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Five 70mm showings in the Washington, D.C. area, March 2007

posted 18 years ago by mpaulshore
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Fans of Play Time will be interested to know that the American Film Institute Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C., will be showing the film five times in 70mm from March 24 through March 29, 2007. The specific times are: Saturday, March 24 at 1:00; Sunday, March 25 at 1:00; Monday, March 26 at 9:10; Wednesday, March 28 at 8:45; and Thursday, March 29 at 7:00. The showings are part of the theater's March 24-through-April 23 Jacques Tati series (see http://www.afi.com/silver/new/nowplaying/2007/v4i2/tati.aspx), which will also include Jour de Fête [Holiday], Les Vacances de M. Hulot [Monsieur Hulot's Holiday], Mon Oncle [My Uncle], and Trafic [Traffic].

The March 24 and 25 showings of Play Time are also part of the March 15-through-March 25 Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital (www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org).

The American Film Institute Silver Theatre is located at 8633 Colesville Road, about three blocks northeast of the Red Line subway's Silver Spring station (which is also the main Silver Spring station for local buses, and the Silver Spring station of the Brunswick Line of the MARC commuter train system). This makes the theater easily accessible from Washington Union Station, the Washington Greyhound station, and National Airport; somewhat less easily accessible from BWI and Dulles airports. The theater is also about six blocks northwest of Greyhound's Silver Spring station, and about a mile and a half south of the Capital Beltway (I-495), exit 30 or 31. Downtown Silver Spring has several hotels, all within easy walking distance of the theater.

[–] tim180-2 18 years ago

I'd heard a lot about Play Time, especially how one needs to see it in 70mm at the theater to fully appreciate it. Both my date and I were extremely impressed with it, and want to see it again. It's an overwhelming experience for a first-time viewer, with so much happening in the frame at once that it's impossible to take it all in. My lady friend recognized several things I missed, like the relationship between visual and musical cues, the the difference in hats of the two groups of women going up or coming down the escalator.

It was encouraging that there were about 40 or so viewers in the main theater for the event. A couple of decades ago this was strictly a cult movie, but fortunately audiences now seem to be recognizing the incredible artistry in Tati's masterpiece.

If you have a chance to see it in the theater, I recommend you take advantage of the opportunity.