Robin Williams died 10 years ago. In our next Film Appreciation class, we will try to honor his legacy when we study his incredible body of work. Our retrospective will trace his career from his more recent films to his earliest serious leading roles in the 1980s. It’s hard to please everyone given his long and varied career, but we will watch tons of clips prior to each class, starting at 2:30pm, for those who want to show up early and stay late, when appropriate, to study each film in depth with extras and interviews.

October 12 – World’s Greatest Dad (Released 8/21/09) directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, 99 minutes. This is a thoughtful but outrageous black comedy from a fellow stand-up veteran turned writer/director. Lance Clayton is a high school poetry teacher who is perhaps a cynical shadow of John Keating, the inspirational poetry teacher from 1989’s Dead Poets Society. The subject matter is somewhat disturbing, but Robin Williams’ grounded and human performance demanded this film be included in our retrospective.

October 19 – One Hour Photo (Released 8/21/02) directed by Mark Romanek, 96 minutes. Sy Parrish develops photos at the local box store and lives vicariously through the lives of his customers. Again, Robin Williams chose a low budget, small project from a writer/director and delivers a remarkably restrained performance. This said, its inclusion here is because of the overall quality of this well directed film and we get yet another flavor from the talented actor. The movie is a time capsule from a time before the first iPhone and when one had to keep track of negatives and choose between 3×5’s or 4×6’s.

October 26 – The Fisher King (Released 9/27/91) directed by Terry Gilliam, 137 minutes. Jeff Bridges is his straight man and Amanda Plummer is his love interest in this buddy picture that turns into a modern-day grail quest in New York City. Everyone is at the top of their game here: Gilliam’s skillful blending of reality and fantasy, Bridges showing his depth and range, and a wonderful supporting cast led by Mercedes Ruehl who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

November 9 – Moscow on the Hudson (Released 4/6/84) directed by Paul Mazursky, 115 minutes. A Russian saxophonist decides to defect while his circus troupe is on a 30 minute shopping spree in Bloomingdale’s. Writer/director Paul Mazursky gives us an immigrant’s story from an immigrant’s point of view. The movie captures the unique opportunity that America embodied for the oppressed people of the world. Robin Williams disappears into his role completely, speaking Russian and gives a realistic and emotional performance.

November 16 – The Survivors (Released 6/22/83) directed by Michael Ritchie, 102 minutes. The unlikely pairing of Robin Williams with Walter Matthau in this spoof of the survivalist culture gives this hidden gem its charm and appeal. The film was a box office disappointment, but looking back we can see these two polar opposites, at different points in their careers, support each other beautifully. Michael Ritchie, a veteran director with hits such as The Candidate and The Bad News Bears, juxtaposes Williams’ manic energy with Matthau’s subtle wit.

November 23 – The World According to Garp (Released 7/23/82) directed by George Roy Hill, 136 minutes. In this faithful, though somewhat abridged adaptation of John Irving’s 1978 novel, Robin Williams portrays TS Garp, the bastard son of Jenny Fields. With another veteran director (Butch Cassidy and the the Sundance Kid and The Sting) Robin Williams leads a quirky, talented cast featuring Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Amanda Plummer, Swoozie Kurtz, and John Lithgow and Glenn Close who were both Oscar-nominated for their supporting roles; Close in her film debut.

Luke MacCloskey has been leading Film Appreciation classes in York, PA for the last eleven years. He has a degree in Film Studies from the University of North Texas and has performed on stage and screen around the country.

FILM APPRECIATION – ROBIN WILLIAMS RETROSPECTIVE: ONE HOUR PHOTO

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