Our Saturday Programs run every Saturday throughout the school year starting September 22nd. Unless otherwise noted, we meet near the waterfall at Yerba Buena Park about 10:30 am. Cine/Club—free screenings of classic films followed by discussion—is held on Friday nights. These events are open to students, their guests, mentors, parents and friends of Art & Film. No need to RSVP. Screenings are held at the Randall Museum (199 Museum Way) and the Delancy Street Screening Room (500 Embarcadero). Refreshments are served at 6:30 and the film begins at 7pm unless otherwise noted. Discussions are held after each film with moderators Heather Woodward, the head of creative writing at the School of the Arts, and Ronald Chase, the director of Art & Film.
Friday 22nd: Randall Museum PLEASE NOTE: Due to the length of the film we are starting early. Refreshments at 4:00, Film starts promptly at 4:30. New students should arrive early to check in. Sergei Bondarchuk's WAR & PEACE (1968, Russia) It’s been our tradition to start with a challenge. This sprawling, 6-hour epic version of Tolstoy’s great novel fits the bill. Two families struggle to survive the Napoleonic Wars. It’s huge, with grand balls, and great battles. Wildly entertaining and poetic, too! Treat yourself!!
WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL? We don’t think many of you are familiar with the great accomplishments in Russian film during the 60’s. Here’s a great place to start—a big popular epic that also sports some of the most complex and beautifully conceived concepts in a film of that period. Russians have a deeply expressive vein in their popular films, and a knack for visual poetry. Here the landscapes and the social events take on a visual sweep unfamiliar in Hollywood thinking.
This film also contains the most complex and brilliantly conceived battle scenes in film history—they are mind boggling, with thousands of extras acting out scenes made vivid by moving shots from below, above, sweeping across the landscape. You will be absolutely amazed and riveted. It also gives some of you your first experience with Tolstoy—a human tapestry that is rare literature.