Hey, Mike here with a list of revivals for the first half of June. Short list, and I'm trying to keep the descriptions as brief as possible. Here we go:

BREATHLESS (1960)- Now thru Thurs June 10 at 4:40, 6:30, 8:20 and 10- Film Forum- A restored print of Jean-Luc Goddard's classic 1960 film (released in 61 in America). A restoration supervised by the film's cinematographer Raoul Cotard, since Goddard himself has apparently disowned this picture. Something about being a better director, an amateur then, silly film, I don't know and I don't care. The next time I care about a Goddard film not named Breathless will be the first, especially after sitting through Contempt. I wasn't even planning on posting this, since I caught it for free two summers ago at MOMA (free Friday screenings). But since someone told me they wanted to catch this, and it is a restored print with supposedly more accurate subtitles (so it is different than any other version out there on home video), post this film I will.

Wonderfully decadent film about two selfish lovers; Jean-Paul Belmondo as a thief/ killer with a Bogie fixation, and Jean Seberg as an American willing to go along for the ride. Some cool shots, a jump cut style of editing used not really from scene to scene but inside the scenes themselves, really keeps it going at a good clip. Until we get to a long scene where Belmondo is in Seberg's apartment, trying to re-seduce her. Doesn't work at first (maybe?), but the banal conversation that seems to an elaborate (mutual?) seduction pays off nicely.

I didn't pick any particular day or days to see this. I just posted how long it's scheduled to run, and I'll work from there. Based on previous films at the Forum has lasted longer then it's previous published engagement dates (Metropolis, Downfall, Valentino:The Last Emperor among others), so we'll see which path Breathless will follow. Too soon to tell which.

PRIVATE BENJAMIN- Thurs June 3 at 9:30 for 7.50- Chelsea Clearview Cinema- A cheap screening of the 1980 hit. Important in both comedy and hitting the zeitgeist, along with 9 to 5, around the time of the ERA movement. Though Goldie Hawn's performance elevates this picture quite a bit. Hawn's character, a sheltered JAP in mourning after her nebbishy husband dies on their wedding night, signs up for the Army and immediately regrets it. Until she slowly discovers her own self worth and becomes a stronger person, rising above the sexism in and out of the military. Oscar nominations for Hawn for Best Actress, Eileen Brennan for Supporting Actress as Hawn's punishing Captain, and Nancy Meyers Charles Shyer and Harvey Miller for Original Screenplay. So yes, there is proof that there are good films out there made by Meyers. This is probably because she didn't direct it. Yes, Baby Boom is good too, but I give even more credit there to Diane Keaton. Moving on . . .

ADAM'S RIB and/or KEY LARGO for free (subject to availability)- Fri June 4 at 4:30 (Adam's) and 8 (Largo)- MOMA- . Both for one admission. First, Adam's Rib, my favorite of the two. Hepburn plays a defense attorney, who turns her loser of a case (a wife shoots her husband when he catches him cheating) into a rallying cause for women's rights and anything else she can think of. Much to the chagrin of her husband Tracy, the prosecuting attorney. The marriage takes a beating, but will it hold up? Gee, what do you think?

My favorite of all the Hepburn Tracy team ups. Some hilarious set pieces, some involving David Wayne as the comic relief neighbor with a longing for Hepburn. Judy Holliday steals scenes as the wife on trial. An Oscar nomination for screenwriters Ruth Gordon and Garrison Kanin.

Next, Key Largo, from director John Huston. Bogie's engaged in a battle of wills with gangster Edward G. Robinson inside an old friend's hotel, while Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore and Claire Trevor (who won an Oscar for her role) look on, with a hurricane that threatens them all. An adaptation of Maxwell Anderson's play, written by Huston and future director Richard Brooks (In Cold Blood).

XANADU- Thurs June 10 at 7 and 9:30 for 7.50- Chelsea Clearview Cinema- The Broadway version was a hit, but this one, the 1980 summer flop, is a fun bad movie. There's a plot in Xanadu, but since the filmakers and Universal Studios didn't seem to give a crap about it back then, I won't pretend I do now. Olivia Newton John is probably at her most beautiful, and I suppose she turned in a performance of some kind, and this was Gene Kelly's last dancing role. But his reputation couldn't be damaged, especially when he turns in the only credible acting performance. However, all the momentum Michael Beck's career had after appearing in The Warriors, grounded to a halt from which he never truly recovered. Mostly the same story with director Robert Greenwald, forced to do mostly TV (The only notable standout- "The Burning Bed"), and documentaries such as "Outfoxed" and "Walmart: The High Cost of Living".

Not a great film, not a good film. But a craptastic film. One that is crap and fantastic to watch in that respect. Now throw in the visual stimulus of Olivia Newton John, what is there to lose? A choice of two screenings. One at 7, hosted by Hedda Lettuce, who'll give Xanadu the old MST3K treatment. And one at 9:30, where it's just the film, and I suppose it's up to you/us to provide the MST3K comments to the screen.

Let me know if there's interest. Later all.

May revivals: Memorial Day weekend edition

Hey all, Mike here with what to catch revival-wise, for the Memorial Day weekend. Options beyond Sex and The City 2 (the first was a major disappointment to a fan like me, and this doesn't look like an upgrade) and Prince of Persia (the trailer/commercials make this look like shit). When I wrote last time that I didn't have any reason to post more than a few films for May, I should have looked at this upcoming weekend a lot closer, because WOW, look at the choices.

Mostly comedies, with two exceptions, that are playing at the Walter Reade at Lincoln Center. Comedies from across the ages, or something like that. Now none of them are available to see like a double feature for one price. The Walter Reade does offer a pass to see as many pictures as you like this weekend, but it's only cost effective if you go for at least 5 films. I've posted 9 comedies, to give you an idea that it's worth it, even if you/we/ different we(s) only catch one. In fact, the first one is the comedy I want to see most on this list:

ARSENIC AND OLD LACE- Fri May 28 at 5:15- Walter Reade at Lincoln Center- This is one of my favorite comedies. Not the best in this weekend series, but my favorite. Thanks to that late unlamented form of home video known as CED Disc from RCA, this was my introduction to both Cary Grant and Frank Capra. I almost wore that disc down, along with other films, but that's for another time.

Despite the play having been done to death in community theater, this Capra comedy is still gold to me. Grant plays a man who comes home to find his beloved aunts are serial killers, who thoughtfully kill lonely old men, and then bury them in the basement with the aid of the uncle who thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt. It's a good thing his serial killer brother returns home on the same night; looking like Boris Karloff and accompanied by his "doctor" who looks like Peter Lorre and is played by Lorre.

Grant thought it was his weakest, most over the top performance. History has been quite kind, disagreeing with Cary. Pitch perfect cast and production. If I had to see only one comedy in this weekend, this would be the one, and not just for sentimental reasons. It is available on DVD, but only in a no-frills version put out by Warner Bros over 8 years ago, give or take. So Netflix may not necessarily come through for you right away. Catch this.

THE PARTY- Fri May 28 at 7:45- Walter Reade- A Peter Sellers/ Blake Edwards team-up that was not a Pink Panther film. The only one that wasn't a Pink Panther as a matter of fact. Also not a big hit, but should have more love for it than it gets. Sellers plays an Indian actor, who completely ruins a Hollywood film to the point that the producer fires him. But said producer forgets to dis-invite the actor to his splashy party in his mansion. Hilarity ensues.

Actually, it has quite a number of funny set pieces, especially around the dinner table. Shot without a script, but with a 56 page outline instead, allowing for a mostly improvised picture. Shot in sequenced to try to heighten the mayhem. Culture clash comedy abound. But the clashes come mainly from the facts that Sellers' character is not only an obvious outsider, but that he goes out of his way to be polite. No matter whether he's ignored, insulted or looked down upon. HE will not be rude. Be a klutz however . . . . Since this was released in 1968, you have hippies and drug humor as well. A little too much sappiness at the end (with hippies and an elephant!), but the set pieces and Sellers' performance carry the day.

Sellers' character helped to inspire Mike Meyers create the universally planned The Love Guru. Just mentioning fact here. Also of note, the female lead is Claudine Longet. If she's remembered at all, it's probably not for any of her acting work, but for shooting and killing her skier boyfriend during a heated argument in 1976. Her murder trial had similar notoriety as O.J.'s first trial. She claimed the gun went off by accident, and the jury only found her guilty of criminal negligence. She was also remembered around that time for a popular SNL skit with Chevy Chase and Jane Curtain. They played broadcasters of a ski tournament. Every one of the skiers were be doing well until WHOOPS, they were accidentally shot by Claudine Longet. Anyway, almost ten years before all of that, she was the ingenue of The Party.

THE JERK- Fri May 28 at 9:45- Walter Reade- The Steve Martin- Carl Reiner comedy, where Martin plays a man who grew up a poor black sharecropper's son, gets a rare revival screening. A big hit in theaters, despite a lot of critics hating it. I don't care what the Rotten Tomatoes website might say, I think David Ansen of Newsweek, and Janet Maslin of the NY Times where the only big reviewers supporting The Jerk, while Roger Ebert and Rex Reed led the opposition. Reed in particular, has been brutal to Martin's films, at least through the mid 80s anyway. But times have changed, the film keeps getting deserved new fans, and the critics by and large, have moved in lockstep with fans, proclaiming The Jerk a comedy classic of the late 70s. Moving on.

THE SHINING- Fri May 28 through Sun May 30 at Midnight- IFC Center- The Stanley Kubrick- Jack Nicholson horror classic is back at IFC Center, playing all Memorial Day weekend at Midnight. I've brought it up before, and will do so again until it is seen. Yes, some of you did it with me before, but that was 2001, so give me a break.

HEAVENLY CREATURES- Sat May 29 at 7:30 and 10- 92nd Y Tribeca- 200 Hudson St. @ the corner of Canal St.- Part of their Obsessed with the 1990s series. As in films from the 1990s where obsession leads people to do nasty things series. Not Peter Jackson's first film, but the one that drew major international attention and a Screenplay Oscar nomination for him and wife/partner Fran Walsh. Based on the true story of two teenage girls, Juliet Hume and Pauline Parker, who savagely beat Pauline's mother to death, when their parents become concerned with the girls' obsessive relationship to each other. With a mixture of tones-fantasy to reality and vice versa, from humorous to dark- that marked Jackson as a major talent and made us comfortable with the possibility that he might be able to handle Lord of the Rings. Not saying that I knew it would be great, but I wasn't frightened by the combo of Tolkien and Jackson.

Also notable for the casting of two relatively unknown actresses in the two leads: Melanie Lynskey (from Two and a Half Men and a lot of indie film character work) as Pauline, and Kate Winslet (who you might have heard of) as Juliet. Unless of course, you rather see something funny that night. Therefore, you can catch instead . . .

UP IN SMOKE- Sat May 29 at 9:45- Walter Reade- A sleeper hit from the fall of 1978. Of all the successful films Paramount had at that point in 78, including Grease Foul Play and Heaven Can Wait, I'm sure the studio heads didn't expect this much success. Cheech and Chong honed their act for over ten years before making the first of 7 films together, but this as good as it gets, and I'm not being sarcastic here.

Simple story of two stoners, who just want to keep getting stoned, but always have to deal with The Man. Sometimes the Man is on their side, in the form of Tom Skerritt, but usually it's in the form of incompetent Lt. Stacey Keach. Fun film. It means a lot more to the West Coast than East Coast, but Up In Smoke is liked all around. And it's late on a Saturday night. If you don't have anything better to do and prefer comedy over Heavenly Creatures and Sex and the City 2 . . .

WHAT'S UP DOC?- Sun May 30 at 4- Walter Reade- The names Barbara Striesand and Ryan O'Neal may annoy the hell out of you, but they are a terrific couple in this 1972 film. Peter Bogdanovich's homage to the screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s fits right along with the other films in this retrospective. Most of you under the age of 34 don't know this film, but this is a good time to start. There's a plot here, but it's both a little too elaborate to bring up, and not that important in the long run. Let's just say, complications upon complications upon misunderstandings upon strange accents upon a car chase upon a hysterical courtroom scene all build up. Screenplay by Buck Henry, Robert Benton and David Newman. Great supporting cast includes Madeline Kahn, Austin Pendelton, Kenneth Mars, Michael Murphy, John Hillerman and Randy Quaid.

DUCK SOUP- Sun May 30 at 6- A Marx Brothers film, among others, whose double entendre and subtle political commentary help push for the Production Code. An AFI Top 100 film, in my personal top 100, and one of the best comedies ever made. "I can't call off the war. I've paid a month's rent on the battlefield.?" When the Sylvanian ambassador insults Groucho?s Rufus T. Firefly, president of Freedonia, the country's going to war, and so do Harpo, Chico, Zeppo, and Margaret Dumont. A big enough flop in its day that it cost the Marx Brothers their contract with Paramount, but a classic now, thanks to tv screenings and college students discovering this back in the 50s and 60s.

FEMALE TROUBLE- Sun May 30 at 9:45- For those who like John Waters films, here's a Midnight cult-classic doozy from his 70's days. When the parents of Dawn Davenport (Divine) neglect to get the deviant high schooler the one Yuletide gift she longs for- a pair of cha-cha heels- she throws the tree over on her mother and leaves, only to have a sexual encounter with a slob (also Divine) who picks her up hitchhiking. Nine months later, she has a daughter, Taffy (Mink Stole). Dawn's life turns around when she marries Gator (Michael Potter), a hairdresser. Gator's employers the Dashers have a philosophy that "crime equals beauty," and they turn Dawn into their own private superstar, photographing her committing outrageous acts. Rated X for a reason.

BALL OF FIRE- Mon May 31 at 1:45- Walter Reade- Screwball comedy from director Howard Hawkes. Barbara Stanwyck, in arguably her sexiest and funniest performance, plays a singer trying not to get killed by the Mob. She accidentally runs into straight laced English professor Gary Cooper, who's out and about trying to learn how "real people" speak. And things get screwier from there. Oscar nominations for Stanwyck for Best Actress, Screenwriters Billy Wilder and Thomas Monroe for the Story, the Score and the Sound recording.

SLEEPER- Mon May 31 at 4- Walter Reade- Sleeper, is technically sci-fi, but one of Woody's best slapstick comedy. Waking up 2000 years later to a world run by a police state, consider this one part The Fugitive, one part Woody slapstick. With Diane Keaton. If you're the type who prefers Woody's funny films as opposed to his serious ones, Sleeper is Exhibit A.

Sorry that I was brief with a few of them, but I had to keep this list smaller than War and Peace. I left off Metropolis at the Forum because I saw it and enjoyed it. It's not clear if it will play until at least June 1 or June 3, but it looks probable. Go see this further restored film. Feels more like action/romance with a dash or two of sci-fi. More cross cutting and heightened editing, plus sub-plots that make supporting characters and the film as a whole make actually sense! I also left off the restored version of the original Breathless, opening at the Forum this weekend. But since Breathless is playing for two weeks, I'm saving it for the first half of June list.

So let me know if there's interest. Later all.

May revivals

Hey all. Mike here with a few revivals to catch in May. Normally, I break up the month in half, but a busy schedule means I'm only posting a few films this month. If IFC Center decided to have a true midnight film schedule, I could include them too. But they don't, so I won't. So I'll just post the following three films. All restored prints. In the case of the first two, major restorations that ten years ago, I could easily find film buffs who thought these extensively restored pictures might never happen. Here we go:

METROPOLIS- Now thru Thurs May 20 at 1:30, 2:30, 4:30, 5:30, 7:30 and 8:30- Film Forum- In a world where one group of people are in charge of doing all the "thinking" and another group actually has to do the manual labor, not everyone is happy in this city full of skyscrapers. So let's keep the masses happy through the temptations of a beautiful woman, who's actually a robot. Throw in a young man who's not only in love, but also sees for the first time that not everyone is equal.

After decades where this film bounced around, was chopped, and at one point, colorized and had music from Queen and Bonnie Tyler as part of the new soundtrack, a major restoration took place. Not everything could be found, either due to age, no ideas about preserving film history, the flimsiness of the material or the bombings in World War 2. But the original score was found and recorded in stereo. All seven versions were combined and restored, with title cards filling in the story blanks. This 2002 restoration, now returns to Film Forum, and this 2 hour, 19 minute version is as close as we'll probably ever get to definitive.

Fritz Lang was inspired by the Manhattan skyline when he created Metropolis's look. Huge sets that held thousands of extras. Live action and miniatures shot together for the first time. A robot who's initial look influenced C-3PO, and whose existence influenced HAL 9000, the Blade Runner androids and who knows what else. And as influential as the city looks of films like Blade Runner, Brazil, and Dark City have been, they had a source material to work from here. I've caught this before, and may not get to go again this time around. But by all means, go yourselves.

Yeah, that's what I wrote back in mid July 2007. I could have added how the robot in female human form enticing the men seems like it influenced Madonna, and now it appears to have influenced Lady Gaga. Anyway, since then, 23 additional minutes, found in a beaten-up 16mm print down in Argentina, was restored (as much as possible), and edited into the 2002 restoration. This version is being advertised as "Presented in High Definition". Don't know quite what that means, but this means that only about 5 minutes are missing from Lang's original cut. This will probably be as close as we'll ever get to what was screened in Berlin back in '27. It is being screened on two of the Forum's screens, which explains the multiple times. If you're ambitious, here you go.

A STAR IS BORN (1953)- Sun May 16 at 3 and 7- A restored 35mm print in its original 3 hr, 1 min running time. Now that number is according to both Lincoln Center's filmlinc website and imdb, though Wikipedia puts up different running time. For the purposes of my convenience, I'll stick to the 3hr 1 min time. 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. Now, before the film is released on Blu-ray in mid June, the full 1954 version will be screened for one day only, twice. May or may not be the best version of this story, but one that holds up.

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. This is rather a unique revival opportunity, and one I hope you take advantage of.

BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK- Fri May 21- Thurs May 27 at 4:40, 6:30, 8:20 and 10:10- Film Forum- A new 35mm scope print of a hit 1955 film that doesn't get a lot of play on revival screens, and only occasional play on TCM. A modern day Western for its time, set in the small town of Black Rock. A town controlled by criminal Robert Ryan; who has cronies like Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin, and who has the rest of the population under his thumb. But getting off the train on a 24 hour layover is black suited Spencer Tracy. Nobody knows who he is, but being a stranger is enough to be shunned. When it's discovered why he's in Black Rock, Tracy sees how the townspeople appear to be trying to kill him, or refuse to help. And after being pushed around and provoked all day, Tracy will take it no more.

Not a subtle film. A McCarthyism attack from blacklisted screenwriter Millard Kaufman, which is a bit obvious with Borgnine made up at times, to look like a cartoon version of McCarthy. And I mean that literally. I believe the cartoon strip was Pogo, but I need to do more research and I have no time. Also with the only anti Japanese-American discrimination aspects up to that point on any film, Hollywood or otherwise. And in case you weren't sure, there's all-American Tracy, years of knowledge of the actor and his past roles serving him/us well, in (a) black and white (suit), with a no nonsense approach to justice. And boy, does he have his problems against soon-to-be legendary film tough guys Ryan, Borgnine and Marvin.

But it doesn't forget to be a Western. With shots of large lonely vistas and increasing isolation, our one armed hero must go it alone against the bad guys. He doesn't want to fight, he did too much of it in World War 2, but he will be the only shining light in the corrupt town, even if it's out of self-preservation. Very High Noon-esque. And it's only 81 minutes, so if you have any problems, it's quick. But you shouldn't, I'm preachier here than the actual film is.

3 Oscar nominations, Tracy for Actor (he lost to Borgnine for Marty), John Sturges for Director and Kaufman for Screenplay. Kaufman's son, Frederick, will introduce the 8:20 screening on Friday, May 21.

I stand by all three enthusiastically and would love to catch them all. Let me know. See you next month, where the list should go more or less back to normal. Later all.

April revivals: second half

Hey all, Mike here with what's worth catching revival-wise,for the rest of April. Unfortunately, it's seems more like the next 9 days, but that's the way it appears to be. If I was able to catch any of the Bill Forsyth mini-festival, I'd post it. But I can't. If you can find the time to see Housekeeping on Thursday night, April 15, or Gregory's Girl or (my favorite) Local Hero on Thursday, April 22, go for it. Look them up on imdb if you don't know, and go. As for the films I can catch, here we go:

DERSU UZALA- Fri Apr 16- Mon Apr 19 and Wed Apr 21 at 3:45, 6:30 and 9:15- Film Forum- Brought back by popular demand from the Forum's Akira Kurosawa retrospective. I brought it up on the last list, and won't continue now. I'll move on to the best film on this list:

CITIZEN KANE- Fri Apr 16 at 7 and 9:40, and Sat Apr 17 at 4:20, 7 and 9:40, the last two are very tentative on my end- Film Forum- Part of the newspaper film retrospective. Ok people, show of hands, how many of you have ever heard of Citizen Kane? Ok, good. If you even bother to look at this list at all, you at least know of Orson Welles' film. Didn't expect to see any hands from those under 18 anyway. Now, how many of you know more about Kane than just Rosebud, even if it's aided by memories of HBO's passable version of the making of Kane, RKO 281? Similar number of hands, fine.

Now, how many of you have actually seen Citizen Kane from beginning to end? Ok, the number of hands have dropped, but I'll let you decide if that would be a fairly low number. I mean, some of have seen it through the very occasional airings on TCM. Maybe 1 or 2 of have seen it/ own it on DVD. New York/ New Jersey people as recent as the early 80s saw this on one of Channel 9's Million Dollar Movie airings. Or maybe 1 or 2 of you saw it in a film class or some sort. Now, how many of you have actually seen this on the big screen? Yeah, that's what I thought. The 1 or 2 of you who saw this with me at the Forum, when Kane ran for a week back in March 2004.

Seeing this on the big screen as opposed to watching it on TV no matter what size screen you own, to use an old Larry Miller joke I'm found of using for different subjects, is the difference between shooting a bullet and throwing it. In terms of storytelling, pacing and emotional depth (as well as innovative in its use of visual effects, make-up and music), as modern a film as what we have now in release, and a lot better than all but a hand full (I'm trying to be nice and not be considered a snob. I probably failed at that a long time ago).

A flop in its day (when you do a thinly veiled attack on William Randolph Hearst, and he still wields considerable influence, it's amazing no one burned the negatives behind RKO's backs), a classic today. First, in France, where it was screened shortly after WW 2, and had the praise and backing of filmmakers like Goddard. Then in the mid to late 50s, when it aired on TV and had a major re-release. 9 Oscar nominations, including Picture, Welles for Actor and Director, Bernard Herrmann for his Score, and Editing for Robert Wise. An Oscar to Welles and Joseph J. Mankiewicz for the Screenplay. Number one on both AFI Top 100 lists, and along with Casablanca and The Godfather, always in the conversation for greatest American films ever made. That it's in my personal top 100 should be a little obvious.

For the record, Friday night is easy for me to do, Saturday is up in the air right now, specifically Saturday night. But mid-Saturday afternoon is doable.

BONJOUR TRISTESSE- Fri Apr 16 at 8 for free (subject to availability)- MOMA- If you rather not spend money to see a film on Friday, even if it's for Citizen Kane. Part of a David Niven retrospective. Due to time constraints, this will probably be the only other one I can catch. And it's for free, subject to ticket availability. An Otto Preminger film I've never seen from beginning to end. Niven and Jean Seberg play play self-interested father and daughter who vacation on the French Riviera with his girlfriend. An Oedipus attachment develops between parent and daughter, but things get worse when old girlfriend Deborah Kerr comes to visit. Liked the parts I saw on TCM, curious about the rest, and wouldn't mind trying it.

HAIR Sing-a-long- Sat Apr 17 at 10:30 for 13 dollars plus 1 beer- 92nd Street Y Tribeca- 200 Hudson St.- 1, A, C or E to Canal St.- Milos Forman's 1979 attempt to depict the late 60s and what was going on in the country he had, at that point, recently began to call home. So the combination of an outsider's perspective and the attempt to make the story as linear as the stage musical is not, makes this to me, a noble failure. I find 1979 full of cinematic noble failures: Herzog's Nosferatu, The Black Hole, 1941, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the Frank Langella version of Dracula, and Neil Simon's Chapter Two are the films I can think of that you probably know. I don't hate this film, unlike the musical's creators, who felt Forman "didn't get it". It took big chances, and has many good moments; thanks to choreography by Twyla Tharp, impressive cinematography (done by three different people) and a standout lead performance from Treat Williams as Berger. Good reviews didn't save it, and only movie musical fans give any respect.

But as part of a sing-a-long, this might be a fun night. And that's not a typo above, you get a beer at the screening. No clue what brand. Have never been to the 92nd street Y's film screen, but they've been having screenings for months now. Would like to try it. Unless you prefer to catch one of the midnight screenings at IFC Center below:

ALIENS- Fri Apr 16 and Sat Apr 17 at 11:40PM- IFC Center- One of two James Cameron films being shown around midnight. Aliens has played for two weekends straight. I've brought it up before, and like with Dersa Uzula, I won't continue now. This may or may not have a fourth weekend or not. We won't know until probably until Monday night, April 19. My favorite Cameron film from the 1980s, though others seem to prefer . . .

THE TERMINATOR- Fri Apr 16 and Sat Apr 17 at 12:10 AM- IFC Center- The last of the Cameron/ Kathryn Bigelow retrospective. Not Cameron's first full-length film, that would be the awful Piranha 2: The Spawning. Hey, it was a Roger Corman production, Cameron was lucky to get to direct at all. But I'm sure The Terminator is the earliest work he would like us to remember. And working under Corman probably taught Cameron how far one can stretch a dollar. Cameron never work with a budget this small for any other non-documentary picture I'm sure, but this doesn't look like it. It's been a few years, since I've seen this, but it's the storytelling I remember far better.

From 1984, you probably know the story. Killer robot from the future tries to kill a woman from the past who is important to said future, and her only hope is a human time traveler sent to stop the relentless killer. Successful in relation to its budget, but didn't get a ton of respect in theaters, or play for a long while either. Not exactly blow-out business overseas either. It took home video to put The Terminator on the road to becoming a sci-fi classic, though I'm not sure how often we would talk about it if Terminator 2 hadn't been so phenomenal. And, it provided Schwarzenegger with his classic role, and it at least kept him out of making Conan the Barbarian 3.

Now, I wouldn't be surprised if this ran a second weekend. But there's no guarantee that it will, and I don't plan on doing a special post just for a midnight screening. So I'll work on the idea that this will be a one and done. Now it's possible to do a double feature on Saturday with Citizen Kane if interested. Two admissions would be required, but I'm game if you are. It can be set-up like this:

Citizen Kane at 7, followed by Hair at 10:30. The 1 train is half a block away from the Forum, the C is just a 2-3 minute walk from there as well. Little time to get dinner; better eat a big lunch. Or:

Citizen Kane at 7 followed by plenty of time for dinner and dessert, then either Aliens at 11:40 or The Terminator at 12:10AM a few blocks over at IFC Center. Or:

Citizen Kane at 9:40, followed by The Terminator at 12:10AM. Eat dinner before Citizen Kane. And if you must have popcorn, have it at the Forum, it's much better there. That's all for now. Later all.

April revivals: first half

Hey all. Mike here with what to catch for the first half of April. Didn't post anything for the second half of March, because there just wasn't anything. Nothing I was willing to stick my neck out for, or hadn't done already. But it seems April will more then make up for a lack of revivals these two weeks. Here we go:

SUNRISE- Sat Apr 3, Mon Apr 5 and Tues Apr 6 at 7:40 and 9:50- Film Forum- A new 35mm print of F.A. Murnau's silent film classic. Might be subtle as a brick, and at times a little on the hammy side in terms of some its performances, but it's still considered a classic (despite its disappointing box office), and it's receiving a week-long run at the Forum. These are the only days I can make, in theory anyway.

George O'Brien plays a farmer who loves his wife. Until he goes into the city and falls for some sort of tramp. She convinces him to kill his wife. But can he?

Winners of the first Oscars for Janet Gaynor for Actress (who also won for two other films she starred in, something that would never happen again) and for Cinematography. It also won for Best Picture, Unique and Artistic Production, as opposed to Best Picture as we know it, which Wings had won. The Unique and Artistic Production category was discontinued afterwards by the way.

Sunrise was not on the first AFI Top 100 list, but made it to the second list. I wonder if it should be on that second list, as opposed to films I enjoyed that were dropped, like Fargo, Dr. Zhivago, The Third Man and Fantasia. I'd like to find out.

ALIENS- Sat Apr 3 at 12:15AM- IFC Center- Part of a series of Midnight films alternating with some of James Cameron's films, and with ex-wife/ ex co-worker/ director who snagged an Oscar over him, Kathryn Bigelow's films. Here, it's Cameron's turn with Aliens. His best film from the 1980s, and among the better action films from that decade as well. Used to be thought of as one of the few films better then its predecessor, until the director's cut of Alien came out in 2003, correctly changing that attitude. And while Alien made Sigourney Weaver a working film actress with lead roles, Aliens made her entrenched in both A-list status and as an action star regardless of gender, plus an Oscar nomination for Best Actress to boot.

The planet where the first Alien was discovered has been colonized, but WHOOPS, there's an alien(s) problem there. So the set-up is like an old episode of Star Trek, except instead of a starship, the Marines are sent in, in full gung-ho mode that fit in perfectly in Reagan-era 1986 alongside Top Gun (but with a better script). Ripley comes along as an advisor few take seriously. Some purists had a problem with the Ripley character seemingly changed to be lady Rambo, but the action scenes are too damn good, and Weaver and Cameron sell it. Basically, anything you might have had a problem with regarding Avatar, Aliens does it well, and probably did it before Avatar. If you think you can do this on Easter weekend, let's go for it.

ACE IN THE HOLE- Fri Apr 9 and Sat Apr 10 at 5:30, 7:40 and 10- Friday’s 7:40 show introduced by Brooke Gladstone, co-host of NPR’s On the Media- Film Forum- The start of of a retrospective of films about or involving the newspaper business. Directed and co-written by Billy Wilder. Consider this a film-noir/drama. Kirk Douglas stars as a disgraced newspaper man, forced to work in a lowly newspaper in Albuquerque. But when a man seems doomed to die in a cave-in, Douglas will do anything to cash in, by making this national news, and make himself a name again. But the feeding frenzy from the newly arrived media and the townspeople, even the trapped man's wife, seem even creepier than Douglas.

This was Wilder's golden ticket film. Yes he had some hit films already, but this was the dream project he got to do after the success of Sunset Blvd. But the critics attacked this as being over the top and unlikeable, as well as inaccurate in its depiction of the media, and it became the first major flop in Wilder's career. But similar to Network; by the time we got to the mid 80s, where you had the baby Jessica story (the girl trapped in the well) played in the media with similarities to Ace, the Wilder film seemed prophetic. And this was before we had more cable channels and more media outlets that desperately need a steady diet of sellable news. It may not have helped in 1951 that the only likable person in the picture, was the poor schmuck trapped in the cave in, but it seems to fit the noir style.

I'd also say it's similar to Elia Kazan's A Face In The Crowd. Not big hits in its day, both dark as hell, but both better appreciated today. Maybe A Face is appreciated much more among film fans. And in Wilder's career, it would later be dwarfed, with films like Stalag 17, Some Like It Hot, The Apartment and The Fortune Cookie coming down the pike. But Ace In The Hole is rarely screened on TCM, is only available on DVD through the Criterion Collection, so chances are high that you haven't seen this. We can change that now.

It plays for two nights. But on Friday Apr 9, Brooke Gladstone of NPR's On the Media, will host the 7:40 screening. I wouldn't mind catching that particular screening, but I don't have to. But I would like to catch this at some point on either day.

NEAR DARK- Fri Apr 9 and Sat Apr 10 at Midnight- IFC Center- Part of the Cameron vs. Bigelow retro. Bigelow's second film, and her first solo, feature-length directorial effort. A cult hit from 1987. Not so much at the box office, but from home video and cable. A teenage boy (Adrian Pasdar of Heroes), picks up a cute girl. She likes him. Then she bites him, thus turning him into a vampire. He ends up joining the girl's "family" of vampires, as they terrorize and feed of people in Oklahoma. The "family" includes Lance Henriksen and an especially brutal Bill Paxton, a year after their appearances in Aliens (Jenette Goldstein, Vasquez in Aliens, also appears as a vampire). Forgotten now, but for those who were video renting in the late 80s/early 90s, it was one of the few horror films that were released in that era worth repeated viewings. But most of us have never seen it on the big screen. Now is the time.

SEPARATE TABLES- Mon Apr 12 at 8- MOMA- Part of a David Niven retrospective. Among the few films I'll post this entire month from the retrospective. Most of them are scheduled for times that are inconvenient for me, and some favorites of mine (The Guns of Navarone, The Pink Panther, and the very silly Murder By Death) are not playing at all. There will be one more film posted on the next list for sure, maybe two if I work up the courage to post Around the World in 80 Days.

An adaptation of Terrence Rattigan's romantic drama (who co-wrote the adaptation), Separate Tables follows several guests who form couples at a seaside hotel. The romance between Burt Lancaster and Rita Hayworth is one that runs throughout the picture. But the storyline that is singled out for praise, is where Niven's Major, with a blustery exterior and crumbling lonely interior, tries to woo meek, mother-domineered Deborah Kerr. Niven won his only Oscar here for Best Actor, and Wendy Hiller won for Supporting Actress. Nominations for Picture, Kerr for Actress, Screenplay, Cinematography, and for the film's score.

DERSU UZALA- Wed Apr 14, Fri Apr 16- Mon Apr 19 and Wed Apr 21 at 3:45, 6:30 and 9:15- Film Forum- Brought back by popular demand from the Forum's Akira Kurosawa retrospective, the first of two Kurosawa films playing in April. Specifically, his first two color films, released in the U.S. in the 1970s. I wished I could have caught this back in February, but I knew I didn't have time, so I didn't bother to post it.

Set in the 19th Century, a Russian captain bonds with an old mountain man while making an expedition of Eastern Siberia. The captain tries to convince his friend to rejoin him back in society. By the time the mountain man decides to come back, modern society at that point might be too much for him. So imagine Crocodile Dundee, but with very human difficulties not played for broad comedy. Won the Oscar for Foreign Language Film, the first time I believe a Kurosawa film ever won. Not a short film, or a simple one, but it sounds like a rewarding one.

Well, that's the list so let me know if there's interest. On another topic, just because I didn't put up a list of revivals a couple of weeks ago, doesn't mean I didn't catch any revivals. To help publicize their first annual classic films festival out west, TCM has been sponsoring free screenings of classic films in different parts of the country. On March 23, a free screening of All About Eve was held at the Ziegfeld. Free as long as you brought a print out of the screening as your "ticket". I was planning on bringing this up when I first heard about it and printed my own, but catching up with Oscar flicks and putting up a Top 10 of 09 took priority. I had planned to do a quick write up and post the link by March 17th, but by the morning of March 15th, they were no more passes available, except for some contest by WCBS-FM I didn't hear about till afterwards. I did tell a few people, but only those who have done revivals in the recent past or would definitely be near the Ziegfeld that night.

I went, bringing someone who never saw it before. Apparently we sat there with about 900 All About Eve fanatics. And they loved it, based on the amount of applause throughout, and thorough enjoyment of key scenes and laugh lines. While the one I brought may not have it in his top 35 all time like I did, he enjoyed it quite a bit as well.

I included the only decent shots I was able to get of host Robert Osbourne and special guest Elaine Stritch. They had a brief Q and A before the screening; Osbourne concentrated on taking questions about the film, and Stritch handled all else. Osbourne was also unofficial translator, turning some questioners' inarticulate statements, and turning them into questions that could be answered. He also had to remind Stritch several times to use her microphone, otherwise she couldn't be heard. No mean feat for Osbourne to pull off. All those jobs I mean. One memorable comment from all that. When a young woman began her question with the phrase "Back in your day . . . ", Stritch shot a look that stopped the girl, took a beat, and said something to the effect of "My dear, this IS my day!". After the laughter and applause died down, Stritch did smile at the girl, let her off the hook, and let her ask the question that there was no reason to remember as it turned out.

Anyway, that's all I got. Later all.