Our annual Segerstrom at the Frida series showcases films that inspired upcoming stage adaptations at OC’s Segerstrom Center for the Arts! Join us as we present a couple of encores of Baz Luhrmann’s eye-popping 2001 musical Moulin Rouge!
A fever dream of romance, music, and heartbreak in turn-of-the-century Paris, Moulin Rouge! stars Ewan McGregor as Christian, a penniless writer who falls madly in love with the dazzling courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman), star performer at the titular famed cabaret. Set against the backdrop of the bohemian underworld and bursting with mash-ups of modern pop songs reimagined through Luhrmann’s hyper-stylized lens, Luhrmann’s vision is a sensory whirlwind of color, musica, and passion that blends theatrical spectacle with melodramatic tragedy, as love and art collide under the threat of greed and ambition. Winner of the Academy Awards for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design, the film was also nominated for Best Actress (Nicole Kidman), Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Makeup, Best Sound, and Best Picture of the Year.
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The final film in our Technicolor Summer series reaches the celestial with A Matter of Life and Death—a visionary romance that floats between worlds, from war-torn Earth to the halls of a fantastical afterlife, in one of the most inventive films ever made.
David Niven stars as Peter Carter, a British RAF pilot who miraculously survives a doomed jump from his burning plane—only to fall in love with June (Kim Hunter), the American radio operator who heard his final words. But Peter was meant to die, and when the otherworldly authorities realize their clerical error, he must plead his case for life in a cosmic courtroom, where love itself becomes the ultimate argument.
Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, this genre-defying masterpiece blends romance, fantasy, and philosophical inquiry with dazzling visual artistry.
In the early 1930s, the 3-strip Technicolor process was introduced to audiences, inviting them to experience a world dripping with vibrant saturation for the very first time. The Technicolor Summer series ranges from familiar classics to rarely-screened gems all Summer long!
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Our Technicolor Summer series heads to the rolling green hills of Ireland with The Quiet Man—a sweeping romantic classic brimming with fiery passions, heartfelt tradition, and postcard-perfect landscapes.
John Wayne stars as Sean Thornton, a retired American boxer who returns to his Irish roots in the village of Innisfree, hoping to leave his past behind and live a quiet life. But peace proves elusive when he falls for the strong-willed Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O’Hara), whose pride and fiery spirit are matched only by the land itself. Their courtship is as tempestuous as the Irish weather, complicated by local customs, family pride, and a brother with a grudge.
Directed by John Ford with deep affection and painterly vision, The Quiet Man is as much a love letter to Ireland as it is a love story between two unforgettable characters.
In the early 1930s, the 3-strip Technicolor process was introduced to audiences, inviting them to experience a world dripping with vibrant saturation for the very first time. The Technicolor Summer series ranges from familiar classics to rarely-screened gems all Summer long!
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Our Technicolor Summer series turns rich with mid-century emotion in All That Heaven Allows—a swooning melodrama from master filmmaker Douglas Sirk that’s as emotionally vivid as it is visually stunning.
Jane Wyman stars as Cary Scott, a well-to-do widow in a quiet New England town whose world is upended when she falls for her much younger gardener, Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson). What begins as a tender connection soon draws the judgmental glare of her country club peers and disapproving adult children. As Cary wrestles with the pressures of conformity and the cost of personal happiness, the film paints her inner conflict in bold, breathtaking hues.
Elegant, emotional, and quietly radical, All That Heaven Allows is a shining example of how Technicolor could elevate not just the world we see, but the feelings we carry. A true classic of color, style, and heart.
In the early 1930s, the 3-strip Technicolor process was introduced to audiences, inviting them to experience a world dripping with vibrant saturation for the very first time. The Technicolor Summer series ranges from familiar classics to rarely-screened gems all Summer long!
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Our Technicolor Summer series slows down for a sun-drenched romantic escape with Summertime—a bittersweet story set against the breathtaking backdrop of Venice.
Katharine Hepburn stars as Jane Hudson, a middle-aged American schoolteacher fulfilling a lifelong dream of visiting Italy. Independent, curious, and slightly adrift, Jane arrives in Venice with her camera and sensible shoes, eager to soak in the beauty but wholly unprepared for what she finds: a chance at unexpected romance with Renato (Rossano Brazzi), a charming Italian antiques dealer.
Directed with warmth and restraint by David Lean, Summertime achingly romantic a perfect midsummer reverie in vivid, glowing color.
In the early 1930s, the 3-strip Technicolor process was introduced to audiences, inviting them to experience a world dripping with vibrant saturation for the very first time. The Technicolor Summer series ranges from familiar classics to rarely-screened gems all Summer long!
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Our Technicolor Summer takes a darker turn with the lush and haunting Leave Her to Heaven—a psychological thriller cloaked in sun-drenched, beautiful colors.
When novelist Richard Harland (Cornel Wilde) meets the striking and enigmatic Ellen Berent (Gene Tierney), it seems like a whirlwind romance straight out of a dream. But their fairy-tale love story quickly curdles into obsession as Ellen’s possessiveness spirals into something far more dangerous. She doesn’t want to share Richard’s affection with anyone—not his family, not his work, not even his past.
A noir dressed in Technicolor’s finest, Leave Her to Heaven is a masterclass in contrasts: light and shadow. It’s a chilling reminder that darkness can lurk even in the brightest places—and a true gem of Hollywood’s golden era.
In the early 1930s, the 3-strip Technicolor process was introduced to audiences, inviting them to experience a world dripping with vibrant saturation for the very first time. The Technicolor Summer series ranges from familiar classics to rarely-screened gems all Summer long!
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The preeminent dramatist of China’s rapid 21st-century growth and social transformation, Jia Zhangke has taken his boldest approach to narrative yet with his marvelous Caught by the Tides.
The film mostly adheres to the perspective of Qiaoqiao (Jia’s immortal muse Zhao Tao) as she wanders an increasingly unrecognizable country in search of long-lost lover Bin (Li Zhubin), who left their home city of Datong seeking new financial prospects. The always captivating Zhao carries the film with her delicate expressiveness, while Jia constantly evokes cinema’s ability to capture the passage of time and the persistence of change: of people, landscapes, cities, politics, ideas.
Assembled from footage shot over a span of 23 years—a beguiling mix of fiction and documentary, featuring a cascade of images taken from previous movies, unused scenes, and newly shot dramatic sequences—Caught by the Tides is a free-flowing work of unspoken longing, carried along more by music than dialogue as it looms around the edges of a poignant love story.
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Pink Narcissus closes out our Pride Month programming with a special one night only presentation. A landmark of queer underground cinema—it’s an erotic, dreamlike fantasia shot entirely within the confines of a New York apartment over the course of seven years.
Originally released anonymously, the film became a cult object of fascination, long believed to have been made by Andy Warhol or one of his Factory acolytes. It wasn’t until decades later that James Bidgood—a former fashion photographer and drag performer—was revealed as the true auteur behind the film.
Today, Pink Narcissus is rightly celebrated as a foundational work of queer cinema and a forerunner to later visual artists and filmmakers—from Pierre et Gilles to Derek Jarman to Todd Haynes. It is a reminder that even in the most constrained circumstances, beauty and radical vision can flourish.
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Ridley Scott’s girl trip Thelma & Louise winds down our Pride Month programming with a brand new 4K restoration!
The story follows Thelma (Geena Davis), a timid housewife, and Louise (Susan Sarandon), a no-nonsense waitress, as they embark on what starts as a weekend getaway and turns into a flight from the law. After Louise kills a man who attempts to rape Thelma, the two hit the road, realizing that the justice system is unlikely to see their side. Their journey becomes one of personal awakening, radical defiance, and ultimately, tragic liberation.
Thelma & Louise is more than a road movie—it’s a feminist landmark, a genre-defying tale of friendship, freedom, and fury that still resonates over three decades later.
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Has it really been thirty years since To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar came out? Yes. Are we screening it two times for absolutely no charge on the weekend of Santa Ana’s Pride celebrations? Also yes!
Manhattan drag queens Vida Boheme and Noxeema Jackson impress regional judges in competition, securing berths in the Nationals in Los Angeles. When the two meet pathetic drag novice Chi-Chi Rodriguez — one of the losers that evening — the charmed Vida and Noxeema agree to take the hopeless youngster under their joined wing. Soon the three set off on a madcap road trip across America and struggle to make it to Los Angeles in time.
Join us for this bold, campy, and surprisingly tender film that helped bring drag culture—and a message of acceptance—to the mainstream in the mid-1990s.
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