The Capri Theater and The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul continue their newly launched collaboration, First Thursday Films, by celebrating the 40th anniversary of the release of the film Cooley High. The film screens on Thursday, December 3 at 7 p.m. at the Capri Theater, 2027 West Broadway. Tickets are $5; purchase in advance at mspfilm.org or at the door.
Cooley High, set in Chicago’s near North Side in 1964, is a bittersweet tale about girls, school and police troubles as a group of high-school seniors prepare for post-high-school life. The buddies include “Preach,” played by Glynn Turman (The Wire, How Stella Got Her Groove Back), who loves to read poetry and history and wants to become a Hollywood screenwriter – but has the worst grades in the school; and “Cochise,”
the high school basketball star and suave lady-killer, played by Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs. Other principal cast members include Garret Morris as history teacher, Mr. Mason, and Cynthia Davis as Brenda.
Gary Susman, writing for Moviefone, says Cooley High “deserves to be mentioned alongside George Lucas’s American Graffiti, Barry Levinson’s Diner and John Singleton’s Boyz ‘N the Hood.” Jackie Taylor, who plays Cochise’s girlfriend in the movie, said this film “has such a strong message of positivity and breaking through barriers, and becoming somebody no matter what your circumstances in life may be.”
Director Spike Lee cites Cooley High as an influence and an essential movie for all aspiring filmmakers to watch. The movie also features a soundtrack made up of 1960s Motown hits.
Be Back…for movies at the Capri!
First Thursday Films @ the Capri is a new collaborative venture between the Capri Theater and the Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul. A full schedule/info is available at thecapritheater.org and mspfilm.org. Or contact Craig Rice, Film Society Programmer of First Thursday Films, at 612 685-9114, craig@mspfilm.org; or Capri Director James Scott, 612-643-2024, jscott@pcyc-mpls.org.