Experience Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 at the Dryden Theatre June 20 and 21

The documentary showcases the pivotal game while integrating sociopolitical differences of the late 60s

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Relive the moment when Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 at the Rochester premiere of this critically acclaimed film at the Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House 8 p.m. Saturday, June 20 and 7 p.m. Sunday, June 21. More than just football, the featured Harvard vs. Yale game of 1968, in retrospect, was a major cultural and political event that somehow involved the Vietnam War, the beginnings of the comic strip “Doonesbury,” both presidential candidates from the 2000 election, and even Meryl Streep.

Late in the eventful year of 1968, Ivy League football teams Harvard and Yale, both undefeated that season, met in Cambridge for one of the most famous games in history. Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 (Kevin Rafferty US 2008, 106 min., Digital Projection) features testimonials from the original players — including Harvard’s offensive lineman, Tommy Lee Jones — that resonate societal influences that overshadowed the game.

“What makes the movie so effective is that Rafferty uses game footage instead of interspersing the movie with clichéd scenes of Vietnam protests, campus mayhem, etc.,” said San Francisco Chronicle. “The effective use of this footage builds suspense, even though we know the result.”

The Baltimore Sun called the film “Uproarious, moving and thrilling.”

Admission to each screening is $7 general admission and $5 members and students. Complete listings and information for Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 can be found at dryden.eastmanhouse.org. The Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House is located at 900 East Ave., Rochester.