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NOSFERATUTickets: $6.50 - $11.50F.W. Murnau. Germany. 1922. NR.81 min. DVD. Presented by Theatre Organ Society of the Delaware ValleySun, Oct 28, 3:00 pmThe Theatre Organ Society of the Delaware Valley (TOSDV) presents Nosferatu with live organ accompaniment by Wayne Zimmerman.

Abraham “Bram” Stoker, an Irish novelist and short story writer, in 1897 penned the book Dracula the neck-biting, blood sucking, evil vampire. When Stoker died in 1912, he was not to know how his story and fame would be interpreted by the motion picture industry in the years to come. The German motion picture director F. W. Murnau made the silent movie Nosferatu in 1922, an unauthorized adaptation of Stoker’s Dracula. Even though the names of the characters and settings were changed from those in the book, there was so much commonality between the movie and the novel that Stoker’s widow successfully sued over copyright infringement, thus severely restricting distribution of the movie. Nosferatu essentially disappeared, with many copies likely destroyed. Fortunately some copies remained. Nosferatu is now not only acknowledged as a great example of German film making of that era, but is considered to be the best of the subsequent authorized and produced film versions of Dracula. As film critic Roger Ebert wrote: “It knows none of the later tricks of the trade, like sudden threats that pop in from the side of the screen. But Nosferatu remains effective. It doesn’t scare us, but it haunts us. It shows not that vampires can jump out of shadows, but that evil can grow there, nour-ished on death.” You may decide on your own. (Wayne Zimmerman)

SPOOFS & SATIRES

THIS IS SPINAL TAPRob Reiner. US. 1984. R. 82 min. Rialto. 35mm. Tickets $5 - $12Sun, Nov 11, 2:00 pmBust out your leather pants and your bics because two of the greatest rockumentaries of all time are coming to the Colonial! First up is This Is Spinal Tap – doing double (heavy) duty as a classic film in our Spoofs & Satires series, and as the raison d’etre for Nigel Tufne Day (11/11). The second film is Anvil! The Story of Anvil, part of our documentary series, at 4PM. Rob Reiner (best known, at the time, as Meathead on TV’s All In The Family), proved his directorial skill with This is Spinal Tap, a wonderful parody of the rock documentary. The plot, such as there is, has Reiner playing a documentary director, covering the reunion tour of what Leonard Maltin has described as an “aging 60s British rock group that’s a working definition of the term loser.’” Featuring such masterful satirists as Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, and Michael McKean (all of whom went on to great success in such films and mockumentaries as The Princess Bride, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and many others), this tongue-in-cheek lampoon is filled with fun, both slapstick and subtle. The London Radio Times wrote, “This is a brilliantly crafted and completely on-target satire of the rock n’ roll industry.” Don’t miss the memorable Stonehenge-inspired production number scene. It’s huge.

YOUNG FRANKENSTEINMel Brooks. US. 1974. PG. 106 min. Fox. 35mm. Sun, Nov 18, 2:00 pmThis hilarious, but affectionate, spoof of the classic horror films produced by Universal studios in the 1930’s and 40s, is rated by many as being the funniest, most accomplished, parody of a classic film ever made. Written by Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder and with a cast that includes Wilder (as Dr. Frankenstein – “pronounced Fronk-enstein”), Peter Boyle (as the Monster), Marty Feldman (as the hunch-backed assistant, “Eye-gor”), Cloris Leachman (as “Frau Blucher”), and the lovely Teri Garr, this is a movie that will have you laughing out loud. Though it helps to have a rec-ollection of the original Frankenstein series, the jokes and set-pieces (and the wonderful, evocative black-and-white cinematography) are such that you are bound to get into Brooks’ gentle, but often raucous, comic spirit. If you have never seen this wonderful fun-filled film on the big screen, don’t miss it! Never has a “scary” film caused so much laughter. And yes, that is Gene Hackman, in a hilarious cameo role as the kindly blind hermit who befriends the Monster.

MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAILTerry Gilliam. US. 1974. PG. 91 min. Rainbow Releasing. 35mm. Fri, Nov 23 thru Sun, Nov 25 Consistently listed by critics and fans as one of the greatest film comedies of all times, Monty Python and the

Holy Grail is a very silly retelling of the epic story of King Arthur’s search for the Holy Grail. Along the way, King Arthur and his Knights come upon the Black Knight, the Knights That Say Ni, the Castle An-thrax, the killer rabbit, the bridge of Death, and more. This was Monty Python’s (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin) first foray into feature-length comedy. Gilliam and Jones directed the film, all six members contributed to the script, and each member plays multiple roles. An incredibly inspired exercise in lam-poonery and a satire on every movie ever made about the Middle Ages. If you haven’t seen it, be prepared to laugh your armor off. And if you have seen it, you know how hilarious it is, so come see it again.

MURDER BY DEATHRobert Moore. US. 1976. 94 min. Sony. 35mm. Sun, Nov 25, 2:00 pmFor fans of the old-fashioned “whodunnit” mysteries, this Neil Simon-written farce is pure catnip. Famous Hollywood stars of the time portray parodies of such classic detectives as Charlie Chan (Peter Sellers), Sam Spade (Peter Falk), Nick and Nora Charles (David Niven and Maggie Smith), Hercule Poirot (James Coco), and Miss Marple (Elsa Lanchester). These worthies are all invited to the eerie mansion (complete with secret passageways and disappearing rooms) of the mysterious Lionel Twain (played by Truman Capote, in one of his only screen roles), and murder, mystery, and mayhem hilariously prevail. Don’t miss the wonderful physical comedy that takes place between Alec Guinness (as the blind butler) and Nancy Walker (as the deaf-mute maid). Though admittedly politically incorrect, as pulled off by such talented players their timing is truly masterful. Continued on page 5.

CLASSICS ON SUNDAYS

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YOUNG AUDIENCES

THE HUNGER GAMESGary Ross. US. 2012. PG-13. 142 min. Lionsgate. 35mm. Sat, Oct 13, 2:00 pm“The surprise of The Hunger Games isn’t that it lives up to its hype – it’s that it plays as if that hype never even existed, which may be the trickiest achievement a big movie can pull off these days.” (Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline)

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARESpike Jonze. US. 2009. Age 9+. 101 min. Warner Bros. blu ray. Sat, Oct 20, 2:00 pm“Spike Jonze said in interviews that his chief goal in adapting Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are was to try to capture the feel-ing of being 9. By that measure—by just about any measure, really—he succeeded wildly. The big hurdle was spinning a beloved, essentially plot-free 300-word children’s book into a

feature-length movie, but Jonze—along with co-scripter Dave Eggers, who knows a thing or two about the trials of childhood—managed to remain faithful to Sendak’s sentiment and visuals while expanding their scope.” (Josh Modell, The Onion A.V. Club)

KIWANIS HALLOWEEN PARTYPresented by Phoenixville Kiwanis ClubSat, Oct 27, 1:00 pmCostumes are welcome and encouraged at this annual Halloween party hosted by the Phoenixville Kiwanis Club. Door open at 1PM. Costume Parade across our stage at 1:30PM. Movie (two episodes from Fraggle Rock Scared Silly) at 2PM.

FLIPPERJames Clark. US. 1963. Age 6+. 87 min. Warner Bros. DVD. Sat, Nov 3, 2:00 pmThe story couldn’t be simpler: Boy meets dolphin, boy loses dolphin, boy gets dolphin back. Twelve-year-old Sandy Ricks (Luke Halpin) lives with his fisherman father (Chuck Connors) and housewife mother (Kathleen McGuire) in a tumbledown ocean side cabin in the Florida keys. A water rat since birth, Sandy is always taking off on

afternoon skin dives that are beautifully photographed by the same under-water experts responsible for Lloyd Bridges’ Sea Hunt TV show. One day Sandy comes across a dolphin that’s been injured by a harpoon. With the help of his parents, Sandy nurses the animal back to health and names him Flipper. Despite Dad’s warnings not to get too attached, Sandy and Flip-per become best friends and spend long sunny days swimming together and putting on cute shows for the local kids. But then the inevitable: Dad demands that Sandy return Flipper to the wild, and who’s gonna argue with Chuck Connors when he gets that stern look on his face? Sandy is crushed, and even his incipient pre-adolescent romance with a cutie from down the beach (Connie Scott) isn’t much solace. It takes a truly scary

hurricane to bring boy and dolphin together again. Like Lassie before him, Flipper is a born hero, always showing up just in time to save the day. Everything works out just fine, and a chorus of children’s voices rises to tell us ‘They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning, no one you see, is smarter than he.’” (Don Willmott, AMCtv.com)

THE BLACK STALLIONCarroll Ballard. US. 1979. Age 8+. 118 min. MGM. DVD. Sat, Nov 10, 2:00 pm“Walter Farley’s classic tale has been adapted with amazing facility by Carol Ballard and ex-ecutive producer Francis Ford Coppola. Even though its essential features (shipwrecked child, desert island, magical stallion, ’40s New York) represented appalling production problems, the

film jettisons most of the cuteness implicit in its theme and handles the material with dream-like clarity. A magnificently well-crafted movie.” (Time Out London)

WHITE FANGRandal Kleiser. US. 1991. Age 10+. 107 min. Disney. 35mm. Sat, Nov 17, 2:00 pm“Jack London fans should forgive Disney for changing the main character of his story White Fang from the titular, mistreated wolf-dog to a recently orphaned young man. Jack pursues adventures that parallel those of the young pup, White Fang, until at last the two become fast friends. The result here is a beautifully shot,

evocative adventure movie that rises above several two-dimensional “bad guy” characters, an out-of-place musical score, and the occasionally wooden dialogue. This movie is not for younger kids due to violence, lan-guage and more mature themes; however, older kids will enjoy the adven-ture, and parents will appreciate the scenery and the performance given by Klaus Maria Brandauer.” (Alyssa Ellsworth, Common Sense Media)

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGONDean DeBlois. US. 2010. Age 8+. 98 min. Paramount. 35mm. Sat, Nov 24, 2:00 pm“How to Train Your Dragon has a kinetically dreamy, soaring-through-the-air effervescence. On some level, though, it’s just the sweetly simple tale of a boy and his dog. The boy, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), is the son of a tower-ingly gruff, red-bearded Viking named Stoick

(Gerard Butler, in his teeth-gnashing element). The ”dog” that Hiccup befriends is a fearsome dragon — a Night Fury, who in the film’s fire-breather cosmology (there are a dozen breeds, each with its own funky look) bears the distinction of being so fast that it can be glimpsed only as a purplish streak against the night sky. No wonder the Vikings live in mortal fear of them. Dragon slaying is the clan’s primary career option, although Hiccup wants nothing to do with it. He’s like an adolescent indie rocker who’s been born into a village of rampaging middle linebackers. One night, while wielding a catapult slingshot, he ham-handedly slices

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THE IMPOSTERBart Layton. UK. 2012. R. 95 min. Indomi-na. 35mm. Sun, Oct 14, 4:30 pm“In 1994, 13-year-old Nicholas Barclay disap-peared after storming out of his San Antonio home. Three years later, his family got a call from a Spanish juvenile center, where a man claiming to be Nicholas had been found. Bart Layton’s documentary The Imposter fol-lows what happened next, and it’s one wild

story, about a wily European who convinced the Barclays he was their long-lost son. True, the kid seemed older than Nicholas would’ve been, and looked very different, and spoke with a French accent. But this new “Nicholas”—actually a 23-year-old con artist named Frédéric Bourdin—explained these discrepancies via a convoluted story about torture and re-programming. The real question is: Why did the Barclays buy it? Because they wanted to believe, or for some more nefarious reason? Layton takes a just-the-facts approach to the narrative, letting the participants speak directly into the camera about what happened, then supporting them with Errol Morris-like re-enactments. There are pros and cons to this ap-proach. The flashy style suits a story that’s like a classic piece of art-noir, complete with colorful private detective Charlie Parker, who looks like he stepped out of a Coen brothers movie. But because almost all of the movie consists of testimony and staging, there isn’t much room for deep immersion into the world of San Antonio and the Barclays’ lives, which might’ve helped viewers empathize more with this family, and to make up their own minds about why they were duped. Layton tells the audience only what he wants them to know, and when he wants them to know it.On the other hand, because Layton controls the information so tightly, he’s able to spring a few surprises, including one doozy toward the end. Ultimately, The Imposter doesn’t function so much as a true crime story, or a piece of investigative journalism. Layton has designed this film partly as a tall tale—with amusing fish-out-of-water anecdotes about Bourdin’s experiences posing as a Texas high-schooler—and partly as an intellectual exercise. The Imposter strings the audience along, to get them to under-stand first-hand how easy it is to buy into a well-told story, even when there’s no evidence to support it.” (Noel Murray, The Onion A.V. Club)

ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVILSacha Gervasi. Canada. 2008. NR. 80 min. 35mm. Tickets: $5 - $12Sun, Nov 11, 4:00 pmAnvil! The Story of Anvil, the legit 2008 doc is about the eponymous 80’s metal band that nev-er quite reached the rock god heights of their compatriots, the Scorpions, Anthrax, Metallica, and Megadeth. But, they’re still trying. Owen Gleiberman wrote in Entertainment Weekly

“It’s a hilarious, and unexpectedly moving, documentary about the great-est metal band you’ve probably never heard of.” Trevor Johnston called it “a supremely entertaining, inspirational fable for our times” in Time Out. But, before you see Anvil! come see This Is Spinal Tap at 2PM – doing double (heavy) duty as a classic film in our Spoofs & Satires series, and as the raison d’etre for Nigel Tufne Day (11/11).

BEATS, RHYMES AND LIFE:THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUESTMichael Rapaport. US. 2011. R. 97 min. Sony. 35mm. Sun, Nov 18, 4:30 pm“Michael Rapaport’s riveting hip-hop documentary Beats Rhymes & Life gets uncomfortably close to A Tribe Called Quest, one of the most important and influential groups of the past 25 years. It’s two things at once: a loving, magnetic, gloriously alive tribute to a golden age when a group of brilliant young black men and women joined forces to reinvent hip-hop in their own funky, Afrocentric image, and the most penetrat-ing psychological study of a creative partnership in perpetual peril since Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster. Why do the sunniest groups often have the darkest internal dynamics? Listening to A Tribe Called Quest, the Ramones, or the Beach Boys, few would imagine that the principals in each group were locked in decades-long psychodramas.” (Nathan Rabin, The Onion A.V. Club)

BEAUTY IS EMBARRASSINGNeil Berkeley. US. 2012. NR (significant language). 90 min. Fu-ture You. blu ray. Sun, Nov 25, 4:30 pmYou may not know Wayne White by name, but you are unquestionably fa-miliar with his work. A guiding force behind Pee-wee’s Playhouse, White made an indelible mark on 1980s and 1990s pop culture by creating some of the decades’ most arresting and iconic images. Beauty Is Embarrass-ing chronicles his ongoing struggles to find peace and balance between his work and his art. Director Neil Berkeley captures White at home, on the road, and onstage doing his one-man show, resulting in a funny, irreverent, and joyful documentary that inspires us all to follow our own passions. (LACMA)

TWO YEARS AT SEABen Rivers. UK. 2011. NR. 88 min. 35mm. Sun, Dec 9, 4:30 pmA lonely man never whistled so much! Ben Rivers’ beautifully lensed black and white portrait of man and his chosen environs, is the

finest occupation project of the year. A long-form portrait of a man named Jake Williams, who lives a life of solitude in a dilapidated house in the middle of the Scottish Highlands. Following this unlikely real life subject through the seasons, Rivers used old 16mm cameras and monochrome stock to accentuate the antiquity of the curios that adorn Jake’s humble abode. This is Jake’s dream of living off the land, a dream that appears to be the most elegant, peaceful and frugal occupation of space ever con-ceived. In approaching his subject without prejudice or a clear narrative agenda, Rivers has created one of the most intimate studies of the human condition you are ever likely to see. (Northwest Film Forum) Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize, Venice Film Festival 2011. “Pulls you in instantly.” (Manohla Dargis, The New York Times)

DOCUMENTARIES

Documentaries are generally shown on Sundays at 4:30pm. Please confirm show times on our website or by calling 610-917-1228. Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for senoirs and students, and $5 for members and children.

Association for the Colonial Theatre Board of DirectorsKenneth B. Mumma, PresidentTrish Hartline, Vice PresidentAnthony J. Folino III, CPA, TreasurerPauline Monson, SecretaryWilliam M. AndersenCharles N. BenzRebecca H. BradbeerJocelyn S. HarrisStephen H. KalisMarian D. MoskowitzSuzanne V. NorrisMaryLouise Sterge

StaffMary Foote, Executive DirectorKirsten Van Vlandren, Assistant DirectorScott Bauman, House ManagerRyan Wilson, Assistant House ManagerLuAnn Roth, Patron Services Manager Newsletter Volunteers Bill Roth, Classic Film NotesChuck Francisco, MST3K Notes

Classic Film Committee Ted Wilby, Bill Roth, Lee Berger, Stephen Dombrowski, John Piljer, Joel Rickenbach

Fright Night and Cult Film Committee Bob Trate, Chuck Francisco, Joel Rickenbach and Nick Lombardo

And many volunteers who sell tickets and popcorn, plan our special events and fundraise for the theatre!

Off the Beaten Path

227 Bridge StreetP.O. Box 712

Phoenixville, PA 19460

Association for the Colonial Theatre227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, PA 19460610/917-0223 Movie Info Line610/917-1228 Theatre Officeswww.TheColonialTheatre.cominfo@thecolonialtheatre.com

Programming Art and independent films seven nights a weekClassic Films on Sundays at 2:00pmDocumentaries on Sundays at 4:30pmBaby Night on Mondays at 6:30pmMatinees on Wednesdays at 2:00pmFirst Friday Fright Night at 9:45pmCult Cinema on Third Fridays at 9:45pmYoung Audiences Series on Saturdays at 2:00pmLive concerts presented by Point Entertainment

MissionThe mission of the Association for the Colonial Theatre is to enhance the collective wellbeing of our region by restoring the landmark Colonial Theatre and promoting cul-tural, economic and civic life. To that end, ACT presents film, live theatre, music, dance and other community events in the heart of Phoenixville’s historic business district.

Support the ColonialBecome a memberFrequent the theatreBuy a seatAdvertise on-screenSponsor a programsVolunteer your time and talentsMake an unrestricted tax-deductible gift Remember the Colonial Theatre in your will