June 13th 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.
Just as the rep circuit explodes with several new and incredible screenings today, so do the storm clouds threaten to do the same. And I'm not talkin' metaphorical storm clouds, buddy, take a look at the sky. So, wear yer boots on this day of mists mighty and duck into a nice dry movie theater.
New and continuing series today include The Fearless Roman Polanski at IFC Center, Alec Guinness 100 at Film Forum, An Auteurist History of Film at MoMA, All Hail the King: The Films of King Hu at BAM Cinématek, Films on the Green at Washington Square Park, and the eternally swank Cabaret Cinema at the Rubin Museum. Onward, my stalwart legions;
IFC Center
THE TENANT (1976) Dir; Roman Polanski
REPULSION (1965) Dir; Roman Polanski
TESS (1979) Dir; Roman Polanski
ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968) Dir; Roman Polanski
CHINATOWN (1974) Dir; Roman Polanski
THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS (1967) Dir; Roman Polanski
THE SHINING (1980) Dir; Stanley Kubrick
HAUSU (1977) Dir; Nobuhiko Obayashi
Film Forum
KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (1949) Dir; Robert Hamer
MoMA
DEATH IN VENICE (1971) Dir; Luchino Visconti
BAM Cinématek
THE VALIANT ONES (1975) Dir; King Hu
New York Historical Society
ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953) Dir; William Wyler
Washington Square Park
BUFFET FROID (1979) Dir; Bertrand Blier
Rubin Museum
TOKYO STORY (1953) Dir; Yasujiro Ozu
Nitehawk Cinema
ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981) Dir; John Carpenter
Today's Pick? I'm sorely tempted to choose the Films on the Green series for a second Friday running, especially as I've yet to catch a Bertrand Blier flick, but Ma Nature might weigh in with a bad case of the drizzlies, so I'm gonna play it safe. Nothing says summer like a Yasujiro Ozu meditation on the increasing obsolesence of the elderly in modern-day Japan, and yet that might possibly be just too much fun, so I'm gonna skip the Yaz man's TOKYO STORY tonight, and save it for a post NBA finals screening! The real cinematic Sophie's Choice to be made today involves the kickoff of two killer series, one dedicated to a most beloved and iconic thespian, and the other to one of our most gifted and subverisve talents behind the camera. If there's any singular reason why I'm passing up the latter, The Fearless Roman Polanski, as today's Pick, it's only because centennials only happen once. Trust me, I checked.
Robert Hamer's KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS opens the Film Forum's three week trib to the c-note boy himself , Alec Guinness 100, and they couldn't have picked a more perfect example of the man's genius, wit and, especially, his versatility. Sir Alec portrays no less than 8-count-'em-8 members of the D'Ascoyne clan, roles which range from Reverend to Admiral to the larger than life Lady Agatha, all targeted for murderous revenge by an outcast black sheep. Guinness had already showed remarkable range in just his work to that point with David Lean, essaying the genteel Herbert Pocket in 1946's GREAT EXPECTATIONS (his proper feature film debut), then pulling a complete 180 to portray the villainous and still-controversial Fagin in 1948's OLIVER TWIST (both will screen as part of this series). It wasn't until undertaking the CORONETS octet, however, that the scope of his range appeared full-bore to the delight of movie audiences worldwide. If that's not reason enough to cancel that liver transplant you've been waiting five months to undergo, then consider this; it's also the first entry in Guinness' celebrated Ealing Studios run, a string of comedies which still stand unmatched in terms of wry, intellectual whimsy. In other words, here is where Guinness begins fully and for good. He remains one of our most cherished practitioners of the dramatic arts, and this series offers ample evidence to that effect. Do attend as many of these screenings as possible, but really make an effort to catch this one tonight.
For more info on these and all NYC's classic film screenings in June '14 click on the interactive calendar on the upper right hand side of the page. For the monthly overview and other audio tomfoolery check out the podcast, and follow me on SoundCloud! For reviews of contemporary cinema and my streaming habits (keep it clean!) check out my Letterboxd 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 tomorrow with a brand new Pick, til then safe, sound, keep an eye out for the next knucklehead too.
-Joe Walsh
P. S. Even though we're coming into the summer months and therefore not often as mindful of the displaced, some of our fellow NY'ers are yet to be made whole since Hurricane Sandy hit nearly two years ago. Check in with the good folks at Occupy Sandy to see if you can't still volunteer/donate to our neighbors in need. Be a mensch.
