November 23rd 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.
Continuing series today include the Film Society's Harold Pinter trib, BAM's love letter to one of our foremost character actors (Hot Dern!), and Anthology Film Archives' Middle Ages on Film: Shakespeare. Let's do this;
IFC Center
THE STING (1973) Dir; George Roy Hill
BRAZIL (1985) Dir; Terry Gilliam
Nitehawk Cinema
THE LITTLE FUGITIVE (1953) Dirs; Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin
Film Society of Lincoln Center
THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN (1981) Dir; Karel Reisz
THE BIRTHDAY PARTY (1968) Dir; William Friedkin
THE GO-BETWEEN (1971) Dir; Joseph Losey
TURTLE DIARY (1985) Dir; John Irvin
BAM Cinematek
THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS (1973) Dir; Bob Rafelson
Anthology Film Archives
RAN (1985) Dir; Akira Kurosawa
KING LEAR (1971) Dir; Peter Brook
KING LEAR (1971) Dir; Grigori Kozintsev
Today's Pick? Wake up early ya bastidz 'cause I'm choosing the winner of the 1973 Best Picture Oscar, George Roy Hill's THE STING, streaming its 1's and 0's at the IFC Center at the ungodly hour of 11am. On a Saturday. I know.
This second, last and some argue best (count me in the latter category) pairing of screen icons Paul Newman and Robert Redford remains among the most entertaining examples of throwback cinema Hollywood ever produced, thanks largely to the keen script from David S. Ward, which keeps the newbie guessing til the very end and the return customer in continual search for any loose seams in the plot (there are none). Kudos must be extended, however, to Hill's anachronistic inclusion of Scott Joplin's rags, the intensely magnetic charm of its leads, and the distinctly 70's appropriation of tropes then 40 years old, from jargon to wardrobe. Yeh, it's asking a bunch to unglue yer eyelids before noon on your day off, but it is a communal viewing of a bona fide classic, and I'm betting the majority of you reading this have never seen this in a theater. So here's my advice; set the alarm, trot on over to the IFC, catch an absolute example of movie magic, text and tweet everyone about how awesome it is, then head back to bed for an extended catnap. Ya may not get many more opportunities to catch this classic on a big screen. Ya follow?
For more info regarding these and all NYC's classic screenings in November '13 click on the interactive calendar on the right side of the page. And be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter! Back tomorrow with more of the goods, til then know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. Cheers!
-Joe Walsh
