September 20th 2013. Pick Of The Day.
New York City's premiere resource for classic film screenings in the metropolitan area. Offering reviews, recommendations, venues and a host of links keeping classic film and the silver screens alive.
Choice rep screenings today include Stanley Kubrick's 1st box office success, the 2nd of only four films to star Bogie and Bacall, and John Boorman's definitive cinematic telling of the Arthurian legend. Ongoing series include MoMA's Auteurist History of Film, Anthology Film Archives' Middle Ages on Film, and Museum of the Moving Image's Complete Howard Hawks. The rundown as follows;
IFC Center
HUD (1963) Dir; Martin Ritt
ROLLING THUNDER (1977) Dir; John Flynn
Film Forum
THE KILLING (1955) Dir; Stanley Kubrick
NORTHERN LIGHTS (1977) Dirs; John Hanson and Rob Nilsson
MoMA
A TASTE OF HONEY (1961) Dir; Tony Richardson
Anthology Film Archives
EXCALIBUR (1981) Dir; John Boorman
MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1974) Dirs; Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam
Museum of the Moving Image
THE BIG SLEEP (1946) Dir; Howard Hawks
Rubin Museum
AKIRA (1988) Dir; Katsuhiro Otomo
Landmark Sunshine Cinema
CLUE (1985) Dir; Jonathan Lynn
Nitehawk Cinema
THE DEAD ZONE (1983) Dir; David Cronenberg
Today's Pick? As usual when a Howard Hawks flick is screening there is scant competition. The auteur's adap of Raymond Chandler's THE BIG SLEEP may still make as little sense now as when released (Hawks and equally baffled screenwriter William Faulkner reportedly phoned Chandler for a plot explanation, and were told there was none to be found), but the director was smart and confident enough to know that the slow burn chemistry of his romantic leads was more than sturdy enough to carry his noir shenanigans. Who killed Sean Regan? Who CARES? Just head over to Museum of the Moving Image in postcard-picturesque Astoria and revel in the sheer wealth of cool virtually smoldering off the screen.
For more info on these and all September's classic screenings click any day on the calendar on the upper right hand side of the page. And be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Back tomorrow with more cinematic bliss, til then safe travels and look out for the next knucklehead too!
-Joe Walsh
