Museum of the Moving Image Previews Williams' Final Film BOULEVARD Tonight

While Robin Williams (1951-2014) was best known for his dazzling comic improvisations, his film work showed remarkable range. Tonight, July 9, Museum of the Moving Image will present a preview screening of Boulevard, featuring Williams in his remarkable final performance, as a quiet man whose life changes dramatically after a charismatic young hustler forces him to rethink his own identity.

This special screening in advance of its theatrical release will be followed by a discussion with director (and Astoria, Queens native) Dito Montiel (A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints) in person. The Museum will precede this program, on June 27, with screenings of two additional films starring Williams in dramatic roles: Robert Altman's Popeye (1980) and Penny Marshall's Awakenings (1990).

Boulevard opens in New York on Friday, July 10 at the Sunshine Landmark theater.

"In his finest roles, Robin Williams was able to convey a deep inner life and a wide range of feelings, and despite his high-energy persona, he could also work beautifully in a lower key," said Chief Curator David Schwartz. "In Popeye, he beautifully brings a comic-book character to life. Awakenings is one of his most finely tuned dramatic performances. And in Boulevard, which sadly became his final dramatic film, he touchingly and realistically plays a man who finds a new lease on life."

Boulevard follows married but closeted 60-year-old bank employee Nolan (Williams) whose spontaneous turn down an Unknown street upends his monotonous life and crumbling marriage. After picking up a young hustler, Nolan finds himself on a journey of self-discovery and must confront the secrets he has kept hidden from his wife (Kathy Baker) and himself. Nolan's dramatic decision to rethink his own identity holds with it the promise of happiness and salvation for both he and his wife in this touching and inspiring film. From acclaimed director Dito Montiel, Boulevard features an ensemble cast that includes Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul) and Roberto Aguire (Struck by Lightning) in a breakout performance.

SCHEDULE FOR 'THREE WITH ROBIN WILLIAMS,' JUNE 27 & JULY 9, 2015
All screenings take place in the Sumner M. Redstone Theater or the Celeste and Armand Bartos Screening Room at Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35 Avenue in Astoria, New York.

Popeye
SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 1:30 P.M.
Dir. Robert Altman. 1980, 114 mins. DCP. With Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, Ray Watson. A large-scale musical about the cartoon character Popeye seemed like an odd choice for director Robert Altman, his trademark messy realism an unlikely fit for the stylization of a comic book. Yet the film has stood the test of time, and is now regarded not only as one of Altman's neglected gems, but also as one of Robin Williams's most brilliant screen performances.
Tickets: $12 ($9 seniors and students / $6 children 3-12 / Free for Museum members at the Film Lover level and above).

Awakenings
SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 4:00 P.M.
Dir. Penny Marshall. 1990, 121 mins. 35mm. With Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner. Based on neurologist Oliver Sacks's memoir, Awakenings tells the story of a dedicated doctor-beautifully portrayed by Robin Williams-who discovers a drug that can bring patients out of catatonia, but realizes that these "awakenings" are only temporary. Roger Ebert called this "one of Robin Williams's best performances, pure and uncluttered, without the ebullient distractions he sometimes adds."
Tickets: $12 ($9 seniors and students / $6 children 3-12 / Free for Museum members at the Film Lover level and above).

PREVIEW SCREENING
Boulevard
With director Dito Montiel in Person
THURSDAY, JULY 9, 7:00 P.M.
Dir. Dito Montiel, 2014, 88 mins. DCP. With Robin Williams, Bob Odenkirk, Roberto Aguire, Kathy Baker. "Maybe it's never too late to start living the life you really want," says one of the characters in Dito Montiel's touching, observational drama starring Robin Williams as a middle-aged married Nashville man who surprisingly picks up a gay hustler. The film premiered to warm praise at the Tribeca Film Festival, but its release was delayed after Williams's shocking death last summer. Astoria-born director Montiel (A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints) elicited one of Williams's finest performances, a fitting testament to the actor's enormous talent.
Tickets: $15 ($9 members at the Film Lover, Dual, and Family levels / free for Silver Screen members and above).