University Advancement

Public Relations and Strategic Communications

NEWS RELEASE

CSUN’s Cinematheque to Explore the Magic of Sam Peckinpah’s ‘Major Dundee’

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Oct. 6, 2006) -- Cal State Northridge’s Cinematheque series will explore the recent restoration of Sam Peckinpah’s Western epic, "Major Dundee," with a screening and discussion of this classic film on Wednesday, Oct. 18.

Recently remastered for DVD and presented with a new score, "Major Dundee" will be screened at 7 p.m. in Armer Theater in Manzanita Hall at the southwest corner of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge.

Immediately following the free screening, the film’s composer, Christopher Caliendo, Peckinpah historian Rick Redman and Grover Crisp, head of Sony Pictures’ film restoration program, will answer questions about the restoration process and the creation of the new score for this classic film.

"They have performed a very significant artistic act by taking what many in film studies consider a classic example of mutilation by studio, ‘Major Dundee,’ and restoring it," said John Schultheiss, chair of CSUN’s Department of Cinema and Television Arts, which offers the Cinematheque. "Sam Peckinpah is such a major director and his reputation rests on so many of his other films because this one was thought to be flawed, not by his own doing but by the studio. In restoring the film the way they did--including a completely new score because the original music was thought to contribute to the film’s problems--they have done a great historical service."

The 1965 film stars Chartlon Heston, James Coburn, Richard Harris, Ben Johnson and Brock Peters. It tells the story of a Union officer (Heston) who leads a troop of prisoners and misfits into Mexico to take on a group of Apaches who have been raiding American towns.

Cal State Northridge’s Cinematheque is an innovative film screening program housed in the Alan and Elaine Armer Theater, a state-of-the-art, 130-seat motion picture theater. The only venue of its kind in the San Fernando Valley, the Cinematheque presents thematically designed retrospectives of classic films as well as aesthetically significant contemporary releases in conjunction with the appearance of featured guest artists for lectures and panel discussions.

For a complete list of the Cinematheque’s fall 2006 and spring 2007 offerings, visit its Web site http://www.cinematheque.csun.edu/. For more information about Cinematheque, call the Department of Cinema and Television Arts at (818) 677-3192.