Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

"Invention, my dear friends, is 93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation, and 2% butterscotch ripple." And what an invention is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, director Mel Stuart’s wonderful screen version of author Roald Dahl’s beloved fantasy (Dahl also wrote the script).   One of the most quotable, memorable and magical films of all time, Willy Wonka (not to be confused with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Tim Burton’s 2005 version) is simultaneously a celebration of life and a moralistic fable that’s as everlasting as one of Wonka’s patented secret gobstoppers.  Imagine being free to test and taste all that is gooey, chocolaty, and candy-sweet with the world’s greatest confection inventor! Such is the exciting fate of Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum), who finds one of the five coveted Golden Tickets that win passage into Willy Wonka’s wonderland of a chocolate factory. With Grandpa Joe in tow (Jack Albertson), Charlie and the other young winners embark on their thrilling tour — all the while being tested for what is surely the best prize of all...Gene Wilder’s legendary performance in the title role is possibly the most incredible part of the film. Join Pacific Cinémathèque for this visually extravagant journey into a world of pure imagination. Colour, 35mm, 100 mins.