Sunday, March 17, 2:00 p.m. | In perhaps the most enduring hit of his career, Jerry Lewis stars as Julius Kelp, a neuroses-riddled chemistry professor who has run afoul of both his university's administration and its student athletes, who mercilessly humiliate him in front of the attractive young women he teaches. Kelp's scientific prowess leads him to a solution, a serum which transforms him into debonair nightclub performer and all-around jerkoff Buddy Love. The bold and generously applied colors Lewis favored as a visual stylist were a perfect fit for the Technicolor process, which perhaps reached its apotheosis in the toxic green chemicals and chintzy purple night club decor littered throughout THE NUTTY PROFESSOR. It's this uniquely striking palette that gives some clarity to what Jean-Luc Godard meant when he said of Lewis: "he's more a painter, maybe, than a director."
TECHNICOLOR WEEKEND celebrates the longevity, beauty, and richness of the technicolor printing process. All presented on 35mm prints that were intended to last only through their initial runs, and have instead endured hundreds of projections, 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. View full series.
ABOUT CHICAGO FILM SOCIETY
Chicago Film Society makes rare and classic films available to local audiences in their original forms—on 35mm and 16mm motion picture film. Our screenings spotlight the restoration efforts of archives, studios, and private collectors, as well as the experience of seeing films projected in a theater with an audience. Through an array of program notes, extended blog entries, and introductory remarks before each screening, the Chicago Film Society endeavors to bring new notions of the cultural and material history of cinema to the public. The Chicago Film Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established by Chicago projectionists in 2011.
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