Celebrating the legacy of Roxie films
The Roxie Theater, which opened in 1909 and is the longest continuously operated movie theater in the country, became an art house in 1976. Bill Banning joined the team in 1984 and immediately established Roxie Releasing, and an ambitious plan to discover and distribute movies worldwide.
Films such as “Red Rock West” and the documentaries “Kurt and Courtney” and “Genghis Blues” were wildly popular in art house theaters across the country, and the box office take — about $7 million — helped keep the Roxie alive during challenging times for art houses.
“Roxie Releasing was significant in that it was a ingenious, elegantly symbiotic form of revenue generation that allowed the Roxie Theater to stay open during cash flow shortfalls, while bringing into public consciousness certain films ... that otherwise might never have seen the light of a cinema projector,” said programming and publicity director Rick Norris.
“We’re honoring Bill Banning’s vision. He had an uncanny ability to find great films that had been overlooked by other distributors.”
The Roxie, now a
“I remember Reese Witherspoon sleeping in the office during a day of publicity.” Rick Norris, programming and publicity director, Roxie Theater
nonprofit, celebrates the success of Roxie Releasing with four films on Saturday, March 4, each introduced by Norris and former programmer Elliott Lavine: “Vincent: The Life and Death of Vincent Van Gogh” (1987), Warhol-related documentary “Nico Icon” (1995), a portrait of a sculptor’s art in “Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working With Time” (2003), and the neo-noir “Freeway” (1996), starring Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland.
“I remember Reese Witherspoon sleeping in the office during a day of publicity,” Norris said.
She turns in one of her best performances as a Lolita-like femme fatale in Matthew Bright’s violent satirical riff on “Little Red Riding Hood.” Sutherland is the psychotic child psychologist who picks her up hitchhiking.
The day is part of a celebration week of the Roxie’s years as an art house, which includes screenings of Otto Preminger’s “Skidoo” (for a 1976 price of $1.50) and David Lynch’s “Eraserhead” (both Friday, March 3); John Waters’ “Polyester” in Odorama (Monday, March 6); Vincent Gallo’s “Buffalo ’66” (Tuesday, March 7); and Akira Kurosawa’s “The Hidden Fortress” (Thursday, March 9).
And if you’re up for some bowling, there’s a benefit for the Roxie at Mission Bowling Club on Wednesday, March 8.
At the Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., S.F. (415) 863-1087. www.roxie.com “All About Eve”: The first film to rack up a record 14 Oscar nominations — later matched by “Titanic” and “La La Land” — is this month’s Turner Classic Movie/ Fathom Events classic, with screenings across the nation and at several in the Bay Area, including the Sundance Kabuki, AMC Van Ness 14 and Century 20 Daly City. In the words of Margo Channing (Bette Davis), one-half of the Broadway actress rivalry in Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s best picture winner, “Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night!” Co-starring Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Gary Merrill and a young, up-andcoming Marilyn Monroe. Sunday, March 5, and Wednesday, March 8. For theaters and showtimes, go to www.fathom events.com.
Howard Hawks month: The Thursday classics series at the Balboa Theatre starts with two Bogie and Bacalls (“To Have and Have Not,” Thursday, March 2, and “The Big Sleep,” Thursday, March 9) and ends with two John Waynes (“Rio Bravo,” March 23, and “El Dorado,” March 30). In between is the sci-fi classic “The Thing” (March 16), which was produced by Hawks and directed by Christian Nyby. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays at the Balboa Theatre, 3630 Balboa St., S.F. (415) 221-8184. www.cinemasf.com/balboa