Fathom Big Screen Classics 2026

 

Every year Fathom Events brings a selection of classic movies back to the big screen. Each of these movies features a Turner Classic Movies style introduction by film historian and critic Leonard Maltin. 2026 features a really great line up of films, many of which I can't wait to watch at the AMC Theater across the street from my job. 

 

Ben-Hur (1959)

Directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston, this religious epic tells the story of Judah Ben Hur (Heston, a Jewish man who has everything taken away from him and seeks revenge on the former friend who is responsible. Though, I personally prefer the 1925 silent film adaption with Roman Novarro, this 1959 adaption has its followers and quite a bit of charm itself. 

March 29, April 1-2

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

An FBI trainee (Jodie Foster) interviews the brilliant and cannibalistic Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). The first horror film to win Best Picture, this movie is just as disturbing and powerful as it was 35 years ago.

April 26 & 29

Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

In this comedy-drama a housewife (Kathy Bates) visits a nursing home and creates a bond with an old woman (Jessica Tandy) there. The two bond over stories of two women from the past at the Whistle Stop Cafe.

                                                                     May 10 & 13

The Birdcage (1996)

Directed by Mike Nicols and starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane, this comedy is a favorite of many. Armand (Robin Williams) and Albert (Nathan Lane) are a happy gay couple. However, tension comes when Armand's son announces he is going to marry the daughter of extremely right-wing Senator Keeley (Gene Hackman). 

 June 7 & 10 

Ocean's Eleven (2001)

This very fun remake of the Rat Pack classic is returning to the big screen for its 25th anniversary with a new 4K restoration.

June 21 & 24

Citizen Kane (1941)

Considered by many to be the greatest movie ever made, this film is an incredible masterpiece that is just as engaging as it is groundbreaking. Orson Welles' first and most beloved film, tells the story of Newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane, from the point of view of various people who knew him. The result is one of the most complex characters in the history of cinema. Bernard Herrmann's musical score (his first score for a film (his last would be Taxi Driver (1976)) and Greg Toland's cinematography are so masterful that it hard not to be in awe of them. I don't know if this is the greatest movie of all time, but it certainly is an incredible one. 

July 5 & 8

The Fifth Element (1997)

Luc Besson's stylish sci-fi movie has a strong cult following who will love seeing this beloved film on the big screen. 

July 26 & 27

Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971)

This adaption of Roald Dahl's classic children's book was not recognized for the great film it is upon its release. However, over the years it has gotten the reputation it deserves. This movie played a major role in my childhood as I am sure it has done for many of you. If you haven't seen this on the big screen don't miss your chance. 

July 5 & 8

 

Gone With the Wind (1939)

One of the greatest of all Hollywood movies. This civil-war romantic epic still is full of classic movie magic and still can sweep audiences off their feet. This movie is exactly what I think of when I think of a classic Hollywood epic. This movie won 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture. For her supporting role as Mammy Hattie McDaniel won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar making her the first African American to win an Oscar. 

July 5 & 8

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Mathematically genius, John Forbes Nash, Jr. (Russell Crowe) makes an incredible discovery early in his life but finds himself set back by tragedy and hardships. This movie won four Academy Awards. These were for  Best Picture (Brian Grazer, Ron Howard), Best Director (Ron Howard), and Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Connelly) and Best Screenplay (Akiva Goldsman).

November 22 & 23

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Featuring Humphry Bogart in his breakout role and John Huston in the director's chair for the first time, this is possibly the greatest detective film ever made. Tense, atmospheric and completely engaging, this is a pure masterpiece and one of the great works of classic Hollywood. 

  December 6 & 9 

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

This is not only a Christmas classic but one of the most moving films of all time. If you do not find yourself moved by this classic, you may be missing a heart. A pure masterpiece that features one of James Stewart's all-time best performances. 

December 18-26

Hope you can make it to the cinema to see some of these classic movies. You won't regret it. For any more information go to Fathom's Website. 

Captain of Her Soul: The Life of Marion Davies (2022)

 

It hasn't been until fairly recently that Marion Davies has been truly appreciated for how great of an actress she actually is. She has been too often dismissed as simply someone who succeeded because she was William Randolph Hearst's mistress and some have compared her to Susan Alexander in Citizen Kane (1941), an assumption that Orson Welles himself dismissed. Yet a look at her filmography one can see that she was incredibly talented and brought a warmth and charm to all her roles. For anyone who is not yet convinced of this I recommend that you read Lara Gabrielle's biography of her. 

This is one of the best movie star biographies of recent years. It is written from a place of love and there is no doubt that Gabrielle is completely enamored with her subject. While she does not paint Marion as perfect, its portrait of her is loving and deeply sympathetic. After reading this book, it is hard not to care about Marion as a person. This book perfectly shows us Marion's big heart, her loyalty, generosity, love of life and love of animals (including becoming very involved in pushing towards animal rights). We see a warm and loving person that we would all love to have as a friend. This book also illustrates how Marion truly loved Hearst and that he meant much more to her than his money and power. While Hearst was an extremely flawed human being (many of the flaws being glaringly obvious as you read the book), it is also obvious that he loved her back and was not just simply cavorting around with a younger woman. 

As well as giving us great insight into the person, this book also gives us a great look at her movies. Garbrielle truly did her research her and even massive film buffs might learn a thing or two about her movies here. The book goes into great depth about each of her major films. While there is little critical insight into many of the movies as a whole, the author does a great job of examining Marion's performances in the film and what made these performances special. The book also gives much information about Marion's work with some truly talented directors (including the great King Vidor) and how she adapted to the change from silents to talkies (not always easy as she had a stuttering problem). 

This is a must read for any fan of Marion Davies, classic Hollywood or well-written books in general. Once I started reading it, I hated whenever I had to put it down. 
 

Orson Welles: The Road to Xanadu (1995)

 

Orson Welles: The Road to Xanadu is the first in a series of books stage/film director Simon Callow has written about Orson Welles. It covers Orson's life from childhood to the making of Citizen Kane (1941). 

This is an incredibly engaging read. Focusing on only part of Orson's life, allows it to be much more in depth than the average biography. Even those who are very familiar with Orson's work and life will learn a lot from this book. Callow goes into great depth into many of Orson's stage and radio productions (and even greater into Citizen Kane), while still having plenty of room to paint a picture of his personal life and who he was as a person. The writings about his stage and radio productions are especially valuable to Welles fans as most writings about him seem to focus on his film work. Not only do we get great detail about the making of these productions but there is also great critical insight (as the author has worked on the stage as well). This critical insight often praises Orson's genius showing how it was very evident even at this early stage, while also not being afraid to criticize, his flaws as a storyteller. This is a fair and unbiased look at his work and while it may be very critical one always feels the author's fondness and appreciation for his work. The same can be said for Callow's portrait of Welles as a person. The book does not shy away from Welles' flaws as a person, yet it is a derogatory piece either and is just as quick to point out his better qualities. By the end of this book, we feel a much greater understanding of Orson Welles as a person. 

A must read for Welles fans. 

Bugs Bunny Superstar (1975)

Bugs Bunny Superstar marked the first Looney Tunes feature length movie. The movie itself was part documentary and part a compilation film. The movie consisted of interviews with such notable Looney Tunes directors as Friz Freleng, Tex Avery and especially Bob Clampett, vintage footage of the studio when they were making the classic cartoon shorts, narration by no less than Orson Welles and nine full cartoon shorts. The movie itself came about because of a filmmaker named Larry Jackson. Jackson felt that those these cartoons were popular on TV in the 1970's, they should be put back in movie theaters (where they played originally). Jackson originally played on simply making a retrospective of these cartoons but as the film developed it turned into the part documentary we now have. 

The cartoon shorts used in this movie are What's Cookin' Doc? (1944), The Wild Hare (1940), A Corny Concerto (1943), I Taw a Putty Tat (1948), Rhapsody Rabbit (1946), Walky Talky Hawky (1946), My Favorite Duck (1942), Hair-Raising Hare (1946) and The Old Grey Hare (1944), These are a wonderful selection of cartoon shorts. While there are a few obvious choices here and quite few less obvious choices, each cartoon is a winner and some of them even hold their own against the best Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts. My Favorite Duck is one of my favorite Porky and Daffy pairings and one of the highlights of the movie. If this film only consisted of these cartoons, it would still be a joy to watch. 

The home movie footage of the animators at work and play are simply wonderful. They take up too brief of a time, but they are nicely employed, a lot of fun to watch and a treasure for classic cartoon fans. 

While every Looney Tunes fan will agree that the cartoons and the home movie footage are wonderful, the interviews are much more controversial. Friz Freleng and Tex Avery barely appear and don't get to say much, while Bob Clampett takes up nearly all the screen time where cartoons are not being shown. This is not accidental. On his blog historian Thad Komorowski states, "In order to secure Clampett’s participation and access to the Clampett estate’s unprecedented collection of Warner history, Jackson had to sign a contract that stipulated Clampett would host the documentary and also have approval over the final cut." Clampet himself was reluctant to speak about the other Looney Tunes directors. While he doesn't directly take credit for too much here (as he did in a 1969 interview with historian Michael Barrier), he does imply that he was the main force behind these cartoons. Tex Avery was not happy about what he felt was Bob Clampett taking credit for creating Bugs Bunny. Chuck Jones, who famously had a fued with Bob Clampett, feeling that the Clampett took too much credit was unhappy with the movie as a whole. It is perhaps no coincidence that when Jones directed The Bugs Bunny-Road Runner Movie (1979), Bugs would list a group of his "fathers" and Bob Clampett would not be included. Friz Freleng told Jackson not to worry about the feud saying that the two were always “squabbling like kids with sibling rivalry more or less since they were kids, and if the shoe had been on the other foot when you were making your film, Chuck would have probably done the same thing to Bob and give him the short end of the stick if he had the chance.” Frankly this film can feel at times too much like Bob Clampett: The Movie and one wishes that more time could have been spent discussing the other creators of these cartoons. The main problem with Bob Clampett's hosting though is that he doesn't really give much information about these cartoons. He gives a few of the better-known facts and never goes into much detail. This especially stands out today, when so many great books about classic cartoons have been written and much information is also readily available on the internet. This can make his hosting scenes seem very fluffy today (not helped by the obviously very low budget filmmaking). However, they are very pleasant fluff and have a real charm to them. 

Jackson wanted Robert McKimson, Mel Blanc and Chuck Jones to appear in the film. Robert McKimson turned this down as he didn't feel comfortable in front of a camera. Mel Blanc said that Clampett never reached out to him but that he would have declined as he was still frail from an auto accident fourteen years earlier. Clampett claimed to have talked to Jones secretary who said he was out of town that month. One wonders if any of them would have gotten much screentime or would have barely appeared in the final film the way Friz Freleng and Tex Avery did. 

The movie reached theaters on December 19, 1975, and received a mostly positive reception from critics and audiences. It would find itself on VHS in 1988. It would strangely enough air once on the Disney Channel in 1989. Even stranger is that the Disney Channel did not edit the blackface gag in I Taw a Putty Tat. 

Resources Used

Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to Warner Brothers Cartoons by Jerry Beck and Will Friedwald

https://www.whataboutthad.com/2012/11/28/bob-clampett-superstar/

https://www.combustiblecelluloid.com/classic/bugs_bunny_superstar.shtml

https://looneytunes.fandom.com/wiki/Bugs_Bunny:_Superstar