ARABESQUE

Saturday, August 23, 4:45 p.m. | On the heels of the Cary Grant showpiece Charade, Universal Pictures and choreographer-turned-director Stanley Donen looked to replicate their success with another frothy continental romance-caper. Gregory Peck was cast as a kidnapped hieroglyphics expert with Sophia Loren as the woman who helps him escape certain death; their enthusiasm for the project carried the film into production, despite Donen’s growing distaste for its script. Rather than attempt to rein in its jumbled intrigues and inscrutable motivations, Donen opted to focus on the film’s visual design, bringing a dazzling and experimental flamboyance to action set pieces (including a bonkers LSD-addled bicycle chase and a deadly showdown during an optometry appointment) and otherwise-rote exposition alike. (Cameron Worden)

Awards & Nominations

Winner - Best Film, Best Actress (Müjde Ar), Best Supporting Actor (Ugur Yücel), Turkish Film Critics Association Awards

Technicolor Weekend | August 22–24, 2025

The Chicago Film Society returns for its third iteration of Technicolor Weekend, a series which showcases prints made using the Technicolor printing process. All of the films in this series will be projected from prints that were at one point or another saved by private collectors. They were intended to last only through their initial runs, but instead have endured hundreds of screenings, studio mergers, film exchange closures, and multiple private owners. These unlikely survivors offer us a view of what these films looked like before digital color correction and other modern restoration techniques, and are stunning examples of an incredibly complex industrial process that delighted millions. Synopses courtesy of Chicago Film Society. Learn more at chicagofilmsociety.org.

The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu