James Coburn Night Screening of 'Major Dundee' at the Summer KCET Cinema Series on July 31st
Q&A immediately following with Michael Schlesinger and Pete Hammond
“Don't get yourself killed...That would inconvenience me." Iconic words spoken by the titular character in “Major Dundee,” a career soldier reluctantly serving as a prison keeper. Directed by Sam Peckinpah, the motion picture is loosely based on an actual incident during the American Civil War. Union Army Major Amos Dundee leads a contingent of regular Union troops, Confederate prisoners and Indian scouts on an illegal expedition into Mexico to track down and destroy a band of Apaches that has been raiding the New Mexico Territory. This special presentation at the KCET Cinema Series is a 2013 digital restoration of the original 1965 film, starring Charlton Heston as Major Dundee, James Coburn as Dundee’s scout Samuel Potts and Richard Harris as Captain Tyreen, a Confederate POW.
Michael Schlesinger will be in attendance for a Q&A session immediately preceding the screening with host Pete Hammond (who can also be seen hosting KCET’s Must See Movies.). Schlesinger is the former Vice President of Sony Pictures Repertory Sales and Acquisitions; during his tenure at the studio he instituted the 2005 restoration of “Major Dundee”. He is widely acknowledged as the dean of classic film distributors, having worked for more than 25 years at MGM, Paramount and Sony. He has kept hundreds of vintage movies in theatrical release (and later on DVD) and instigated the restoration of many more, including “Major Dundee” and the award-winning completion of Orson Welles’ 1942 documentary “It’s All True” some 50 years later. He has also recorded several DVD commentaries; is a “Trailers From Hell” guru; and has appeared in numerous documentaries, notably the recent HBO smash “If You’re Not In The Obit, Eat Breakfast”. Behind the camera, he wrote and produced the American version of “Godzilla 2000” and co-produced such Larry Blamire parodies as “The Lost Skeleton Returns Again” and “Dark and Stormy Night”. Kino Lorber released his maiden effort as a writer/director, “The Misadventures of Biffle and Shooster,” on DVD to unanimously ecstatic reviews.
The summer season of the KCET Cinema Series is generously sponsored by the James and Paula Coburn Foundation as well as Deadline.com. The season began on June 5th and runs through July 31. Fall season passes are available online via Eventbrite, kicking things off on August 14 with the highly anticipated film, “Crazy Rich Asians”. Single admissions are available at the door.
