The Magic Lantern Film Society of Cameron University presents the 42nd Annual Classic Film Series 2026-2027
All films are DVD presentations, screened at 7:30 p.m. in Comm 114, except for the 15 January screening, which will begin at 6:30 p.m., and presented free though donations are gratefully accepted. For more information about the society and the films, see our website: www.cameron.edu/magiclantern. In addition, please like us on Facebook. Made possible by the Lectures and Concerts Committee and the Foundation Account for Classical Film.
Upcoming Events
11 September
Selena (U.S. 1997; 127 mins.)
Dir.: Gregory Nava
Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Edward James Olmos, Jon Seda
A film chronicling the life of a real-life Tejano singer who topped the Latin music charts and performed in the Astrodome.
2 October
Bicycle Thieves (Italy, 1948, 89 mins.)
Dir.: Vittorio de Sica
Stars: Cesare Zavattini, Luigi Bartolini, Oreste Biancoli
The bicycle a working-class man needs for his job is stolen, endangering his ability to make a living in post-war Italy. A Neo-Realist classic. In Italian with English subtitles.
30 October
The Nightmare Before Christmas (U.S. 1993, 76 mins.)
Dir.: Henry Selick
Stars: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catharine O’Hara
A Claymation fable in which Jack Skellington, King of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but creates confusion by attempting to bring Christmas home. Our Halloween feature.
13 November
The Imitation Game (U.S., 2014, 113 mins.)
Dir.: Morton Tyldum
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode
English mathematics genius Alan Turing enlists the aid of other mathematicians to crack the Enigma code during the Second World War while he tries to navigate his troubled private life. A Festival XIII event.
4 December
Monte Carlo (U.S., 1930, 90 mins.)
Dir.: Ernst Lubitsch
Stars: Jeanette MacDonald, Jack Buchanan, Claud Allister
Having fled to Monte Carlo on the day of her wedding, a countess is courted by a count posing as a hairdresser. A romantic comedy by one of the great directors in cinema history.
15 January
The Bridge on the River Kwai (U.S. 1957, 161 mins.)
Dir.: David Lean
Stars: Alec Guinness, Sessue Hayakawa, William Holden
The commanding officer of British prisoners of war battles the commandant of a Japanese prison camp over the building of a railroad bridge across the titular river. A stirring drama by one of the great directors in cinema history. NOTE: Early 6:30 p.m. start time.
12 February
Her (U.S. 2013, 126 mins.)
Dir.: Spike Jonze
Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson
In the near future, a lonely writer develops a relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every need. A Festival XIII event and our timely and ironic Valentine’s Day offering.
26 February
Fences (U.S. 2016, 139 mins.)
Dir.: Denzel Washington
Stars: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen McKinley Henderson
A working-class African American father, a former baseball player, attempts to raise his family in the 1950s. Based upon a Pulitzer Prize winning play by August Wilson.
26 March
Black Orpheus (Brazil, 1959; 100 mins.)
Dir.: Marcel Camus
Stars: Bruno Mello, Marpessa Dawn, Lourdes de Oliveira
Orfeo, a tram conductor, falls in love with Eurydice, a young woman from the country, and sets out to find her when she disappears during Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. In Portuguese with English subtitles.
16 April
The Day of the Jackal (U.S. 1973, 143 mins.)
Dir: Fred Zinnemann
Stars: Edward Fox, Terence Alexander, Michel Auclair
Following the independence of Algiers in 1962, resentful French veterans hire an assassin to kill President Charles de Gaulle. Adapted from a novel but based upon an historical event.
