Coming up…save the date!

Come see the hilarious Buster Keaton, a comedy genius of the Silent Screen!

The General 
One of the most revered comedies of the silent era, this film finds hapless Southern railroad engineer Johnny Gray (Buster Keaton) facing off against Union soldiers during the American Civil War. When Johnny’s fiancee, Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack), is accidentally taken away while on a train stolen by Northern forces, Gray pursues the soldiers, using various modes of transportation in comic action scenes that highlight Keaton’s boundless wit and dexterity.

The Blacksmith 
A 1922 American short comedy film co-written, co-directed by and featuring Buster Keaton. Buster plays an assistant blacksmith to the big worker played by Joe Roberts, with predictable results.

“The General” and “The Blacksmith” play once only on Thursday, November 12 at 9:30 p.m. All seats are $8.50. Moviegoers are advised to get advance tickets at the box office or online, as shows may sell out. Arriving early is a good idea, in order to choose your seat and also order delicious food and wine or beer.

Scene

Open from 4:30 until 10:00, Scene wine/food bar offers a special menu, including delicious panini, salads, flatbread, and desserts. You can enjoy them there, or have them brought to your seat while you watch the movie.

The third film in Rialto Cinemas’ anniversary celebrations is Disney’s “Fantasia,” which turns 75 this year. This movie is a series of animated interpretations of classical music performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, led by the great Leopold Stokowski. The sequences include abstract animation set to Bach’s “Tocatta and Fugue in D minor,” a depiction of the changing of the seasons set to Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite”, Mickey Mouse getting himself in a whole lot of trouble accompanied by “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” by Paul Dukas, the history of the earth set to Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring,” creatures from Greek mythology accompanied by Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, dancing animals set to Amilcare Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours,” and a horror fantasy set to “Night on Bald Mountain” by Mussorgsky.

Many of us had our first exposures to serious art music through cartoons. Disney, Warner Brothers and other animation studios often set their works to classic music. “Fantasia” is probably most ambitious marriage of the two forms. The production was also technically ambitious: it introduced Fantasound, the first stereo surround-sound system.

Leopold Stokowski and his associates won a special Academy Award for their work on “Fantasia.” Walt Disney, William E. Garity and J.N.A. Hawkins also got a special Academy Award for their advancement of sound in movies. “Fantasia” has a Tomatometer rating of 96%. The movie was selected to the National Film Registry in 1990 as a “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant film.”

Yannik Nezet-Seguin now leads the Philadelphia Orchestra. This showing of “Fantasia” will include a behind-the-scenes look at the orchestra’s rehearsals, including a selection of pieces from the movie. Nezet-Seguin will also lead a discussion about Stokowski, “Fantasia,” and the impact they had on the world of symphonic music.

“Fantasia” will be shown at the Cerrito at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 8, and at the Elmwood on Sunday, November 8 at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., and again on Monday, November 9 at 7:00 p.m. You can get tickets at the box office or on line through the Cerrito or Elmwood web site.

Rialto Cinemas is celebrating the anniversaries of three classic films. The second is “Oklahoma!,” which turns sixty this year. This movie features Gordon MacRae as Curly, Gloria Grahame as Ado Annie, Shirley Jones as Laurey, Eddie Albert as Ali Hakim and Rod Steiger as Jud. The story involves romance, jealousy and obsession.

Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote the score, with such great songs as “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” “Kansas City,” “People Will Say We’re in Love” and “Oklahoma!” The movie won Academy Awards for Best Sound and Best Music, and was nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing. It was selected to the National Film Registry in 2007 as a “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant film.”

This newly remastered version will be accompanied by a performance by a current Broadway star of some of his favorite songs from “Oklahoma!”

“Oklahoma!” will be shown at the Cerrito at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 7, and at the Elmwood on Sunday, November 1 at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., and again on Monday, November 2 at 7:00 p.m. You can get tickets at the box office or on line through the Cerrito or Elmwood web site.

Coming up: more information about the third film in this anniversary series: “Fantasia.”