|
|||||||
Check out the latest exclusive engagements and premieres, including the best in new indies, foreign films, documentaries and restored classics, by downloading a PDF of the E Street Cinema Film Calendar, with all-new programming from March 26 through June 24! |
![]() |
|
Condemned to six years in prison, 19-year-old Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim), part Arab, part Corsican, cannot read or write. Arriving at the jail entirely alone, he appears younger and more fragile than the other convicts. Cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang who rules the prison, he is given a number of "missions" to carry out, toughening him up and gaining the gang leader's confidence in the process. But Malik is brave and a fast learner, daring to secretly develop his own plans. Directed and co-written by Jacques Audiard (The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Read My Lips). Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. Official Web Site Director Jacques Audiard on the common language of film |
|

![]() |
|
Prodigal Sons tells the story of three fascinating siblings: filmmaker Kim, a transgender woman; Todd, a gay man; and Marc, their adopted brother who discovers hes the grandson of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth. The bond between longtime rivals Marc and Kim, which defies both Kims gender and Marcs pedigree, exists as the fascinating heart of the film, and is orbited by a colorful, articulate cast of characters, including jailhouse chaplains, Montana farmers, intrigued high school classmates, and Orson Welles soul-mate Oja Kodar, among others. Carol, the remarkably resilient mother who accepts her childrens surprises with grace and optimism, provides a strong backbone for the family, as well as a clear-eyed entry-point to this drama of Wellesian proportions. All along the way surprising revelations abound: Marcs innate savant ability to play the piano, Kims smooth acceptance from schoolmates and community, and their younger brother Todds well-adjusted attitude about being gay. After pulling for this family through its trials and tribulations, we learn that a poignant sense of hope will carry them through. Official Web Site Michael O'Sullivan's Washington Post review... |
![]() |
|
A love story at its core, The Yellow Handkerchief is about three strangers of two generations who embark on a road trip through post-Hurricane Katrina Louisiana. Brett Hanson (William Hurt), dealing with a painful past, crosses paths with Martine (Kristen Stewart), a troubled teenager, and her new "ride" Gordy (Eddie Redmayne). The trio head out together, each motivated by their own reasons: Brett must decide whether he wants to return to the uncertainty of his life and his ex-wife May (Maria Bello) for whom he longs, Martine yearns to escape her family, and Gordy hopes to get close to Martine. Along the way, relationships forge and change in a myriad of ways, leading to the possibility of second chances at life and love. Directed by Udayan Prasad (My Son the Fanatic). Official Web Site Michael O'Sullivan's Washington Post review... |
![]() |
|
Roman Polanski directs this atmospheric and suspenseful political thriller based on the novel The Ghost by Robert Harris. When a successful British ghostwriter, The Ghost (Ewan McGregor), agrees to complete the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), his agent assures him it's the opportunity of a lifetime. But the project seems doomed from the start—not least because his predecessor on the project, Lang's long-term aide, died in an unfortunate accident. The Ghost flies to the East Coast of the United States to work on the project, but the day after he arrives, a former British cabinet minister accuses Lang of authorizing the illegal seizure of suspected terrorists and handing them over for torture by the CIA—a war crime. The controversy brings reporters and protesters swarming to the island mansion where Lang is staying with his wife, Ruth (Olivia Williams), and his personal assistant, Amelia (Kim Cattrall). As The Ghost works, he begins to uncover clues suggesting his predecessor may have stumbled on a dark secret linking Lang to the CIA—and that somehow this information is hidden in the manuscript he left behind. Also starring Timothy Hutton, Eli Wallach, Tom Wilkinson and James Belushi. Official Web Site Ann Hornaday's Washington Post review... |
![]() |
|
This thrilling, intense mountain climbing cliffhanger tells of an attempt to climb the unconquered sheer north face of the Eiger (known as “the Murder Wall”), the hardest challenge of the Alps. It’s 1936, and Nazi propaganda trumpets the need for a mountaineering triumph prior to the Berlin Olympics. Ace Bavarian climbers Toni (Benno Fürmann) and Andi (Florian Lukas) are reluctantly drawn to the challenge, despite their lack of enthusiasm for the publicity. Their childhood friend Luise (Johanna Wokalek, The Baader Meinhof Complex), a rookie photographer who hopes their climb might make her name, is dispatched to cover the story with her Hitler-loving boss. With breathtaking irony, the life and death struggle of the climbers takes place within easy view of a luxury hotel, where tourists watch the drama while sipping champagne. Once the climbers are on the mountain, everything possible goes wrong and the weather worsens, escalating the tension to a nerve-wracking climax. Spectacularly filmed on location, North Face is one of the most exciting mountain movies ever made. Official Web Site Michael O'Sullivan's Washington Post review... |

![]() |
|
Don't miss this rare opportunity to see all five Academy Award nominees in
the category of Best Animated Short and more! Program includes: French
Roast (France), in which an uptight businessman in a fancy Parisian café
who is about to pay his check finds out that he has lost his wallet; Granny
O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty (Ireland), in which a grandmother loses the
plot as she tells her version of "Sleeping Beauty" to her terrified
granddaughter; The Lady and the Reaper (Spain), in which a sweet old
lady who is waiting for death so she can see her beloved husband once again
is invited to enter death's domain—if someone doesn't ruin it for her;
Academy Award winner Logorama (Argentina), featuring spectacular car chases, an intense
hostage crisis, and wild animals rampaging through the city; and A Matter
of Loaf and Death (UK), the latest adventure from Nick Park, in which
Wallace & Gromit start a new bread baking business. Although business
is booming, Gromit is concerned by the news that a dozen local bakers have
'disappeared' this year, so he turns sleuth to protect his master and solve
the escalating murder mystery. Program also features three bonus shorts: Pixar's
Partly Cloudy (USA), Poland's The Kinematograph and Canada's
Runaway. Official
Web Site Michael O'Sullivan's Washington Post review... |

![]() |
|
Don't miss this rare opportunity to see all five Academy Award nominees in
the category of Best Live Action Short! Program includes: The Door
(Ireland), about a father who attempts to come to terms with the devastating
affects of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster; Instead of Abracadabra (Sweden),
about a man named Tomas who is a bit too old to still be living at home with
his parents, but his failure to become a magician leaves him with no other
choice. At his father's 60th birthday party Tomas gives him, and all his guests,
a quite bizarre show; Kavi (India/USA), in which a boy in India who wants
to play cricket and go to school is instead forced to work in a brick kiln
as a modern-day slave. Unsatisfied with his fate, Kavi must either accept
what he's always been told, or fight for a different life even if he's unsure
of the ultimate outcome; Miracle Fish (Australia), in which 8-year-old
Joe has a birthday he will never forget. After friends tease him, he sneaks
off to the sick bay, wishing everyone in the world would go away. He wakes
up to find his dream may have become a reality; and Academy Award winner The New Tenants
(Denmark/USA), in which a prying neighbour, a glassy-eyed drug dealer, and a husband
brandishing both a weapon and a vendetta make up the welcome wagon. Amidst
the as-yet-unopened boxes and the hopes for a fresh start for the two men,
it might just be the worst moving day ever. Their new apartment reveals its
terrifying history in a film that is by turns funny, frightening and unexpectedly
romantic. Vincent D'Onofrio and Kevin Corrigan star. Official Web Site Michael O'Sullivan's Washington Post review... |

![]() |
|
The Hurt Locker is a riveting, suspenseful portrait of the courage under fire of the military’s unrecognized heroes: the technicians of a bomb squad who volunteer to challenge the odds and save lives doing one of the world’s most dangerous jobs. Three members of the Army’s elite Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) squad battle insurgents and one another as they search for and disarm a wave of roadside bombs on the streets of Baghdad—in order to try and make the city a safer place for Iraqis and Americans alike. Their mission is clear—protect and save—but it’s anything but easy, as the margin of error when defusing a war-zone bomb is zero. This thrilling and heart-pounding look at the psychology of bomb technicians and the effects of risk and danger on the human psyche is a fictional tale inspired by real events by journalist and screenwriter Mark Boal, who was embedded with a special bomb unit in Iraq. In Iraq, it is soldier vernacular to speak of explosions as sending you to “the hurt locker.” Acclaimed director Kathryn Bigelow brings together groundbreaking realistic action and intimate human drama in a landmark film starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty, with cameo appearances by Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, Evangeline Lilly and Guy Pearce. Winner of 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Official
Web Site Director Kathryn Bigelow on the importance of casting the perfect actor |

![]() |
|
Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges stars
as the richly comic, semi-tragic romantic anti-hero Bad Blake in the debut
feature film from writer-director Scott Cooper. Bad Blake is a broken-down,
hard-living country music singer who's had way too many marriages, far too
many years on the road and one too many drinks way too many times. And yet,
Bad can’t help but reach for salvation with the help of Jean (Maggie
Gyllenhaal), a journalist who discovers the real man behind the musician.
As he struggles down the road of redemption, Bad learns the hard way just
how tough life can be on one man’s crazy heart. Co-starring Colin Farrell
and Robert Duvall. Official
Web Site Ann Hornaday's Washington Post review... |

![]() |
|
On the eve of her 18th birthday and ascension to the English throne, young
Princess Victoria (Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada) is caught in
a royal power struggle. Her first years of rule are turbulent, and the court
is filled with intrigue, but it is her blossoming love affair with Prince
Albert (Rupert Friend, Pride & Prejudice), the suitor who wins
her heart, that will determine the strength of her reign. Can she dedicate
her life to her country and her heart to the one man she truly loves? Paul
Bettany, Miranda Richardson, Jim Broadbent , Thomas Kretschmann and Mark Strong
co-star in this passionate and romantic look at one of history's greatest
loves stories. Written by Julian Fellowes (Academy Award winning screenwriter
of Gosford Park) and directed by Jean-Marc Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y.). Academy Award winner for Best Costume Design. Official Web
Site Writer Julian Fellowes on the largely unknown early life of Queen Victoria Kelly Jane Torrance's Washington Times review... |
![]() |
| After almost fifty years of marriage, Countess Sofya (Helen Mirren), the devoted wife, passionate lover, muse and secretary of Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer), suddenly finds her entire world turned upside down. In the name of his newly created religion, the great Russian novelist has renounced his noble title, his property and even his family in favor of poverty, vegetarianism and even celibacy. When Sofya then discovers that Tolstoy's trusted disciple, Chertkov (Paul Giamatti)—whom she despises—may have secretly convinced her husband to sign a new will, leaving the rights to his iconic novels to the Russian people rather than his very own family, she is consumed by righteous outrage. Into this minefield wanders Tolstoy's worshipful new assistant, the young, gullible Valentin (James McAvoy). In no time, he becomes a pawn, first of the scheming Chertkov and then of the wounded, vengeful Sofya as each plots to undermine the other's gains. Complicating Valentin's life even further is the overwhelming passion he feels for the beautiful, spirited Marsha (Kerry Condon), a free thinking adherent of Tolstoy's new religion whose unconventional attitudes about sex and love both compel and confuse him. A tale of two romances, one beginning, one near its end, The Last Station is a complex, funny, rich and emotional story about the difficulty of living with love and the impossibility of living without it. Official Web Site |
![]() |
|
From Jason Reitman, the director of Juno and Thank You for Smoking,
comes a dramatic comedy starring George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a corporate
hatchet man who loves his life on the road but is forced to fight for his
job when his company downsizes its travel budget. He is required to spend
more time at home, just as he is on the cusp of a goal he's worked toward
for years—reaching ten million frequent flyer miles. When he falls for a simpatico fellow traveler (Vera Farmiga), his boss (Jason Bateman), inspired by a young, upstart efficiency expert (Anna Kendrick), threatens to permanently call him in from the road. Faced with the prospect of being grounded, which is at once terrifying and exhilarating, he begins to contemplate what it might actually mean to have a home. Official
Web Site Ann Hornaday's Washington Post review... |
![]() |
| Set in Los Angeles in 1962, at the height of the Cuban missile crisis, A Single Man is the story of George Falconer (Colin Firth), a 52-year-old British college professor who is struggling to find meaning to his life after the death of his longtime partner, Jim (Matthew Goode). George dwells on the past and cannot see his future as we follow him through a single day, where a series of events and encounters ultimately leads him to decide if there is a meaning to life after Jim. George is consoled by his closest friend Charley (Julianne Moore), a 48-year-old beauty who is wrestling with her own questions about the future. A young student of George's, Kenny (Nicholas Hoult), who is coming to terms with his true nature, stalks George as he feels in him a kindred spirit. A Single Man is a romantic tale of love interrupted, the isolation that is an inherent part of the human condition, and ultimately the importance of the seemingly smaller moments in life. Directed and co-written by acclaimed fashion designer Tom Ford (making his feature debut), based on the novel by Christopher Isherwood. Official Web Site |
![]() |
|
An Education is the story of a teenage girl's coming-of-age set in
1961 London, a city caught between the drab, post-war 1950s and the glamorous,
more liberated decade to come. Jenny (Carey Mulligan) stands on the brink
of becoming a woman: a brilliantly witty and attractive 16-year-old whose
suburban life is about to be blown apart by the utterly unsuitable 30-something
David (Peter Sarsgaard). Urbane and witty, David manages to charm her conservative
parents Jack (Alfred Molina) and Marjorie (Cara Seymour). David introduces
Jenny to a glittering new world of classical concerts and late-night suppers
with his attractive friend and business partner, Danny (Dominic Cooper) and
Danny's girlfriend, the beautiful but vacuous Helen (Rosamund Pike). Just
as Jenny's family's long-held dream of getting their brilliant daughter into
Oxford seems within reach, Jenny is tempted by another kind of life. Written
by Nick Hornby (About a Boy, High Fidelity) and directed by Lone Scherfig
(Italian for Beginners). Official
Web Site Ann Hornaday's Washington Post review... |
![]() |
|
The most popular European film of 2009, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
is an award-winning mystery thriller based on Stieg Larsson's international
best-selling novel about a disgraced journalist and a troubled young female
computer hacker who investigate the mysterious disappearance of an industrialist's
niece. Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering
on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was
never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder and that the killer
is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced
financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvis) and the tattooed, ruthless
computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) to investigate. When the pair
link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from almost
forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history.
But the Vangers are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about
to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves. Official
Web Site Director Niels Arden Oplev on making the best possible film |

![]() |
| Based on the Thomas Frank's best-seller, What's the Matter with Kansas? shows how Kansas transformed from an outpost of radicalism to a bastion of hard-core conservatism. The film follows two conservative Kansas families as their fortunes suddenly and precipitously decline, and contrasts them with an idealistic Kansas farmer who revives his state's erstwhile progressive tradition. Angel Dillard, a lifelong Republican activist, helps run the most popular booth at the Kansas State Fair: Kansans For Life. 18-year-old Brittany Barden's mission is to return America to its roots as "a Christian nation." Donn Teske describes himself as "a red-neck Kansas farmer." He also says corporate greed is "not very Christian." He lobbies the government to save his family farm and others like it. Angel and Brittany both attend Terry Fox's 6,000-member Immanuel Baptist Church in Wichita. Fox thunders from his pulpit denouncements of gay marriage, abortion and liberal politicians. He urges his flock to vote on the eve of the midterm elections. Then, the winds of change blow across Kansas. Republicans start to lose elections. Terry Fox's church splinters. And Donn Teske gets a call from Washington. Keep watchingyou'll be surprised who you're rooting for Official Web Site |

![]() |
| Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia), who previously filmed Neil Young for Heart of Gold, once again captures Young’s musical and spiritual soul—this time during two shows at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania during the Chrome Dreams II tour. Young surrounds himself with his favorite instruments, played at whim, and a stage set filled with personal icons: a small-scale model of a guitar shop, a red phone and other items. The feeling on the stage is of a favorite place where Young is able to create his music exactly as he wants, supported by long-time touring band friends Ben Keith, Ralph Molina, Rick Rosas, Pegi Young and Anthony "Sweet Pea" Crawford, plus an onstage painter portrayed by Eric Johnson. There are delicately offered acoustic numbers like "Sad Movies" and "Mexico"; mesmerizing electric travelogues into the artist's psyche ("No Hidden Path"); searing, chaotic anthems including "Like a Hurricane" and "Cinnamon Girl"; and rarely performed pieces like "Kansas" and "Ambulance Blues" that provide glimpses of Young's less public persona. Official Web Site |
![]() |
|
Mar 19 & 20: The game is on...the big screen! Clue Mar 26 & 27: New midnight cult sensation The Room Apr 2 & 3: To Be Announced Apr 9 & 10: See Live Shadow Cast Sonic Transducers with the cult musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show |
![]() |
|
Greenberg brings actor Ben Stiller together with Academy Award-nominated writer/director Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale) to tell the funny and moving tale of Roger Greenberg (Stiller). Single, fortyish and at a crossroads in his life, he finds himself in Los Angeles, house-sitting for six weeks for his more successful/married-with-children brother. In search of a place to restart his life, Greenberg tries to reconnect with old friends including his former bandmate Ivan (Rhys Ifans). But old friends aren’t necessarily still best friends, and Greenberg soon finds himself spending more and more time with his brother’s personal assistant Florence (Greta Gerwig), an aspiring singer and also something of a lost soul. Despite his best attempts not to be drawn in, Greenberg and Florence manage to forge a connection, and Greenberg realizes he may at last have found a reason to be happy. Official
Web Site Read a brief Q&A with writer/director Noah Baumbach |
![]() |
|
Director Atom Egoyan (Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter) reinterprets the French thriller Nathalie... in
this drama about a family on the road to self-destruction. Catherine
(Julianne Moore) and David (Liam Neeson)
are a seemingly happy, professional couple with a teenage son. But Catherine,
suspicious after her husband is a no-show to his surprise birthday
party due to a missed flight, hires Chloe, a prostitute (Amanda Seyfried)
to find out whether he is cheating on her. To test his fidelity, Catherine
orders Chloe's to seduce David in a series of encounters. As Chloe's reports
become more and more graphic, Catherine's orchestrations get increasingly
out of control, throwing the family further into jeopardy. Official
Web Site Director Atom Egoyan on marriage, eroticism, fidelity and trust |
![]() |
|
In 1922 Dr. Albert C. Barnes created The Barnes Foundation in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, five miles outside of Philadelphia. His astounding collection of Post-Impressionist and early Modern art, intended to serve as an educational institution, includes 181 Renoirs, 69 Cezannes, 59 Matisses, 46 Picassos, 16 Modiglianis, and 7 Van Goghs. Dr. Barnes deliberately built his Foundation away from the city and cultural elite who scorned his collection as "horrible, debased art." But tastes changed, and soon the very people who belittled Barnes wanted access to his collection. When Barnes died in 1951, he left control of his collection to Lincoln University, a small African-American college, with strict instructions that the paintings may never be removed. More than fifty years later, a powerful group of moneyed interests have gone to court in a rancorous, Machiavellian attempt to take the art—recently valued at more than $25 billion—and move it to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Official Web Site Director Don Argott on the passion of Dr. Albert C. Barnes |
![]() |
| A cinematic tour de force, Vincere is Italian master Marco Bellocchio's (Good Morning, Night, Fists in the Pocket) portrait of Benito Mussolini (Filippo Timi), and Ida Dalser (Giovanna Mezzogiorno), the fiery woman who was his secret wife and the mother of his abandoned child. The closely guarded story of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's secret lover and son is revealed in fittingly operatic proportions. Thunderstruck by the young Mussolini's charisma, Dalser gives up everything to help champion his revolutionary ideas. When he disappears during World War I and later resurfaces with a new wife, the scorned Dalser and her son are locked away in separate asylums for more than a decade. But Ida will not disappear without a fight. The film was a standout selection of the 2009 Cannes, Telluride, Toronto, New York and AFI film festivals, and received awards for Best Director, Best Actress and Best Actor at the Chicago International Film Festival. (Fully subtitled) Official Web Site |
![]() |
| The latest film from award-winning Korean director Bong Joon-ho (The Host) is a unique murder mystery about a mother's primal love for her son. Mother is a devoted single parent to her simple-minded twenty-seven-year-old son, Do-joon. Often a source of anxiety to his mother, Do-joon behaves in foolish or simply dangerous ways. One night, while walking home drunk, he encounters a school girl who he follows for a while before she disappears into a dark alley. The next morning, she is found dead in an abandoned building and Do-joon is accused of her murder. An inefficient lawyer and an apathetic police force result in a speedy conviction. His mother refuses to believe her beloved son is guilty and immediately undertakes her own investigation to find the girl’s killer. In her obsessive quest to clear her son’s name, Mother steps into a world of unimaginable chaos and shocking revelations. Official Web Site |

![]() |
| In her first leading role, Zoe Kazan (Revolutionary Road) plays Ivy, a twenty-year-old college student home for Spring Break. She’s excited about a developing romance back at school and life is seemingly perfect. When her longtime friend Al (Mark Rendall) finds himself without a place to stay during the break, Ivy and her mother (Maryann Urbano) take him in. Over time Al and Ivy’s friendship strengthens while her college boyfriend grows more and more distant. Increasingly distressed about her conflicting feelings, Ivy struggles to keep control, not wanting to overwhelm her emotions and trigger her epilepsy. Restrained and meditative, The Exploding Girl is the exquisite portrait of a young girl coming of age and finding a deeper kind of love in New York City. Winner of the Best Actress Award (Zoe Kazan) at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. Written and directed by Bradley Rust Gray. Official Web Site |
![]() |
| The Room is an electrifying American black comedy about love, passion, betrayal and lies, starring writer/director Tommy Wiseau as a successful banker with a great respect for—and dedication to—the people in his life, especially his future wife Lisa (Juliette Danielle). As the film depicts friendships and relationships in the lives of its five major characters, it raises life's real and most-asked question: "Can you really trust anyone?" A midnight cult sensation, this quirky black comedy has been running for over 6 years in Los Angeles and is ready to take the rest of the country by storm. You'll want to be there for the devastation it will leave in its wake! Official Web Site |
![]() |
| The longest-running midnight movie of all time stars Tim Curry as the kinky yet endearing “transsexual from Transylvania” Dr. Frank N. Furter, Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick as his hapless guests Brad and Janet, Meat Loaf as motorcycle-riding rough trade and author Richard O’Brien as the hunchbacked butler Riff Raff. It’s harmless musical fun—a delightful spoof of Hollywood horror movies and Old Dark House melodramas. All of our engagements feature live casts who perform scenes during the movie, and the audience is always welcome to respond to the on-screen action. The Rocky Horror Picture was the first—and is still the best—interactive movie experience! Official Web Site |