A week into its return after two-plus years in operative limbo due to the Covid-19 pandemic and extensive renovations, Cinema Arts Centre of Huntington gave film fans a Monday night delight in the form of the original King of Physical Comedy.
As part of its missed “Anything But Silent” series, the theater screened Buster Keaton’s 1928 classic, The Cameraman on May 16. “Stoneface’s” first MGM undertaking entered the landscape at the perfect time just before (1) the mass migration to “talkies,” and (2) the stifling hand of an insurance-cautious studio could send Keaton and his pork pie hat packing out of the limelight.
Similar to most noteworthy entries in his catalog, the multi-tasking, set-running wonder stars as a meta-commenting hero keen on winning the affections of his latest love by evolving from an MGM secretary to a newsman photographer. Among other obligatory inventiveness and ahead-of-the-curve showmanship, the big band music arrangement is just as incendiary compared to counterparts of its era. So too is the black and white cinematography, as evidenced by the preserved prints still in circulation.
“Keaton uses pictures to convey his own love of cinema, and to take the audience along for the ride,” said Keith Crocker, 57, an adult education professor and indie filmmaker who is also regular lecturing fixture across many of Long Island’s local libraries. “Keaton shows he was tuned in to the average moviegoer. What we see him act out in films are our own fantasies,” he added.
From the pioneers in action comedy and stunt work to the modern-day champions of thought-provoking moviemaking, the aptly named Cinema Arts Centre has you covered once more.
“The place needed a refresh, and now we have new seats, new carpeting, new improved ventilation,” said co-director Dylan Skolnick told News12. “It’s all brand-new and fixed up.”
That’s understating it. In a day and age where it’s more commonplace to dress theaters with surround-sound speaker systems that can positively blow your ear outs, it’s a well-welcomed sight for a more intimately digestible experience to re-enter the scene. Chain theaters may play what’s newest and loudest, but Cinema Arts Centre, as always, will continue to play what’s mainstream-alluding with timeless charm.
This coming weekend, the theater will play: Alex Garland’s Men, Downton Abbey: A New Era, and The Daniels’ Everything Everywhere All at Once, among other selections. Visit cinemaartscentre.org, the theater’s Facebook page, or call (631) 423-7610 for all future membership, showtime and programming inquiries.
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“Cinema Arts Centre” is located at 423 Park Avenue Huntington, NY 11743
