January 16th 2014. 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's lone repertory film series reside at MoMA; the limited run The Aesthetics of Shadow, Part One: Japan, and the ongoing Auteurist History of Film. The pamphlet looks like this;
Film Forum
IL SORPASSO (1962) Dir; Dino Risi
MoMA
PERSONA (1966) Dir; Ingmar Bergman
HUMANITY AND PAPER BALLOON (1937) Dir; Sadao Yamanaka
SINGING LOVEBIRDS (1939) Dir; Masahiro Makino
BowTie Chelsea Cinemas
OLD ACQUAINTANCE (1943) Dir; Vincent Sherman
Today's Pick? Let's go with a Bette Davis vehicle from the war years, featuring the equally luminous Miriam Hopkins in one of her last meaningful roles; Vince Sherman's OLD ACQUAINTANCE, screening at the BowTie Chelsea Cinemas as part of their Chelsea Classics series. As I've remarked in the past the Chelsea only offers DVD/BluRay projection, and this angries up the purist to no end. However there are charms to be had for even the most ardent, or bitter, cinephile at this klatch, not the least of which is experiencing your fave classic amidst the company of those swarming to the latest misadventures of Bilbo Baggins, and enjoying the communal experience beyond the borders of such dedicated rep houses as Grindhouse relic Anthology Film Archives, and more stoic removes like MoMA and MoMI, which are spelled the same but look completely different. Or something. Look, I applaud the efforts of any screening space that attempts to bring film lovers together to experience their great love in the venue intended, so while I may rarely make the Chelsea my Pick above the other venues in NYC, I will always applaud their efforts as long as they continue to give it their best. So should you.
For more info on these and all NYC's classic screenings in January 2014 click on the interactive calendar on the upper right hand side of the page! And be sure to follow me on both Facebook, where I provide further info and esoterica on the rep film circuit and star birthdays, and Twitter, where I provide a daily feed for the day's screenings and other blathery. Back with a brand new Pick tomorrow, til then those astronomically inclined among you might be interested to know the North Star is THAT one.
-Joe Walsh
