View current See It Big! programs.

You’ve heard it before: “You’ve got to see it on the big screen!” And it’s true—some movies loom large and need to be seen large. They were intended for the theater, and in our mind’s eye that’s where they stay. Despite the cultural domination of television starting in the 1950s, and the current onslaught of new methods of viewing on ever-shrinking devices (laptops, iPads, phones), cinema remains a large-format art form. The experience of watching a movie in a dark theater, its images flickering before us on a screen that dwarfs us, its sound surrounding us, is the source of the medium’s singular enchantment, and certain films have been able to harness this power particularly well: those visually stunning classics that just aren’t the same when shrunk down. This series showcases a selection of such films—including grand Hollywood epics, eye-popping sci-fi journeys, and chilling visions of horror—in the Museum’s beautiful new theater.

When it opened earlier this year as a centerpiece of the Museum’s renovation and expansion, the theater immediately became one of the most impressive screening spaces in the country; New York magazine called it “the best new theater for old movies.” Conceived by architect Thomas Leeser as a capsule for the imaginary voyage of moviegoing, the theater has a wraparound ceiling and walls made of 1,136 fabric panels in a sensuous, vibrant Yves Klein blue, altering the viewer’s depth perception and encouraging a sensation of being suspended in the space. With a screen of classic proportions and projection equipment for every format from 16mm to 70mm and high-definition digital 3D, the theater provides an unsurpassed filmgoing experience. See It Big is thus a celebration of the Museum’s new theater as well as the magnificent films in the series.

An ongoing series curated in collaboration with Reverse Shot editors Michael Koresky and Jeff Reichert.

Screening
Alien
Friday, October 28, 7:00 p.m. Screening
The Shining
Saturday, October 29, 7:00 p.m. Screening
Alien
Sunday, October 30, 4:00 p.m. Screening
Play Time
Friday, November 4, 7:00 p.m. Screening
Play Time
Saturday, November 5, 3:00 p.m. Screening
Lawrence of Arabia
Saturday, November 5, 6:00 p.m. Screening
Lawrence of Arabia
Sunday, November 6, 6:00 p.m. Screening
Fantasia
Friday, November 25, 7:00 p.m. Screening
Fantasia
Saturday, November 26, 3:00 p.m. Screening
Gone With the Wind
Saturday, November 26, 6:00 p.m. Screening
Fantasia
Sunday, November 27, 3:00 p.m. Screening
Gone With the Wind
Sunday, November 27, 6:00 p.m. Screening
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Friday, December 2, 7:00 p.m. Screening
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Saturday, December 3, 1:00 p.m. Screening
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Saturday, December 3, 4:00 p.m. Screening
Raging Bull
Friday, December 9, 7:00 p.m. Screening
Nashville
Friday, December 16, 7:00 p.m. Screening
The Tree of Life
Thursday, December 22, 7:00 p.m. Screening
Lola Montès
Friday, December 23, 7:00 p.m. Screening
Avatar
Thursday, December 29, 7:00 p.m. Screening
Barry Lyndon
Friday, December 30, 7:00 p.m. Screening
Barry Lyndon
Sunday, January 1, 6:00 p.m. Screening
Manhattan
Friday, January 27, 7:00 p.m. Screening
Manhattan
Saturday, January 28, 7:00 p.m. Screening
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Friday, February 10, 7:00 p.m. Screening
The Sound of Music
Saturday, March 3, 5:00 p.m. Screening
North by Northwest
Friday, March 9, 7:00 p.m. Screening
North by Northwest
Saturday, March 10, 6:00 p.m. Screening
Touch of Evil
Friday, March 16, 7:00 p.m. Screening
Touch of Evil
Saturday, March 17, 7:00 p.m. SEE IT BIG! SCREENING
Red Desert
Friday, April 6, 7:00 p.m. Screening & Live Event
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Saturday, April 28, 6:00 p.m. Screening
Mildred Pierce
Sunday, May 13, 4:00 p.m. Screening
The Magnificent Ambersons
Saturday, May 19, 4:00 p.m. Screening
The Royal Tenenbaums
Saturday, May 19, 6:30 p.m. Screening
The Royal Tenenbaums
Sunday, May 20, 6:30 p.m. Screening
The Godfather
Saturday, June 2, 2:00 p.m. Screening
The Godfather: Part II
Saturday, June 2, 6:00 p.m. Screening
The Godfather
Sunday, June 3, 2:00 p.m. Screening
The Godfather: Part II
Sunday, June 3, 6:00 p.m. Screening
Chinatown
Saturday, June 16, 1:30 p.m. Screening
Chinatown
Sunday, June 17, 1:30 p.m. Screening
Nashville
Friday, June 29, 7:00 p.m. Screening
Nashville
Saturday, June 30, 1:00 p.m. Screening
Days of Heaven
Saturday, June 30, 4:30 p.m. Screening
The Elephant Man
Saturday, June 30, 6:30 p.m. Screening
Nashville
Sunday, July 1, 1:00 p.m. Screening
Days of Heaven
Sunday, July 1, 4:30 p.m. Screening
The Elephant Man
Sunday, July 1, 6:30 p.m. SCREENING & DISCUSSION
The Deep Blue Sea
Tuesday, January 8, 7:00 p.m. Screening
The Turin Horse (A torinói ló)
Saturday, January 19, 3:00 p.m.

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