Alex Film Society presents 50th Anniversary Screening of Elia Kazans On The Waterfront

Oscar winners Marlon Brando and Rod Steiger on the big screen as they were meant to be seen.

(PRWEB) March 1, 2004 --Saturday, April 24, at 2 pm and 8 pm only, the Alex Film Society presents the 50th anniversary screening of Elia Kazans On The Waterfront (Columbia 1954) at Glendales historic
Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Boulevard. Tickets ($9.50, $8 matinee) are on sale at the Alex box office, by phone at (818) 243-2539 (ALEX), or online at www.alexfilmsociety.org. AFS members with valid membership cards receive discounts at the Alex box office.

Based on a true story, Bud Schulbergs script about down-and-out ex-boxer Terry Malloy struggling for dignity on New Yorks oppressive mob-run waterfront docks was an instant hit. Marlon Brandos Oscar winning turn leads the knockout ensemble of Rod Steiger, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden and Eva Marie Saint (Best Supporting Actress winner in her screen debut). Nominated for twelve Oscars (including three alone for supporting actor), it won eight Academy Awards.

Brando cut through decades of screen mannerisms and provided a fresh, alert, quirky acting style that was not realism so much as a kind of heightened riff on reality. On The Waterfront showcased the individualized, psychological approach to acting- The Method" that required performers to draw on his or her own self, on experiences, memories, and emotions that could inform a characterization and shape how a character might speak or move. Characters were thus shown to have an interior life; rather than being stereotyped figures representing a single concept (the villain, the heroine), they could become complex human beings with multiple and contradictory feelings and desires. it was the ability to convey the complexity, and confusion, of inner feelings that made the Actors Studio trained Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, and James Dean such emblematic figures for the Postwar era.

Also on the program will be a classic cartoon. Special guests to be announced shortly.

On The Waterfront screenings at Glendales Alex Theatre (Saturday, April 24, at 2 & 8 pm) are presented by the Alex Film Society, a non-profit, community arts organization dedicated to the preservation and presentation of classic movies as they were meant to be seen: On the Big Screen. Future AFS screenings include a rare reference print screening of Gone With The Wind (May 30) celebrating its 65th anniversary and AFS 10th and My Fair Lady on July 24.

Tickets ($8 at 2pm, $9.50 at 8pm) are on sale now at the Alex box office, 216 N. Brand Blvd. Glendale (open 12pm--6pm Tuesday thru Sunday), by phone daily at (818) 243-2539,
or online at www.alexfilmsociety.org

(Download electronic image images at www.Alexfilmsociety.org/transfer)
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