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May 19 - June 8, 2023

1973

1973

Ticket 5-Pack: $40 ($30 Belcourt members) | Series Full Pass: $126 ($90 Belcourt members)

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The country watches intently as a disgraced former president faces allegations of covering up illegal activities, inflation is completely out of control, and the Supreme Court is hearing arguments on the state of abortion. It’s 1973 in America.

Fifty years have passed, but many of the same issues still haunt the national psyche. As the U.S. ended its involvement in Vietnam, the young countercultural filmmakers who broke down Hollywood’s doors in the late ‘60s — and prepared the American consciousness for the moral complexities of the war and a changing society — became the heirs apparent to the entertainment-industrial complex. With more resources and the support of an avid public, the New Wave rolled ashore and gave us a veritable treasure chest of gritty stories and meaty performances. This year, we celebrate the golden anniversary of many of the masterpieces those turbulent times helped produce with an eye to the future — and the art this generation might create to help us process the challenges we face today. 

Belcourt staffers culled this 18-film sampler of some of the best films released in the U.S. in 1973 from a list of over 125 titles. While some of our favorites are absent from the lineup because they’re either out of release or slated for restorations and anniversary screenings later in the year, this outstanding assortment of some of the most memorable and representative films of the era has a little bit of something for everyone. From canonical masterworks to under-appreciated gems, from cult oddities to family friendly fare, this cinematic survey of a pivotal year in American culture seeks to offer a glimpse into an incredibly exciting moment in motion picture history.


Past Screenings

THE STING
Tue, May 23 at 8:00pm

THE STING

Robert Redford and Paul Newman play a duo of swindlers who plan to fleece a homicidal racketeer (Robert Shaw) with a phony racetrack scam involving a string of double and triple crosses.
CLEOPATRA JONES
Fri, May 19 | Sun, May 21

CLEOPATRA JONES

A Turkish poppy field is torched — and a U.S. drug trafficker known as "Mommy" is feeling pretty burned. She phones the local cops in her pocket and orders a retaliatory strike on an inner-city anti-drug headquarters. Mommy's next call should be to 911 for now she'll have to mess with Special Agent Cleopatra Jones...
MEAN STREETS
Wed, May 24 at 8:00pm

MEAN STREETS

A small-time hood working his way up the ranks of Little Italy’s crime syndicate is torn between his family’s Catholic roots and his increasingly morally dubious career in this early, semi-autobiographical tale from master filmmaker Martin Scorsese.
ROBIN HOOD
Wed, May 24 at 3:30pm, 6:00pm

ROBIN HOOD

Robin Hood and his devoted band of merry men conjure up one hilarious and daring deed after another to outfox greedy Prince John and bring peace to the residents of Sherwood Forest. Featuring an iconic soundtrack by the inimitable Roger Miller.
THE LAST DETAIL
Tue, May 23 | Thu, May 25

THE LAST DETAIL

Two naval officers and the young sailor that they're escorting to prison are determined to cram all the living they can into one lost weekend. Starring Jack Nicholson, Otis Young and Randy Quaid.
THE HARDER THEY COME
Thu, May 25 at 3:00pm, 5:40pm

THE HARDER THEY COME

Wishing to become a successful reggae singer, a young Jamaican man finds himself tied to corrupt record producers and drug pushers in this surprise crossover cult hit.
ENTER THE DRAGON
Encore: Sat, Jun 10

ENTER THE DRAGON

Bruce Lee, in a career-defining performance that took the world by storm, plays a martial arts expert determined to help capture the narcotics dealer whose gang was responsible for the death of his sister.
THE HOLY MOUNTAIN
Encore: Tue, Jun 13

THE HOLY MOUNTAIN

The Alchemist (Jodorwosky) leads a messianic figure and a group of disciples to a mountain of immortal gods who secretly rule the universe in this ultimate midnight movie head-trip from the maestro of lysergic cinema.
COFFY
Sat, May 27 | Wed, May 31

COFFY

Pam Grier, in one of the first headlining roles in an action film for an African-American woman, tears the house down as a nurse who moonlights as an avenging angel on a personal mission to exact revenge on the drug pushers who got her younger sister hooked.
PAPER MOON
Encore: Sun, Jun 11

PAPER MOON

A smooth-talking Kansas con man and a young girl who may or may not be his daughter form an unlikely partnership while roaming the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression.
MESSIAH OF EVIL
Sat, May 27 at Midnight

MESSIAH OF EVIL

A young woman goes searching for her missing artist father. Her journey takes her to a strange Californian seaside town governed by a mysterious undead cult. Screening in 35mm
THE WAY WE WERE
Sun, May 28 | Tue, May 30 | Thu, Jun 1

THE WAY WE WERE

Set against the political backdrops of the lead-up to World War II and later McCarthyism, a diametrically opposed couple come together only to find out that genuine friendship and physical attraction is not enough to overcome fundamental societal beliefs.
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR
Encore: Mon, Jun 12 at 8:30pm

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

The story of Christ’s final weeks told entirely in a series of dazzling songs, images and music.
LADY SNOWBLOOD
ENCORE: Wed, Jun 14

LADY SNOWBLOOD

Trained from birth in the art of assassination, a young woman is set loose to exact revenge on the swindlers who destroyed her family.
SERPICO
Sat, Jun 3 | Wed, Jun 7

SERPICO

An honest New York cop blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him. Al Pacino delivers a dynamic performance in this action-packed real-life drama based on the Peter Maas book.
FANTASTIC PLANET
ENCORES: FRI, JUN 9 + TUE, JUN 13

FANTASTIC PLANET

A band of humans—known as Oms—are kept as domesticated pets by an alien race of blue humanoid giants called Traags in director René Laloux's psychedelic animated sci-fi classic, said to be based on the Soviet occupation of the Czech Republic.
PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID
Thu, Jun 8

PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID

Kris Kristofferson, James Coburn and Bob Dylan star in this story of friendship and betrayal that has become one of the greatest legends of the American West.
THE LONG GOODBYE
ENCORE: Thu, Jun 15

THE LONG GOODBYE

When a friend’s wife turns up dead and a wealthy widow hires him to find her missing husband, old-school, laid-back PI Philip Marlowe must untangle the intertwining cases as he’s drawn ever further into a web of intrigue.