Students will soon be able to combine the image of James Dean speeding across the screen in a 1950s dragster with the fresh air of a spring evening.
To celebrate the arrival of warmer temperatures, the UO Cultural Forum is sponsoring “Starlight Cinema,” a weekly film series running classic Hollywood films outdoors. The series will run every Friday on an outdoor screen in front of Knight Library. Admission is free, and the movies will begin at dusk. In the event of rain, films will be shown in 180 PLC.
Although the Cultural Forum holds movie screenings throughout the year, they usually take place in lecture halls. The “Starlight” series offers an unique experience, said Cultural Forum Film Coordinator Toussaint Perrault, who came up with the idea.
“I was interested in doing something a little different. The idea of showing these movies in an outdoor setting seemed appropriate to the time of year,” he said. “I wanted something like the old drive-ins.”
And the movies themselves reinforce the nostalgic concept, he said. From now until the end of spring term, students can catch everything from the teenage angst and drag racing of “Rebel Without a Cause” to a knife-wielding cross-dresser in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic “Psycho,” all while kicking back under the stars on a spring evening.
“These are all classic Hollywood films that have important artistic value, but they are also fun movies with mainstream appeal,” Perrault said.
Perhaps it’s no accident that the series begins Friday, the same day that Hollywood’s own summer movie season officially kicks off with the release of “Spider-Man.” But moviegoers aren’t likely to catch picnickers at the local cineplex — as you may in front of Knight Library. Though glass bottles, dogs, drugs and alcohol are prohibited, people are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs.
Media Services television producer Michael J. Majdic said the outdoor setting offers a great alternative to watching movies in a darkened room, but he wonders if all the movies are suitable for the venue.
“The idea seems great for lightweight, campy films like ‘Rebel,’ but ‘Night of the Hunter’ and ‘Sunset Boulevard’ are pretty heavy, serious films,” Majdic said. In addition to the features themselves, each will be preceded by an American Avant-Garde short film, roughly 10 minutes in length. Eugene Weekly film critic Lois Wadsworth especially likes the fact that audiences can experience both classic movies and these little-seen selections.
“I love the notion of running this collection of unique shorts with mainstream Hollywood classics. It’s a truly original idea,” she said. Wadsworth loves the concept of showing movies outside and is reminded of her own visits to the drive-ins.
“There’s something very romantic about watching movies outside.”