Cinematic Atlas: The Triumphs of Charlton Heston
August 29 - September 4, 2008
“Really, what else could you call a program devoted to the late, great slab of screen beefcake known as Chuck Heston? The good folks at Lincoln Center have come up with an appropriate name for this tribute and a lovely selection of films featuring the actor at his lock-jawed finest.” – Time Out New York
“This aptly named film festival proves that the dramatic terrain Heston covered as an actor was expansive. Whether playing a marooned astronaut in Planet of the Apes or a Mexican detective in Orson Welles’s Touch of Evil, the late great Heston became one of the most iconic stars in Hollywood history with his beefcake looks and clenched-teeth delivery.” — Michael Alan Connelly, New York magazine
Listen to Holly Heston, Charlton Heston’s daughter, talk about her father’s career in Hollywood, and tell us what it was like to grow up with Ben Hur and Moses for a dad. - The Leonard Lopate Show, WNYC
“Heston really stands alone—especially given that he peaked in the ’70s, the same period that Hollywood was being revamped in a way that would make a screen god like Heston virtually obsolete. Not that he ever could be pigeonholed, as the eclecticism of ‘Cinematic Atlas’ proves… He did, at a certain moment, embody all that was good about Hollywood.” - John Anderson, The Village Voice
“The 11 films, mostly seen in archival studio prints, span the peak years of Heston’s stardom and cover the genres he commanded with his presence.” - Lou Lumenick, New York Post
Charlton Heston grew up hunting and fishing, finding in the tradition of the outdoors the respect for individual freedom and personal responsibility that guided him throughout his 58-year career as an actor and beyond. The tailor-made leading man commanded virtually every scene in which he appeared, developing a dignity, grace, strength, charisma, courage, cinematic power and ironic lightness that he accented with his unforgettable style of delivery.
His professionalism and commitment to his craft also resulted in lasting friendships and a devoted family life with his wife Lydia Clarke and children Fraser and Holly. Taking these traits together, Charlton Heston was a gentleman, as well as one of the most influential stars in mainstream American movie history. This showcase celebrates the late actor with eleven of his most memorable films, all screening in the best 35mm prints available.
Click on Program Overview for a listing of films in the series .
Click on
Calendar to view the schedule & purchase tickets online ($1.25 service charge per ticket).
Series Pass: admits one person to five titles in the series; $40 public/$30 Film Society member, available only at the Walter Reade Theater box office (cash only transactions).