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‘Animal House,’ second film in classic film series screens Tuesday, Nov. 17, at Breckenridge Backstage Theatre

Daily News staff report
The plotline of 'National Lampoon’s Animal House' follows the troublemaking Delta Tau Chi fraternity at a 1962 college and its ongoing battle with Dean Vernon Wormer, who is attempting to expel the entire fraternity. The film is rated R and is not suitable for all audiences.
Special to the Daily |

If you go

What: “National Lampoon’s Animal House” (R, 1978)

Where: Backstage Theatre, 121 S. Ridge St., Breckenridge

When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17

Cost: Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for seniors and students

More information: Visit http://www.backstagetheatre.org

As the ski season ramps up, the second film in the Breckenridge Backstage Theatre classic film series will “get this party started” on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 6:30 p.m.

Officially titled “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” released in 1978, the plotline follows the troublemaking Delta Tau Chi fraternity at a 1962 college and its ongoing battle with Dean Vernon Wormer, who is attempting to expel the entire fraternity. The film is rated R and is not suitable for all audiences.

“There are some classic films you need to be part of an audience to really enjoy,” said Laurie Rambaud, film series instigator at the Breckenridge Backstage Theatre. “At home by yourself, you are not going to join in on the ‘Toga! Toga!’ chant, but in a theater, you can and should.”



Before each film, the Backstage will let you in on some of the secrets of the film, so you can look out for them. At last month’s film, the classic 1960 “Psycho,” Christopher Willard, artistic director of the Backstage Theatre, revealed that “Psycho” was considered scandalous at the time, not because of the murders, but because of the scenes with the toilet. A toilet had never been flushed on screen before — quite the shocker.

“Animal House” was Kevin Bacon’s (“Footloose,” “Apollo 13”) and Karen Allen’s (“Raiders of the Lost Ark”) film debut. Roger Ebert gave the film four stars out of four and wrote, “It’s anarchic, messy and filled with energy. It assaults us. Part of the movie’s impact comes from its sheer level of manic energy. … But the movie’s better made (and better acted) than we might at first realize. It takes skill to create this sort of comic pitch, and the movie’s filled with characters that are sketched a little more absorbingly than they had to be and acted with perception.”



December’s film is “It’s a Wonderful Life,” starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. This Christmas classic will play Dec. 17, 24 and 25. For all films, tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for seniors and students. For more information about the classic film series, visit http://www.backstagetheatre.org.


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