The Paducah Film Society is screening the horror classic Rosemary’s Baby – the 1968 film based on a novel of the same name – on Oct. 17th at 7 p.m.
The newly formed group serves as Maiden Alley Cinema’s own monthly movie club, drawing inspiration from one of the local theater’s earliest names when organizers showed films in Market House Theatre.
Now, the Paducah Film Society screens classic, cult and foreign films once a month at Maiden Alley and invites members of the public to participate in after-film discussions and interactive programming – much like a book club, but for movies.
Operle said that Rosemary’s Baby blends the supernatural with issues like women’s liberation and religion, while highlighting the horrors of domestic life.
“A young couple moves to this incredible building in New York, they cannot believe this deal that they found this place that they're going to start their family. But something doesn't feel right, something's off,” he said. “The husband is going to work, the wife is back at the apartment, and she's interacting with neighbors, and she's alone. And she cannot figure out she can't put her finger on something just isn't right, about what's going on in the building.”
After the screening, Murray State University film studies professor Tim Johns will lead a discussion of the history of the film, including its location – the former home of John Lennon and Yoko Ono – but also the controversial legacy of the film’s director, Roman Polanski.
“He's somebody that committed very real crimes, who sexually assaulted a young teenage girl in the 1970s and has essentially lived in exile since, but has still been lauded by critics [and] by the Academy Awards,” Operle said, “This is a critical conversation to be having in the #MeToo era, as well.”
More information about Paducah Film Society and upcoming screenings can be found on their official Facebook page. PFS also regularly publishes a newsletter with historical context for its selections and upcoming repertory screenings at MAC.
