Flicks film and video file - Oscar Flashbacks

published 14/03/1991 at 15:01 PM by Leo Smith

The silent film 'Sunrise,' featuring Janet Gaynor, the first woman to be honored as best actress, will be shown Sunday in Ojai.

With the Academy Awards ceremony coming up in 11 days, you may want to get into the spirit of things. If so, why not check out Sunday's Ojai Film Society presentation of the multi-award winning silent movie "Sunrise," starring George O'Brien and Janet Gaynor.

Gaynor has the distinction of winning the first Oscar given for best actress, receiving the 1927-28 award for her work in three movies: "Sunrise," "Seventh Heaven" and "Street Angel."

"Sunrise" garnered two other inaugural Academy Awards--one for cinematography, the other for artistic quality. It's the story of a city woman who tries to convince a young farmer to kill his wife and return to the city with her.

As for the where and when of this screening, it's same time, different place.

As usual, the movie will begin at 4:30 p.m., but it will be shown at Thacher School's Lamb Auditorium instead of the Ojai Playhouse.

The school is at 50245 Thacher Road in Ojai.

Thousand Oaks Library's monthly classic film series will continue Saturday with a showing of the 1988 film "The Unbearable Lightness of Being."

The R-rated movie features Daniel Day-Lewis, who won an Academy Award for his lead role in "My Left Food," and Lena Olin, an Academy Award nominee for her performance in "Enemies: A Love Story."

"Unbearable Lightness" is an adaptation of a novel by Czech writer Milan Kundera. Set against the 1968 Soviet invasion of Prague, it's the story of a philandering brain surgeon who finds himself caught up in the political conflict while trying to deal with commitments to two women.

If you plan to see this one, be prepared to stay awhile. It's just under three hours long.

Show time is 7 p.m.

What are Ventura County residents watching in the privacy of their VCR-equipped homes?

Here are the top five rentals over the past week at several local video stores.

At Blockbuster Video in Port Hueneme: "Arachnophobia," "State of Grace," "The Two Jakes," "Darkman" and "Days of Thunder."

At Royal West Video I and II in Simi Valley: "Death Warrant," "Arachnophobia," "Flatliners," "Witches" and "State of Grace."

And at Video for You and Video Depot in Thousand Oaks: "Air America," "State of Grace," "Flatliners," "Darkman" and "Witches," (which barely edged out "The Two Jakes.")