Classic movies in H-Town: ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre,’ ‘Urban Cowboy,’ ‘Casablanca’ and more

CIRCA 1980: Actor John Travolta and Debra Winger talk in a scene during the Paramount Pictures movie 'Urban Cowboy" circa 1980. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) (Hulton Archive, 2014 Getty Images)

Here’s a list of classic movies and cult favorites playing at Houston theaters this month.

“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”

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Saturday, Aug. 6 | 11:15 p.m.

“When Sally hears that her grandfather’s grave may have been vandalized, she and her paraplegic brother, Franklin, set out with their friends to investigate. After a detour to their family’s old farmhouse, they discover a group of crazed, murderous outcasts living next door. As the group is attacked one by one by the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface, who wears a mask of human skin, the survivors must do everything they can to escape.”

📍 Rooftop Cinema Club Uptown, 1700 Post Oak Blvd, Houston, TX 77056

💻 rooftopcinemaclub.com


“A Hard Day’s Night”

Saturday, Aug. 6 | 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

“Meet the Beatles! Just one month after they exploded onto the U.S. scene with their Ed Sullivan Show appearance, John, Paul, George, and Ringo began working on a project that would bring their revolutionary talent to the big screen. This film, in which the bandmates play slapstick versions of themselves, captured the astonishing moment when they officially became the singular, irreverent idols of their generation and changed music forever. Directed with raucous, anything-goes verve by Richard Lester (The Knack . . . and How to Get It) and featuring a slew of iconic pop anthems—including the title track, “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “I Should Have Known Better,” and “If I Fell”—A Hard Day’s Night, which reconceived the movie musical and exerted an incalculable influence on the music video, is one of the most deliriously entertaining movies of all time.”

📍 14 Pews, 800 Aurora St, Houston, TX 77009

💻 14pews.org


“Casablanca”

Sunday, Aug. 7 | 7:30 p.m.

“In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.”

📍 Rooftop Cinema Club Uptown, 1700 Post Oak Blvd, Houston, TX 77056

💻 rooftopcinemaclub.com


“The Silence of the Lambs”

Tuesday, Aug. 9 | 10:45 p.m.

“Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI’s training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.”

📍 Rooftop Cinema Club Uptown, 1700 Post Oak Blvd, Houston, TX 77056

💻 rooftopcinemaclub.com


“Clueless”

Wednesday, Aug. 10 | 7:30 p.m.

“A rich high school student tries to boost a new pupil’s popularity, but reckons without affairs of the heart getting in the way.”

📍 Rooftop Cinema Club Uptown, 1700 Post Oak Blvd, Houston, TX 77056

💻 rooftopcinemaclub.com


“Pulp Fiction”

Friday, Aug. 12 | 10 p.m.

“A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster’s moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories of violence and redemption.”

📍 Rooftop Cinema Club Uptown, 1700 Post Oak Blvd, Houston, TX 77056

💻 rooftopcinemaclub.com


“A League of Their Own”

Saturday, Aug. 13 | 2 p.m. - 4:16 p.m.

“As young men head to fight in World War II, a publicity-hungry tycoon (Garry Marshall) funds an all-female pro baseball league and hires a grumpy has-been coach (Tom Hanks) as a manager. Two sisters (Geena Davis and Lori Petty) join the team and struggle to help it succeed amidst their own growing rivalry. The cast of A League of Their Own also includes Madonna and Rosie O’Donnell.”

📍 Brown Auditorium Theater, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet St, Houston, TX 77005

💻 www.mfah.org


“Menace II Society”

Tuesday, Aug. 16 | 10 p.m.

“A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.”

📍 Rooftop Cinema Club Uptown, 1700 Post Oak Blvd, Houston, TX 77056

💻 rooftopcinemaclub.com


“Dirty Dancing”

Thursday, Aug. 18 | 7:30 p.m.

“Nobody puts baby in a corner. And, if they do - she dances right out of it. Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey star as Baby and Johnny, the two young lovers from different worlds who find romance and dance one fateful summer at Kellerman’s Resort.”

📍 Rooftop Cinema Club Uptown, 1700 Post Oak Blvd, Houston, TX 77056

💻 rooftopcinemaclub.com


“Don’t Look Back”

Saturday, Aug. 20 | 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

“Bob Dylan is captured on-screen as he never would be again in this groundbreaking film from D. A. Pennebaker. The legendary documentarian finds Dylan in England during his 1965 tour, which would be his last as an acoustic artist. In this wildly entertaining vision of one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists, Dylan is surrounded by teen fans, gets into heated philosophical jousts with journalists, and kicks back with fellow musicians Joan Baez, Donovan, and Alan Price. Featuring some of Dylan’s most famous songs, including “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” and “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” Dont Look Backis a radically conceived portrait of an American icon that has influenced decades of vérité behind-the-scenes documentaries.”

📍 14 Pews, 800 Aurora St, Houston, TX 77009

💻 14pews.org


“Scary Movie”

Saturday, Aug. 20 | 11:15 p.m.

“Following on the heels of popular teen-scream horror movies, with uproarious comedy and biting satire. Marlon and Shawn Wayans, Shannon Elizabeth and Carmen Electra pitch in to skewer some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters.”

📍 Rooftop Cinema Club Uptown, 1700 Post Oak Blvd, Houston, TX 77056

💻 rooftopcinemaclub.com


“Urban Cowboy”

Sunday, Aug. 21 | 7:30 p.m.

“After moving to Pasadena, Texas, country boy Bud Davis starts hanging around a bar called Gilley’s, where he falls in love with Sissy, a cowgirl who believes the sexes are equal. They eventually marry, but their relationship is turbulent due to Bud’s traditional view of gender roles. Jealousy over his rival leads to their separation, but Bud attempts to win Sissy back by triumphing at Gilley’s mechanical bull-riding competition.”

📍 Rooftop Cinema Club Uptown, 1700 Post Oak Blvd, Houston, TX 77056

💻 rooftopcinemaclub.com


“Monty Python and the Holy Grail”

Friday, Aug. 26, Saturday, Aug. 27, Sunday Aug. 28

“King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table embark on a surreal, satirical search for the Holy Grail, encountering many silly obstacles along the way. The comedic quest played out in Monty Python and the Holy Grail has kept audiences around the world laughing for almost 50 years. Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin star.”

📍 Brown Auditorium Theater, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet St, Houston, TX 77005

💻 mfah.org


“The Big Lebowski”

Tuesday, Aug. 30 | 10:15 p.m.

“Jeffrey ‘The Dude’ Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker who only wants to bowl and drink White Russians, is mistaken for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a wheelchair-bound millionaire, and finds himself dragged into a strange series of events involving nihilists, adult film producers, ferrets, errant toes, and large sums of money.”

📍 Rooftop Cinema Club Uptown, 1700 Post Oak Blvd, Houston, TX 77056

💻 rooftopcinemaclub.com


“Grease”: Sing-a-long

Wednesday, Aug. 31 | 7:30 p.m.

“Good girl Sandy and greaser Danny fell in love over the summer. When they unexpectedly discover they’re now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance?”

📍 Rooftop Cinema Club Uptown, 1700 Post Oak Blvd, Houston, TX 77056

💻 rooftopcinemaclub.com

Searching for more things to do this month? Browse our community calendar.


About the Author

Briana Zamora-Nipper joined the KPRC 2 digital team in 2019. When she’s not hard at work in the KPRC 2 newsroom, you can find Bri drinking away her hard earned wages at JuiceLand, running around Hermann Park, listening to crime podcasts or ransacking the magazine stand at Barnes & Noble.