SPECIAL EVENTS
The Blues Brothers (1980)
John Landis · 133m · DCP
A Night Owls Event, with Professors Agnes Callard and Daniel Morgan. Free with Night Owls QR Code Sign-in.
Newly released ex-con Jake Blues reunites with his brother Elwood, and the titular Blues Brothers embark on a mission to raise enough money to save their childhood orphanage. Jake and Elwood set out to bring their old band back together, but the process is not without obstacles: the brothers careen around Chicago in a chaotic frenzy of explosive car chases, trains that come a little too close for comfort, and a bevy of enemies including the police.
6:30PM Monday, September 25th
Taxi Driver (1976)
Martin Scorsese · 114m · 35mm
Disturbed insomniac Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) roams the grimy underbelly of 70s New York City as a taxi driver, taking chagrined notice of what he sees as repulsive social decay. Between visits to porn theaters, noting down witticisms in his diary, and an obsessive infatuation with a campaign volunteer (Cybill Shepard), Bickle becomes fixated on purging social ills by means of rescuing adolescent sex worker Iris (Jodie Foster) from her sinister pimp.
4:00PM Saturday, September 30th · 3:00PM Sunday, October 1st
La La Land (2016)
Damien Chazelle · 128m · DCP
And this one’s for the fools who dream. Over the years, La La Land has garnered quite the reputation, whether for its iconic dance sequences, accolades, or the infamous Best Picture snafu. This dazzling musical drama centers Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), two determined souls looking to achieve their dreams in the city of stars. A story of both enchantment and heartache, La La Land is the perfect love letter to the road to stardom.
7:00PM Saturday, September 30th
Swimming Pool (2003)
François Ozon · 102m · 35mm
20 years ago, a couple had their first date at Doc Films. The movie was Ozon’s Swimming Pool … Now here we are, hopefully with a romantic prospect by our side. Because there's no better date-night activity than watching this sizzling, slow-burn erotic thriller starring Charlotte Rampling as a writer whose holiday takes a turn when an unexpected guest shows up. Here’s to Meredith and Alex — may we all find true love at the movies, especially at Doc!
7:00PM Thursday, October 19th
Catalyst (2024)
Dave Steck · 42m · DCP
The film will be followed by a post-screening Q&A with people involved in the movie on both sides of the camera. The talkback panel includes: Dave Steck (filmmaker), Duro Wicks (co-producer, featured subject), and Sara Chapman (Media Burn Archive).
An independent documentary film about how Duro “Shame Love Tempo” Wicks fell in love with Hip Hop and helped give it a home on the Chicago music scene of the early 1990's. It examines what made Hip Hop blow up in Chicago so much later than in other cities, how a tiny 100 watt college station became Chicago’s Hip Hop radio powerhouse, why it was so difficult for a young Black entrepreneur to get a party started, and a time when social, political and economic conditions ultimately proved to make Duro’s dream unsustainable, even though it was more successful than anyone ever imagined it could be.
4:00PM Wednesday, October 25th
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Robert Wiene · 78m · DCP
Free admission to UChicago students or anyone with a Docfilms pass.
Rockefeller Memorial Chapel presents The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) as their annual Halloween silent film screening with musical score on the chapel's E.M. Skinner organ. $8 in advance, $10 at the door.
7:00PM Sunday, October 29th
The Exorcist (1973)
William Friedkin · 122m · DCP
Based on a true story, The Exorcist ventures "somewhere between science and superstition" in the tale of an innocent young girl possessed by a foul-mouthed demon. Her mother desperately seeks help for her levitating, babbling daughter, but finds no answers in medicine--leaving Regan's salvation in the hands of two Catholic priests who must embark on an exorcism. Come for the thrilling religious horror, stay for the iconic torrents of green slime.
9:30PM Tuesday, October 31st
Bad Black (2016)
Nabwana Isaac Godfrey Geoffrey · 68m · DCP
From the Ugandan slum studio Wakaliwood of cult Who Killed Captain Alex? fame comes this gonzo action-comedy. After Bad Black (Nalwanga Gloria), the biggest mafiosa in Uganda’s capital city, steals from an American doctor, he must team up with Kung fu kid Wesley Snipes (Rolean Kasule) to take back his family heirloom. Bear witness to the dizzying action and witty script born of a self-taught MacGyver director and a whopping $65 budget.
7:00PM Saturday, November 18th · 3:00PM Sunday, November 19th
Mothra Vs. Godzilla // Ghidora, The Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Ishiro Honda · 89m // 93m · DCP
Sponsored by The Brothers Valauskas. A companion feature to the exhibit Bibliosaurus! Exclusively at Special Collections in the Regenstein Library, opening January 2, 2024, through April 26.
Mothra is a fantastical showcase of the Showa Era's flashy battes and goofy but impressive practical effects. It's also a critique of corporate Japan and the envrionmental toll of nuclear testing. Plus, Ghidora smashes in with an all-star Kaiju cast, as Rodan, Mothra, and Godzilla team up against the titular titan. With aliens, assassins, and political intrigue, Ghidora (and Mothra!) make for a one-of-a-kind experience to see on the big screen.
2:00PM Saturday, December 2nd
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Stanley Kubrick · 116m · 35mm
Based on a 1979 novel, Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket follows two privates as they struggle through rigorous military training, each earning a pejorative nickname from their hard-as-nails drill sergeant: 'Joker' (Matthew Modine) and 'Pyle' (Vincent D'Onofrio). When Joker graduates to a journalist and is sent into the thick of the battlefield, he finds himself ensconced within the Battle of Hué, facing danger, loss, and moral dilemmas.
