Beginning Friday, April 13, the Heights Theater will be installing brand new theater seats, the first full seat upgrade in decades! The new seats will make the Heights Theater a totally new movie going experience, as you'll enjoy more comfortable cushions, and bigger seats with more legroom to enjoy such classics as The Wizard of Oz, Singin' in the Rain, our annual Holiday tradition, White Christmas, as well as the latest in Hollywood and Independent film releases. In addition, we will have 5 fully accessible spots for wheelchairs and companion seats as well.
The Heights Theater will reopen May 10, and the launch of our year-long Celebration of Cinema on May 20 with Gone With The Wind, an epic cinema experience made even better with the new seats. Watch our Facebook page for updates on the progress of the project as well as upcoming film series.
DIGITAL CINEMA PRESENTATION
Faber College has one frat house so disreputable it will take anyone. It has a second one full of white, anglo-saxon, rich young men who are so sanctimonious no one can stand them except Dean Wormer. The dean enlists the help of the second frat to get the boys of Delta House off campus. The dean's plan comes into play just before the homecoming parade to end all parades for all time.
DCP courtesy Universal Pictures.
Presented by The Heights Theater and The Twin Cities North Chamber of Commerce
DIGITAL CINEMA PRESENTATION
The most epic of Hollywood films, arguably the most popular film ever released in the world, GONE WITH THE WIND returns to the Heights Theater. The enormously popular bestselling novel was bought by David O. Selznick, who almost literally moved heaven, and definitely moved earth, to bring the story of Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler, and their tempestuous love affair during the Civil War, to the silver screen. Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable were the iconic stars, forever cementing their place in cinema's firmament, and the film went on to win a then record ten Academy Awards, and break every box office record, which still stands when adjusted for inflation. Don't miss this epic on the big screen!
DCP courtesy Warner Bros.
35MM PRESENTATION
In celebration of its 20th anniversary, The Big Lebowski is coming to the Heights Theater. St. Louis Park's favorite sons, Joel and Ethan Coen, were never funnier in this send-up of 1960s counterculture, noir cinema, Busby Berkeley, and bowling. Jeff Bridges plays "The Dude", or the Little Lebowski, who discovers that an assault on him was intended for the Big Lebowksi, a wealthy man whose wife has been kidnapped. With a stellar cast that includes John Goodman, Julianne Moore, and the great (and missed) Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Big Lebowski is daft, convoluted, and utterly hilarious comedy.
35mm print courtesy Universal Pictures.
ROCK 'N' ROLL IS HERE TO STAY!
DIGITAL CINEMA PRESENTATION
Former Loony Tunes animator Frank Tashlin concocted this insane "send-up" of rock 'n' roll that ended up celebrating its over-the-top brilliance. When a gangster wants his girlfriend (Jayne Mansfield) to become a crooner, he hires a down-on-his-luck talent agent (Tom Ewell) to do the job, sending them on a journey that sees them colliding headfirst with a younger generation that wants music that is a lot different. A zany skewering of American excess, the Girl Can't Help It features Little Richard, Fats Domino and Eddie Cochran amongst other rock 'n' roll elite. Cult film director John Waters considers this one of his favorite films!
DCP courtesy Twentieth Century Fox.
Presented by The Heights Theater and The Trylon Cinema
ROCK 'N' ROLL IS HERE TO STAY!
35MM PRESENTATION
Join us for the Heights' rock 'n' roll double feature! Viva Las Vegas is widely regarded as Elvis' best movie, pairing him for the first time with an actress, Ann-Margaret, who can really hold her own, and helmed by George Sidney, whose skill piloting big-budget Hollywood musicals served him well here. Who cares about the plot except to say Elvis is in Vegas to race, sing, and dance with swimming instructor Ann-Margaret.
35mm print courtesy Warner Bros.
Presented by The Heights Theater and The Trylon Cinema
35MM PRESENTATION
Nowhere near as famous, Nashville Rebel features outlaw country singer Waylon Jennings playing a rising star in the eponymous town, and how escapes the clutches of a dastardly entertainment lawyer. What makes the movie is its location shots of old Nashville, great performances by Jennings, Loretta Lynn, Porter Wagoner, Tex Ritter, and more.
DIGITAL CINEMA PRESENTATION
The enormously popular LAUREL AND HARDY FESTIVAL returns for what will undoubtedly be another sell-out screening. Five classic short films in one side-splitting afternoon: BRATS (1930), HOG WILD (1930), TWICE TWO (1933), THEIR FIRST MISTAKE (1932), and ME AND MY PAL (1932). No matter if you're 9 or 90, the manic comedy of Laurel and Hardy is guaranteed to have you laughing.
DCP courtesy Jeff Joesph.
35MM PRESENTATION
In celebration of its 60th anniversary, Orson Welles' classic Touch of Evil is coming to the Heights Theater. "Police work is only easy in a police state." So states Miguel Varga (Charlton Heston), a Mexican detective working narcotics suddenly thrust into the examination of the murder of an American tycoon in a small, seedy town on the Mexican border. Soon, Vargas finds himself (and his newlywed wife, played by Janet Leigh) in the crosshairs of a local criminal enterprise and, perhaps worse, the corrupt American police captain Hank Quinlan (Welles). Welles' intense noir masterpiece casts a critical eye on the good and bad of police power, and is perhaps never more relevant today.
35mm print courtesy Universal Pictures.
ROCK 'N' ROLL IS HERE TO STAY!
DIGITAL CINEMA PRESENTATION
Originally planned by United Artists to be a quickie B movie to cash in on The Beatles popularity. A Hard Days Night emerged as a boldly contemporary rock n' roll comedy unleashing the fledgling Beatles into a maelstrom of screaming fans, paranoid producers, rabid press and troublesome family members. Maybe one of the greatest rock and roll movies ever made?
DCP courtesy Janus Films.
ROCK 'N' ROLL IS HERE TO STAY!
DIGITAL PRESENTATION
While American teens were fighting in the streets, dropping out and protesting Vietnam, East German youth were to be living it up, footloose and carefree. At least that's what Heisser Sommer (Hot Summer), a rollicking teenage rock 'n' roll musical from the other side of the Iron Curtain, will have you believe! A group of seven teenage boys and seven teenage girls go hitchhiking from the city of Leipzig to the hot beaches of Ruegen Island looking for love, fun and Rock 'N' Roll. Stars Frank Schobel and Chris Doerk were two of the biggest pop stars in East Germany at the time, and were also married in real life. Don't miss this extremely rare screening!
In German with English subtitles.
Digital courtesy The DEFA Film Library at The University of Massachusetts.
Presented by The Heights Theater and The Trylon Cinema
DIGITAL CINEMA PRESENTATION
The lush visual world of the Archers--the directing and writing team of Powell and Pressburger--was never on greater display than in THE RED SHOES, arguably their masterpiece. Moira Shearer is outstanding as Vicky, the ballet dancer who joins a Lermontov's (Anton Walbrook) dance company. But when a young pianist enters the scene, the fires of love overwhelm everything. A stunning examination of passion and the lengths at which one will go to realize an artistic vision, The Red Shoes is an eternal classic.
DCP courtesy Park Circus.
ROCK 'N' ROLL IS HERE TO STAY!
35MM PRESENTATION
Like the Beatles before them, The Ramones were capturing the hearts and souls of teenagers, this time in the late 70s. What else to do but make a great, essentially plotless movie showing the band's influence? The Ramones here are so influential, they make the principals of Vince Lombardi High School go crazy. When one tries to burn the band's records, the teens take over!
35mm print courtesy Criterion Pictures USA.
Presented by The Heights Theater and The Trylon Cinema
DIGITAL CINEMA PRESENTATION
This special screening will feature KARL EILERS at the keyboard of the Heights Mighty Wurlitzer!
Forget the cold CGI of modern dinosaur movies, you haven't seen anything until you've witnessed the stop-motion animated beasts from Harry O. Hoyt's 1925 long-lost silent classic THE LOST WORLD. Based on the novel by Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World is the story of the eccentric Professor Challenger, convinced of ancient beasts in Venezuela, who forms an expedition that finds itself trapped on an enormous plateau, surrounded by dinosaurs. Willis O'Brien's special effects are so remarkable that they even fooled Harry Houdini, who believed the creatures to be real.
Originally, the prints for The Lost World were destroyed four years after its initial release so that no one could screen the film in competition with the newly released special effects extravaganza King Kong. Through the efforts of Flicker Alley and Lobster Films, a startling new 2K restoration, involving newly discovered material, was created, and the result is the incredible spectacle you'll see in the Heights Theater on June 24.
DCP courtesy Flicker Alley.
35MM PRESENTATION
David Lean was already well known throughout the world as a director of beautiful and romantic films, typically based on cozy theatrical productions. But he burst onto the scene as a master of the epic with the multiple Academy Award winner THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI. Trapped in a Japanese POW camp in Burma, obsessive British Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness, in an Oscar-winning role) wants order and a strict adherence to the rule of law, so much so that he is blind to the Japanese commander's request to build the eponymous bridge--an act that Nicholson believes follows the rule of law and will instill discipline on his men, while ignoring the fact that it will help the enemy. Meanwhile, American Commander Shears (William Holden) escapes the same camp, eventually leading a commando force to return and destroy Nicholson's engineering miracle. At once a gorgeous, sweeping epic, director Lean's experience with intimate romances also brings us close to the pain, suffering, and even humor of the men who survive the POW camp. Not to be missed on the big screen!
35mm print courtesy Sony Pictures.
35MM PRESENTATION
Before the smash success of the Broadway musical, Hairspray opened in cinemas in 1988, wowing critics but earning only a modest box office. But its reputation grew and grew to become regarded as one of John Waters' best movies, perhaps his most charming and accessible film. Set in Waters' home town of Baltimore, where "pleasantly plump" Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake in a star turn) auditions and wins a role as a dancer on The Corny Collins Show. This gives her a growing confidence to confront bigoted parents, bad hair, mean upper class girls, quack psychiatrists, and weird high school principals. Featuring Divine's last great role as Tracy's loving mother. Don't miss this rare 35mm screening!
35mm print courtesy Warner Bros.
35MM PRESENTATION
Loosely based on an Alexandre Dumas novel, inspired by Bollywood and featuring music from Madonna, Cole Porter, Nirvana, David Bowie, Elton John, Labelle, Moulin Rouge! is like no music before or since, an instant classic that has delighted--and confounded--critics and audiences since its arrival in 2001. The story of an English poet at the turn of the last century, slumming in Paris (Ewan McGregor) and trying to write, who falls in with the bohemians... and falls madly in love with the star courtesan of the Moulin Rouge, Satine (Nicole Kidman). This kaleidoscopic fantasy was a box office smash, nominated for eight Academy Awards, and comes to us in a brilliant 35mm print from a private collector. Don't miss this rare screening.
35MM TECHNICOLOR DYE-TRANSFER PRINT!!
Like Singin' In The Rain, The Wizard of Oz is one of our most popular events and sells out year after year, which is no surprise because you may never see OZ look so amazing on the big screen than in this rare 35mm TECHNICOLOR DYE TRANSFER presentation!! Has there ever been a more essential piece of movie magic than the journey of Dorothy and Toto? Probably not.
Want to know more about the Technicolor Dye-Transfer process Click here.
35mm print courtesy Warner Bros.
35MM PRESENTATION
In the long and storied history of film noir, Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity shines as perhaps its greatest incarnation. Based on the bleak novel by James M. Cain, and adapted by the master crime writer Raymond Chandler, Wilder's story is of an insurance agent (Fred MacMurray) caught in the web of the most fatale of the femme fatales (Barbara Stanwyck) who wants her husband dead, and the double indemnity clause invoked, which doubles the life insurance money. Enter Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson), a dogged insurance inspector, whose instincts and nose for trouble spell doom for the deadly pair.
35mm print courtesy Universal Pictures.
35MM PRESENTATION
What is poor Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) to do when he accidentally lands back in time to the 1950s and his own mother falls in love with him? Try and set her up with his dad, of course! One of the biggest hits of the 80s, and a beloved classic that seems to have stepped out of Hollywood's Golden Era, Back to the Future helped cement Michael J. Fox's stardom, made Crispin Glover's career, turned the clunky DeLorean into a time machine, and forever put the words "flux capacitor" in people's minds.
35mm print courtesy Universal Pictures.
DIGITAL CINEMA PRESENTATION
From classic horror director James Whale (Frankenstein) comes a dark, terrifying... and utterly zany comedy/horror hybrid. Two sets of couples, a husband and wife team and a upper class twit and his chorus girl date, seek shelter in a most grim mansion, staffed by cackling old ladies and a Boris Karloff sporting a giant scar and a menacing look that will send shivers up your spine. Genuinely frightening, The Old Dark House manages to be a send up of the films that made its director famous, while crafting new and exciting methods of gothic horror. Newly restored and rarely seen in cinemas, The Old Dark House is the perfect October treat.
DCP courtesy the Cohen Collection.
DIGITAL CINEMA PRESENTATION
In the heart of New York City, in one of its most high-end apartments, lurks an evil that sent filmgoers into a frenzy fifty years ago. Rosemary's Baby captured America's attention in 1968, a horrifying distraction from one of the most turbulent years in our history. The story of Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow), who moves into The Bradford Apartments with her actor husband Guy (John Cassavetes), only to discover a nightmare world of suicide, cults, and Satanism. At once a disturbing look at motherhood and power, Rosemary's Baby is also simply one of the most entertaining scary movies ever made.
DCP courtesy Paramount Pictures.
35MM PRESENTATION
Singin' In the Rain is one of our most popular events and sells out year after year! Considered by many to be one of the greatest screen musicals of all time, Singin' in the Rain is also a hilarious look at the chaos and turmoil that the switch from silents to talkies cast upon Hollywood in the late 1920's. Plus all that glorious TECHNICOLOR!
35mm print courtesy Warner Bros.
