A huge component of the film festival experience is taking a flier on a film you’ve never heard of, seduced by either an intriguing premise or the promise of something you’ve never seen before. Equally integral to the festival-going experience, however, is the opportunity to see classic cinema on the big screen. Milwaukee doesn’t have an outlet for dedicated repertory screenings, so the festival is one of the best times of year to either return to a great classic or see it for the very first time in the setting it was meant to be seen – towering above you projected on the big screen while surrounded by like-minded movie nerds in a packed house. The 2014 list of vintage films might be the best spate the festival has had to offer yet, with nearly a dozen films whose only connective tissue is that they’re each fantastic in their own right. Let’s go day-by-day:
Sept. 27: Winters Bone 11:30 a.m. Downer Theatre, Code Unknown 4:15 p.m. Oriental Theatre
Sept. 28: Mary Poppins 4:30 p.m Oriental Theatre
Sept. 30: Man With a Movie Camera 7 p.m. Oriental Theatre, This is Spinal Tap 9:30 p.m. Oriental Theatre
Oct. 1: Top Secret! 7 p.m. Oriental Theatre
Oct. 3: Hollywood Shuffle 7 p.m Oriental Theatre, Dr. Strangelove 10 p.m. Oriental Theatre
Oct. 4: Stop Making Sense 10:30 p.m. Oriental Theatre
Oct. 5: Crumb 7 p.m. Downer Theatre
Oct. 7: Street Fight 4:15 p.m. Oriental Theatre
