The Age of Innocence

Friday, August 25 - Thursday, September 7, 2023

30th Anniversary Engagement! 4K Restoration!  

“The most underrated and underseen of Scorsese’s major works.” – Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, The A.V. Club

The Gilded Age has never looked more sumptuous–or more fraught–than in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed adaptation of Edith Wharton’s classic American novel. Showing for a special 30th anniversary run in a gorgeous 4K digital restoration, created from scans of the original negative, with the audio remastered to filmmaker-approved 5.1, the director’s reimagining of Wharton’s tale of unexpected passion among the upper crust of 19th-century New York society remains one of his greatest films.

In the upper echelons of 1870s New York, high-minded young lawyer Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) is being groomed to wed the impeccably suitable May Welland (Winona Ryder, nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the role). But then her cousin Ellen (Michelle Pfeiffer) returns to town abruptly, having fled a “dissolute” European husband and trailing scandal in her wake. Dispatched to persuade Ellen to give up her intention to divorce, Archer finds himself falling deeply in love with her instead, throwing everything he’s ever known into jeopardy.

The first credited screenplay collaboration between Scorsese and Jay Cocks (Gangs of New York, Silence), THE AGE OF INNOCENCE was shot by the late Michael Ballhaus (also DP on Scorsese’s Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, The Departed and more, not to mention numerous films of Rainer Werner Fassbinder and many, many others) and was cut by Scorsese’s longtime editor, Oscar-winner Thelma Schoonmaker. The cast also includes such notable actors as Geraldine Chaplin, Richard E. Grant, Robert Sean Leonard, Miriam Margolyes and Jonathan Pryce. The film features a score by Elmer Bernstein.

“A gorgeously uncharacteristic Scorsese film… It’s a robust gamble that pays off.” – Vincent Canby, The New York Times

“Scorsese calls it his most violent film, I call it a stunning hybrid of a fish out of water rom com and a high fashion period piece. After spending an entire semester in college on just this film and writing an eight page paper on the topic of Madam Oleska’s arrival to New York City, I found myself simply enamored with the layers of storytelling. Come for Wynonna Ryder, Michelle Pfeiffer and Daniel Day Lewis, stay for a rewatch (or two) to catch all those little details. Also if you want to read said eight page paper written by sophomore Rae, save the time and just watch the film again.”

 —Staff Pick by Rae F., Assistant Manager.

 

 Screening as part of our series Staff Picks Summer-Fall 2023.

 

• Country USA
• Year 1993
• Running Time 139 minutes
• Format DCP
• Distributor Sony
• Director Martin Scorsese
• Cast Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder
• Accessibility Assistive Listening, T-Coil

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.