The Natural State has endless outdoor beauty and picturesque scenery, so it’s no surprise that it makes a perfect backdrop for Hollywood movies.
Beginning in June, the Arkansas Cinema Society will show five films all set and filmed in Arkansas at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts theater.
The cult classic film “The Legend of Boogy Creek” is first on the screening list on June 2. The 1972 docudrama horror film tells the story of the Fouke Monster, a creature who resembles bigfoot that has allegedly been seen near Fouke, Arkansas, since the 1940s. Directed and produced by Charles B. Pierce, the movie includes staged interviews with local residents and reenactments of encounters with the legendary creature.
On June 9, ACS will show “A Face in the Crowd” starring Andy Griffith. This satirical drama directed by Elia Kazan in 1957 is about a radio producer and his newly discovered guest speaker who quickly rises to fame. After appearing on different television networks and gaining fans and sponsors along the way, the new star’s ego begins to turn on him.
“White Lightning,” filmed in 1973, is an action film directed by Joseph Sargent and featuring Burt Reynolds, Diane Ladd and Laura Dern. The film follows a man imprisoned for running moonshine who agrees to a federal attorney’s deal releasing him if he agrees to investigate a corrupt county sheriff. The sheriff in question happens to be the prisoner’s suspect in his brother’s death. The showing will take place on June 16.
The crime thriller film “One False Move” will show on June 23. It’s a story about three criminals who travel from Los Angeles to Houston and then arrive in Star City, Arkansas, to hide. Two LAPD detectives already on the case contact the town’s police chief to notify him of the fugitives’ presence which only stokes the chief’s excitement to do “some real police work.”
Last on the Arkansas Classics Film Series list is “Mud.” Directed by Jeff Nichols, a Little Rock native and ACS co-founder, the film is a 2012 coming-of-age drama in which two Arkansas boys encounter a fugitive (Mud, played by Matthew McConaughey) who needs their help in reuniting with the love of his life Juniper (played by Reese Witherspoon).
“Our new Arkansas Classics Series is a great way to celebrate the state’s legacy in movies,” ACS Executive Director Kathryn Tucker says. “This is going to be a great summer at AMFA.”
The Arkansas Classics Film Series will take place on Sunday afternoons at AMFA. Doors open at 2 p.m. and the show begins at 2:30 p.m.
Click here to find tickets and visit the Arkansas Cinema Society website, Facebook and Instagram pages for more details.
Want more of the silver screen this season? Outdoor movie nights are back in downtown Little Rock with the free Rooftop Cinema series. Plus, the beloved Terror Tuesdays series has returned to the CALS Ron Robinson Theater with classic sci-fi and horror flicks.
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