A father and a daughter take over a movie theater on 35th Avenue for the rest of the winter. Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria opens The Minnellis, a retrospective of the films of director Vincente Minnelli and his daughter, performer Liza Minnelli, on Friday, November 13, and runs it through Sunday, January 24, 2027. The museum lists more than 30 screenings in the series, and it was produced in collaboration with Liza Minnelli herself and the Vincente Minnelli estate.

Opening night is Cabaret, on film

The series starts at 7 p.m. on November 13 with Cabaret, Bob Fosse's 1972 musical set in a Berlin nightclub on the eve of Hitler's rise, shown on a 35mm print in the museum's Redstone Theater. It runs 124 minutes. Fosse won the Academy Award for Best Director for it, and Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey both won Oscars for their roles as the singer Sally Bowles and the club's emcee. The screening is also part of the museum's Song & Dance program.

Two careers, one program

The museum frames the series around how far each of them ranged. Vincente Minnelli started as a department store window dresser and theater costume designer in Chicago, became musical director at Radio City Music Hall in New York, then went to Hollywood to direct musicals at MGM and later dramas and comedies. Liza Minnelli grew up in the business as the daughter of Vincente and Judy Garland and built a stage and screen career in both comedy and drama.

The first weekend moves quickly through that range. Some Came Running plays Saturday, November 14, at 1 p.m. On Sunday, November 15, The Long, Long Trailer, the Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz road comedy, plays at 12:30 p.m., followed by The Cobweb at 4 p.m.

What else is on the schedule

Families get two chances at The Muppets Take Manhattan, paired with Liza Minnelli's episode of The Muppet Show, at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 21, and Sunday, November 22. Gigi follows on November 22 at 3:30 p.m. Thanksgiving weekend brings Bells Are Ringing (Friday, November 27), Father of the Bride and An American in Paris (Saturday, November 28) and Brigadoon and Arthur (Sunday, November 29).

December has New York, New York on Friday, December 4, The Band Wagon on Saturday, December 5, and Meet Me in St. Louis on Saturday, December 19. Film historian Karina Longworth introduces two screenings: The Clock on Saturday, December 12, at 4 p.m., and The Sandpiper, which closes the series on Sunday, January 24, at 2 p.m. A Liza double feature of Liza with a Z and The Sterile Cuckoo plays Sunday, December 20, and the January run includes The Bad and the Beautiful, Lust for Life and The Courtship of Eddie's Father.

The Minnellis overlaps with two other series at the museum this season: a complete Stanley Kubrick retrospective running through December 27, and James Gray's New York, a program of New York films picked by the director, from November 7 to 22.

Tickets and getting there

Screening tickets are $17.50, $12 for seniors and students, $10 for youth, and free for museum members, with a $1.50 fee per ticket on online orders. Seating is general admission, and online tickets are picked up at the admissions desk. The museum is at 36-01 35th Avenue in Astoria, a short walk from the Steinway Street station on the M and R lines. The full schedule and tickets are on the museum's website.

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