Twenty years ago, Bill and Stella Pence relocated to Portsmouth. They had been co-founders of Telluride Film Festival in Colorado in 1974 (now in its 45th year), the festival about which Roger Ebert said, “[it’s] like Cannes died and went to heaven.” Read More
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In this week alone, we can travel quite far through film and music. Leave your passport at home and join us for a taste of something new!Read More
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Okay, here’s the setup. It turns out that during his legendary career of turning out pretty much nothing but masterpieces, Stanley Kubrick had an assistant named Leon Vitali. Vitali started out as an actor but gave up his career to spend two decades as Kubrick’s assistant, man-of-all-work, and enabler.Read More
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The Western has been the major defining genre of the film industry, using the expanse of the American frontier—the border between civilization and wilderness —as the backdrop for indelible morality tales. In choosing six of the absolute best, made by big name directors both in America and abroad, we’ve also chosen films that defy the simplicity of White Hat vs. Black Hat: almost all of these movies generated controversy on their release, and their complex heroes and villains, portrayed by the finest actors of their time, have become enduring film archetypes. Read More
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While most people start talking about the Academy Awards in January, here at The Music Hall, we start in September during the Telluride by the Sea Film Festival. Over three days we get a sneak peek at the movies that often turn out to be award show front-runners, including this season’s award show darling, The Shape of Water. After the jam-packed weekend, curator Bill Pence and I keep an eye out for the other movies that will end up on the “Best Of” lists. Over the last couple of months, we’ve been riveted by Dunkirk, charmed by Lady Bird, and captivated by Loving Vincent, to name a few.Read More
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I have vivid memories of when I was a little girl dressing up in my fanciest dresses and sitting in front of my TV to watch the Golden Globes and Academy Awards. I was obsessed with the fashion of the night and as I got older I started to pay attention to the movies that were taking home those fabulous statues and the movies they were celebrating. I remember trying to see the movies, begging my parents to drive a hour to see it.
Today, I one of my favorite things is that I can now see most, if not all, of the award season darlings right here at my favorite theater. Our January and February film lineup is packed full of the movies everyone is talking about. Read More
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After four Tuesdays without a film discussion, my guess is that you’re ready to get back to The Music Hall for some cinematic nourishment.
But if something—January cold or post-holiday depression—is holding you back, I have three strong arguments to get your fruitcake-augmented backside back in the theater seat. (Sorry, that was insensitive. Pretend I didn’t say that. )Read More
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Maybe it’s the general tenor of the times, but I find myself surprisingly grumpy at the sound of Christmas music, especially those in heavy rotation like All I Want for Christmas (Is You) and Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime (which can induce Scrooge-like symptoms in the most seasonally well-adjusted among us).
Fortunately, I have the perfect antidote to Holiday Overload Syndrome in the form of a film called 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene. I’m a little worried that the overly descriptive title is a spoiler all by itself, but that can’t be helped.Read More
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