928-523-8632
artsandletters@nau.eduFilm Series
CAL Film Series: B Movies! Cult Classics! Midnight Movies!
NAU and the Flagstaff community are invited to come together in front of the big screen in Cline Library’s Assembly Hall for the College of Arts and Letters Film Series.
Discussions and screenings take place most Tuesdays at 7 p.m.
All screenings are free and open to the public. Each classic movie will be preceded by a short introduction from NAU faculty and followed by a community discussion.
The film series promotes understanding and appreciation of cinema through Northern Arizona University and the greater Flagstaff community. The CAL Film Series blends well-known audience favorites along with lesser-known films, as well as a mix of genres, directors, and actors. This season, the focus is on films that don’t normally get the respect one would expect from a film series. We are enjoying B movies, cult classics, and shows that are frequently featured in midnight movie houses!
The film series is made possible with the support of the College of Arts and Letters, the Department of Comparative Cultural Studies, the School of Communication’s Journalism program, NAU’s Cline Library, and under the direction of professors Paul Helford and Paul Donnelly.
Free weeknight parking is available for community members behind Cline Library and requires a special free permit.
September
September 3: The Killers
Directed by Robert Siodmak in 1946
Ernest Hemingway’s sparse, very short story about two hit men who enter a diner looking for “the Swede” was expanded to become one of the early and preeminent B movie films noir, introducing audiences to celebrated leading man Burt Lancaster and making a star of Ava Gardner after years toiling in nearly 30 minor roles.
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Watch the theatrical trailer.
September 10: The Incredible Shrinking Man
Directed by Jack Arnold in 1957
It’s been called “one of the finest films ever made in the genre” and “the most unpretentious and poignant sci-film of them all.” A man exposed to a radioactive cloud begins to shrink and faces a world of monstrous cats and horrifying spiders.
Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
Watch the theatrical trailer.
September 17: Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Directed by Philip Kaufman in 1978
Whether it’s a remake of or sequel to the seminal 1950s Cold War small-town horror classic, this “invasion” of alien pods who duplicate their hosts was shot on location in San Francisco and is every bit as terrific and terrifying as its predecessor. Starring Donald Sutherland, who passed away earlier this year, Jeff Goldblum, Brooke Adams, and Leonard Nimoy.
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Watch the theatrical trailer.
October
October 1: Manhattan Shorts Film Festival
One World – One Week – One Festival. View some of the finest short films produced over the past year and vote for your favorite. Over 100,000 film lovers in over 500 cities across six continents will gather in cinemas, museums, libraries, and universities for one purpose: to view and vote on the Finalists’ Films in the 27th Annual Manhattan Shorts Film Festival.
You get to be the judge! See how others voted in previous festivals.
Watch the 2024 trailer.
October 8: Freaks
Directed by Tod Browning in 1932
One of the most unusual movies ever made. Cleopatra, a beautiful circus trapeze artist, feigns interest in Hans, one of the circus “freaks,” to cash in on his fortune. When Hans’ fellow performers discover the truth, they take revenge. Nearly one hundred years later, this film still disturbs, terrifies, and moves audiences.
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
Watch the theatrical trailer.
October 29: The Masque of the Red Death
Directed by Roger Corman in 1964
Roger Corman has been called “King of the B Movies.” Corman, who passed away this year, made seven films based on Edgar Allan Poe stories in the early 1960s, and “Masque” is widely regarded as the best of them. Vincent Price stars as the devil-worshipping Prince Prospero, who hosts a masquerade ball for the nobility while the plague rages outside the palace walls.
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
November
November 5: Being There
Directed by Hal Ashby in 1979
Peter Sellers stars as a childlike gardener whose understanding of the world comes only from television but becomes an unlikely celebrity among Washington D.C.’s political elite. The film is the pinnacle of director Ashby’s career and features a stellar 70s supporting cast including Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, and Jack Warden.
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
Watch the theatrical trailer.
November 12: Rollerball
Directed by Norman Jewison in 1975
Prolific and versatile director Jewison passed away this year. He was known for making films that tackled social and political issues throughout his career. The film is set in a dystopian future (2018!) in which corporations rule the world and the masses are kept entertained with the ultraviolent sport. James Caan portrays a star player who tries to challenge the system.
Rotten Tomatoes: 67%
Watch the theatrical trailer.
November 19: Last Night in Soho
Directed by Edgar Wright in 2021
An aspiring fashion designer (Thomasin McKenzie) moves to London and begins to have dreams about a confident young singer in the 1960s played by Anya Taylor-Joy. The line between dreams and reality begins to blur, as do the identities of the two women. The film features veteran British actors Terrence Stamp and Diana Rigg (in her final role).
Rotten Tomatoes: 75%
Watch the theatrical trailer.
December
December 3: Eyes Wide Shut
Directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1999.
Kubrick acquired the rights to the source novel for this film right after making 2001: A Space Odyssey. Thirty years later, the film was released just before he died. The film stars Tom Cruise as a physician who sets off on a dreamlike adventure after his wife (Nicole Kidman) tells him that she had contemplated an affair. And it takes place at Christmas!
Rotten Tomatoes: 76%
Watch the theatrical trailer.