a highly-opinionated selection of things happening around town, and sometimes out of town. this month's page here.
fri. sept. 9
valley of peace, kekec @ ucla film archive
thee cormans, cyclops, cumstain @ harolds (san pedro)
the 400 blows 7:45 PM, johnny tough @ silent movie theatre
the gate MIDNIGHT @ silent movie theatre
the prize, jean gentil @ egyptian
wings of desire, faraway so close! @ new beverly
grass widow, dirt dress FREE @ burger records
cine sin fronteras 8 PM @ epfc
lucky dragons @ new original works festival week one @ redcat
bill cunningham new york 9:30 PM @ bicycle film fest @ downtown independent
sat. sept. 10
vesna, 100% slovenian @ ucla film archive
the warlocks (MIDNIGHT) @ the mint
e.t. (FREE w/ bike helmet) NOON @ lacma
the triplets of belleville (FREE w/ bike helmet) 5 PM @ lacma
upsilon acrux @ handbag factory
the usual suspects @ devil's night drive-in
king of the hill 7 PM @ silent movie theatre
silent comedy shorts program @ aero
rebel without a cause @ cinespia @ hollywood forever
wings of desire 7 PM, faraway so close! @ new beverly
cerebral ballzy FREE (RSVP, early show) @ the roxy
un lac 8 PM @ epfc
bart davenport FREE (5:00) @ permanent records
lucky dragons @ new original works festival week one @ redcat
devon williams, cold showers @ f house
sun. sept. 11
derby, max out @ ucla film archive
it's a double feature charlie brown! 6:30 PM @ silent movie theatre
castle of purity @ egyptian
the landlord, the fabulous baker boys @ aero
murder by death 3:40 7:30, the cheap detective 5:35 9:25 @ new beverly
lichens @ trash_audio synth event 10 @ downtown independent
mon. sept. 12
john wiese @ pehrspace
thief 8 PM @ arclight hollywood
tue. sept. 13
foreign correspondent FREE 1:30 PM @ skirball
wed. sept. 14
camper van beethoven @ satellite
audacity, pangea, mikal cronin band @ the smell
dunes, naomi punk @ take off!
the myth of the american sleepover, submarine @ new beverly
goldfinger FREE 7 PM @ movies on the deck @ santa monica place
little fugitive 8 PM @ silent movie theatre
rtx, crazy band @ freak city
thu. sept. 15
my childhood, my ain folk, my way home @ silent movie theatre
mr. smith goes to washington, mr. deeds goes to town @ aero
allah-las @ the roxy
the myth of the american sleepover, submarie @ new beverly
physical forms @ echoplex
julia holter scott cazan & jana papenbrock 8 PM @ epfc
back to school FREE 7 PM @ lomography gallery store
everything @ el cid
fri. sept. 16
sleepy sun @ nomad compound
idiocracy MIDNIGHT @ nuart
dance in the rain, a sand castle @ ucla film archive
the color of money, hoosiers @ aero
tremellow @ take off!
suspiria @ cinespia @ hollywood forever
films by beatrice gibson 8 PM @ epfc
a clockwork orange @ an academy salute to malcolm mcdowell @ ampas samuel goldwyn
big dick (12 AM) @ bootleg
south bay surfers (10:00) FREE @ viva cantina
sat. sept. 17
a fool there was, the unchastened woman @ egyptian
fast times at ridgemont high @ cinespia @ hollywood forever
scrappers 7 PM @ epfc
the black power mixtape 1967-1975 FREE 7 PM @ silent movie theatre
tombstone 1:30 PM @ autry museum
sun. sept. 18
zounds @ the echo
the penalty 2 PM @ alex theatre
scarface (1932) 3:05 7:30 PM, hell's angels (1930) 5:00 9:25 PM @ new beverly
stronghold of toughs, paper planes @ ucla film archive
curling, the salesman @ egyptian
the last picture show, texasville @ aero
festival of (in)appropriation @ la filmforum @ egyptian
mon. sept. 19
scarface (1932), hell's angels (1930) @ new beverly
tue. sept. 20
low @ el rey
beginners, thumbsucker @ new beverly
wed. sept. 21
dunes @ take off!
an evening with frank mouris 8 PM @ silent movie theatre
a canterbury tale @ egyptian
odds against tomorrow, he ran all the way @ new beverly
the black power mixtape 1967-1975 FREE 7 PM @ usc ray stark
inside job 7 PM, casino jack and the united states of money FREE @ ampas linwood dunn
thu. sept. 22
bleached (9:00) @ downtown la public library
the hollies: look through any window 1963-1975 @ aero
odds against tomorrow, he ran all the way @ new beverly
echoes of silence 8 PM @ epfc
the white shadow @ ampas samuel goldwyn
exit through the gift shop FREE 7 PM @ lomography gallery store
it came from kuchar, george kuchar's nyc shorts @ silent movie theatre
fri. sept. 23
the soft skin 8 PM, the woman next door @ new beverly
cria cuervos, the spirit of the beehive @ silent movie theatre
the beast within MIDNIGHT @ silent movie theatre
clean air clean stars fest @ pappy and harriet's, pioneertown
it came from kuchar, george kuchar's san francisco shorts @ silent movie theatre
sat. sept. 24
the soft skin 3:00 7:30 PM, the woman next door 5:25 9:50 PM @ new beverly
the loons FREE (2:00) @ adams ave street fair (SD)
the thing (1982), in the mouth of madness, prince of darkness @ aero
e.t. @ cinespia @ hollywood forever
the warlocks (6:00), rachel fannan (12:30 AM) @ clean air clean stars fest @ pappy and harriet's, pioneertown
becky stark FREE @ smile now cry later opening reception @ stories books & cafe
rick potts @ beyond baroque
george kuchar's nyc shorts 1:30 PM @ silent movie theatre
george kuchar's san francisco shorts 4:30 PM @ silent movie theatre
thundercrack! 7:15 PM @ silent movie theatre
fancy space people @ what cheer
sun. sept. 25
raft of the medusa 7 PM @ ucla film archive
sea lions @ echoplex
the red shoes, black narcissus @ egyptian
videos by dani leventhal @ epfc
saccharine trust (5:35), mike watt & the missingmen (7:25) FREE @ triart fest 2011 day 2 @ ports o'call village, san pedro
mon. sept. 26
gravehopping, 9:06 @ ucla film archive
city of life and death, come and see @ new beverly
chick strand: señora con flores/woman with flowers 8:30 PM @ redcat
the limey 8 PM @ arclight hollywood
only you @ one eyed gypsy
world on a wire @ silent movie theatre
tue. sept. 27
through the looking glass 8 PM @ museum of jurassic technology presents @ sony pictures cary grant theater
white magic, thurston moore @ masonic lodge @ hollywood forever
an evening with pablo ferro 8 PM @ silent movie theatre
wed. sept. 28
colossus: the forbin project @ aero
running scared 8 PM @ new beverly
self made FREE 7 PM @ hammer
thu. sept. 29
gone to earth, a matter of life and death @ egyptian
thunder soul FREE 7 PM @ usc ray stark
jon brion @ largo
white magic, thurston moore @ henry miller library (big sur)
bleached @ harvard & stone
take shelter FREE @ melnitz movies @ ucla james bridges
fri. sept. 30
wet hot american summer MIDNIGHT @ nuart
pather panchali, aparajito @ silent movie theatre
stripes, caddyshack @ egyptian
city of life and death, come and see @ new beverly
well of the beast 8 PM @ epfc
jon brion @ largo
sat. oct. 1
allah-las, etc @ eagle rock music festival
jacuzzi boys @ blue star
the world of apu 7:15 PM @ silent movie theatre
gibbons and the sluts @ the smell
the finches @ pehrspace
the loons @ eleven (SD)
thee cormans FREE 5 PM @ permanent records
the pipe 5 PM @ aero
beyond the door, creature from the black lagoon (1954, 3-D), hell night, secret movie TBA, the pit and the pendulum (1991), horror planet @ all-night horror show @ new beverly
sun. oct. 2
dum dum girls, crocodiles @ detroit bar
the finches, rats @ the smell
roscoe mitchell trio @ redcat
rick bahto & mark so: slides & sides @ the wulf
an evening with matt berry and rich fulcher of "snuff box" 7 PM @ silent movie theatre
guess who's coming to dinner, adam's rib @ egyptian
parked, the runway @ aero
mon. oct. 3
dum dum girls, crocodiles @ troubadour
bleached @ pehrspace
tue. oct. 4
jerry beck's halloween spooktacular 8 PM @ silent movie theatre
wed. oct. 5
the bat (1926) 8 PM @ silent movie theatre
north by northwest FREE 7 PM @ movies on the deck @ santa monica place
thu. oct. 6
power & control: lsd in the 60s FREE 8 PM @ beyond baroque
fri. oct. 7
the loons @ ruby room (SD)
sat. oct. 8
young frankenstein @ devil's night drive-in
sun. oct. 9
gary war @ echo
tue. oct. 11
brand x FREE 7 PM @ hammer
wed. oct. 12
aloe blacc @ detroit bar
thu. oct. 13
thrones @ satellite
fright night (1985) @ silent movie theatre
sat. oct. 15
dirt dress @ pehrspace
djin aquarian/plastic crimewave & the everafter, michael yonkers @ HM157
tue. oct. 18
portishead @ shrine
wed. oct. 19
portishead @ shrine
thu. oct. 20
shellac @ eagle rock center for the arts
budget rock 10 @ bottom of the hill/parkside, SF
fri. oct. 21
devon williams, tamaryn @ echo
poltergeist FREE 8 PM @ friday night flicks @ pershing square
shellac @ eagle rock center for the arts
budget rock 10 @ bottom of the hill/parkside, SF
sat. oct. 22
plan 9 from outer space 2:00 8:00 PM @ alex theatre
budget rock 10 @ bottom of the hill/parkside, SF
trmrs @ the smell
aloe blacc @ el rey
haunted scavenger hunts of angelino heights 4 PM @ la conservancy
dr. jekyll and mr. hyde (1941) @ heritage square
sun. oct. 23
budget rock 10 @ bottom of the hill/parkside, SF
haunted scavenger hunts of angelino heights 4 PM @ la conservancy
tue. oct 25
nostalgia for the light FREE 7 PM @ usc ray stark
uncle boonmee who can recall his past lives 7 PM @ lacma
sun. oct. 30
the cabinet of dr. caligari (1920, w/ live organ accompaniment) @ disney hall
tue. nov. 1
wild flag @ casbah (SD)
wed. nov. 2
wild flag @ troubadour
thu. nov. 3
wild flag @ troubadour
sat. nov. 5
scream festival 2011: sounding images 8:30 PM @ redcat
sat. nov. 26
three stooges big screen event 2:00 8:00 PM @ alex theatre
sat. dec. 3
los angeles free music society FREE @ getty center
tue. dec. 6
the sea and cake @ troubadour
mon. dec. 26
greatest cartoons ever 2:00 7:00 PM @ alex theatre
WHAT IT IS:
APARAJITO
The second part of Satyajit Ray's Apu trilogy. Aparajito follows Apu (Smaran Ghosal) on his intellectual odyssey from the streets of Benares to the promise and optimism of Calcutta, as he begins his college studies. Music by Ravi Shankar. "It's transitional in structure, rather than dramatic, but it's full of insights and revelations" (Pauline Kael). With Pinaki Sen Gupta, Karuna and Kanu Banerji, and Ramani Sen Gupta.
BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK
USA 2010 | 35 mm 90 min.
Dir. Jonathan Walley
“We all get dressed for Bill,” says Vogue editrix Anna Wintour.
The “Bill” in question is 80+ New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham. For decades, this Schwinn-riding cultural anthropologist has been obsessively and inventively chronicling fashion trends and high society charity soirées for the Times Style section in his columns “On the Street” and “Evening Hours.” Documenting uptown fixtures (Wintour, Tom Wolfe, Brooke Astor, David Rockefeller—who all appear in the film out of their love for Bill), downtown eccentrics and everyone in between, Cunningham’s enormous body of work is more reliable than any catwalk as an expression of time, place and individual flair. In turn, Bill Cunningham New York is a delicate, funny and often poignant portrait of a dedicated artist whose only wealth is his own humanity and unassuming grace.
THE BLACK POWER MIXTAPE 1967-1975
At the end of the 1960s, numerous Swedish journalists came to the US, drawn by stories of urban unrest and revolution. Filming for close to a decade, they gained the trust of many of the leaders of the black power movement – Stoakely Carmichael, Bobby Seale, Angela Davis, and Eldridge Cleaver among them – capturing them in intimate moments and remarkably unguarded interviews.
Brand X
Brand X is a scrappy, absurdist parody of a television show. Made in the early 1970s, it touched on the Vietnam War, sex, drugs, and technology. Filmmaker Wynn Chamberlain was a fixture in the 1960s New York pop art world and filmed his friends Abbie Hoffman, Sam Shepard, and Sally Kirkland. Brand X has recently resurfaced after its mysterious disappearance more than 40 years ago, and the Hammer is proud to offer one its first “rescreenings.”
(1970, Dir. Wynn Chamberlain, color & b/w, 87 min.)
A CANTERBURY TALE
1944, MGM Repertory, 124 min, UK, Dir: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
A beautifully told, and surprisingly intricate interweaving of the stories of four contemporary "pilgrims" - an American and a British soldier, a British "Land Girl," and a local magistrate/historian - in the village of Canterbury during World War II. A CANTERBURY TALE is filled with Powell and Pressburger’s marvelous, worldly humor - along with one of their most bizarre and disturbing characters in the form of the mysterious "Glue Man," pouring paste into the hair of young girls as they sleep! (Interestingly, Powell himself was born not far from Canterbury, and educated at King’s School there.) Starring Thomas Colpeper, Alison Smith and Bob Johnson.
Casino Jack and the United States of Money
This portrait of disgraced Washington super lobbyist Jack Abramoff confirms the adage that truth is indeed stranger than fiction. A tale of international intrigue with Indian casinos, Russian spies, Chinese sweatshops and a mob-style killing in Miami, this is a story of the way money corrupts our political process. 35mm. 122 mins. Directed by Alex Gibney. Produced by Gibney, Alison Ellwood, Zena Barakat.
CASTLE OF PURITY (EL CASTILLO DE LA PUREZA)
1973, Azteca Films, 110 min, Mexico, Dir: Arturo Ripstein
Gabriel Lima (Claudio Brook) is so determined to protect his loved ones from the evils of the world that he keeps them locked up at home. There wife Beatriz (Rita Macedo) and the couple’s children (Arturo Beristain, Gladys Bermejo and Diana Bracho in her first major role) help run the family business – making rat poison. As they near adulthood, the kids begin to challenge their father’s version of life beyond the “castle” walls, and Gabriel’s behavior becomes increasingly unstable. Inspired by a true story, this Mexican cinema classic brims with the obsession and absurdity of Luis Buñuel’s best films. In Spanish with English subtitles. Discussion following the film with actress Diana Bracho.
THE CHEAP DETECTIVE
Peter Falk, Ann-Margret, Eileen Brennan, Sid Caesar, Stockard Channing, James Coco, Dom DeLuise, Louise Fletcher, John Houseman, Madeline Kahn and Fernando Lamas are just some of the stars featured in this madcap spoof of 40's style detective stories. A private dick investigates a strange case littered with molls, mysterious women and double-crossing eccentrics. Written by Neil Simon. dir. Robert Moore---USA---1978---92 mins.
Chick Strand: Señora con Flores/Woman with Flowers (1995/2011)
“Strand discovered an extraordinary sensuous lyricism, simultaneously wanton and disciplined.” —David E. James, The Most Typical Avant-Garde
When legendary filmmaker Chick Strand (1931–2009) passed away, she left behind an extraordinary catalogue of 16mm experimental work, and five unfinished films. By 1995, she had completed the picture and sound editing for Señora con Flores/Woman with Flowers (15 min.)—the intimate depiction of the ups and downs and the joys and travails of a Mexican flower seller. The needed post-production on Señora was recently performed under the supervision of the Academy Film Archive, fully respecting the artist’s intentions. Rounding out the program is a selection of Strand’s films restored by the Pacific Film Archive and the Academy Film Archive with the support of the National Film Preservation Foundation: They include Waterfall (1967, 3 min.), Mosori Monika (1971, 20 min.), Kristallnacht (1979, 7 min.), and Cartoon Le Mousse (1979, 15 min.). In person: Eric Strand
CINE SIN FRONTERAS
Cine sin fronteras is a sidebar program of the Morelia International Film Festival, the prestigious Mexican film competititon held annually in Morela. Some of the films that do not qualify for the competition are screened in the Cine sin fronteras program, especially films made in Mexico by non-Mexicans, Chicano films, and other relevant works. Tonight’s program includes Flexing Muscles by Charles Fairbanks, Cines abandonados by Andres Garcia Franco, La Patrona by Lizzette Arguello and Una frontera, todas las fronteras by David Pablos. CURATOR JESSE LERNER IN ATTENDANCE!
CITY OF LIFE AND DEATH
Set in the Chinese capital of Nanking, which fell to Japanese forces in the early days of WWII, this acclaimed black-and-white war film tells the story of the systematic rape of Nanking's women and execution of thousands of civilians. By using these atrocities as a backdrop and instead focusing on individuals on all sides--resistance fighters, missionaries, refugees, Japanese soldiers--City of Life and Death "witnesses its characters' quest for dignity, amid spiritual disenchantment and the most extreme of circumstances...hauntingly profound (Edmund Lee, Time Out Hong Kong). Winner of the Golden Seashell and Best Cinematography at the San Sebastian Film Festival. In Mandarin with optional English subtitles. dir. Lu Chuan---China---2009---132 mins.
COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT
1970, Universal, 100 min, USA, Dir: Joseph Sargent
“We built a super computer with a mind of its own – and now we must fight it for the world!” Classic, dystopian 70s sci-fi starring Eric Braeden as Dr. Charles Forbin, a humane, thoughtful scientist chosen to oversee the U.S. government’s new computerized defense system. It turns out the Russians have a super-brain of their own – and when the two computers start talking it’s the prelude to apocalypse in this superb, future-shock thriller from the director of THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE. With Susan Clark and William Schallert. Discussion following with actor Eric Braeden
COME AND SEE
This towering, cathartic experience won the Grand Prize at the Moscow Film Festival. The story is based on writer Ales Adamovich's WWII memoirs of SS reprisals against partisans. Set in occupied Byelorussia in 1943, the film follows a raw teenager into the swamps and forests of the border provinces, where he undergoes a hell of atrocities, becoming a middle-aged wreck as he tries to survive the carnage. Remarkable acting, camera work, crowd scenes and direction raise the film far beyond anything comparable, as director Elem Klimov manages both a savage beauty and an impassioned elegy in this anti-war film. "It's a masterpiece not only of filmmaking, but of humanity itself" (Sean Penn). Elem Klimov---USSR---1985---142 mins.
Cria Cuervos
Anchored by a shockingly assured performance by 10-year-old actress Ana Torrent, filmmaking luminary Carlos Saura’s Cria Cuervos (winner of the Special Jury Prize Awards at Cannes ‘76) deftly explores the uncertainties of adolescence as it follows a young girl coping with the deaths of her parents, during the waning days of Franco’s rule over Spain. Aided by an equally haunting turn by Geraldine Chaplin in dual roles, Torrent powers the film with her heart-breaking characterization of a child forced into experiencing and decoding the emotional tumult of adulthood well before her time. Ripe with blackly comic touches and unafraid to break with formal storytelling technique, Saura’s film can be read as something of a forebearer to the suburban paranoia that permeated cinema in the 1980s -– a meditation on the inevitable creep of suspicion and doubt into a once-simple world view.
Dir. Carlos Saura, 1976, 35mm, 107 min.
CURLING
2010, New Yorker Films, 92 min, Canada, Dir: Denis Cote
In this blacker-than-black comedy by Quebecois director Denis Cote (ALL THAT SHE WANTS, OUR PRIVATE LIVES), overprotective misanthrope and bowling alley employee Jean-Francois (Emmanuel Bilodeau) keeps his daughter Julyvonne away from school and from the doctor's office. Yet the two-person family's neurotically ordered private world begins to fray when the nearby snow-blanketed Canadian countryside becomes the site of a few horrific - and possibly connected - events. Official selection and winner of the Best Director Award at the Locarno Film Festival 2010. "Cote's bewitching fifth feature is not what you might call a sports film... the director sets a mood that is at once bleak and yet teems with dark, wild impulses that range from the carnal to the murderous." - Slant Magazine. "One of those films that will linger in your head for days." -Twitch. In French with English subtitles.
Dance in the Rain (Ples V Dezju) (Slovenia, 1961)
Directed by Bostjan Hladnik
This elegant and enigmatic love story centers on a brooding young painter and an older actress. Uncertain of their choices in life, each acutely aware of time slipping away, they verbally savage one another, between admitting (often only internally) their love for each other. A study of archetypes as much as characters, the penetrating drama masterfully weighs whether life’s plateaus are cause for disillusion or hope.
Screenwriter: Bostjan Hladnik. Cinematographer: Janez Kalisnik. Editor: Kleopatra Harisijades. Cast: Miha Baloh, Dusa Pockaj, Ali Raner, Rado Nakrst, Joze Zupan. 35mm, b/w, in Slovenian with English subtitles, 104 min.
Derby (1972)
Directed by Robert Kaylor
What begins as a Maysles-inspired documentary about professional roller derby morphs into a fascinating portrait of a quintessential American dreamer the second that Midwestern machinist Michael Snell appears on screen. Snell aspires to derby fame, but when filmmaker Robert Kaylor turns his camera on the swaggering 23-year-old, he discovers a man more devoted to constructing a self-justifying fantasy of success, than achieving success itself.
Cast: Charlie O’Connell, Michael Snell. 16mm, color, 91 min. In-person: Filmmaker Robert Kaylor.
ECHOES OF SILENCE
“In my opinion, one of the finest silent movies ever made is Peter Emmanuel Goldman’s “Echoes of Silence,”
circa 1965…[It] is a visual account of the lonely life of a young man in Greenwich Village; it is an elegy of existentialism, a song of courage and poetry occasioned by acute loneliness and sorrow…Goldman’s haunting, almost metaphysical images recall the classic compositions of Theodore Dreyer [sic] or Sergei Eisenstein.” – Gene Youngblood. Dir. Peter Emmanuel Goldman/16mm/75 min. Curated by Sean Batton.
AN EVENING WITH PABLO FERRO
A very special live Q&A session with one of cinema’s foremost graphic designers and trailer-makers! From the titles of Dr, Strangelove and The Thomas Crown Affair to the truly mind-bending trailers for A Clockwork Orange and John Boorman’s Zardoz, Pablo’s work is highly influential, and always totally cool. Join us for this intimate session!
FARAWAY, SO CLOSE!
Otto Sander, Nastassia Kinski, Willem Dafoe and Peter Falk are joined by Lou Reed and Mikhail Gorbachev as themselves for another angel's view of Berlin. When an angel loses his wings, the temptations of earthly life inevitably tempt Satan and lead to bad memories and gangster inspired violence. Wim Wenders' sequel to his masterful Wings of Desire won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes. Dir. Wim Wenders---Germany---1993---146 mins.
FESTIVAL OF (IN)APPROPRIATION
The 2011 Festival of (In)appropriation – Contemporary Found Footage Filmmaking
Filmmakers Dillon Rickman and Mark Toscano, and curators in person!
Founded in 2009, the Festival of (In)appropriation is a yearly showcase of contemporary short (20 minutes or less) audiovisual works that appropriate film or video footage and repurpose it in “inappropriate” and inventive ways. In this program, we bring together a selection of 14 recent films that appropriate footage from diverse sources with vastly different results, demonstrating the range of approaches contemporary filmmakers are taking in repurposing found materials. Indeed, these films push the boundaries of the “found footage” film, raising questions about how we define “found footage” filmmaking in an era in which ever more materials are available for reuse in ever more complex ways. We believe that together, these films reveal how (in)appropriation is flourishing at this social and historical moment. - Jaimie Baron, Andrew Hall, and Lauren Berliner, Curators
FILMS BY BEATRICE GIBSON
Los Angeles Filmforum is thrilled to present the L.A. premieres of A Necessary Music (2008) and The Future’s Getting Old Like the Rest of Us (2010) by London-based artist Beatrice Gibson. Collaborative and participatory, Gibson’s work borrows structures and citations from film, music, literature, and performance to delve into the unthinking habits of ordinary lie. Curated by Genevieve Yue.
A FOOL THERE WAS
1915, 67 min, USA, Dir: Frank Powell
Heterosexual men beware! The legendary Theda Bara stars as the Notorious Woman ("Kiss me, my fool!") who started the vamping craze. "See what you made of me, and still you prosper, you hellcat!" exclaims a once-prominent businessman, now a panhandler, to the irresistible femme fatale. Screening format: 8mm
FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT
Reporter John Jones (Joel McCrea) is sent to Europe to write about a seemingly beneficial peace treaty between two European countries brokered by a famous diplomat, but all is not as it seems beneath a calm surface.
Jones’ good (or bad) timing leads him into an assassination attempt, a spy ring, and the growing realization of Nazi Germany’s designs on the rest of Europe. (1940, 120 min. Rated PG.)
GONE TO EARTH
1950, Disney, 110 min, UK, Dir: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
One of Powell and Pressburger’s most gloriously mystical films, GONE TO EARTH stars the enchanting Jennifer Jones as an orphaned country girl, who lives surrounded by magic, superstition and wild forest animals. David Farrar (BLACK NARCISSUS) co-stars as the aristocratic squire who finds himself bewitched by Jones’ charms.
Gravehopping (Odgrobadogroba)
(Slovenia, 2005)
Directed by Jan Cvitkovic
In this deft, ironic comedy by Jan Cvitkovic, every tragedy has its grimly humorous side. Grave hopping funeral orator Pero is busy eulogizing for laughs and ineptly wooing a local girl while his father stages comical suicide attempts and his free-spirited sister defies the small town ennui. The graveside humor and comic relief shows the characters’ resilience all the way to the last, formidable scene.
Producer: Janez Burger, Jan Cvitkovic. Screenwriter: Jan Cvitkovic. Cinematographer: Simon Tansek. Editor: Milos Kalusek. Cast: Gregor Bakovic, Drago Milinovic, Sonja Savic, Mojca Fatur, Natasa Matjasec. 35mm, color, in Slovenian with English subtitles, 103 min.
Greatest Cartoons Ever
The day after Christmas has always been a big day for releasing movies, as many families are looking for something to do after all the presents have been opened and all the parties are over. This year, on December 26th, the Alex Film Society will be presenting our 2nd Annual, family oriented special event that provides a really great alternative to the other pre-packaged Hollywood extravaganzas.
THE GREATEST CARTOONS EVER! showcases some of the very best theatrical cartoons from the movies' Golden Age, featuring iconic characters like Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Popeye, Betty Boop, Donald and Daffy, even the original Superman, projected in 35mm on the big screen at the Alex Theatre.
Animation historian and author Jerry Beck and producer Frank Gladstone have programmed a hugely entertaining cinematic trip back to a time when animated cartoons were more than an opening act; they were often the most popular part of going to the movies.
HELL'S ANGELS
Directed by Howard Hughes
Two brothers, Roy and Monte, attend Oxford then volunteer for the RAF, when World War I breaks out. Jean Harlow plays Helen, Roy’s supposed girlfriend who doesn’t mind sleeping with Monte. “Let me change into something more comfortable,” she says, as modern girls will. Three years in the making at a cost of $3.8 million, Hell’s Angels started out as a silent film and ended up a talking picture. Five directors worked on the film, including James Whale (who directed Harlow’s dialogue scenes) and Howard Hawks, before Hughes personally took over the reigns. But its status remains legendary.
United Artists. Producer: Howard Hughes. Screenwriter: Joseph Moncure March, Howard Estabrook, Harry Behn. Cinematographer: Tony Gaudio. Editor: Douglass Biggs. Cast: Ben Lyon, James Hall, Jean Harlow. 35mm, b/w and color, 127 min.
THE HOLLIES: LOOK THROUGH ANY WINDOW 1963 - 1975
2011, Eagle Rock Entertainment, 120 min, USA, Dir: David Peck
This first official documentary on legendary British rock group The Hollies features 22 complete performances filmed between 1963 and 1975, spanning their entire hit-making career. New interviews with founding members Graham Nash, Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks and Bobby Elliott tell the fascinating story of this group whose stellar musicianship and beautiful vocals thrilled millions of fans and influenced generations of new bands. Screening format: Blu-Ray. Discussion following with Graham Nash, Allan Clarke and the film's producers.
Inside Job
The financial practices that laid the groundwork for the global economic crisis are traced to their sources in an examination that lays the blame for the collapse at the doorstep of many who are still in power. Predatory lending, credit default swaps, and financial deregulation are subjected to close scrutiny and criticism in a primer on the situation that affected the lives of millions. Digital. 108 mins. Academy Award winner: Documentary Feature. Directed by Charles Ferguson. Produced by Ferguson, Audrey Marrs
JEAN GENTIL
2010, Canana Films, 84 min, Mexico, Dir: Israel Cardenas, Laura Amelia Guzman
Multilingual Haitian accountant Jean is relegated to a poverty-stricken, ghostly existence when he immigrates to the nearby Dominican Republic. Composed with impeccable visuals by co-directors Israel Cardenas and Laura Amelia Guzman, this documentary-like portrayal of one individual's struggle for identity captures the plight of the masses of Haitian immigrant workers forced to lead invisible lives on the fringes of society. Winner of the Jury Award at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and recipient of the Horizons special mention at the Venice Film Festival. In Spanish with English subtitles.
Johnny Tough
Within the vast canon of ‘70s black cinema, there are many examples of classic film hits re-appropriated for a new audience, from The Wizard of Oz/The Wiz all the way to The Exorcist/Abby — but none are quite so compelling as Johnny Tough, a clear homage to Truffaut’s masterpiece The 400 Blows. Set in the charmingly desolate urban sprawl of ‘70s Los Angeles, the film follows a misguided kid whose constant clashes with authority (both in school and out) resonate within a broader, socially conscious theme of youthful rebellion. First-time director Horace Jackson commands incredibly real performances out of his very young actors, with incredible scenes of teacher/student confrontations that are so on-the-nose, you’ll be reminded of your own tough times in junior high. Far more important than its novelty, this movie has a huge heart, and keeps one thinking and marveling at its charisma throughout. Decked out with an incredible score by Chicago funk guitarist Dennis Coffey, Johnny Tough emerges not as a copycat film, but as a true genre gem.
Dir. Horace Jackson, 1974, 35mm, 87 min.
JULIA HOLTER, SCOTT CAZAN & JANA PAPENBROOCK
A night of video and live music featuring collaborations between German artist Jana Papenbroock and LA based artists Scott Cazan and Julia Holter. The performances will be followed by a screening of Papenbroock's 60 minute film, What No One Knows, "...an experimental film collage consisting of the personal myths and memories of strangers. A film about faces, empty places and the fictituous truths of stories." FILMMAKERS IN ATTENDANCE!
Kekec
(Slovenia, 1951)
Directed by Joze Gale
This Alpine tale introduced the resourceful lad “Kekec,” already a popular folk character, to the screen. Clever Kekec brings peace to his mountain village, outwitting the evil poacher Bedanec, who terrorizes the locals. A Slovenian David-and-Goliath story, the delightful film and plucky Kekec himself were lovingly adopted by Slovenians well-acquainted with foreign influence, and doggedly devoted to cultural preservation and self-direction.
Screenwriter: J. Gale, Franc Milcinski. Cinematographer: Ivan Marincek. Editor: I. Marincek. Cast: Matija Barl, F. Milcinski, France Presetnik, Zdenka Logarjeva, Lojze Potokar. 35mm, b/w, in Slovenian with English subtitles, 91 min.
KING OF THE HILL
Steven Soderbergh followed up his incendiary debut sex, lies and videotape and the admirable weirdness of 1991’s Kafka with this subtly strange, evocative Depression-era drama about a boy (played by future heartthrob Jesse Bradford) slowly forced to fend for himself. Confined to a scuzzy Midwestern hotel, bright and resourceful Aaron forges precarious connections with the colorful transients who occupy his accidental home. With systematic momentum, Soderbergh removes these parental surrogates (played memorably by Spalding Gray, Karen Allen, Adrien Brody, and Katherine Heigl) from the boy’s environment, one by one, resulting in an near-absurdist evocation of Aaron’s mounting isolation. Stylish and powerful, King of the Hill may be Soderbergh’s most underrated film, and is clearly one of his best. Schedule permitting, Steven Soderbergh will be here at the Cinefamily for a Q&A after the film!
Dir. Steven Soderbergh, 1993, 35mm, 109 min.
THE LANDLORD
1970, MGM Repertory, 112 min, USA, Dir: Hal Ashby
In this sharp, funny dramedy, Beau Bridges plays the title role, a man who buys a tenement building with the intention of renovating it himself - only to change his plans after he interacts with the tenants. Discussion between films with actor Beau Bridges.
LITTLE FUGITIVE
(Archival 35mm print!)
Before Cassavetes, and before the French New Wave, there was this small miracle of a film — a low-budget, shot-without-sound, day-in-the-life portrait of a child that inadvertently started the global indie filmmaking movement. Far from Hollywood, Little Fugitive was born in ‘50s New York when a pair of married photographers (Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin) and a successful children’s book writer (Raymond Abrashkin) picked up a handheld 35mm camera and — without studio support or professional actors, but with an effortless blend of innovation and storytelling that has inspired filmmakers for generations — shot one of cinema’s most influential picaresque gems. Capturing childhood with humorous, compassionate lyricism, Little Fugitive follows an adorable little kid who, after his brother pulls a practical joke, goes on the lam to tough it out amidst the cotton candy and pony rides of Coney Island. It’s an undeniably timeless tale of sibling dynamics, but the proto-guerilla filmmaking techniques of the co-directors also capture the people and landscapes a long-gone Coney Island with such vivid documentary realism, you’ll swear you can smell the carnies. Little Fugitive Dirs. Ray Ashley, Morris Engel & Ruth Orkin, 1953, 35mm, 80 min.
A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN)
1946, Sony Repertory, 104 min, UK, Dir: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
A breathtaking meditation on the mercies of love and the cruelties of fate, A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH stars David Niven as a WWII pilot pleading his case in Heaven, claiming that he was not meant to die and should be allowed to return to lovely Kim Hunter on earth. Roger Livesey co-stars as the doctor who becomes Niven’s solicitor on the astral plane, with the delightful Marius Goring as a dandified angel.
Max Out (1970)
Directed by Robert Kaylor
Filmmaker Robert Kaylor’s debut feature follows an African American ex-con struggling to re-adapt to the everyday world. Unable to find work, he takes up with a gay man for shelter, telling his friends it’s just a hustle, as he circles ever-closer back to his old ways. With hand-held camera work, Kaylor captures the grit and grind of the life with his all-amateur cast adding to the film’s striking authenticity.
Screenwriter: Melvin Rivers, Ken Jackson. Cast: M. Rivers, Joe Rizzo, Sue Annet Ceruti. 16mm, b/w, 45 min. In-person: Filmmaker Robert Kaylor.
MURDER BY DEATH
Truman Capote is at the center of this film featuring a great comic cast. Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, David Niven, Dame Maggie Smith, Peter Sellers, Eileen Brennan, Nancy Walker, James Coco and Elsa Lanchester star as just a few of the detectives put in an untenable situation by an eccentric millionaire. He has invited the world's best sleuths to solve a murder for one million dollars. It's a great spoof of over-complicated murder mysteries. Dir. Robert Moore---USA---1976---95 mins.
MY AIN FOLK
(1973) Directed by Bill Douglas
The midpoint of the trilogy, My Ain Folk returns to Douglas' hometown of Newcraighall, where Jamie is sent to live with his harsh paternal grandmother. The film opens with an unexpected Technicolor clip from Lassie Comes Home, making Jamie's black and white reality seem all the more bleak and oppressive.
Producer: Nick Nascht. Cinematographer: Gale Tattersall. 35mm, 55 min.
MY CHILDHOOD
(1972) Directed by Bill Douglas
Stark, black and white cinematography evokes a poor Scottish mining town literally and figuratively stripped of color in this first installment of writer-director Douglas' autobiographical trilogy. Jamie (Archibald), Douglas' alterego, lives with his maternal grandmother (Smith) in a working-class neighborhood scarred by the Depression and WWII. Searching to fill the emotional void left by two parents he never knew, Jamie finds an unexpected father-figure in a German POW (Karl Fieseler) who speaks little English. With minimal dialogue and no score, My Childhood harkens back to the cinematic language of the silent era, and delivers emotional punches through intimate storytelling that hits harder than bombast ever could.
Producer: Geoffrey Evans. Cinematographer: Mick Campbell. Editor: Brand Thumim. Cast: Stephen Archibald, Hughie Restorick, Jean Taylor Smith. 35mm, 46 min.
MY WAY HOME
(1978) Directed by Bill Douglas
Completed five years after My Ain Folk, Archibald returns to reprise the role of Jamie, now an adult, as the burdens of work and war strip him of his childhood. When the British Army drafts Jamie and stations him in Egypt, an unexpected friendship with an erudite Englishman (Joseph Blatchley) leads to new opportunities and the possibility of a brighter future.
Producer: Judy Cottam, Richard Craven. Screenwriter: Bill Douglas. Cinematographer: Ray Orton. Cast: Stephen Archibald, Paul Kermack, Jessie Combe. 35mm, 71 min.
9:06
(Slovenia, 2009)
Directed by Igor sterk
A film noir par excellence and a first-rate psychological drama, Igor Sterk’s 9:06 takes us to Ljubljana, where police inspector Dusan (Igor Samobor in a terrific performance) investigates an unusual suicide. The investigation soon turns into obsession as he moves into the apartment of the deceased, assuming the identity of the dead man and reliving the victim’s, as well as his own, shattered life.
Producer: Igor Sterk, Frank Celarc, Christoph Thoke. Screenwriter: I. Sterk, Sinisa Dragin. Cinematographer: Simon Tansek. Editor: Petar Markovic. Cast: Igor Samobor, Labina Mitevska, Silva Cusin, Pavle Ravnohrib, Gregor Bakovic. 35mm, color, in Slovenian with English subtitles, 71 min.
Nostalgia for the Light (Nostalgia de la luz) (2010)
Directed by Patricio Guzman
The uniquely arid conditions of Chile's Atacama Desert make it an ideal location for both viewing the night sky through its crystal clear atmosphere and hunting for indigenous artifacts, perfectly preserved inits dry earth. But the astronomers and archeologists are not the only ones at work in the Atacama, which has become a pilgrimage site, of sorts, for the relatives of political prisoners who sift the sands for remains that were dumped in the dessert by the Pinochet regime, which operated a death camp in the region. Through interviews and images, illuminating and haunting, Guzman builds subtle, surprising links between these seekers in the stars and sands. The result is an emotionally compelling and intellectually dazzlingly meditation on our constantly shifting relationship with the past.
Producer: Meike Martens, Renate Sachse. Screenplay: Patricio Guzman. Cinematographer: Katell Djian. Editor: Patricio Guzman. HDcam, Color, 90 min.
ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW
Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Shelley Winters, Ed Begley and Gloria Grahame make up the terrific cast in this taut crime story. An interracial pair of criminals find their robbery attempt foiled, which leads to unexpected consequences. Along the way there is plenty of action and tension. John Lewis wrote the cool jazz score. dir. Robert Wise---USA---1959---95 mins.
100% Slovenian (Americanke) (Slovenia, 2005)
Directed by Hanna Slak
An amusing but thoughtful documentary portrait of several contemporary American women of Slovenian descent. Regardless that their ties to the mother country are generations old, their feeling that they are “100% Slovenian” demonstrates the intensity with which national identity infuses the Slovenian character. Digital video, color, in Slovenian with English subtitles, 50 min.
Paper Planes (Na Papirnatih Avionih)
(Slovenia, 1967)
Directed by Matjaz Klopcic
A photographer tired of the jaded milieu of an early advertising age under socialism romances a young ballerina. The Triple Bridge, fountains and rooftops of the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana, and the ski resorts of the Slovenian Alps are the dreamy 1960s backdrops for this great love story. Disarmingly believable as the inexperienced naif, Snezana Niksic, as the ballerina, steals the show.
Screenwriter: Matjaz Klopcic. Cinematographer: Rudi Vavpotic. Editor: Milka Badjura. Cast: Snezana Niksic, Polde Bibic, Stanislava Pesic, Dare Ulaga, Stefka Drolc. 35mm, b/w, in Slovenian with English subtitles, 81 min.
PATHER PANCHALI
The opening entry of Satyajit Ray's extraordinary Apu trilogy, adapted from the epic novel of Bengali writer B.B. Bandapaddhay, is a fiercely naturalistic, devastating portrait of poverty and despair. Ray uses his considerable storytelling powers of detail, incident and observation to interpret the relationship of a young Bengali boy and his family. The film has an emotional rhythm and a fluid, precise lyricism. Winner of the Jury Prize at the 1956 Cannes Film festival. Music composed and performed by Ravi Shankar. With Kanu Banerji, Karuna Banerji, Uma Da Gupta and Chunibala Devi.
THE PENALTY
Lon Chaney stars in The Penalty, a psychological thriller filled with violence, sadism and a touch of nudity. Not your typical silent film!
The movie will be accompanied by a live musical score and a special display of Lon Chaney makeup, props and costume. 1920/Eminent Authors Pictures Inc.
POWER & CONTROL: LSD IN THE 60's
Seminal gonzo documentary ARON RANEN'S (in person) peripatetic journey uncovers the secret history of psychedelics from legitimate experiments conducted at the Harvard Divinity School to the bizarre plans to dose unknowing Johns in a CIA run brothel. LSD was made illegal in 1966 right at of the height of the Anti-War and Counter-Culture Movements. Ranen's journeys to find out why? With RAM DASS and PAUL KRASSNER.
Plus two shorts:
BLACK HAIR (2006, 30m)
African American Women purchase roughly 80% of the wigs and extensions bought here in America, yet own practically no piece of this business. Ranen's investigative documentary looks into the Korean monopolization of the African American Beauty Supply Business and what some Black Americans are doing to take it back.
SEMANTIC WARRIOR (2011, 10m)
Sneak preview of Ranen's new compelling documentary on the life and times of attorney TONY SERRA, pot smoking social justice warrior. He was portrayed by JAMES WOODS in the Hollywood movie True Believer.
PRINCE OF DARKNESS
1987, Universal, 102 min, USA, Dir: John Carpenter
When a group of physics graduate students are contacted by a priest to investigate a vat seemingly abandoned in the basement of a dilapidated Los Angeles church, they have little idea of the true evil inhabiting the vat's phosphorescent green liquid. As the Satan-possessed liquid comes to life and wreaks lethal havoc, the students - the surviving ones, that is - must confront and somehow surmount the work of the Devil himself. With Donald Pleasance, Lisa Blount and Jameson Parker. Triple feature to be introduced by director John Carpenter.
THE PRIZE (EL PREMIO)
2011, 120 min, Mexico, Dir: Paula Markovitch
Seven-year-old Ceci (Paola Galinelli Hertzog) has to keep a huge secret - the life of her family depends on her silence - but she doesn't completely understand what the secret is about. Living under military repression in 1970s Argentina, Ceci must figure out what she can safely say at school and what she must do to keep her mother happy. This intense drama won several awards at the 2011 Guadalajara Film Festival, including Best Picture and Best Actress, and took home Silver Bears at the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival for cinematography and production design. In Spanish with English subtitles.
Raft of the Medusa (Splav Meduze)
(Slovenia, 1980)
Directed by Karpo Acimovic-Godina
Two schoolteachers with big dreams take off from their muddy backwater village and travel with fellow drifters and performance artists through Yugoslavia of 1920s, with a ‘lightness of being’ and pure joy that was not to be repeated. This watershed film of the Slovenian and Yugoslav cinema burst onto the scene in 1980 and re-introduced modernism, asserting a wonderful, nihilistic rebellion against all canons.
Screenwriter: Branko Vucievic. Cinematographer: K. Acimovic-Godina. Editor: K. Acimovic-Godina. Cast: Olga Kacjan, Vladislava Milosavljevic, Boris Komnenic, Erol Kadic, Frano Lasic. 35mm, color, in Slovenian and Serbo-Croatian w/ English subtitles, 101 min.
RUNNING SCARED
1986, USA, 35mm, 107 minutes
Schedules permitting, director Peter Hyams and actors Darlanne Fluegel, Steven Bauer and Jon Gries will appear IN PERSON to discuss the film!
directed by Peter Hyams; starring Gregory Hines, Billy Crystal, Steven Bauer, Darlanne Fluegel, Joe Pantoliano, Dan Hedaya, Jon Gries, Tracy Reed, Jimmy Smits, John DiSanti, Larry Hankin, Don Calfa
THE SALESMAN (LE VENDEUR)
2011, Seville Pictures, 107 min, Canada, Dir: Sebastien Pilote
Friendly, widowed car salesman Marcel (Gilbert Sicotte) prides himself on remembering every customer he's ever had, and on holding the title "Employee of the Month" for 16 consecutive years. Yet the auto business in frigid rural Quebec is waning, and the onset of a tragedy irrevocably shakes up Marcel's comfortable rinse-and-repeat existence. Nominated for the World Cinema Award at Sundance 2011 and winner of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival 2011. "Impeccably acted, poignant and nuanced, assured feature gets significant assists from Michel La Veaux's wintry lensing and a score rooted in traditional Quebecois folk sounds... Might be a decades-later sequel to such '70s Canadian classics as GOIN' DOWN THE ROAD and PAPERBACK HERO." -Variety. In French with English subtitles. Discussion between films with THE SALESMAN director Sebastien Pilote.
A Sand Castle (Peseni Grad) (Slovenia, 1962)
Directed by Bostjan Hladnik
Director Bostjan Hladnik’s genre-bending road picture gathers a group of new friends (two men and a mysterious young woman) in a madcap automobile excursion to the ocean. The pleasures they find there prove as transitory as the sand castles that they build. A tour de-force of absurdist, physical comedy, the film subtly interrogates the supposed panacea of materialism, leisure, and the flight from one’s own history.
Screenwriter: Bostjan Hladnik. Cinematographer: Janez Kalisnik. Editor: Kleopatra Harisijades. Cast: Ali Raner, Milena Dravic, Ljubisa Samardzic, Spela Rozin, Janez Albreht. 35mm, b/w, in Slovenian with English subtitles, 96 min.
SCRAPPERS
Set within Chicago's labyrinth of alleyways, Scrappers is a verite portrait of Otis and Oscar, two scrap metal scavengers searching for a living with brains, brawn and battered pickup trucks. The film shows how the 2008 financial crisis and crackdowns on undocumented immigrants effect these men and their families. Praised as one of the best documentaries of 2010 by Roger Ebert. FILMMAKER BEN KOLAK IN ATTENDANCE!
SCREAM Festival 2011: Sounding Images
Co-presented with the Southern California Resource for Electro-Acoustic Music.
Electro-acoustic music merges seamlessly with electronically generated or enhanced imagery in this screening of 11 international works—a program that attests to the ongoing maturation of an electronic “inter-arts” that transcends disciplines, genres and geographies. Whether created through collaborations between artists and technicians at major art centers, or by digitally savvy individual artmakers in faraway outposts, these composites of sound and image share in common aesthetic imagination and skillful technique.
Self Made
"If you were to play a part in a film, would you be yourself or a fictional character?"
Hundreds of people responded to this advertisement when it was distributed to media outlets and job centers around London and Newcastle, England. Seven applicants were selected to appear in Self Made, Turner Prize–winning artist Gillian Wearing’s debut feature. In the film, participants attend a Method acting workshop to explore their fantasy selves and ultimately star in their own mini-film. (2011, Dir. Gillian Wearing, color & b/w, 84 min.)
SILENT COMEDY SHORTS PROGRAM
Following the great success of our July silent comedy shorts compilation, we’re bringing you more of your favorite early comedians and pranksters this month! Live music will accompany the films.
"The Play House," (1921, 22 min.) Buster Keaton re-defines a one man show in this brilliant short in which he plays every person in a theatre - the minstrels on stage, the stagehand, and all members of the orchestra and audience!
"Double Whoopee," (1929, 20 min.) Stanley Laurel and Oliver Hardy are the new footman and doorman at a posh hotel and, on their first day of work, manage to partially undress a sultry blonde guest (Jean Harlow, no less!) and repeatedly escort an uppity foreign nobleman into an empty elevator shaft.
"A Day's Pleasure," (1919, 25 min.) A family boat outing with Charlie Chaplin is complicated by tumultuous waves, traffic and a pool of tar.
"High and Dizzy," (1920, 26 min.) Two tipsy doctors (one of them Harold Lloyd) plus one sleep-walking young lady equals delightful mayhem in this terrific Lloyd short.
THE SOFT SKIN
Truffaut's New Wave classic is a study of a man's first incident of infidelity. Jean Desailly is the successful publisher who, while often separated from his wife because of business, meets a younger flight attendant and has an affair. With legendary skill and acute sensitivity, Truffaut rips the mask off the lies, suspicions and guilt that lead to the disintegration of ordinary marriages. 1964, France/Portugal, 35mm, 119 minutes. New 35mm print! directed by François Truffaut; screenplay by François Truffaut and Jean-Louis Richard; starring Jean Desailly, Françoise Dorléac, Nelly Benedetti, Daniel Ceccaldi; in French and Portuguese with English subtitles
The Spirit of the Beehive
A landmark Spanish film by Victor Erice, featuring the remarkable Ana Torrent in the story of two little girls growing up after the Spanish Civil War. The hypnotic, spellbinding nature of the film is a rare achievement in cinema, as Erice evokes a deep poetry of childhood in a portrait of isolation. "The finest and most beautifully wrought first film of the European '70s" (Village Voice).
Stronghold of Toughs (Grajski Biki)
(Slovenia, 1967)
Directed by Joze Pogacnik
“It’s wonderful to be young in our homeland,” sings a youth choir over the loud speakers in a juvenile hall for orphaned boys, where young Peter dreams of reuniting with his father. Peter’s subsequent run-ins with a charismatic gang leader portray a clueless society with inept bureaucrats turning a blind eye to its underclass.
Screenwriter: Primoz Kozak. Cinematographer: Janez Kaisnik. Editor: Vojislav Bjenjas. Cast: Kole Angelovski, Hana Brejchova, Janez Rohacek, Miki Micovic, Miha Baloh. 35mm, b/w, in Slovenian with English subtitles, 88 min.
SUBMARINE
15-year-old Oliver Tate has two objectives: To lose his virginity before his next birthday, and to extinguish the flame between his mother and an ex-lover who has resurfaced in her life. 2010, UK/USA, 35mm, 97 minutes. written and directed by Richard Ayoade; based on the novel by Joe Dunthorne; starring Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Noah Taylor, Paddy Considine.
TEXASVILLE
1990, Sony Repertory, 123 min, USA, Dir: Peter Bogdanovich
Duane (Jeff Bridges) is massively in debt, with an alcoholic wife and trouble-making children, while Jacy (Cybill Shepherd) has returned to her hometown after a half-successful acting career and the death of her son. A sequel of sorts to THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, this underrated drama finds its characters in the summer of 1984, 30 years after we saw them anxiously idling their high school days away, now trying to find emotional stability in middle age.
Three Stooges Big Screen Event
Stooges In History –– Sort of!
This Year, we will take a look back in time to various period of history with our boys as the guides. Subject to great 35mm prints being available, our line up is:
BACK TO THE WOODS (1937)
GOOFS AND SADDLES (1937)
MUMMIES DUMMIES (1948)
HIGHER THAN A KITE (1943)
WEE WEE MONSIEUR (1938)
Our extra added attraction this year will be a tribute to the early television hosts who brought the Stooges films to kids all over the country via their local after-school shows during the late 1950s and 1960s. We'll be taking a nostalgic look at Officer Joe Boulton, Skipper Chuck Zink, Chuck McCann, Sandy Becker, Sally Starr, Cowboy Bob Glaze, etc. etc. That should put us in the mood to go back in time with Moe, Larry, Curly and Shemp.
Running time approximately 2 hours.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
THE MUSEUM OF JURASSIC TECHNOLOGY PRESENTS
Through the Weeping Glass
On the Consolations of Life Everlasting
(Limbos & Afterbreezes in the Mütter Museum)
A reflective hybrid short documentary by the Quay Brothers on the collections of books, instruments, and medical anomalies at The College of Physicians of Philadelphia and the Mütter Museum. A screening of the film and of Behind the Scenes with the Quay Brothers followed by a moderated conversation with the Quay Brothers
THUNDER SOUL
It was afros, pleated pants and platform shoes; James Brown, Sly Stone and Bootsy Collins. It was the ’70s, and an inner-city Houston high school was about to make history. Presented by Texas-native Jamie Foxx, "Thunder Soul" follows the extraordinary alumni from Houston’s storied Kashmere High School Stage Band, who return home after 35 years to play a tribute concert for the 92-year-old Conrad “Prof” Johnson, their beloved band leader who broke the color barrier and transformed the school’s struggling jazz band into a world-class funk powerhouse in the early 1970s.
THE UNCHASTENED WOMAN
1925, 52 min, USA, Dir: James Young
In Theda Bara’s last feature she stars as a pregnant woman who, having been scorned by her philandering husband, runs off to Europe and becomes the toast of society. But she doesn’t forget to return to America and settle the score with her hubby. Screening format: 8mm
UN LAC
(FRANCE)
"...a dizzying, visual poem photographed by the director himself in the Swiss Alps. Using no more than six characters and straying far from the established notions of cinematography and narrative in film, the piece feels like something between an experimental video-art installation and one of Ingmar Bergman’s bleak feature films, though the work itself has perhaps no conceivable outside influence." - Guy Doley
Film Journeys is a monthly screening series and cine club highlighting emerging storytellers in contemporary world cinema. The film will be followed by open discussions that will consider the implications of the film's content and form - all are welcome!
Valley of Peace (Dolina Miru)
(Slovenia, 1956)
Directed by France Stiglic
Two children lose their families in an air raid and take to wandering the countryside, dodging Yugoslav partisans and invading Fascist forces, seeking a storied “Valley of Peace.” Taken under the wing of a stranded U.S. paratrooper, their faith in their deliverance is alternately vindicated and sorely tested in this strangely lyrical film that reflects Slovenia’s dogged pursuit of its own destiny in the tumultuous 20th century.
Screenwriter: Ivan Ribic. Cinematographer: Rudi Vavpotic. Editor: Radojka Ivancevic. Cast: Tugomir Stiglic, Evelyne Wohlfeiler, John Kitzmiller, Boris Kralj, Maks Furjan. 35mm, b/w, in Slovenian, German and English with English subtitles, 88 min.
Vesna (Slovenia, 1953)
Directed by Frantisek Cap
Three strapping college students, loath to study, hatch a plot to romance the daughter of their math professor to secure the answers to a coming exam—but love soon complicates the perfect plot. Produced in the newly socialist Yugoslavia, this whimsical film bursts with optimism in youth. A perennial favorite, the film is the namesake of Slovenia’s highest film honor, the Vesna.
Screenwriter: Matej Bor. Cinematographer: Paul Grupp. Editor: Milka Badjura. Cast: Metka Gabrijelcic, Franek Trefalt, Olga Bedjanic, Jure Fulan, Janez Cuk. 35mm, b/w, in Slovenian with English subtitles, 96 min.
VIDEOS BY DANI LEVENTHAL
Los Angeles Filmforum is delighted to host, for the first time in Los Angeles, the videos of Dani Leventhal, including two world premieres, Shayne’s Rectangleand Tin Pressed! Leventhal’s work is vital: about life, her life, but moreover infused with a sense of life itself. Whether peering into the folds of an elderly woman’s neck, surveying sidewalk vendors in Budapest or the grooves of a chain-lock fence in upstate New York, or investigating the matted feathers and fur of the many animals Leventhal examines and sometimes dissects, her camera is inquisitive and ever-present, a companion as much as a tool in the artist’s unyielding search for signs of life. Curated by Genevieve Yue.
WELL OF THE BEAST
Shot on VHS and toy cameras, "Well of the Beast" tells the story of three radical poets' trip to an un-named South American town for a cheap eye surgery. Having declared poetic war on society, the three soon experience strange happenings as the newly replaced eyes of our hero, Anton, begin to suggest hidden and sinister agendas of his companions. Literary (and filmic) references run rampant in this campy, low-fi, arthouse feature that blends genres and styles into a madhouse romp through all things poetic. FILMMAKER EMETT CASEY IN ATTENDANCE!
THE WHITE SHADOW
As the latest presentation in a screening series of archival rediscoveries unspooling under the banner "Lost and Found," the Academy presents the American re-premiere of the first three reels of "The White Shadow," which was shown in the U.S. in 1924 as "White Shadows." Believed for decades to be lost, the picture is thought to be the earliest surviving feature film work of Alfred Hitchcock.
"This is one of the most significant developments in memory for scholars, critics, and admirers of Hitchcock’s extraordinary body of work," said David Sterritt, chairman of the National Society of Film Critics and author of The Films of Alfred Hitchcock. "At just 24 years old, Alfred Hitchcock wrote the film’s scenario, designed the sets, edited the footage, and served as assistant director to Graham Cutts… Hitchcock’s own directorial debut came only two years later. These first three reels of ‘The White Shadow’ – more than half the film – offer a priceless opportunity to study his visual and narrative ideas when they were first taking shape."
The tinted print of "The White Shadow," which is an atmospheric melodrama starring Betty Compson in a dual role as twin sisters, one angelic and the other "without a soul," was discovered during the National Film Preservation Foundation’s second round of research to identify American prints of early films held at the New Zealand Film Archive. It was among the many silent-era movies salvaged by New Zealand projectionist and collector Jack Murtagh. After his death in 1989, the highly flammable nitrate prints were sent to the New Zealand Film Archive for safekeeping by Tony Osborne, Murtagh’s grandson.
"The White Shadow" is among the "lost" films from the New Zealand Film Archive being preserved and accessed through the five major American film archives that are collaborating with the NFPF on the project: the Academy Film Archive, George Eastman House, the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art, and UCLA Film & Television Archive. The title is being preserved at Park Road Post Production in New Zealand and the new preservation master and exhibition print will be added to the Academy Film Archive’s permanent collection.
The evening’s presentation will include a screening of "Won in a Closet" (1914), a film starring and directed by Mabel Normand, and "Oil’s Well," a Monty Banks comedy. Both films were part of the New Zealand Film Archive collection and have now been added to the collection of the Library of Congress and the Museum of Modern Art, respectively. Michael Mortilla will provide live musical accompaniment.
WINGS OF DESIRE
"The first time I saw the film I thought it was a knockout; on second viewing it already seemed a classic," wrote J. Hoberman of Wim Wenders' re-examination of the divided city of Berlin. Damiel, played by Bruno Ganz, is the angel who has grown tired and frustrated at his inability to affect people's lives. When he falls in love with a beautiful trapeze artist, he decides to leave the heavens and enter the mortal world. With incredible cinematography by Henri Alekan, Wings of Desire is one of the rare movies of the past decade that actually stretch, break and re-form the boundaries of the medium" (David Denby, New York Magazine). Dir. Wim Wenders---West Germany---1987---127 mins.
THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR
Fanny Ardant and Gerard Depardieu star as former tempestuous lovers, now married to other people, who suddenly find themselves living next door to one another. Truffaut masterfully guides the couple through a maze of confused feelings, steering them toward their final encounter. 1981, France, 35mm, 106 minutes. directed by François Truffaut; screenplay by Jean Aurel, Suzanne Schiffman and François Truffaut; starring Fanny Ardant, Gérard Depardieu, Henri Garcin, Michèle Baumgartner; in French with English subtitles
THE WORLD OF APU (APUR SANSAR)
The final part of Satyajit Ray's Apu trilogy, adapted from Bengali writer B.B. Bandapaddhay's epic novel, is a poignant summing up of the earlier films' themes and stylistic preoccupations. Its story traces Apu's leap into adulthood, the consequences of his marriage and birth of his first child. Ray's painterly use of landscape finds a poetry in the incidental, loose textures of daily life. Music by Ravi Shankar. With Soumitra Chatterjee (as Apu), Sharmila Tagore, Alok Chakravarty, and Swapan Mukherji.
WORLD ON A WIRE
“A textbook example of a film that was ahead of its time … a movie that anticipates Blade Runner in its meditation on artificial and human intelligence and The Matrix in its conception of reality as a computer-generated illusion.” – Dennis Lim, The New York Times
A dystopic science-fiction epic, World on a Wire is German wunderkind Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s gloriously cracked, boundlessly inventive 1973 take on future paranoia. With dashes of Kubrick, Vonnegut, and Dick, but a flavor entirely and unmistakably his own, this fascinating four-hour film (originally shown as a two-part miniseries on German television) tells the noir-spiked tale of reluctant action hero Fred Stiller (Klaus Lowitsch, who also starred in Fassbinder’s WWII masterpiece The Marriage of Maria Braun), a cybernetics engineer who uncovers a massive corporate and governmental conspiracy. At risk? Our entire (virtual) reality as we know it. This long-unseen cinematic labyrinth is a satiric and surreal look at the weird world of tomorrow from one of cinema’s kinkiest geniuses.
Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1973, HD presentation, 212 min.