August 2016! Joe Dante at the Movies, See it Big: The 70mm Show, and the Last of the Summer Screenings Under the Stars!

'Allo you magnificent, munificent, magnanimous, mellifluous, I've-run-out-of-M word-sobriquet Stockahz! Welcome to August '16 on the NYC rep film circuit. It's been a busy year so far what with the addition of Brooklyn's Syndicated and the LES's Metrograph to the already thriving scene, one which boasts such glorious longtime venues as Anthology Film Archives, the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Museum of the Moving Image, BAM Cinématek, and that stalwart that bridged the gap between the closure of such legends as the New Yorker, the 8th St. Playhouse, the Thalia, and the Bleecker St. Cinema, and the advent of those venues to which I initially referred; our very own and very precious Film Forum. Once more we have a month promised that contains some of the best and most influential cinema from its glorious flickering past. So let's get to it.

Those of you familiar with this site, y'know, the good ones out there, know that I like to confer what I like to call Big Dawg status on that series or screening I deem well nigh unmissable that month. July '16 saw that most sought esteem go to BAM Cinématek, and their incisive examination of political big screen doings, Four MoreYears: An Election Special! With titles like Michael Ritchie's THE CANDIDATE, Alan J. Pakula's ALLL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, and Haskell Wexler's MEDIUM COOL, this was a tough series to beat.

This month's big repertory chew toy goes to Astoria's Museum of the Moving Image, who revive their now-routine summer tradition of screening widescreen masterpieces in their native format. See It Big: The 70mm Show! brings us masterpieces of the screen in their original Cinemascope, Vistavision, Panavision 70 and similar stretchy iterations, as MI is one of the few theaters equipped to handle the antiquated media. Titles upcoming include Sam Peckinpah's THE WILD BUNCH, a powerful showcase for some of Hollywood's most iconic vets, and Robert Wise's STAR!, a powerful venue for an actress, Julie Christie, who would become one. The series is underway, and continues til September 4th. Museum of the Moving Image is located at 61-01 35th Avenue in Astoria, Queens.

Also underway in the neighboring borough of Brooklyn is BAM Cinématek's overdue trib to one of the great names in filmmaking and film fandom. Joe Dante at the Movies offers up not only the finest moments from the cinephile's fantastic career, but a selection of his faves and films influential to his own oeuvre. Titles major from the man himself include 1978's PIRANHA, 1981's THE HOWLING, 1985's EXPLORERS, and his most famous effort, 1984's GREMLINS, and what many consider its superior sequel, 1989's GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH. Faves & inspirations include William Cameron Menzies' INVADERS FROM MARS, Edgar G. Ulmer's THE BLACK CAT, Jack Arnold's THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, and Hitch's DIAL "M" FOR MURDER in 3D! The series runs til August 24th.

The aforementioned Film Forum, that beautiful, bodacious babe of classic film lovers 5 borough-wide, brings some interesting items this lunar cycle. Louis Malle's debut feature, the iconic Gallic noir ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS, shines in a pristine 4K resto for the remainder of the week, unless a reprieve is in the planning. Of which I hope. A lesser-known Joan Crawford noir from the 50's, David Miller's SUDDEN FEAR, unspools its restored 1's & 0's from the 12th to the 18th. And a superb revival of their Double Feature program features Big Al's VERTIGO/REAR WINDOW, Stan K's PATHS OF GLORY/THE KILLING, Kurosawa's YOJIMBO & Corbucci's DJANGO, Nick Ray's IN A LONELY PLACE & Lang's THE BIG HEAT, and Welles' THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI paired with his towering perf in the greatest film ever made, Carol Reed's THE THIRD MAN. The series runs from the 19th of the month til September 13th. Film Forum is located at 209 W. Houston St. in downtown Manhattan.

MoMA continues its celebration of one of the cinema's best and most influential comediennes, with the ongoing series Summer With Judy Holliday, part of their ongoing Modern Matinees series. Upcoming titles include George Cukor's ADAM'S RIB, Vincente Minnelli's BELLS ARE RINGING, and Richard Quine's FULL OF LIFE. What threatens to perhaps overshadow this program is their trib to the oldest continuously operating movie studio in history, Gaumont: Cinéma pour tout le monde! Gems in this celebration span the decades; Siodmak's HATRED, Jacques Becker's ANTOINE ET ANTOINETTE, and the great Henri-Georges Clouzot's THE MURDERER LIVES AT NUMBER 21, to later classics like Fellini's CITY OF WOMEN, Maurice Pialat's POLICE, and Andrzej Wadja's THE POSSESSED. The shebang runs from now thru September 7th. MoMA is located at 11 W. 53rd St. in midtown Manhattan.

One of our newest treasures, Lower East Side Manhattan's Metrograph theater, is positively spilling over with repertory mead this month. Two ongoing series, Old & Improved and their year-long effort Welcome to Metrograph: A to Z, offer titles like Max Ophüls' LETTERS FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN and Richard Norman's THE FLYING ACE. Those programs are joined this month by the currently underway Dim All the Lights: Disco and the Movies, which still promises Sidney Lumet's THE WIZ & Alan J. Pakula's KLUTE. I've yet to fully explore this space, but what I've seen is absolute gold. If you haven't visited yet, the hell? Metrograph is located at 7 Ludlow St. north of Canal St. in Manhattan.

The rep film patron's fave collpsing structure, Anthology Film Archives, brings their usual cheer with the series Voyeurism, Surveillance, and Identity in the Cinema. Which is sure to appeal to the guy who brings his own matress to the theater. Titles in the series include Michelangelo Antonioni's BLOW-UP, Brian De Palma's ripoff, er, homage BLOW OUT, and the crown jewel of the lot; Francis Ford Coppola's THE CONVERSATION. The August portion of the program runs from the 19th to the 23rd. AFA is located at 32 2nd Avenue in Manhattan.

IFC Center, that proud institution ensconced firmly in Manhattan's Avenue of the Americas, continues their wonderful trib to one of cinema's greatest fabulists, Federico Fellini, this month offering up 1973's AMARCORD, 1972's ROMA, and 1976's CASANOVA. Midnight fun at the Center includes James Cameron's THE ABYSS, John McTiernan's PREDATOR, and Paul Verhoeven's TOTAL RECALL. IFC Center is located at 323 6th Avenue in Manhattan.

My fave new theater in the 5 boroughs, BillyBurg's effortlessly cool Nitehawk Cinema, is up to its usual tomfoolery. Brunch and midnight screenings include Richard Donner's THE GOONIES and James Signorelli's EASY MONEY for the Bellini-besotted, and Katherine Bigelow's NEAR DARK and Lucio Fulci's ZOMBIE at the Witching Hour. This month's entry in their trib to Times Square's glory Grindhouse past, The Deuce, brings us Leopoldo Pomés' SEX & VIOLENCE. And William Friedkin's boilerplate police procedural THE FRENCH CONNECTION closes out the month. Best root beer n' tater tots combo to be had. Tellin' ya still. The Nitehawk Cinema is conveniently located at 136 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Another newbie, Bushwick's Syndicated, modelled on the Alamo Drafthouse & Nitehawk megillah, and by all accounts successfully, offers up a fantastic trib to Mel Brooks, screening titles like HISTORY OF THE WORLD PART ONE, BLAZING SADDLES, SPACEBALLS, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, and what I argue is still his defining masterpiece, his Oscar-winning initial iteration of THE PRODUCERS. Haven't yet been, looking forward. Syndicated is located at 40 Bogart St. in Brooklyn.

The Rubin Museum concludes its current series Try to Altar Everything, one more great short program in their ongoing Cabaret Cinema unfold. The remaining entries are Peter Collinson's UP THE JUNCTION, John Schlesinger's BILLY LIAR, and Liliana Cavini's THE NIGHT PORTER. The Cabaret hijinks resume in October, so get your fix now before the famine. Policy at the Rubin has changed somewhat, and the purchase of a drink no longer guarantees your entry to the screening lounge. but for the meager tik expenditure, the ability to sup on a fine cocktail, and the infinite legroom, this is still one of the city's best bets. So get there early. And often. The Rubin Museum is located at 150 W 17th St. in Chelsea.

Finally, outdoor screenings, the true bounty of summer for NYC film fanatics, offers up Charles Walters' HIGH SOCIETY at St. Mary's Recreation Center in the Bronx, Hitch's NORTH BY NORTHWEST at the Greenbelt Recreation Center in Staten Island, Spielberg's JAWS in Astoria Park in Queens, Michael Curtiz's YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN at the Target Community Garden in Brooklyn, and KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN at Manhattan's Bryant Park. Times are roughly around sunset. Check the full sked on the calendar.

So there it is, your rundown of the month in repertory cinema. Schedules are subject to change, and they do, so be sure to check back with this site to keep fully updated. And be sure to like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, observe me on Instagram, stalk me on Tumblr, measure me on Vine okay that's enough now. You know where to find me should ya wanna keep up with the rep film doings in NYC. So until next time, be safe and saound, Stockahz, and make sure the next knucklehead is too. Excelsior!

-Joe Walsh

JoeW@NitrateStock.net