Oscar catch-up and others

The following is a breakdown of films, provided to give you a guide in what to catch up with in terms of Oscar nominees and non-nominated films that deserve some acknowledgement. I break it down in the categories of Major nominees in theaters, Major nominees on DVD/ Streaming/ Cable, Minor nominees in theaters, Minor nominees on DVD/ Streaming/ Cable, and Others. For the record, I consider major nominees to be Picture, Director, the 4 Acting categories, the 2 Screenplay categories, Feature Length Documentary and Animated Film (Feature Length).  

 

 

Major nominees in theaters:

AMERICAN HUSTLE- Good acting and a nice feel for grimy late 1970s. But the caper story inside the film doesn't excite or hold as much water compared to say, The Sting or Nine Queens. And some scenes where the improve seems to be going on forever, they could be tightened. I'm speaking mostly of Jennifer Lawrence scenes which take place in the home. Plus, there are better films out there than this entertaining though somewhat overrated film,

 

NEBRASKA, THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, 12 YEARS A SLAVE,

 

DALLAS BUYERS CLUB- out on DVD, yet are still playing in theaters here and there. A good story with great performances from Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto. Yeah I wrote great, a term I generally don't use with current films but with older ones. These gentlemen's probable Oscar wins will be well deserved. The film itself seemed to go down the path of a generic Road to Redemption film that I thought ranged from ok to interesting. Then we're introduced to Leto's character and things pickup. By the time the actual Club itself is formed, that thought left my mind and I just went with the flow. But there were better films this year than this, and a Best Picture nomination? Not so sure about that,

 

GRAVITY- also out on DVD. But far more effective in a theater. Especially in IMAX 3-D, though regular 3-D will do just fine,

 

PHILOMENIA, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, HER, FROZEN, THE GREAT BEAUTY,

 

THE WIND RISES- played in at least one theater in New York back in November for a week, so it qualifies for both Oscar and a Best of 2013 list. Will be released in Manhattan again on Feb 21, and expand to the likes of Kew Gardens and Cinema Arts Centre on Feb 28. Unsure if I'll be able to see this before March 2nd,

 

ERNEST AND CELESTINE- had it's one week qualifying run just like The Wind Rises. However it isn't scheduled to receive a full release before mid March, at least two weeks after the Oscars,

 

THE ACT OF KILLING- good documentary that covers the surviving military and hired gangsters who participated in the Indonesian coup of 1965. And by participated I mean committing genocide, killing about a million people who were either alleged Communists, or just had the audacity not to go with the flow of a military dictatorship. Now making a typical documentary about the history of this period in country, would probably led to harm coming to the filmmakers and/or potential interview subjects. What the filmmakers did was have most members of a death squad (calling themselves gangsters like they're performing a public service), reenact how they achieved their killings by any cinematic means within their budget. Whether they do film noir, or a war film, or in one surreal instance, a lavish yet small scale musical number. Now we're talking about thieves and killers who modeled themselves after their favorite movie gangsters, killer film buffs if you will. Killers who have been either protected by and/or still serve the military dictatorship. Amazing that the filmmakers didn't get killed for doing this. What's more amazing is the older gangster whose bravado slowly goes away over the course of shooting, and whose conscience is slowly taking over and leaving him almost physically ill. Frankly I would be stunned if this didn't win. 

 

Major nominees on DVD/ streaming/ cable:

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, CUTIE AND THE BOXER, 20 FEET FROM STARDOM, DIRTY WARS, THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN- might still find all of these films in a theater, but more readily available on DVD,

 

THE SQUARE- you might still find it playing in Manhattan, but it'll be easier to view on Netflix,
 

BLUE JASMINE- Cate Blanchett's incredible performance as basically a cross between Bernie Madoff's wife and Blanche DuBois redux, elevates the film to a thumbs-up. But in this variation of Streetcar Named Desire, I bought the upper class world flashbacks far more often than the present-day working class scenes, notwithstanding Andrew Dice Clay's performance,

 

THE HUNT, NO, A ROYAL AFFAIR, THE CROODS, DESPICABLE ME 2- Three nominees for last year's Oscar Foreign Language film and the other nominees for Best Animated Film this year. Yep, they count toward a best of 2013 list as well.

 

Minor nominees in theaters:

THE GRANDMASTER, THE INVISIBLE WOMAN, 

 

THE BOOK THIEF- I have no interest whatsoever,

 

SAVING MR BANKS- ditto because I feel like I'm getting a false bill of goods with the depiction of the personalities involved. This probably won't be an issue if I caught this film came up for me on Cable or on DVD. But in this situation, where it costs me money and I need to catch up with other films, no go, 

 

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG- Good ripping yarn, unburdened by the need to delve as heavily into setup like the previous Hobbit film. Neither one matches the quality of any of the Lord of the Rings films, but they don't have to be. Except for an extreme lack of suspense regarding all characters from the LOTR films here, these are already better prequels than of the Star Wars prequels,

 

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS, LONE SURVIVOR, MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM, 

 

 

Minor nominees on DVD/ streaming/ cable:

JACKASS PRESENTS: BAD GRANDPA, THE GREAT GATSBY, ALL IS LOST, PRISONERS, THE LONE RANGER,

 

IRON MAN 3- While I wasn't thrilled to go through the Tony Stark loses confidence storyline yet again, the film buff in me was thrilled that we got an action-oriented remake of Sullivan's Travels. And as far as Marvel movies are concerned it was a little better than the decent Thor sequel, and a major improvement over Iron Man 2.),

 

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS- Again, not thrilled with the initial idea, that we got a prequel/ remake of Wrath of Khan. That said, the film is fun. and Benedict Cumberbatch makes an effective Khan.

 

 

Others:

THE PAST- From the writer/director of A Separation, the film made the shortlist for the Foreign Language film nomination yet didn't get nominated, and I haven't a clue why.

BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR- But at least The Past made it to the shortlist. How this film didn't even get that far, I have no idea. Except for maybe the content that got this a NC-17 rating. That is disappointing.

 

MUD, MUSEUM PIECES, COMPUTER CHESS- As you can see, I've been on a bit of an Indie film kick.

 

MAN OF STEEL- The best of the blockbuster franchises/reboots of 2013. I kinda feel alone in terms of how much I liked, not too many others seem to share my enjoyment. Nice to have a vital Krypton. Good to see struggle in young Kal-El's life in Smallville, and even better to have valid motivations for villainy in Michael Shannon's General Zod (simplistic terms I admit, but that's my bad, not Zack Snyder's). In Henry Cavill, we have the most appealing Superman since Christopher Reeves (or the animated version voiced by Tim Daly if you're going to get technical on me). Admittedly I was getting a little fatigued with the demolition of Metropolis, and didn't care to have my attention taken away by seeing Perry White saving a day player. But I wasn't that fatigued with the second Superman/ Zod fight, and I was completely ok with the killing sequence. Violence with consequences, ok by me, even in a Superman film. Maybe the excess on display was more acceptable in an earlier time, maybe around the time Superman The Movie came out. Oh well.   

 

PUSSY RIOT: A PUNK PRAYER- Interesting documentary that works well in giving us an idea of the world these three women, on trial in what feels like a legalized kangaroo court, came from. The vitality of the various activist backdrops the three women came from, including part of the actual protest inside the Moscow cathedral that got them arrested in the first place, is important for context. Especially when we cut back to the actual trial itself. Yes, I think you can accuse these members and the group in general of poor taste, but to arrest whoever they could catch and try and convict for up to seven years in Siberia? Wow, whose the bigger offender here? Made in a time where frankly, any early release seemed unlikely. And even after their release, watching the film makes one think it's when, not if another show trial takes place. That this didn't make the final 5 for a Best Documentary nomination is a bit disappointing.

 

STORIES WE TELL- Interesting documentary of director Sarah Polley's attempt to learn who her biological father is, since she can't learn it from her mother, who died when she was very young. With the points of view from her siblings, fathers, other relatives and her mother's friends, most of whom conflict with one another. At a certain point I felt "Sheesh girl, hasn't someone as smart as yourself ever heard of Rashomon? Why are you surprised by the different interpretations?" Yet this film maintains interest and continues to show development in Polley as a Director, as displayed in her earlier Away From Her and Take This Waltz. 

KON-TIKI- One of last year's Oscar nominees for Foreign film. Good albeit short (we received a shorter edit than other parts of the world) telling the story of Thor Heyerdahl's attempt to prove South Americans settled the Polynesian Islands. You would have to look up the historical inaccuracies on your own, but they appear to be on the day to day interaction of the crew, not the difficulties of the journey itself. Good capturing of the period and reenactment of the journey, where the crew used only materials that would have been available back in the day. A solid adventure film, but no way it's in the same breath as Amour,

A HIJACKING- And speaking of Norwegian films, here's a better one. A fictional variation of the story told in Captain Phillips, that has a dramatic take on the story. Yes, Somali pirates hijack a cargo ship, though we never see the actual hijacking itself. We have pirates who were far better organized in their hijacking operation, and since this a Norwegian ship, don't hold your breath for Navy Seals. Part of the story is on the ship, with emphasis on the ship's cook, desperate to stay alive. The other part surrounds the CEO of the company that owns the ship; with a deeply felt responsibility to bring his employees home safe, and just enough arrogance as a Master of the Universe to ignore some of his American hostage adviser's words, and cause more muddying of the waters than needed. Especially when we go past Day 90, and nerves on both sides are strained to the breaking point. Tense, well done drama.

HANNAH AREDNT- With this film, you will be forced to think. There is talk and some philosophy, where words and thoughts have meaning and can hurt. The audience is expected to follow along and keep up, even though they don't need to know the history to get an idea of what's depicted. Covering the period of Hannah Arednt's life, just before, during, and just after she covered the Eichmann trial. It covers when she coined the term "the banality of evil" and reported how some Jews were collaborators, and the film covers the brutal fallout for writing such things. The fallout was both personal and professional, and both were painful. Rainer Werner Fassbinder's former acolytes, director Margarethe von Trotta and actress Barbara Sukowa in the title role, have learned well from him. Complex material made accessible and interesting. 

THE GATEKEEPERS- The 2013 Oscar nominated documentary from last year, so it qualifies for a Best of 2013 list. The 6 former heads of Israel's secret service, the Shin Bet. All looking back on their job, their times there, the need to do the job despite any criticism, and any guilt they might have (not about the tasks, but maybe about collateral damage). Once they left the job, all of them wished the cycle of violence would end, all of them felt exhausted and drained, but they're not delusional to think their successors' lot will improve. Only the six former chiefs speak, with news footage, footage from those hit on the ground. 

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE- An improvement over the previous film. Tighter script even if it feels a little too rushed, and having newer characters like the ones played by Jena Malone and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman gives us a fuller, more interesting universe. A more complicated Hunger Game, along with improved visual effects also helps.

THE CONJURING- Good low-ish tech horror film. More like The Haunting yet more effective with today's audiences I feel. With enough of a understated yet solid feel for the early 1970s period and a realistic obstacle of a family with little in the way of resources to just get up and leave the creepy house. A pleasant surprise from this past summer. 

 

SPRING BREAKERS- I felt there was promise with Harmony Korine, back when I saw Kids. But I didn't embrace Gummo when it came out and that admittedly has clouded me from embracing anything else he's done. I've loosened up a bit when it comes to Ken Park, and now that I've caught Spring Breakers, I think I'm willing to try Gummo again sometime. As for Spring Breakers, it's an uncomfortable antidote to Girls Gone Wild/ Spring Break. Uncomfortable in a good way. Oh you get lots of young jiggling flesh, but you get desensitized over the course of the film to it. Desensitized to the point of us viewing all the girls like the boys do, as blurry images that just happen to grind, get wet and seemed poised to drop trow. Which is I believe the point. We get to know four young women, and they strut around in their bikinis, but the whole Spring Break process makes them into pieces of meat like every other woman in the film. That is until they meet Mack Daddy James Franco whose performance, like Blue Jasmine's Cate Blanchett, is what makes the film a thumbs-up. Bit an unrealistic ending, yet dreamlike enough to make acceptable.

Revivals: late February edition

Hey all. Mike here with a list of revivals for the later half of February. A small list; only three films, all have been posted on at least one prior list, though I've only caught one of them on the big screen. Not for lack of trying mind you, but I digress. Sorry it's not a larger list. But I haven't had a lot of free time this month, and when I have had a chance to see a movie, it's been all Oscar nominees for this year. Okay, I saw The Lego Movie as well, boy that was fun, but again, I digress. Here we go with the list:



CABARET- Fri Feb 21 at 7- Museum of the Moving Image- A new DCP restoration, as part of the Museum's See It Big series: Musicals edition. He spent decades working on the stage, but Bob Fosse only lived long enough to direct 5 films. To some of you who read this, Fosse might be just the guy involved in Chicago; that mediocre film (not in my opinion) or that musical that casts hacks, soap opera types, singers who can't act, and actors from The Sopranos who can't sing. Fosse was/is much much more. Consider Cabaret as proof, just as I previously stated All That Jazz as proof last month.

Cabaret, along with Fiddler on the Roof, Grease and All That Jazz, were the only successful musicals of the 1970s, both critically and commercially. Sorry but I don't consider Saturday Night Fever, Woodstock or The Last Waltz as musicals, someone with a better sense of history can tell me how well Jesus Christ Superstar did, and Willy Wonka, Tommy, Phantom of the Paradise and Rocky Horror I consider to be cult films, not bonafide hits. 8 Oscars, in the year of the Godfather. Among the winners were Liza for Actress, Grey in his signature role for Supporting Actor (over Caan, Duvall and Pacino for Godfather!), Geoffrey Unsworth (2001, Superman) for Cinematography, and Fosse for Director. This was the year Bob won the Oscar, Tony and Emmy for Best Director, a feat never pulled off before or since.Number 5 on AFI's recent Top Musical list. I've never seen all of it in one sitting from beginning to end, but would like to:

http://www.movingimage.us/visit/calendar/2014/02/21/detail/cabaret 


NORTH BY NORTHWEST- Sat Feb 22 at 8:45- Film Forum- The start of the Film Forum's Complete Hitchcock retrospective. Everyone of Hitch's films, including the silent ones, will be screened for at least one day and/or night. I'm sorry I won't be able to post more than a few of them. Partially out of lack of time on some days/nights on my end. Partially because I'm indifferent about posting the likes of say, Spellbound, Family Plot and Stage Fright. And partially because I may have already exhausted the possible people I know coming into the city for the likes of say, Psycho, The Birds or The Wrong Man. Anyway, the film that launches this retrospective is North By Northwest, in a brand new DCP retro. 

The best of all the lightweight Alfred Hitchcock films. No big morals here. Just sit back and relax, as 'everyman' Cary Grant gets confused as a secret agent by sinister forces led by James Mason. He runs from them and runs from the law, for a murder at the United Nations he didn't commit. Of course all this running around doesn't stop Grant from taking time to flirt with mysterious Eva Marie Saint, in some of the most fun innuendo that the remnants of the Production Code would allow. And watch out for not only a crop duster, but Martin Landau and his "woman's intuition".

I use the term everyman loosely when describing Grant as an Everyman. But according to Gene Wilder on his episode of Inside The Actors Studio, that's how Grant described himself during a chance meeting on a cruise ship, where the Northwest homage Silver Streak, was playing. Wilder was pleasantly stunned to here this description, as well as how Grant was nice enough to include Wilder as being on the same level, but I digress.Fun film, with good performances, a snappy though unsubtle Bernard Herrmann score, and featuring one of Saul Bass's best opening credit sequences. Oscar nominations for the great Editing, Art Direction (check out say, the U.N. and Mount Rushmore), and Ernest Lehman's script.

I tried to see this on the big screen multiple times over the past 10 years. I missed my chance about 9 or so years back, when it was screened for several weekends at midnight at the Paris theater. I'm sorry I missed catching it on the Paris's large screen, but I blame a girl named Amanda for that. Then I finally saw a digital projection at the Museum of the Moving Image almost two years ago. A near sell-out, that looked and sounded great. The jokes landed great, and the audience was in hushed, rapt attention thru out the Mount Rushmore finale (except for the bits of humor sprinkled in). The Forum's screen will be more than adequate for this occasion, and the picture and sound should come off well with this new restoration. Their sound system should rock the hell out of Herrmann's score so to speak, one of the few scores I've hummed after a screening days and weeks afterwards.

The film will play for three days two nights on the weekend of February 21st. I can only make the 22nd at 8:45, but click the link this paragraph for other times. And come and/or but earlier because this thing will sell out, or at least be crowded. Especially on the weekend evening screenings and the Sunday morning one as well:

http://www.filmforum.org/movies/more/north_by_northwest3 


NEW YORK, NEW YORK- Fri Feb 28 at 7- Museum of the Moving Image- Also from the Museum's See It Big series: Musicals edition. A Martin Scorsese musical that failed with some of the same critics that praised Taxi Driver to the hilt. From 1977, it was up against Star Wars, Smokey and the Bandit, The Deep, to a lesser degree A Bridge Too Far, and Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo, it was DOA at the box office. It has since gained respect in the intervening years, though the amount of respect is arguable.

A mix of MGM-style musicals, with a drama delivered with almost Actors Studio/Method messiness and almost blunt force trauma to the leads. Jimmy Doyle (Robert De Niro), an aspiring saxophonist meets and is at first rejected by singer Francine Evans (Liza Minnelli). They continue to bump into each other, a friendship blossoms, followed by romance, and then marriage. All the while, both struggle to succeed at their craft, which begins to put an unbearable strain on their relationship. Eventually, this weight becomes too heavy to handle, especially when one is more successful than the other.

Scorsese's love for this era (post World War 2 into the 1950s) of music - as well as cinema - is overflowing throughout the picture. Most striking is the brutally realistic depiction of a disintegrating marriage, filmed in a series of long, tense takes. De Niro's studied nuanced take and Minnelli's openly emotional take on their characters do mix well, even though this wasn't a shared opinion at the time. And boy does one have to wait a long while for musical numbers to occur. But when they do, especially with Liza's performance of the title song, look out! (in a good way).

Critics were literally split, between Wow, Ugh, or a noble failure with some great moments and some crap moments. And when I mean Ugh, I mean that this was Scorsese's follow-up to the great Taxi Driver, which was met by some critics with "Oh Hell No. How dare you trap me with such obnoxious people". With no legion of great reviews, the musical being no longer a popular genre, and going up against Star Wars as it began to expand widely, New York New York didn't do well at all. Whether you deem this as an underrated gem or as a noble failure or as an actual good film, you can decide without the heavy expectations of the day. Screened in 35mm and its original 2 hr 35min cut, as opposed to its 1981 re-release with 8 additional minutes or its radically recut 2 hr 15 min version. Decide for yourself:

 http://www.movingimage.us/visit/calendar/2014/02/28/detail/new-york-new-york


Let me know if there's interest, later all.

February revivals: first half

Hey all, Mike here with a revival list for the first half of February. A very short list of one. Partially because of my personal schedule and need to catch up with Oscar films, and partially because there isn't much else in this half of the month that excites me. I would have been ok skipping this part of the month and post a list of 2 or 3 films in two weeks. But the following film I will make an exception for:

 

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA- Sun Feb 9 at 3- Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria- A new DCP restoration. Part of the Museum's See It Big series. They were only scheduled to show movie musicals for this particular retrospective. But after Peter O'Toole's death, the Museum quickly scheduled his best and most famous film.

This is one of top 5 all time favorite films. That is TOP 5 all time. Whenever one of my top 5 or so is available to see, I must post it, no matter if I own it, or how many times I've seen it on screen. Arguably the best of the David Lean epics with some political relevancy even today, as officer T.E. Lawrence takes a routine mission into leading his own guerrilla army against the Turks, becoming more obsessed with every success. Yet the intimate moments are treated with as much care and respect as the epic scenes, the script deserves just as much respect as the visuals, and has there been a better leading debut for a star than O'Toole in the title role? Ok, Chaplin and Brando, but I can't think of any better lead debuts in color films. 

On both AFI Top 100 lists. 10 Nominations, including Actor for O'Toole, the Screenplay, and Supporting Actor for Omar Sharif (don't get me started on his entrance!). 7 Oscars, including Picture, Score (maybe the best film score ever; not sure, but if you have better choices, let me know), and Director for Lean. If you haven't seen it, the big screen is THE way, there isn't a TV screen big enough to pull this entirely off. And the Museum's screen is certainly good enough to do the job. The Museum's website says there will be an intermission. That last time I went there for a film with a scheduled intermission, was The Right Stuff. There ended up being no intermission there, but I hope there's one for Lawrence. The film is too long without one:

 

http://www.movingimage.us/visit/calendar/2014/02/09/detail/lawrence-of-Arabia

Let me know if there's interest. Please let there be interest. Later all.

Revivals: late January edition

Hey all, Mike here with a short list for the rest of January. A small-ish list, but one I'm enthusiastic about. Let's start with the screening I want to catch the most:

ALL THAT JAZZ introduced by Matt Zoller Seitz- Fri Jan 24 at 7- Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria- Part of the Museum of the Moving Image's See It Big series: Musicals Edition. A DCP restoration of Bob Fosse's semi-autobiographical film, better than any print previously used in other revival houses. Around 1974, Fosse was trying to direct, co-write and choreograph Chicago on Broadway starring his (long separated) wife Gwen Verdon: while trying to balance his relationship with girlfriend Ann Reinking with the other women he slept around with, keep up a relationship with his daughter, and struggle to edit his film Lenny into something at least watchable. All while being a chain smoker and popping Dexedrine like they were candies. Wanna guess how many heart attacks he had, and how close to death he was?

After he got better and both projects went up, what's a man to do? After he put up the show Dancin', he chose to make all of that into a movie. His friend Shirley MacLaine claims to have given Fosse the idea, he claimed not to remember. But otherwise, change the names to protect the innocent as well as those he might not have liked, such as Michael Bennett, played in a way by John Lithgow. Made sure he came off as the biggest jerk of all, yet still likable. Bring in some veterans who have been around his world, like Ben Vereen, Leland Palmer (who came out of retirement to play the Gwen Verdon type, then went back into retirement), designer Tony Walton to help with the Art Direction, and Reinking to essentially play herself (which she does well, plus dances terrifically). Make the film essentially a flashback from a place that might be in-between life and death, and that might only be happening in the Fosse-like man's imagination, with Jessica Lange as one luscious Angel of Death, and you've got a helluva picture.

Non-original music and newly developed Fosse choreography shine here. For those who have difficulty with musicals where the singing and dancing come from inorganic places, note the singing and dancing only come from the audition/rehearsal of a musical, one moment performing for Dad, and that imagination place between life and death. The best example was the use of Teddy Pendergrass's On Broadway. In another F.U. to Michael Bennett (allegedly), Fosse whittled down the audition process of ensemble dancers as depicted in A Chorus Line (which crushed Chicago at the Tonys and was still a massive hit when All That Jazz was released) into a mere 3-5 minutes of what Fosse thought was more realistic. It's one of the showstoppers of this film.

That said, we're in for the ride, because we buy Roy Scheider as the Fosse type. According to Razzle Dazzle (the Fosse biography by Kevin Boyd Grubb); unlike Warren Beatty who wanted massive rewrites to fit his tempo, or Jack Nicholson who was more interested in watching the Lakers than talking in depth with Fosse, or Richard Dreyfuss who quit before he was fired during rehearsal, Scheider was more submissive. He was actually willing to learn how to be Fosse from Fosse, not impose a character of his own creation. Might not necessarily be ideal, but film is the director's medium. You might not believe Scheider was ever a dancer before the last scene, but you do come away believing everything else.

Which brings me to one particular part of All That Jazz. The two top films for me that came out in 1979 are All That Jazz and Apocalypse Now. The difference for me between Apocalypse being very good and All That Jazz being not only the best film of 1979, but also in my personal top 35 ever, is the ending. Apocalypse is one of the best, until we get to see Marlon The World's Fattest Green Beret, and then Coppola's film deflates and suffers (Redux only partially fixes this). But the ending of All That Jazz is a great finale, the build-up leads to a payoff greater than expected. And when it's time for us to go, what could be better than a send-off with singing, dancing lights, spectacle, and everyone we ever became close to giving us a fond farewell. The little details is what Fosse nailed, while Francis had fat Marlon in the jungle.

Not as big a hit as Cabaret, but successful enough. 9 Oscar nominations, including Picture, Fosse for Director and Screenplay, Scheider for Actor and also for Cinematography. 4 Oscars, including Art Direction and Editing. In fact, it one the first 4 awards announced at the 1980 ceremonies. Don't know why they didn't start with a Supporting Category like in other years. But after that, the Kramer vs. Kramer steamroller commenced, and All That Jazz's commercial momentum slowed. It also won Fosse the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. One can argue what was the first standout, live action movie musical of the 2000s. Whether you think its Moulin Rouge or Rob Marshall's Chicago. But the last great live action musical before any of them was All That Jazz. 

The film will be introduced by Matt Zoller Seitz, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and contributor to rogerebert.com. He wrote a glowing look-back on All That Jazz for the New York Times, for the film's 30th anniversary. He cited how this and Fosse's other  film work was inspired by the likes of Alain Resnais and Sidney Lumet, and how said filmography has inspired the likes (in terms of narrative and editing room choices) of Steven Soderbergh, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, and Sofia Coppola. I've included a link to that enthusiastic article below the Moving Image link, and I'm sure Mr. Seitz will bring the same enthusiasm to his introduction:
   

http://www.movingimage.us/visit/calendar/2014/01/24/detail/all-that-jazz

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/movies/27jazz.html?_r=0

MY DARLING CLEMENTINE- Sat Jan 25 at 5:30, 7:30 and 9:30 and Mon Jan 27 and Thurs Jan 30 (both tentative for me) at 7:30 and 9:30- Film Forum- A new DCP restoration. Another John Ford classic in a career full of classics. For me, my preferred classics from Ford's career are Mister Roberts and The Ox-Bow Incident. For the likes of Scorsese, it's The Searchers. For others it might be say, Stagecoach or The Quiet Man or How Green Was My Valley. For the likes of Sam Peckinpaugh and in terms of some shots (according to the Film Forum's website), Ingmar Bergman, it would be My Darling Clementine.

A telling of the Wyatt Earp/ Doc Holliday story, culminating in the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral. Plays around with facts, makes up or combines characters, the later in the case of the title character, Clementine Carter. Seems this story gelled together in part thanks to Wyatt Earp's widow stymieing all screenplay efforts prior to her death in late 1944, in part out of memories of Ford talking to Earp on Western film sets back in the Silent Era, and because of the popularity of the Wyatt Earp books from author Stuart Lake (now "considered largely fictional"). Even then, it probably wouldn't have been made by Ford if he didn't have one more film left to make as part of his contract with 20th Century Fox, so he stuck with a genre and man he felt comfortable with.

Heavy on atmosphere and dealing with absolutes, especially against dastardly Old Man Clanton (Walter Brenann) and his sons. Two different love-crossed relationships involving Wyatt, Clementine, bucolic Doc Holliday (Victor Mature) and a Mexican hooker. And stoic Everyman Henry Fonda as Wyatt, riding through Monument Valley to the lawless town of Tombstone. Great Cinematography as well.

A film generally on the short list among the best Westerns ever made. This DCP restoration is the 104 minute archival cut from UCLA's film archive, as opposed to the 97 minute theatrical release. Ford's original 127 minute or so cut, taken away from him by Fox, seems forever lost. But we have something good here:
    

http://www.filmforum.org/movies/more/my_darling_clementine

THE MUPPET SHOW episodes with Rita Moreno, Steve Martin and Carol Burnett- Sun Jan 26 at 1- Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria- A chance to see 3 episodes of The Muppet Show, uncut. At least how it was aired in America, they tended to be a little longer in Britain. The first official episode with guest star Rita Moreno, with our first Veterinarian's Hospital, first Muppet News Flash, first Swedish Chef, and the first time Fozzie bombs onstage. Followed by the Steve Martin episode, where the Show is "Closed for auditions". Martin shows off his banjo skills and Statler and Waldorf make a rare appearance out of the balcony. The day concludes with Carol Burnett episode, where all attempts to perform are blocked by Gonzo's impromptu dance marathon.

Moreno received her first Emmy for her work here in a performance that made her an EGOT, the Burnett episode won an Emmy for its writing, and I've enjoyed the change of pace from the usual format with Martin's episode. All will be introduced and explained by Craig Shemin, president of the Jim Henson Legacy:

http://www.movingimage.us/visit/calendar/2014/01/26/detail/the-muppet-show

 

THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE for 7.50- Thurs Jan 30 at 7 and 9:30- Bow Tie Cinemas- I tried to see this a couple of years ago at Lincoln Center, but Hurricane Irene hit so bye-bye went that opportunity. Aside from one or two Midnight screenings at Landmark Sunshine Cinema, the other screenings of this film have been at this Chelsea location. Those screenings were not convenient for me, and these two screenings might be just as inconvenient for me. But since I'm not exactly sure how my life will go on that day, I will post this film and see what happens. 

Either the 7pm screening with a Hedda Lettuce intro, or 9:30 without it, both for 7.50. I don't know if there will be discreet-ish commentary in the style of MST3K by Hedda for the 7pm show; the film doesn't entirely need it, but there are sections where it wouldn't hurt.

As for The Poseidon Adventure itself, I've been waiting to see this film on the big screen for a while now. The best disaster film ever made. One part action film, one part adventure film and one part religious parable, a group of passengers try to survive when the ocean liner they were on completely capsizes. They're attempting to reach the bottom or outer hull of the ship, which is the thinnest part of the ship and is above the surface. It's a theory that help will come in that direction, and that theory comes from a young boy, but those who haven't given up feel it's the only way to survive and see The Morning After (the title of the Oscar winning song). Gene Hackman plays an atypical hero, an ultra-self-righteous, Captain Ahab-esque, defrocked preacher whose personality clashes with loud doubter Ernest Borgnine may proof more problematic than the fires and leaks the group encounters. Throw in aspects of The Flying Dutchmen, Ship of Fools, other survivors wandering the ship like they were in the desert, and all the survivors looking for salvation of some sort, and you got parables right in your face. Or you can enjoy the strong acting and good action set pieces. Fine cast that includes Red Buttons, Jack Albertson, Leslie Neilsen, Roddy McDowell and Oscar nominated Shelley Winters. A special Oscar for its Visual Effects. 8 nominations in total, including Cinematography, Editing and for John Williams' fine score:

http://www.bowtiecinemas.com/movies/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/

A STAR IS BORN (1954)- Fri Jan 31 at 7- Museum of the Moving Image- A 35mm print as part of the Museum's See It Big series: Musicals edition. 2 hours 56 minutes long; a little shorter than the advertised cuts at Lincoln Center a year or two ago of 3 hours 1 minute. I don't know what exactly stays in or out. Hell I'm guessing that I can do this screening at all, so I'm posting this just in case. Warner Bros. executives cut out 30 minutes after the film's premiere, before it was released. Director George Cukor fought it, to no avail. Not only was a lot of A Star Is Born cut, but a musical number, Born in a Trunk was added. In 1983, a version that restored all but 5 minutes was released, but the shortened cut seemed to be what was usually screened on some stations and revival screenings. This cut is longer than most of what has been screened in other revival houses prior to 2008.

Chances are you know the story, whether it's this version, Janet Gaynor's, Streisand's or some variation so I don't have to go into it too much. Cukor's fist musical and first color film, where Judy Garland plays the unknown who becomes a star, and James Mason plays the leading man who discovers her, marries her, and falls apart due to depression and alcoholism. Bogie, Gary Cooper, Brando, Montgomery Clift and Cary Grant all turned down the role; they all apparently didn't want to be perceived as loser has-beens, though Grant was supposedly afraid of working with a probably unreliable drug addict like Garland. Grant seemed to be right regarding the difficulties it would take to work with the actress. Illnesses both real and imaginary (or made up?), fluctuating weight and difficulties from alcoholism and drug addiction made it a problematic shoot. And that was before Warner Bros. decided that A Star is Born had to be their first CinemaScope picture, forcing Cukor to scrap everything that had been shot and do it all over again. Oh joy. 

Garland (singing mostly Ira Gershwin tunes) and Mason were both Oscar nominated, as was the Art Direction, Costume Design, Music and the Gershwin- Harold Arlen song "The Man That Got Away". That song might just be the highlight of the film. Overall, may or may not be the best version of this story, but one that holds up:

http://www.movingimage.us/visit/calendar/2014/01/31/detail/a-star-is-born

Let me know if there's interest. Take care.

mid January revivals

Hey all, Mike here with a quick revival list for the middle of January. A little late but this is what I can post, as well as all that I'm interested. Here we go:

 

REBECCA (1940) with post-film discussion with Lea DeLaria - Mon Jan 13 at 8- IFC Center- A one night only screening of Hitchcock's only Oscar winner for Best Picture, as part of IFC Center's Queer Art Cinema Series. You may prefer to wait for February or March, when it screens at the Film Forum as part of their Complete Hitchcock retrospective (dates and times TBA). I'm not sure if I can wait that long, so I'm posting it now.

Joan Fontaine stars in the first variation of the same character she would later play in Hitchcock's Suspicion. She gets swept away by a rich man, in this case widower Laurence Olivier. But after a whirlwind engagement that leads to a fairy tale wedding, the happy couple return to the husband's estate, Manderlay. Complete with creepy mansion, creepier questions as to what happened to Olivier's late wife Rebecca, and the creepiest of all servants, housekeeper Mrs. Danvers. Brrrr! That woman Danvers is an Artic Vortex unto herself.

Hitchcock's first American project, adapted from Daphne du Maurier's novel. A success of mood and style, that kept Hitch's ticket to Hollywood permanently punched. Oscar nominations for Olivier for Actor, Fontaine for Actress, Judith Anderson for Supporting Actress as Danvers, Hitch for Director, plus Screenplay, Editing, Score, Art Direction and Special Effects. Oscars for Picture and Cinematography. The only film to ever win for Best Picture without winning for either Director, Screenplay or in any of the acting categories.

After the film, there will be a discussion of the film's subtle and not-so-subtle aspects with actress/ performer Lea DeLaria. Some of you know her as a comedian, cabaret performer or from a Broadway revival of On The Town over ten years ago. Others may know DeLaria now from the Netflix series, Orange is the New Black. She's funny as hell and not always, eh, subtle. Should make an interesting post-film talk. But note that tickets should be bought at least ninety minutes prior, and Rebecca is 2 hours 10 minutes long, so be prepared for a long night if you do it:

http://www.ifccenter.com/series/queerartfilm-winterspring-2014/

 

IL SORPASSO- Mon Jan 13 and Wed Jan 15 at 7:30 and 9:40- Film Forum- A DCP screening, restored from the original camera negative. Don't know this jocular Italian road comedy, mainly because it's been out of circulation in the U.S. for quite a while. But this film, described by the Forum as a forefather to the likes of Borat and The Hangover, is something I'm curious about. As for the rest of this pitch, I'll have to do a cut and paste and let the Forum website do the work for me. Hey, if I knew the film, I'd do the rest of the write-up myself:

(1962) Vittorio Gassman’s just looking for a phone in a holiday-deadened Rome to say he’s already an hour late, while uptight law student Jean-Louis Trintignant just wants to keep on studying, but soon they’re whizzing past everything on the road as shameless hot dog Gassman rides that very distinctive horn, treats Trintignant to meals that he isn’t paying for, even crashing at his own ex-wife’s, where he’s horrified to find teenage daughter Catherine Spaak is… like him? But even as Trintignant switches from “Let’s go back” to “this is the best day of my life,” there’s one more thing to “surpass.” Smash road comedy, a long-unseen classic of the commedia all’italiana, from sadly-underrated titan Risi. Approx. 105 min. DCP. 

http://www.filmforum.org/movies/more/il_sorpasso2

THE EVIL DEAD (1981)- Sat Jan 18 at Midnight- IFC Center- A DCP midnight screening of the cult horror classic that started Sam Raimi's career. A horror classic that, despite the ultra low budget this must have been shot on, holds up well. The screening is billed as some sort of uncut director's print. Don't know what that means exactly, except maybe no intentional darkening of a certain tree scene:

http://www.ifccenter.com/films/the-evil-dead/

JAWS- Sat Jan 18 at Midnight- IFC Center- A DCP screening, and if it's the same DCP I saw at the Film Forum in the summer of 2012, then we're getting a good one. Jaws, a popular film over at IFC Center (file under Yeah: No Kidding), plays once again late at night all MLK weekend long. But I'm afraid like Evil Dead, Saturday the 18th is my only option, so it's one or the other. On both AFI Top 100 lists, but higher up for me. Also in my personal Top 35 as opposed to just one of one hundred. Don't underestimate the quality of this Spielberg film on the big screen. It's not just another fish film. 3 Oscars including John Williams's memorable score, and a nomination for Best Picture (along with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Barry Lyndon, Dog Day Afternoon and Nashville; not shabby: 

http://www.ifccenter.com/films/jaws/

That's all for now. The next list will be about as big, and more notable if you're a Fosse or Garland fan. Later all.

Revivals: Christmas and New Year's edition

Hey all, Mike here with a list of revivals to catch during the Christmas week and New Year's weekend. A lot of these films conflict with each other, and I don't care. It' s about quality people, and I'm sure everything will sought themselves out. Here we go:



2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY- Thurs Dec 26 at 9:40, Fri Dec 27 at 12:30, 3:30, 6:30 and 9:30, Sat Dec 28 at 12:30, 3:30 and 6:30, Mon Dec 30 at 3:30, 6:30 and 9:30, Thurs Jan 2 Fri Jan 3 and Tues Jan 6 at 9:30- IFC Center- For the film's 45th anniversary, A DCP screening for two weeks at IFC Center. I'm only posting the dates and times I think I could make. My favorite Kubrick film, in my personal Top 3 films. Yes I know I posted it before. I've posted it now, and I'll probably post it again, so there. Maybe I'm determined to catch this in as many different venues as possible. If I catch it here, then the only other venues in NYC left for me to catch it in, would probably be the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria (should be awesome!), MOMA (eh), and Landmark Sunshine Cinema. That last one, in East Houston, I don't know. It would probably be a Midnight screening, and I'm not doing that again unless it's at least 60 degrees and I get a ride home. Sorry, I'm digressing again . . .

For me, this is a film that I can see over and over and not feel tired about. And I go with someone who has never seen it on the big screen, or some cases never seen it prior, their reactions are interesting. There will be moments which will always inspire awe, usually before we cut away to the astronauts on Discovery. Moments of laughter (rare, but they exist), and always fascination with HAL. But whether they can embrace the film as a whole, whether they love it or not, or whether they come away admiring the film but finding impossible to embrace it; the reactions are never quite the same. But they will come having never seen something quite like this.

There will be an Overture, Intermission music, and at least 7-8 minutes of exit music. Not sure if there will be an intermission, but there might be. When I saw the 70mm print at the Walter Reade in Lincoln Center, the best part of that print over the previous DCP screenings was the look of the Dawn of Man sequence. The textures from that print for that section, popped more for me than with the DCP. But the overall sound quality and the quality of the look once we the viewer were taken up in space: Wow. I expect the same quality here: 

http://www.ifccenter.com/films/2001-a-space-odyssey/   


EMMET OTTER'S JUG-BAND CHRISTMAS and/or THE GODFATHER- Fri Dec 27 at 1 (Otter) and 7 (Godfather)- Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria- A potential double feature here of two things that, aside from being created by mouth-breathing humans from the 1970s, are very different from each. Ok, there's a strong sense of family in each project, but VERY DIFFERENT FAMILIES. One admission gets you into both Emmet Otter and Godfather, though you have a long wait if you do that.

First, Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas. Each month until the new permanent wing of the Museum is built to house the hundreds of puppets, Muppets, and other assorted items donated by Jim Henson's family, the Museum will screen something each month until 2015 that is Henson related. The wonderful Rowlf retrospective was what the museum screened in November, Emmet Otter is what they'll screen this month. This special will be screened (digital projection) about ten or eleven times this month, but I'm only posting the two screenings I think I can make.   Henson directed this 1977 adaptation of the 1971 children's story for HBO, though most of us over 35 who haven't seen it on DVD, are more familiar with the reruns on ABC back in the early and mid 80s. A variation of O'Henry's The Gift of the Magi, Emmet Otter and his mother, Ma, struggle to get by, what with menial jobs, difficult customers and mourning the death of the patriarch. But when a local talent show with a cash prize occurs, Emmet and Ma figure the best way to buy Christmas presents is to enter the show. Of course they enter separately and must sacrifice something to enter . . . 

One of the better Christmas specials ever made, though it rarely gets the props that the likes of Rudolph, Charlie Brown and The Grinch get. With fun songs from Paul Williams, and if you see this, take a good look at the art direction. In particular, the sets; probably the most appropriate looking, best realized of all the TV projects Henson had ever done. I'm sure there are exceptions but they're just not coming to mind right now. Due to copyright issues, sometimes the special doesn't include the on and offscreen narration of Kermit the Frog. But this screening will have Kermit, plus bloopers and a brief behind the scenes featurette after the special.  DVD projection for Emmet, it is over 35 years old and shot on tape after all.

Next, The Godfather, screened in a 35mm print. Part of the Museum's See It Big: Great Cinematographers retrospective. Do I really need to pitch this? Brando comeback, blah blah blah, rise of Pacino, blah blah blah, great cast that I'm not in the mood to breakdown, blah blah blah, on all great films lists worth a damn and most that are not, blah blah blah . . . I can at least say that this was the fastest 3 hours or so I ever spent watching a film. I had to ask a friend I saw this with "Wow I always felt this was a three hour plus movie". When I got the response that it was almost three full hours, I was stunned. Everything flies by straight thru to James Caan's death (for the love of God do I have to spoiler alert?!?!?), and then the rest of the film settles in. No excess fat, no wasted shots, perfection.

10 Oscar nominations, 11 if you include the one for Nino Rota's score that was later ruled ineligible because he supposedly reused his score from the film Fortunella. Among the nominations it lost was Supporting Actor for Pacino, Caan and Robert Duvall, Coppola for Director, Editing and Sound. It lost all those noms to Cabaret. If this shocks you, it's because you're not into musicals or you have no idea how good and how influential Cabaret director Bob Fosse was/is. What shocked the hell out of me was that The Godfather WASN'T nominated for Cinematography. No Art Direction nod either. This I could understand that; look it up and you'll know what I mean. But you mean to tell me 1776, Butterflies Are Free, Cabaret (the eventual winner), The Poseidon Adventure and Travels With My Aunt ALL deserved more votes than Godfather for Cinematography? I'm not saying it should have won. I had no problem if they thought Cabaret, the eventual winner, was better. But that's because I have a soft spot for the work of cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth (2001, Murder on the Orient Express, Becket, Superman: The Movie, among other credits). But Gordon Willis not even being nominated for his work is Bullshit.

But it did win 3 key Oscars: Picture, Screenplay Adaptation for Coppola and Mario Puzo, and Brando for Actor. No need to mention the Oscar controversy in this list about Brando that night. No need to mention its high place on both AFI lists. No need to mention its place in my personal top 35 (pretty high, yet not as high as Godfather 2). Just need to say; unless you're over the age of 53, or you saw its brief re-release in 1997, or saw a crappy print when it's played at Midnight at Landmark Sunshine Cinema, or caught the restored version at either the Film Forum or the Ziegfeld back in 2008, you've only seen this on tv. You've never seen it look as intended. Now is a great time to correct this:

http://www.movingimage.us/visit/calendar/2013/12/27/detail/emmet-otters-jug-band-christmas-2 

http://www.movingimage.us/visit/calendar/2013/12/27/detail/the-godfather 


DOUBLE INDEMNITY- Fri Dec 27 and Sat Dec 28 at 8:50- Film Forum- From the Forum's Barbara Stanwyck retrospective. I'm shocked that this is the only film from the retrospective that I'm posting. Ok, I saw Forty Guns last year at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria and I'm in no rush to see it again so soon, and I've seen Christmas in Connecticut twice on TV in the past three weeks.   

Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck are both cool as they plot her husband for the insurance money, but pesky investigator/moral compass Edward G. Robinson keeps getting in the way. I shouldn't be that way; if Eddie G. didn't turn in such a humane performance as basically both the audience's stand-in and the incorruptible everyman (as opposed to MacMurray's fine performance as the corrupted/ corruptible everyman), maybe this film would be slightly less better remembered. That last sentence probably made little grammatical sense, but I have little time, so I'm just moving on.

Except that it's not like Eddie G. created the performance out of a vacuum. He had Wilder as a director, and Wilder and Raymond Chandler as screenwriters (the screenwriters detested each other. Reading a little about this makes me think it was karma that Wilder had to deal with Monroe for Some Like It Hot). And let me not forget the source material: James M. Cain's novel, based on actual murder case from the 1920s.  I don't mean to dismiss Fred and Barbara, their chemistry is obvious.

7 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Wilder for Director, Stanwyck for Actress, and Wilder and Chandler for Screenplay. Surprisingly, nothing for MacMurray or Robinson. I guess after all these years, it's still easy to think of Fred as the calm presence from My Three Sons, or from the Disney movies like The Absent Minded Professor. But he's just as realistic here, smarter than he looks yet almost as smart as he thinks, dissatisfied bordering on bored, spotting the honey trap (to use the term from Munich), and yet just leave it alone without taking a taste, and then wanting more till he's over his head.

No Oscar wins, since Going My Way was a juggernaut that year. On the short list for the best film noirs ever made. Sorry, but I won't put this above the likes of Maltese Falcon, Sierra Madre and can't put this above Laura, which was released the same year as Indemnity. But I enjoy the dance Wilder, Chandler and the cast do around the Production Code: 

http://www.filmforum.org/movies/more/double_indemnity    


DEAD ALIVE- Fri December 27 at Midnight- A DCP projection. If you can see only one Peter Jackson film this season, you would probably choose to see the latest Hobbit film. If you can only see two Peter Jackson films this season, you probably still wouldn't pick Dead Alive. And If you're not into whacked out Zombie comedies, you definitely wouldn't pick Dead Alive. However, if you want to see something on the whacked-out side, and get a clue of early Jackson, here is Dead Alive.

Typical Oedipal-like story. Boy meets Girl, Boy's mother disapproves of Girl to the point of rage, Boy's mother gets bitten by a toxic monkey, Boy's mother slowly transforms into zombie-like monster and starts infecting other people, Boy and Girl must kill all the zombies around them in order for their love to stand a chance. Kill them in the bloodiest and darkly humorous way that a small-budget film from New Zealand will allow. Seriously, when it's time to kill the zombies, this is more Looney Tunes than Night of the Living Dead or even Evil Dead. And yes, there will be blood, by the gallons. Well, not every Midnight movie can be Rocky Horror, or Alien, or Jaws, or El Topo:  

http://www.ifccenter.com/films/dead-alive/ 


EMMET OTTER'S JUG-BAND CHRISTMAS and MCCABE AND MRS MILLER- Sat Dec 28 at 1 (Emmet) and 3(McCabe)- Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria- Another potential double feature, and another chance to catch Emmet Otter if Friday the 27th doesn't work for you. Again like with The Godfather on that day, this kids-heavy fare is followed by something for adults only. But if you bring the kids and you want to see McCabe and Mrs. Miller, hopefully you have an adult or someone to watch the kids until 5-5:05. The Museum will give them something to do for quite a bit of time, but I don't know about 3- 3 1/2 hours worth. But if you're not bringing any kids and you are the type to enjoy both a Jim Henson special and a borderline avant-garde Robert Altman Western, then I got a treat for you.  

I already went over Emmet Otter, so I'll move on to McCabe and Mrs. Miller. Also part of the Museum's See It Big: Great Cinematographers retrospective. A Western that must have heavily influenced at least the look of HBO's Deadwood, as well as Unforgiven. Warren Beatty (cast for box office purposes, over Altman's original choice of Elliot Gould) plays a gambler/hustler type who sets up a whorehouse/saloon with the help of Julie Christie (Oscar nominated). When mining companies try to buy out their successful business, things get bloody. But since we're in 70s Altman territory, expect some revisionist changes to the usual formula. Plus an ending that makes The Wild Bunch and Heaven's Gate look cheery in comparison, though comparatively less bloody.

This film got lost in the shuffle back in 71; released in the summer around hits like Klute and Shaft, and with influential films like French Connection, A Clockwork Orange and Last Picture Show coming later on, forget remembering this back then. Over the years, it's developed a cult following, among Western fans and Altman fans. At first, it was at least better than Altman's previous picture, Brewster McCloud. A 1990 revival/ mini re-release in London helped. Vilmos Zigmond (Close Encounters, Heaven's Gate, The Deer Hunter)'s Cinematography and Leonard Cohen's songs certainly helped, as did future revisionist Westerns like Dances With Wolves and Unforgiven. Also filled with a lot of actors from other Altman films, including Keith Carradine, Rene Auberjonois, and Shelley Duvall:

http://www.movingimage.us/visit/calendar/2013/12/28/detail/emmet-otters-jug-band-christmas-2 

http://www.movingimage.us/visit/calendar/2013/12/28/detail/mccabe-mrs-miller   


BORN YESTERDAY (1950) introduced by film editor and son of Judy Holliday, Jonathan Oppenheim- Sun Dec 29 at 8- Walter Reade at Lincoln Center- The last of Lincoln Center's George Cukor retrospective that I'll be able to post. It qualifies as a romantic comedy, but also fits the bill in terms of political satire. A big hit adaptation of Garrison Kanin's play; the screenplay is credited to Albert Mannheimer, but Kanin was brought in for uncredited re-writes, and basically did the entire adaptation himself. The film that made Judy Holliday a star. She plays the loud, uncouth girlfriend of corrupt multi-millionaire Broderick Crawford. He's playing fast and loose with the government, bribing whatever politician he can while also hiding assets. He's advised by his lawyer to marry his girlfriend to avoid her having to testify, as well as being a 'safe place' to hide assets. Crawford can't have some so dumb, so uncouth (pot calling the kettle black there) as a wife; what would people think? So Crawford hires a reporter (William Holden)  to tutor her, to make her more presentable as a wife. She turns out to be not dumb, merely ignorant. Once she learns some things, she turns out to be not only whip-smart, but a dangerous person to underestimate. She also realizes, hey, Holden's character's seems attractive . . . 

Holliday was eventually chosen by director Cukor, in part thanks to her work with him in Adam's Rib, but also thanks to co-star Katharine Hepburn "leaking" info about how good a scene stealer she was. The biggest aid to allowing Holliday to reprise her hit Broadway performance were the amount of actresses who either said no (Rita Heyworth and Jean Arthur for example), or couldn't get a loan out from another studio (Lana Turner for example), and who made a screen test that went unseen (An unknown Marilyn Monroe). 

Once Holliday was cast and the screenplay was being re-adapted by the playwright, director Cukor came up with an idea that would serve the play well. He rehearsed the film like a stage play; not unusual from the later likes of a Sidney Lumet, but unexpected here. Cukor took the further step of have a mini-theater built and have leads Holliday, Crawford and Holden perform the film in front of an audience for a week to nail down the timing.

Oscar nominations for Picture, Cukor for Director, Writing for Mannheimer (not for Kanin, though he received a Screenplay nomination that year for Adam's Rib), and Costume Design. An Oscar for Holliday for Best Actress; over the likes of Bette Davis and Anne Baxter for All About Eve and Gloria Swanson for Sunset Blvd, and the first time the Best Actress award was ever given to a comedic performance. Holiday's son, film editor Jonathan Oppenheimer (Paris Is Burning) will introduce the film. Not sure if there will be a post film Q and A, but there might be:

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/born-yesterday    


MODERN TIMES or THE GREAT DICTATOR- Wed Jan 1 at 7:20 (Times) or 9:10 (Dictator)- Film Forum- The start of the Film Forum's mini Charlie Chaplin retrospective, in honor of the 100th anniversary of Chaplin's first short. One screen will be devoted all day and night on New Year's Day, to different Chaplin stuff. Sorry that I'm not getting myself out there during the day for the likes of The Gold Rush, The Kid and The Circus. Honestly, either I'll be in no condition to do it, or I'll be out doing something else, I just know it. But I am inclined to make a trip out to see the last two films of the night, Modern Times and The Great Dictator. All films on January 1st are separate admission I'm afraid, so whether you to do one of the two Chaplin films I'm posting here, or one of the earlier ones, you'll have to pick. C'mon, we're not talking Sophie's Choice here.

First, Modern Times. For those of you out there who've never caught this before, now would be a great time. Don't think I need to go further, because if you even glance at these lists occasionally, you know Modern Times, and you're at least aware of how great it could be. The first section with the Tramp in the factory, with the famous Chaplin inside the machine sequence, is never not funny. And while it may meander and veer a bit into soap opera territory, it's never unfunny, and the sentiment isn't cloying, it's well earned and genuine. I dare say, it borders on magical. With more than able assistance from Paulette Goddard. In my personal top 100. 

Next, The Great Dictator, Chaplin's first official talking picture. And a politically bold one for its time; a satire on Fascism and full scale attack on Hitler. Chaplin wrote, directed and starred as both the dictator that wasn't named Hitler but take a wild guess, and the dictator's double who happens to be a Jewish barber. Then one day, the two are mistaken for one another. . . let the hilarity ensue. 5 Oscar nominations, including Picture, Chaplin for Actor and for the Screenplay.

Praised more for its audacity and willingness to be confrontational, years before we knew what exactly was going on with the Nazis, and it's place in history as one of the only films willing to do this back in 1940. Praised for all of this, as opposed to the quality of the film itself. So here is a chance to decide if this still holds up as entertainment, or works more as an important piece of film history and nothing more. Or both, minus the nothing more part. When I saw it, it felt a little long, but I stayed patient with it, and I feel my patience was rewarded. Ok, maybe Paulette Goddard worked better as a silent film actress in Modern Times than here. But her timing is sharp and for as long as the script allows her to play a character as opposed to caricature, she again provides more than able assistance to Chaplin.

And the film does possess one magical sequence: the Globe scene where the Dictator looks upon the world. Both comedic and balletic, and still chilling at the very end, after all these years: 

http://www.filmforum.org/movies/more/modern_times1

http://www.filmforum.org/movies/more/the_great_dictator 


CHAPLIN AT FIRST NATIONAL- Thurs Jan 2 at 8:10 and 10:15- Film Forum- Part of the Forum's Chaplin at 100 retrospective. Three of Chaplin's later shorts will be screened together. Sunnyside and Shoulder Arms from 1918, and The Pilgrim from 1923. These were made during the time Chaplin was under contract with First National, after leaving on good terms with Mutual Studios. Relations with First National grew difficult over the five or so years it took Chaplin to complete his eight picture contract. The best known film from this period is The Kid, and it was the frosty relationship and rumored merger by First National with another studio, that helped lead to Chaplin to be involved with the formation of United Artists. But all this is for another time and another site, so let's stick with these three shorts in order of screening. 

Sunnyside is where instead of playing the Tramp, Chaplin plays a farmhand who loves the farmer's daughter, even though the farmer hates him. With Chaplin's first film score, and an ending that's either a dream (his character dreams of nymphs earlier on) or reality. 

Shoulder Arms is set in World War One, released weeks before the Armistice. Chaplin plays a solider in the French Army, Awkward Division. He'll toss inedible limburger cheese at the Germans (a potent gas attack indeed) and disguise himself as a tree trunk if he has to. If that's what it takes to win the war and the heart of a girl. Said girl played by Edna Purviance, Chaplin's leading lady for most of that decade. Also his girlfriend, though I believe their break-up was right around or shortly after filming of this picture. Shoulder Arms was Chaplin's biggest hit of the 1910s, and the satirical attacks you would find in The Great Dictator, have their origins from what Chaplin experimented with here. Ok, so his feature length pictures as the Tramp are also laden with social realism and political/ social messages as well, but Shoulder Arms has more of a direct link to The Great Dictator. 

In The Pilgrim (his last short for First National), Chaplin is an escaped con, posing as a minister to avoid detection. But when he decides to hide in Texas, he arrives to a small town awaiting their new parson, and think he's it! Will his new disguise give him a change of heart about his ways. Chaplin is not playing the Tramp (at least officially), but the bowler is out in full force when he must deal with an annoying little boy who loves custard. Also the last film where Edna Purviance would be his leading lady:

http://www.filmforum.org/movies/more/chaplin_at_first_national 


MODERN TIMES- Friday Jan 3 at 5:20 (maybe) and 9:30- Film Forum- My favorite Chaplin plays yet again. By itself this time, on Friday, January 3rd. Now I don't know if I can do the 5:20 screening, but the 9:30 is doable:

http://www.filmforum.org/movies/more/modern_times_plus_pay_day1 


BEFORE SUNRISE and/or BEFORE SUNSET and/or BEFORE MIDNIGHT- Fri Jan 3- Thurs Jan 9- Different times on different days- in Lincoln Center at either the Walter Reade or at the Francesca Beale-  The trilogy of films directed by Richard Linklater and starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy as are they/ will they be/ how could they still possibly be lovers, will play for a week at Lincoln Center. The screenings will alternate between the Walter Reade next to Julliard, and the Francesca Beale theater, which is one of the newer screening rooms along W. 65th Street. The title of the retrospective is called Celine and Jesse Forever.

Actually four films will be screened. Waking Life, where Celine and Jesse make a cameo via Rotoscope, will also be shown, but only four times and none of them convenient for me. Now the schedule for these three films are so drawn out, much like Celine and Jesse's relationship, that I'm not going to break them down here. It's easier to just write the dates, post the link and go from there. The films can be seen separately, or all three (or four including Waking Life) can be bought for a discount. Not sure how much of a discount, though I'm guessing 3 films for twenty to twenty five dollars. Somewhere in that range:

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/series/celine-and-jesse-forever  



That's all for now. Later all, and Merry Christmas.