Whether you're looking for a dip into cinema studies, a killer sports doc or a trashy romantic comedy, Denver's big screens have you covered this month. Bike to the Blake Street Tavern for 40-Year-Old Virgin, immerse yourself in the glory of five of Hitchcock's greatest films and kick your way through a few of the best soccer flicks of the year.
See also: The ten best geek events in Denver for June
10) Neal Cassady: The Denver Years June 26 SIE FilmCenter Raised in Denver, Neal Cassady exemplified the manic spirit that defined the beat generation. While his own efforts at writing failed to garner him much attention, his life became fodder for Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and beyond. Neal Cassady: The Denver Years tells the story of the rebel's rocky youth and will play one night only, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $15 for general admissions and $12.50 for members.
9) Film on the Rocks: Fight Club June 10 Red Rocks Amphitheatre "The first rule of Fight Club is you don't talk about Fight Club," but who wouldn't talk about the 15th Anniversary screening of this nihilistic, psychological thriller, starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt. Few venues in the world boast the glory of the Red Rocks Amphitheater, and few films pack such a psychological punch. The bands Flashbulb Fires and Faceman will grace the stage before the film. The film plays at 7 p.m., at Red Rocks Amphitheater, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. Tickets cost $12.75. For more information, go to Red Rocks website.
8) Silent Film Festival: The Lost World June 11 Chautauqua Auditorium Long before Jurassic Park, The Lost World, based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel, tells the story of a quest to find a missing professor who realized that dinosaurs still roam the earth. Featuring the pioneering stop-motion special effects of Willis O'Brien, of King Kong fame, the film will be accompanied by the Purple Squirrel Quartet and shown alongside Max Fleischer's Koko the Clown. The film plays at 7:30 p.m. Admission costs $12 for the general public and $6 for members. For more information, go to the Chautauqua website.
Read on for the rest of June's ten best movie events in Denver.
7) Cinema Q presents: To Be Takei June 14 SIE Filmcenter Whether you know him from Star Trek or his hilarious Facebook posts, 77-year-old George Takei lived an amazing life: He survived the Japanese internment camps, built a successful television career and worked tirelessly for gay rights. Cinema Q presents: To Be Takei, Jennifer Kroot's documentary about the indomitable star. The film plays at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10 for non-members and $7 for members. For more information go to the event's website.
6) World Football Film Festival Various dates in June SIE Filmcenter In advance of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, SIE FilmCenter will be hosting the World Football Film Festival--a bevy of documentaries and independent films about the global obsession with soccer, including the local film, The Life and Times of Paul and Psychic Octopus, by Alexandra O. Phillippe. For more information go to the festival's webpage.
5) Historic Elitch Gardens Theater: The House on Haunted Hill June 13 Historic Elitch Gardens Theater Built in 1890, the Historic Elitch Gardens Theater hosted some of Hollywood's greatest actors: Douglas Fairbanks, Vincent Price and Grace Kelly, to name a few. This summer, the theater is raising restoration funds by sponsoring a film series featuring alumni from the stage. The House on Haunted Hill stars Vincent Price and features a classic plot: A millionaire pledges a hefty reward for five people daring enough to survive a night inside a haunted house. Rockabilly with burlesquer Cora Vette and her Chop Shop Boys opens the evening, and there will be a ghost-hunting presentation featuring the theater's haunted history. The film shows June 27, 7 p.m., at 4655 W 37th Avenue. Tickets cost $5 for adults. Kids under 13 get in free. For more information go to the Historic Elitch Theatre website.
4) Southwest Movies at Skyline Park: Finding Nemo June 28 Skyline Park Get down to Skyline Park for the modern, Disney/Pixar Classic Finding Nemo, a comic tearjerker about Dory, an amnesic regal blue tang and Marlin, a clownfish father who wander the ocean, looking for his captured son Nemo. The free screening takes place at dusk, on the corner of 16th Street and Arapahoe Street. For more information go to the event website.
Read on for the rest of June's ten best movie events in Denver.
3) Bike in Movies: Blake Street Tavern: The 40-Year-Old Virgin June 15 Blake Street Tavern Bike down to the Blake Street Tavern for Judd Apatow's The 40-Year-Old Virgin starring Steve Carell as Andy, a middle-aged-dweeb who has failed to lose his virginity, and sets out to do the deed. In the process he falls for a single Mom, and the two love-birds agree to a no-sex policy, much to the disapproval of Andy's friends. The free show starts at 9 p.m. For more information go to the Blake Street Tavern website.
2) Film on the Rocks: Labyrinth June 16 Red Rocks Amphitheatre Staring up at the two 350-foot monoliths that define the Red Rocks Amphitheater, it is hard not to imagine goblins lurking about, hiding amidst dinosaur bones; as such, the venue is the perfect place to watch Jim Henson's 1986, terrifying children's film, Labyrinth. The film tells the story of a teenager who accidentally wills her baby brother into the clutches of the Goblin King, played by a flamboyantly magical David Bowie. The band Grizfolk opens. The film plays at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12.50. For more information, go to the website.
1) Alfred Hitchcock: A Master in Transition Beginning June 2 SIE FilmCenter The master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock started making films in the silent film era and moved to the United States where he built a reputation creating some of the most bizarre psychological thrillers that defined the genre. Each Monday in June, University of Denver's Walter Chaw will be presenting lectures on Hitchcock's films escorting audiences from his early American pictures all the way through the nihilism of his later productions. Alfred Hitchcock: A Master in Transition starts June 2, at 7 p.m., at the SIE FilmCenter. All five weeks of the course cost $175 for the public and $150 for Denver Film Society members. For more information, go to the event website.
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