November 7th 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.
Today we got the final screenings of Herzog's Murnau rethink, Visconti's incredibly successful attempt at transforming Burt Lancaster into 19th century Italian aristocracy, and Irwin Allen's equally unsuccessful attempt to demonize the bee popluation. Which John Belushi accomplished just fine on his own, I thank you. Here be today's rep itinerary;
Film Forum
NOSFERATU (1979) Dir; Werner Herzog
MoMA
THE LEOPARD (1963) Dir; Luchino Visconti
ALIAS NICK BEAL (1949) Dir; John Farrow
Library for the Performing Arts
TOL'ABLE DAVID (1922) Dir; Henry King
Live piano accompaniment by Ben Model
BowTie Chelsea Cinemas
THE SWARM (1977) Dir; Irwin Allen
Anthology Film Archives
VAMPYRES (1974) Dir; Jose Ramon Larraz
HORROR EXPRESS (1972) Dir; Eugenio Martin
Nitehawk Cinema
ALPHABET CITY (1984) Dir; Amos Poe
Today's Pick? I'm gonna beat the drum for The Silent Clowns Film Series and the uniformly excellent work they do in diggin' through the pre-sound era crates. We're routinely offered some of the best and most famous works from the time of the title card in our movie-mad burg, at such venerable institutions as MoMA, BAM and MOMI, to cite just a few acronyms, but Messrs. Model, Lawton and Massa make a point of providing audiences who have a bent for this sort of thing a communal viewing of some deep cuts from the canon. Tonight Henry King's TOL'ABLE DAVID, which capitalized on the then-crazy-popular mush of one Richard Barthelmess, unspools at the Clowns' usual haunt, the Library for the Performing Arts. A sort of rural updating of the David and Goliath tale, Barthelmess plays a childish young adult desperate to prove his mettle while those around him impede said efforts. As with all coming of age stories, a little bloodshed goes a long way in procuring one's passage to manhood. Decades later FIGHT CLUB would tread much the same water. It's there, think about it. In any case the screening's free to the public but seats get filled quickly, so head there early for what is always a memorable experience.
Plus, if it's your first time at the Silent Clowns Film Series, you have to fight. That's rule #8. At least that's what they told me.
For more info on these and all NYC's classic film screenings in November '13 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 tomorrow with more of what ya dig, ya dig? Til then don't stand 'neath any trees during a lightning storm and make sure the other kids do the same!
-Joe Walsh
