May 29th 2013. Pick Of The Day.

Jean Gabin and Bourvil's trek across a nighttime occupied city in the service of transporting a butchered but spoiling porcine parcel for the wartime black market comes nearly to its end. A PIG ACROSS PARIS screens at the Film Forum for two more days before its final oink. Would definitely snag my Pick but another journey nearing its end takes precedence today. Desolee, mon ami.

Budd Boetticher's THE RISE AND FALL OF LEGS DIAMOND screens for three days as part of MOMA's ongoing Auteurist History of Film series. The durable Ray Danton asssumes the role of Arnold Rothstein's former bodyguard in a film that played somewhat fast and loose with the facts but entertains nonetheless. Not my Pick.

Federico Fellini's CITY OF WOMEN is presented tonight at the Mid-Manhattan Library as their 3-month long Three Auteurs of World Cinema series wraps up. Marcello Mastroianni resumes his rightful place as Fellini's cinematic surrogate in what, frankly, is not one of the maestro's greater eforts. I applaud the library's efforts to program interesting series at their branch as overall funding for the NYPL is in jeopardy, but another venue that has fallen victim to the same threat offers up a doozy tonight, so I pass on the Mid-Manhattan. Plus I've had the Batman Encyclopedia out for like 35 years. I don't wanna set off any alarms.

Over at Anthology Film Archives their Middle Ages on Film series continues apace with screenings of Kaneto Shindo's creepy horror jidaigeki classic KURONEKO and the first widescreen Technicolor version of Cervantes' masterpiece, Grigori Kozintsev's DON QUIXOTE. Good craic as the Celts would say, but my love today goes out to a extinction more imminent, and thoroughly depressing. Summer shouldn't begin with this kinda bummer, sez this Cinegeek, but we have remaining opportunities, however scant, to support what was a very special rep screening venue. Tonight's one of the last.

For what seems a paltry 5 years now the 92YTribeca in lower Manhattan has served the city admirably in its purpose to provide an outlet for established artists and invite new creative talent that would otherwise have a tougher time of finding theirs. As pertains to this site's preoccupation they have given several fledgling film programmers their first opportunities in that arena, and some very special cinematic events have ensued because of that generosity. Each of the embarrassingly few screenings I attended were magic experiences for a film nut like myself, and were well attended by my ilk. For reasons that I'll never fathom, because I refuse to let the mundane reality of paying the bills come between me and a fave venue, the doors are closing on the 92YT in a matter of weeks. Film Program Associate Cristina Cacciopo has landed on her feet and will soon serve the NYC film community in perhaps a far greater capacity, but it only partially soothes the hurt of losing this space. So I'm calling on ALL you Cinegeeks reading this piece to brave the predicted torrential thunderstorms and head down to the 92YT tonight to show Christina some appreciation for the work she's done, and to perhaps say a final goodbye to this extraordinary space and pour one out in its honor. You may define the "it" I've reffered to.

Enzo G. Castellari's HIGH CRIME, originally titled THE MARSEILLES CONNECTION, the director's first teaming with Franco Nero and perhaps the first poliziottesco in that poular Italian genre of the 70's, unspools tonight in glorious 35mm at the 92YTribeca. Grow a pair. Attend.

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Check with the folks at Occupy Sandy and the Red Cross to help respectively victims of last year's Hurricane Sandy and this month's tornado catastrophes in Kansas & Oklahoma.

Be safe and sound and make sure the next knucklehead is too! Back tomorrow with a brand spankin' new Pick! Scripps National Spelling Bee tomorrow night! Huzzah!!!

-Joe Walsh