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PAPER MOON

  • Dir. Peter Bogdanovich
  • USA
  • 1973
  • 102 min.
  • PG
  • DCP
  • Assistive Listening
  • Hearing Loop
PAPER MOON

Part of 1973

Sat, May 27 at 1:30pm: Introduction from Allison Inman, Belcourt education and engagement director | BUY TICKETS

Peter Bogdanovich revisits the lyrical strain of bittersweet nostalgia he tapped into in THE LAST PICTURE SHOW in this 1930s-set comedy about the unlikely partnership that develops between a smooth-talking Kansas con man (Ryan O’Neal) and a young girl (Tatum O’Neal) who may or may not be his daughter. The evocative monochrome cinematography by László Kovács and a scene-stealing performance by Tatum O’Neal—who became the youngest person ever to win an Academy Award for her memorable turn opposite her real-life father—are among the pleasures of this sweetly unsentimental slice of dust-bowl Americana.

“Tatum O’Neal creates a character out of thin air, makes us watch her every moment and literally makes the movie work…” —Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times (Jun 15, 1973)

“Of all the nice things that can be said about PAPER MOON, perhaps the nicest is this: it's the first new film in a long while that's as enjoyable as it is good, and absolutely first-rate in both departments.” —Janet Maslin, Boston Phoenix (Jun 12, 1973)

“It is distinguished by its moral tone, and it is the tone that lifts it above the average flim-flam comedy.” —Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune (Jun 15, 1973)

“Exactly what we have in mind when we talk nostalgically of what movies ‘used to be’ — meaningful rather than metaphorical, engrossing rather than exploitative, humanistic in their comedy and their sentiment.” —Judith Crist, New York Magazine

The Belcourt Theatre does not provide advisories about subject matter or potential triggering content, as sensitivities vary from person to person.

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