THE MoMA FILM SERIES COMMEMORATES THE BICENTENARY OF CHARLES DICKENS

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1 THE MoMA FILM SERIES COMMEMORATES THE BICENTENARY OF CHARLES DICKENS Dickens on Film December 19, 2012 January 3, 2013 The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters NEW YORK, December 12, The Museum of Modern Art presents Dickens on Film, December 19, 2012 through January 3, 2013 in The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters. Commemorating the bicentenary of Charles Dickens (British, ), one of the world s most beloved storytellers, Dickens on Film presents a vivid selection of silent and sound films adapted from his work. Dickens s highly visual narrative style has inspired filmmakers throughout the history of cinema, and many critics and scholars believe the author s use of alternating stories, divided by chapters within a single novel, helped sow the idea of cinematic cross-cutting and the development of editing in film. Approximately 20 programs of mostly British and American films will be shown, including several fine versions of Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and A Christmas Carol. The exhibition opens with a lecture by Adrian Wootton, Chief Officer of Film London and a Dickens film expert, on Wednesday, December 19, at 7:00 p.m. The exhibition is organized by Charles Silver, Curator, and Laurence Kardish, Former Senior Curator, Department of Film. Press Contact: Megan Montgoris, (212) , meg_montgoris@moma.org Brien McDaniel, (212) , brien_mcdaniel@moma.org For downloadable high-resolution images, register at MoMA.org/press. ************************* Public Information: The Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53 Street, New York, NY 10019, (212) , MoMA.org. Hours: Wednesday through Monday, 10:30 a.m. 5:30 p.m. Friday, 10:30 a.m. 8:00 p.m. Closed Tuesday. Museum Admission: $25 adults; $18 seniors, 65 years and over with I.D.; $14 full-time students with current I.D. Free, members and children 16 and under. (Includes admittance to Museum galleries and film programs). MoMA.org: No service charge for tickets ordered on MoMA.org. Tickets purchased online may be printed out and presented at the Museum without waiting in line. (Includes admittance to Museum galleries and film programs). Film and After Hours Program Admission: $12 adults; $10 seniors, 65 years and over with I.D.; $8 fulltime students with current I.D. The price of an After Hours Program Admission ticket may be applied toward the price of a Museum admission ticket or MoMA Membership within 30 days. MoMA/MoMA PS1 Blog, MoMA on Facebook, MoMA on Twitter, MoMA on YouTube, MoMA on Flickr

2 Screening Schedule Dickens on Film December 19, 2012 January 3, 2013 The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters Wednesday, December 19 7:00 Adrian Wootton on Dickens and Film Adrian Wootton, cocurator of this exhibition and codirector of Dickens 2012, a worldwide celebration of Dickens s bicentenary, gives an illustrated lecture on Dickens s continuing influence on film narrative. Wootton s talk is followed by a documentary he co-produced for BBC-Arena. Dickens on Film Great Britain. Directed by Anthony Wall. 60 min. Program approx. 150 min. Thursday, December 20 4:00 The Mystery of Edwin Drood USA. Directed by Stuart Walker. With Claude Rains, Douglass Montgomery, Heather Angel. 87 min. Preceded with an illustrated lecture by Adrian Wootton 7:30 SILENT SHORTS BASED ON DICKENS Scrooge, or Marley s Ghost Great Britain. Surviving excerpt. 4 min. Oliver Twist USA. Directed by J. Stuart Blackton. With Elita Proctor Otis. 9 min. The Cricket on the Hearth USA. Directed by D. W. Griffith. With Owen Moore, Linda Arvidson. 14 min. The Boy and the Convict Great Britain. Directed by David Aylott. 12 min. Nicholas Nickelby USA. Directed by George O. Nichols. With Harry Benham. 20 min. The Pickwick Papers USA/Great Britain. Directed by Larry Trimble. With John Bunny. Excerpt. 15 min. Dickens London Great Britain. Directed by Frank Miller, Harry B. Parkinson. Documentary from the series Wonderful London. 12 min. All films silent with piano accompaniment. Program approx. 90 min. Friday, December 21 4:00 Oliver Twist Great Britain. Directed by David Lean. With John Howard Davis, Robert Newton, Alec Guinness. Lean s version is justly celebrated for the plasticity, fluidity, and overall darkness of its vision. 118 min. 7:00 Our Mutual Friend. (Vor Faelles Ven) Denmark. Directed by Äke Sandberg. With Peter Fjelstrup, Karen Caspersen, Svend Kornbeck. One of several Dickens adaptations made in Denmark by Sandberg and recently restored. Courtesy Danish Filmmmuseum. Silent, with English intertitles and piano accompaniment. Approx. 110 min. 2

3 Saturday, December 22 1:00 Our Mutual Friend. (Vor Faelles Ven) Denmark. Directed by Äke Sandberg. With Peter Fjelstrup, Karen Caspersen, Svend Kornbeck. One of several Dickens adaptations made in Denmark by Sandberg and recently restored. Courtesy Danish Filmmmuseum. Silent, with English intertitles and piano accompaniment. Approx. 110 min. (See Friday, December 21, 7:00) 3:30 Great Expectations USA. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron. With Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert De Niro. This modernized version is set in present-day Manhattan. 111 min. 6:30 The Mystery of Edwin Drood USA. Directed by Stuart Walker. With Claude Rains, Douglass Montgomery, Heather Angel. 87 min. (See Thursday, December 20, 4:00) 8:30 Nicholas Nickelby Great Britain. Directed by Alberto Cavalcanti. With Stanley Holloway, Derek Bond, Sally Anne Howes, Cedric Hardwicke. Surprisingly, a rather solid interpretation of Dickens from an unconventional filmmaker. 108 min. Sunday, December 23 1:00 Leyenda de Navidad Spain. Directed by Manuel Tamayo. With Jesus Tordesillias. A Spanish adaptation of A Christmas Carol. In Spanish; no subtitles. 84 min. 3:00 Non a mai troppo tardi Italy. Directed by Filippo Walter Ratti. With Paolo Stoppa, Gugliemo Barnarbo, Marcello Mastroianni. An Italian adaptation of A Christmas Carol. In Italian; no subtitles. 86 min. 5:00 A Christmas Carol (Scrooge) Great Britain. Directed by Brian Desmond Hurst. With Alaistir Sim, Mervyn Johns, Hermoine Braddley. Sim gives perhaps the definitive Scrooge performance. 86 min. Monday, December 24 4:00 Great Expectations Great Britain. Directed by David Lean. With John Mills, Valerie Hobson, Jean Simmons, Martita Hunt. The most beloved adaptation of the novel. 110 min. Wednesday, December 26 4:00 Oliver! Great Britain. Directed by Carol Reed. Based on the musical by Lionel Bart. With Mark Lester, Ron Moody, Shani Wallis, Oliver Reed. An exuberant, spirited, and spiritually Dickensian musical version of the novel and winner of the Academy Award winner for Best Picture of the Year. 146 min. 7:30 Twist Canada. Directed by Jacob Tierney. With Nick Stahl, Joshua Close, Gary Farmer. An adult retelling from the perspective of the Artful Dodger, object of Oliver s affections. Courtesy Strand releasing. 97 min. 3

4 Thursday, December 27 7:00 The Pickwick Papers Great Britain. Directed by Noel Langley. With James Hytner, James Donald, Nigel Patrick, Joyce Grenfell. A joyful story of British eccentrics. 109 min. Friday, December 28 3:30 Great Expectations USA. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron. With Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert De Niro. This modernized version is set in present-day Manhattan. 111 min. (See Saturday, December 22, 3:30) 7:00 Twisted USA. Directed by Seth Michael Donsky. With William Hickey, Keivyn McNeill Grayes, Jean Loup Wolfman. One of Hickey s last performances is in Donsky s intriguing version of Dickens set in the Manhattan underworld of rent boys and addicts. 100 min. Saturday, December 29 1:00 A Tale of Two Cities USA. Directed by Jack Conway. With Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allen, Edna May Oliver. Perhaps the most lavish version of Dickens on film; Hollywood at its elegant best. 128 min. 3:45 A Tale of Two Cities Directed by Frank Lloyd. With William Farnum, Jewell Carmen, Charles Clary. One of the earliest features adapted from Dickens. Courtesy The Film Foundation. Silent with piano accompaniment. Approx. 75 min. 6:00 Oliver Twist Great Britain. Directed by David Lean. With John Howard Davis, Robert Newton, Alec Guinness. Lean s version is justly celebrated for the plasticity, fluidity, and overall darkness of its vision. 118 min. (See Friday, December 21, 4:00) 8:30 Oliver Twist Great Britain/Italy/Czech Republic. Directed by Roman Polanski. With Mark Strong, Ben Kingsley. One of the bleakest of film adaptations, reflecting the existential terrors and anxieties of childhood. 130 min. Sunday, December 30 12:30 Oliver Twist USA. Directed by Frank Lloyd. With Jackie Coogan, Lon Chaney. Made at the height of young Coogan s fame, a year after his appearance in Charles Chaplin s The Kid. Silent with piano accompaniment. Approx. 75 min. 3:00 Great Expectations Great Britain. Directed by David Lean. With John Mills, Valerie Hobson, Jean Simmons, Martita Hunt. The most beloved adaptation of the novel. 110 min. (See Monday, December 24, 4:00) 5:15 David Copperfield USA. Directed by George Cukor. With Freddie Batholomew, Frank Lawton, Edna May Oliver, W. C. Fields. Originally meant to be shot on location in London, David O. Selznick s MGM production was made in Hollywood with a largely British cast. 130 min. 4

5 Monday, December 31 4:00 Oliver! Great Britain. Directed by Carol Reed. Based on the musical by Lionel Bart. With Mark Lester, Ron Moody, Shani Wallis, Oliver Reed. 146 min. (See Wednesday, December 26, 4:00) Tuesday, January 1 4:00 The Pickwick Papers Great Britain. Directed by Noel Langley. With James Hytner, James Donald, Nigel Patrick, Joyce Grenfell. 109 min. (See Thursday, December 27, 7:00) 7:00 Twisted USA. Directed by Seth Michael Donsky. With William Hickey, Keivyn McNeill Grayes, Jean Loup Wolfman. 100 min. (See Wednesday, December 26, 7:00) Wednesday, January 2 4:00 Oliver Twist USA. Directed by Frank Lloyd. With Jackie Coogan, Lon Chaney. Silent with piano accompaniment. Approx. 75 min. (See Sunday, December 30, 12:30) 7:00 Twist Canada. Directed by Jacob Tierney. With Nick Stahl, Joshua Close, Gary Farmer. 97 min. (See Wednesday, December 26, 7:00) Thursday, January 3 4:00 David Copperfield USA. Directed by George Cukor. With Freddie Batholomew, Frank Lawton, Edna May Oliver, W. C. Fields. 130 min. (See Sunday, December 30, 5:15) 7:00 A Tale of Two Cities USA. Directed by Jack Conway. With Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allen, Edna May Oliver. 128 min. (See Saturday, December 29, 1:00) 5