Photo by Kevin H.Starting this Friday in Rosslyn, the free outdoor film season officially kicks off. Most are themed, showing movies featuring trains, D.C., Oscar winners, numbers, and more.
You will notice that Screen on the Green is not on this list. (UPDATE (5/26): It is now!) They’ve not yet released a schedule, though Jesse B. Rauch, who has run the Save Screen on the Green campaign the last couple of years, tweets that HBO “is making every effort to continue” D.C.’s quintessential outdoor movie series. Once we hear more, we’ll let you know.
Nonetheless: grab your lawn chairs from the attic, dust off your picnic baskets and start marking up your calendars with the dates of these free outdoor films.
NoMa Summer Screen
Where: 2nd and L Streets NE
When: Wednesdays at 7 p.m. (May 18-August 3, 2011)
Theme: Train Movies
NoMa’s film fest presents movies that feature trains (more prominently in some than others). For example, some of the selections are named after trains (Darjeeling Limited), some take place on trains (Taking of Pelham 123), and even some feature ghost trains (Ghostbusters 2).
May 18 – O Brother, Where Art Thou?
May 25 – Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
June 1 – Stand by Me
June 8 – North by Northwest
June 15 – Slumdog Millionaire
June 22 – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
June 29 – Planes, Trains & Automobiles
July 6 – Ghostbusters 2
July 13 – Darjeeling Limited
July 20 – Some Like it Hot
July 27 – Taking of Pelham 123
August 3 – The Incredibles
Capitol Riverfront Front Row Films
Where: Tingey Plaza, 100 Tingey St SE
When: Thursdays at 8:45 p.m. (May 26-July 28, 2011)
Theme: Best of the Oscars
It’s all Oscar winners (best actor, best film, best sound editing) this year at the Capitol Riverfront, with picks including West Side Story, E.T., The Bourne Ultimatum (yep, sound editing), The Social Network, and more.
May 26 – Casablanca
June 2 – Raiders of the Lost Ark
June 9 – Dirty Dancing
June 16 – The Blind Side
June 23 – E.T.
June 30 – Shakespeare in Love
July 7 – The Social Network
July 14 – Breakfast at Tiffany’s
July 21 – The Bourne Ultimatum
July 28 – West Side Story
Rosslyn Outdoor Film Festival
Where: Gateway Park at the base of Key Bridge, 1300 Lee Highway, Arlington
When: Fridays at dusk (April 29-August 26, 2011)
Theme: SNL in the Movies
Hordes of Saturday Night Live alums have made the transition to the big screen, and Rosslyn is celebrating them this year by featuring the movies of Chevy Chase, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Bill Murray, and others.
April 29 – Groundhog Day
May 6 – Coneheads
May 13 – When Harry Met Sally
May 20 – Vacation
May 27 – Tommy Boy
June 3 – Anchorman
June 10 – City Slickers
June 17 – Trading Places
June 24 – Happy Gilmore
July 1 – Caddyshack
July 8 – The Blues Brothers
July 15 – Space Balls
July 22 – Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
July 29 – Animal House
August 5 – Hot Rod
August 12 – Mean Girls
August 19 – A Night at the Roxbury
August 26 – Shrek
Crystal Screen
Where: Near the Crystal City Metro station
When: Mondays at sundown (June 6-August 29, 2011)
Theme: By The Numbers
Quick, how many movies can you count that incorporate numbers in their titles? This is a fun party game, and perhaps also the way the Crystal Screen outdoor movie fest picked their lineup this year. From Air Force One to District 9 to (500) Days of Summer, this list adds up to offer some pretty fun choices this year.
June 6 – Air Force One
June 13 – Four Weddings and a Funeral
June 20 – 16 Candles
June 27 – District 9
July 4 – HOLIDAY (NO MOVIE)
July 11 – 50 First Dates
July 18 – Oceans 11
July 25 – Apollo 13
August 1 – The Sixth Sense
August 8 – The 40-Year-Old Virgin
August 15 – 10 Things I Hate About You
August 22 – (500) Days of Summer
August 29 – 2001: A Space Odyssey
Bethesda Outdoor Movies: Stars on the Avenue
Where: Bethesda’s Woodmont Triangle, corner of Norfolk and Auburn Avenues
When: 9:00 p.m. on 5 consecutive nights, July 26-July 30, 2011
Theme: No theme.
A themeless entry, you can catch five nights of free popular mainstream movies at the end of July during Bethesda’s Stars on the Avenue series.
Updated: 2011 line-up
July 26 – The Breakfast Club
July 27 – Bye Bye Birdie
July 28 – The Kings Speech
July 29 – Rocky
July 30 – The Social Network
Columbia Heights Day
Where: Tubman Elementary Field (13th and Kenyon Streets NW)
When: Wednesdays in June at 8:30 p.m.
Theme: School’s Out for Summer
Since this Columbia Heights outdoor film fest is taking place behind an elementary school, the theme of “School’s Out for Summer” is totally appropriate.
June 8 – National Lampoon’s Vacation Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
June 15 – Dirty Dancing
June 22 – Are We There Yet?
June 29 – Little Big League
U Street Movie Series
Where: Harrison Field, V Street NW between 13th and 14th Streets
When: Once a month from May to October, with activities from 7-8:30 p.m. followed by the film of the night
Theme: D.C. Themed Movies
Each night will feature two films: a short, followed by a feature-length movie. We got pretty excited when we heard they’d be showing “D.C. Themed Movies,” what do you think now that you see the line-up?
May 24 (rain date May 26)
– AFI Short: This Chair is Not Me
– Feature: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
June 28 (rain date June 30)
– AFI Short: The Poodle Trainer
– Feature: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
July 26 (rain date July 28)
– Short: Howard Theatre: A Century in Song
– Feature: 930 F Street
August 23 (rain date Aug 25)
– AFI Short: City of Cranes
– Feature: National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets
September 20 (rain date Sept 22)
– AFI Short: Big Birding Day
– Feature: Bag It
October (TBD)
– Feature: Waiting for Superman, indoors, followed by community forum on education policy
Screen on the Green
Where: The National Mall, between 8th and 14th Streets NW
When: Mondays at dusk between July 25 and August 15; rain or shine
Theme: It’s Screen on the Green — they’re just classic films.
July 25 – In the Heat of the Night
August 1 – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
August 8 – Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
August 15 – Cool Hand Luke
