The Cinema Underground Time Machine is a trip through classic cinema done as only the Williams Center can. Rather than revisit the big hits from yesteryear, the C.U.G. Time Machine shines a light on the quiet corners of the silver screen to illuminate the forgotten films from around the globe.

Film curator, Peter Parlegreco, explains, “… the Time Machine Series is an opportunity to have a seat in an historic theater and travel back through the annals of movie history. Each Wednesday, we present an important art house film from around the world.”

He continues, “My hope is that people who come to the Time Machine screenings leave the theater having experienced a work of art that may leave a lasting impression.”

Primarily Parlegreco sees the Williams Center as one of the few places where works of art, such as these, can be viewed in the manner in which they were originally envisioned: not on a smartphone but ten feet tall and projected onto a white vinyl screen. As Art continues to be reduced in favor of short attention spans, CUG Time Machine offers audiences a chance to take a journey backwards and luxuriate in the cinematic experience; a moment to watch those films from the past that they might have missed the first time around in a setting that allows them to truly be appreciated.

“The mission is to bring avant-garde, art house quality cinema to the suburbs and local communities. It’s an opportunity to experience older and rare movies the way they were intended to be seen: on a large screen, in a dark theater with others,” says Parlegreco.

Along with a continuing slate of venerable films, the Fall will bring The Red Shoes (1948), the gorgeous musical about a ballerina caught between her love for her art and her new love for a composer. “It’s a rare chance to see this Technicolor classic on a big screen. There may be an extended run, along with a screening in the historic Rivoli Theatre,” Parlegreco reveals.

Here’s looking forward to looking backwards.

C.U.G. selections are playing Wednesdays through August at 8:00pm

The Connection - August 7th

Rocco and His Brothers - August 14th

Araya - August 21st

Ashes and Diamonds – August 28th

The Cranes are Flying – September 4th

On the Bowery – September 11th