Iconic flicks like “The Matrix,” “Fight Club,” “The Blair Witch Project” and “Being John Malkovitch” pushed boundaries, redefined genres and shaped pop culture for decades to come.
From blockbusters to indie and arthouse gems, 1999 delivered an unrivaled crop of high-quality films with revolutionary special effects, bold storytelling and innovative approaches.
Ernie Quiroz, Phoenix Art Museum’s curator of film, says 1999 was a year that redefined the cinema.
“It was a culmination of many things,” Quiroz says. “Big studios were giving up-and-coming filmmakers like Paul Thomas Anderson and the Wachowskis a chance to make the films they wanted to make and were willing to back them with budgets. Established directors like Francis Ford Coppola and Stanley Kubrick releasing bold movies and George Lucas bringing out new ‘Star Wars’ movies.”
On Friday, the Phoenix Art Museum launches Class of 1999: A Most Original Year, a film series celebrating five groundbreaking movies from what Entertainment Weekly called “the year that changed movies.”
The series runs from Nov. 9 to 17 and will screen Sofia Coppola's psychological romantic drama "The Virgin Suicides," Alexander Payne's black comedy “Election,” experimental German thriller “Run Lola Run,” Spike Jonze’s surrealist fantasy flick “Being John Malkovich” and the Paul Thomas Anderson drama “Magnolia.”
Quiroz says created the film series in honor of these and other groundbreaking 1999 films turning 25 years old in 2024.
“Since its 25th anniversary for all these films, I thought the museum would be the perfect place to screen them because they’re each cinematic masterpieces,” Quiroz says.
Class of 1999: A Most Original Year schedule
Here's the complete schedule for the film series, which will screen in the Phoenix Art Museum's Whiteman Hall. Tickets are free for PAM members and $8 for the general public.Friday, Nov. 8, 6 p.m.: "The Virgin Suicides"
Saturday, Nov. 9, 1 p.m.: "Run Lola Run"
Sunday, Nov. 10, 1 p.m., "Election"
Saturday, Nov. 16, 1 p.m., "Being John Malkovich"
Sunday, Nov. 17, 1 p.m., "Magnolia"
