The Hillsborough Classic Film Society is a group that is showing classic, foreign and independent films once a month in Orange County Public Library, 137 W. Margaret Lane, Hillsborough.
At each film there is an expert speaker who sets the background for the film.
There’s also free popcorn. You can bring a folding chair, which you might find to be more comfortable than the library chairs.
The films are from the Criterion Collection, which means that they are cleaned up and remastered, and the image on the screen is even better than image the original audiences saw.
It’s free to join the Hillsborough Classic Film Society, and members take part in deciding what films will be shown.
2019/2020 Season of Hillsborough Classic Film Society
September 15th, 2019
Young Frankenstein (1974) Speaker: Cole Russig, Duke.Mel Brooks’ comedy is both a satire of the early Frankenstein films and a tribute to them. According to Roger Ebert, it is Brooks’ “most disciplined and visually inventive film (it also happens to be very funny).”
Young Frankenstein (1974) Speaker: Cole Russig, Duke.Mel Brooks’ comedy is both a satire of the early Frankenstein films and a tribute to them. According to Roger Ebert, it is Brooks’ “most disciplined and visually inventive film (it also happens to be very funny).”
October 6th, 2019
The Train (1964) Speaker: Gary Hawkins, Duke. “In 1944, a German colonel loads a train with French art treasures to send to Germany. The Resistance must stop it without damaging the cargo.” That’s how IMDb summarizes the movie, but that’s not it at all. The Resistance doesn’t give a damn about the art; the leader only cares about the men he’s lost. Why should he care about the art? What is art against the lives of men and women? The answer may not be as obvious as it seems and the movie doesn’t attempt to answer it, but it raises it in a particularly compelling way. Burt Lancaster (“Elmer Gantry”) as the leader of the Resistance, Paul Scofield (“A Man for All Seasons”) as the German colonel. Emmy winner Gary Hawkins of Duke, screenwriter for the critically acclaimed movie Joe (2013), will introduce the film and lead the discussion afterwards.
The Train (1964) Speaker: Gary Hawkins, Duke. “In 1944, a German colonel loads a train with French art treasures to send to Germany. The Resistance must stop it without damaging the cargo.” That’s how IMDb summarizes the movie, but that’s not it at all. The Resistance doesn’t give a damn about the art; the leader only cares about the men he’s lost. Why should he care about the art? What is art against the lives of men and women? The answer may not be as obvious as it seems and the movie doesn’t attempt to answer it, but it raises it in a particularly compelling way. Burt Lancaster (“Elmer Gantry”) as the leader of the Resistance, Paul Scofield (“A Man for All Seasons”) as the German colonel. Emmy winner Gary Hawkins of Duke, screenwriter for the critically acclaimed movie Joe (2013), will introduce the film and lead the discussion afterwards.
November 10th, 2019
Rashomon (1950) Speaker: Laura Boyes, NC Museum of Art.Directed by Akira Kurosawa and produced in the aftermath of a war that devastated Japan, Rashomon is “a riveting psychological thriller that investigates the nature of truth and the meaning of justice.” It “is widely considered one of the greatest films ever made.”—Criterion Collections
Rashomon (1950) Speaker: Laura Boyes, NC Museum of Art.Directed by Akira Kurosawa and produced in the aftermath of a war that devastated Japan, Rashomon is “a riveting psychological thriller that investigates the nature of truth and the meaning of justice.” It “is widely considered one of the greatest films ever made.”—Criterion Collections
December 8th, 2019
Charlie Chaplin films(1921-1931) for Christmas. Speaker: Francesca Talenti, UNC.(Probably The Kid and City Lights) Chaplin and Christmas cookies! Bring the kids and grandkids. (We’ll even throw in a few scenes from Lotte Reiniger’s beautiful, silent stop-action Prince Ahmed during intermission.)
Charlie Chaplin films(1921-1931) for Christmas. Speaker: Francesca Talenti, UNC.(Probably The Kid and City Lights) Chaplin and Christmas cookies! Bring the kids and grandkids. (We’ll even throw in a few scenes from Lotte Reiniger’s beautiful, silent stop-action Prince Ahmed during intermission.)
January 12th, 2020
Black Orpheus (1959) Speaker: Gustavo Furtado, Duke. A modern version of the Orpheus/Euridice tale set in Brazil at Carnival, it introduced bossa nova to American audiences with music by Luiz Bonfá (“Manhã de Carnaval”) and Antonio Carlos Jobim (“Girl from Ipanema”).
Black Orpheus (1959) Speaker: Gustavo Furtado, Duke. A modern version of the Orpheus/Euridice tale set in Brazil at Carnival, it introduced bossa nova to American audiences with music by Luiz Bonfá (“Manhã de Carnaval”) and Antonio Carlos Jobim (“Girl from Ipanema”).
February 9th, 2020
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) Speaker: Max Owre, UNC Public Humanities. A classic silent film by the great Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer (1889-1968). Roger Ebert said, “You cannot know the history of silent film unless you know the face of Renee Maria Falconetti [who played Joan]. In a medium without words, where the filmmakers believed that the camera captured the essence of characters through their faces, to see Falconetti . . . is to look into eyes that will never leave you.”
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) Speaker: Max Owre, UNC Public Humanities. A classic silent film by the great Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer (1889-1968). Roger Ebert said, “You cannot know the history of silent film unless you know the face of Renee Maria Falconetti [who played Joan]. In a medium without words, where the filmmakers believed that the camera captured the essence of characters through their faces, to see Falconetti . . . is to look into eyes that will never leave you.”
March 8th, 2020
High Noon (1952), Ken Wetherington, Duke. One of the greatest and most elegant of the mythic westerns. “High Noon centered on a protagonist—Marshall Will Kane—who behaved more like a human everyman than a traditional, all-powerful Western icon. … Here was Gary Cooper playing a decidedly anti-Gary Cooper character, [a] frightened town marshal, ostracized authority figure, humiliated husband. Something was happening here. Something about the Western was about to change forever.” Directed by Fred Zinneman (“A Man for All Seasons,” “From Here to Eternity”).
High Noon (1952), Ken Wetherington, Duke. One of the greatest and most elegant of the mythic westerns. “High Noon centered on a protagonist—Marshall Will Kane—who behaved more like a human everyman than a traditional, all-powerful Western icon. … Here was Gary Cooper playing a decidedly anti-Gary Cooper character, [a] frightened town marshal, ostracized authority figure, humiliated husband. Something was happening here. Something about the Western was about to change forever.” Directed by Fred Zinneman (“A Man for All Seasons,” “From Here to Eternity”).
April 5th, 2020
Pather Panchali (1955) Speaker: Tom Wallis, UNC Systems Office. The film “is like a prayer, affirming that this is what the cinema can be, no matter how far in our cynicism we may stray.”—Ebert. “Beautiful, sometimes funny, and full of love, it brought a new vision of India to the screen.”–Kael.
Pather Panchali (1955) Speaker: Tom Wallis, UNC Systems Office. The film “is like a prayer, affirming that this is what the cinema can be, no matter how far in our cynicism we may stray.”—Ebert. “Beautiful, sometimes funny, and full of love, it brought a new vision of India to the screen.”–Kael.
May 10th, 2020
Nights of Cabiria (1957) Speaker: Paolo Tosini, Duke. “… a film that owes as much to City Lights as it does to The Bicycle Thief. … Nights of Cabiria shifts so effortlessly between heartbreaking and comic it’s easy to forget how badly the movie could have gone. It’s about that most sentimental of stock characters: the hooker with the heart of gold. It’s easy to imagine a lighthearted version in which Cabiria is lifted from her sordid surroundings (and that version is called Pretty Woman). Or the movie could have gone the other way and been a turgid “gritty” drama about life on the Roman streets. … But Cabiria is so fully realized and human that she defies stereotypes. Credit for this goes entirely to Gulietta Masina, who captures Cabiria’s loneliness and pride in every frame.”—Matt Dessem.
Nights of Cabiria (1957) Speaker: Paolo Tosini, Duke. “… a film that owes as much to City Lights as it does to The Bicycle Thief. … Nights of Cabiria shifts so effortlessly between heartbreaking and comic it’s easy to forget how badly the movie could have gone. It’s about that most sentimental of stock characters: the hooker with the heart of gold. It’s easy to imagine a lighthearted version in which Cabiria is lifted from her sordid surroundings (and that version is called Pretty Woman). Or the movie could have gone the other way and been a turgid “gritty” drama about life on the Roman streets. … But Cabiria is so fully realized and human that she defies stereotypes. Credit for this goes entirely to Gulietta Masina, who captures Cabiria’s loneliness and pride in every frame.”—Matt Dessem.
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More upcoming free events in the Triangle
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Friday, October 25, 2019
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Friday, November 1, 2019
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Monday, November 11, 2019
When
November 10, 2019 @ 3:00 pm
What
Hillsborough Classic Film Society: Rashomon
Where
Orange County Public Library Main Library, Hillsborough
Cost
FREE
Add to Calendar: Google Outlook/iCal
When
December 8, 2019 @ 3:00 pm
What
Hillsborough Classic Film Society: Charlie Chaplin for the Holidays
Where
Orange County Public Library Main Library, Hillsborough
Cost
FREE
Add to Calendar: Google Outlook/iCal
When
January 12, 2020 @ 3:00 pm
What
Hillsborough Classic Film Society: Black Orpheus
Where
Orange County Public Library Main Library, Hillsborough
Cost
FREE
Add to Calendar: Google Outlook/iCal
When
February 9, 2020 @ 3:00 pm
What
Hillsborough Classic Film Society: Passion of Joan of Arc
Where
Orange County Public Library Main Library, Hillsborough
Cost
FREE
Add to Calendar: Google Outlook/iCal
When
March 8, 2020 @ 3:00 pm
What
Hillsborough Classic Film Society: High Noon
Where
Orange County Public Library Main Library, Hillsborough
Cost
FREE
Add to Calendar: Google Outlook/iCal
When
April 5, 2020 @ 3:00 pm
What
Hillsborough Classic Film Society: Pather Panchali
Where
Orange County Public Library Main Library, Hillsborough
Cost
FREE
Add to Calendar: Google Outlook/iCal
When
May 10, 2020 @ 3:00 pm
What
Hillsborough Classic Film Society: Nights of Cabiria
Where
Orange County Public Library Main Library, Hillsborough
Cost
FREE
Add to Calendar: Google Outlook/iCal
Orange County Public Library Main Library, Hillsborough
137 W. Margaret Lane
Hillsborough, NC
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