October 2nd 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.
A light menu this pleasant October day. The bill of fare includes Sir Christopher Lee's own fave perf, Yasujiro Ozu's final film, and a groundbreaking time capsule of 80's hip-hop cinema. Ongoing series this day consist of MoMA's Auterist History of Film and Dante Ferretti: Designing for the Big Screen, and the Film Society's Revivals, part of the 51st annual NY Film Fest. Here be the goods;
IFC Center
THE WICKER MAN: THE FINAL CUT (1973) Dir; Robin Hardy
WILD STYLE (1983) Dir; Charlie Ahearn
Film Forum
ANTOINE ET ANTOINETTE (1947) Dir; Jacques Becker
MoMA
AN AUTUMN AFTERNOON (1962) Dir; Yasujiro Ozu
CITY OF WOMEN (1980) Dir; Federico Fellini
Film Society of Lincoln Center - Walter Reade Theater
MANILA IN THE CLAWS OF LIGHT (1975) Dir; Lino Brocka
Today's Pick? Robin Hardy's THE WICKER MAN: THE FINAL CUT at IFC Center. Two of the greatest Brit thesps of the modern era, Edward Woodward and Sir Christopher Lee, square off in this fiendishly clever occult classic that finds the former's police detective travelling to the the latter's island in the Hebrides to investigate the disappearance of a local girl. Woodward's bobbie is shocked, SHOCKED to discover paganism running rampant still on isolated Summerisle, and his virtuous Christian character bristles at the phallic and yonic sights that meet him. Amidst the seemingly cheerful demeanor the island's residents possess as a collective, Woodward's detective suspects that the missing girl may soon be the victim of a pagan sacrifice. So begins twist-meister Anthony Shaffer's (SLEUTH) whimsical mystery, which comes complete with a wallop of a 180 at the end. This flick's rep is well-earned, trust me.
The history of the film's release is almost as twisty as its narrative. Shaffer was initially inspired by David Pinner's novel RITUAL, and followed his own fascination with ritual sacrifice in service of a wholly different tale. He also wanted to craft a more literate role for friend Lee, who up til then had found the bulk of his career traction as variations of Hammer Films' Dracula. Collaborating with director Robin Hardy the pair decided to present an accurate, uncondescending view of the pagan faith and its followers. The project was suddenly rushed into production due to volatile financing factors and the stuido that produced it, British Lion, was bought during filming by EMI. The resulting film was met by disinterest by new studio head Michael Deely, and Hardy was made to cut twenty minutes from the film. It was released with little fanfare as an undercard feature with Nic Roeg's DON"T LOOK NOW. And that should've been that.
Except it wasn't. Quality has a way of emerging from obscurity's grave. In 1977 American film magazine/genre bible Cinefantastique devoted an issue to the film, famously dubbing it the "CITIZEN KANE of horror films". Hardy then inquired into the existence of his original cut, and was informed all prior versions to the theatrical release were gone. On a last chance gambit he phoned the film's initially intended US distributor Roger Corman, who'd received a longer cut of the film for an approval he never gave. A shocked Hardy was informed by Corman some days later that he did indeed still have that cut of the film on hand. Thus was the 96-minute version released to great anticipation, still not the complete Director's Cut but as close as possible to that vision at that time. The second spin turned out to be the charm, and the film was thusly received by critics and audience alike as the cult classic it remains to this day. Today the IFC hosts its latest, and one would think final incarnation, cobbled together and spitshined by current rights holder Studio Canal. I cannot find for the life of me a running time connected with this release, but the words final cut have me intrigued enough. Fingers crossed, Stockahz.
For more info on these and all October's classic screenings in NYC click on the calendar on the upper right hand side of the page (even though it might still read September. We're a small biz here). And be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Back tomorrow as usual with more of what ya love, til then walk a safe path and keep an eye out for the next guy/gal too!
-Joe Walsh
