We are pleased to welcome back our favorite pair of film detectives who love to unearth and share the history and technology of their favorite movies.

craigandben_webpageFirst and foremost, Ben Burtt and Craig Barron are filmmakers themselves. Burtt has more than 30 years experience as a writer, director, editor and sound designer. The winner of four Academy Awards, he is known for his work on the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies, as well as Wall-E, Lincoln and many others. For the last two decades, Barron has been an innovator in the technique of matte paintings, and he has contributed to the visual effects of more than 100 films. He won an Oscar for Visual Effects for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and has been an Academy governor representing the Visual Effects Branch.

Craig Barron and Ben Burtt have presented their special historical shows at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the TCM Classic Film Festival, as well as the Rafael.

These presentations are made possible through the generous support of the Ken and Jackie Broad Family Fund.

20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA

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As part of our 100th birthday tribute to Kirk Douglas, Oscar-winners Ben Burtt and Craig Barron will screen this Walt Disney classic and present the behind-the-scenes story of its special effects and sound design. Utilizing set photos, 16mm color documentary footage, sound effects and multiple demonstrations, Barron and Burtt will explain the processes that made the first live-action film Disney produced at his own studio such a rousing success. They will debut this presentation in November exclusively on the TCM Classic Cruise, followed in December by our show. Film 127 minutes plus presentation.

SATURDAY, DEC. 10  •  7:15

ADMISSION TO THIS PROGRAM: $13. ($9. CFI Members)

TO PURCHASE TICKETS, click the showtime on the date of your choice

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SECRETS OF IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

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Two Oscar winners, sound designer Ben Burtt and visual effects supervisor Craig Barron, will present a screening of the holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life and share their research and insights into the film that brought director Frank Capra and actor James Stewart home from World War II. It’s a Wonderful Life stars Stewart as George Bailey, a compassionate man who, in his darkest hour, is visited by an angel who shows him what his community would be like if he had never existed. Barron and Burtt will show how “invisible” special effects were used to create the picture-postcard vision of the mythical American town Bedford Falls, including an innovative method for photographing falling snow. Unused visual effects shots from the Paramount archives will be shown, as well as illustrations of how sound effects, editing and music helped shape this classic. Film 130 minutes plus presentation.

SUNDAY, DEC. 11  •  2:00

TO PURCHASE TICKETS, click the showtime on the date of your choice

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