ArcLight Cinemas and the Chicago Architecture Foundation Presents - ArcLight Presents...Architecture Afternoons with CAF
New Film Series Explores How Filmmakers Use Chicago and its Architecture to Tell Stories: Limited Monthly Series Runs January 22-April 23.
CHICAGO, IL , December 5, 2016 (Newswire.com) - ArcLight Cinemas Chicago, in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF), is excited to announce their collaboration to bring Chicagoans a newly curated film series, ArcLight Presents - Architecture Afternoons with CAF, which explores how filmmakers use architecture – including our cities own world-renowned architecture - to tell extraordinary stories.
The four-month series will take place at ArcLight Chicago located at 1500 N. Clybourn Ave. in Chicago and feature a film and post-screening discussion with special guests and experts selected by CAF. ArcLight Presents - Architecture Afternoons with CAF launches on Sunday, January 22 at 2 p.m. with the Oscar-winning film The Untouchables. Tickets are now on sale at ArcLightCinemasCAF.
Chicago has been an iconic city landscape for filmmakers for years. We're thrilled to partner with CAF to showcase the integral role that Chicago has played in many of today's favorite films.
Gretchen McCourt, Executive Vice President, ArcLight Cinemas
“Chicago has been an iconic city landscape for filmmakers for years,” states Gretchen McCourt, Executive Vice President, ArcLight Cinemas. “We’re thrilled to partner with CAF to showcase the integral role that Chicago has played in many of today’s favorite films.”
ArcLight Presents - Architecture Afternoons with CAF is an exclusive program created by ArcLight Chicago and CAF. The special series features four films: The Untouchables, Stranger than Fiction, Metropolis and The Dark Knight. Following each screening, a panel of special guests and experts selected by CAF will discuss compelling themes related to the film as they pertain to architecture and design, filmmaking, and Chicago and take questions from the audience.
“CAF is excited to partner with ArcLight on this new film series. Architecture is a very visual area of art and science, so the connection to film is perfect. We look forward to having great discussions after each movie,” said Lynn Osmond, President and CEO of the Chicago Architecture Foundation.
About ArcLight Presents - Architecture Afternoons with CAF films, dates and discussion topics:
The Untouchables – January 22 at 2 p.m.
The Untouchables (1987) is the quintessential Chicago period piece. It uses impeccably accurate Prohibition-era set design as its palette and brush and real Chicago streets and buildings—not backlot trickery—to depict the dark days of 1930 Chicago. The film’s climax involves the stairs of Union Station and a repurposing of perhaps the most famous scene of the silent film era, the Odessa steps sequence in the Battleship Potemkin (1925). Another key scene takes place in the canyon of buildings down LaSalle Street, an area with Art Deco and Beaux-Arts buildings that look much the same today as they did in 1930. For locals watching The Untouchables, it’s clear that the story of Al Capone and Eliot Ness is deeply rooted in Chicago. If the architecture featured in Stranger than Fiction is meant to use the city as a stand-in for a fictional or intentionally generic large city, The Untouchables’ use of architecture expresses a story that could only have happened in Chicago—a story where the city is a character.
Discussion topics: Chicago’s historic architecture, how filmmakers prepare for period pieces, Art Deco, Beaux-Arts.
Stranger than Fiction – February 19 at 2 p.m.
The comedy Stranger than Fiction (2006) follows a character named Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) on his surreal quest to find out why his life is being narrated by a disembodied voice (Emma Thompson). The film was shot in Chicago but intentionally made to look like any large city through the clever use of the Mid-Century Modern and International Styles of architecture. Observant watchers will notice clear use of well-known Chicago locations such as the CNA Building, River City and multiple locations at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Several neighborhood spots made it into the film as well, including a cafe in Little Village and the Logan Theatre. Near the end of the film, the architecture shifts toward the contextual in a move that makes the film feel less claustrophobic and anonymous. The Wrigley Building, a Chicago icon and certainly not a Mid-Century Modern structure, even shows up at the end of the film after this tonal shift.
Discussion topics: Mid-Century Modern, International Style, creating feelings with architecture, how architecture influences one’s sense of place and identity.
Metropolis – March 12 at 2 p.m.
In the German silent film Metropolis (1927), architecture is used to communicate status. The wealthy elite rule from tall, thin skyscrapers while workers live underground. The director, Fritz Lang, even stated that he came up with the idea for the film after seeing American skyscrapers. The appearance of the fictional city of Metropolis is a blend of Art Deco and other modern architectural movements. The film is relevant to cities today—including Chicago—as residents grapple with the issues of income inequality, booming downtowns and under-resourced neighborhoods. Nearly 90 years after the release of Metropolis, buildings are still used as symbols of power, and construction and development are still important factors in the livelihoods of urban residents.
Discussion topics: Art Deco, architecture and the economy, architectural symbolism, construction and investment.
The Dark Knight – April 23 at 2 p.m.
Quite a few superhero movies have been filmed in Chicago. Batman and Superman are the caped figures seen most often in the city—Batman Begins (2005), Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman (2016) all feature scenes filmed in Chicago. However, it’s The Dark Knight (2008) that really uses a variety of the city’s architecture—few films explore more of Chicago than this blockbuster hit. It opens with an intricate sequence filmed at the Old Main Post Office, where the massive Art Deco building stands in for a bank. A chase sequence makes use of lower Wacker Drive and a parade marches down LaSalle Street, terminating at the soaring Chicago Board of Trade Building. The Chicago Theater also gets its moment in the spotlight. Modern buildings get a chance to shine, too—Batman rides his fancy motorcycle through Millennium Station and stands atop Willis (Sears) Tower to survey the city. The black exterior of the skyscraper even matches the caped crusader’s enigmatic look. Though The Dark Knight is set in fictional Gotham City, Chicago’s real-life architecture is instantly recognizable throughout the film.
Discussion topics: Location scouting, modifying architecture to create a mood, what makes Chicago recognizable as itself and what makes it “Gotham”?
ArcLight Presents - Architecture Afternoons with CAF Event Information:
Films & Dates: January 22: The Untouchables
- February 19: Stranger than Fiction
- March 12: Metropolis
- April 23: The Dark Knight
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: ArcLight Chicago - 1500 N. Clybourn Ave. Chicago located at NEWCITY
*CAF members with a valid membership card get a free regular popcorn with their paid ticket.
To learn more about the series, get updates on the event speakers, and to purchase tickets: https://www.arclightcinemas.com/en/news/arclight-presents-architecture-afternoons-with-caf.
About ArcLight Cinemas
ArcLight Cinemas, created by Pacific Theatres, a privately owned, Los Angeles based company with 60 years of theatrical exhibition history throughout California, Hawaii and Washington is a premiere moviegoing experience with an unparalleled commitment to bringing a variety of rich cinematic content to moviegoers in all markets. ArcLight Cinemas operates seven theaters in California including Hollywood, Pasadena, Sherman Oaks, El Segundo, Santa Monica, Culver City and La Jolla, as well as theaters in Bethesda, MD, Chicago and Glenview, IL, with a new location in Boston for 2019. ArcLight also owns and operates the historic Cinerama Dome and programs the TCL Chinese Theatre and IMAX in Hollywood. Pacific Theatres currently operates theaters in Los Angeles that include The Grove and The Americana at Brand in Glendale, CA. Additional information about ArcLight Cinemas is available at www.arclightcinemas.com.
Connect with ArcLight:
Twitter: @ArcLightChicago Facebook: ArcLightCinemas Instagram: ArcLightCinemas
YouTube: ArcLightCinemas
About the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF)
The Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) is a nonprofit cultural organization with tours, exhibitions, programs and events for all ages. Visit CAF to view our 1,000-building scale model of Chicago, shop in our boutique store, or try a fun LEGO® building event. Choose from 85 tours by boat, walking, bus or even L train. Tours depart daily and are led by CAF's volunteer docent guides. Visit architecture.org.
Connect with Chicago Architecture Foundation:
Twitter: @ ChiArchitecture Facebook: ChiArchitecture
Media Contacts:
ArcLight Cinemas: Annie Jeeves/Cinematic Red E: Annie@cinematicred.com
Chicago Architecture Foundation: Nakea Barksdale/CAF E: nbarksdale@architecture.org
Source: ArcLight Cinemas