Peter Bogdanovich directs Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, and Cybill Shepherd, in his breakout film, a masterful depiction of the interwoven lives of the inhabitants of a small Texas town in the 1950s. While telling the story of two best friends struggling to cope with new adulthood, Bogdanovich simultaneously creates a subtle meditation on themes of loneliness, loss, and isolation. Co-stars Ellen Burstyn, as well as Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman, who both earned Oscars for their bravura performances.

With an unconventional script by Robert Towne (CHINATOWN), and understated performances by Jack Nicholson and Randy Quaid, Ashby's singular directorial whimsy THE LAST DETAIL is an exemplar of the free-form cinematic aesthetic of the seventies. Billy "Bad Ass" Budduskey (Nicholson) and Mule Mulhall (Otis Young) are two Navy men given a week to escort a young prisoner (Randy Quaid) from Virginia to a naval penitentiary in Maine. Intending to conclude their business quickly and spend the rest of their time partying, the two men instead become enamored of the young prisoner and decide to include him in their ribald revelry.

Watergate forever changed the way politics, politicians, and the power of the press were regarded. Adapting the book written by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, Pakula employs the aesthetic and pacing of a taut thriller to unravel the conspiracy-laden burglary and its mysteries. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman portray the two young, story-hungry reporters that navigate a labyrinthine web of lies and cover-ups.

Based in part on his own experiences in the darker corners of New York's Little Italy, MEAN STREETS is Martin Scorsese's parable of a man attempting to reconcile his violent lifestyle with an irresolute Catholic faith. Harvey Keitel portrays Charlie, a well-meaning, small-time hood whose conflicted nature is slowly beginning to jeopardize both his work and his private life. Robert De Niro turns in a startling performance as Johnny Boy, Charlie's arguably psychopathic friend, whose quick temper and unpaid debts quickly become menacing liabilities. A powerful character-driven film, Scorsese's Italian-American rock-infused classic is one of the definitive films of the decade.

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NETWORK follows the story of jaded news anchorman Howard Beale (Peter Finch), who, upon learning that he's to be fired after years in the business, takes advantage of a live broadcast to announce his own on-air suicide. When the ratings unexpectedly soar and Beale is transformed into a modern-day prophet, the network bosses that once sought the end of his otherwise unremarkable career now find themselves urging him into the glare of the media spotlight. Working from Paddy Chayefsky's screenplay, with a star-studded cast including Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall, and William Holden, Lumet crafts an unrelenting satire of a media and public that symbiotically feed off spectacle.

Featuring harsh, gritty cinematography by Gordon Willis (THE GODFATHER), KLUTE adopts the structure of a 1940s film noir to tell the tale of John Klute (Donald Sutherland), a small-town detective who finds himself in the Big Apple to investigate the murder of a close friend. Upon his arrival, his only tangible lead is working girl and aspiring actress Bree Daniels (Jane Fonda), whose gentlemen callers enable her to maintain her independence and free will. But as Klute's investigation progresses and he inadvertently puts her life in danger, emotion defies the logic of life's choices.

Foregoing Hollywood production methods and working with a small budget, Cassavetes created one of his masterpieces and one of independent cinema's true classics. Gena Rowlands portrays Mabel Longhetti, a housewife with no means of emotional or creative expression beyond the familial. A woman trapped in a stifling social environment, she has nowhere to turn as the banality of routine slowly leads to an unhealthy co-dependence on her family and eventual mental crisis. Rowlands gives a harrowing performance in collaboration with husband Cassavetes, whose unorthodox methods of encouraging actors to reveal the core of their characters' emotions was key to his vision as an artist. Peter Falk stars as Mabel's husband.

Shot in stark black and white and constructed as a pseudo-documentary, LENNY recounts the rise and fall of barrier-breaking comedian Lenny Bruce, found dead from a drug overdose at the age of 40. Bruce suffered numerous career setbacks as his acerbic comedy routines earned him arrests for obscenity; his routines eventually devolved into self-aggrandizing commentary. While offering a blistering criticism of the entertainment industry, Fosse portrays Bruce, as victimized as he was, as his own worst enemy. Dustin Hoffman turns in a stunning performance as Bruce, as does Valerie Perrine as his ex-stripper wife.

Perhaps no film is more emblematic of the uncompromising spirit of independent cinema in the 1970s than FIVE EASY PIECES. Jack Nicholson stars as Bobby Duprea, a man with an amazing talent for music, yet unable to find a way to express it and facing the fear that opportunity may have already passed him by. Disappointed at every turn, Duprea's life is further complicated when he visits his family after a long absence, and finds that their hold on him is more inescapable than ever. Featuring beautiful cinematography by Laszlo Kovaks, this emotionally haunting story examines the destructive pain of regret and compromise.

Double feature with BADLANDS
Double features cost an additional $2 to stay for both films. To purchase an advanced ticket for the double feature, be sure to select the DOUBLE FEATURE rather than the single ticket.

Kit (Martin Sheen), a soft-spoken garbage man, falls quickly and intensely in love with 15-year-old Holly (Sissy Spacek). Their breakneck romance is quickly complicated by her disapproving father, precipitating a tidal wave of violence as the two lovers set off across the Dakota Badlands in a fatalistic search for private refuge from a society that cannot accept them. Malick's first feature astonished in every respect, with vibrant cinematography, exceptional performances, and a nuanced understanding of the structure of rural American society in the 1950s.

Double feature with FIVE EASY PIECES
Double features cost an additional $2 to stay for both films. To purchase an advanced ticket for the double feature, be sure to select the DOUBLE FEATURE rather than the single ticket.