July 17th 2014. Pick of the Day.
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Yesterday marked the launch of Apollo 11 in 1969, 45 years ago, and in three days we'll be celebrating the anniversary of its landing in the Mare Tranquillitatis. This has nothing whatsoever to do with what's screening today, except to say it was one more dream realized by the human race, and for a change it required no special effects to accomplish the trick.
Okay, that was my wax poetic. Now to today's rep circuit.
Ongoing series today include An Auteurist History of Film at MoMA, the Elmore Leonard trib at Anthology Film Archives, Summer of Surrealism at the Nitehawk Cinema, and part one of the Luis Buñuel retrospective at BAM Cinématek. The kajagoogoo be thus;
Film Forum
A HARD DAY'S NIGHT (1964) Dir; Richard Lester
MoMA
BARRY LYNDON (1975) Dir; Stanley Kubrick
Anthology Film Archives
MR. MAJESTYK (1974) Dir; Richard Fleischer
BowTie Chelsea Cinemas
THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954) Dir; Jack Arnold
Nitehawk Cinema
THE BED-SITTING ROOM (1969) Dir; Richard Lester
BAM Cinématek
SUSANA (1951) Dir; Luis Buñuel
Today's Pick? I'd absolutely endorse a borough-hop Richard Lester double feature, an early show of A HARD DAY'S NIGHT at Film Forum and the even more oblique and absurd THE BED-SITTING ROOM later at the Nitehawk. But I just chose the Fab 4's first venture into the cinema a couple of days ago, so the novelty wouldn't be quite so novel. Elsewhere, Stanley Kubrick's BARRY LYNDON. That about sums up my feelings for that flick. Charles Bronson's MR. MAJESTYK is literally the wrong melon-farmer fucked with, while Luis Buñuel's SUSANA provides peak evidence of the filmaker's renewed cinematic prowess during his Mexican period. These are all fine and noble pursuits, but this is a Thursday in July. So screw noble. Let's venture deep into the Amazon to grapple with primordial beasties!
Jack Arnold's THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON screens tonight at the BowTie Chelsea Cinemas as part of their Classic Thursdays series. You don't need to sport gills to appreciate the tomfoolery, but it couldn't hurt. This is still one more steamy July in Manhattan after all.
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 reflect; how much easier has progress made searching for creatures on Amazon become? No judgments.
-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.
