Friday, January 30 – 7:30 PM, The American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre will present a Tribute to the late writer/director/producer Michael Crichton featuring Westworld & The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
Novelist, screenwriter, producer and director (and doctor!) Michael Crichton was one of the most beloved and visionary entertainers of the late 20th century. From popular entertainments (Jurassic Park) to provocative social button-pushers (Rising Sun, Disclosure), he never failed to rivet his audience.
Westworld, 1973, Warner Bros., 88 min. Dir. Michael Crichton. Bored suburbanites Richard Benjamin and James Brolin embark on a weekend at a new fangled amusement park offering a deceptively “real,” idealized fantasy experience. It just so happens they’ve chosen Westworld, where immersion in the cowboy experience of frontier times is the order of the day. Unhappily, they’ve picked a weekend where electronic glitches in the park’s security suddenly make the park’s androids go on the fritz. Once things go haywire, there’s one very aggressive gunslinger robot in particular (a maniacal Yul Brynner) that seems to have it in for the boys. And he pursues them relentlessly as fantasy devolves into a nightmarish reality.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park, 1997, Universal, 129 min. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Jeff Goldblum returns from JURASSIC PARK and is joined by Julianne Moore and Pete Postlethwaite in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Michael Crichton’s bestselling sequel. This time, an expedition of scientists, businessmen and game hunters travels to the island where the dinosaurs of the first film were bred, with predictably terrifying results. Both more action-packed and more playful than its predecessor (with plenty of tributes to Howard Hawks and Hatari), this is one of those rare sequels that equals and at times even surpasses the original.
Learn more here: Aero Theater
And if you’re unfamiliar with Westworld, here’s the trailer for your enjoyment:
