Big Screen Politics 2012: Political Film Classics at the Adelphi University Performing Arts Center

Adelphi University Performing Arts Center (AUPAC) and the Office of Continuing Education and Professional Development bring you this film series showcasing a variety of political-themed movies this Presidential election season. From comedy, drama, and thriller, the selected films feature all-star casts that don’t disappoint. All screenings are free and are shown in the AUPAC Concert Hall on the brand new high definition 30-foot screen with surround sound. A post screening discussion is planned for each film with a special guest.

The first in this six-part series is the movie Election (1999), director Alexander Payne’s satirical look at high school politics revolving around a three-way race for student body President. Reese Witherspoon stars as Tracy Flick, the overachieving candidate who enters the race unopposed. Matthew Broderick is Flick’s nemesis and student council advisor who enacts a plan to ruin her plans to run the school by finding a more popular candidate as her rival. As the election season unfolds it is Broderick’s character whose life begins to fall apart. This cult favorite will be shown on Monday, September 24 at 7:00 p.m.

Tim Robbins took on writing, directing, starring and even songwriting for his 1992 mock documentary, Bob Roberts. This is a fictional look at a rightwing folksinger’s run for U.S. Senate and featured the tagline, “Vote first. Ask questions later.” Bob Roberts will be screened on Monday, October 1 at 7:00 p.m.

Barry Levinson tries to figure out whether it’s the ‘tail that wags the dog’ or ‘the dog that wags the tail’ in a political black comedy about campaign professionals covering up a Presidential candidate’s sexual indiscretions. Wag the Dog was released in 1997 with an all-star cast including Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman and Willie Nelson, moviegoers can see this on Monday, October 8 at 7:00 p.m.

In Bulworth (1998) Warren Beatty plays the title character, a politician who has arranged for his own assassination. After hiring a hit man he begins to campaign for reelection with a tell-it-like-it-is style, he is at peace with being honest to the voters knowing that he’ll die soon. But as the new approach gains popularity, his feelings on impending death change and he tries to cancel the contract on his life. Beatty is joined by Halle Berry, Oliver Platt and Don Cheadle for this film we will show on Monday, October 5 at 7:00 p.m.

The Oscar-winning film, All The President’s Men (1976), is the story of Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein investigating the Watergate scandal. What begins as an unimportant story of a simple robbery eventually leads to the real-life downfall of President Richard Nixon. Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford star in the movie showing on Monday, October 22 at 7:00 p.m.

Recount is a 2008 made for HBO movie chronicling the vote tally process for the 2000 election between presidential candidates Al Gore and George W. Bush. The film mixes real news footage in telling the story that begins on Election Day and leads to a recount of Florida votes due to voting irregularities. The story ends with the Supreme Court putting a stop to the process. Kevin Spacey, John Hurt, Tom Wilkinson and Laura Dern portraying real-life characters co-starring with “hanging chads” on Monday, October 29 at 7:00 p.m.

Celebrating its fifth year, Adelphi University’s Performing Arts Center is Long Island’s premier cultural arts venue for entertainment of all kinds. Tickets for this film series are free. Information is available at The Lucia and Steven N. Fischer Box Office at (516) 877-4000 or boxoffice@adelphi.edu. For more about all the events at AUPAC, visit aupac.adelphi.edu.

For more on the Office of Continuing Education and Professional Development, see adelphi.edu/ce.

About Adelphi University: Adelphi is a world class, modern university with excellent and highly relevant programs where students prepare for lives of active citizenship and professional careers. Through its schools and programs—The College of Arts and Sciences, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, Honors College, Ruth S. Ammon School of Education, University College, Robert B. Willumstad School of Business, Schools of Nursing and Social Work—the co-educational university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as professional and educational programs for adults. Adelphi University currently enrolls nearly 8,000 students from 43 states and 45 foreign countries. With its main campus in Garden City and centers in Manhattan, Hauppauge, and Poughkeepsie, the University, chartered in 1896, maintains a commitment to liberal studies in tandem with rigorous professional preparation and active citizenship.

Adelphi University, 1 South Ave., Garden City, NY 11530

This release was published on openPR.