Heritage House is harking back to the golden age of cinema with its classic and international film series. The screenings are open to the public, free of charge, and popcorn is provided at no extra cost for every showing.
Film series curator Kris Jones and Heritage House manager Chris Holley got the idea to show old films after reminiscing about the heyday of movies and their previous experiences going to see them.
UPCOMING FILMS
April 19: “Royal Wedding” (classic series), at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.May 13: “Late Spring” (international series), at 6 p.m.May 17: “The Cummington Story” (classic series), at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.June 21: “The Black Pirate” (classic series), at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.June 28: “Pandora’s Box” (international series), at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
"The Tivoli Theatre used to show movies," said Jones. "Holley and I used to go down [there] back in the day. We were both nostalgic for that and thought, 'We'd love to show old movies again.'"
After discovering that no other establishments in Chattanooga were putting on old films for the public, they coordinated their own screenings.
"We don't jam any commercials down your throat," Jones said. "I just show trailers for upcoming movies so they can get excited about it."
Jones researches all of the films and plans a schedule for the year for each series. Their classic film series has been going on for five years, and their international film series for a year and a half. All international films have subtitles.
He said he chooses movies with positive ratings that have been restored to high quality. He also creates a program for each movie that has background information about the film and its history, something he feels enhances the viewing experience.
"You learn more about them and you find there's something deep going on there," said Jones. "There's a lot more to them than you first think."
Certain films are sometimes coordinated for certain times of the year. During October, for example, they screen a horror film, and in December, a Christmas movie. Jones said November is particularly fun because they purposely screen a bad movie.
"November is known as the Turkey Month, so we do a 'turkey' of a film," he said.
Currently, the international film series occurs the second Sunday of every month, but the schedule is changing. In June, international films will be shown the fourth Thursday of every month. The classic film series has two showings on the third Thursday of the month.
For more details about film screenings, visit Heritage House's Facebook page.
Email Kaitlin Colon at kcolon@timesfreepress.com.