October 19th 2012. 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.
Much to choose from today you lucky lucky Cinegeek you! Midnight screenings from Kubrick and Raimi to get you in the Halloween mood. A Ford western that perhaps trumped all of his other frontier-taming efforts. Peter Lorre playing Peter Lorre in a devious 40's noir. Fellini's arguable last word on the art both real and otherwise of film itself. And a pair of early 007 entries featuring the ultimate Bond himself Sean Connery. But Connery is on view in a decidedly different effort tonight. And this unique for better or worse offering snags status as my Pick Of The Day.
John Boorman is unquestionably a master auteur, one of the most respected filmmakers of the last 40 odd years. Few argue the esteem in which works like POINT BLANK, DELIVERANCE, EXCALIBUR and HOPE AND GLORY are held. However, what makes Boorman wholly unique and beloved of the film nut is his ability to also concoct some of the Ed Wood-worthy WORST films in existence. This man also cranked out EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC and WHERE THE HEART IS. His high crime and misdemeanor, however, came before these lumps of coal for Xmas, and while I do agree with the common wisdom that works such as these are confoundingly awful the mitigating factor working in Boorman's favor is that he never bores. When he's bad he's very bad, but never without ambition. Hence, ZARDOZ.
If you've never seen ZARDOZ I hesitate to offer even a cursory synopsis, as it would fail to describe the proceedings ( actually a 4K page thesis would fail the same task) and also give away some of the bugfuck you are in store for. Suffice to say this was Boorman's attempt to craft a response to 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. Mixed with some L. Frank Baum. With a little PLANET OF THE APES thrown in. And Bob Fosse. Look, I can guarantee you two things should you attend; you will never have seen anything quite like this film, and you'll be grateful you had a big screen viewing to wallow in the crazy.
ZARDOZ screens tonight at 10pm at the 92YTribeca as part of their Doomsday Film Festival And Symposium. For the rest of the day's and month's sked head check the October calendar above. Join the Facebook group! Follow me on Twitter! Film glorious film, Knuckz! Excelsior!
