Jaws bursts onto silver screen

A trio of free, iconic films screen this weekend in the Library of Congress Packard Campus Theater on Mount Pony.

Now would be a good time to get out of the water.

The Friday Night Foreign, showing at 7:30, is Akira Kurosawa’s “The Seven Samurai” from 1954 — in Japanese with subtitles. The Oscar-nominated flick set in 16th century Japan follows the heroic escapades of seven warriors dispatched to defend a village from bandits.

Black and white, 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Saturday presents two opportunities for viewing enjoyment on Mount Pony starting with Elvis Presley in “Loving You” (Paramount, 1957) at 2 p.m. No, it never won an Oscar, but The King is only 22 and super fine in this flick about a delivery boy who happens to have a really good voice. Elvis has still got a whole lot of living left to do in “Loving You” and he’s on the way to the top. Look for Elvis’ parents, Vernon and Gladys in the audience at the Grand Theater.

In Technicolor, 1 hour 41 minutes.

Who can believe it’s been 34 years since Steven Spielberg first incited mass frenzy and fear of the great white with “Jaws” (Universal, 1975)? And who can believe the killer shark flick won three Oscars? It did — for best film editing, original score and sound. Jack Nicholson’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” however, beat it out for best picture. There’s blood in the water Saturday night in the Packard Campus Theater. “Jaws” shows at 7:30, running two hours and four minutes.
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Coming soon
-June 19, 7:30 p.m. “The Seven Samurai” (1954, Columbia, subtitled)

-June 20, 2 p.m. “Loving You” (1957, Paramount)

-June 20, 7:30 p.m. “Jaws” (1975, Universal)

-June 23, 7 p.m. Three from TV: “China Beach” (1988, ABC), “M*A*S*H” (1972, CBS) and “The 20th Century: Woman Doctor in Vietnam” (1988, CBS)

-June 26, 7:30 p.m. “Jailhouse Rock” (1957, MGM)

-June 27, 7:30 p.m. “Clash of the Wolves” (1925, Warner Bros.)

-June 30, 7 p.m., “The Birds” (1963, Universal)
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Make your reservations Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. one week in advance of each show at (540) 827-1079 ext. 79994.

—Allison Brophy Champion