|
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 Movie Guide, with all-new programming from September 11 through December 3! |
Now Playing at the Bethesda Row Cinema
and E Street Cinema
 |
|
In Werner Herzog's new film, Nicolas Cage plays a rogue detective who is
as devoted to his job as he is at scoring drugs—while playing fast and
loose with the law. He wields his badge as often as he wields his gun in order
to get his way. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina he becomes a high-functioning
addict who is a deeply intuitive, fearless detective reigning over the beautiful
ruins of New Orleans with authority and abandon. Complicating his tumultuous
life is the prostitute he loves (played by Eva Mendes). Together they descend
into their own world marked by desire, compulsion and conscience. The result
is a singular masterpiece of filmmaking: equally sad and manically humorous.
Official Web Site Ann Hornaday's Washington Post review... |
|
Now Playing at the E Street Cinema
 |
|
William Kunstler was one of the most famous and controversial lawyers of
the 20th century. In the 1960s and '70s, Kunstler fought for civil rights
with Martin Luther King Jr. and represented the famed "Chicago 8"
activists who protested the Vietnam War. When the inmates took over Attica
prison, or when the American Indian Movement stood up to the federal government
at Wounded Knee, they asked Kunstler to be their lawyer. To his daughters,
filmmakers Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler, it seemed that he was at the
center of everything important that had ever happened. But when they were
growing up, Kunstler represented some of the most reviled members of society,
including rapists, assassins and accused terrorists. This powerful film not
only recounts the historic causes that Kunstler fought for, it also confronts
a man that even his own daughters did not always understand, a man who believed
that, however unpopular, justice should serve all. Official Web Site Michael O'Sullivan's Washington Post review... |
Now Playing at the Bethesda Row Cinema
 |
|
Set in Harlem in 1987, Precious is a vibrant, honest and resoundingly
hopeful film about the human capacity to grow and overcome. Claireece "Precious"
Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) is a 16-year-old African-American girl born into a
life no one would want. She's pregnant for the second time by her absent father;
at home, she must wait hand and foot on her mother (Mo'Nique), a poisonously
angry woman who abuses her emotionally and physically. School is a place of
chaos, and Precious has reached the ninth grade with good marks and an awful
secret: she can neither read nor write. Precious may sometimes be down, but
she is never out. Beneath her impassive expression is a watchful, curious
young woman with an inchoate but unshakeable sense that other possibilities
exist for her. Threatened with expulsion, Precious is offered the chance to
transfer to an alternative school, Each One/Teach One. In the literacy workshop
taught by the patient yet firm Ms. Rain (Paula Patton), Precious begins a
journey that will lead her from darkness, pain and powerlessness to light,
love and self-determination. Winner of three awards at the 2009 Sundance Film
Festival, including the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the U.S. Dramatic
Competition. Co-starring Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd and Lenny Kravitz.
Official Web Site Ann Hornaday's Washington Post review... |
Now Playing at the Bethesda Row Cinema
and E Street Cinema
 |
|
Pirate Radio is a high-spirited, laugh-out-loud ensemble comedy from filmmaker
Richard Curtis (screenwriter of Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting
Hill, and writer/director of Love Actually), spinning the irreverent
yet fact-based tale of a seafaring band of rogue rock and roll deejays whose
"pirate radio" captivated and inspired 1960s Britain. Broadcasting
live 24/7 from an old tanker anchored in the middle of the North Sea (just
beyond British jurisdiction), Radio Rock sends out a vibrant and unifying
signal to millions across the nation. The Radio Rock roster, overseen by unflappable
station owner Quentin (Bill Nighy), includes a risk-prone American known only
as The Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman); mystic deejay royalty Gavin (Rhys Ifans);
slyly amorous Dave (Nick Frost) and others. One night in 1966, Quentin's teenaged
godson Carl (Tom Sturridge) comes aboard. While Carl harbors romantic aspirations
that he hopes will be fulfilled during one of the biweekly visits by Radio
Rock's prettiest fans, he also hopes to find out more about his long-absent
father… As the ship sails on and rocks out, what Carl and the freewheeling
Radio Rock gang don't know is that back in London, a landlocked
government minister (Kenneth Branagh) has embarked on a vehement crusade to
silence their signal—permanently. Official
Web Site Kelly Jane Torrance's Washington Times review... |
Now Playing at the Bethesda Row Cinema
and E Street Cinema
 |
|
In his most powerful performance to date, Ben Foster stars as Will Montgomery,
a U.S. Army officer who has just returned home from a tour in Iraq and is
assigned to the Army's Casualty Notification service. Partnered with fellow
officer Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) to bear the bad news to the loved ones
of fallen soldiers, Will faces the challenge of completing his mission while
seeking to find comfort and healing back on the home front. When he finds
himself drawn to Olivia (Samantha Morton), to whom he has just delivered the
news of her husband's death, Will's emotional detachment begins to dissolve
and the film reveals itself as a surprising, humorous, moving and very human
portrait of grief, friendship and survival. Featuring tour-de-force performances
from Foster, Harrelson and Morton, and a brilliant directorial debut by Oren
Moverman, The Messenger brings us into the inner lives of these outwardly
steely heroes to reveal their fragility with compassion and dignity. Official
Web Site Director Oren Moverman on the need to find optimism in dark times Michael O'Sullivan's Washington Post review... |
New 35mm Print!
Now Playing at the E Street Cinema
 |
|
Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, Rashomon
is perhaps the finest film ever made about the philosophy of justice. Through
an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, director/co-writer Akira Kurosawa
(The Seven Samurai, Ran) reveals the complexities of human nature as
four people recount different versions of the same story: the murder of a
man (Masayuki Mori) and the rape of his wife (Machiko Kyo). The great Toshiro
Mifune gives a commanding performance as a bandit in an eloquent masterwork
that revolutionized film language and introduced Japanese cinema to the world.
The basis for this stunning new restoration was a 35mm print created in 1962
from the original camera negative. Scanned at 4K resolution, that 47-year-old
print has been meticulously cleaned both digitally and by hand, complete with
a new, seamless soundtrack. Winner of the Golden Lion at the 1951 Venice Film
Festival. Official
Web Site Michael O'Sullivan's Washington Post review... |
Now Playing at the Bethesda Row Cinema
 |
|
In this quirky dark comedy inspired by a real life story you will hardly
believe is actually true, astonishing revelations about a top-secret wing
of the U.S. military come to light when a reporter encounters an enigmatic
Special Forces operator on a mind-boggling mission. Reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan
McGregor) is in search of his next big story when he encounters Lyn Cassady
(George Clooney), a shadowy figure who claims to be part of an experimental
U.S. military unit. According to Cassady, the New Earth Army is changing the
way wars are fought. A legion of "Warrior Monks" with unparalleled
psychic powers can read the enemy's thoughts, pass through solid walls, and
even kill a goat simply by staring at it. Now, the program's founder, Bill
Django (Jeff Bridges), has gone missing and Cassady's mission is to find him.
Intrigued by his new acquaintance's far-fetched stories, Bob impulsively decides
to accompany him on the search. When the pair tracks Django to a clandestine
training camp run by renegade psychic Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey), the reporter
is trapped in the middle of a grudge match between the forces of Django's
New Earth Army and Hooper's personal militia of super soldiers. An eye-opening
and often hilarious exploration of the government's attempts to harness paranormal
abilities to combat its enemies, inspired by Jon Ronson's non-fiction bestseller
of the same name. Official
Web Site Roger Ebert's Chicago Sun-Times review... |
Now Playing at the E Street Cinema
 |
|
The award-winning drama Skin tells one of the most unusual and moving true stories to
emerge from apartheid South Africa. Sandra Laing (Sophie Okonedo of Hotel Rwanda and The Secret
Life of Bees) is a black child born in the 1950s to white Afrikaners (Sam
Neill and Alice Krige) who are unaware of their black ancestry. Her parents are
rural shopkeepers serving the local black community, who lovingly bring her
up as their 'white' little girl. But at the age of ten, Sandra is driven out
of white society. The film follows Sandra's thirty-year journey from rejection
to acceptance, betrayal to reconciliation, as she struggles to define her
place in a changing world—and triumphs against all odds. Official
Web Site Michael O'Sullivan's Washington Post review... |
Now Playing at the Bethesda Row Cinema
and E Street Cinema
 |
|
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... |
Now Playing at the Bethesda Row Cinema
and E Street Cinema
 |
|
The new dramatic comedy from the Coen Brothers (Burn After Reading, Fargo)
is the story of an ordinary man's search for clarity in a universe where Jefferson
Airplane is on the radio and "F-Troop" is on TV. It is 1967, and
Larry (Michael Stuhlbarg), a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university,
has just been informed by his wife Judith (Sari Lennick) that she is leaving
him. She has fallen in love with one of his more pompous colleagues, Sy (Fred
Melamed), who seems to her a more substantial person than the feckless Larry.
Larry's unemployable brother Arthur (Richard Kind) is sleeping on the couch,
his son Danny (Aaron Wolf) is a discipline problem and a shirker at Hebrew
school, and his daughter Sarah (Jessica McManus) is filching money from his
wallet in order to save up for a nose job. While his wife and Sy blithely
make new domestic arrangements, and his brother becomes more and more of a
burden, an anonymous hostile letter-writer is trying to sabotage Larry's chances
for tenure at the university. Also, a graduate student seems to be trying
to bribe him for a passing grade while at the same time threatening to sue
him for defamation. Plus, the beautiful woman next door torments him by sunbathing
nude. Struggling for equilibrium, Larry seeks advice from three different
rabbis. Can anyone help him cope with his afflictions and become a righteous
person—a mensch—a serious man? Official
Web Site Sonny Bunch's Washington Times review... |
Now Playing at the Bethesda Row Cinema
and E Street Cinema
 |
|
A little girl who is sent with her sister to an orphanage in the heart of
France, who waits in vain every Sunday for her father to come for her…
A cabaret performer with a weak voice who sings to an audience of drunken
soldiers… A humble seamstress, who stitches hems at the back of a provincial
tailor's shop… A young, skinny courtesan, to whom protector Étienne
Balsan (Benoît Poelvoorde) offers a safe haven, amongst the idle and
decadent… A woman in love who knows she will never be anyone’s wife,
refusing marriage even to Arthur 'Boy' Capel (Alessandro Nivola), the man
who returned her love… A rebel who finds the conventions of her time
oppressive, and instead dresses in her lovers' clothes… This is the story
of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel (Audrey Tautou, Amélie),
who begins her life as a headstrong orphan, and through an extraordinary journey
becomes the legendary couturier who embodied the modern woman and became a
timeless symbol of success, freedom and style. Official
Web Site Ann Hornaday's Washington Post review... |
Fri & Sat Midnight Movies at the E Street Cinema!
 |
|
4 nights! See the new midnight cult sensation: The Room — Nov 27 & 28 and Dec 4 & 5 David Bowie & Jennifer Connelly in Labyrinth — Dec 4 & 5 See Live Shadow Cast Sonic Transducers with the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show — Dec 11 & 12 Tim Burton's Pee-wee's Big Adventure — Dec 18 & 19 New 35mm print! The Goonies — Dec 25 & 26 Washington, D.C. premiere! Black Dynamite — Jan 1 & 2 See Live Shadow Cast Sonic Transducers with the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show — Jan 8 & 9 Visit Fantasia! The NeverEnding Story — Jan 15 & 16 Joe Dante's original Gremlins — Jan 22 & 23 Michael J. Fox goes Back to the Future — Jan 29 & 30 |
Starts Wednesday, November 25
at the Bethesda Row Cinema
 |
| Visionary director Wes Anderson's first animated film utilizes classic handmade stop-motion techniques to tell the story of the best-selling children's book by Roald Dahl (author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach). Mr. and Mrs. Fox (voices of George Clooney and Meryl Streep) live an idyllic home life with their son Ash (Jason Schwartzman) and visiting young nephew Kristopherson (Eric Anderson). But after 12 years, the bucolic existence proves too much for Mr Fox’s wild animal instincts. Soon he slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief and in doing so, endangers not only his beloved family, but the whole animal community. Trapped underground and with not enough food to go around, the animals band together to fight against the evil Farmers—Boggis (Brian Cox), Bunce (Hugo Guinness) and Bean (Michael Gambon)—who are determined to capture the audacious, fantastic Mr. Fox at any cost. Also featuring the voices of Bill Murray, Wally Wolodarsky, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson and Jarvis Cocker. Official Web Site |
Starts Wednesday, November 25
at the Bethesda Row Cinema
 |
| Viggo Mortensen leads a stellar cast (including Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce) in the epic, post-apocalyptic tale of the survival of a father (Moretensen) and his young son (newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee) as they journey across a barren America that was destroyed by a mysterious cataclysm. A masterpiece of adventure, The Road is adapted from author Cormac McCarthy's (No Country for Old Men) beloved, best-selling and Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, which boldly imagines a future in which men are pushed to the worst and the best that they are capable of—a future in which father and son are sustained by love. Directed by John Hillcoat (The Proposition). Official Web Site |
Starts Wednesday, November 25
at the E Street Cinema
 |
| Legendary action-cinema master John Woo and international superstar Tony Leung reunite for the first time since the 1992 classic Hard Boiled in this epic historical drama based on a legendary 208 A.D. battle that heralded the end of the Han Dynasty. Red Cliff opens as power hungry Prime Minister-turned-General Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi) seeks permission from the Han dynasty Emperor to organize a southward-bound mission designed to crush the two troublesome warlords who stand in his way, Liu Bei (You Yong) and Sun Quan (Chang Chen). As the expedition gets underway, Cao Cao's troops rain destruction on Liu Bei's army, forcing him into retreat. Liu Bei's military strategist Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) knows that the rebels’ only hope for survival is to form an alliance with rival warlord Sun Quan, and reaches out to Sun Quan’s trusted advisor, war hero Zhou Yu (Tony Leung). Vastly outnumbered by Cao Cao’s brutal, fast-approaching army, the warlords band together to mount a heroic campaign—unrivaled in history—that changes the face of China forever. A massive hit in Asia and the most expensive Asian film production of all time, Red Cliff is a breathtaking war epic that marks the triumphant return of John Woo. Official Web Site |
Fri & Sat, Nov 27 & 28 and Dec 4 & 5
at Midnight at the E Street Cinema!
 |
|
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 Read the Los Angeles TImes article about the phenomenon... |
Starts Friday, December 4
at the Bethesda Row Cinema
 |
|
When a decorated Marine goes missing overseas, his black-sheep younger brother
cares for his wife and children at home—with consequences that will shake
the foundation of the entire family. Brothers tells the powerful story
of two siblings, Captain Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) and younger brother Tommy
(Jake Gyllenhaal), who are polar opposites. A Marine about to embark on his
fourth tour of duty, Sam is a steadfast family man married to his high school
sweetheart, Grace (Natalie Portman), with whom he has two young daughters.
Tommy, his charismatic younger brother, is a drifter just out of jail who's
always gotten by on wit and charm. Shipped out to Afghanistan, Sam is presumed
dead when his Black Hawk helicopter is shot down in the mountains. At home
in suburbia, the Cahill family suddenly faces a shocking void, and Tommy tries
to fill in for his brother by assuming newfound responsibility for himself,
Grace, and the children. When Sam unexpectedly returns to the States, he is
uncharacteristically withdrawn and volatile, and grows suspicious of his brother
and his wife. In the shifting family dynamics, who will dominate? And how
will the brothers come to terms with issues of love, loyalty, and manhood—and
with the woman caught between them? Directed by Jim Sheridan (In America,
My Left Foot). Official Web Site |
One Week Only! Starts Friday, December 4
at the E Street Cinema
 |
| Set among a small circle of friends and neighbors in a Parisian suburb, 35 Shots of Rum is a gloriously delicate and sublime new film from the great French filmmaker Claire Denis (Beau Travail, Chocolat). Lionel (Alex Descas), a metro conductor, lives with his daughter Josephine (Mati Diop), a beautiful university student, in a bustling apartment complex. They have been sharing the same space for many years and have grown accustomed to one another's company. Josephine has begun spending time with Noé (Grégoire Colin), a handsome young neighbor, while Lionel is being drawn into a romance with a longtime friend, taxi driver Gabrielle (Nicole Dogué). As their lives are pulled in different directions, father and daughter realize they must confront a painful aspect of their past in order to embrace what lies ahead. Sumptuously shot by frequent Denis collaborator Agnès Godard, this warm, funny and enchanting film casts a lovely spell unlike any other movie this year. Original music by Tindersticks (Denis's Trouble Every Day and Nénette and Boni). Official Web Site |
Fri & Sat, Dec 11 & 12 at Midnight
at the E Street Cinema
With Live Shadow Cast Sonic Transducers!
 |
| 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 |
Please note that all opening dates and theatres are subject to change without notice.
If you are experiencing technical difficulties, please contact our webmaster
If you have questions or comments about this site, please drop us a line at comments
Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
© 1999-2008 Landmark Theatres