CINEMA ’62 A-GO-GO
Saturday, October 10, 2020 | 3:00 PM PT / 6:00 PM ET (UTC/GMT +4)
Tickets: $13 (per device/household) are on sale now at Eventbrite.
Running Time: 100 minutes. Delivery Format: Live on Zoom!
Vitagraph Films 360, in co-operation with Rutgers University Press, presents “Cinema ‘62 A-Go-Go”, a virtual multi-media extravaganza for film-lovers, based on the book Cinema ‘62: The Greatest Year at the Movies. This unique virtual experience features special guests, film talk, musical performances, cocktails, a cascade of memories… and YES, there will be dancing!
“Cinema ‘62 A-Go-Go” is more than a book talk, more than a Q&A session, more than an interview. In a variety show format, it re-examines the year in film and everything in between as we delve into the cultural context of when these films were made — with special guests, cocktails of the era, major amounts of music, prophetic politics, and even a little dancing.
Baby Boomers will reminisce — and every other generation will be enthralled by how this year resonates today with some of the most prescient — and in some cases, woke motion pictures ever made!
Our itinerary involves surprising secrets from behind the screen, songs the American public pushed up the pop charts and much more! Arrive via Zoom at this film conversation-meets-cocktail party-meets-variety show, dressed in your 1962 finest (the audience WILL see each other at various points in the show), to enjoy this virtual gathering. Hosts/authors Michael McClellan and Stephen Farber will treat the audience to film history surrounding select 1962 films, combined with musical interludes, such as a tribute to Henry Mancini (Time magazine’s “hottest music man in Hollywood”) and an opportunity to learn the early 1960s dance sensation, “The Twist.”
There will also be interviews with Pop Culture experts, a look at Cold War politics and how they still resonate today, a vintage cocktail demonstration and much more! Charles Phoenix, Ambassador of Americana, singer/pianist/recording artist Tony DeSare, singer Mary Stanford, 1960s music expert and author Domenic Priore and singer Al Martino’s daughter, Alison Martino, authors Jeremy Arnold (Lawrence of Arabia: The 50th Anniversary, TCM: The Essentials) and Tom Santopietro (Considering Doris Day),plus, Stiletto City’s Kastle Wasserman with a cocktail demo, are all confirmed to appearon the show. More talent updates to be announced.
ABOUT THE YEAR 1962 IN FILM
1962 was a pivotal year in motion picture history, a rare confluence of art, commerce, and studio craftsmanship that has never been surpassed.
The sheer volume of high-quality films released in the United States that year include: Lawrence of Arabia, To Kill A Mockingbird, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, The Manchurian Candidate, The Miracle Worker, Jules and Jim, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Music Man, Ride the High Country, Days of Wine and Roses, Divorce Italian Style, Lolita, A Taste of Honey, Yojimbo, and many more.
And stars including: Anne Bancroft, Marlon Brando, Joan Crawford, Bobby Darin, Bette Davis, Doris Day, Kirk Douglas, Cary Grant, Rock Hudson, Jack Lemmon, Angela Lansbury, Lee Marvin, James Mason, Peter O’Toole, Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Rosalind Russell, Sidney Poitier, Omar Sharif, Frank Sinatra, James Stewart, John Wayne, Shelley Winters, Natalie Wood.
This explosion of excellence has been recognized by the likes of award-winning director Philip Kaufman, who cites 1962 as “the greatest and most important year in motion picture history,” and esteemed film critic and historian Leonard Maltin, calling that year’s film output, “a treasure trove well worth celebrating.”
ABOUT THE BOOK THIS SHOW IS BASED ON
The core of this first episodic series, “Cinema ’62 A-Go-Go,” is the book Cinema ‘62: The Greatest Year at the Movies (Rutgers University Press) by authors Stephen Farber and Michael McClellan. The authors make the bold claim that 1962 is a pivotal year in world cinema, one that eclipses all others – including the often referenced, 1939. The book is movie history with a twist, an amalgam of pop culture, critical analysis, and juicy anecdotes of more than fifty memorable films.
Order the book with a 30% discount and free shipping. Enter code: RCINEMA62 at check out. The discount is good on all books sitewide, including Rutgers’ award-winning books in film and popular culture.
ABOUT OUR AUTHORS/HOSTS
Stephen Farber teaches film criticism in the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media at UCLA. He is a past president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and one of the country’s leading film critics and historians, as well as the author of several books about Hollywood history.
Michael McClellan is a film commentator, historian, and strategist. He has worked within the film industry his entire professional career, and most recently served as the Senior Vice President/Head Film Buyer for Landmark Theatres, the nation’s largest specialized film exhibitor. He is producing “Cinema ’62 A-Go-Go” with Vitagraph Films.
ABOUT VITAGRAPH FILMS: CINEMA 360
Vitagraph Films: Cinema 360 is a new concept in film appreciation, education and entertainment. It combines a knowledge base of experts such as film historians, authors, cultural anthropologists, entertainers and the odd DJ, chef or mixologist, to circle 360 degrees around a film in their interpretation – and yes, there will be dancing. Each virtual variety show will explore the cultural context in which the film was created. Think of it as re-envisioning nostalgia.
Since 1999 and until movie theatres shuttered suddenly in March 2020, Vitagraph Films LLC, spearheaded by David Shultz, its founder and president, was a self-contained theatrical and home optical, television distribution entity – in other words, we put movies on the big screen in theatres. In this new initiative, Vitagraph Films will continue its involvement with cinema by fostering a cultural conversation about film with the aim of enlightening new audiences about older films. Programs will be available to movie theatres to offer to their patrons.