“I sincerely believe that to see good films, and to see important films, is one of the most profoundly civilizing experiences that we can have as people.” -- Roger Ebert
We are excited to celebrate 25 years of Cinema Tuesdays with you this summer!
The 2025 Cinema Tuesdays series opens June 3 at the Santikos Northwest theater. Join us at the show each week to experience amazing classic films on the big screen, benefitting TPR. Showtimes will be 7:30 each night, and reservations for all 14 films are available now at the links on this page.
Admission is with a suggested donation, and all proceeds benefit Texas Public Radio. Thank you for your support!
For a limited time, TPR Members may also elect to reserve a spot for all 14 programs with this special link. TPR members may also elect to make an "a la carte" selection of 2 or more reservations with one transaction by using this link.
The 2025 Cinema Tuesdays series is made possible by Americus Diamond, Stevens Lighting, Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop, Pasha Mediterranean Grill, the Law Office of Frank Sandoval, and the San Antonio Film Commission, a division of the City of San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture.
June 3 – Paris, Texas
New German Cinema pioneer Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire) brings his keen eye for landscape to the American Southwest in Paris, Texas, a profoundly moving character study written by Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Sam Shepard. Paris, Texas follows the mysterious, nearly mute drifter Travis (a magnificent Harry Dean Stanton, whose face is a landscape all its own) as he tries to reconnect with his young son, living with his brother (Dean Stockwell) in Los Angeles, and his missing wife (Nastassja Kinski). From this simple setup, Wenders and Shepard produce a powerful statement on codes of masculinity and the myth of the American family, as well as an exquisite visual exploration of a vast, crumbling world of canyons and neon. 145 minutes, Rated R.
Make a reservation: https://support.tpr.org/a/paristx
June 10 – Pee-wee’s Big Adventure
The esteemed critic Pauline Kael said “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” is “somewhere between a parody of kitsch and a celebration of it, and it has the bouncing-along inventiveness of a good cartoon.” That’s all true, and it’s funny as all get-out, too! Director Tim Burton began his theatrical career with this fanciful feature. In the movie, man-child Pee-wee Herman embarks on a quest to find his bike once it’s been stolen. His travels take him far from home, all the way to the Alamo in San Antonio, where he learns the shocking truth about the historic shrine! Be sure to get there early for the screening, and tell ‘em Large Marge sent you! 90 minutes, Rated PG.
BONUS! Before tonight’s feature, we’ll enjoy the classic Looney Tunes cartoon “Feed the Kitty.”
Make a reservation: https://support.tpr.org/a/peewee
June 17 – Amadeus
Did Antonio Salieri murder his rival, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart? History says “no,” with probable causes for the composer's death ranging from rheumatic fever, to poison, to undercooked pork. Playwright Peter Shaffer took the legend of Salieri's murderous jealousy of Mozart's musical abilities and made it the basis for his play, and later his screenplay for Amadeus. The filmed adaptation of the play, helmed by Milos Forman, is splendid entertainment, full of humor, drama, and of course, beautiful music. The movie won eight 1984 Academy Awards. Since 2003, “Amadeus” has been unavailable in its original theatrical form; the only version in distribution has been the “Director’s Cut” with additional footage—that, in this writer’s opinion—changes the motivation of a key character to the story’s detriment. Here once more is the original classic! 161 minutes, Rated PG.
Make a reservation: https://support.tpr.org/a/amadeus
June 24 – An American in Paris
Gene Kelley stars in this beloved and acclaimed (6 Oscar® wins!) film from director Vincente Minnelli, playing Jerry, an American WWII veteran hanging about Paris after the war, and struggling to make ends meet as an artist. A wealthy heiress offers to help Jerry with his art career, and maybe a little more, but Jerry is more interested in the beautiful Lise (Leslie Caron). Oscar Levant also stars as Kelly’s friend, and puts his piano skills to great use with a dream sequence featuring George Gershwin’s “Concerto in F.” The whole movie is filled with great Gershwin tunes, in fact, including the title ballet sequence, that cost almost half a million dollars to film. 113 minutes, Rated G.
Make a reservation: https://support.tpr.org/a/american
July 1 – Él
Among the strangest and most perturbing films of his overlooked Mexican period, Él is Luis Buñuel’s incisive portrait of paranoia, jealousy, and sexual obsession—a nightmarish tale of love gone wrong that prefigures the major themes of his 1960s and ’70s work. Incorporating his personal demons into an adaptation of Mercedes Pinto’s autobiographical novel, Buñuel tells the story of Francisco Galván de Montemayor (Arturo de Córdova), a devout middle-aged bachelor who falls into amour fou with Gloria (Delia Garcés). After breaking her engagement with another man, Gloria realizes something is terribly off about Francisco. One of Buñuel’s rawest, angriest indictments of religious and social hypocrisy, Él stands as the surrealist master’s great excursion into dark melodrama, where civilization can find no answer to the raging urges of the irrational id. 93 minutes, Not Rated.
Make a reservation: https://support.tpr.org/a/el
July 8 – The Sugarland Express
After a bravado debut with the television movie “Duel,” Steven Spielberg first lit up the silver screen with “The Sugarland Express,” about a Texas mom (Goldie Hawn) who busts her husband out of prison in a desperate attempt to win back her child before he is placed in foster care. The two fugitives kidnap a young DPS officer along the way, and find themselves built up into folk heroes while being chased by scores of lawmen. Despite its title, “The Sugarland Express” was shot in and around South Texas, with locations in San Antonio, Florseville, Gonzales, Cibolo and Boerne. You may recognize Harlandale ISD’s stadium in one shot, or the old Loop 13 Drive-in, which plays a prominent role in a shootout sequence. Newly restored by Universal Pictures! 110 minutes, Rated PG.
Make a reservation: https://support.tpr.org/a/sugarland
July 15 – Oscar Shorts
The Oscar Shorts program has been a part of Cinema Tuesdays almost as long as the series itself! Since 2003, we’ve devoted one night each summer to sharing some of the Oscar-nominated short films from this past year. This year, we’ll be screening all five of the documentary shorts that were released in 2024, including the winner, “The Only Girl in the Orchestra.”
Make a reservation: https://support.tpr.org/a/shorts-25
July 22 – The Annihilation of Fish
New restoration! Winner of an Honorary Academy Award® for lifetime achievement, Charles Burnett remains one of our country’s most celebrated independent filmmakers. In his charming "The Annihilation of Fish," Lynn Redgrave plays Poinsettia, a former housewife with an imagined lover in the form of 19th-century composer Giacomo Puccini. She moves into a Los Angeles boarding house with an energetic landlady (Margot Kidder) where she meets a Jamaican widower, Fish (James Earl Jones), who has recently been released from a mental institution despite his continued battles against unseen demons. In the face of personal challenges and differences, the couple grows together and begins to discover new things about themselves and the nuances of love and happiness.
Released in partnership with Milestone Films, restoration by UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. 108 minutes, Rated R.
Make a reservation: https://support.tpr.org/a/fish
July 29 – Seven Samurai
One of the most thrilling movie epics of all time, “Seven Samurai” tells the story of a sixteenth-century village whose desperate inhabitants hire the eponymous warriors to protect them from invading bandits. This three-hour ride from Akira Kurosawa—featuring legendary actors Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura—seamlessly weaves philosophy and entertainment, delicate human emotions and relentless action, into a rich, evocative, and unforgettable tale of courage and hope. “Seven Samurai” was nominated for two 1957 Academy Awards, Best Art Direction, and Best Costume Design. 207 minutes, Not Rated. NOTE: This feature will screen at 7:00 p.m., one half-hour earlier than normal.
Make a reservation: https://support.tpr.org/a/samurai
August 5 – The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone
As director Francis Ford Coppola explains it, “The Death of Michael Corleone” was his original title for what would be “The Godfather, Part III” but Paramount Pictures wasn’t having it. This new version of the film, edited by director Francis Ford Coppola in 2020, reorders a few sequences and edits others to bring the tragic story of Michael (Al Pacino) into clearer focus, and give more purpose to the plot, which involves the Corleone family’s attempts to go legit and get out of crime. But as Michael says, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” 158 minutes, Rated R.
Make a reservation: https://support.tpr.org/a/coda
August 12 – “Rock ‘N’ Roll High School”
“We’re not students, we’re Ramones.”
In the late 1970s, famed producer and director Roger Corman was looking to make a musical film similar to the low budget beach movies and rock films of the early 1960s, but focusing on the current music of the time. He proposed “Disco High.” Somewhere along the line, the movie became more focused on rock music, and the Ramones were suggested as headliners. It was an inspired choice. The anarchic, slightly nutty spirit of the band perfectly fit the vibe of the film, about a tyrannical principal at Vince Lombardi HS, and the Ramones’ #1 fan, Riff Randell, who desperately want to get her new song, “Rock ‘N’ Roll High School,” to the band. The movie is tons of fun, full of ridiculous jokes, cheesy dialogue, and of course, fantastic performances from the band, including “She’s the One,” “Pinhead,” “I Want You Around,” and “I Just Wanna Have Something To Do.” 93 minutes, Rated PG.
Make a reservation: https://support.tpr.org/a/rrhs
August 17 – La Piscine
Jean-Paul (Alain Delon) and Marianne (Romy Schneider) indulge in their passion for each other while borrowing a friend's luxurious villa in the south of France. When the friend (Maurice Ronet) and his daughter (Jane Birkin) arrive unexpectedly, rivalries and insecurities surface and events take a sinister turn. 124 minutes, Not Rated.
Make a reservation: https://support.tpr.org/a/piscine
August 26 – Giant
Wealthy rancher Bick Benedict (Rock Hudson) and dirt-poor cowboy Jett Rink (James Dean) both woo Leslie Lynnton (Elizabeth Taylor), a beautiful young woman from Maryland who is new to Texas. She marries Benedict, but she is shocked by the racial bigotry against the local people of Mexican descent. Rink discovers oil on a small plot of land, and while he uses his vast, new wealth to buy all the land surrounding the Benedict ranch, the Benedict's disagreement over prejudice fuels conflict that runs across generations. "Giant" was filmed on location in Marfa, Texas. Cool fact: A painting prominently featured in the movie is on display at the Menger Hotel. 201 minutes, rated G.
Make a reservation: https://support.tpr.org/a/giant
September 2 – Bringing Up Baby
This classic screwball comedy starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn was voted onto the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 Best Films for good reason. There are laughs at every turn of the plot, which centers on Hepburn’s efforts to nab both her lost leopard, “Baby,” and Cary Grant, too! Although the film did badly at the box office in 1938, it’s now found its audience, and is a certifiable classic. 102 minutes, Not Rated.
“The dialogue sizzles…and all of the actors contribute inspired performances. Most of all, Bringing Up Baby is fun from beginning to end.” – Cinebooks/The Motion Picture Guide
BONUS! Before tonight’s feature, we’ll enjoy a classic one-reel short featuring George Burns and Gracie Allen.
Reserve your seat: https://support.tpr.org/a/baby
