On Thursday night, the Dallas Film Society continues its series of classic movies born of novels with The Grapes of Wrath. The event begins at 6:30 at the Nasher Sculpture Center with a movie chat with Gary Cogill before the film rolls at 7. After the movie, a discussion will take place.

Why should you care?

Well, you’ll have a chance during the post-film talk to watch me try and match movie brains with Dallas International Film Festival director of programming James Faust. He sees about 600 or so movies per year (yes, really), so I’m going to say “advantage James” on this one. I’m going to do my best to hold my own, though. And there is plenty to talk about – for those who have read the book and seen the film, you know that the endings are drastically different. That will certainly be a topic of our discussion, as well as fact that Grapes is what convinced James he wanted a career in film. Why Grapes? Come by Thursday night to find out.

More importantly, though, this is a chance to support repertory film in Dallas. While people still pack movie theaters to see first-run features, watching classic movies has become such a solitary experience. Part of the enjoyment of seeing a great film is discussing it with others. Series like this one offer the chance to get together with other movie buffs and talk about some of the greatest films ever made.

If all that isn’t enough, it’s free.

Hope to see you at the Nasher.