If there’s one word that evokes the excitement of the movies, the tension of filming, and focused attention, it’s ACTION! As part of its annual Summer Series, the Cinémathèque québécoise celebrates genre cinema with a program that will thrill film lovers from July 1 to August 31, featuring over 100 action films from here and abroad, offering a wide range of classics from every era. From Sergei Eisenstein (Battleship Potemkin, 1925) to Gilles Carle (Red, 1970), from John Ford (Stagecoach, 1939) to John Boorman (Point Blank, 1967), from Werner Herzog (Aguirre, the Wrath of God, 1972) to Paul Verhoeven (Flesh+Blood, 1985), including Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break, 1991), John Woo (Hard Boiled, 1992), Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, 2003), Érik Canuel (La loi du cochon, 2001), Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, 2011), and Coralie Fargeat (Revenge, 2017), this program promises to keep audiences on the edge of their seats!

The Cinémathèque is always looking to refresh the look and feel of its major film series; for this one, the institution enlisted Montreal-based designer and illustrator Marie Bergeron, who has infused the ACTION program visual with a healthy dose of high-octane excitement.

CINÉ-CONCERTS
Faithful to tradition, the Cinémathèque will also present several silent films accompanied by piano as part of this series: The General by Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman, presented in 35mm and accompanied on piano by Roman Zavada (July 3); Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin, also presented in 35mm (July 17), and Safety Last! by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor (August 14), both accompanied by Chantale Morin; and finally, a program of four films that paved the way for the action genre: Edwin S. Porter’s The Great Train Robbery, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle’s The Garage, Charlie Chaplin’s Easy Street, and Leo McCarey’s Liberty (Laurel & Hardy), all presented in 16mm and accompanied on piano by Roman Zavada (August 28).

AND MORE WITH TARANTINO
This summer film series kicks off with a blast with the epic Kill Bill double feature, so it only makes sense that the Cinémathèque’s programming team would wrap up the season with a cycle dedicated to Quentin Tarantino! A true cinephile and the foremost virtuoso of the video store era, he burst onto the global stage of action and arthouse cinema—and has never left. From August 21 to September 11, QUENTIN TARANTINO, RAGING CINEPHILE will offer the perfect opportunity to (re)watch the filmmaker’s must-see films on the big screen.

Come enjoy YOUR Cinematheque this summer!