Paul Newman was one of the most charismatic, compelling screen actors of the past fifty years, delivering indelible performances in a wide range of popular and acclaimed Hollywood films. A selection of thirteen of his best films will be shown during a month-long series at Museum of the Moving Image, from July 9 through August 7, 2011. If his good looks made him one of Hollywood's most enduring stars, it was his ability to inhabit roles that cut against his handsome physique that made him such a great actor. Newman relished playing distinctly imperfect characters, flawed men who are self-destructive, weak, or immoral. He was also an actor who refused to glide through parts on his charm; his performances are understated and thoughtful.
The Moving Image series ranges from his fierce early performances in classics such as Somebody Up There Likes Me and Cat On a Hot Tin Roof to his late-career triumphs in Twilight and Nobody's Fool. "This is a great summer show," said the Museum's Chief Curator David Schwartz, "with the pleasure of popular, big-screen movies like Hud, The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Slap Shot. Newman not only carries these star vehicles, he brings to them surprising layers of depth."
The series opens with a weekend triple-feature including Newman's final performance as the grumpy Doc Hudson in Cars, his career-defining role as the troubled pool shark Eddie Felson in The Hustler, and the film that won him his Academy Award for Best Actor, Martin Scorsese 's The Color of Money, in which he reprises the role of Eddie opposite Alfred Hitchcock 's cold war thriller Torn Curtain; and his first starring role, in Somebody Up There Likes Me, based on the life of boxer Rocky Graziano, and presented in an archival print from the Academy Film Archive.
All screenings take place in the Museum's new 267-seat main theater, which was named "Best New Theater for Old Movies" by New York Magazine . Other upcoming film series include Errol Morris's America (July 12-August 13), The Films of Jim Henson works, presented in conjunction with the exhibition Jim Henson 's Fantastic World (beginning July 16).
SCHEDULE FOR Paul Newman ,' JULY 9-AUGUST 7, 2011 All screenings take place at Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35 Avenue, Astoria, NY, and are included with Museum admission unless otherwise noted.
Cars Saturday, July 9, 1:00 p.m. Sunday, July 10, 1:00 p.m. Dirs. John Lasseter , Joe Ranft. 2006, 117 mins. 35mm. With the voices of Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt. In his final film role, Paul Newman plays Doc Hudson, a grouchy old car that, through Pixar's ingenious animation, bears uncanny resemblance to the actor. Owen Wilson plays the young hotshot who gains perspective when he is waylaid in a dusty small town.
The Hustler Saturday, July 9, 4:00 p.m. Sunday, July 10, 4:00 p.m. Dir. Jackie Gleason , Piper Laurie , George C. Scott . In one of his finest roles, Newman is Fast Eddie, the brash pool hustler who drifts through seedy nocturnal cityscapes until meeting his match in Jackie Gleason 's Minnesota Fats. His self-destructive impulses also meet their match, in his rocky and tender relationship with Sarah (Piper Laurie ).
The Color of Money Saturday, July 9, 7:00 p.m. Sunday, July 10, 7:00 p.m. Dir. Martin Scorsese . 1986, 119 mins. 35mm. With . In an Academy Award-winning performance, Newman reprises his role from The Hustler as Fast Eddie Felson, twenty-five years later and retired. He takes a brash young talent under his wings, but egos clash and the men part ways. Ultimately, Felson is lured back to confront his prot g and the demons that have long haunted him.
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