September 28th 2013. Pick Of The Day.
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Lots to keep the movie mad in our metropolis occupied today. Even a movie called METROPOLIS. Today we might indulge in Fritz Lang's silent SciFi masterpiece, Akira Kurosawa's epic treatise on the noble warrior, and Steve McQueen's still iconic '68 Mustang car chase. Ongoing series include Moving Image's Complete Howard Hawks, Anthology Film Archives' Middle Ages on Film, and MoMA's tribute to Dante Ferretti. The full lowdown;
IFC Center
RED RIVER (1948) Dir; Howard Hawks
Nitehawk Cinema
METROPOLIS (1927) Dir; Fritz Lang
BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985) Dir; Robert Zemeckis
REVENGE OF THE CHEERLEADERS (1976) Dir; Richard Lerner
Film Forum
ANTOINE ET ANTOINETTE (1947) Dir; Jacques Becker
Museum of the Moving Image
BRINGING UP BABY (1938) Dir; Howard Hawks
Anthology Film Archives
THE BLACK KNIGHT (1954) Dir; Tay Garnett
KNIGHTRIDERS (1981) Dir; George A. Romero
SEVEN SAMURAI (1954) Dir; Akira Kurosawa
MoMA
GINGER AND FRED (1986) Dir; Federico Fellini
Landmark Jersey Loews
DUEL (1972) Dir; Steven Spielberg
BULLITT (1968) Dir; Peter Yates
Bowtie Chelsea Cinemas
VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1967) Dir; Mark Robson
Landmark Sunshine Cinemas
BRAZIL (1985) Dir; Terry Gilliam
Today's Pick? It might come as a shock to some of you that I'm not going with the Hawks today, but I'm sure even Howard would agree the icy cool of Steve McQueen is hard to argue against. Hell, his Det. Frank Bullitt is the epitome of the Hawks professional; few words, unsentimental, quietly walking wounded and the absolute best at what he does. What he does best is engage in perhaps still the most famous car chase in film history, careening and careering about an otherwise docile and picturesque San Francisco in what serves as a virtual damage test/advertisement for the '68 model Ford Mustang. McQueen, no stranger to danger and an avid race car driver off-screen, begged to do as much of the actual stunt driving as possible, and while director Peter Yates allowed a bit of leeway in that area he wisely left the bulk of the dangerous revs to ace stunt driver Bill Hickman, who also appears as one of the film's hitmen. Car chase set piece aside, the movie still offers what many McQueen fans believe to be his quintessential perf; a capable but cynical pro, world weary but myopic in service to his vocation. There are few cats in film history who could effortlessly smolder with this kind of cool. Tonight you have the opportunity to catch this slow burn the way it was meant to be seen.
Peter Yates' BULLITT screens tonight at the Landmark Jersey Loews in Journal Square. Vroom, don't walk, to this unspooling.
For more info on this and the remainder of September's classic film screenings click on the interactive calendar on the upper right hand side of the page. And be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Tomorrow brings not merely the conclusion to Breaking Bad but a whole new round of classic film listings that you'll ignore because you're wisely watching the finale of Breaking Bad. And I don't blame ya a damn bit! The October 2013 Calendar is just about ready to go, knuckleheads, and we're gonna have a lot to talk about! Excelsior!
-Joe Walsh
