Top 10 of 2012

Hello all. Mike here with my Top 10 for 2012. Not at the end of the year I know, but I'm not paid to do this, so I'll live it. As long as I post a list pre-Oscars ceremony, fine by me. Overall, this was a very good year in film. A pleasant mix of indie and studio work. So good in fact that coming up with just ten films became difficult for me. Positions 6-10 were particularly tough. In any other year, Bernie, The Hobbit, Mea Maxima Culpa Silence In The House Of God, Seven Psychopaths, Lincoln, Argo, The Dark Knight Rises, Take This Waltz and Cloud Atlas would have prime positions on other Top 10 lists, or form a respectable list all on its own. But not for 2012.

I'm sorry I missed out on the 5 Best Documentary nominees when it came to putting together this list, as well as two of last year's Best Foreign Language Film nominees, Monsieur Lazar and Footnote, plus Flight, Once Upon A Time In Anatolia, Safety Not Guaranteed and Rust and Bone . But I'm not sorry that I've skipped both The Impossible and Brave. I just couldn't care, sorry. And once again, I reserve the right to change things around, like I did with my Best of 2010 list, when I replaced the documentary Gasland with the Greek film Dogtooth. But for now, I'm fine with this list, especially the positions of my Top 2. Here we go:

10) LIFE OF PI- Interesting, visually arresting take on faith from director Ang Lee and screenwriter David Magee. The set-up involving a young author coming to the character Pi as a middle age man for his story, I suppose that was a necessary evil. Sorry for Tobey Maguire that he was replaced by Rafe Spall to make the author less of a distraction. Lee's decision worked up to a point. Forcing us to try to care about the author's crisis of faith filled me with the feeling of "I don't care I don't care I don't care . . ." throughout, so a few demerits there. This may sound like nitpicking, what with the film's beautiful look, marvelous visual effects and heady mix of Castaway and internal study of Faith, and it probably is. But for a Top 10 list, nitpicking can determine placement, as it does here. I'm not upset with the set-up, just not as thrilled as I am with the films preceding Pi on this list.

9) SKYFALL- As much as I liked the start of the Avengers and Hunger Games franchises, the end of Christopher Nolan's Batman series (though a repeat viewing of Dark Knight Rises brought up too many plot contrivances and logic holes to ignore), the unnecessary Spider-Man reboot and The Hobbit (but do we really need a trilogy as opposed to merely two films?), only one franchise pulled it off in terms of artistry and entertainment; the James Bond franchise with Skyfall. In terms of Bond films, only On Her Majesty's Secret Service and From Russia With Love were better than this. None of us were expecting a prequel trilogy, including I'm sure the Bond producers. But the three on the whole blow away Lucas' Star Wars prequel trilogy by a lot. Beautiful Roger Deakins cinematography, assured direction from Sam Mendes and a smart script keeps the film flowing, and makes the whole project a James Bond film for the 21st Century, not some Jason Bourne carbon copy with British dialects. Javier Bardem's villain may not be the best Bond villain ever, but he's on the short list. We buy the development of Bond into something close to the smooth unstoppable figure Connery's Bond was. Hell, we can even buy Judi Dench's M as an unofficial Bond girl/woman, based on her importance to the story. Seeing it on IMAX made this even more impressive, especially the Malasyian scenes. A lot of fun, good luck to Mendes on his next Bond film.

8) SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK- The Best Picture nominee I was not expecting to fall for, not to this extent. David O' Russell's best film since Spanking The Monkey. Smart script, even if it's predictable. Don't buy the hype of it being comedic; think of it as a romantic drama, with the occasional bits of humor, that doesn't sugar coat the effects of bi-polar disorder on the sufferer, nor the effects that and violence have on the family and friends around the suffering person. Though I'm not sure what causes more suffering, bi-polar disorder or being a Philadelphia Eagles fan. KIDDING! Just kidding, but barely . . . 

Yes, Jennifer Lawrence impresses, but Bradley Cooper impresses even more in a no-frills stripped down performance. O' Russell on the whole might be a better director of actors than with the visuals at this stage of his career, though his use of the montage was better here than in The Fighter. Second best behind the film at number one on this list. Hell, Chris Tucker isn't annoying in the least, he's darn good in his supporting role. If that doesn't impress me, nothing will.

7) DJANGO UNCHAINED- Not Quentin Tarantino's best film, but it's up there. It feels more awkwardly paced than his previous films, even Jackie Brown. I don't know if it's because of the genre he's working in, the spaghetti Western, or the rush to get the film ready for award season, or that he's missing his longtime editor, the late Sally Menke, or any combination of these things. I don't have to figure it out, I just feel this isn't a problem with the top four films on this list. With that said, I'm a fan of Westerns in general, and boy does this feel right. Better gunfights than in Inglorious Basterds.

I won't attack Spike Lee's attack on Quentin regarding the N-word; if he doesn't like Quentin's usage of it, fine. But since I've been hearing Spike attack other directors without seeing their work since Brain de Palma's Bonfire of the Vanities in 1990, I just ignore him and watch the film itself. Not only a good Western, but a good drama of life as a slave pre-Civil War. I'm not sure if it's historically accurate, but when my only sources on the big and small screen in America are Roots, Amistad, Blazing Saddles and Gone With The Wind, this does feel believable, and brutal. Your liking of Leonardo DiCaprio's performance does depend on how you feel about him going in; I bought him as an arrogant twerp surrounded by money, slaves, and men with guns. But not for a Supporting Actor nomination, and certainly not over Christoph Waltz's Obi-Wan/Gandalf-with-a-gun mentor performance. As properly stoic as Jamie Foxx is in the title role, and as fascinating as Samuel L. Jackson is as DiCaprio's house slave, you miss Waltz's energy whenever he's off-screen. Kerry Washington? Stuck in a one-dimensional role and only able to do so much with it; speaking German doesn't count to me as dimension.

6) THE MASTER- Paul Thomas Anderson's latest. Probably the film on this list that I understood the least, but that didn't keep me from liking it, especially in all its 70mm glory. It's probably best not to think of it as an examination of the early days of Scientology, and more the journey of a damaged G.I. who served in the Pacific theater in World War 2. Not the stereotypical veteran depicted all happy from previous films, or even the kind dealing with issues as in The Best Years of our Lives or Flags of our Fathers. More of a man who was damaged in some way prior to the War, and became even more screwed up afterwards. A man who finds temporary relief, whether its in the arms of a woman, or in the early Scientology-like training scenes, but who may never find anything more than that. I admired the storytelling technique of most scenes coming from his point of view, whether forward like alcoholic blackouts between days months and even years, or flashbacks that intrude on his present reality. Great lead perfs from Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, their first session together is a fantastic scene. But let's have some love for Amy Adams' performance. Not a warm person, but alternately strong, yet also vastly insecure, the cracks show no matter how much willpower she tries to assert. Understandable that this film wasn't embraced, but ignore it at your peril.

5) LES MISERABLES- Big budget movie making at its best. While there may have been a few too many close-ups for some people's tastes, I had no issues at all with that. I was also ok with a sight switching around with the order of one of the songs; it worked for West Side Story and it worked here. The new song, Suddenly, fits in to the point where if you didn't know the stage show, you wouldn't know it was a new addition. As opposed to Beyonce's song in Dreamgirls, which I can't remember the name or how it went. I'll admit that not every performer's singing voice was up to par, but this won't be a raging screed against Russell Crowe. Yes, his voice didn't match up to the quality of say, Hugh Jackman or Anne Hathaway. But I liked his performance just fine. His depiction of a man serving only the letter of the law who is slowly crushed by his rigid mistakes later in life, I bought that. Beside, did you get a load of Helena Bonham Carter's voice in this film. Far weaker and more of a letdown, just like it was in Sweeney Todd (except for the By The Sea performance). Also, the energy of the film wavered a bit once the siege began in earnest. Again, these are relatively minor complaints for me. Not enough to knock it out of the top 5, but enough to put Les Miz below two of the nine Best Picture nominees, including the film at number 4 . . .

4) ZERO DARK THIRTY- Might not be on the same level as director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal's The Hurt Locker, but pretty good. Don't get tied up with all the political drivel that the film is pro or anti torture. It depicts it in the starkest, least 24-esque terms possible; as a means to get information with no clear idea if it was helpful or not. And if the unnamed Seal Team Six member from the recent Esquire interview is correct with regards to the night raid to get Bin Laden being depicted as too noisy, it still works in the film more believably than the end of Argo on the tarmac. And if you have proof that the film is almost completely false that doesn't come from some preening ass-covering Senator, bring it or piss off, I have movies to see.

The tension doesn't let up for the entire 2 plus hour running time as we follow every path and blind alley through the eyes of ultra determined Jessica Chastain. When a CIA character thinks there's a reason to feel a little safe, beware. Aside from locations, there is very little to indicate to the audience of time in history. You better recognize who is giving the speeches and who Leon Panneta is, because Bigelow and Boal figures the audience is full of adults. While we may not know every detail, the blanks are filled in soon enough, as our heroine faces two enemies; a group of terrorists who strike when she least expects it, and most of her CIA colleagues, who despite some of their bravado, seem afraid to be wrong to the point of near-paralysis. The aforementioned night raid on Bin Laden's home becomes the masterful last section of the picture. From the difficulty of tracking down the home in Pakistan, to the difficulty in planning the raid, to the difficulty of getting anyone to approve the plan, to the actual raid itself. Exhausting in a good way, the best studio film of 2012.

3) THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE- From directors David McMahon and Sara & Ken Burns. I lived through the time period depicted. I thought I knew the story. Five underage black and Latino youths were arrested and convicted of raping and nearly beating to death a white female jogger in Central Park back in 1989. They served over a decade of their sentences when a serial rapist was found to have committed the crime. I vaguely remember the youths, now grown men, were released from jail and had sued the city but thought nothing else of it. Why would I, I know the story. After seeing this film however, boy was I wrong.

We see enough of the media clips from 1989-1991 to get a sense of the horrible crime, the way this story was almost cherry-picked by media outlets, base on location gender race and brutality of the crime (in that order?). We see enough clips and most of the interrogation tapes to see this film has been the closest the five men have ever received in terms of a fair shake. Especially when we see articles, such as one from the New York Post's Andrea Pyser, still damning the five men in print. No one from the police or District Attorney's office attached to the case (aside from former D.A. Robert Morganthau who moved quickly to have the convictions vacated) were willing to talk with the filmmakers. There might be people out there complaining that the Findlaw.com report is far more accurate in terms of tackling legal complexities. I'm taking that with a huge grain of salt. Yes, there might be reason to criticize why there is no explanation as to why the teenagers were in the park that night, but probably the best we can charge the directors with here is a sin of omission. It's also acceptable to critique the competence of their defense lawyers. But that's not a good reason to sideline ignore or dismiss a well made documentary. For me, the Ken Burns imprint is enough to give the filmmakers the benefit of the doubt, not their critics, and certainly not the New York City officials who took them to court over the outtakes. 5 young men pushed by desperate put-upon cops into a judicial system that seemed more influenced by mob mentality than anything else. All occurring in a more obviously racially divided city with problems from the crack epidemic, the AIDS epidemic and gang violence that was hurting communities and police alike.

The films lives by the interviews with the 5 men (one only in voiceover), breaking down their lives prior to the arrest and the difficulty of their interrogations. Plus an interesting interview with the one holdout juror who felt browbeaten into a Guilty vote, describing his experience that the filmmakers paralleled to what the youths went through in police interrogations. Throw in no narration but title cards written with as much information and as little emotion as humanly possible, allowing the viewer's internal dialogue to work overtime, The Central Park Five deserves a place alongside such documentaries as The Thin Blue Line and the Paradise Lost series. How this didn't go beyond the equivalent of the Oscars' Best Documentary voting is beyond me.

2) AMOUR- The best of the nine Best Picture nominees at this year's Oscar. Boy have I been slow to develop a taste for writer/director Michael Haneke's work. I made a mistake to see The Piano Teacher and Cache on TV; that format didn't work well for me. The experience of sitting through the English language version of Funny Games made me wonder what did I do wrong in my life, while occasionally fascinated with a few individual scenes. It wasn't until The White Ribbon, a near miss on my Best of 2009 list, that I fully began to appreciate and like Haneke's style. But I appreciated Haneke's tighter, laser-like focus with Amour.

Very similar to Sidney Lumet's classic Twelve Angry Men, where both films mostly take place in a confined space, and both directors managed to make emotionally heartfelt cinema. The older couple may live in a specious Parisian apartment, but as the aged wife deteriorates and the aged husband gets closer and closer to caretaker burnout, they're as emotional trapped as Lumet's jurors. We get hints of the life outside and of the couple's life together prior to the wife's stroke. We get hints of the family issues with daughter Isabelle Huppert, but only when she makes her infrequent visits. If anything the pace is similar to The Master, but instead of jumping forward and backwards like an drunken stupor, we jump forward here. Forward a day or so at a time or weeks at a time, as we watch a loving couple's agonizing final weeks and months together. Neither uplifting nor soul-crushing nor unrealistic. Just a well acted, well captured glimpse into a great romance as it literally reaches Til Death Do You Part. No way Emmanuelle Riva could be ignored for a Best Actress nomination, no matter what bullshit rules SAG used to disqualify Amour. But more than John Hawkes' performance in the otherwise decent The Sessions, I felt Jean-Louis Trintignant was an even more disappointing omission for Best Actor.

And no, I don't know who should have been dropped from the Best Actor category in favor of Trintignant. But I wished the admirable Beasts of the Southern Wild was dropped from Best Picture for my favorite film of 2012 . .  . . .

1) MOONRISE KINGDOM- Sad to see it only acknowledged for Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola's Screenplay, but that's better than nothing at all. One of the better romantic comedies of recent years, even though the gentleness and partial serious approach of the story doesn't make the genre obvious. Two kids, an outcast orphan boy who's an adept Scout and a girl who feels alone both in school and in her own family, become each others first loves. They might even be each others' True Loves. They decide to run away together, traveling around the small New England island where the story takes place, the year 1965. The adults around them are all afflicted with their own feelings of loneliness and/or inadequacy and/or guilt. Issues that the young kids witness in pieces but are unable to fully comprehend, at least not yet. How these adults react to and handle these two outcast kids will affect them for the rest of their lives. Small scale in terms of our world, but epic for the kids and we have that sense played out for us quite well. With some seriousness, with some wistfulness, but with a lot of humor. Good ensemble work from the adults, especially from Edward Norton and Bruce Willis. A Willis retrospective sounds more interesting as the years go by, but I digress.

It's the casting of the kids, not just of Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman as the young leads but also of the casting of their friends relatives and enemies, that help make the film shine. If you're telling the story through the vantage points of two 12 year olds, don't screw up the casting. Hayward and Gilman are just right. Special props for the way Anderson depicts their courtship, that's the way you use a montage. Needless to say, Anderson's best film.

Jan revivals: second half

Hey all. Mike here with a list of the rest of revivals for the month of January. I can't make this list anymore eclectic if I can. A surprising number of box office flops, or at least flops in the U.S.. Except for The Muppet Movie and the last two Australian films on the list, every other film I bring up in this article failed to draw an audience at the American box office, at least initially. Every other film. Just goes to show you one shouldn't completely dismiss a film just because it didn't find an audience. Unless it's Battlefield Earth, then it's justified. 

Also, there are major conflicts on both January 30th and 31st. Those conflicts will be resolved on my end on whoever locks me in first. Now on with the list, here we go:

HI, MOM! and GREETINGS- Tues Jan 15 at 6:30 (Mom) and 8:20 (Greetings)- Film Forum- Part of the Forum's New Yawk film series. Independent films or films that received minimal studio money are being screened here. A double feature of 2 satirical black comedies, both directed by Brian de Palma and both starring a very young Robert de Niro. Greetings from 1968, and its psuedo-sequel, Hi, Mom! from 1970. Both episodic, both dated museum-esque snapshots of the counter-culture movement, the anti-Vietnam movement, the Living Theater, and how lower New York looked back in the late 60s, and how loose a young Bobby DeNiro worked even then. Both films are rarely screened, and I don't know Greetings. But Hi, Mom is still something of a button-pusher. If you know it at all, you know for the Be Black, Baby sequence, where a bunch of WASP types are brought into the Living Theater environment to "learn how it is to be black". De Palma was pushing the envelope even then:  

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

SWEET CHARITY- Thurs Jan 17 for 7.50 at 7 and 9:30- Chelsea Clearview Cinema- A cheap screening of Sweet Charity, or for you little kids, Pretty Woman with great dancing, but not a lot of fairy tale shit. Your choice of either the 7pm screening with an intro from Hedda Lettuce or 9:30 without Hedda. 

Released in 1969, right as audiences were staying away from most movie musicals in droves, Bob Fosse made his film directorial debut with this adaptation of his biggest Broadway hit up to that point. Shirley MacLaine rises above the hooker with the heart of gold cliche, with help of Fosse's terrific choreography and mostly playful direction. Featuring show stopping turns from performers MacLaine, Sammy Davis Jr., Chita Rivera and Paula Kelly, Cy Coleman's music, and good use of NYC locales. Then the film comes out to reviews that were mostly good or better . . . and becomes a flop at the box office. Not Ishtar levels, but enough to make sure it didn't make it's production budget back with any speed. Oscar nominations for Coleman's score, Edith Head's costumes and the Art Direction didn't help in the least. History has since been kind to the film, and the show itself has enjoyed successful revivals. But Fosse's death, short film career, and the idea that it SEEMS like an old fashioned (a.k.a. boring) musical, has led to little in the way of re-discovery. Time to change that:

http://www.clearviewcinemas.com/classics-chelsea.asp

THE MUPPET MOVIE and ISHTAR- Sat Jan 26 at 3 (Muppet) and 6 (Ishtar)- Museum of the Moving Image- A double feature that's part of the Museum's Paul Williams retrospective. A double feature of the biggest hit Williams was ever a part of, and the biggest flop of his career, even if he's not at fault. Both films can be seen for one admission, plus admission to the museum as well.

First, The Muppet Movie, the first and best of the Muppet films. A sleeper hit of the summer of 1979, you might be surprised that it's more than just a kid's flick. You have a road film and a musical, with a stealth satire of Hollywood and what one might move too quickly to give up on to make it big. A satire not on the level of say, Sunset Blvd or The Player, but one that registers now that didn't back in grade school when you/we first saw this. Ok, was that too much? Fine, you got fun jokes, both good and groan inducing. You have enjoyable cameos, with Steve Martin, Mel Brooks, Charles Durning, Dom DeLuise, Richard Pryor, Bob Hope and Orson Welles among the cast. You've got practically every Muppet that ever appeared during the run of The Muppet Show. You also got the Oscar nominated song, The Rainbow Connection. Williams co-wrote the song with Kenny Ascher (as well as every other song in the film), and makes a cameo as El Sleezo Pianist.

Followed by Ishtar. Yes, Ishtar. The 1987 comedy, where hack songwriters/ bad nightclub singing duo Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman get used by the CIA and leftist rebels and embroiled in a coup in the Middle East. The film, produced by Beatty and written and directed by Elaine May, would quickly become synonymous with Box Office Flop; more than Howard the Duck or even Heaven's Gate. There's too much to cover in terms of the film's production and post-production difficulty here. But a combo of a perfectionist director inexperienced in non-comedic situations (apparent in the action finale), perfectionist leads with both official and unofficial input (one of them, producer Beatty, forced to walk a fine line or else he might have been forced to take over as director), and shooting in a country (Morocco) incapable of properly supporting a large Hollywood production, and it's amazing principal photography was ever completed. Throw in a too-many-cooks-in-the-editing-room situation (some but not all of the facts in dispute) and newly hired Columbia Pictures chief David Puttnam hating his two stars (or at least openly despising Hoffman), and negative rumors went flying. When it finally came out in May 1987, the reviews were mixed to lousy (except for the Times' Vincent Camby and his glowing notice), and audiences ignored it in favor of Beverly Hills Cop 2 and Ernest Goes To Camp. It had some life on home video, but not enough to remove the stink of failure or give May the chance to direct another film ever again. 

Now back in the day, the negative reviews focused on the 55 million budget, found Beatty and Hoffman unbelievable as show business failures, and gave praise to scene stealers Charles Grodin (as a cynical CIA agent) and the camel Hoffman and Beatty rode. But there's been a movement to look at Ishtar in a different light, as a satire on Reagan-era misguided foreign policy and Middle East politics, through the filter of Hope-Crosby Road film. Am I buying that? Not sure. The aspect that has become better appreciated are Paul Williams' songs. He apparently considers them one of his biggest career challenges; to write songs that convince the audience the leads are hacks and yet still funny. The songs have aged well, but does Ishtar deserve re-evaluation? Time to find out     

http://www.movingimage.us/visit/calendar/2013/01/26/detail/the-muppet-movie-2

http://www.movingimage.us/visit/calendar/2013/01/26/detail/ishtar

ISHTAR- Sunday Jan 27 at 6- Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria- If you can't do Ishtar on the 26th, there will be an evening screening on the 27th. But remember, if you seen it then, you'll miss the Pro Bowl. Though if you actually watch the Pro Bowl and you're neither 12 years old or younger or if you're not in Hawaii to see it in person, you get everything you deserve in life. Take that comment in whatever way you feel is appropriate.

MAD MAX with Violence in the Cinema Part 1- Wed Jan 30 at 6- Walter Reade at Lincoln Center- Part of Lincoln Center's Australian New Wave series. Highlighting films, mostly from the 1970s, that were made possible with the creation of the Australian Film Council. Films, and the actors and /or directors that have changed the history of film even today. In terms of box office success, no other film in the series comes close to Mad Max. The film that made Mel Gibson an international star and put director George Miller into the big leagues. Note I said international and not U.S. Before films like Titanic and the Lord of the Rings series came along, you see the list of what was the highest grossing films in any country outside of North America, and chances are Star Wars, Mad Max and E.T. were in the top 4. But in America back in 1980 (it was released in most countries in 1979), it came out in a heavily dubbed form. Apparently there was no belief that we could understand all these Australian dialects. And to see this little film as opposed to say, Empire Strikes Back for the second or third time? Forget it. Several re-releases, including one a year after The Road Warrior's success, made no dent here.

One part post-apocalyptic film and one part Death Wish. Not as much action as you might think or remember, but still pretty good on a low budget. Apparently most of Australia can pass for a post- WW3 environment, and director Miller does a lot with a little. And Gibson practically screams Movie Star here. Good overall and for once, not being screened at Midnight.

Preceded by Violence in the Cinema Part 1 from 1971. George Miller's first film: a twenty minute short that takes a black comedic, and quite bloody, view of what was as much of a hot button topic then as was before and after 1971, Violence in the Cinema. Don't take it too seriously, just let it happen:

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/mad-max1

WHO'S THAT KNOCKING AT MY DOOR and MEAN STREETS with Les Rues de Mean Streets- Wed Jan 30 at 7:40 (Door) and 9:40 (Streets)- Film Forum- Part of the Forum's New Yawk series. A double feature of Martin Scorsese's first and third film starring Harvey Kietel, Who's That Knocking At My Door and Mean Streets. First, Knocking, screened in 16mm. A low budget drama, starring Kietel as a young man, macho, raised Catholic, and walking around with preconceived ideas of women. When his dream girl doesn't match his every ideal, the conflict within Kietel's character grows. Not Scorsese's first film where he tackles some variation of Catholic guilt, but it's probable his most naked attempt to tackle the concept. Rarely screened, whether on a revival screen or on TV, more people know of it then have actually seen it. I believe that, but let's change that.

Next, Mean Streets. I have never seen on the big screen, and I really want to. Not Scorsese's first film, but it is his first studio film. Done cheaply since Warner Bros was only going to devote so much Dirty Harry profits to the director of Boxcar Bertha. In college I dealt with a Scorsese sycophant, I mean fan, who talked about the raw power of this film was superior to the polished works of Raging Bull and Goodfellas. Considering he was coming out with Casino and The Age of Innocence, it was easy to conjure up babel like that.

But just because the film is raw as opposed to polished (yet polished when compared to Knocking), doesn't mean it doesn't belong near the top of the director's work. Just that when you have Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas and lower profiles works like After Hours and Kundun on your resume, it's hard for a lot of films to get the respect it deserves. And respect AND viewer ship is what Mean Streets deserves. More of a character study than a plot driven project, Harvey Kietel's small timer is who we follow, but Robert De Niro's living embodiment of a psychotic screw-up is what steals the show. The quintessential New York film, shot mostly in Los Angeles. Please let's make time to see this.

Preceding Mean Streets is Les Rues de Mean Streets, a six minute documentary showing what the Little Italy locations of 1973's Mean Streets looked like in 2010:

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

PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK or MY BRILLIANT CAREER- Thurs Jan 31 at 6:15 (Picnic) or 8:30 (Career)- Walter Reade at Lincoln Center- Part of Lincoln Center's Australian New Wave retrospective. 2 important films in Australian film history that had art house success in the U.S. For the purposes of this list, we'll work with the idea that you can only see one of these films, not both. This is the only date and times they'll be screened. The only way you can see both for an affordable price is to see 3 films for 30 dollars, which can be purchased either online or at the Walter Reade website, just be sure you know which 3 films when you make the purchase. Other films from this retrospective that I haven't posted are easy to find on the filmlinc website. Just click any of those I've posted and it should be easy to navigate from there. But in the meantime, back to these films.

First, Picnic at Hanging Rock, the film that launched both the Australian New Wave and writer-director Peter Weir's career. Set mainly around the turn of the 20th Century, involving an all girls school in Victoria, Australia. Students full of hormones, yet stifled by the era on the whole, and their corsets and instructors in particular. I'm not writing to try to titillate, Weir emphasizes the girls' corsets and the strictness/coldness/ passive aggression of the headmistress throughout. After a school trip to Hanging Rock that results in several missing students as well as the young teacher who went to look for them, everything falls apart. If you're looking a solution oriented film, look elsewhere. If you're looking an atmospheric period drama that bubbles into something that feels contemporary, while also playing out some more Man vs Nature vs Culture that Weir would play around with throughout his career (Witness, The Mosquito Coast, Master & Commander), then you've come to the right film.

Next, another film that was key in establishing the Australian film industry as something to pay attention to, My Brilliant Career, from 1979 (released in the U.S. in 1980). A headstrong young tomboy in late 19th Century Australia goes from living in her poor home, to the home of her wealthy grandmother, to the home of an illerate farmer and his family, to whom her father owes money to. All the while, the tomboy dreams of becoming a writer. But such independence isn't generally accepted at the time in history. Throw in a wealthy young man who falls head over heels in love with this woman who isn't used to being appreciated by her physical beauty (or at all), and there are plenty of hard choices ahead. A surprise success, it won an award at Cannes, where it competed against the likes of Apocalypse Now, The Tin Drum, Norma Rae, The China Syndrome and Days of Heaven. An arthouse hit in the U.S. and in every country it played, an Oscar nomination for the Costume Design, and made names out of writer-director Gillian Armstrong and leads Judy Davis (who still doesn't like her look or performance for some reason) and Sam Neill:    

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/picnic-at-hanging-rock

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/my-brilliant-career

RIFFTRAX PRESENTS PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE- Thurs Jan 31 at 7:30- Regal Union Square, College Point Multiplex and UA Westbury Stadium- A special one night only engagement. The main dudes behind Mystery Science Theater 3000, Michael J Nelson Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy, made fun of Ed Wood's classic (for all the wrong reasons), Plan 9 From Outer Space, and recorded it in 2009. The only 3 theaters in New York/ Long Island that are screening it are listed. It should be hysterical. Supposedly there will be a short prior to Plan 9, but the title hasn't been revealed as of this writing. Please let it be Mr. B Natural, please let it be Mr. B Natural . . . .

http://www.fathomevents.com/#!rifftrax-plan-9-from-outer-space/more-info/details

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

Jan revivals: first half

Hey all. Mike here with the first set of revivals for the New Year. Before I go into them, let me bring my viewing of 2001: A Space Odyssey on Friday, December 21st.  A new 70mm print of the classic film. Sold out, I was lucky to get in via the cancellation line. Overall, a quality restoration, but I feel a better job was done with the Hello, Dolly! restoration I saw this past summer (not sure who did the respective restorations). Sound quality was equally superior, but there were noticeable image issues with the 2001 print that didn't crop up with Dolly. In particular the colors red and white were difficult to pull off without some sort of cloudy distortion. Not every time mind, you. No issues with the color red when it came to anything involving Hal, but with the trip at the end. And as for white, there were no issues with say, the space station or the various shuttles.  But anything lit with what appears to white halogen lighting (or the mid-1960s British equivalent), such as the lighting in the station, the moon base meeting room, and especially the French suite environment the Monolith creates, the restoration wasn't that effective. Or the restoration wasn't able to fix all the problems of the original negative, not sure what the reasons are. The colors were more effective overall with the Digital restoration of 2001 that I saw in March. Sound quality was about equal, but I consider the 70mm print superior to the DCP print in one section: The Dawn of Man. For some reason all of it looked completely fake on the DCP, even the leopard and the second unit footage. Not so with the 70mm, the textures of everything, the sets, the matte paintings and the incredible make-up, all looked more realistic. Enough texture to allow one to believe the illusion quickly, without distraction.

In attendance at the screening was the film's lead, Keir Duella. Based on what was written on the filmlinc website, I expected just an introduction. Not an explanation mind you, just an introduction. But we got a post-film Q and A instead, the first one Mr. Duella ever gave in NYC regarding 2001.  A few my pics of the event are here as well. Among the excerpts:

Keir received news of his being cast in 2001 from his wife, when he came from working on the set of Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake Is Missing. He described Preminger as a yeller on his best days, and a bully on his worst. In fact, the more people on set, whether it was crew or visitors, the bigger the bully Otto would become. Almost as though he enjoyed it. Working with Stanley, a man whose work he admired since seeing Paths of Glory when he was an acting student, was something Keir had hoped would happen. And on his follow-up to Dr. Strangelove no less! Working with Stanley after working with Otto was like night and day.

Stanley was always open to questions from both Keir and co-star Gary Lockwood. Both were invited off and on throughout the shoot at Stanley's house for dinner. His wife was a lovely hostess. But while he did answer questions, Kubrick wouldn't break down most of the film's mysteries. That was a major problem with the sequel to 2001 that Keir was in, 2010. It wasn't a bad film, but it went too far to try to explain the mysteries, part of the reason why the film hasn't held up.

It was only a few years ago did Keir understand his favorite sequence in the only film: the famous jump cut from the bone Moonwalker throws in the air to the satellite in space. Only that wasn't a satellite, it was a design for an atomic missile that would be fired from space. It wasn't a cut from the Dawn of Man to a completely different, brighter future. It was a jump from the world's first weapon, to the most recent weapon. It blew Keir away.

  

Stanley wasn't a 50 takes kind of guy on the set of 2001. Nine takes would be unusual, but would occasionally happen. What would be time-consuming was the setting up. Lighting could take up to nine hours in some cases. The heavy old age make-up Keir wore in his final scene took about 12 hours to apply.

And no, no one who made the film smoked "funny cigarettes" when they worked. Although it was Lockwood who gave him his first "funny cigarette".  To quote him, "Since Gary isn't here to deny it, he was the one who made me smoke my first funny cigarette" (Laughed).

There was more, but you had to be there, so forget it. So on with the list, here we go:  

NINOTCHKA- Wed Jan 2 and Thurs Jan 3 at 7:30 and 9:40- Film Forum- A new 35mm print of the Ernest Lubitsch comedy classic, where Greta Garbo plays a stern commie woman, who falls for decadent capitalist Melvyn Douglas. With Bela Lugosi. Oscar nominations for Picture, Garbo, Story and Screenplay, co-written by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett.

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

ALL ABOUT EVE for 7.50- Thurs Jan 3 at 7 and 9:30- Chelsea Clearview Cinemas- A cheap screening All About Eve, one of the few films to be on both AFI Top 100 lists, and in my own personal top 35. There are a few of you out there who have yet to experience this on the big screen, and until you do, I'll keep posting this and pushing it. The acclaimed bitch fest starring Bette Davis that beat Sunset Blvd. for Best Picture. A life in the theater (soft of) kind of film with terrific performances and some of the bitchiest dialogue known to man. I mean, my God, more acid drips out of say, Bette Davis's and George Sanders's tongue, than from the creatures in Aliens. 14 Oscar nominations, 6 Oscars, including for Picture, Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Sanders for Supporting Actor and for the Screenplay. Most nominations in Oscar history, Titanic could only tie it. Your choices of screenings; either the 7PM screening with an intro from Hedda Lettuce (unknown if they'll be a running commentary), or the 9:30 screening without Hedda:

http://www.clearviewcinemas.com/classics-chelsea.asp

BLACK NARCISSUS- Fri Jan 4, Tues Jan 8 and Wed Jan 9 at 7:30 and 9:40, plus Mon Jan 7 at 9:10- Film Forum- A new DCP restoration of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's  1947 film. The restoration supervised by the film's Cinematographer Jack Cardiff and Powell's widow, editor Thelma Schoonmaker. Adapted by Rummer Godden's 1939 novel, a group of Anglican nuns go to their new order, up in the Himalayan mountains, to establish a school and a hospital. But it's hard to do when you're tempted by the land and the people around you, and you've dragged issues like failed romances and possible insanity up the mountain with you. You can go with those statements, or accept this as an allegory of Britain's last glory days as an Empire, and the dignified way the Empire comes to an end. Starring Deborah Kerr as the head Sister whose escaped one failed romance,and might get tempted into another, and Jean Simmons as, in the words of author Godden, "a basket of fruit, piled high and luscious and ready to eat.". Oscar nominations for Cardiff's Cinematography and Art Direction. I think I saw this a long time ago. I don't remember it clearly, but I could have sworn I've seen it and liked what I saw. And even if I haven't, a film from the directors of The Red Shoes and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp becomes a must-see in my book: 

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

I was thinking of including a cheap screening of Rome, Open City at the Rubin Museum of Art on Friday, January 4th, at 7PM. But I changed my mind; I prefer something cheerier right now, even Black Narcissus. Go figure. But you can catch Rome, Open City on your own if you like. It's tough but good. In the meantime, take care.

Revivals: holiday season edition

Hey all. Mike here with some revivals for the rest of the holiday season. For my purposes, the holiday season will run thru Jan 3rd, to get  a few stray films that play beyond New Year's Day. Also, because of the volume of revivals I have here, I'm splitting the revivals into two sections, those that are not playing at Lincoln Center, and those films that are. The later group of films are part of the Center's 70mm retrospective, which I'll get into in a little bit. To say most of these films conflict with one another is a massive understatement. I'll just let you all decide, because you can't make a bad choice here. You can take risks, or pick films that are weaker than others, but no bad choices on this list. Here we go, starting with the non-Lincoln Center group of revivals: 

MONSTERS, INC in 3-D- At a theater near you, locations and times TBA- A reminder The Pixar classic gets a re-release, in a newly converted 3-D format. One part stab for money, and one part promotion for Pixar's upcoming prequel, Monsters University, starring the voice of leads from the prior film, Billy Crystal and John Goodman. Re-release success for Disney have been spotty. Granted the costs for 3-D conversion and promotion (plus whatever hidden costs/ profit sharing that we the Public are unaware of), won't cut into the profit line to these films' re-release. But after the spotty business of the re-releases of The Nightmare Before Christmas and the first two Toy Story flicks, many were stunned with the success of The Lion King, and then surprised that both Beauty & the Beast and Finding Nemo failed to measure up in terms of business, 3-D conversion and pop culture love. And jammed in there between The Hobbit and 6 other studio releases, Monsters Inc may suffer a similar fate. Being the only release for kids during the month of December might help it, who knows.

That said, this was my favorite Pixar until Wall-E, Toy Story 3, Ratatouille, and The Incredibles (in my order of preference) came along. Yes, I liked the first two Toy Story flicks and A Bug's Life is alright; not my favorite but I certainly like it more than any Pixar with Cars in the title. Monsters, Inc had action about as good as the last section of Toy Story. But maybe the combination of the fantastical world inhabited by non-human creatures, earned sentiment, humor that almost ventured into Borscht Belt territory, and the most perfect casting of vocal leads in Crystal and Goodman (Incredibles comes close), maybe all of this suits my personal tastes more. Enough that I want to make an effort to catch this. Though with a lot of major releases flooding the marketplace, if a lot of people don't come out for this re-release, watch Monsters Inc get chucked out of most 3-D screens in favor of Texas Chainsaw 3-D on January 4th. I kid you not, that's probably what will happen. So basically, you have 16 days and everyday afterwards is borrowed time.  

MEET ME IN ST LOUIS for $7.50- Thurs Dec 20 at 7 and 9:30- Chelsea Clearview Cinema- First, Meet Me in St. Louis, with possibly the only happy family ever depicted on film. Second happiest if you count Leatherface's family from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Directed by Vincente Minnelli, we see a family enjoying their last days of togetherness, before a potential move to New York. Your choice if you want to see at 7(with a Hedda Lettuce intro) or at 9:30 (without Hedda). 

Yes, the film is a color feast for the eye. But this film should be considered the best showcase of Judy Garland's talents. Is it her best performance? Probably not. That would be the last film on this list. Her most memorable performance? No, that would be the next film on the list. But for the full package, catch Judy here. With The Maltese Falcon's Mary Astor as the loving mother, Margaret O'Brien as the scene stealing kid sister, and Leon Ames as the epitome of the loving patriarch.

4 Nominations for Meet Me: for Screenplay (based on the stories written by Sally Benson about her and her family), Score, Color Cinematography (It lost to a film about Woodrow Wilson?!?!? A film that is only seen by 10 people a year on Fox Movie Channel), and for Song (The Trolley Song- "Clang Clang Clang Went The Trolley . . .". Shot in one take!) Also featuring the holiday favorite "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". But this film should be considered the best showcase of Judy Garland's talents. Is it her best performance? Probably not.  Her most memorable performance? No, that would be Oz. But for the full package, catch Judy here. With The Maltese Falcon's Mary Astor as the loving mother, Margaret O'Brien as the scene stealing kid sister, and Leon Ames as the epitome of the loving patriarch. 4 Nominations for Meet Me: for Screenplay (based on the stories written by Sally Benson about her and her family), Score, Color Cinematography (It lost to a film about Woodrow Wilson?!?!? A film that is only seen by 10 people a year on Fox Movie Channel), and for Song (The Trolley Song- "Clang Clang Clang Went The Trolley . . .". Shot in one take!) Also featuring the holiday favorite "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas".

http://www.clearviewcinemas.com/classics-chelsea.asp

THE THIEF OF BAGDAD- Fri Dec 21 and Sat Dec 22 at 1 4 and 7, Sun Dec 23 at 7, Mon Dec 24 at 1, and Wed Dec 26 and Thurs Dec 27 at 1 4 and 7- Film Forum- The only film from the Forum's Douglas Fairbanks retrospective that I had any chance of seeing. A restored DCP screening of the silent film classic. See Fairbanks swashbuckle his way to win the heart of a beautiful princess, and battle monsters and an evil Mongol with the aid of a flying horse and a magic carpet. The first, or at least among the first, of the fantasy/adventure blockbusters, restored and incorporating color tints from the original prints, and Carl Davis' epic score newly re-recorded by London's Philharmonia Orcehstra:

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

DJANGO- Fri Dec 21, Wed Dec 26 and Thurs Dec 27 at 10- Film Forum- A DCP release of the Spaghetti Western classic from 1966, re-released to coincide with Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained. The film that inspired many copies and inspirations (including Tarantino's), had one official sequel, and made Franco Nero a star everywhere (except here I guess). Somewhat similar to A Fistful of Dollars, where you have two sides fighting with each other and our (anti)hero in the middle, and said (anti)hero is trying to financially profit off of this. A little more romantic in the sense that Django has a woman by his side. But this was considered one of the more violent Westerns pre-Wild Bunch, a reputation it has taken decades to put aside. Plays for one week only at 10PM, which is either inconvenient or EXTREMELY convenient, depending on your point of view. I'm only listing the days I could possibly make, because there's no way I'm coming out to see this on either Christmas Eve or Day. But before or after, let's go for it:

http://www.filmforum.org/movies/more/django1

NINOTCHKA- Fri Dec 28 at 5:20, 7:30 and 9:40, Sat Dec 29 at 7:30 and 9:40, Tues Jan 1 & Wed Jan 2 at 7:30 and 9:40- Film Forum- A new 35mm print of the Ernest Lubitsch comedy classic, where Greta Garbo plays a stern commie woman, who falls for decadent capitalist Melvyn Douglas. With Bela Lugosi. Oscar nominations for Picture, Garbo, Story and Screenplay, co-written by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett.

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

CHINATOWN for a 7 dollar bar minimum- Fri Dec 28 at 9:30- Rubin Museum of Art- A cheap screening of the 1974 classic. Part of a series of films picked on the idea that happiness is raised after going the catharsis of watching a film with a sad/bleak ending. And boy does this film qualify. If you get to the Rubin Museum by 6, the museum will be free. The screening will be hosted by professor/screenwriter/blogger Valerie Franco.

Chinatown, the last of the great film-noirs. Ok, it's more of a modern or neo-noir. While there would be some very good to excellent modern noirs afterwards (L.A. Confidential, Blue Velvet and Fargo chief among them), none would go the dark paths Roman Polanski's film would travel, not even Lynch's film.  Based on events from the California Water Wars of the 1930s, Jack Nicholson's private eye (the role that made him a star forever) is hired by Faye Dunaway to spy on her husband. But nothing is as it seems, and if you don't know the film, I won't spoil it for you here. One of the great period films, one of the great mysteries, and if wasn't for Paramount's own Godfather Part 2, it might have been the best film from that year. An Oscar for Robert Towne's Screenplay; 10 other nominations including Picture, Polanski for Director (who also turns in a memorable performance as a thug), Nicholson for Actor, and Dunaway for Actress. Sorry there was no room for John Huston for Supporting Actor, but boy does he make a memorably repellent villain. On both AFI Top 100 films and in my personal top 100. 

http://www.rmanyc.org/events/load/1897

MEDEA (1969)- Sat Dec 29 at 6- MOMA- The only film I'm posting from MOMA's Pier Paolo Pasolini retrospective. Partly out of time, and partly because the only other film I could make is Salo. I've seen that once, not again. Google it to learn more, but for the love of God, be careful, because there are plenty of NSFW images. Now Pasolini himself was a bigger deal in Europe than he ever was here. But he made his impact here, at least on the arthouse circuit, back in the 60s thru the mid 70s. But he was a challenging director to put it mildly, and his films are generally not the kind you pull up on Netflix for casual viewing. His version of Medea qualifies.

The story of Medea and Jason is re-told here, but not in the way Euripides did. More of a comparison between Medea's "primitive" world and Jason's "civilized" world; where Medea gave up so much to bring herself and the Golden Fleece to Jason and his world, and her revenge when betrayed is brutal. But expect no golden chariots here. Expect a mostly wordless film, relying on cinematography (locations as close to the original story as the filmmakers could get) and an offbeat, non-traditional score to tell the story. Mostly non-actors filing the roles, but take note of Maria Callas in her only film role, as the mute title character. I've never seen it, but the screencaps and youtube videos have made me very curious. Only for the adventurous: 

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/film_screenings/16851

ALL ABOUT EVE for 7.50- Thurs Jan 3 at 7 and 9:30- Chelsea Clearview Cinemas- A cheap screening All About Eve, one of the few films to be on both AFI Top 100 lists, and in my own personal top 35. There are a few of you out there who have yet to experience this on the big screen, and until you do, I'll keep posting this and pushing it. The acclaimed bitch fest starring Bette Davis that beat Sunset Blvd. for Best Picture. A life in the theater (soft of) kind of film with terrific performances and some of the bitchiest dialogue known to man. I mean, my God, more acid drips out of say, Bette Davis's and George Sanders's tongue, than from the creatures in Aliens. 14 Oscar nominations, 6 Oscars, including for Picture, Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Sanders for Supporting Actor and for the Screenplay. Most nominations in Oscar history, Titanic could only tie it. Your choice of screenings; either the 7PM screening with an intro from Hedda Lettuce (unknown if they'll be a running commentary), or the 9:30 screening without Hedda:

http://www.clearviewcinemas.com/classics-chelsea.asp

And now for the films playing at Lincoln Center this holiday season:

SEE IT IN 70MM!- the Walter Reade at Lincoln Center- Fri Dec 21- Tues Jan 1- After the success of such revival screenings as Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra and Hello, Dolly!, as well as renewed interest in the format thanks to P.T. Anderson's The Master, Lincoln Center will screen this special retrospective. While the format has been around since the creation of film itself, it wasn't until the mid-1950s when this became popular for event movies. Consider 70mm as the grandfather of IMAX, which also makes use of 70mm film cameras by the way (the films not shot digitally that is). If you've been to the Ziegfeld, the late Loews Astor Plaza or the Paris theater in Manhattan, then you know what the format looks like. But unless you saw The Master at the Ziegfeld this past fall, you probably haven't seen a 70mm film, especially if you're under the age of 21.

Popularity waned in the 1970s, and the format wasn't used for a while, except horizontally in IMAX cameras. By the time I read how the original 70mm print of Star Trek: The Motion Picture was chopped up and pieces were individually sold, I figured the format was as dead as the Betamax. But directors like Anderson and Martin Scorsese still champion the format, and curiosity and changing technologies has fueled renewed interest 70mm. Much like IMAX, 70mm was reserved for event films, and some of those very event films will be screened at the Walter Reade. I've posted a couple of these films on this blog over the years. But most of these films haven't been screened since the early 80s.

Each film costs 13 dollars, but you can arrange to see two films for 20 dollars. Tickets can be bought either at the Walter Reade box office, or on any of the links posted here by the titles. Some of the films are restored 70mm prints, while others are archival prints, I'll let you know which are which. I'll list the films I want to catch in calender order. Not grammatically correct perhaps, but I don't care right now. Here we go, below a link to an intro to the retrospective itself:

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/series/see-it-in-70mm

Friday, December 21:

2001:A SPACE ODYSSEY introduced by Keir Dullea at 6:30- My favorite Kubrick film, in my personal Top 3 films, kicks off the retrospective. Yes I know I posted it before. I've posted it now, and I'll probably post it again, so there. Maybe it isn't being screened in its original Cinerama, but the Walter Reade is pretty close. 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. This screening will be introduced by the film's lead, Keir Dullea. I'm not sure if he will explain the film, but he will introduce it:

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/2001-a-space-odyssey

Saturday December 22: 

IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD- Sat Dec 22 at 2- A new 70mm print of one of the biggest hits of 1963. We're getting the 2 hour, 34 minute version that's normally available, as opposed to longer edits that were either on laserdisc, or the original director's cuts that were over 3 hours long. We're getting the overture and intermission music, not sure if we're getting an actual intermission. Around the World in 80 Days might have started the craze of all-star casts in epic comedies, but Mad World seems to be the only one to have survived the test of time in a positive way. It doesn't rely on a retrospective of Oscar winning films like 80 Days in order to be screened, though this was nominated for 6 Oscars (including the Cinerama-style Cinematography, Editing and it's Music), winning for Sound Effects.

Spencer Tracy leads an all-star cast, as a Police Captain ready to solve the fifteen year-old case of a robbery of $350,000. When 5 cars of motorists discover the dying robber (Jimmy Durante), he gives them barely coherent clues to the location of the loot. The motorists' greed overtakes them as they go off to find the loot. Each way more disastrous and destructive than the other, with the police in full observational mode. Not everything works, with a film this long that takes a sledgehammer approach to comedy at times. But some scenes still shine, especially for me the desert fight between two men (Milton Berle and Terry-Thomas) who can't fight. And anything Phil Silvers, Jonathan Winters, Dick Shawn, Peter Falk or Tracy do puts a smile on my face. I could do a separate post just on the cast and its tens of cameos alone. But suffice to say, I recommend it: 

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world 

PLAYTIME- Sat Dec 22 at 5:30- From 1967, a restored 70mm print. A French comedy directed, co-written by, and starring Jacques Tati, as his famous M. Hulot character. If you saw the Oscar nominee, The Illusionist, based on an unproduced screenplay of Tati's, then you are familiar with the character. Imagine the klutzy M. Hulot needing to get some paperwork from Paris. M. Hulot goes from his country town to some place not completely resembling Paris. Not just any Paris, not just any metropolis, but to an actual Metropolis. As in a place similar to the city from Fritz Lang's Metropolis, but with enough alienation and little use for individuality, that Tom Stoppard and/or Terry Gilliam had to know this film when making Brazil. A mega-flop in its day, but with ever growing appreciation for it as the years have gone by. When I first posted this back in November 2011, I thought the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria would be the only place to screen this 70mm restoration. Good to know I was wrong:

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/playtime 

Sunday December 23:

THE SOUND OF MUSIC- Sun Dec 23 at 7:45- A restored 70mm print. Some of you may be surprised I'm posting this, but someone expressed interest in seeing this on the big screen, and I'm calling her bluff. Besides, it's been 4 1/2 years since I saw this at the Ziegfeld with over one hundred Sound of Music fanatics, I think it's safe now to catch it again. Seeing it on the big screen, what with the Cinematography, the performances that go from large to intimate, all of this alongside the music, I get it. On the big screen (and only on the big screen, not TV), I get why it's loved. I finally get it. Now I may have to step out if the saccharine level gets too high (for me, it was the Marionette scene), but don't worry, I'm there to the end. And seeing it in a full 70mm format, restored like Fox's Hello,Dolly! was this summer, what with it's overture and intermission music, it will probably be an improvement over the print I saw at the Ziegfeld in 08. And to repeat, I'm calling someones bluff:

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/the-sound-of-music1

Monday December 24:

2001:A SPACE ODYSSEY at 2- If you can't do the Friday night screening, or can't get in due to the possibility of it selling out, there's a Christmas Eve afternoon screening. Gets you out in plenty of time to see the city holiday sights, attend some kind of Christmas Eve dinner/party, Midnight Mass, whatever else you have planned.

Wednesday December 26:

WEST SIDE STORY at 3- The other revival from this retrospective that's in my personal Top 100. Sorry if this isn't at an easier time. But I'm not dragging myself in on the night of Christmas Day for a revival I've done twice. But I'm not leaving this off the list altogether, because seeing West Side Story on the big screen as opposed to TV (no matter how large the screen), is the difference between shooting a bullet and throwing it (to quote comedian Larry Miller). So, here it is:

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/west-side-story

LORD JIM at 6:30- The second and most recent (from 1965) adaptation of the Joseph Conrad novel. From director Richard Brooks (after Sweet Bird of Youth but before In Cold Blood) and starring Peter O'Toole (post Lawrence and Beckett) in the title role. Jim is a sailor at the turn of the 20th Century, with the need to overcome a cowardly error in judgement that haunts him forever, and a sense of honor that would crush other mortals. It may yet crush him when surrounded by men of no honor, as he battles both a gun-running General (Eli Wallach) and a pirate (James Mason). Reviews at the time crushed both the picture and O'Toole's performance, and Lord Jim bombed at the box office. Time hasn't so much been kind to Lord Jim as ignored it, but O'Toole's performance has received more respect. Never seen it and I'm curious:

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/lord-jim

Thursday December 27:

PLAYTIME at 3- Another chance to catch Jacques Tati's comedy, in case you can't do Saturday the 22nd.

HAMLET (1996) at 6:30- Kenneth Branagh's rarely screened, unabridged version of the great Shakespearean play, plays only on the 27th. Set in the Victorian era, with a little less insanity on Hamlet's part (played by Branagh), and a little more political intrigue when compared with other adaptations. Julie Christie (Gertrude), Derek Jacobi (Claudius) and Kate Winslet (Ophelia) are among those in the major roles; Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Jack Lemmon, Gerard Depardieu, Richard Attenborough, Charleton Heston, Judi Dench, John Mills and John Gielgud (in his last performance) take up some of the smaller roles. Respectable reviews, but a flop at the box office. It wasn't easy for Columbia Pictures to find enough theaters that could handle 70mm films, and a 4 hour 2 minute film at that. Lack of Oscars didn't help; 4 nominations with the only major nomination being Branagh's Screenplay Adaptation, and zero wins. A major time commitment, but a good film none the less:

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/hamlet1

Friday December 28:

IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD at 6- A second chance to catch this film, in case Saturday the 22nd isn't doable.

Saturday December 29:

RYAN'S DAUGHTER- Sat Dec 29 at 1:45- A rare screening of a rare David Lean flop. An archival print from the Swedish Film Archive; this is in English but there will be Swedish subtitles throughout. Its reputation differs from different people, assuming you know anyone other than me who's even heard of this. Set in World War 1 in a small Irish town, a bored married Irish woman has an affair with a young English officer, recovering from shell shock. This type of adulterous affair with revolution about to begin, you know something bad will go down. With Sarah Miles in the title role, and actors like Trevor Howard and Leo McKern (Rumpole himself) also in the cast.

Released in 1970, this was not embraced in the era of MASH and Easy Rider. It seemed as though critics like Pauline Kael made it their mission in life to destroy the film and Lean as well. They succeeded in the former and might have succeeded in the later, since Lean worked very little after that, only completing A Passage To India. I tried to get into on TV, but like Dr. Zhivago, it was difficult to get through on the small screen. I didn't feel Robert Mitchum was miscast as the uptight, quiet husband. He was stretching himself and he did fine.

But I can't help you with the bigger questions. Is this too damn slow and old-fashioned? Is this an undiscovered gem, unjustly attacked? A noble failure that is not as bad as 1970 critics said, but not deserving of higher praise? We will have to see for ourselves. A 1980 re-release didn't change matters. Miscasting of the young British officer doesn't help- he had to be dubbed. Recently it's received a reappraisal in Australia, playing in one of its larger houses for 2 years. But that's the only country where this film's fortunes have changed.

4 Oscar nominations, including Sarah Miles for Actress. I'm sorry we don't see much from her on these shores anymore. 2 Oscars, for Cinematography and Supporting Actor for John Mills, who played the village idiot. He's usually sighted as one of the first bits of proof, that the best way to at least get an Oscar nomination, is to play some of retardation. Not entirely accurate, but it's hard to fight a growing myth.

This is the only day and time this plays. Over three hours, plus an overture, intermission, and exit music, so plan ahead before you say yes:

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/ryans-daughter

MY FAIR LADY- Sat Dec 29 at 5:45- A restored 70mm print. Another film who, like with Sound of Music, I'm calling someones bluff. I must be crazy to consider seeing this and Ryan's Daughter on the same day, but go figure. Yes, there are some of you who see this on the list and just keep looking. And this is one of those films that is used as bad examples for what won Best Picture. Forest Gump instead of Pulp Fiction, Dances With Wolves instead of Goodfellas, and My Fair Lady instead of Dr. Strangelove. But as great as both Strangelove and Peter Sellers' performance is, it didn't have a chance in hell against one of the more looked forward-to musicals in that era, plus Harrison's signature performance as Henry Higgins. Throw in Audrey Hepburn and the fact that this is a well made picture, just live with it film buffs.

Not the last great movie musical, but after both this and A Hard Day's Night from 1964, it was a long way away for greatness in this genre until Cabaret in 1972 (sorry Oliver! fans.) 12 Oscar nominations, 8 Oscars including Best Picture, Harrison, and Director George Cukor. On the original AFI Top 100 list, dropped from the second list in favor of Sophie's Choice. No, I don't get that either:

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/my-fair-lady1

TRON- Sat Dec 29 at 9:15- A 30th anniversary screening. Rare not only because one will can see Tron in 70mm form, but also because this is NOT a Midnight screening. Now here's some 80s throwback fun. The 1982 Disney film that was a disappointment at the box office, but has a cult following so strong, we ended up with Tron:Legacy. This is literally the kind of film that gets screened either at 11AM or Noon for families, or Midnight, rarely any in-between. A lot of hype for the film, but the video game was/is a bigger hit. But it is fun, and for its time, it's look was a singular standout.

The story, eh, whatever. Jeff Bridges had his game designs stole, and gets sucked into whatever early-80s-form-of-the-internet world by the evil MCP (Master Control Program) He gets all Spartacus, freeing a few other programs (including the title character/program), and works on a rebellion against the MCP and his henchman (a wonderfully evil David Warner).

Oscar nominations for Costume Design and Sound, but not for Visual Effects, because the Academy said using computers to create visual effects was "cheating". I kid you not. But the look of the computer world, which was shot in black and white then colorized either via rotoscope or early photo-shopping techniques, alongside disc fights and light cycle scenes, are the most fun elements that still hold up. It's also fun to see a lot of The Dude in Jeff Bridges' character. And frankly, sometimes you don't need that much more for a decent movie.

Due to time constraints only 2 of these 3 films, Tron, Ryan's Daughter and My Fair Lady, can be seen at a moderate price. 1 film has a 13 dollar admission, but 2 films in the series are 20 dollars. I can do 2, I think, but three? Forget it:

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/tron

Sunday, December 30

TRON at 2- Now after all I said in the last paragraph, there's also a 2pm screening of Tron, for those who can't do Saturday night.

That's all for now. Long enough list, wouldn't you say? Later all, and Happy Festivus.