"Trouble in Paradise" with Author David Weir at Starr Cinema

Upstate Films presents a special screening of Ernst Lubitsch's "Trouble in Paradise" with author David Weir. In his new book on the film, Weir explores the significance of Lubitsch’s film within his prolific career and the history of cinema, as well as the social context of its release during the Great Depression.

About the film: When Gaston, a thief (Herbert Marshall), and his partner Lily, a pickpocket (Miriam Hopkins), decide to pull a scam on Mariette (Kay Francis), who runs a perfume factory. Errant love, sharp social satire and crossed loyalties ensue, and with his famed “Lubitsch touch,” the director makes it feel sweet, urgent, joyful and much more moving than you might expect.

About the author: David Weir is a Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature at the Cooper Union in New York City, where he taught literature, linguistics and cinema. Interested in the relationship of cinema to the culture of decadence, he's published three books on the subject, as well as books on orientalism, anarchism, Jean Vigo, James Joyce and William Blake. His current project, a book on Ernst Lubitsch’s Ernst Lubitsch's "Trouble in Paradise," is published by BFI’s Film Classics. He now lives in the Hudson Valley, where he spends his time writing, fly fishing and drinking wine.