SEPTEMBER 2012 WEEK THREE! GIALLO BEBEH! CIAO!

Ah September, when the labors of Spring are undone by Winter's evil henchman; Autumn. Football, falling leaves, darker skies. What better environment in which to program a film fest dedicated to a genre named after the Italian word for Yellow. Ladies and gents, welcome to the cinematic flourish known as Giallo. Sometimes referred to as Spaghetti Horror, Giallo's literal translation is "yellow" but its meaning in both our languages is "pulp", as in the yellow papered pulp publications of the 1st half of the century that delighted readers with tales fantastic and bizarre, and more often than not gruesome. Part Poe, part Dashiell Hammett.  Giallo films cover a lot of territory but mainly refer to the lurid, sordid and often garish in terms stylistic and substantive movies that Italian studios churned out in the self-referential pop 60's. Unifying tropes of the genre include brooding shadowy camerawork, the knife wielding leather gloved hand, gratuitous but lavish nudity and violence, and Ennio Morricone. The guy just scored everything.

Acolytes of the genre love to inject the names of the titans into any film conversation regarding Giallo, usually getting a kick out of just saying Argento and Fulci and Lenzi, because we love them so. Credit for kicking off the whole shebang however goes to one of the icons of brilliant and batshit cinema, our beloved Mario Bava. Having already injected new and potent life into the horror genre with 1960's BLACK SUNDAY, his 1963 THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH not only provided the first onscreen coalescence of elements Giallo but with the title's reference to Hitchcock inserted a recurring motif into the genre. Giallo directors aligned themselves with Hitchcock the way Brian DePalma did and does, only with much more success. They borrowed themes, plot points, plot twists, shots and with Argento's 2005 DO YOU LIKE HITCHCOCK? the man's name flat out. And I not only think Big Al wouldn't have minded but indeed would've enjoyed toying around in the Giallo format for a flick or two instead of the ambitions curtailed he was consigned to in his last years.

Anthology Film Archives kicks off their Giallo Fever! retrospective this week with perhaps the genre's most famous and initially critically revered entry, Dario Argento's 1970 directorial debut THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE. It's about as respectable as the mighty Argento would ever get and probably as close to a Hitchcock Giallo as has ever been produced. Respectability was anathema to a genre that flourished in the gutter, so it remains an anomaly amongst its peers but no less important to the narrative.

The great Bava himslef is repped by both THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH and his Giallo followup BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, which is regularly credited as the template for the fetishistic serial killer flick that became the standard in the late 70's and 80's. Offerings from Fulci and Dallamo and Elio Petri round out the proceedings, which may not completely cover the topic in sheer number of films offered, but certainly provide ample example of what makes the genre great. Giallo Fever! runs until the end of the month. Click on the Nitrate Stock calendar for the exacts, Stockahz.

The great and important Andrew Sarris is shown much deserved love at MOMA this Wednesday night as his fave director, Max Ophuls, is repped by perhaps his greatest film. LETTER TO AN UNKNOWN WOMAN screens as part of an appreciation of the esteemed film critic's long and valuable contribution to the art form. Ophuls remains among the greatest of film stylists, and so forward in his approach toward female characters that his films have scarcely dated. Joan Fontaine and Louis Jordan deliver career bests as a jilted yet devoted lover and the ne'er do well object of her affection, who comes to his senses tragically too late. Unmissable.

BRAZIL returns to the Film Forum for a week. And why not? Gilliam's messy masterpiece remains a timely deconstruction of fables both true and false. Whatever that means. Bold and brutal and full of whimsy and heart, many have borrowed from this gem. Few successfully. Pony up 12 bucks and remember why Terry Gilliam resides among the greats.

Wes Anderson apparently loves Bogdonavich's THEY ALL LAUGHED, which pretty much ended Pete's sovereign status in Hollywood back in the 70's. Apparently the 92YTribeca agrees with Wes. It screens this Friday, and features a late-Autumn romance between the grizzled Audrey Hepburn and the eternally luminous Ben Gazzara.

Midnight fun this weekend includes the phenomenal troubled youth culture musical masterpiece QUADROPHENIA.  In response to Ken Russell's assault or exalt of the film version of TOMMY, depending on who you ask, the band members determined any film adaptation of their superior Rock-Opera be a faithful meditiation of the seaside Mod-Rocker riots the album depicted. Man, did they get what they asked for. Director Franc Roddam's realization of the music's message is perfection. It reflected on both the Brit Angry Young Man films of the early 60's and the Rock-fuelled troubled teen flicks of America's 50's, fusing both with the propulsive soundtrack of The Who's vinyl masterpiece. Timeless if you're 15, remarkable at any age. Midnight at the IFC Center this weekend. Maybe they should call it Modnight. Yuk yuk.

Kubrick's 2001 plays the Sunshine at midnight Friday and Saturday, and De Palma's CARRIE graces the Nitehawk during the same hours. Both concern a psychotic killer using mind control to commit murder during a scared ritual. Alright, I'm reaching, but you still want that double bill. Don't lie.

For the full month's listings click on the interactive calendar upon the right side of the page. For daily pestering join the Facebook group. For my home phone number send a photo ladies. In the meantime get outta the house and catch a flick, knuckleheadz! Excelsior!

-Joe Walsh