November 2013! Bruce Dern, the Golden Age of Spanish Horror Films, and the twilight of Howard Hawks.

I promise to forego, in this monthly overview of the doings on NYC's rep film circuit, my usual bitchery concerning the weather, my intermittent grousing about these damn kids on Bleecker Street, and my extremely rare fury over the Red Sox having won a World Series. It is November after all, and we must accept change, so let's oh screw it the Red Sox suck.

Whew! That felt good. Now that that's outta my system, welcome to November 2013, film lovers! As usual there's a plethoric panoply of classic cinema champagne room fun! So let's get to it!

I've gotta split this month's Big Dawg status betwen two rep houses and the multiple series they provide this month. BAM serves up a one-night-only screening of Roman Polanski's MACBETH, intro'd by author Martin Amis, as well as Independent of Reality, Czech New Wave filmmaker Jan Nemec's first-ever career retrospective in the states. The Cinematek's calendar begins and ends with a pair of programs paying tribute to celebrated American actor Bruce Dern. The first, Dern + Black, spotlights the actor's co-starring efforts with the beloved and recently departed Karen Black, who own tribute screened at the Cinematek just last month. The latter program, Hot Dern!, narrows its focus to the versatile, some would suggest eccentric, character work he gave the world spanning these last five decades, among which we may count waning studio-era works like MARNIE and HUSH...HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE, acid-fueled underground work THE WILD ANGELS and THE TRIP, and New Hollywood classics like THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS and COMING HOME. The man's CV is a roulette wheel of emotional highs and lows, and BAM's repping him properly.

Sharing the rep circuit's Daily Growl this month is Anthology Film Archives, that last bastion of Grindhouse meeting Arthouse in the East Village, wherein we may partake this month of three excellent programs; The Golden Age of Spanish Horror, The Middle Ages on Film: Shakespeare, and Closely Watched Trains. The former celebrates the emergence of a more liberal type of horror cinema (i.e., bloodier, more nudity) under dictator Franco's diminishing authority, the middle series is self explanatory and offers up versions of MACBETH, KING LEAR and HENRY V contrasted by era and country of origin, and the latter zeroes in on the cinema of trains if not comprehensively then expertly. Spanish Horror offers up grindhouse gems like Jess Franco's VENUS IN FURS and Eugenio Martin's HORROR EXPRESS, Shakespeare offers an encore of Polanski's MACBETH as well as Orson Welles' 1948 version and Kurosawa's THRONE OF BLOOD, and Trains brings exceptional work like Richard Fleischer's NARROW MARGIN, Robert Aldrich's EMPEROR OF THE NORTH POLE, and Joseph von Sternberg's SHANGHAI EXPRESS. Good work, guys. Long may Casa De Mekas rule.

The West Houston Church of the Cinephile, Film Forum, offers Werner Herzog's updating of NOSFERATU for a few days more, and tonight screens at 7:30pm only the original 1922 F. W. Murnau classic, complete with live piano accompaniment from Steve Sterner. After which it turns the remaining rep calendar over to Harold Lloyd's THE FRESHMAN, Luchino Visconti's SANDRA, and Leos Carax's MAUVAIS SANG. Their Film Forum Jr. series brings Buster Keaton's STEAMBOAT BILL JR. and George P. Seaton's MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET to the next gen of Cinegeeks every Sunday this month at 11am. As I never get tired of saying, bless this house. And its popcorn.

The increasingly less pretentious (but be wary!) folks up at the Film Society of Lincoln Center have booked some interesting stuff this month, beginning with a VHS low-rent horror series to compete with Anthology's, imaginatively entitled Scary Movies 7, that features new work with throwback intentions best exemplified by Eli Roth's cannibal horror flick GREEN INFERNO, but also offers such throwback targets as Seth Holt's THE NANNY, with Bette Davis as an au pere terrible. Later in the month playwright/screenwriter Harold Pinter is feted with a short series featuring works of his adapted for the screen or works by others he himself adapted for the screen. Among which we may enjoy Wiliam Freidkin's adap of the quintessential Pinter work THE BIRTHDAY PARTY, and the author's work as scribe for Joseph Losey's THE SERVANT. I...am...really...looking...forward...to...this...?

MoMA's excellent annual series To Save and Project winds down this month with screenings of Cy Endfield's THE SOUND OF FURY, John Farrow's ALIAS NICK BEAL, and Michelangelo Antonioni's RED DESERT. Of special note during this series' waning days is a screening of Norman MacLeod's classic W. C.Fields vehicle IT'S A GIFT, introduced by the author E. L. Doctorow. I'm sure the esteemed author knows a great deal about oranges.

Also at MoMA their ongoing series The Auteurist History of Film offers Luchino Visconti's THE LEOPARD, Peter Brooks' LORD OF THE FLIES, and Elia Kazan's AMERICA, AMERICA. Feel free to bring your bag of beef jerky, just don't sit behind that guy. You heard me mister.

Over in Queens' glorious vaca spot of Astoria their Museum of the Moving Image slowly, sadly calls it a two-months plus with their Complete Howard Hawks, closing out their massive tribute with screenings of RIO LOBO, the auteur's third and last remake of RIO BRAVO; RED LINE 7000, his last attempt to manufacture a movie star (James Caan) from scratch; GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES, his lone flat-out musical which only made an icon out of one Marilyn Monroe; and THE BIG SKY, the only western he made without John Wayne and with Kirk Douglas. To paraphrase Quint, y'all know me, y'now how I feel about Howard Hawks.

The Nitehawk Cinema in follically-festooned Billyburg, Brooklyn brings ther usual eclectic cinematic menu this month, scheduling brunchtime screenings of Hal Ashby's THE LANDLORD and Morris Engel's THE LITTLE FUGITIVE, and witching hour unspoolings of J. Michael Munro's STREET TRASH, William Lustig's MANIAC COP, Amos Sefer's AMERICAN HIPPIE IN ISREAL, and the truly outlandish SERPICO, directed by grindhouse-king Sidney Lumet. Where'd they dig that last one up?

Other doings at the Nitehawk include Woody Allen's still most-celebrated ANNIE HALL as part of the theater's Film Feasts series, sponsored by Brooklyn Brewery and featuring special food pairings specific to to the film. And the continuing Vice Presents The Film Foundation Series brings this month William Wyler's THE BIG COUNTRY, restored to its glorious Technicolor 35mm glory and unspooling as such. I've weighed my rent versus daily ticket prices, and may just move into this, my fave new theater in NYC. Once they get the B&B series going I'll sign the lease.

The Rubin Museum's excellent Cabaret Cinema series unfurls its usual cool red carpet with screenings of Alfred Hitchcock's SHADOW OF A DOUBT, Peter Brook's LORD OF THE FLIES and Martin Ritt's THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD. As usual the price of a beer/cocktail at the museum's upstairs lounge gains you a ticket to the institute's swank screening space, but seats are limited so make sure you get there early.

The New York Historical Society continues their interesting series of hosted screenings with Otto Preminger's ADVISE AND CONSENT, hosted by Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Sam Alito and Columbia Jurispridence Professor Phillip C. Bobbitt. What, no popcorn?

The Bowtie Chelsea Cinemas generously offer Irwin Allen's THE SWARM, Robert Aldrich's AUTUMN LEAVES, and the immortal Morton Da Costa's AUNTIE MAME. If any of these men had swapped projects, the results! Egad!

Closing out this overview I'm proud to report the United Palace of Cultural Arts in Washington Heights, the old Loews 175th street theater, which held its "soft opening" for screenings last month with the 1931 Spanish version of DRACULA, officially inaugurates its rep circuit status with a presentation of Michael Curtiz's CASABLANCA, the winner by internet vote. Surprise surprise. Need it be said I'm dying to attend this screening? The UPCA promises to be a big and providential player in the service of preserving the film experience for nag and neophyte alike, so I'm rooting hard for this effort and hope you'll all join me for this special event! I may need medical attention for severe nosebleeds that far north, but the Hell with it. They played it for me on Houston Street, they can play it for me in Northern Manhattan! Play it!

That's the current encapsulation for the month, but skeds change pretty quick in our movie mad burg, so keep checking the daily article and the interactive calendar on the upper right hand side of the page for the most complete listing of rep film screenings in NYC. And, as usual, be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Back tomorrow with the daily Pick, til then don't step on any cracks and make sure everybody's Ma is okay, y'hear?

-Joe Walsh

joew@nitratestock.net