DENNIS HOPPER screens VIRIDIANA September 19, 2006

AFI & SKIRBALL invite YOU to meet some of today’s most influential
filmmakers at…

CINEMA’S LEGACY:

Appearing this month:
DENNIS HOPPER live and in person!

Cultural icon and award-winning filmmaker DENNIS HOPPER (Easy Rider, Blue Velvet) presents Luis Buñuel’s controversial classic Viridiana.
Q&A WITH DENNIS HOPPER BEFORE THE SCREENING

DENNIS HOPPER screens VIRIDIANA
Directed by Luis Buñuel
1961 90MIN 35MM
SCREENWRITERS: Julio Alejandro, Louis Bunuel.
CAST: Silvia Pinal, Fernando Rey, Francisco Rabal

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 7:30 PM
at the Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90049 • (310) 440-4500 • www.skirball.org
Avoid the traffic—take Mulholland Drive. It’s breathtaking and so simple!

$10 General • $8 AFI, Skirball, and Cinema’s Legacy Members* • $6 Students. Advance tickets recommended: Available via TicketWeb at (866) 468-3399 or www.ticketweb.com. Tickets also available at the door on a first-come, first-served basis.

*To become a member of the Cinema’s Legacy Google group and receive ticket discounts and information on upcoming events, please email us at [email protected]

For more about the Cinema’s Legacy series, visit www.afi.com.

ABOUT DENNIS HOPPER:
Although Hopper was voted “Most Likely to Succeed” by his high school class, it was not until he teamed with Peter Fonda in Easy Rider (1969) that he really shook up the Hollywood establishment. Although Hopper directed and starred in numerous pictures before and after Easy Rider, it was not until he portrayed the nitrites-huffing, obscenity-screaming Frank Booth in David Lynch's Blue Velvet (1986) that his career truly revived. Hopper won critical acclaim and a slew of awards for this role and the same year won an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Hoosiers. In addition to being famous as an actor and director, Hopper is also an accomplished painter and photographer.

ABOUT VIRIDIANA
Viridiana (Silvia Pinal) is a virtuous young woman living in a convent in Spain, when she is urged by her superior to visit her closest living relative, Don Jaime (Fernando Rey), at his estate. Dutifully she pays the visit and is put up in a bedroom in the large mansion. We see from her habits and possessions the magnitude of her piety. In her suitcase, she carries a crown of thorns. Viridiana even performs religious rituals as she walks in her sleep. Don Jaime is the model of courtesy and kindness to her, though he is privately obsessed with his young niece, who resembles the beloved wife that Don Jaime lost on their wedding night 30 years earlier. Although Buñuel’s modern classic won the Palme D’Or in 1961’s Cannes Film Festival, the film was condemned by the Vatican and was not shown in Spain until 1977. The film’s controversy also led to the temporary exile of Buñuel from his home country.

ABOUT CINEMA'S LEGACY:
Inspired by a simple question—“What filmmaker has most inspired you?”—Cinema’s Legacy is an ongoing monthly series of conversations where contemporary filmmakers screen work they credit with encouraging and shaping their art and discuss firsthand the films and filmmakers that have influenced their careers. Presented by the American Film Institute and the Skirball Cultural Center, this acclaimed series has featured numerous notable filmmakers. Additional information about the series is available at www.afi.com.

Official Website: http://www.skirball.org