January 2017! Cruel and Unusual Silents, Highsmith & Misdemeanors On Film, and Year One Without David Bowie Proves He Remains. Welcome to the New Year! Read On!

Ahoy, Stockahz! Welcome to fresh shores! 2017 has arrived, a beach untrod, nary a grain displaced, waiting to be set into a new, vast and hopefully benign and benevolent pattern. For the larger concerns weighted by that same concern, I'll leave that for the moment to those concerned with such concerns concerned. Instead I'll return to this site's main focus, the orderly breakdown of the NYC rep circuit's upcoming slate for the year's first lunar cycle. Trust is always a matter suspect at best, but we can at least subscribe to the long-held and widely-proven belief amongst those most trustworthy in the scientific community that the moon will give us a good spin once more over the next 31 days. It'd be a normal course for the optimist to keep his yap shut after the year we just had, but I'm gonna stake my hopes somewhat dimmed on that last, simple prospect. The moon's gonna be just fine. It just has to, I've still got plans to open the first movie palace at Mare Tranquilititus.

Those of ya who visit this site regularly, who I luv like some cats love O2, know that I like to designate a status on that screening or series I deem the month's most unmissable with a canine sobriquet I term the Big Dawg. At 2016's end I awarded that much-sought First In Show to the Film Society of Lincoln Center and their essential trib Going Steadi: 40 Years of Steadicam, whch featured such gems as Schlesinger's MARATHON MAN, Kubrick's THE SHINING, Scorsese's AFTER HOURS and GOODFELLAS, and the film that first availed itself of the cam steadi, Hal Ashby's dustbowl biopic BOUND FOR GLORY, all presented in thier original 35mm glory and for a good deal accompanied with intro's and Q&A's from Garrett Brown, the innovation's impetus. It provided not only the opportunity to witness these classics in their native format and intended venue, but context and the opportunity to discover and appraise this artistic process anew. Sheer magic.

This month's licensed collar goes wholeheartedly to MoMA, for an exceptional series devoted to silent film rediscovered, hosted and programmed by a unit not merely essential to the NYC film community but to that of the world entire. Steve Massa, Bruce Lawton and Ben Model form a trio known collectively as the Silent Clowns, who have hosted the Silent Clowns Film Series in one form or another lo these last two decades. Indeed they celebrate their China plates this very year, Model & Massa in particular with a spectacular series, held at the Museum and co-programmed by adjunct curator Dave Kehr. Cruel and Unusual Comedy: Astonishing Shorts from the Slapstick Era runs nearly 2 weeks and features dozens of one- & two-reelers from the silent era, when film was cheap and life was even cheaper. Just ask John Ford. Explorations of the early works of known quantities like Oliver Hardy, Fatty Arbuckle, Mabel Norman, the Talmadge Sisters and the Our Gang sprites mix with lesser seen talents like Snub Pollard, Lupino Lane and Marcel Perez. The program is broken down into 15 miniseries, focusing on themes like athletics (Sports Injuries: Fits in Fitness), l'amour (Love and War: Romantic Skirmishes) the supernatural (Scared Silent), and a special focus on now cringe-worthy screen representations of immigrants and minorities (Ethnic Profiling: Stereotypically Speaking) and the then-popular trend of wholesale ripoff of Chaplin's Little Tramp character (Chaplinitis: The Heartbreak of Big Feet). Screenings are accompanied by Model and fellow master piansts Makia Matsumura and Bernie Anderson. Though not specifically stated on MoMA's site, these gems screen in thier native 16mm & 35mm, so if you're seeking a true time machine this early in the year, look no further! The series runs from the 13th til the 26th.

Also ongoing is the museum's Modern Matinees program, currerntly concerned with Italian actresses of the 30-60's in the series Le Grandi Donne, with upcoming titles like the Monica Vitti-starring MODESTY BLAISE, Anna Magnani in the neorealist masterwork ROME, OPEN CITY, Claudia Cardinale in THE LEOPARD, and the magnificent Giulietta Masina in the heartbreaking LA STRADA. The series concludes on the 27th. MoMA closes out January '17 with the series Eternal Bruce Lee, featuring all 5 films the martial arts pioneer appeared in during his too-brief lifetime: debut THE BIG BOSS from 1971, the following year's THE CHINESE CONNECTION and THE WAY OF THE DRAGON, acknowledged masterwork ENTER THE DRAGON, and his final, unfinished GAME OF DEATH. Runs from the 27th til February 4th. MoMA is located at 11 W 53rd street in Manhattan.

Snowplowing through towards downtown and a little west we find ourselves at that most beloved of rep houses, that scared temple of cinema, our very own Film Forum. Top of the bill this month is a brand spankin' new 4K resto of playwright Marcel Pagnol's celebrated Marseille Trilogy, encompassing Alexander Korda's1931 adap MARIUS, Marc Allégret's 1932 FANNY, and 1936's CESAR, helmed by the author himself. You get 4 opportunities to view the triptych as a whole, on the 7th, 8th, 11th and 12th. I myself, having never seen the films, will be taking in one of these marathons, so look out for my feedback on my new YouTube channel, Nitrate Stock TV. The series runs from the 4th til the 12th.

Sticking with the theme of stage-to-film the Forum celebrates the 150th anniversary of the birth of a playwright so famous and influential he, like Shakespeare and Shaw, goes by a single monicker. Pirandello 150 includes such worthy adaps and as Marcel L'Herbier's THE LATE MATHIAS PASCAL, Marco Bellochio's HENRY IV, and Alessandro Blasetti's LIOLA. Some works in the series are television productions or hil from a later date, so my calendar will not present them. For the full sked on this marvelous series be sure to check the Forum's site.

A new resto of E.A. Dumont's seminal Weimar-era classic VARIETY screens twice this month, on the 17th and the 19th, both times accomanied by ace ivory tinkler Steve Sterner. Closing out the month is a new spitshine of the great Julien Duvivier's PANIQUE, running from the 20th til February 4th. And the Forum's marvelous hook-em-while-they're-young Film Forum Jr. brings us the Elvis classic JAILHOUSE ROCK, Charles Vidor's COVER GIRL, James Whale's THE INVISBLE MAN, and Charles Lamont's ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE INVISIBLE MAN. Film Forum is located at 209 W Houston street in Manhattan.

Jumping potholes over to the Lower East Side we bump into our newest rep house, nearly a year old already. This month the Metrograph unboxes a tribute to filmmaker Eric Rohmer, exploring his CV with titles like 1983's PAULINE AT THE BEACH, 1970's CLAIRE'S KNEE, 1987's LE RAYON VERT, 1972's CHLOE IN THE AFTERNOON, and what is arguably his masterpiece, 1969's MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S. Runs from the 9th til the 13th. Later in the month we get Based On a Book By Patricia Highsmith, featuring such ace adaps as Rene Clement's PURPLE NOON, the first translation of THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY to the screen; Wim Wenders' brilliant German New Wave classic THE AMERICAN FRIEND, quite a different take on the Tom Ripley character; and what probably remains the best, Big Al's STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, a film that only makes you pine the possibilities of further Hitch/Highsmith collaborations that were never to be. The wry wicked runs from the 19th to the 23rd. Finaly, as part of their fantastic ongoing Welcome to Metrograph: A to Z we get the lush Technicolor of Albert Lewin's PANDORA AND THE FLYING DUTCHMAN, the pre-WW2 social commentary of Jean Renoir's THE RULES OF THE GAME, and the singualr batcrap of Donald Cammell & Nic Roeg's PERFORMANCE. I heart this joint incredibly. Metrograph is located at No.7 Ludlow street in Manhattan.

Scuba paddling below the East River we find ourselves, thick with the brine that separates Manhattan & Brooklyn, at my fave theater in the 5 boroughs; BillyBoigah's fantastic Nitehawk Cinema. They really gotta fix that L train. The cost of O2 tanks is ridiculous. I digress. Brunch and midnight fare this month include Wilder's SUNSET BOULEVARD for the Bellini-besotted, and Sidney J. Furie's THE ENTITY, Michael Mann's THE KEEP, and Joseph Ruben's DREAMSCAPE at the Witching Hour. Other notable rep haps at the 'Hawk include Paul Michael Glaser's THE RUNNING MAN, George Miller's original MAD MAX, and Clive Barker's NIGHTBREED. The latter of which I feel I inspiredd the title for. If not the aesthetic. You don't wanna see my apartment. The wonderful and essential Nitehawk Cinema is located a mere stumble from the yes still functioning L train's Bedford avenue stop, at 136 Metropolitan Avenue. I ain't lookin' forward to that scuba gear, though.

Then, because it's January, pickin's get slim. IFC Center recovers the ball from Film Forum and runs Michael Curtiz's CASABLANCA for a week. Maybe more. This film refuses to go away, y'know. IFC also presnts Gregory La Cava's 30's classic STAGE DOOR, featuring eternal perfs from Kate Hepburn & Ginger Rogers, and an assist from Lucille Ball, as part of their Queer/Art/Film series. IFC Center is located at 323 6th Avenue in Manhattan.

Anthology Film Archives offers up Inauguration of the Displeasure Dome: Coping with the Election, a balm cinematic to sooth those burned. I understand, believe me. Entries in the series include Elia Kazan's prescient masterpiece A FACE IN THE CROWD, Kevin Brownlow & Andrew Mallo's alternate past/future (?) IT HAPPENED HERE, and Peter Watkins' blunt but effective PUNISHMENT PARK. In addition AFA screens, unrelated, Jean Renoir's THE RULES OF THE GAME and Roberto Rossellini's THE FLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS, which might go a farther length in soothing wounds, in actuality. Anthology Film Archives is located at 32 Second Avenue in Manhattan's East Village.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center welcomes the 26th iteration of the New York Jewish Film Festival, and this year celebrates the not-quite-50th anniversary of Mel Brooks' flat-out masterpiece, 1968's THE PRODUCERS. The lucky so & so's who attend will be treated to a Q&A with Josh Mostel, son of the film's star Zero, and legendary screenwriter Walter Bernstein. Screens on the 19th. The series entire, which is also too contemporary for my site's coverage, runs from the 11th to the 24th. Other notable classic films in the fest inclue Carl Junghan's 1929 SUCH IS LIFE, intro'd by none other than critic and historian J. Hoberman, and G.W. Pabst's adap of Weill & Brecht's THE THREEPENNY OPERA. Bliss. The Film Society of Lincoln Center is located at the Walter Reade Theater at 165 W 66th street and the Elinor Bunin Monroe Film Center at 144 W 65th street.

The Japan Society celebrate the life of David Bowie, a well as the world's first year without him, with a screening of Nagisa Oshima's MERRY CHRISTMAS MISTER LAWRENCE, on the 13th, as part of their Monthly Classics series. The Society is located at 333 E 47th st in Manhattan.

Finally the Rubin Museum continues its eternally swank Cabaret Cinema series with screenings of Big Al's VERTIGO and Akira Kurosawa's RASHOMON. The museum is located at 150 W 17th street in Manhattan.

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, and OH YEAH: check in with me via my brand-spankin'-new YouTube channel, NitrateStock TV! Face it, we're just stuck with each other. So until next time, be safe and sound, Stockahz, and make sure the next knucklehead is too. Let's do our damndest to make this new year of 2017 the best it can be! Ciao, Bebehz!

-Joe Walsh

JoeW@NitrateStock.net

P.S. My charitable push expands, because the forces for ill are making their grandest surge I've yet seen in my lifetime against he forces of the-other-guy/gal-counts-too: please continue to support the boots on the ground and hammer in hand eforts of Occupy Sandy, as they still work to restore families affected by Hurricane Sandy to their safe havens, but let's also support the victims of the Syrian crisis, the refugees who've come under attack by fearmongers worldwide and, most shamefully, here at home. Please either donate to agencies like DoctorsWithoutBorders, RedCross, and/or UnicefUSA, or post these addresses to your feed to involve your friends and followers in a noble cause. What are we if not a compassionate people? JFK once said, amd I'm paraphrasing, that America was great because it was good. Once the latter ceased to be the case, the former would evaporate like so much hot steam. Really, though, at the end of the day, wouldn't it feel great to know you helped improve someone's circumstance. particularly the desperate ones? Here's hoping you pitch in. Cheers, Stockahz.