Arthur Penn (1922–) is a true legend of the American cinema. From the 1950s through the 1970s Penn forged a unique place for himself within Hollywood through a series of intense and brilliant films that helped revitalize studio filmmaking and reconnect with lost audiences. Penn's discovery of a new artistic freedom within the commercial industry effectively paved the way for the auteurist cinema defined in the 1970s by Coppola, Friedkin, Scorcese, et al. While retaining a deep concern for quintessentially American themes, Penn also explored a mode of vividly stylized cinema in works such as Mickey One and The Chase that engaged in a crucial dialogue with the French New Wave. Balanced with Penn's frequent use of overt, almost overripe symbols is his keen sensitivity to the violence endemic throughout American history and society. Penn's boldest masterpieces such as The Chase, Bonnie and Clyde, Night Moves and Little Big Man were not only critically and, at times, commercially successful films but also landmark cultural events – films that gave an unwavering voice to the zeitgeist of a traumatized nation and the rise and fall of the counter-cultural movement.

A preternaturally talented and intelligent director, Penn has also proven himself on the stage and in television, fields where he remains an acknowledged master, especially for his ability to elicit pitch-perfect yet always surprising performances. One-time advisor to John F. Kennedy for his crucial television debate with Richard Nixon and later head of the Actor's Studio, Penn's uncanny ability with actors is proven by the electric and career-defining performances from Marlon Brando, Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Anne Bancroft, Paul Newman and Gene Hackman that run throughout Penn's cinema.

Like so many of our greatest directors, Penn's profound and lasting contribution to the American cinema has not been fully acknowledged by critics or historians. This retrospective is a rare opportunity to view Penn's master works and reconsider his important legacy as one of America's most gifted and influential filmmakers. The Harvard Film Archive is deeply honored that Arthur Penn has generously accepted our invitation to present his work and join us for a rare dialogue about his films and career.