Movies in the park: Outdoor screenings in New York City

Celebrate Brooklyn!

• Price band: 1/4
• Critics choice

The Slope's summer series boasts a trio of festive, music-minded screenings, including Saturday Night Fever (July 14), which kicks off with a set by heavy-metal Bee Gees tribute act Tragedy, and a massive sing-along to The Muppet Movie (July 28).

Central Park Conservancy Film Festival

• Free

This seasonal fave, which takes over the area just north of Sheep Meadow for five straight nights, marks its tenth year in August. Stoner-comedy fans shouldn’t miss quotable-as-hell classics like Tim Burton’s Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (Aug 22) and the Coen brothers’ The Big Lebowski (Aug 23). Less lighthearted fare comes courtesy of Spike Lee’s incendiary portrait of ’80s Bed-Stuy, Do the Right Thing (Aug 21). No matter your cinematic bent, sitting in the leafy environs of New York’s backyard is universally appealing. • (212-310-6600, centralparknyc.org/filmfestival).

Films on the Green Festival

• Free

Convene with French cinephiles at these viewings, which set up shop in Washington Square Park, Tompkins Square Park and other locales. This year's installment screens essentials like François Truffaut’s Jules and Jim (Sept 6), as well as more modern fare like Persepolis (July 13) • fiaf.org

HBO-Bryant Park Summer Film Festival

• Rated as: 4/5
• Critics choice
• Free

As with years past, the lineup for this Monday-
night staple (celebrating its 20th season) is stellar, running the gamut from black-and-white classics—The Maltese Falcon (Mon 23), All About Eve (Aug 13)—to big-budget spectacles such as Raiders of the Lost Ark (Aug 20). The novelty of watching a movie while surrounded by midtown’s hustle and bustle makes these screenings a huge draw, so arrive before the gates open: Blanket-toting New Yorkers are known to storm the lawn at 5pm sharp like hyper tweens vying for the front row at a Bieber concert. • (212-512-5700, bryantpark.org).

Intrepid Summer Movie Series

• Price band: 2/4

The sea, air and space museum projects adventure flicks such as Star Trek (July 20), Jurassic Park (Aug 30) and The Goonies (Aug 17) on select Fridays.

Movie Night at Narrows Botanical Garden

• Free

Enjoy Bride of Frankenstein (June 29), Forbidden Planet (Sept 9) and other flicks amid flowery fields at these biweekly Friday screenings.

Movie Nights on the Elevated Acre

• Price band: 1/4
• Free

The River to River series teams up with Tribeca Film to screen some of the company’s recent acquisitions—Stella Days (June 18), Collaborator (June 25), The Runway (July 2) and Side by Side (July 9). Don’t miss the latter; the documentary about Hollywood’s switch from film to digital formats was one of our ten favorite movies at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. Show up early to nab a spot on the lawn and catch a short film before the screening. • rivertorivernyc.com

RiverFlicks for Grown-Ups

Your principled stand against multiplex ticket prices is admirable, but if you give us one more confused look when we say “I’m not even confident on which end that came out of,” we can no longer be friends. School yourself on 2011’s Hollywood hits at RiverFlick’s Wednesday night programming (Fridays are for kids), that front-loads the schedule, beginning with Moneyball (July 11), Super 8 (July 18) and Bridesmaids (July 25). Now you’re up to speed, keep pace with our guide to 30 essential summer movies. • hudsonriverpark.org

Rooftop Films

• Free

This series hosts more than 200 summer screenings in cool outdoor locations—rooftops, yes, but also parks and beaches—and distinguishes itself from other alfresco fests by focusing largely on new, under-the-radar offerings. Catch some 19 shorts (including one by Isabella Rossellini) at the Animation Block Party (Automotive High School, 50 Bedford Ave between Lorimer and North 12th Sts, Greenpoint, Brooklyn; Fri 27 at 8pm; $12). See Grandma Lo-Fi (Old American Can Factory, 232 3rd St at Third Ave, Gowanus, Brooklyn; Sat 28 at 8pm; $12) atop a unique multipurpose space. The doc follows eccentric Icelandic musician Sigríður Níelsdóttir, who started recording tunes in her seventies. Locations, times and prices vary; visit rooftopfilms.com for more information.

Summerscreen

• Free

Fitting for its hipster-heavy crowd (and locale, in McCarren Park just south of the tennis courts), this series programs ironic choices—Dirty Dancing (Wed 25) and Top Gun (Aug 8)—alongside tried-and-true comedies including The Princess Bride (Wed 1). Before each screening, a local band plays a short set. It’s a casual good time, during which folks are more likely to be sipping PBR tall boys than vino—but be warned: You’re essentially sitting on a concrete playground. Thick blankets are your friends. • (718-596-3462, summerscreen.org).

SummerStage

• Free

Catch a flick and a concert during a handful of SummerStage’s alfresco shindigs, such as Rwanda-set drama Africa United and soulsters Shine and the Moonbeams (July 29), and sports doc Doin’ It in the Park: Pick-Up Basketball, NYC and Puerto Rican outfit Yerbabuena (Aug 12). • cityparksfoundation.org

Syfy Movies with a View at Brooklyn Bridge Park

• Critics choice
• Free

What a backdrop! The sweeping, panoramic and (dare we say) cinematic views of lower Manhattan make hitting this Brooklyn series a seasonal must. But Syfy’s diverse lineup isn’t anything to scoff at either. The brilliantly goofy cult flick Wet Hot American Summer (Aug 2), Clint Eastwood Western Unforgiven (Aug 23) and essential bit of ’90s nostalgia Clueless (Thu 26) are all on the docket. Arrive early to claim a spot and catch a prescreening short and DJ set. • (718-802-0603, brooklynbridgepark.org).