(USA/1996—directed by Julian Schnabel)

Oscar® nominee Jeffrey Wright delivers an incandescent, breakthrough performance as Jean-Michel Basquiat, the towering Brooklyn-born artist immersed in 1980s New York’s celebrity frenzy. This remarkable 1996 debut feature by painter and filmmaker Julian Schnabel has been visually reconceived for its theatrical re-release. The new monochromatic palette enhances the indelible performances of an exceptional ensemble cast, including Willem Dafoe, Benicio Del Toro, and David Bowie. Co-starring Willem Dafoe, Benicio Del Toro, Parker Posey, Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken, Elina Löwensohn, Dennis Hopper, Courtney Love, Michael Wincott, Tatum O’Neal, and David Bowie as Andy Warhol. (107 minutes)

“Remarkable… Basquiat is the confident, poetic filmmaking debut of the painter Julian Schnabel, who was a friend of Basquiat’s.” –Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, 1996

Germany/1924—directed by F.W. Murnau | 90 min.

The splendidly uniformed, aging doorman at a grand Berlin hotel, portrayed by the legendary Emil Jannings, is devastated by his demotion to washroom attendant. His shame is so profound that he cannot bring himself to tell his family or neighbors. He even goes so far as to steal his old uniform to wear to his daughter’s wedding.

Made during Germany’s “Golden Age” of filmmaking, F.W. Murnau’s The Last Laugh introduced innovative camera techniques that enhanced the power of visual storytelling. The film was hailed as state-of-the-art cinema during the silent era.

The unexpected ending, as suggested by the title, remains as richly satisfying as ever. The film is shown in a new 2K restoration, accompanied by an original live score performed by Little Bang Theory.

“A masterpiece of the German silent cinema… it has never looked as dazzling.” –Dave Kehr, The New York Times

Created and directed by Hamid Rahmanian with an original music score by Ramin Torkian, Song of the North is a large-scale, cinematic performance combining the art of shadow puppetry with projected animation to tell the classic Persian tale of Manijeh. This performance tells of a heroine who must use all her strengths and talents to rescue her beloved from a perilous predicament (of her own making) and help prevent a war. This epic love story is adapted from The Shahnameh, an ancient collection of myths that are a historical and cultural touchstone in Iran. A cast of 500 handmade puppets and a talented ensemble of nine actors and puppeteers come together to create a spectacular live experience that advances the themes of unity, collaboration, and experimentation through performance and story.

While at the museum, be sure to visit the DIA’s special exhibition The Art of Dining: Food Culture in the Islamic World on view from September 22, 2024, through January 5, 2025, which features pages from beautiful illuminated manuscripts of The Shahnameh.

For all ages (80min.) This program is free with museum admission. Capacity is limited and seating begins 30 minutes prior to performance start.

Presented with a live piano score performed by David Drazin, this compilation of short films includes animation masterworks by prolific illustrator Winsor McCay (Gertie the Dinosaur, 1903), Lotte Reiniger (Dr. Dolittle and His Animals / 1928), Disney’s Laugh-O-Gram series (Alice’s Wonderland, 1923) and Władysław Starewicz’s amazing stop-motion films made with dried bugs (The Insects Christmas, 1911).

Early silent animation dived fast and deep into visions of fantasy worlds, and gave them uncanny life using ingenious techniques including hand-drawn cell images, shadow and 3D puppet stop-motion photography, multi-plane cameras for achieving painterly effects, and double-exposures that blended two real worlds into something unreal.

Animated Fantasy Shorts of the Silent Era is presented free to DIA audiences as a holiday gift, wrapped with a live piano score performed by David Drazin. For ages 10 and up. Free with museum admission.

(1939/USA - directed by Victor Fleming and King Vidor)

DIA Member Exclusive! Follow the yellow brick road to an evening of wonder and joy with a delightful Dinner and Movie event to start your Thanksgiving weekend. Indulge in a family dinner that's perfect for sharing and savoring together. After dinner, settle in for a FREE screening of the timeless classic, The Wizard of Oz. Relive the enchanting journey down the yellow brick road with Dorothy, Toto, and all your favorite characters in stunning cinematic glory. Whether it's your first time experiencing this beloved tale or a cherished tradition, it's sure to be a magical evening for all ages. (102min.)

Dinner service begins at 5:45 p.m.

Screening begins at 7 p.m.

Dinner with the movie is SOLD OUT. The movie screening is free and tickets are still available to reserve in advance. No tickets sold at the door. For DIA members only.

Dinner options

Choice of main: Kansas City BBQ Fried Chicken Sliders, BBQ Chicken Pizza, Mac & Cheese
Choice of side: Southwest Corn Salad, Tater Tots, French Fries
Dessert: Cupcakes, Red Apple Lollipops

USA/1922-directed by Alan Dwan

Robin Hood is a silent adventure film produced by and starring Douglas Fairbanks, a swashbuckling adventure based on the tale of the medieval hero Robin Hood, and the first to present elements of the take-from-the-rich and give-to-the-poor legend that became familiar to audiences for decades on. Robin Hood was also the first motion picture to have a Hollywood premiere (at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre) and the most expensive film produced in its day. It remains one of the most exciting and entertaining American films of the silent era and will be even more so when the DFT presents it with a live score composed and played by David Drazin.

For ages 10 and up. (132 min.) Free with museum admission.

“The superlatives that press agents have coined during the past ten years can now be put to profitable use. They can all be wrapped up, in bundles of twelve, and all applied to Douglas Fairbanks’ Robin Hood.” -Robert Sherwood, The New York Herald, 1922

The Detroit Film Theatre will end its 50th Anniversay Season with a holiday gift for DIA visitors; a special matinee screening of Charlie Chaplin’s classic silent film The Circus, presented with a live score composed and performed by virtuoso silent film pianist David Drazin. 

Chaplin’s extraordinary blend of comedy and heart shines as his iconic Tramp stumbles into the ring of a traveling circus and soon becomes the star of the show and falling for a charming equestrian artist along the way. This perfect comedy ranks among Chaplin’s most iconic, with audacious set pieces, close brushes with a lion and a climactic tightrope walk with a company of monkeys. For all ages.

“There's an edge to The Circus that suggests a man gazing deep into the void, laughing at the darkness and urging us to do the same.” -Keith Uhlich, Time Out

Featuring Vijay Iyer, piano
Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings

Holi is known around the world as a joyful, chaotic, and colorful Indian celebration of springtime. In response to Stravinsky’s own famously chaotic Le Sacré du Printemps. pianist and composer Vijay Iyer, and filmmaker Prashant Bhargava were intrigued by the possible connection with Holi. Radhe, Radhe: Rites of Holi is a journey of devotion for the goddess Radha, where Iyer and Bhargava answer back to the Sacré score and with a new work for chamber ensemble and film. This performance will be an encounter between live music and film, lived experience and myth. 

USA/2023–directed by Jeff Zimbalist | 102 min.

The first film project with full access to Mailer’s family and archive of never-before-seen footage, outtakes, audio recordings, and interviews. How to Come Alive explores the rollercoaster life of the writer, literary outlaw, and unrepentant social provocateur Norman Mailer, whose very public life included six marriages, nine children, 11 bestsellers, four feature films, three arrests, one mayoral candidacy, and two Pulitzer Prizes.

Mailer’s ideas and writings about love, anger, politics, fear, and courage cut to the core of human nature while grasping the joys and challenges of American life. Laying himself bare on film with legendary bluster, humor and occasional self-effacement, Mailer encourages us to think adventurously and speak fearlessly.

South Korea/2023—directed by Hong Sang-soo | 83 min.

In Our Day alternates two seemingly unrelated stories: in the first, a disillusioned former actress hopes to recharge herself at the apartment of her longtime friend. In the second, a poet, being visited by a student making a documentary about him, is also host to an annoyingly naïve young man who drills him with questions about the meaning of it all—which tempts the writer to reach for a daytime cocktail, even though his doctors have warned him to give up booze.

From these two sets of encounters, Hong Sang-soo charmingly evokes a world filled with possibility, in which a minute detail can have unexpected repercussions. Hong’s 30th feature film is a sly and humane inquiry into the search for meaning and artistic satisfaction in an uncertain world. Official selection, Cannes and New York Film Festivals. In Korean with English subtitles.

“Exultant and revelatory.” —Richard Brody, The New Yorker