Movie Night was born out of a dual desire to share movies that I love and hang out with the awesome people I am privileged to call my friends.  It began the spring of my freshmen year at Swarthmore when my sister Diana and I decided that we wanted to show the amazing, but not too widely viewed, film "The Power of One" to our hall members.  We invited them all casually, brought food we happened to have in our rooms and spent a saturday evening piled on couches watching the film.

Movie Night has since become a biannual event that involves a lot of e-mailing, grocery shopping, and cookie baking.  In the four semesters of Official Movie Nights we have had an average turnout of about 24 people, with spring and fall '98 garnering nearly 30, plenty of freshly made chocolate chip cookies and hot apple cider, and good films.  Usually an all evening event that surpasses simple movie watching, Move Night is a fun time to hang out with friends, chat, laugh and just get to know people better.  We intend to continue Movie Night until we graduate.

We have attempted to show movies which are not widely known - either older films, offbeat, or just the sleepers - but which we feel are so good that everyone should see them.  In addition, a Movie Night movie must also appeal to the wide audience who will be watching.  The movies from past events are listed below, followed by the small description I used in my e-mails. 

Movie selection for the final movie night this spring is currently in progress - suggestions are welcome.

Fall 1998 Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986):Whoopi Goldberg, Stephen Collins, John Wood, Carol Kane, Annie Potts A NYC bank worker (Goldberg) unwittingly gets involved in a British spy conspiracy when a trapped spy solicits her help over the computer. It's computer espionage in the days before the real internet, and Whoopi armed with a frying pan and a giant plastic toothbrush. Add a bit of truth serum and you'll be laughing all the way!

Spring 1998 When Harry Met Sally (1989):Meg Ryan, Billy Crystal, Carrie Fischer, Bruno Kirby A bit more mainstream than our usual choices, but lately I've been running into an increasing number of people who have never experienced this hysterical film about friendship and love between men and women. One of the wittiest films I've ever seen.

Fall 1996 Barefoot in the Park (1967): Jane Fonda, Robert Redford Adapted from a Broadway play about a free spirit (Fonda), and her straight laced husband (Redford), who are madly in love and busy surviving their first two weeks of marriage, AND their first apartment.

Spring 1997 Noises Off (1992): Christopher Reeves, Carol Burnett, Nicolette Sheridan, Marilou Henner, Jack Ritter, Michael Caine and Denholm Elliot A comedy about the insanity of putting on a broadway play amid massive personal conflicts and confusions. Very, very funny

Fall 1997 Twelfth Night (1996): Ben Kingsley, Richard E. Grant, Helena Bonham Carter, Mel Smith, Nigel Hawthorne, Imelda Staunton, Imogen Stubbs, Toby Stephens, Stephen Mackintosh This adaptation of the Shakespearean play about mistaken identity, gender, and (naturally) love is beautifully done.

Last Modified: 12/15/99
Susan Hunt