July 18th 2014. Pick of the Day.
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Yes it's been a terrible few days now to be a member of the human race, as if there's ever an easy time. And I'm not going to pontificate about recent tragedies. That's for other folks in other forums. What I am suggesting is this; this pastime we adore, this passion for cinema we all share, it does exist to quell some of the turmoil and ache and flabbergast we experience as witnesses to the bad times. This is not to suggest that it's in any way a part of the solution, nor that we feel the same pain that those most harshly affected by senseless violence do, but it can be an active reminder that we are capable of better things, more creative studies of our worse impulses, better committed to celluloid than against each other.
That's my two cents anyway. Sorry for the pontification.
Ongoing series today include Original Gangsters at IFC Center, Femmes Noirs at Film Forum, An Auteurist History of Film and Lady in the Dark: Crime Films from Columbia Pictures 1932-57 at MoMA, part one of the Luis Buñuel retrospective at BAM Cinématek, the Elmore Leonard trib at Anthology Film Archives, and the swank Cabaret Cinema series at the Rubin Museum. The wimwam looks thus;
IFC Center
THE ROARING TWENTIES (1939) Dir; Raoul Walsh
Film Forum
A HARD DAY'S NIGHT (1964) Dir; Richard Lester
THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (1946) Dir; Tay Garnett
MILDRED PIERCE (1945) Dir; Michael Curtiz
MoMA
BARRY LYNDON (1975) Dir; Stanley Kubrick
THE SECRET OF THE WHISTLER (1946) Dir; George Sherman
LET US LIVE (1939) Dir; John Brahm
BAM Cinématek
VIRIDIANA (1961) Dir; Luis Buñuel
Pier One, Riverside Park South
GRAND ILLUSION (1938) Dir; Jean Renoir
Pier 46, Hudson River Park
GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) Dir; Ivan Reitman
Anthology Film Archives
52 PICK-UP (1986) Dir; John Frankenheimer
Rubin Museum
SLEEPER (1973) Dir; Woody Allen
IFC Center
ROBOCOP (1987) Dir; Paul Verhoeven
BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985) Dir; Robert Zemeckis
Nitehawk Cinema
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984) Dir; Wes Craven
TWO-LANE BLACKTOP (1971) Dir; Monte Hellman
Today's Pick? There is certainly much to recommend today, from a quintessential work by yesterday's birthday boy (James Cagney in THE ROARING TWENTIES), to a killer double feature kicking off a choice noir fest (Garnett's POSTMAN and Curtiz's PIERCE), to Woody Allen's lone flat-out slapstick throwback (1973's SLEEPER), to some essential midnight fare (Verhoeven's ROBOCOP, Craven's NIGHTMARE, Hellman's BLACKTOP). Tonight, though, in celebration of the summer season's power to liberate us from the confines of four walls and a roof whilst indulging in our fave pastime, I have to side with one of the monumental entries in the prison escape genre. It's only too fitting.
Jean Renoir's GRAND ILLUSION screens tonight at Pier One, Riverside Park South, at sunset. Bring a towel. And a chisel.
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 have a pastry from Mendl's. Quickly, take it!
-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.
