When the Dartmouth Film Society selected "Smoke and Mirrors" as its fall season theme, however, they had a greater range of special effects in mind.
The older selections on this season's offerings exhibit the grand technological advances that Hollywood made in its first 50 years: "Ben-Hur" (Oct. 12), with its still famous (and deadly) chariot race; "Metropolis" (Oct. 19), a dark silent film from 1927 that addresses the issue of class divide in a futuristic society; and even "The Red Shoes" (Oct. 22), which demonstrates some of the finest Technicolor dramatic expressionism of early cinema.
Then, of course, there is "Citizen Kane" (Nov. 23), a work of art released in 1941 that truly defined the way movies would be filmed for the next 60-plus years.
At first glance, the special effects may not seem so fantastic, but DFS President A.J. Fox called this film "instructive" for the cutting-edge technology it introduced when it was first released. Fox is a member of The Dartmouth staff.
Double features throughout the season pair films with stunningly different applications of special-effect technology.
'Loveable Loons' (Oct. 8) starts with "Amelie," a magically creative film about a woman's dalliances with her crush. Her charming practical jokes offset Woody Allen's blend of real and fake documentary shots in "Zelig," which chronicles the life of Leonard Zelig, an interesting social chameleon from the 1920s.
Similarly, 'Fantasy Island' (Oct. 15) presents two very different journeys. First, we experience the wonderful frenzy of the Thai cowboy movie "Tears of the Black Tiger."The fantasy becomes even wilder, however, with Baron Munchhausen's voyage to the moon and back in "Munchhausen."
A few well-known classics made it onto the list, as well. "Rebecca" -- the only Alfred Hitchcock film to snag a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars -- plays on October 29. Fox considers this a special treat because the film is almost impossible to find on DVD.
The Film Society makes a less subtle nod to Halloween when "The Exorcist" rears its spinning head on October 31st.
Several modern blockbusters -- WALL-E" (Oct. 5), "The Matrix" (Nov. 2) and "Tropic Thunder" (Nov. 9) -- were also included in the fall schedule.
The Loew has slated two additonal film series for this fall.
Saturday nights are host to smaller, more independent fare such as "Brideshead Revisited" (Oct.18) and Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (Nov. 22.).
On Thursday nights, "New Korean Cinema" will introduce films from one of the few foreign countries where domestic films outperform imported Hollywood fare.
"Sometimes I think Korean cinema has more aesthetic diversity than some of the films coming out of the U.S.," Fox said. "With the tabloids helping current Hollywood icons descend into imitations of themselves, we could really use some fresh talent."
He recommended his favorites from this season: the existential Buddhist film "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring" (Oct. 2), the political comedy "The President's Last Bang" (Nov.13), and the Godzilla-style monster flick "The Host" (Oct. 30.)
DFS films are shown every Wednesday and Sunday in Spaulding Auditorium in the Hopkins Center for the Arts. Dartmouth students pay $12 for a season pass, good for all 27 films.
Both Loew film series will be screened in Loew Auditorium, adjacent to the Hopkins Center. Dartmouth students pay $20 for a season pass, good for both series.