Beatles, Talking Heads films added to 2015 Plaza Classic Film Festival lineup

Movies from two timeless bands are among the films to be a part of the second wave of films announced for this year’s Plaza Classic Film Festival.

The Beatles’ “Help,” a comedy in which the band goes up against a cult, is celebrating its 50 th anniversary.

The other music-related film added to the lineup is the Talking Heads concert film “Stop Making Sense.”

Other films announced include:

“Yankee Doodle Dandy” — The 1942 musical starring James Cagney as singer, songwriter, playwright and producer George M. Cohan, who wrote the title song, among other standards.
“The Mark of Zorro” — Douglas Fairbanks stars in the 1920 silent classic about the so-called Mexican Robin Hood. PCFF regular Walt Strony will accompany on the Plaza Theatre’s Wyler Mighty Wurlitzer organ. “Hondo” — Western icon John Wayne headlines the 1953 classic, shot on location in Chihuahua, one of the first movies made by Wayne’s Batjac Productions. “Y Tu Mama Tambien” — Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron’s controversial 2001 road/coming-of-age story, which helped launch the careers of Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal.

Earlier this month, two very different classics from 1975 were among the first titles announced for this year’s Plaza Classic Film Festival.

“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” won several Academy Awards and starred Jack Nicholson in the main role of a patient at an asylum.

The other film from 1975 is the Arthurian, comedic send-up “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

The eighth annual Plaza Classic Film Festival will be Aug. 6-16, 2015 in and around the historic Plaza Theatre.

Also scheduled for PCFF 2015:

“The King and I” (1956) – Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, and Rita Moreno star in the heartwarming Rodgers and Hammerstein musical about a stubborn king and the woman who tames his heart. It includes the standards Getting to Know You and I Whistle a Happy Tune.
“Shall We Dance” (1937) – Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers star in this musical about a ballet star who falls for a tap dancer. It features the Gershwin brothers’ classic Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off, which features an Astaire-Rogers routine on roller skates. “The Bicycle Thief” (1948) – Vittorio de Sica’s poignant post-WWII story about a destitute father’s frantic search for his stolen bicycle is one of the most famous examples of neorealism in Italian cinema and is considered one of the greatest movies of all time. “Ladies & Gentlemen, the Rolling Stones” (1974) – This no-frills concert documentary captures the legendary band, who just announced their “Zip Code” American tour, at their best during the Texas leg of their 1972 American tour supporting the classic Exile on Main St.

Tickets for the Plaza Classic Film Festival go on sale in early July. Festival passes are $200 and include admission to all ticketed events, an express lane and other perks. Plaza Classic Film Club passes, for teenagers 14 to 18, are $100. They are available at 915-533-4020 and plazaclassic.com.