April 23rd 2016. 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.
New and continuing series this day include Fassbinder's Top Ten and Old & Improved at the Metrograph, Queer Cinema Before Stonewall at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, See it Big: Vilmos Zsigmond! at the Museum of the Moving Image, and Stephen King on Film at IFC Center. The lavender lamentation be thus;
Nitehawk Cinema
CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG (196) Dir; Terence Young
Metrograph
GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953) Dir; Howard Hawks
NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955) Dir; Charles Laughton
THE RED SNOWBALL TREE (1974) Dir; Vasily Shukshin
TOUKI BOUKI (1973) Dir; Djibril Diop Mambéty
Mid-Manhattan Library
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1976) Dir; John Glen
Film Society of Lincoln Center
SALOME (1923) Dirs; Charles Bryant & Alla Nazimova
MICHAEL (1924) Dir; Carl Theodore Dreyer
PRINCESS MANDANE (1928) Dir; Germaine Dulac
PERSONA (1966) Dir; Ingmar Bergman
Museum of the Moving Image
THE LONG GOODBYE (1973) Dir; Robert Altman
IFC Center
CUJO (1983) Dir; Lewis Teague
Today's Pick? As easy as it is hard. And the person I'm referencing would have a field day with that statement.
Albert Magnoli's PURPLE RAIN screens at several AMC theaters today, all day, at the19th St. East 6, the Kips Bay 15, and the Empire 25. It was the screen debut of an artist who'd been steadily & surely making his mark and stepping up several rungs at a time in the music industry. At the time, some film critics declared it the CITIZEN KANE of rock movies, and that may well be true and still hold. It also introduced audiences worldwide to Morris Day and The Time, for which it will forever hold a regard most high for film and music lovers. For a genre that usually repped a cheap cash-in, it proved remarkably high in production standards. The story, while blatant and salacious, contained some subtlety and withhold. The star displayed some true acting chops, even though the film was largely autobiographical. And the set design and cinematography were of the highest quality. In hindsight it seems just one more perfect step in the ascend of its focal point, an artist who would come to define, in part, the coming three decades of popular culture. Worldwide. But for '84-era movie audiences unaware, or those who'd only experienced the talent on display from prior MTV rotations, it was a revelation. It's not often we can collectively experience a moment when a star is born. Sadly, we have just experienced a moment when we have collectively bid a painful farewell to the same man. The merciful fact regarding our greatest artists, in some cases our heroes, is that we have audio and video evidence of their greatness. Which is why, most gratefully, I will never say goodbye to Prince.
For more info on these and all NYC's rep film screenings in April '16 click on the interactive calendar on the upper right hand side of the page. 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 soon with new Picks 'n perks, til then safe, sound, make sure the next knucklehead is too!
P. S. Winter's icy grip seems to have loosened on our fair metropolis, but milder weather aside some of our fellow NY'ers have still yet to be made whole in the wake of the 2012 storm. Should you be feeling charitable please visit the folks at OccupySandy.net, follow their hammer-in-hand efforts to restore people's lives, and donate/volunteer if you have the inclination and availability. Be a collective mensch, Stockahz!
