Austin Top 5 of January

Austin is a unique and exciting city for cinema, and as such there’s lots of films and cinema-related events to choose from. These weekly posts will cut through the mainstream releases to highlight the Top 5 cinematic events to check out each month.

1.) Big Screen Classics: Lawrence of Arabia: The 4K Digital Restoration 

There is likely no film as masterful as Lawrence of Arabia. The kind of film that defines cinema, David Lean’s masterpiece is an undisputed classic that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible no matter what. Any other viewing format represents a compromise. Thanks to the Alamo Drafthouse and Sony Pictures, the pristine new 4K digital restoration will be screening at three Alamo Drafhouse locations, on a screen specifically formatted for 70mm and 4K presentations such as this. Any lover of cinema would be foolish to pass this opportunity up.

(Alamo Ritz, January 9th, Alamo Slaughter Ln, January 17 & 20th)

2.) Animal House Pub Run

One of the more fun events the Paramount State Theatre holds is the Pub Run, for various films at various times. On January 31st, they will be giving you the opportunity to see Animal House the way it was meant to be seen: completely wasted. Kicking off Marathon Month, admission includes complimentary pints of locally brewed draft beers as the various pubs. So grab on to your togas and enjoy quenching your thirst before sitting down to a cult comedy classic.

(Paramount State Theatre & various locations, January 31st)

3.) Zero Dark Thirty opening weekend

Kathryn Bigelow’s latest film may be her most intricately crafted, multi-facted film yet. Following up her 2009 masterpiece, The Hurt Locker, the filmmaker teams up again with her new writing partner Mark Boal to deliver a tightly wound, dense, and brilliant procedural study of the greatest manhunt in history, and the consequences it had for us as a nation, shaping our history forever, politically and philosophically. Recalling films like Michael Mann’s The Insider, while forging her own directorial path, it’s a film not to be missed, and one that will be discussed and analyzed for years to come.

(Opens wide in Austin January 11th)

4.) Big Screen Classics: Django

Have you seen Django Unchained? Did you love it? Hate it? Fall somewhere in between? While you parse out those feelings, head on over to the Alamo Drafthouse to watch Sergio Corbucci’s insane spaghetti western that partially inspired Quentin Tarantino’s film. Hell, you might even catch a special easter egg in Tarantino’s film you didn’t notice before.

(Alamo Village & Lake Creek, January 9th)

5.) Action Pack: The Big Lebowski quote-a-long

A signature event of the Alamo Drafthouse since the theatre began, the Big Lebowski quote-a-long is one of the most fun times you’ll ever have in a cinema. Complete with White Russians, inflatable bats (“You see what happens, Larry?!”), and a giant bowling game on stage before the show, this interactive screening is not to be missed. You owe it to yourself to participate in one of Austin cinema’s most ancient and revered traditions.

(Alamo Slaughter Ln, January 14th, 21st, and 28th)

What will you be seeing this month?