Coming Attractions
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The Beatles: The Lost Concert
Due to circumstances beyond our control, the shows scheduled for May 17 and 22 of The Beatles: The Lost Concert have been cancelled.
If you have already purchased tickets, please contact the Spectrum Theatre at (518) 449-8995 x10 for a refund.
When this event is re-scheduled with new dates, that information will be posted here. We apologize for the inconvenience.

On February 11, 1964, two days after 73 million viewers watched their historic first Ed Sullivan Show appearance, The Beatles traveled to Washington, D.C. and performed for 8,092 screaming teenagers and press in their first-ever concert before an American audience. Professionally filmed by an 8-camera crew and mixed live, the footage was shown a month later in theaters across America on two successive days and then was not seen again publicly for over 47 years. The tape was lost for decades, changing hands privately, and has now been re-mastered and transformed into this new documentary. The film talks about the groups' arrival in the US, their influence on pop culture and includes the entire 25-minute concert that The Beatles performed in Washington DC. 92 min.

Sound of My Voice  5/25
Peter (Christopher Denham) and Lorna (Nicole Vicius), a couple and documentary filmmaking team, infiltrate a mysterious group led by an enigmatic young woman named Maggie (Brit Marling). Intent on exposing her as a charlatan and freeing the followers from her grip, Peter and Lorna start to question their objective and each other and they unravel the secrets of Maggie's underworld. Directed by Zal Batmanglij.

Monsieur Lazhar   5/25
Winner - Best Canadian Film - Toronto Film Festival
Academy Award Nominee - Best Foreign Film
This lovely film, written and directed by Philippe Falardeau tells the poignant story of a Montreal middle school class shaken by the death of their well-liked teacher. Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag), a 55-year-old Algerian immigrant, offers the school his services as a substitute teacher and is quickly hired. As he helps the children heal, he also learns to accept his own painful past. This moving film features exquisite performances by Fellag and a stunning ensemble of child actors. In French w/subtitles.

Darling Companion   6/1
Lawrence Kashdan (The Big Chill) directs this comedy starring Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Dianne Wiest, Richard Jenkins, Elisabeth Moss, Mark Duplass, Ayelet Zurer and Sam Shepard. At the center of the movie is a marriage that has gone on for a long time and become frayed. Surrounding that union are young people falling in love, a brand-new marriage and the surprise of mid-life romance. The film is also about the connection that sometimes happens between a human being and a pet -- the love, friendship and solace that can pass between species. On the side of a busy freeway, a woman finds the love, devotion, commitment, and courage she needs -- all wrapped up in a bloodied stray dog who becomes her "darling companion." When the beloved canine goes missing, a shaggy-dog search adventure plays out, drawing together friends and family and rekindling a lifelong love.

Snow White and the Huntsman   6/1
In the epic action-adventure, Kristen Stewart plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Charlize Theron) out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) dispatched to kill her. Sam Claflin joins the cast as the prince long enchanted by Snow White's beauty and power. This breathtaking new vision of the legendary tale is from Joe Roth, the producer of Alice In Wonderland.

Music from the Big House - One Week Only starting 6/8 Buy Tickets Now!

Special Event: Monday, June 4th at 7pm, tickets $13.
Ms. Chiarelli will be here for a post-screening Q&A and a short performance following the film.

Rita Chiarelli, Canada's Goddess of the Blues, takes a pilgrimage to the birthplace of the Blues: Louisiana State Maximum Security Penitentiary, also known as Angola Prison - formerly the bloodiest prison in America. Rita's trip turns into an unprecedented historic jailhouse performance, playing with - rather than for - musician inmates serving life sentences. Their shared bond of music, and Chiarelli's ebullient personality, draw striking revelations from the inmates. Rather than sensational stories of convicts, we witness remarkable voices of hope as their love of music radiates humanity and redemption on their quest for forgiveness.

Prometheus   6/8
In digital and 3D
Ridley Scott, director of Alien and Blade Runner, returns to the genre he helped define. With Prometheus, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which a team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race. The all-star cast includes Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pierce, and Sean Harris.

The Intouchables  6/8
The true story of a wealthy, physically disabled risk taker (Francois Cluzet), the picture of established French nobility, who lost his wife in an accident and whose world is turned upside down when he hires a young, good-humored, black Muslim ex-con (Omar Sy) as his caretaker. Their bond proves the power and omniscience that love and friendship can hold over all social and economic differences. Omar Sy won the Cesar for Best Actor for his performance. In French w/subtitles.

The Spectrum is pleased to bring you this encore presentation:

Frankenstein   Buy Tickets Now!
Sunday, June 10 at 12 noon (version 1)
Monday, June 11 at 7pm (version 2)

Tickets: $15

Childlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Frankenstein's bewildered creature is cast out into a hostile universe by his horror-struck maker. Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes, the friendless Creature, increasingly desperate and vengeful, determines to track down his creator and strike a terrifying deal.

Danny Boyle directs this production of the new play by Nick Dear, based on Mary Shelley's novel.

Version 1: Jonny Lee Miller portrays Dr. Frankenstein, and Benedict Cumberbatch is the Creature.

Version 2: Benedict Cumberbatch portrays Dr. Frankenstein, and Jonny Lee Miller is the Creature.

Suitable only for ages 15 and older.

Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes; no intermission.

Hysteria   6/15
Tanya Wexler directs this mischievously inspired romantic comedy, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy, which is set in the late 19th century. The story is based on the surprising truth of how Mortimer Granville came up with the world's first electromechanical vibrator in the name of medical science. Also starring Jonathan Pryce, Rupert Everett and Felicity Jones.

Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding   6/15
Veteran director Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy, Mao's Last Dancer) delivers a career-defining performance from Jane Fonda in this heartfelt comedy about second chances that also stars Catherine Keener, Elizabeth Olsen, Rosanna Arquette, Kyle MacLachlan and Nat Wolff. For uptight Manhattan lawyer Diane (Keener), crazy means driving her teenaged son Jake (Wolff) and adult daughter Zoe (Olsen) to visit their grandmother Grace (Fonda). The crazy part is that the kids have never met Grace. In fact, Diane hasn't spoken to her mother in twenty years. Grace is the epitome of the term "hippie": she stages protests and hootenannies in the town square, smokes (and sells) a lot of dope, and howls at the moon once a month with her goddess-worshipping girlfriends. But what's meant to be a weekend getaway turns into a summer adventure of romance, music, family secrets, and self-discovery.

Lola Versus   6/22
Greta Gerwig plays Lola, a 29-year-old woman dumped by her longtime boyfriend Luke (Joel Kinnaman) just three weeks before their wedding. With the help of her close friends Henry (Hamish Linklater) and Alice (Zoe Lister-Jones), Lola embarks on a series of desperate encounters in an attempt to find her place in the world as a single woman approaching 30. Directed by Daryl Wein.

Where Do We Go Now?   6/22
Set in a remote village where the church and the mosque stand side by side, Nadine Labaki's film follows the antics of the town's women to keep their blowhard men from starting a religious war. Women heartsick over sons, husbands and fathers lost to previous flare-ups unite to distract their men with clever ruses, from faking a miracle to hiring a troop of Ukrainian strippers. In Arabic, Russian and English w/subtitles.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World   6/22
Steve Carell and Keira Knightley star in the feature directorial debut of screenwriter Lorene Scafaria (Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist) that takes audiences on a humorous, moving, and intimate journey against an epic backdrop of Earth's final days. Set in a too-near future where time at once stands still and is slipping away forever, the writer/director explores what people will do and how they will feel when humanity's end is near. A 70-mile-wide asteroid is en route to Earth, and the last best attempt to counter it has failed. Also failing is the marriage of soft-spoken insurance salesman Dodge (Carell); the breaking news that the world will end in an estimated 21 days cues his wife to leave him on the spot. Dodge is a man who has always played by the rules of life, while his neighbor Penny (Knightley) is an extroverted woman who hasn't. From these opposite perspectives, both initially choose to navigate the impending end of the world with blinders on. As the respective journeys of Dodge and Penny converge, the two spark to each other and their outlooks - if not the world's - brighten.

The Spectrum is pleased to bring you this encore presentation:

One Man, Two Guvnors  Buy Tickets Now!
Sunday, June 24 at 12 noon
Monday, June 25 at 7pm

Tickets: $15, children 12 and under $12

By Richard Bean, based on The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni with songs by Grant Olding. Fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe, a small time East End hood, now in Brighton to collect money from his fiancee's dad. But Roscoe is really his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother, who's been killed by her boyfriend, Stanley Stubbers. Holed up at The Cricketers' Arms, the permanently ravenous Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a second job with one Stanley Stubbers, who is hiding from the police and waiting to be re-united with Rachel. To prevent discovery, Francis must keep his two guvnors apart. Simple. In Richard Bean's English version of Goldoni's classic Italian comedy, sex, food and money are high on the agenda. James Corden returns to the National for the first time since The History Boys to play Francis. "A triumph of visual and verbal comedy. One of the funniest productions in the National's history." The Guardian.

This critically acclaimed production will appear this spring on Broadway!

Moonrise Kingdom   6/29
Moonrise Kingdom is the new movie directed by two-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Rushmore). Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, the film tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore -- and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle. Bruce Willis plays the local sheriff. Edward Norton is a Khaki Scout troop leader. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand portray the young girl's parents. The cast also includes Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as Sam and Suzy, the boy and girl. Written by Anderson and Roman Coppola.

To Rome With Love   7/6
Woody Allen's newest film, set in Rome, has an all-star cast that includes Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Penelope Cruz, Alec Baldwin, Judy Davis, Roberto Benigni, Greta Gerwig, and Allen himself.

Savages   7/6
Oliver Stone returns to the screen with this ferocious thriller, based on Don Winslow's best-selling crime novel that was named on of the New York Times' Top 10 Books of 2010. It featuring an all-star ensemble cast of Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Emilie Hirsch and Demian Bichir. Laguna Beach entrepreneurs Ben, a peaceful and charitable Buddhist, and his closest friend Chon, a former Navy SEAL and ex-mercenary, run a lucrative, homegrown industry - raising some of the best marijuana every developed. They also share a one-of-a-kind love with a beautiful girl, Ophelia. Life is idyllic in their Southern California town - until the Mexican Baja Cartel decides to move in and demands that the trio partner with them.

The Dark Knight Rises   7/20
The epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy stars Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman and Tom Hardy.

Gerhard Richter Painting
One of the world's greatest living painters, the German artist Gerhard Richter has spent over half a century experimenting with a tremendous range of techniques and ideas, addressing historical crises and mass media representation alongside explorations of chance procedures. Infamously media-shy, he agreed to appear on camera for the first time in 15 years for a 2007 short by filmmaker Corinna Belz called Gerhard Richter's Window. Her follow-up, Gerhard Richter Painting, is exactly that: a thrilling document of Richter's creative process, juxtaposed with intimate conversations (with his critics, his collaborators, and his American gallerist Marian Goodman) and rare archive material. From our fly-on-the-wall perspective, we watch the 79-year-old create a series of large-scale abstract canvasses, using fat brushes and a massive squeegee to apply (and then scrape off) layer after layer of brightly colored paint. This mesmerizing footage, of a highly charged process of creation and destruction, turns Belz's portrait of an artist into a work of art itself. "A gorgeously rendered work of art. Offers fascinating insight -- and a mesmerizing survey of [Richter's] complete oeuvre." Alissa Simon, Variety. "Shows us the world's most famous living painter, who turned 80 in February, at work with greater intimacy than any other film portrait of a contemporary artist provides." Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Chronicle.

290 Delaware Ave., Albany, NY