October 5th 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.
The goods today include Brit auteur John Boorman's terrifying take on the American southern gothic, Howard Hawks' late-innings screwball comedy tutorial, and the luminous Gena Rowlands essaying a theatre diva's fear of inevitable obsolesence, as only director/husband John Cassavtetes could present. Ongoing series today include Film Forum's Jacques Demy retrospective, Moving Image's Complete Howard Hawks, and the Film Society's Revivals. The shenanigans in full;
Nitehawk Cinema
DELIVERANCE (1972) Dir; John Boorman
LEGEND (1985) Dir; Ridley Scott
BLOODSUCKING FREAKS (1976) Dir; Joel M. Reed
Film Forum
LOLA (1961) Dir; Jacques Demy
UNE CHAMBRE EN VILLE (1982) Dir; Jacques Demy
Museum of the Moving Image
TIGER SHARK (1932) Dir; Howard Hawks
MAN'S FAVORITE SPORT (1964) Dir; Howard Hawks
MoMA
THAT NIGHT IN VARENNES (1982) Dir; Ettore Scola
Anthology Film Archives
OCTOBER (1928) Dir; Sergei Eisenstein
OLD AND NEW (1929) Dir; Sergei Eisenstein
Film Society of Lincoln Center
THEY LIVE BY NIGHT (1948) Dir; Nicholas Ray
THE LUSTY MEN (1952) Dir; Nicholas Ray
BAM
OPENING NIGHT (1977) Dir; John Cassavetes
Landmark Sunshine Cinema
MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975) Dirs; Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones
IFC Center
THE GETAWAY (1972) Dir; Sam Peckinpah
Today's Pick? I'm going with the debut feature from one of Hollywood's most revered postwar talents, the immensely influential director Nicholas Ray, whose THEY LIVE BY NIGHT screens as part of the 51st annual NY Film Fest's Revivals series. The man who would soon after helm the classics IN A LONELY PLACE, BIGGER THAN LIFE, and, of course, the template of troubled teen romance REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, the film James Dean is forever synonymous with, began under the wing of producer John Houseman during Dore Schary's tenure as RKO production prez. Schary wanted to gamble on edgier, dynamic fare in the wake of WW2, and Houseman saw a raw but enthusiastic talent waiting to burst in Ray. The neophyte filmmaker banged out a treatment based on the Ed Anderson novel THIEVES LIKE US, and was soon on set busily redefining depression-era proto-noir like Mervyn Le Roy's I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG and Fritz Lang's YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE for a new audience, one victorious yet weary, nervously facing an uncertain oncoming decade.
The resulting film met with approval from its instigators but was lost in the shakeup when Howard Hughes took over RKO, and only saw an American release after being shipped off to fill screentime in the UK, where it was justly lauded as the arrival of an exciting new cinematc voice. Considered the template for all future "lovers-on-the-run" films, and featuring helicopter cinematography regarded as the first to employ the aviatic device for action and not merely establishing shots, it's strangely not among the most discussed of Ray's significant films (even the baroquely bizarre JOHNNY GUITAR is more frequently referenced), but it's a unique, quality piece of filmmaking that begat a CV that still resonates. No less an authority than Cahiers Du Cinema, the French film journal which championed the theory of the director as auteur, conferred said status on Ray back in the 50's. His career was short, as he was beset by demons both internal and of the studio head variety, but the consistent brilliance to be found on his resume continues to inspire and spawn new talent. For that reason alone I send you uptown to Lincoln Center to see where the whole megillah began.
For more info on these and all October's classic screenings in NYC click on the interactive calendar on the upper right hand side of the page. And be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Back tomorow with more of tha goodz, til then be safe and sound and look out for the next knucklehead too!
-Joe Walsh
