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May 13, 2004 - THE OAKS THEATER PRESENTS (May 14-20): "Monty Python's LIFE OF BRIAN"
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-------------------- May 14 - 20, 2004 "THE BEST MOVIE THEATER IN PITTSBURGH" PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER "BEST OF" READERS' POLL 2003 THE OAKS THEATER PRESENTS: "Monty Python's LIFE OF BRIAN" -------------------- BREAKING NEWS: MOONLIT MATINEES 2004 schedule announced! Late-night movies return to The Oaks Theater beginning Memorial Day weekend, with the kick-off of Pittsburgh's only summer-long film festival, "Moonlit Matinees 2004," an exciting showcase of 16 features representing an extensive array of cult classics, popular audience requests, current movie tie-ins, and some exclusive new fare! Screening on Saturday nights at Midnight and Sundays at 10:00pm, the twilight lineup features frequent prize giveaways, concession tie-ins, and regular "interactive" discount offers. Highlights include three Pittsburgh theatrical premieres, several restored or extended revival prints, and an official "Moonlit Matinees 2004" t-shirt, featuring exclusive artwork by illustrator/cartoonist Mark Zingarelli. Also scheduled to appear are special festival guests, including actor Anthony Rapp ("Adventures in Babysitting"), Emmy award-winning writer-director James Ronald Whitney ("Games People Play: New York"), Oscar-nominated filmmaker Bill Plympton ("Hair High"), and "Wet Hot American Summer" co-creators David Wain and Michael Showalter. Individual tickets are $4.00 per show; "Hair High" sneak preview tickets are $6.00. Age restrictions on admission will be enforced as necessary. The festival schedule, spanning 30 summer nights, is now online: http://www.theoakstheater.com/_wsn/page4.html Complete details, extras, and plot synopsis to be added shortly! -------------------- NOW PLAYING (May 14 - 20): "Monty Python's LIFE OF BRIAN" (www.pythonline.com) (R, 1 HOUR AND 35 MINUTES) FRIDAY AND SATURDAY @ 3:00 o 5:15 o 7:30 o 9:30 SUNDAY AND MONDAY @ 3:00 o 5:15 o 7:30* TUESDAY THRU THURSDAY @ 5:15 o 7:30 o 9:30 *MONDAY NIGHT DISCUSSION! Join us after the movie THIS MONDAY NIGHT, May 17, for an informal audience discussion of "LIFE OF BRIAN" with this week's guest, University of Pittsburgh Film Studies Professor MARCIA LANDY, whose new book examines Monty Python's Flying Circus! EXCLUSIVE! Being the adventures of the fictional "Brian of Nazareth," a Jew who is born in the manger one door down from Jesus, Monty Python's controversial comedy classic marks its official 25th Anniversary "Second Coming" with a terrific new 35mm print! Here is how Pittsburgh City Paper film critic Bill O'Driscoll reviewed the re-release, followed by an excerpt from his interview with "LIFE OF BRIAN" director Terry Jones: A FILM that concludes with a kick-line of crucifixions can't be accused of subtlety. But the Python's masterfully cheeky 1979 New Testament parody is deceptively lighthearted. In A.D. 33, a wannabe freedom fighter against Roman oppression named Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman) is mistaken for the Messiah, and his pals in the Judean People's Front (led by John Cleese) prove even less helpful in escaping his fate than does his no-nonsense Mum (Terry Jones, who also directed). The troupe's skill at constructing gag after bitingly witty gag shines in the great looking 25th anniversary re-release of a movie which once caused uproars on both sides of the Atlantic; subjects include a stoning, the sad plight of ex-lepers, Latin grammar and boring prophets. But Chapman, Cleese, Jones, Michael Palin, Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam particularly have it in for credulous camp-followers and blinkered revolutionaries. In the wake of the sanguinary literalness of "The Bashin' of the Christ," "LIFE OF BRIAN's" irreverence is deeply refreshing, but the film reserves most of its disdain for targets quite secular, and in this, their best film, the Pythons nail most every one. Critic's Rating: ***½ (out of 4) "YOU DON'T have to follow orders," pleads Brian (Graham Chapman), about to be crucified in the 1979 Biblical spoof "Monty Python's LIFE OF BRIAN." "I like following orders," growls the Roman centurion. It's one of the comedy's jabs of dark insight, and I mention it to Terry Jones. The Python who directed "LIFE OF BRIAN" is on the phone from England promoting its 25th anniversary re-release. "It's very appropriate to what's going on at the moment, isn't it?" replies Jones, referring to the abuse of imprisoned Iraqis. Jones is cheerfully frank about why "LIFE OF BRIAN" was re-release in the States in April, not August, as originally planned: In the wake of the success of "The Passion of the Christ," "The cash till started floating by our eyes," says Jones. "Pure commercial greed." But his post-Python career keeps Jones' eyes elsewhere, too: On the quite distant past and the all-too-with-us present. For one, he's continually popping up on the telly, most recently with they myth-debunking "Medieval Lives" mini-series he wrote and presented this year on The History Channel. The author of several books on the Middle Ages, the Oxford-educated Jones is also looking forward to publication this summer of his "Who Murdered Chaucer?," which he calls an "iconoclastic history" speculating that the death of the "Canterbury Tales" author involved skullduggery linked to royal succession. Reflecting on history closer to home, Jones bemusedly recalls the fuss by religious types that greeted "LIFE OF BRIAN" on its release, with denunciations in the U.S. and suppression in Great Britain. But as its defenders pointed out, the film is "heretical, not blasphemous," says Jones. "It's making fun of the propensity of mankind to split into little sects." (Pittsburgh City Paper - May 12-19, 2004) -------------------- SCHEDULE AT-A-GLANCE (May 14 - 20): FRIDAY, May 14: 3:00 o 5:15 o 7:30 o 9:30 - "Monty Python's LIFE OF BRIAN" SATURDAY, May 15: 3:00 o 5:15 o 7:30 o 9:30 - "Monty Python's LIFE OF BRIAN" SUNDAY, May 16: 3:00 o 5:15 o 7:30 - "Monty Python's LIFE OF BRIAN" MONDAY, May 17: 3:00 o 5:15 o 7:30 - "Monty Python's LIFE OF BRIAN" + Monday Night Discussion TUESDAY, May 18: 5:15 o 7:30 o 9:30 - "Monty Python's LIFE OF BRIAN" WEDNESDAY, May 19: 5:15 o 7:30 o 9:30 - "Monty Python's LIFE OF BRIAN" THURSDAY, May 20: 5:15 o 7:30 o 9:30 - "Monty Python's LIFE OF BRIAN" -------------------- COMING SOON: "CONCERT FOR GEORGE" Special screening & discussion - May 24... ONE NIGHT ONLY! In our own little tribute to the fellow who independently bankrolled "LIFE OF BRIAN," we present the film version of this 2002 concert, featuring the likes of Paul McCartney, Ravi Shankar, Eric Clapton, and many more, performing songs written and inspired by the late, great George Harrison. 7:30 screening followed by our weekly Monday Night Discussion! (www.concertforgeorge.com) "THE SAME RIVER TWICE" May 28 - June 3... ONE WEEK ONLY! In 1978, on a breath-taking trip in the Grand Canyon, filmmaker Robb Moss and a group of free-spirited friends and lovers took a month-long trip down the Colorado River. Cutting between footage of their youthful, often naked, unscheduled lives and the complex realities of their adulthood today, the film creates a compelling portrait of cultural metamorphosis. From running rapids to running for mayor, "THE SAME RIVER TWICE" is a story of change, choices, and of finding one's place in the world. "A masterpiece." - Chicago Reader (www.samerivertwice.com) "SHAOLIN SOCCER" Opens June 4... EXCLUSIVE! In the wicked game of "SHAOLIN SOCCER," players will stop at nothing to score a laugh - it fuses ancient martial arts with hard-hitting physical comedy and the high-flying energy of competitive sports! When a retired professional soccer player and a Shaolin martial arts master combine their talents, they set out to form a team comprised of down-and-out former classmates who each realizes a special power adding to the team's limitless potential: One has a head of iron, another bears stomach muscles able to propel the ball at warp speed, a third weighs 300 pounds but possesses the ability to walk on air, and finally the goalie who can stop any shot (well, ALMOST any shot)! With eye-popping action, crazy special effects and wicked humor, "SHAOLIN SOCCER" is the wild Hong Kong box office smash that is now out to dazzle America! (www.shaolinsoccer.com) "MOONLIT MATINEES" Complete schedule now available online at www.theoakstheater.com --------------- THE OAKS THEATER 310 ALLEGHENY RIVER BOULEVARD | OAKMONT, PA 15139 (412) 828 - 6311 | WWW.THEOAKSTHEATER.COM | TICKETS $5 | TUESDAY $4 -------------------- |