November 19th 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.
What we got here today is a helluva choice to be made between two very tempting repertory venues. Two different nabes, two warring hipster mentalities. Or so I'd like to think. Not the hipster part, that's a given. I mean the warring part. I just love instigating feuds.
Ahem. Back to the matter. Upper West Side verus Billyburg. Corduroy suits versus chins hirsute. Subway to Lincoln Center or subway to Bedford Street. Here be today's proverbial title card;
Film Society of Lincoln Center
WHERE EAGLES DARE (1968) Dir; Brian G. Hutton
X, Y AND ZEE (1972) Dir; Brian G. Hutton
Nitehawk Cinema
THE BIG COUNTRY (1958) Dir; William Wyler
Today's Pick yeah I'm not even gonna waste the question mark. William Wyler's THE BIG COUNTRY, a huge, monumental, epic-sized even, late-50's western, shot in Technicolor and its widescreen Technirama process, directed by the estimable William Wyler and starring Hollywood icons Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons and Charlton Heston, easily bags that humble distinction this day. Screening as part of the Nitehawk Cinema's Film Foundation Series, which has recently offered opportunities to attend pristine 35mm screenings of Fellini's LA DOLCE VITA, Powell and Pressburger's THE RED SHOES, and Kubrick's PATHS OF GLORY, Wyler's take on the American west's civilization premiered at the height of widescreen cinema's dominance and cleaned up at the box office, bagging an Oscar for Burl Ives' supporting perf in the process and becoming the fave in-house screening for then-prez Dwight D. Eisenhower. Couple those distinctions with the rare chance to catch vet DP Franz Planer's work in a fully restored version, in a venue that not only accommodates a 2.35:1 presentation but provides tater tots n' root beer as well, and, hey, I'm sorry. Lincoln Center just ain't the venue of Lincoln anymore. I'm not entirely sure what that last statement meant but I stand by it.
For more info on this and all NYC's classic 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 a new fave, til then don't step on a crack and advise the other children likewise. Cheers!
-Joe Walsh
P. S. Should ya feel so inclined now's a very good time to check in with Occupy Sandy to see if you might be able to help the folks still affected by last year's storm. A little effort goes a long way.
