UW Cinematheque

05/02/2026

Saturday May 2nd 7pm
Marquee at Union South

USA | 2026 | 90 min.
Highlighting works produced in Communication Arts Media Production courses at UW Madison, this program is curated by the instructors of documentary and narrative production courses and gives new filmmakers the opportunity to present their films on screen for the first time.

05/01/2026

FRI., 5/1, 7 p.m.
THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN
USA | 1989 | DCP | 126 min.
Director: Terry Gilliam
Cast: John Neville, Sarah Polley, Eric Idle

Filming at Italy’s Cinecittà studios and utilizing several members of Federico Fellini’s usual crew, Gilliam created his most visually sumptuous movie: a classic German children’s story retold with Monty Python-esque humor. Neville and Polley are a perfectly charming pair of leads as the Baron and his young companion. The supporting cast includes Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman, and Robin Williams as the King of the Moon. A restored 4K DCP will be screened.

04/28/2026

Bleak Week is coming to the Cinematheque! June 24-30!

UW CINEMATHEQUE ANNOUNCES LINEUP FOR BLEAK WEEK: CINEMA OF DESPAIR In Partnership with American Cinematheque, Global Film Festival Involves 80+ Venues Across Three Continents The Cinematheque at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is proud to announce …

04/26/2026

SUN., 4/26, 2 p.m.
Chazen – 750 University Avenue
MICHAEL CLAYTON
USA | 2007 | 35mm | 120 min.
Director: Tony Gilroy
Cast: George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson

Clooney is the title character, a law firm’s fixer drawn into a deadly conspiracy after a star attorney (Wilkinson) uncovers explosive evidence against a powerful corporate client. Swinton won an Oscar as the client’s slick general counsel in this celebrated legal thriller that is “just about perfect as an exercise in the genre” (Roger Ebert). 35mm print courtesy Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research.

04/25/2026

SAT., 4/25, 7 p.m.
GREEN SNAKE
Hong Kong | 1993 | 35mm | 99 min. | Mandarin with English subtitles
Director: Tsui Hark
Cast: Joey Wong, Maggie Cheung, Wenzhuo Zhao

A visually dazzling allegory of what it means to be human, Green Snake reimagines the classic Chinese folktale of two snake spirits (Wong and Cheung) who take human form and challenge the rigid principles of a Buddhist monk. Director Tsui Hark blends irony, sensuality, comedy, and mythic spectacle in a movie that has been called “Brilliant” (Film Comment) and “Radically fantastical!” (San Francisco Chronicle). 35mm print courtesy Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research.

04/24/2026

FRI., 4/24, 7 p.m.
YOUNG MR. LINCOLN
USA | 1939 | 35mm | 100 min.
Director: John Ford
Cast: Henry Fonda, Alice Brady, Ward Bond

The humble, sharp-witted Abraham Lincoln begins his law career by defending two brothers in a volatile murder trial, revealing the moral clarity and empathy that would define his future presidency. Ford’s thoughtful, elegant direction and Fonda’s iconic performance transform this early chapter of Lincoln’s life into a quintessential piece of American cinema. 35mm print from the Chicago Film Society collection at the University of Chicago Film Studies Center.

04/24/2026

On our blog, Garret Strpko discusses the timeline of YOUNG MR. LINCOLN vs. actual history. See a 35mm print of Henry Fonda in John Ford's 1939 classic, Fri, 4/24, 7pm, 4070 Vilas, 821 University Ave. Free admission!

The following notes on John Ford’s Young Mr. Lincoln were written by Garrett Strpko, PhD candidate in the Department of Communication Arts at UW–Madison. On Friday, April 24, the Cinematheque will present a 35mm print of …

04/18/2026

SAT., 4/18, 7 p.m.
THE BLADE
Hong Kong | 1995 | 35mm | 105 min. | Cantonese with English subtitles
Director: Tsui Hark
Cast: Vincent Zhao, Xiong Xin-xin, Moses Chan

Out to avenge the death of his father, Sword-maker Ding On (Zhao) loses his arm and is nearly killed. After convalescing, he develops a speeding, whirling swordfighting technique that he plans to use on those who crippled and maimed him. Director Tsui Hark’s kinetically-charged spin on the Shaw Bros./Jimmy Wang Yu “one-armed swordsman” vehicles of the late 1960s is now considered one of the best HK action movies of its own era. 35mm print courtesy Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research.