New cinema continues 70 years of film experiences at the Union
For film buffs, one of the highlights of the new Union South will definitely be the opening of the cinema, appropriately dubbed “The Marquee.” Not only will the new space feature 350 plush, Badger red seats equipped with cup holders, but it have the capability to show films 5-7 nights a week on a high definition digital or classic 35 mm projector. Although The Marquee aims to be the new home for film on campus, the Wisconsin Union has actually been bringing film to the community for the last 70 years.
The Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Film Committee (formerly just Union Film Committee) has screened films in the Frederick March Play Circle at the Memorial Union since its opening in 1940. The historic space was the main screening venue on campus during the American film boom in the 70s and 80s. Through the committee, student volunteers interested in film have had the opportunity to run their own cinema by selecting, booking, and showing all of the films themselves. Although it seems UW-Madison would not be a school of choice for hopeful filmmakers, it might surprise you to know just how many UW alumni have made it in Hollywood.
Editor Mark Goldblatt (UW-Madison ’70), who has worked films such as Terminator, Pearl Harbor, and X-Men: The Last Stand, got his first hands-on industry experience working on the WUD film committee. In the late 1960s, Mark had the chance to book a wide variety of films on 16 and 35 mm projectors in Der Rathskeller, the Union Theater, and the Play Circle. In fact, those same 35 mm projectors are still in use today and will be refurbished and moved to their new home in The Marquee when it opens.
According to Mark, Madison was “a hotbed of cinematic thought” and there were several other film societies on campus in those days, with the Union film committee being by far the most prestigious. “We were driven to program films that could influence people in a profound way. We didn’t have enough time to show everything we wanted to; we wished we could show movies every night of the week.” When Mark was chair of the committee, the group democratically decided what films to bring into their “temple of cinema.”
Today, the committee is more than twice the size but still maintains the same programming philosophy. The committee also continues to screen a variety of genres from Hollywood blockbusters, indies, documentaries, and foreign films, to avant-garde, sneak previews of upcoming releases, and cult classics.
The film societies eventually began to shrink in size and combine efforts once cable television and VHS tapes were introduced. By the 1990s, there were only three remaining film groups: the WUD film committee, the Wisconsin Film Society, and Focus Film. Even though the societies themselves may have diminished in size, the philosophy of using film for community-building and cultural outreach never changed. A smaller group of film enthusiasts still dedicated themselves to bringing thoughtful film to campus and the community at large during this period.
Mike Pogorzelski, director of the Academy Film Archive, actually learned the art of projecting films in the Play Circle in the 90s. “I put myself through school by projecting. There were only a handful of us working for the societies and at the Union. We were all really close.” Mike fondly recalls working through one summer as the only projectionist in a booth without air conditioning and hot motors running all day. “I would strip down to a pair of shorts and sweat off 16 pounds every weekend. In between screenings, I would run down to the Terrace pier and jump in the lake just to cool down.”
In 1999, two students from the WUD film committee, James Kreul and Wendi Weger, were key figures in establishing the “Great Wisconsin Film Festival,” now called the “Wisconsin Film Festival.” The festival was initially funded by the UW Arts Institute and the Wisconsin Film Office and featured screenings of about 30 films in two campus theaters. Through the years, the event has grown to be so large that in 2010 it had an attendance of 34,539 for 192 films across downtown Madison. Students are still participating in volunteering and programming. This year’s film festival will run March 30-April 3 and will be screening films in both the Frederick March Play Circle and the Union Theater in Memorial Union. The Marquee will be added as a venue as well in 2012.
The WUD film committee is proud to be celebrating its 70th anniversary this year–appropriately with a bigger committee, new website, new cinema, and still a classic philosophy. The Marquee could not be coming at a better time since the Play Circle is beginning to show its years and is set to be closed for renovation in 2012. With technology changing so much over the last 70 years, The Marquee will be better equipped to handle the expectations of this new generation of movie-goers.
At the same time, moving cinema on campus from the Play Circle is likely to cause mixed feelings, as it has for Mark Goldblatt. “I am sad there is not going to be any projectors in the Play Circle. Things are changing, but the idea of getting a theater packed full of people to see a movie with the power to alter their consciousness is [still] a pretty wonderful thing. The more stuff we can see that changes us, the better off we are.”
Article by Patrick Callan. Patrick is a currently the Union President and will be graduating in August with degrees in Communication Arts and Spanish.
More information about the opening of Union South and the Marquee can be found here.
