The Ritz Is Screening 85 Impressive Retro Films in 85 Days to Celebrate Its 85th Birthday
This 85-day film fest starts with the OG ‘A Star Is Born’, then screens a different movie from a different year every single day.
When you've been in the movie-slinging game for a whopping 85 years and you're eager to celebrate that huge milestone, how do you go about it? By screening films, naturally. But Ritz Cinemas isn't just commemorating the occasion with a couple of flicks. It isn't even content with a handful, or a week or so's worth. No, this grand Randwick picture house is truly living up to its age with a three-month program spanning 85 different titles.
Starting on Sunday, July 24 and running through till Sunday, October 16, the Ritz's 85 Films in 85 Days lineup does indeed feature a little bit of everything, with one movie showing each day. This huge retrospective covers the cross-section of features that've graced the cinema's screens over the years, and is unsurprisingly the venue's biggest retro offering ever.
It all starts with the 1937 version of A Star Is Born, harking right back to the Ritz's first year. From there, a different year is covered each night, all in chronological order. There are too many highlights to mention them all — all 85 films are standouts — but The Wizard of Oz helps round out the 30s selection, Fantasia and Citizen Kane kickstart the 40s, and the 50s lineup includes Rashomon, Singin' in the Rain and Rebel Without a Cause.
From the 60s, you can check out the OG West Side Story, Clint Eastwood in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey, while the 70s spread boasts Pink Flamingos, Young Frankenstein, Dawn of the Dead and Alien. 80s cinema fans can look forward to Blade Runner, Stop Making Sense, Back to the Future and Blue Velvet; 90s aficionados can make dates with Strictly Ballroom, Clueless, Trainspotting and Fight Club; and 00s devotees have In the Mood for Love, Lost in Translation, Brokeback Mountain and Inglourious Basterds among their choices.
From the 2010s, there's also Drive, Frances Ha, Get Out and Parasite — and, obviously, the list goes on. Wrapping things up: the first Aussie big-screen session of The Green Knight, which is worth waiting 85 days for.
The Ritz's 85 85 Films in 85 Days program runs from Sunday, July 24–Sunday, October 16. For more information or to book tickets, head to the cinema's website.
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