May 10th 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 Classics of French Cinema with Olivier Barrot at the French Institute, Labor of Love: 100 Years of Movie Dates at BAM Cinématek, Welcome to Metrograph: A to Z at the Metrograph, Anna & Jean-Luc at Film Forum, and Jean-Marie Straub and Danièlle Huillet at MoMA. The kino califragilistic be thus;
French Institute/Alliance Française
Classics of French Cinema with Olivier Barrot
LE PERE NOEL EST UNE ORDURE (1982) Dir; Jean-Marie Poiré
Film Forum
MADE IN USA (1966) Dir; Jean-Luc Godard
BAND OF OUTSIDERS (1964) Dir; Jean-Luc Godard
MoMA
Jean-Marie Straub and Danièlle Huillet
THE DEATH OF EMPEDOCLES (1986) Dirs; Jean-Marie Straub & Danièlle Huillet
BLACK SIN (1988) Dirs; Jean-Marie Straub & Danièlle Huillet
BAM Cinématek
Labor of Love: 100 Years of Movie Dates
MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDERETTE (1986) Dir; Stephen Frears
THE WILD PARTY (1929) Dir; Dorothy Arzner
Metrograph
HOLLYWOOD OR BUST (1956) Dir; Frank Tashlin
Today's Pick? Godard bugs me, Jerry Lewis just took 3 of my Picks back in March, and who the fuck are Jean-Marie Straub & Danièlle Huillet??? No, today belongs to the only woman who managed a professional directorial career during the early decades of cinema, traversing both the silent and sound epochs with much success before her run came to an end. Some argue whether she ever directed a masterpiece, with those in the Yea camp pointing toward 1939's DANCE GIRL DNCE with Maureen O'Hara and Lucille Ball. I say that's besides the point; she thrived in a period when she was a party of one, proving a remarkable torch-bearer for future talents like Ida Lupino, Elaie May, and Joan Micklin-Silver. The balance is still a unfair one, but we have such an impressive roster of female talent behind the camera, from Katherine Bigelow to Ana Duvernay to an upcoming major release form one-time child star and master craftswoman Jodie Foster. All of this impressive, if still lacking progress is unthinkable without Dorothy Arzner.
Arzner's THE WILD PARTY, IT girl Clara Bow's first "talkie", unspools in glorious 35mm tonight at BAM as part of their ode to romantic celluloid, Labor of Love: 100 Years of Movie Dates! Bring yer spesh siggie other. Or just cudle up with the popcorn, that's acceptable too. Anything beyond that with the popcorn though? Not cool.
For more info on these and all NYC's rep film screenings in May '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!
