In celebration of what would have been the 70th birthday of the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, NCM Fathom Events and Rhino Entertainment will present "A Birthday Celebration: The Grateful Dead Movie Event" on Wednesday, August 1 at 7 p.m. local time, at a number of Utah theaters.
During this special in-theater gathering, fans will be treated to the 1977 cinematic concert film "The Grateful Dead Movie," as well as a special birthday commemoration on Garcia directed by Justin Kreutzmann featuring the Dead’s Bob Weir and other surprise guests.
Tickets for "A Birthday Celebration: The Grateful Dead Movie Event" are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.fathomevents.com. For a complete list of theater locations and prices, visit the NCM Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).
Excerpts from a press release:
The pre-show birthday commemoration features Weir and other luminaries reflecting on Garcia and also gives fans an inside look at Weir’s new state-of-the-art multimedia studio, the Tamalpais Research Institute (TRI). Audiences will also see a slideshow of rare photos of the band set to a previously unreleased live track.
"Bringing ‘The Grateful Dead Movie’ back to U.S. cinemas is the ultimate way for Dead fans to celebrate Garcia’s 70th birthday," said Shelly Maxwell, executive vice president of NCM Fathom Events. "This one-night event will allow fans to gather at their local theaters to honor Garcia as they once again experience the music that made him a legend."
This one-night event will be broadcast to more than 450 select movie theaters across the country through NCM’s exclusive Digital Broadcast Network. NCM Fathom Events and Rhino Entertainment recently teamed up for the highly successful cinema presentation of "Grateful Dead Second Annual Meet-Up At The Movies 2012" in April of this year, as well as "The Grateful Dead Movie Event" in April of 2011.
Recorded more than 35-years ago under the direction of Garcia and co-directed by Leon Gast, "The Grateful Dead Movie" was shot in October 1974 at the Winterland Arena in San Francisco prior to the Grateful Dead taking a two-year sabbatical. Debuting at the Ziegfeld theatre in New York City on June 1, 1977, it chronicles several different facets of the original Dead Head phenomena and includes band performances of "U.S. Blues," "One More Saturday Night," "Casey Jones," "Playing in the Band" and "Sugar Magnolia," among other Dead classics. "The Grateful Dead Movie" has become an iconic staple of popular culture for Dead Heads.
