1960s

LOS ANGELES – Peter Fonda, part of Hollywood acting royalty, had many memorable roles in his long career. But he will forever be known as the “Easy Rider,” the 1969 feature (coincidentally, the film was the number one film exactly 50 years ago today) that ushered in a new wave of filmmaking. Portraying a biker named Captain America, his character was “born to be wild” as he motored across the country. Peter Fonda died in Los Angeles due to complications of lung cancer. He was 79.

CHICAGO – For every grand name in history, there are behind-the-scenes performers who contribute to that history just as profoundly. One such person was “Father Ted” of Notre Dame, profiled in Patrick Creadon’s new documentary, “Hesburgh.” The film opens Friday, April 26th, 2019, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago.

CHICAGO – The Founder and CEO of the Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) is Michael Kutza. In 1964, when he had the idea for the festival, legendary Chicago Sun-Times columnist Irv Kupcinet suggested a person who could help start the festivities. That person was silent film-era movie star Colleen Moore.

CHICAGO – There is nothing like the original, and Nichelle Nichols is certainly in that category. Nichols portrayed Uhura in the original 1960s “Star Trek” series, and broke barriers for African American performers by being an equal member of the ground-breaking Starship Enterprise crew during the civil rights era.

CHICAGO – For every grand name in history, there are behind-the-scenes performers who contribute to that history just as profoundly. One such person was “Father Ted” of Notre Dame, profiled in Patrick Creadon’s new documentary, “Hesburgh.”

CHICAGO – One of the more fascinating questions about civilization is ‘how much talent went unrealized because of time and place of birth?’ The patriarchy – which denied people of color and women for so long – often reduced fellow travelers into subservient roles. For example, there were women who were just known as “The Wife.”

CHICAGO – If you hook up with people for that inevitable physical connection, you’ve experienced the odd emotional wrestling match of the “first time” – whether it’s the first “first time” or any other new partner first time. “On Chesil Beach” focuses on a young British couple in 1962, as they first time their virginal wedding night.

CHICAGO – This breathtaking morality and love story, set in a backward age, takes all of its major themes – passion, tolerance, symbolism and thrills – to the highest level. Writer/director Guillermo del Toro has created a masterwork that is part fairy tale, part adult desperation and all cinema magic.

CHICAGO – It has become clear to anyone who is making an observation about authority and “order” in America, that for certain people it comes with a severe price. “Detroit” explores an incident within the 1967 riots there, when white police officers raided a hotel and perpetuated crimes of their own.

CHICAGO – Like many of the creatures or villains it inspires, the horror genre has been slowly decaying for years now. In a time of reboots and tired sequels, 2016 has shown us glimpses of future promise by revisiting elements of the past. Flanagan continues this hot streak, one he helped create with “Hush” earlier this year, with the prequel “Ouija: Origin of Evil”.