With a showcase that Hollywood itself would be envious of, the movies are coming back to the Plaza Theatre thanks to “The Movies Return” Festival starting tonight and running through Aug. 24. Titles include “Casablanca,” “Bonnie and Clyde," “Rebel Without a Cause," “King Kong” (the original), “Planet of the Apes” (again, the original), and much more. You’ll even be able to catch up on “The Matrix," “Saving Private Ryan” and other modern-day blockbusters destined to be canonized as classics. Peruse the irresistible line-up for yourself here. I’m particularly thrilled by the Cary Grant extravaganza on Aug. 18 -- “An Affair to Remember," “The Philadelphia Story," and “To Catch a Thief “on the big screen with Grant’s dulcet tones bouncing off the walls of the Plaza’s state-of-the-art, acoustically engineered walls all in one day? It’s like Christmas in summertime!
As a filmmaker and film journalist living and working in Los Angeles, I can assure you that an event like this is rare even in the moviemaking capitol of the world and that the technology being utilized to screen these classics is tip-top. Of course, if all you care about is having some fun in the dark, you’re guaranteed that, too, with the likes of “Manos: The Hands of Fate” (made in El Paso, considered the worst movie ever made, and subject of an unforgettable, gut-busting “Mystery Science Theater” satire, for those of you who remember the Comedy Central show). Get your horror kicks with “The Exorcist," “Alien” and the world premiere of “Wicked Lake”—directed by El Paso’s own Zach Passero. Go futuristic-retro with “Blade Runner” (this movie should NEVER be viewed on anything other than a big screen!), “The Omega Man," “Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior” and “Escape From New York.” Parents, pay attention to the film ratings (all indicated on the website): there are very specific guidelines for the more adult-oriented films that deny admission to anyone underage. This is both to keep an avid audience from having to endure the screaming of a six-year-old during their favorite flick, not to mention preventing said six-year-old from having years of nightmares the way I did when I first saw “The Exorcist”…
Speaking of, give the whole family from los niños to abuelita a treat with the likes of “The Wizard of Oz," “Singin’ in the Rain," “The Black Stallion” and “The Iron Giant.” And if you claim to only care for the newest stuff out there, why not take in the original "The Day The Earth Stood Still" before the remake hits screens this December? As much as I adore Keanu Reeves, Michael Rennie will always and forever be the quintessential Klaatu… and cheesy as the film comes off now, its message about violence and intolerance is as relevant today as it was in 1951.
The scope of films El Pasoans are being given the opportunity to see is staggering enough, but it’s not all. In addition, a symphonic concert is also being presented as a well-thought acknowledgement of the critical role that sound, score and song play in the art of cinema. After all, could you imagine “Rocky” without the theme song? And would Darth Vader ever come off as menacing without John Williams’ “Imperial March”?
“For me, the concert takes the festival to 11,” says the festival’s artistic director Charles Horak—referencing, of course, the 1984 Rob Reiner classic “Spinal Tap.” The concert features The El Paso Symphony Orchestra performing a selection of music from “the Golden Age of Hollywood,” led by guest conductor John Scott. Having Scott in town for something like this is a treat in and of itself; for more than 40 years, Scott has contributed to some of the most well-known movie and television music in history. There’s nothing like listening to a live, full symphony orchestra bring to life the theme of “2001: A Space Odyssey”—it’ll send chills down your spine (in a good way!).
Now, this isn’t like sitting back in your La-Z-Boy watching a DVD rental or the VHS tape you dug out of a box for old times’ sake. As I mentioned before, the Plaza’s sound capabilities will blow you away, while newly-installed 35mm and digital projection equipment will do absolute justice to the breathtaking archival prints of these films acquired by the organizers specifically for this event. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event to see a variety of movies that have made cinematic history the way they were made to be seen. In this day of YouTube, pirated media, reality TV and instant Internet gratification, there’s still nothing to compare to losing yourself in the multisensory experience of watching a movie. Still not convinced? Some screenings will cost you $2 to $6 while many are FREE. There are a bunch of movies I didn’t mention and I know I sound like a used car salesman by this point, but this event has definitely got something for everyone—take a look here! I’ll see you there.
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I asked the co-organizer Charles Horak—who also runs the El Paso Film Salon and hosts KTEP’s “On Film” radio show—to answer a few questions about this spectacular event.
Tell me about the selection process that went in to determining what would be screened.
During one of the earliest discussions I had with the El Paso Community Foundation, I said, "You only get to re-open the Plaza Theatre as a movie palace twice in a century, so let's do it BIG!” From the beginning, the concept was to present films in the Kendle Kidd Performance Hall—the main, historic, 2,000+ seat theatre—that represented a diverse cross section of Hollywood classics from 1930 to 1974, which was the original commercial run of the theatre. Once we selected the dates and the number of screenings—which included matinees, big evening shows and late shows so as to give as many opportunities to attract as many segments of the population as possible—I settled into thinking of film titles. You'd think it would be hard to come up with 33 films from these decades, but the reverse was true. I think I had about 250 films on my list, but after that came the difficult task of selecting a list that represented favorites and classics like “Casablanca," “King Kong” and “Wizard of Oz”; different genres like musical, horror, sci-fi, western, melodramas or adventure; under-seen special films like “Curse of The Demon," “The Man From Laramie” and “Thunder Over The Plains”; guilty pleasures like “The Omega Man”; icons like “Planet of The Apes” and “2001: A Space Odyssey”; films historically significant to El Paso or the theatre like “Giant," which was made in Marfa, and “The Exorcist," which was the last film to play at the Plaza before Interstate Theatres sold it; Mexican golden age classics like “Enamorada”... and more. Many of these films actually played at the Plaza on their initial release. The really hard part was determining whether our short list of 60 films existed in 35mm—since it was a priority for us to show only film in the big theatre—and in what condition, since we would only accept excellent prints for this screen. Availability was also an issue. The final list was gently massaged from about 45 down to the 33 you see on the schedule. I think it’s an excellent representation of the decades—though, for a cinephile, hardly complete. And with the addition of the Philanthropy Theatre we had the opportunity to expose this new venue to audiences and decided to counter-program across from the main schedule a list of films that would provide alternative titles from the years after the Plaza was closed, the late ‘70s to 2000s, all in high-definition digital.
Being on the border as we are, how much thought was given to showing films that might reflect the Mexican population or the south of Paisano classics?
Though the Plaza was never a “Mexican film house”—that would have been the Colon or other theatres further south on El Paso Street—we thought it very important to showcase a classic from Mexico’s golden age. “Enamorada," the film we ultimately settled on, could be a story in itself. It took almost as long to find and acquire for the festival as the other 62 titles! But I’m really excited that we can show this tremendous film and hope it will not only rekindle some fond memories, but will expose new generations to the great cinema traditions in Mexico form this period. Maria Felix and Pedro Armendariz were superstars, Emilio Fernandez a great director, and the fantastic cinematography of Gabriel Figueroa is something to behold. High art indeed.
How have you been careful to promote this event as something for anyone, not just film buffs?
Well we’ve certainly planned a number of titles that are known as classics. But half the attraction is truly the Plaza Theatre itself; there is such a nostalgia and interest in seeing movies at the Plaza. We always knew we wanted to attract attendees who have not had an opportunity to see the Plaza since it was re-opened more than years ago. We’ve done a great deal of fundraising to cover the hard costs of the festival so we could keep ticket costs very low. Many of the days are entirely family friendly right through to the late shows. There will be food service at the Plaza for lunch, dinner and snacks, as well as from our partners The Camino Real and Café Central. We’ve made every attempt to allow people to spend the day in and around the theatre and think this is a great opportunity for many to see the Plaza for the first time, but also to explore downtown. Exciting things are happening downtown and much of the progress has been spurred by the Plaza.
Did you consider adding a current film, one that may be playing in another local Cineplex but giving audiences the opportunity to see it in a special place? Or perhaps foreign or independent films that may never make the local Cineplexes? I’m asking this because there’s often an attitude in the city that "newer is better"…
I hope we are about to dispel the “new is better” notion, but obviously El Paso doesn’t have much in the way of reparatory or art house cinema. The Plaza really has something going for it that no other theatre has: an amazing cinema experience. The act of watching movies in the Plaza is like none other you can find for hundreds of miles. Hollywood is increasingly investing in new ways to attract shrinking audiences, from digital presentations to 3D to IMAX to simulcasts, but I think, ironically, the Plaza waited around long enough to see audiences crave a premium experience when they go to the movies, which is just what movie palaces were built for. I do see the Plaza being used to host special screenings of films made locally. World premieres for “No Country For Old Men," “Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada” or “There Will Be Blood could definitely have happened here had the Plaza had the capability when those films were released. The screen is the largest in town; the projectors, the finest; the image, the best; and we have a state-of-the-art digital system so we can show the latest digital releases if things continue in that direction. The Philanthropy Theatre is really where we are enticing those who may think of films made before the ‘90s as being “old” to come down and enjoy something “newer”; then, they get exposed to the full Plaza schedule. The Plaza will probably never be a first-run house again—the economics of single screen theatres don’t work and the stranglehold that theatre chains have on current film programming, at least where big Hollywood fare is concerned, is an obstacle. But there are many days of the year where the Plaza will not have bookings and I expect, once our festival is over, there will be a great deal of programming to follow. In fact, one of the central purposes of this festival was to showcase the venue, its equipment and its capabilities and spark new ideas in the community about what can be done here. This is just the beginning.
Is there any irony for you in showing films from a time when the Plaza was a segregated theater?
Absolutely! The upper balcony was at one time set aside for “coloreds," only accessible from the side entrance via a closed staircase. It’s important to tell all of the stories of the Plaza so that people understand just how far we’ve come. And it’s an important part of the legacy that buildings were at one time designed to treat people of color differently. The great thing about classic films is that they have outlived some of the more base elements of the society that produced them, though there are occasionally elements to those films that should remind us of the intolerance of an earlier age. The Plaza’s side entrance is going to be used as a sponsor/VIP entrance—a nice reversal—and the closed stair to the upper balcony is now accessible to all. In fact, one of my favorite seats is in the far upper corner of the balcony, where you can watch 2000 people watching a movie. It’s important for people to remember who used to sit there decades ago.
Did you originally want local working filmmakers to have the opportunity to show work as part of this event? If so, how did you go about making that happen?
Yes—it was always part of the plan to showcase some of what’s going on here in the filmmaking community. A lot of residents don’t know that we have a thriving film community here on the border and we wanted to provide an opportunity for some of the work being produced in Juarez, El Paso and Las Cruces to be shown. We always wanted to try different things in both theatres and see what works, but we certainly felt that the festival was big enough, both in scope and days, to attract many different attendees.
Do you feel there's a big gap between the work of local filmmakers and the audiences, sponsors or networks that might support them? And do you think this event might bridge that gap in any way?
Yes. Talk to most local filmmakers and there is a sense that it is harder to make films here than in places like Austin or Albuquerque. Part of it is community awareness and support, but I think that part of it is just a lack of critical mass when it comes to work opportunities here. There’s certainly no lack of creativity in the area, but we are a bit politically and geographically isolated and it doesn’t help to have New Mexico with its huge film production incentives luring productions there rather than West Texas. But that can be a boon for locals who are willing to travel a bit; Albuquerque has some exciting studios being built and Las Cruces has a fairly new film school, the Creative Media Institute, which is attracting production work that used to go to Albuquerque. So I see more opportunities coming in the future. It’s important for local filmmakers not only to have the resources and support to make their independent work here, but also to work alongside professionals in the industry and see first-hand how larger productions are organized and managed—basically, to learn the tricks of the trade while being paid.
Do you need to make a profit or break even in order for this even to be considered a success by the city so it might happen again? How do you manage the high-wire balancing act of recouping expenses yet making admission affordable to almost anyone in the area?
Our sponsors are crucial to this Festival happening at all. The costs and the time to put something like this on are enormous. One of the little reported aspects of this festival is that all surpluses—and we hope there will be some—will become part of a new film fund managed by the El Paso Community Foundation for the express purpose of underwriting future film events at the Plaza. It’s one of the key elements of this festival that has motivated me to spend so much time on this. Basically, there will be fund to act as seed money for other ideas, events and screenings. I see the Festival as being a springboard for many other cinema happenings in El Paso.
