The Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee will show some classic films this holiday weekend, appropriately connected to Labor Day.
The center will feature five films, from comedies of the 1980s like "Trading Places," to the Oscar winning "Norma Rae," about a union organizer.
"'Norma Rae' is an interesting choice, because in the entertainment industry right now, you have two strikes going on, and that is about unionization. It's all about the labor movement in the United States," said Nelson Page, the center's executive director. He says classic comedies, including "9 to 5" were selected for their popular entertainment value. There is also 2019's Oscar winning "Parasite," about a dark class struggle.
Page also explained that local audiences can also connect with the themes of the films that the center will feature.
"Fort Lee and the surrounding area was for many, many years, a working-class community. A community of immigrants, and still is today," he said. "And I think it's important sometimes to remember our roots and to celebrate the fact that a hard day's work still a very important part of the American Dream."
The dream of making motion pictures began in Fort Lee as the birthplace of cinema.
An exhibit of two pioneers of filmmaking in Fort Lee is also open inside the film center: Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, the married couple who were superstars of early film.
Original movie posters, love letters written by Fairbanks, even a lock of Pickford's famous curls, are on view.
