Ferris Bueller's Day Off: 40th Anniversary!

The State Theatre is bringing Ferris Bueller's Day Off back to the big screen on Friday, August 14, as part of the Paramount Summer Classic Film Series. It's a 40th anniversary screening of the 1986 comedy, and it's playing as a DCP print, so you'll see it in a clean digital format rather than a worn-out reel. The movie runs 103 minutes.

If you've seen it a dozen times, you know the setup: Ferris Bueller is a high school student with a knack for cutting class and getting away with it. He plans one last duck-out before graduation, calls in sick, 'borrows' a Ferrari, and spends the day wandering the streets of Chicago. All the while, his principal, Mr. Rooney, is on his tail, determined to catch him in the act. It's a movie about the art of the day off, which feels especially right for a summer screening.

John Hughes directed it, and the cast is a whole gallery of 80s faces: Matthew Broderick as Ferris, Mia Sara, Alan Ruck, Jennifer Grey, Jeffrey Jones, and Edie McClurg. It's one of those films that basically defined the teen comedy for a generation, and seeing it in a theater—with the crowd reacting to the same beats—is a different experience than watching it at home. The State Theatre is part of the Paramount and Stateside Theatres group here in Austin, and this screening is one stop in their summer series of classics.

Doors open at 6:30 PM and the show starts at 7:30 PM on Friday, August 14. If you're planning to go, give yourself a little buffer to get settled before the lights go down.