'Spartacus,' 'Star Trek,' musicals on upcoming movie menu
Happy 100th, Kirk!
Hollywood superstar Kirk Douglas turns 100 on Dec. 9. To commemorate this milestone, Matthew Hoffman's Park Ridge Classic Film series will present the original and restored version of Stanley Kubrick's 1960 sword-&-sandal classic "Spartacus." (That means this version will contain the infamous "snails or oysters" segment snipped from the original release.)
Kirk, a producer on the movie, brought in Kubrick after he canned original director Anthony Mann during his first week of shooting. The result? Movie history.
"Spartacus" will be shown at 2 and 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, at the Pickwick Theatre, 5 E. Prospect Ave., Park Ridge. Admission is $10 ($8 in advance); $6 for the matinee.
Organist Jay Warren will provide a musical prelude at 6:30 p.m. Steve Darnall, host of radio's "Those Were the Days," will attend the evening screening. Go to parkridgeclassicfilm.com/
'Energize, Scotty!'
You can see the two best movies in the "Star Trek" universe up on the silver screen once again Sunday through Wednesday, Nov. 27-30, at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave., Chicago.
Nicholas Meyer's 1982 "The Wrath of Khan" remains the unparalleled king of "Trek" cinema. (Thanks to Meyer, the Enterprise crew traded up on their boring gray uniforms from "The Motion Picture.")
"The Voyage Home" (1986) marked the second film directed by Leonard Nimoy, and this literal whale of a tail reigns as the most fun entry in the franchise, which has lived long and prospered.
Tickets cost $11 ($7 for Music Box members) for one or both movies. Go to musicboxtheatre.com/.
The thrills are alive ...
What are the holidays but hollow days without the Music Box Theatre's annual "The Sound of Music" Singalong? It begins at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25, and runs through Sunday, Nov. 27. A costume contest with interactive fun packs for kids precedes the movie. The Music Box Theatre organ will accompany singers. To get a schedule and purchase tickets, go to musicboxtheatre.com/films/the-sound-of-music.
More thrills are alive ...
Join me and film historian Raymond Benson when Dann & Raymond's Movie Club presents "The Sound of Musicals" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, at the Schaumburg Township District Library, 130 S. Roselle Road, Schaumburg.
Clips from such epic musicals as "West Side Story," "Singin' in the Rain" and "Cabaret." (We will spare you a singing Clint Eastwood in "Paint Your Wagon.") Free admission! Go to schaumburglibrary.org.