Jaws, senior matinees and tributes to Harper Lee and Quentin Tarantino headline this year’s silver screen freebies

The Count Basie Theatre’s Cinema Society has announced its lineup for the 2015 Free Summer Blockbuster film series.

This year’s slate of free films kicks off on Wednesday, June 24th at 7:00PM with the original summer blockbuster, Jaws.

On Tuesday, July 14th, the theatre will present a special seniors matinee, featuring Judy Garland and Margaret O’Brien in Meet Me In St. Louis at 1:00PM and the Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra classic High Society at 4:00PM.

Also on Tuesday, July 14th, the Count Basie Theatre proudly presents To Kill A Mockingbird, the 1962 film that earned three Academy Awards™ and is widely regarded as one of the finest films in American history. The 7:00PM screening celebrates and coincides with the release date of author Harper Lee’s first book in 55 years, Go Set a Watchman. Copies of Go Set A Watchman will be available for sale before the screening, courtesy of River Road Books in Fair Haven.

On Tuesday, July 21st, the Cinema Society celebrates filmmaker Quentin Tarantino with a one-two punch of Reservoir Dogs at 6:30PM and his critically-acclaimed, Oscar™ winning Pulp Fiction at 8:30PM.

Tickets for all of the films in the Count Basie Theatre Cinema Society’s Free Summer Blockbuster Series are free, but must be obtained in advance either through TheBASIE.org or the Count Basie Theatre box office. Due to anticipated demand, tickets for some screenings may not be available at the door night-of.

The Count Basie Theatre Cinema Society and its summer blockbuster series are just two steps in the historic theatre’s renewed focus on film screenings. Originally constructed as a Vaudeville house, motion pictures have been a part of the Basie tradition since its opening in 1926, when a little-known film called The Quarterback was screened during the venue’s opening weekend. Over the last two years, the Basie has shifted its focus on film screenings to include more “second run” and art house-type titles, offering movie fans a chance at a big-screen experience before popular films hit the on-demand and DVD markets. All Basie films project from a state-of-the-art digital projector onto a classic, silver lenticular film screen, one of the largest of its kind in the state.

The Cinema Society itself is a year-long membership program, in which customers receive two free tickets and a regular sized popcorn to every Basie film screening. Patrons interested in joining the Society may do so at www.thebasie.org.

The Count Basie Theatre Cinema Society and all of its film offerings are made possible in part by a grant from Friends Of Film. Additional free ‘Summer Blockbuster Series’ films and $5 second-run features will be added to the Basie calendar in coming weeks and announced at www.thebasie.org.