August 13th 2014. Pick of the Day.

It's becoming an increasingly bad year for us movie fans who cling to their heroes, the last two days alone claiming innovative funnyman Robin Williams and legendary Hollywood Grande Dame Lauren Bacall. And just last night I watched Philip Seymour Hoffman in his final role, in Anton Corbijn's A MAN MOST WANTED. Time is a thief, we're well aware. The worst of them all. All the more important then that we cling even tighter to the people who actually share our lives and enhance it, remind them that they have value, and that our circumstances would be very different had they not been around to influence them. I can think of no better way to honor our departed screen heroes than to keep this in mind, as the best of their work was surely focused toward the same purpose. Film, like any art, is not an end, but a means. The end is always the loved ones we get to share it with.

That's my preach.

Ongoing series today include The Great War: A Cinematic Legacy, A Fuller Life, and An Auteurist History of Film at MoMA, and the waning days of BAM Cinématek's comprehensive Luis Buñuel retrospective. The kneeslapping is as follows;

Film Forum

BOY MEETS GIRL (1984) Dir; Leos Carax

MoMA

APOCALYPSE NOW REDUX (1979/2001) Dir; Francis Ford Coppola

THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE (1921) Dir; Rex Ingram

THE BIG RED ONE: THE RECONSTRUCTION (1981/2004) Dir; Sam Fuller

SEVENTH HEAVEN (1928) Dir; Frank Borzage

RUN OF THE ARROW (1957) Dir; Sam Fuller

AMC Loews Kips Bay 15, AMC Empire 25

BEVERLY HILLS COP (1984) Dir; Martin Brest

BAM Cinématek

THAT IS THE DAWN (1955) Dir; Luis Buñuel

DEATH IN THE GARDEN (1956) Dir; Luis Buñuel

Pier One, Riverside Park South

THE OUTSIDERS (1983) Dir; Francis Ford Coppola

Today's Pick? Thankfully, there's lots to choose from. The newbie of the crop, Brest's BEVERLY HILLS COP, now represents the template for a now antiquated and much-copied style of moviemaking, the 80's action-hybrid, and is always welcome back on the big screen. BAM Cinématek's Buñuel trib is slowly winding down, and offers up a duo of lesser known yet equally essential unspoolings from his Mexican period tonight. And I'm very tempted to make a Coppola double feature my Pick today, as his '83 ode to youth THE OUTSIDERS, a film that has slowly gotten its proper due over the past three decades, represents the latter 1/2 of the bill tonight at Riverside Park's outdoor screen. However, a more appropriate back-to-backer avails us of its wares this day. A tandem of war films, both seeking to redefine their genre, both presented today in their extended editions; the former a variation on its theatrical release, the latter a restoration to its maker's original vision. Granted, you'll be spending about 6 hours in a pair of darkened spaces, lit only by a projectionist's bulb (keep it clean, morons!), breathing recirculated air-conditioned oxygen during what promises to be a rather pleasant Wednesday in August. The upside, you ask? You can travel between both screenings via escalator. Hey, in some circles that's not merely a bonus, it's reason to attend!

Francis Ford Coppola's APOCALYPSE NOW REDUX and Sam Fuller's THE BIG RED ONE: THE RECONSTRUCTION screen today at MoMA, as part of their Auteurist History of Film and A Fuller Life series, respectively. It'll be tight, but the trip from one screening to the other is completely doable. I'll see you on the other side. Semper Fi.

For more info on these and all NYC's classic film screenings in August '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 keep yer head down and your rifle loaded. And take dead aim at that petulant misanthrope who shushes the screen when it gets too loud. He's Charlie. I'm convinced.

-Joe Walsh

JoeW@NitrateStock.net

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.