George Christensen -or, George the Cyclist- is the ultimate cycling enthusiast as he has conducted extensive “cylcotours” throughout the world. He’s also an independent film enthusiast, attending or working at several major film festivals annually, including Telluride and Cannes. On his blog (supported by Jeff Potter) you can read about his many cycling adventures worldwide, as well the outdoor movies he encounters on his way. While cycling through Paris, France, he found an outdoor film series featuring classic movies. The following is his account of the outdoor cinema screenings:

I arrived in Paris with hours to spare before the night’s outdoor movie at the park by the Museé de la Musique on the outskirts of the city off Avenue Jean Jaures on the way to the airport and my wild campsite. It wasn’t dark enough at the open air cinema until 10:30 to start the program. The movie was “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” from 2005 starring Johnny Deep. Of the 35 films on the eclectic summer schedule it was the most mainstream and one of only three movies from the last ten years. It wasn’t exactly a classic, as most on the schedule, but I didn’t mind at all watching Tim Burton’s fantasy extravaganza featuring song and dance numbers by Munchkin-type characters wearing suits. The French subtitles increased my vocabulary by a word or two.

George the Cyclist -Photo Credit: Jim Newberry, Chicago Reader

This was the 18th year of these outdoor movies in Paris, but a sign of the times was that for the first time admission was being charged–two euros. The lawn was still as packed as a year ago when I saw Steinbeck’s “East of Eden” before my return to Chicago. The only difference was that there were less than 100 bikes in the valet parking area, compared to a couple hundred last year. Could be more people are locking their bikes to avoid the long wait to get their bike back as the bike appeared to be as popular as a year ago when the much acclaimed rental bike program was inaugurated. There were considerably more available for rent this year, many of the new outlets taking up former car parking. Ben and Jerry’s is the chief sponsor of the outdoor movies. On three Friday nights of triple features they are giving away ice cream. One of the triple features is the Godfather series. Since each is nearly three hours long, the program will barely finish before dawn’s light. A trio of Eastwood pictures is another and three by Almodovar is the third of the Friday triple outdoor film feature.

Source: George’s Cyclotouring Blog: http://georgethecyclist.blogspot.com/2008/07/paris-ville-arrive.html