Sir Alec Guinness often gets overlooked in the discussion of Hollywood's greatest actors of all-time; but rest assured, it's strictly an oversight... one that can easily be remedied by attending any number of the Oscar winner's best films at the Alec Guinness Centennial - courtesy of the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. The mini-festival opens tomorrow and runs through September 15: It includes 27 films and yes... Star Wars (August 30th and 31st) is one of them.
According to our friends at the AFI Silver...
April 2 marked the centennial birthday of the chameleonic British actor Alec Guinness (1914–2000), whose career stretched from David Lean's 1940s Dickens adaptations through the heyday of British comedies at Michael Balcon's Ealing Studios in the 1950s to iconic turns in international blockbusters, as Prince Feisal in LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) and as Obi-Wan Kenobi in STAR WARS (1977) and beyond. This summer, explore the many faces of the great Alec Guinness in this wide-ranging selection of some of his greatest films.
Click here to see the full schedule. AFI member passes are accepted at all screenings.
Our top five Alec Guinness films, in no particular order...
and Star Wars... whose trailer appears to be buried under a blanket of copyrights, even I don't dare challenge. Who cares about trailers anyhow? You can see it at the AFI Silver twice (hopefully in Theater 1!) on Saturday, August 30th at 8:00 PM, and Sunday, August 31st at 4:45 PM. I'm tempted to attend both screenings; but more than likely, I'll settle for Sunday only. Click here to purchase your tickets.