| Buffalo is full of people helping to cultivate cinema and we want to celebrate those involved. The Cultivators is a new monthly feature in which we highlight individuals who are integral to the presentation, promotion and production of film here in the queen city.
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| THE CULTIVATORS #009 | ||||||||||
| RAY BARKER | ||||||||||
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Programming Director at North Park Theatre
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| QUESTIONS & ANSWERS | ||||||||||
I have been going to the movies since I was five years old, so I guess my love of movies has been pretty spontaneous. However, from the age of 8 to 13, I lived in a small town that had a neighborhood movie theatre within walking distance of my home and I saw SO many movies that came to town. I guess the love of film is something that gets in your blood. I have never stopped going to the movies.
Standing on the North Park Theatre stage in March 2014 (right before we re-opened) and looking out at the beautiful restoration work that had been done over the previous ten months, I felt some satisfaction that I was part of the group that had saved the most beautiful movie theatre in Buffalo and that it would be around for generations to come.
Although I was born in Buffalo, I have lived all over. I returned to Buffalo to complete a Ph.D. in History at the University of Buffalo and have been fortunate enough to be able to stay. Buffalo is a wonderful city and I enjoy living here.
While living in Memphis, I discovered the amazing steamed slider from Krystal, a fast-food chain. I am amazed that Buffalo has never had a Krystal or a White Castle Restaurant, so I’d like to see that come to town some day. The Buffalo News just reported that Chick-fil-A is coming, so you never know. But seriously, what I most want to see is more young adults able to get good jobs in Buffalo so that they can stay and be part of our resurgence as a city. I would like to see more young families be able to raise their children in Buffalo.
• Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life by Ray Harryhausen & Tony Dalton (2004)
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| TOP TEN FILMS | ||||||||||
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 #01 – The Man Who Would Be King [1975], directed by John Huston#02 – The Great Escape [1963], directed by John Sturges#03 – The Bridge on the River Kwai [1957], directed by David Lean#04 – Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope [1977], directed by George Lucas#05 – Seven Samurai [1954], directed by Akira Kurosawa#06 – Cinema Paradiso [1988], directed by Giuseppe Tornatore#07 – Mediterraneo [1991], directed by Gabriele Salvatores#08 – Dr. Strangelove [1964], directed by Stanley Kubrick#09 – The Godfather [1972], directed by Francis Ford Coppola#10 – Macross: Do You Remember Love? [1984], directed by Ishiguro & Kawamori |
Photo of Ray Barker supplied by subject.
