July 15th 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.
So when's the World Cup starting?
2018? Earth time? Jeezus I didn't think it was so long between trophies.Wasn't the last one in 2002?
Screw it, we got films to focus on. Today's continuing series include Lady in the Dark: Crime Films from Columbia Pictures, 1932-57 at MoMA, the Elmore Leonard trib at Anthology Film Archives, and the Luis Buñuel retrospective at BAM Cinématek. I want to go to there;
Film Forum
A HARD DAY'S NIGHT (1964) Dir; Richard Lester
MoMA
THE POWER OF THE WHISTLER (1945) Dir; Lew Landers
LET US LIVE (1939) Dir; John Brahm
Anthology Film Archives
JOE KIDD (1972) Dir; John Sturges
VALDEZ IS COMING (1971) Dir; Edwin Sherin
Symphony Space
METROPOLIS (1927) Dir; Fritz Lang
BAM Cinématek
L'AGE D'OR/UN CHIEN ANDALOU (1930/29)
BAM - Putnam Triangle Square
THE BINGO LONG TRAVELING ALL-STARS & MOTOR KINGS (1976) Dir; John Badham
The Tony Dapolito Recreation Center Rooftop
BREAKING AWAY (1979) Dir; Peter Yates
Today's Pick? Was there ever a more blessed co-mingling in the artistic history of the planet than the one forged by Richard Starkey, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon, known collectively as Richard Starkey, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon?
This is not to imply that these four lovable Liverpudlians, who first encountered Gulliver in their pre-Fab era, didn't work their asses off. If you look closely at photos taken of them circa 1965 and forward, you will notice they have very little ass left to speak of. John in particular is said to have worn a prosthetic, such were the costs of membership in this most elite pop phenomenon.
But, as the adage goes, success is prep meeting opportunity. The prep goes without question, having seasoned themelves in the life-threatening beer halls of Hamburg before returning to their side of the pond for a residency at Liverpool's Cavern club. Work ethic was never an issue with these cats, but the amount of opportunity they were blessed with, were prepped for, as well as the seeming divine providence in the form of their collaborators, from manager Brian Epstein to producer George Martin to label Parlophone Records, may have at the time seemed random good fortune but now appear as facets in a carefully crafted jewel. Some have chosen to view their career as proof of a divine intelligence. Some as proof that Pat Boone is the Anti-Christ. You be the judge.
Among the powers of do-no-wrong they apparently wielded soon numbered the glamorous world of the cinema. As their mania surged at the record shops and concert venues, a quickie film cash-in was planned to draw those straggling screaming teens who couldn't box out a spot at the nearest chain-link fence barricading them from their harmonic heartthrobs. The initial ambitions were slight; the budget was slim, the schedule even tighter. Richard Lester, who'd just completed filming on a rock/mod/jazz hybrid musical titled IT'S TRAD, DAD (aka RING-A-DING-RHYTHM), was enlisted primarily due to his connection to the Goon Squad, helming much of that seminal comedy troupe's transition from radio to TV in the early 60's, and seen as in tune with the collective anarchic sensibility shared by the Fab 4. Seizing upon the energy of the group dynamic, as well as employing and enjoying the freedom the no-budget and handheld cameras afforded, Lester went on the make one of the defining works of the postwar movie musical, a seminal film that is still cribbed from in pieces small and large to this day. The madcap energy captured on his celluoid remains as infectious as whence released, which can be equally said of the music on its soundtrack. Today this perfect time capsule of the Brit Invasion screens in a brand new 4K DCP resto, which is Liverpudlian slang for "spitshine". There's only three days left to catch it, but I'm not waiting. Tonight's the night to relive Beatlemania.
Richard Lester's A HARD DAY'S NIGHT screens all day today at the Film Forum. It's very clean.
For more info on these and all NYC's classic film screenings in July '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, make sure the net knucklehead is too. Excelsior!
-Joe Walsh
P. S. Even though we've fully entered 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.
