Charles Chaplin’s THE CIRCUS, ALADDIN, EASY RIDER Screenings

Among the upcoming screenings in the November film series of the Library of Congress’ Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation in Culpeper, Va., are vehicles for just about everyone, from Charles Chaplin to Dennis Hopper; from Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland to Robin Williams‘ voice.
I’ve never seen Disney’s Aladdin, though I know it was a big hit when it came out. Robin Williams was particularly praised for his voice work as the Genie — some even went as far as to demand that the Academy come up with Oscars for best voice performance.
No one came up with that demand when Charles Chaplin’s The Circus was released, perhaps because the film has no audible dialogue. I’m not a big [...]

Los Angeles Film Festival 2009: Pandas, Jeanne Crain, Dennis Hopper & Zombies

Shu Hin, Ryu Hin in Panda Diary (top); Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews in Hot Rods to Hell (middle); ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction (bottom)

Los Angeles Film Festival, Saturday, June 27, highlights:

A second screening of Sophie Barthes‘ Cold Souls (The Regent, 1:30 pm), starring Paul Giamatti as a man whose soul is smuggled into Russia.
Narrated by the panda Shu Hin, Tadashi Mori’s documentary Panda Story (Landmark 8, 2 pm) follows the narrator and her twin brother, Ryu Hin, as they are moved from their homeland to some strange place, far, far away.
A second screening of Blayne Weaver’s Weather Girl (Landmark 4, 4:30 pm), a romantic comedy about a weather girl with a high-pressure love life.
John Brahm’s 1967 biker thriller Hot Rods [...]