Screw AMC. Catch movies al fresco...e gratis!

Going to the movies is one of the biggest pleasures I've had to put aside in my current state of brokeness. It's nearly impossible to justify a $13 risk that a movie *might* be good - whereas at least with a $13 cocktail, you know that you'll have a slight buzz afterward. But outdoor film series are the best answer to the movie theater dilemma: even if you end up hating the movie...well, you don't feel guilty leaving - it was FREE. And beyond all that: Bryant Park is one of my favorite urban havens. The way the lawn is snuggled in amidst the towering buildings makes it feel like a nest.


Bryant Park Summer Film Festival - Mondays, June 21 - August 23
The lawn opens at 5 pm for blankets (no plastic tarps please) and picnicking. The films begin at dusk (typically between 8 and 9pm).


JUNE 21
Goldfinger
The third James Bond movie has it all: Sean Connery, a catchy theme song, ingenious gadgets, scary villains, an iconic Bond girl, and a hair-raising climax inside Fort Knox. Honor Blackman achieves cinematic immortality as Pussy Galore. (1964) 111 min.

JUNE 28
Carousel
Shiftless carnival barker Billy Bigelow (Gordon MacRae) returns from purgatory to right some wrongs in this musical of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway smash. Shirley Jones co-stars as the woman who makes Billy want to change his ways. (1956) 128 min.

JULY 5
The French Connection
Gene Hackman won an Oscar for his portrayal of Popeye Doyle, a profane NYC narcotics cop obsessed with stopping an international drug ring. Much of the action was filmed in NYC, including the greatest car/subway chase of all time. (1971) 104 min.

JULY 12
My Man Godfrey
Socialite Carole Lombard hires "tramp" William Powell as her wealthy family's butler. Not quite what he seems to be, Powell ends up teaching her frenetic household valuable life lessons. A wonderful mix of crazy screwball comedy and trenchant Depression-era social commentary. (1936) 95 min.

JULY 19
The China Syndrome
Ambitious TV reporter (Jane Fonda) and her radical cameraman (Michael Douglas) work to expose the cover-up of an accident at a nuclear plant, aided by an earnest shift supervisor (Jack Lemmon). Prophetically released just two weeks before the real-life disaster at Three Mile Island. (1979) 123 min.

JULY 26
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
A huge hit that introduced many throughout the world to the Python troupe's insanely funny characters including King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, the taunting Frenchmen, Knights who say "Ni!", shrubbery, and one nasty rabbit. (1975) 90 min.

AUGUST 2
Rosemary's Baby
Roman Polanski's satanic shocker still packs a punch. Winsome Mia Farrow is married to a selfish actor (John Cassavetes) who will do just about anything to land a role. Ruth Gordon and Ralph Bellamy lend creepy support, as does the Dakota apartment building. (1968) 136 min.

AUGUST 9
The Goodbye Girl
Struggling NYC actor Richard Dreyfuss unhappily shares an apartment with an unemployed dancer (Marsha Mason) and her precocious 10-year-old daughter. Neil Simon's romantic comedy testament of just how the ones we grow to love drive us crazy. (1977) 110 min.

AUGUST 16
12 Angry Men
Henry Fonda is the lone holdout on a jury deliberating a murder trial on a hot summer day in NYC. A stellar cast of character actors lends superb support as jurors initially convinced that the accused is guilty. Can Fonda persuade them otherwise? Sidney Lumet's first directorial masterpiece. (1957) 95 min.

AUGUST 23
Bonnie and Clyde
Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway are the two most attractive bank robbers ever to rampage across the Midwest. The supporting cast includes Estelle Parsons (who won an Oscar), and Michael J. Pollard as the gang's none-too-bright accomplice. One of the most influential movies of the 1960's. (1967) 111 min.

To get there: Bryant Park is situated behind the New York Public Library in midtown Manhattan, between 40th and 42nd Streets & Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Take the BDFV to 42nd Street/Bryant Park, or the NQRW to Times Square, or the 7 to 5th Avenue.