June 30th 2016. Pick of the Day.

And we come to the month's last day, past the Summer Solstice 2016, firmly at the halfway mark of the baseball season, awaiting yet another celebration of our great nation's Declaration of Independence. All of which involve hot dogs, tater tots and beer. This is America after all, dammit. We are a lucky breed, we who populate this country. We might forget that at times, as matters anecdotal, such as rising Netflix prices and the increasing ubiquity of bike lanes, say, compound with matters grave like intentionally tainted drinking water and climate calamity resulting in wildfires in one area and catastrophic flooding in others. Things ain't perfect, but we do have a federal EPA, a disaster response agency with the call letters FEMA, and, on a much smaller level, the right and ability to yell loudly in the face of a dickhead cyclist who blows a red light as I step into their trajectory. It may never be great to live in America, no matter your complexion, your bank account, your bloodline, your address, your diploma, your acumen, your grit and resolve. It may never be great to live in America regardless of your benefits or detriments. But it will always be good. Always. For proof, I direct your attention to the majority of the rest of the world. You're welcome.

Now, to film. Pickin's be slim as they tend to be at every month's end, yet the choices are all more than worthwhile. Today's lone ongoing series is Modern Matinees: Fifteen by Otto Preminger at MoMA. The 4-perf field be thus;

Film Forum

KING OF COMEDY (1982) Dir; Martin Scorsese

MoMA

Modern Matinees: Fifteen by Otto Preminger

HURRY SUNDOWN (1967) Dir; Otto Preminger

BowTie Chelsea Cinemas

THE BAREFOOOT CONTESSA (1954) Dir; Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Heritage Park, Staten Island

THE WIZ (1978) Dir; Sidney Lumet

Today's Pick? I'm jumping right into it. Or rather, I'm easing into it. Chose the Scorsese recently, and much as I love Mank's CONTESSA, I'd prefer a 35mm screening. And while my choice today is most definitely a disc screener, it still wins me over on novelty points, as well as the fact that it remains the lone musical on the CV of one of my all-timers, the great Sidney Lumet. Not a hit whence released, far from a critical darling, and beset by production woes during the course of its filming, it nonetheless made the journey over the last three decades from trivia question to cause célèbre to flat-out beloved cult classic. It boasts one of the most impressive African-American cats from an era that still feared that prospect (like things've changed?), from vets like Nipsey Russell and Lena Horne to then-current celebs like Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Richard Pryor. Tony Walton outsourced the costune design to Oscar de la Renta, Albert Whitlock provided the matte paintings, and a young Stan Winston provied the ace makeup work. Oh, and a little-known musiacl prodigy named Quincy Jones oversaw the soundtrack. What went wrong, with all this talent on board, initially? Several factors, one of which, sadly, was the dilution and dissolution of the once-robust Blaxploitation genre of the early to mid-70's. That audience, for various reasons, never coalesced into a firm financial block at the box office, perhaps because they felt once more under-repped on the big screen, perhaps because no further stars in that genre were forthcoming, and Lumet's venture felt forced. In either case, this film has not only been rediscovered but come to be beloved. So if yer feelin' inclined toward droppin' a house on a witch's sister, tonight's your night.

Sidney Lumet's THE WIZ (1978) screens tonight at Heritage Park, Staten Island. For directions, click the hyperlink, or check with Google Maps. Personally, I recommend you just click them Buster Browns thrice. Then check Google Maps.