Paul Thomas Anderson – among the greatest American filmmakers working today or ever – turns 46 this weekend. I believe if you google search the appropriate gift for 46, it is a film retrospective.
That might not be correct, but it’s what Anderson is getting from Gateway Film Center. The theater will screen the auteur’s entire filmography over the course of the weekend, each print showing in either 35 or 70mm.
The series opens 7pm Friday night with Anderson’s 1997 ode to the Seventies, Boogie Nights.
“As celebrated as he is, we believe Paul Thomas Anderson’s work is still under-appreciated,” says GFC President and Programmer Chris Hamel. “It’s hard to appreciate a master in the moment. But by experiencing all his movies on film in one weekend, we think people are going get a new insight into how important he is to cinema.”
To do that properly, GFC is committed to celebrating Anderson’s works in their original film format.
- 35mm: Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood
- 70mm: The Master, Inherent Vice
According to Jason Tostevin, VP of communications and marketing at the film center, “PTA movies are the best kind: they’re art and story that offer something for everyone. First, he is a student of cinema, so real cinephiles can dig into the shot selection and the homages to other movies. And he’s also one of the great character storytellers of our time, so his movies can be appreciated as engrossing tales about interesting, surprising people.”
Tostevin says to expect more than simply the six-time Oscar nominee’s features. Screenings will be introduced with Anderson’s short films and music videos, including a Radiohead video and Dirk Diggler, the short that inspired Boogie Nights.
“There are three reasons a PTA retrospective fits perfectly at Gateway Film Center,” says Tostevin. “First, we have film projectors, where nearly all theaters have removed them, so we can show the movies the way he intended. Second, we have what might be the world’s only dedicated, full-time tech and projection team to make sure films look perfect. And third, we sincerely love him and his movies. We’re showing these because we believe they’re inherently valuable.”
Tickets for each screening are available now on the film center’s website, gatewayfilmcenter.org and follow regular film pricing: $12 for 35mm and $15 for 70mm. Participants in GFC’s membership program will be admitted for free to the 35mm screenings, and will have access to the 70mm screenings for $5.
For more information, visit gatewayfilmcenter.org.
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