United Artists Celebrates (Almost) 90 Years
United Artists will celebrate its 90th birthday next year, and tomorrow night, New York's Film Forum begins its five-week tribute to the company. The repertory series runs March 28-May 1, featuring well-known fare like Raging Bull (on a new 35mm print), Manhattan, The Apartment, Midnight Cowboy, and Last Tango in Paris, as well as several westerns and James Bond flicks, plus silent classics from Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and more.
United Artists began in the spring of 1919, when four of the most popular figures in American movies -- the director D. W. Griffith and the actors Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford -- joined to create their own distribution company.
Since the company released its first feature, Fairbanks' His Majesty, the American, it has survived changes, takeovers, and the loss of the rights to many of its films. United Artists is now jointly owned by Sony and MGM, which in November 2006 turned the company over to Tom Cruise and his producing partner, Paula Wagner.
But the company's continued struggle for survival should remind moviegoers what talented actors and other artists can accomplish together. Visit Film Forum's website for more info.
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