film
Film Series presented by the National Building Museum and the American Film Institute
WHAT
Join us as we celebrate the National Building Museum's exhibition Unbuilt Washington with our second film series partnership with the American Film Institute (AFI) Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland. Between February 11 and March 31, ten films screened at the AFI Silver Theatre will provide striking futuristic views of city life and urban design.
The Museum's exhibition Unbuilt Washington surveys architectural paths not taken; some seem unthinkable beside the iconic forms actually built. Skyscraper designs appear particularly strange—revealing how a limit on building heights not only altered Washington’s skyline, but also expectations for how the capital should appear. In contrast, the cinematic city of the imagination featured in the film series is a place where limits are usually left in the dust.
Fritz Lang’s 1927 masterpiece, Metropolis, was inspired by—but greatly exaggerated—New York’s skyline and set the design vocabulary for all futuristic films to follow. Incorporating more than 25 minutes of recently discovered footage, the 2010 restoration of Metropolis is being shown with live musical score by Alloy Orchestra.
Following the Jazz Age imagery of Metropolis, the 1930s city of the future seen in Just Imagine (1930) and Things to Come (1936) may not seem far from today’s world of skyscrapers, elevated highways, and electronic devices. Yet, futuristic films of the Depression era reflect keenly on challenging times, shading the seemingly limitless possibilities of technology with a strong dose of ideological zeal.
Films of the 1960s, on the other hand, express the growing unease of industrialized society. The modern environments in Welles’ surrealist adaptation of Kafka’s The Trial (1962) and Tati’s satirical comedy Playtime (1962) are both mazelike and maddening, though with very different effects.
Similarly, the technological utopias seen in George Lucas’ first film THX-1138 (1971) and the cult classic Logan’s Run (1976) are both efficient, to a fault, hiding dark secrets that force individuals to abandon conformist “prisons” of the city for an unknown wilderness beyond.
WHERE
AFI Silver Theatre
8633 Colesville Road
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
(Silver Spring Metro, Red Line)
$8.50 AFI and NBM members | $11.50 General Admission | $9 Seniors (65+), Students (with valid ID), and Military | $7 Children (12 and under) | For more information visit AFI.com/Silver (Notice special pricing for February 24 film)
WHEN
FILM SERIES:
February 11–March 31, 2012
FILM SCHEDULE:
Saturday, February 11, 2:45 pm Just Imagine (David Butler, 1930, 109 minutes)
Sunday, February 19, 4:00 pm Transatlantic Tunnel (Maurice Elvey, 1935, 94 minutes)
Monday, February 20, 4:00 pm Things to Come (William Cameron Menzies, 1936, 100 minutes)
Friday, February 24, 7:30 pm Metropolis 2010 Restoration with Alloy Orchestra Live! (Fritz Lang, 1927, 153 minutes, silent) $18 AFI and NBM members | $20 General Admission
Saturday, Febraury 25, 9:45 pm* Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985, 132 minutes)
Saturday, March 3, 1:20 pm* Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967, subtitles, 124 minutes)
Saturday, March 10, 1:00 pm The Trial (Orson Welles, 1962, 118 minutes)
Saturday, March 17, 9:45 pm* Gattaca (Andrew Niccol, 1997, 106 minutes)
Sunday, March 18, 1:00 pm THX 1138 (George Lucas, 1971, 86 minutes)
Saturday, March 31, 3 pm* Logan’s Run (Michael Anderson, 1976, 119 minutes)
*Additional show times. Visit AFI.com/Silver for details.
The National Building Museum is America’s leading cultural institution dedicated to advancing the quality of the built environment by educating people about its impact on their lives. Through its exhibitions, educational programs, online content, and publications, the Museum has become a vital forum for the exchange of ideas and information about the world we build for ourselves. Public inquiries: 202.272.2448 or visit www.nbm.org. Connect with us on Twitter: @BuildingMuseum and Facebook.
