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St. Olaf to kick off Classic Film Series Monday

By Kari VanDerVeen
February 8, 2008

St. Olaf College will kick off its Classic American Film Series Feb. 11 with a documentary that presents a mini-history of American film, from the early days of silent movies through the stylish black and white of film noir and the dazzling visual palettes of movies like The Godfather.

The 90-minute American Film Institute documentary, Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography, will begin at 7 p.m. in Buntrock Commons' Viking Theater. It provides "breathtaking clips from brilliant American movies spanning the 20th century, accompanied by the reminiscences and explanations of many of the geniuses who created them," according to St. Olaf Boldt Teaching Professor in the Humanities Diana Postlethwaite. The event is free and open to the public.

The documentary showing will kick off the college's Great American Film Festival, which will feature a classic American film every Monday night from Feb. 11-May 5. The series, courtesy of St. Olaf's Boldt Chair in the Humanities and the generosity of O.C. and Patricia Boldt, includes films such as Casablanca, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Jaws.

"These are not only rich films artistically; they are films which ask Americans in 2008 to ponder where we've been, who we are, and what we want to be," Postlethwaite says.

Some, such as Broken Blossoms and Imitation of Life, deal provocatively with questions of race while others, such as The Godfather, invite viewers to consider violence as an American way of life. And then there are films such as Singin' in the Rain that are just plain fun.

To receive weekly e-mails containing information about each Monday's upcoming film, contact Postlethwaite at postleth@stolaf.edu.

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.