What was your favorite movie while you were on Grounds?
Several alumni—spanning nearly every year from the 1970s to the 1990s—cited the annual showing of It’s a Wonderful Life on Grounds, including Adam Wasserman (Med class of ’88), who wrote: “I grew up in a Jewish family in Philadelphia. This film had never been on my radar. My friends convinced me to see it. Absolutely amazing! My wife is Christian, and we would try to watch around Christmas regularly. The message crosses over to all faiths, and I still recall fondly the first time I saw it at UVA.”
—Teresa Green Cooper (Darden class of ’86)
—Zola Price (Col class of ’21)
“O Brother, Where Art Thou? at the Alderman Theatre. I have fond memories of the discount movies there and that wild black-and-white floor tile!”
—Meghan Hewitt Castner (Col class of ’04)
“The Graduate. I remember hiking downtown with some fraternity brothers to see it at the Paramount, and then going back a few days later, probably the first time I ever did that. It became the iconic film of our generation.”
—Roger Wiley (Col class of ’67)
“Monty Python and the Holy Grail—shown on a big sheet in the Lile-Maupin arena the weekend before classes started, with some UVA-provided libations.”
—Tom Cook (Comm ’81)
—Eric Cunningham (Col class of ’06)
—Peyton Clark (Col class of ’72)
“I saw The English Patient at the theater at least three times while I was at UVA. That movie just took my breath away.”
—Liz Pease (Col class of ’97)
“Wait Until Dark at the Paramount Theater. Near the end of the movie, the blind heroine is being stalked by criminals in her apartment. She breaks all the light bulbs so the apartment is in complete darkness. Every light in the theater, even the EXIT signs, was turned off so that the audience was in total darkness. It was a terrifyingly wonderful movie, still one of my all-time favorites!”
—Nancy-Lee Yowell Kozub (Col class of ’68, Educ class of ’77)
“Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which I saw in Wilson Hall as an undergrad. I was spellbound by that movie.”
—Jeffrey D. Peterson (Col class of ’81)
“Pink Flamingos as the midnight show at Wilson Hall. I had already read the review discussing the good, bad, and social statements made by the movie; it lived up to that review. It rings more true today.”
—LeRoy Southmayd III (Col class of ’77)
—Anthony Corso (Col class of ’19)
—Dan T. Russler (Col class of ’58)
“Jojo Rabbit in Culbreth Theater as part of the Virginia Film Festival in 2019. It was an absolutely phenomenal experience. The film beautifully constructed a thoughtful satire on World War II, all while keeping the audience bursting with laughter.”
—Devin Gardner (Engr class of ’22)
“The Princess Bride, on a VCR in the suite lounge.”
—Matt Crudello (Comm ’96)
“Austin Powers, of course! Could anything be funnier to the college-age mind?”
—Stephanie De Falco (Col class of ’00)
