In
2013 the Strand Theatre hosted Charles Burnett, an acclaimed director
who was born in Vicksburg, for a weekend of his films and conversation.
“Bringing Charles home to introduce him to the community of his birth is
the program that I am most proud of,” said Daniel Boone, film
programmer for the Strand Theatre. One of the treats of the event was
the screening of the Annihilation of Fish.
What made it so special was that the film had been made in 1999 but
never released. “A geriatric romantic comedy starring the late James
Earl Jones (the Star Wars films), another Mississippi icon, and Lynn
Redgrave (Georgy Girl) may have seemed too controversial at the time,
but the Vicksburg audience enjoyed it all those years ago, and now they
can see it again along with the rest of the world,” said Boone.
After years of negotiating and a new restoration, the film is opening in theaters around the country.
“I wish he could
be with us for this show, but I’m not giving up on getting him back here
again. And it’s certainly a shame that James Earl Jones, who passed
away in September of 2024, didn’t live to see this film finally in
theaters.”
Burnett is the
winner of an Honorary Academy Award® for lifetime achievement, and
remains one of our country’s most celebrated independentfilmmakers. In his charming The Annihilation of Fish, Redgrave plays Poinsettia, a former housewife with an imagined lover in the form of 19th-century composer
Giacomo Puccini. She moves into a Los Angeles boarding house with an
energetic landlady (Margot Kidder) where she meets a Jamaican widower,
Fish (James Earl Jones), who has recently been released from a mental
institution despite his continued battles against unseen demons. In the
face of personal challenges and differences, the couple grows together
and begins to discover new things about themselves and the nuances of
love and happiness.
“Burnett has made a simple yet beguiling film about
how two imperfect people can find a kind of perfection in each other's
company — and howsometimes in life, and in the movies, good things do come to those who wait.” – Justin Chang, NPR
“For much too long, ‘The Annihilation of Fish’ has
been in limbo. It took many years and endless persistence to rescue this
beautiful, delicatepicture… I’m so happy that it’s finally ready for the world to discover.” – Martin Scorsese
Tickets $10 ($9 in advance at Highway 61 Coffeehouse)
Free Popcorn!
Saturday, March 22 at 7 PM
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