Tuesday, July 7, 6:30 pm - Houdini
Tuesday, July 14, 6:30 pm - L’Illusionist
Tuesday, July 21, 6:30 pm - The Prestige
Doors open 6:00. Live magical performance by David Hirata starts at 6:30. Films begin at 7:00.
Magic and movies have gone hand-in-hand for over a century -- the films of yesteryear used stagecraft to create special effects on-screen that startled and baffled the audience. From the tricks of early filmmakers to the visual spectacles of today, cinema remains an art film built on illusion.
Join us at White Branches -- Mount Vernon's magical tearoom -- for three films that blend film and fantasy. White Branches is located at 100 E Montgomery St on the second floor of Mount Vernon’s historic Old Town Grainery building.
Before each film, David Hirata will be performing magic for attendees. David Hirata is a magician known for his imaginative and thoughtful presentational style. As resident magician at White Branches, he creates atmospheric, theatrical illusions in collaboration with his fellow White Branches artists. An avid student of Japanese magic history, his magic often bridges gaps between East and West, past and present. "Magic is about transformation," he says. "The experience of stage magic explores and celebrates our human capacity for wonder and change."
July 7: Houdini
While working as a Coney Island entertainer, Harry Houdini (Tony Curtis) meets and falls madly in love with Bess (Janet Leigh). The two quickly marry, and with her at his side, the magician begins his rise to fame as the world's greatest escape artist and magician.
But as the escapes get more and more dangerous, Bess worries that Harry may be taking his act too far.
From his beginnings as a "wildman" carnival act to the internationally famous feat of escaping from a locked trunk in an ice-jammed river, this biopic of the great Harry Houdini shows how he emerged as the world's most captivating magician and escape artist.
"Accuracy be darned; this is pure entertainment bio-pic with Tony Curtis at the height of his charismatic matinee idol period -- plus, working with wife Janet Leigh isn't bad either." —Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier
Directed by George Marshall
Starring Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh
United States | English | 1953 | Magic Biopic | 105 minutes | Approved
July 14: L'Illusionist
Magic tricks can't compete with rock 'n' roll in the 1950s, so French illusionist Tatischeff finds himself touring Scotland's shabby pubs and run-down restaurants. But things brighten for him when he meets Alice, a girl who believes his powers are real.
Together they travel to Edinburgh for a performance, but he doesn't have the heart to reveal that his feats are merely tricks, as he risks financial ruin by giving her gifts supplied by his "magic."
Directed by Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville) and based on an unfilmed script by the legendary French filmmaker Jacques Tati, this gorgeous, dialogue-free hand-animated film captures Tati's humor and melancholy alike.
"Important to the charm of The Illusionist is the grace with which the character of Tatischeff has been drawn. He looks like Tati, but much more important, he has the inimitable body language. The polite formality, the deliberate movement, the hesitation, the diffidence. His world is an illusion, which he produces nightly from a hat." —Roger Ebert
Directed by Sylvain Chomet
France | French | 2010 | Animation, Drama | 80 minutes | PG
July 21: The Prestige
An illusion gone horribly wrong pits two 19th-century magicians, Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Rupert Angier (Hugh Jackman), against each other in a bitter battle for supremacy.
In their quest to outwit the other, they chase the ultimate illusion across Victorian London -- sacrificing sanity and safety to master a teleportation feat that defies all logic.
"The Prestige's chief pleasure lies in [Jackman and Bale's] increasingly ornate games of deception, which Christopher Nolan orchestrates with a showman's aplomb." —Scott Tobias, AV Club
"The Prestige is wonderfully engrossing, darkly mysterious and entertaining from start to finish." —Claudia Puig, USA Today
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, David Bowie
United Kingdom | English | 2006 | Mystery, Thriller | 130 minutes | PG-13
Film Prices
Lincoln Theatre Members get $3.00 off on the following prices when buying tickets at-the-door:
General: $17.00
Seniors, Students, and Active Military: $16.00
Children 12 and under: $14.50
All prices include a $5 surcharge that goes directly to the pre-show entertainer, as well as a $2.00 Preservation Fee that goes directly into our capital account for the preservation of the Lincoln Theatre and its programs.