Tragic Romance Film Series

Date: February 3, 2016 - February 27, 2016
Release Date: January 1, 2016

Four films exploring the tragedy of love to screen every Wednesday and Friday throughout the month of February

Pasadena, CA—The theme of love and loss is dominant in both art and film. Throughout the Norton Simon collections, from Modigliani’s Portrait of the Artist’s Wife, Jeanne Hebuterne (1918) to the 18th-century Indian painting Shirin Mourning Farhad’s Death, tragic romance is evident. The Norton Simon Museum presents a film series that explores this theme, with screenings in the Museum’s theater on Wednesday afternoons and Friday evenings throughout February. Films are free with admission; no reservations are needed. General public inquiries can be directed to [email protected].

Wednesday, February 3, 2:00–3:30 p.m. and
Friday, February 5, 5:30–7:00 p.m.
Brief Encounter (1945), NR
Directed by David Lean
After a chance meeting on a train platform, a married doctor (Trevor Howard) and a suburban housewife (Celia Johnson) enter into a muted but passionate, ultimately doomed, love affair. With its evocatively fog-enshrouded setting, swooning Rachmaninoff score, and pair of remarkable performances, David Lean’s film of Noël Coward’s play Still Life deftly explores the thrill, pain, and tenderness of an illicit romance.

Wednesday, February 10, 2:00–4:20 p.m. and
Friday, February 12, 5:30–7:50 p.m.
Romeo and Juliet (1968), PG
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli
In the city of Verona, the Montague and the Capulet families are perpetually feuding. When Romeo (Leonard Whiting), a handsome young Montague, disregards convention by attending a Capulet ball, he falls in love with the beautiful Juliet (Olivia Hussey), a Capulet. After a brief courtship, the two elope, creating even greater tension between their families. Italian director Franco Zeffirelli’s film is considered one of the best screen versions of Shakespeare’s classic love story.

Wednesday, February 17, 2:00–3:45 p.m. and
Friday, February 19, 5:30–7:15 p.m.
The Earrings of Madame de . . . (1953), NR
Directed by Max Ophüls
The Earrings of Madame de . . . is a profoundly emotional, cinematographically adventurous tale of deceptive opulence and tragic romance. When an aristocratic woman known only as Madame de . . . (Danielle Darrieux) sells a pair of earrings given to her by her husband (Charles Boyer) in order to pay some debts, she sets off a chain reaction of financial and carnal consequences that can end only in despair. Director Max Ophüls’s adaptation of Louise de Vilmorin’s incisive fin-de-siècle novel employs to ravishing effect the elegant and precise camera work for which the director is so justly renowned. In French, with English subtitles.

Wednesday, February 24, 2:00–3:40 p.m. and
Friday, February 26, 5:30–7:10 p.m.
Ugetsu (1953), NR
Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
In 16th-century Japan, peasants Genjuro (Masayuki Mori) and Tobei (Sakae Ozawa) sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage’s warning against seeking to profit from warfare. Genjuro’s pursuit of both riches and the mysterious Lady Wakasa (Machiko Kyo), as well as Tobei’s desire to become a samurai, run the risk of destroying both themselves and their wives, Miyagi (Kinuyo Tanaka) and Ohama (Mitsuko Mito). Derived from stories by Akinari Ueda and Guy de Maupassant, this haunting tale of love and loss exquisitely blends the otherworldly and the real. In Japanese, with English subtitles.

ADMISSION: All screenings are free with Museum admission. Admission is $12.00 for adults; $9.00 for seniors; and free for Museum members, students with I.D., and everyone age 18 and under. For more information, call (626) 449-6840 or visit www.nortonsimon.org.

WHERE: Norton Simon Museum | 411 West Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena; located on the corner of Colorado and Orange Grove Boulevards at the intersection of the Foothill (210) and Ventura (134) freeways | Parking at the Norton Simon Museum is free.

About the Norton Simon Museum

The Norton Simon Museum is known around the world as one of the most remarkable private art collections ever assembled. Over a 30-year period, industrialist Norton Simon (1907–1993) amassed an astonishing collection of European art from the Renaissance to the 20th century, and a stellar collection of South and Southeast Asian art spanning 2,000 years. Modern and Contemporary Art from Europe and the United States, acquired by the former Pasadena Art Museum, also occupies an important place in the Museum’s collections. The Museum houses more than 12,000 objects, roughly 1,000 of which are on view in the galleries and gardens.

Location: The Norton Simon Museum is located at 411 W. Colorado Blvd. at Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena, Calif., at the intersection of the Foothill (210) and Ventura (134) freeways. For general Museum information, please call (626) 449-6840 or visit nortonsimon.org. Hours: The Museum is open Thursday through Monday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. (Friday and Saturday to 7 p.m.). It is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Admission: General admission is $20 for adults and $15 for seniors. Members, students with I.D., and patrons age 18 and under are admitted free of charge. The first Friday of the month from 4 to 7 p.m. is free to all. The Museum is wheelchair accessible. Parking: Parking is free but limited, and no reservations are necessary. Public Transportation: Pasadena Transit stops directly in front of the Museum. Please visit http://pasadenatransit.net for schedules. The MTA bus line #180/181 stops in front of the Museum. The Memorial Park Station on the MTA Gold Line, the closest Metro Rail station to the Museum, is located at 125 E. Holly St. at Arroyo Parkway. Please visit www.metro.net for schedules. Planning your Visit: For up-to-date information on our guidelines and protocols, please visit nortonsimon.org/visit.

@nortonsimon

@nortonsimon

/nortonsimonmuseum