Buffalo Film Seminars: A community ‘scene,’ as well as a class

The vintage Amherst Theater lobby is packed and noisy. The line waiting to get a ticket for the latest show — tonight’s feature is the Hitchcock classic “Notorious” — fills the waiting area and stretches to the doors. Regulars greet each other with hugs and smiles. Conscientious movie employees gallantly try to accommodate the crowds, trying to make themselves heard over the buzz of patrons.

“It’s easier to get Stones tickets,” jokes Jody Stark, one self-described “groupie” waiting to enter the long hallway leading to the theater.

The Buffalo Film Seminars — the brainchild of these two venerable and loved UB professors — is now a happening, a gathering spot for the class of 32 enrolled in ENG 438, along with four or five times as many followers.

Christian, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of English, and Jackson, SUNY Distinguished Professor and James Agee Professor of American Culture in the English department, seem more like beloved party hosts than remote university lecturers. In understated fashion, Jackson admits the series is enjoying “a growing awareness.”

“The evening begins in the lobby,” says Jackson. “One of the things I often point out is in a classic movie theater you don’t go directly into the theater. You come off the street into a lobby and then maybe go down a corridor to a door to the screening room. And that’s the case here. It’s kind of a psychological transition coming into the place. It’s a different mind place.”

“A growing awareness” seems insufficient to describe the energy and chemistry of this edition of the seminars. Tuesday nights at the Amherst are happenings, events. It’s like a big party going on — what used to be called “a scene” — all around these classic films and the people they attract. Before the start of “Notorious,” Jackson jumped behind the counter to help general manager Rich DiSalvo as he tried to accommodate the overflow crowd waiting to get into the theater.

At the door where tickets were collected stood the striking presence of statuesque Andi Coulter, the 6-foot-tall teaching assistant for the film seminars, who handles the microphone for questions from the audience in the post-film discussion. Coulter calls herself the Vanna White of the Buffalo Film Seminars and dresses to suit the movies.

“I am thinking of starting a BFS Instagram for pictures of the talks and maybe my sartorial choices,” says Coulter, who says she moved back to Buffalo from Washington, D.C., to be a part of the series. “Forties film noir is my favorite period to wear.”

Coulter joins Christian — a former nun — who also chooses her wardrobe for the evening based on the films.

“I never acknowledged dressing for the film for the first 14 years,” says Christian. “Probably comes from Catholic liturgical imprint. It marks a livingness to the scene.”

One more thing: Tuesdays are bargain days at the theater. Popcorn and drinks are half-price, about what you would pay at a convenience store.

Those early or lucky enough to get tickets walk down the long theater corridor with its black carpeted walls and red overhead lights to that big, beautiful throwback movie screen. They sit in the recently installed reclining seats reading the now-famous “goldenrod handouts” giving students and the “flock” copious notes on the film, actors and director, providing such background as awards and film credits.

This allows Christian and Jackson time to devote the pre- and post-film discussion to more integrated subjects. They introduce what could be Hitchcock’s most famous film. Eventually the lights go down, and on that massive screen appears a well-defined, way-larger-than-life image of Ingrid Bergman walking into a courtroom wearing a hat and defining the word “star power” and the timeless power of beauty.

There is a synergy in the Amherst Theater. It’s a place where young people taking ENG 438 mix with retired UB administrators, such as SUNY Distinguished Service Professor Claude Welch, or retired U.S. congressman John J. LaFalce. It’s where the university’s academic state of mind merges with the community. Coulter calls it a “town hall of art,” a place where “worlds can converge in wonderful and productive ways.”

It’s also an unmistakable attraction for a Buffalo resurgence. Buffalo residents can take visitors there for an evening of fun and education, all revolving around a love and appreciation of proven film art. It’s like something out of Greenwich Village, just a lot less expensive.

And the only thing as great as the BFS faithful’s love and appreciation of film is their love and appreciation of Jackson and Christian. They go to great lengths, waxing poetic to show the depth of that appreciation. When told of this story, many of them sent detailed and emotional emails on why the Buffalo Film Seminars matter to them:

• “The discussions after the screenings never fail to enlighten and provoke reflection. I sometimes find myself thinking about the film and accompanying commentary and discussion for days after the screening,” wrote Leslie Boldt, professor in the Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures Department at Brock University in Ontario.
• “I used to wish that someone would have taped their presentations for future students to enjoy,” wrote Robert Mampe, a retired engineer with an English literature degree. “But it would have taken away from the fact I was privileged to see something live of such quality, never to be rebroadcast. Since that first time, I’ve seen more than 150 films in the series.”
• “I think the world of Diane and Bruce’s series,” wrote LaFalce, who says he goes about twice a month — “not often enough.” “Primarily because it gives you an opportunity to hear their perspective on the movies. There are so few discussions we have with other members of our society. That type of mental interaction and social dynamic is important.”