Patch Picks: Timely Classics at Regent Square Theater

It’s not unusual for Pittsburgh Filmmakers and the Regent Square Theater to tackle important societal issues in their film choices.

Far removed from the Hollywood fare at the multiplex, the selections in Regent Square often deal directly with important topics having an impact on national and global culture; and fortunately, the power and influence of Pittsburgh Filmmakers allows Regent Square to put great series of special screenings together.

This month, they’re giving you the chance to think about the current conflict over organized labor and workers' rights while revisiting some of cinema’s greatest stars along the way. A four-part Sunday night series, “Which Side Are You On?” begins this week.

The screenings kick off April 3 with John Ford’s timeless adaptation of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Henry Fonda stars as the patriarch of a family sent spiralling across the country by the Great Depression. Of seven Academy Award nominations, the film took two, including Best Director for Ford.

April 10 will see one of the most acclaimed films ever (along with arguably the greatest film actor in history) shine once again on the Regent Square screen. Marlon Brando’s performance in On the Waterfront is one of his most iconic roles and the film couldn’t be more highly praised. The film appears in nearly every best-of list the American Film Institute has released, including a selection as the eighth-best film of all time and an appearance at number three on their best film quotes list. (“You don’t understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender!”)

Perhaps the most direct parallels to the current struggle can be found in the 1977 documentary Harlan County, USA. That film (also an Academy Award winner) captured a coal mine strike in Kentucky. Don’t think it’s all bleak scenes of disputes and negotiations, though; the images of the strikers’ lives take time to include a great deal of one-of-a-kind bluegrass music. Harlan County, USA will screen April 17.

Finally, local filmmaker Tony Buba - featured last year during the Three Rivers Film Festival - will appear at Regent Square Theater in person to present his film, Struggles in Steel. According to Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Buba’s film “tells the forgotten story of the African-American struggle for equality in Pittsburgh’s steel industry and the labor movement itself.” Struggles in Steel will be paired with Buba’s short Mill Hunk Herald April 24.

The movies will be shown once every Sunday night during the month of April. For more information on specific times, check out pghfilmmakers.org.