August 25th-31st: Yates Burns Rubber, Schultz Karate Chops Evil, and Solntseva Melts Iron. Peruse On, Peeps!
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New and ongoing series this week include Summer Double Features at Film Forum; Welcome to Metrograph: A to Z and Antonioni x 6 at Metrograph; Modern Matinees: The Impeccable Deborah Kerr at MoMA; Boxing on Film, Part One and The Films of Joaquim Pedro de Andrade at Anthology Film Archives; and See it Big: 70mm! at Museum of the Moving Image. The Kino kerfuffle be thus;
Friday August 25th
IFC Center
HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS (1989) Dir; Joe Johnston
STALKER (1979) Dir; Andrei Tarkovsky
Film Forum
BULLITT (1968) Dir; Peter Yates
ROBBERY (1967) Dir; Peter Yates
Metrograph
THE TALL TARGET (1951) Dir; Anthony Mann
DEEP END (1971) Dir; Jerzy Skolimowski
L'AVVENTURA (1960) Dir; Michelangelo Antonioni
ZABRISKIE POINT (1971) Dir; Michelangelo Antonioni
MoMA
Modern Matinees: The Impeccable Deborah Kerr
THE ASSAM GARDEN (1985) Dir; Mary MacMurray
BAM Cinématek
FOX AND HIS FRIENDS (1975) Dir; Rainer Werner Fassbender
Anthology Film Archives
THE BOXER AND DEATH (1963) Dir; Peter Solan
GENTLEMAN JIM (1942) Dir; Raoul Walsh
The Films of Joaquim Pedro de Andrade
THE PRIEST AND THE GIRL (1966) Dir; Joaquim Pedro de Andrade
MACUNAIMA (1969) Dir; Joaquim Pedro de Andrade
Nitehawk Cinema
FIRESTARTER (1983) Dir; Mark L. Lester
Today's Pick? I can't see myself, in all honesty, taking sides against wily craftsman Peter Yates, who had a remarkable run in the late 60's and early 70's, fashioning artful yet gritty and brutal crime sagas on scales both large and small. A pair of his greats screen as a two-fer today at the mighty Film Forum, as part of their sadly soon-to-wind-down Summer Double Features series; 1968's BULLITT, perhaps the film most associated with both car chases and Steve McQueen, which is sayin' somethin' bruddah, and year-earlier run-up to that iconic clasic, 1967's THE ROBBERY, which many maintain is the director's first great film.
Saturday August 26th
IFC Center
HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS (1989) Dir; Joe Johnston
STALKER (1979) Dir; Andrei Tarkovsky
Film Forum
ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS (1958) Dir; Louis Malle
LA NOTTE (1961) Dir; Michelangelo Antonioni
Museum of the Moving Image
THE DARK CRYSTAL (1982) Dir; Jim Henson
THE STORY OF THE FLAMING YEARS (1961) Dir; Yulia Solntseva
THE ENCHNATED DESNA (1964) Dir; Yulia Solntseva
Metrograph
L'AVVENTURA (1960) Dir; Michelangelo Antonioni
ZABRISKIE POINT (1971) Dir; Michelangelo Antonioni
THOMAS THE IMPOSTER (1965) Dir; Georges Franju
DEEP END (1971) Dir; Jerzy Skolimowski
Anthology Film Archives
The Films of Joaquim Pedro de Andrade
THE CONSPIRATORS (1972) Dir; Joaquim Pedro de Andrade
CONJUGAL WARFARE (1974) Dir; Joaquim Pedro de Andrade
BRAZILWOOD MAN (1982) Dir; Joaquim Pedro de Andrade
RAGING BULL (1980) Dir; Martin Scorsese
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
THE LAST DRAGON (1985) Dir; Michael Schultz
Nitehawk Cinema
FIRESTARTER (1983) Dir; Mark L. Lester
Today's Pick? Lots to choose form today, from critic's pick as best film of the 80's (Scorsese's BULL), to Metrograph's Antonioni doubler, to a fascinating look at a female Rusian director from the Cold War era who worked in the sweeping format of 70mm. But as enticing those choices appear, it's still summer, and outdoor screenings are a'dwindlin'. And another auteur talent from the 70's and 80's, one of the only of African-American heritage, is feted with a screening of one of his best-loved and -remembered hits, an iconic 80's martial arts/blaxploitation mash-up. Michael Schultz's THE LAST DRAGON unspools at Al Oerter Recreation Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. In Queens. I mean, it's worth attending just to know there's something called Al Oerter Park in NYC, no?
Sunday August 27th
IFC Center
HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS (1989) Dir; Joe Johnston
STALKER (1979) Dir; Andrei Tarkovsky
Film Forum
LIFEBOAT (1944) Dir; Alfred Hitchcock
SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943) Dir; Alfred Hitchcock
Museum of the Moving Image
THE DARK CRYSTAL (1982) Dir; Jim Henson
THE STORY OF THE FLAMING YEARS (1961) Dir; Yulia Solntseva
THE ENCHNATED DESNA (1964) Dir; Yulia Solntseva
Metrograph
THE PASSENGER (1974) Dir; Michelangelo Antonioni
RED DESERT (1964) Dir; Michelangelo Antonioni
THOMAS THE IMPOSTER (1965) Dir; Georges Franju
DEEP END (1971) Dir; Jerzy Skolimowski
Anthology Film Archives
The Films of Joaquim Pedro de Andrade
BRAZILWOOD MAN (1982) Dir; Joaquim Pedro de Andrade
CONJUGAL WARFARE (1974) Dir; Joaquim Pedro de Andrade
THE CONSPIRATORS (1972) Dir; Joaquim Pedro de Andrade
THE BOXER AND DEATH (1963) Dir; Peter Solan
THE MILKY WAY (1936) Dir; Leo McCarey
Today's Pick? Today's the day I say pay due respect to Yulia Solntseva, a female auteur working from behind the Iron Curtain. And while yes, that era of Russian history is shameful and not to be celebrated, how many femle directors can you name that were working in Hollywood in the 40's and 50's? In 70mm no less? These are new disoveries to these eyes, and once more I have Astoria's crown jewel, Museum of the Moving Image to thank. Solntseva's THE STORY OF THE FLAMING YEARS and THE ENCHANTED DESNA, from 1961 and '64 respectively, unspool as part of the museum's spectacular See it Big: 70mm! series. Politics and geography divide, but film and the prism of history tend to unite. This proves to be just such an opportinuty.
Other notable screenings this week include Rainer Werner Fassbinder's FOX AND HIS FRIENDS this Monday at BAM Cinématek; Jules Dassin's THIEVES HIGHWAY and Raoul Walsh's THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT, at Film Forum this Tuesday as part of the Summer Double Features series; Rob Reiner's simple, sublime THE PRINCESS BRIDE, this Wednesday at my beloved Nitehawk Cinema; and Vincente Minnelli's TEA AND SYMPATHY, Thursday at MoMA as part of their fantastic program Modern Matinees: The Impeccable Deborah Kerr. Now that's a nice way to say goodbye to August '17.
Once again, there you have it, my picks and pontifications regarding your next 7 days' worth of rep filmgoing! We'll check in again a week from now, in the early days of a whole new spin 'round the sun, for the purposes of once more rummaging through the reels and making the tough yet wonderful choices regarding our chosen love. Til then be sure to follow me on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram, and be SURE to catch my new YouTube channel, Nitrate Stock TV, where I'll be checking in at screenings all over the city and giving my 2 cents on the film, the venue, the audience, any damn thing that comes to my mind. Which, as some of ya know, can be quite entertaining. Til next time Stockahz, remember: be safe, be sound, and make sure the next guy and gal are too. Excelsior!
- Joe Walsh
P. S. As you know I like to beat the drum for what I consider worthwhile causes. Xenophobia has sadly always been present in our country, mostly dormant, but at times very awoken and tangible. Sadly, the latter is the present case, and the subject of Syrian refugees has become a veritable powderkeg. To those of you who believe we can aid these people, our fellow human beings who are desperate for our help, I suggest the heroic efforts of the good men and women at DoctorsWithoutBorders, the outreach and safe haven offered by the International Rescue Committee, and the decades-old and ongoing good works from the folks at UNICEF. Collectively they're proving that the greatest investment we can make as a human race is in each other, and that helping to save someone else in troubled circumstances is indeed nothing more than saving ourselves. It's a small something to be sure in this maelstrom of madness, but it is just that: something.
