Harbor Theater’s Classic Film Series starts Oct. 17

Mon, 09/30/2019 - 8:30am

Story Location:
185 Townsend Avenue
Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538
United States

More than 70 subscribers have signed up for the second year of Harbor Theater’s Classic Film Series … many of them repeats from last year who remarked that the films became a social event during the quiet winter months when the sun sets as early as 4 p.m.

Six films will be shown between October and March, Thursdays and Saturdays at 2 p.m. For those who did not subscribe to the whole series, tickets will be sold for each individual show at the door, $10 for adults, $8 for members and youth under 18. Each attendee will receive a small bag of popcorn before the show. Viewers are encouraged to stay afterwards to discuss the film with friends over wine and cheese. The series is open to all, and most films are suitable for children over 12.

The great romantic epic, “Out of Africa,” starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, will lead off the series on Thursday, Oct. 17 with a repeat show on Saturday, Oct. 19. Both shows start at 2 p.m. The film, which was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won 7, including Best Picture, is an epic romance directed by Sydney Pollack. It is breathtakingly filmed on location in East Africa, with sweeping landscapes and music to match.

Based on the life and writings of Baroness Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep), it tells the story of a Danish woman who, despairing that she would be single forever, married her lover's brother, moved out to Kenya to run a coffee plantation on the slopes of Kilimanjaro and later, after she discovered her husband was unfaithful, fell in love with a wild game hunter (Robert Redford) who was willing to get involved, but never wanted to marry.  After the farm went bankrupt, Blixen returned to Denmark and wrote of her experiences in Africa under the pen name Isak Dinesen.

The series, which was decided by subscribers voting for their 10 favorite films out of a list of 50, focuses on romantic epics, dramas, and one musical from the 1950s to the 1980s.

The rest of the schedule includes: Nov. 14 and 16: “Dr. Zhivago” - the epic Russian love story with Omar Sharif and Julie Christie;  Dec. 12 and 14: ”My Fair Lady” - Lerner and Loew’s musical based on Pygmalion with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison as Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins;  Jan. 16 and 18: “Chariots of Fire” -  triumph of British 1924 Olympic runners overcoming class and religion to win the Gold; Feb. 13 and 15: “All the President’s Men” -  Watergate and the Washington Post’s Woodward and Bernstein (Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman); and March 12 and 14: ”The Quiet Man” starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Sullivan in the Irish comedy for St. Patrick’s Day.

The Harbor Theater is at 185 Townsend Ave., Boothbay Harbor. For more information, visit www.boothbaycinema.org.