The Last Picture Show 55th Anniversary

The Last Picture Show is coming to the Paramount and Stateside Theatres on Wednesday, August 5, for its 55th anniversary. The screening is part of the Paramount Summer Classic Film Series, which brings older titles back to the big screen throughout the season.

Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, The Last Picture Show is a black-and-white drama that runs 118 minutes. It's based on Larry McMurtry's elegiac story of a dying Texas town, and it's known for one of the most extraordinary ensemble casts ever put together for a single film. The young stars of the era hold their own alongside seasoned veterans, and the whole thing is held together by a shrewd use of period-appropriate songs that ground the story in its time and place. The cast includes Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman, Ellen Burstyn, and Eileen Brennan. This particular screening will be presented as a DCP.

The venue itself is a bit of a landmark. The Paramount Theatre has stood on Congress Avenue in downtown Austin for over 100 years; built in 1915, it's Austin's oldest surviving theatre, a City of Austin and State Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and one of the few remaining 'hemp houses' in America. It's home to the city's red-carpet film premieres and plays a role in SXSW and the Austin Film Festival, and it hosts the Moontower Comedy Festival. It operates alongside the State Theatre next door under The Austin Theatre Alliance, a 501(c)(3) non-profit.

So, if you're in the mood for a classic Texas story on a big screen, you'll find The Last Picture Show at the Paramount and Stateside Theatres on Wednesday, August 5.