Film Series

A Tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman
With the announcement that the sculpture of Philip Seymour Hoffman will reside permanently outside the Dryden Theatre, we honor his career with a year-long tribute of twenty-four films across his career.

70 Years of Cinemascope
The moviegoing experience changed in 1953 with the release of the first films shot in Cinemascope. Almost doubling the width of the conventional cinema image, filmmakers could now challenge the ubiquity of television with images that far exceeded those audiences could get at home.

Before Babylon
The 2022 film Babylon posits a silent film industry overrun by hedonists and malcontents. While this is far from the truth, many of the characters in the film had real-life analogs or inspirations. In the first part of our Silent Tuesdays — Spring Edition series, we look at films from some of these inspirations, including directors, actors, and actresses.

Silent Tuesdays
Silent films are good for any time of year, and with an accompanist like Philip Carli on hand, the experience of seeing a silent film on the big screen couldn’t be better.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Women Directors of Color
British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw is likely most famous in the United States for her role as Ravonna Renslayer in the television series Loki. But in her nearly twenty year screen career, she has made a point of acting in projects shepherded by directors of color.

Make Mine Musicals
Author, critic, and long-time host of the Fascinatin’ Rhythm radio show Michael Lasser returns for eleven screenings of some of his favorite musicals on the Dryden screen.

Mid-Century Comedies
Following the enforcement of the Hays Code in the middle of 1934, the Hollywood studios had more restrictions and guidelines to follow in making their films, which affected not only the gangster, horror, and exploitation genres, but also comedies.

Hollywood Pairings
Classic Hollywood created some of the most iconic and memorable stars. Many of these beloved figures even found love in Tinsel Town and became the subject of media fascination with some couples reaching immortal status in popular culture—what’s Bogart without Bacall or Lucy without Desi?

Pops on Film
There has always been an intimate connection between music and the movies. To underline this, the Dryden Theatre is collaborating with the Rochester Philharmonic and its Pops Series throughout the winter and spring to bring you themed pairings of films and music that illustrate that connection.