The Grand Illusion

You've made it past the midway point of winter! Come celebrate with a showing of William Richert's rarely-screened black comedy thriller on a new 35mm print!

This thinly veiled and hyper-paranoiac take on the JFK assassination stars Jeff Bridges as Nick Kegan, scion of a fabulously wealthy and powerful family headed by patriarch Pa Kegan (a scene-stealing John Huston), a character based on Joe Kennedy. Bridges soon finds himself going down multiple rabbit holes while trying to unravel the conspiracy behind the murder of a U.S. president, his older brother.

This new 35mm print, the first struck in over 40 years, was supervised by legendary cinematographer John Bailey, the movie’s camera operator. Bailey also photographed additional scenes a year later when Vilmos Zsigmond was unavailable.

“Winter Kills is, above all, an exercise in tone—a crazed, hectic tone that instantly suggests a world irreparably out of whack. What lends the movie substance is the cinematic style that Richert crafts from its dramatic premise.” Richard Brody, The New Yorker

“It seems to have grown even bolder with age in its willingness to take on sacred cows in the craziest manner imaginable.” Peter Sobczynski, RogerEbert.com

“Exemplifies one of the best things in life: A WILD TIME AT THE MOVIES.” Patrick Dahl, Screen Slate