January 4th 2014. 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.
Look, it's just too effin' cold to attempt any clever repartee. So let's get to it. Continuing series today include Film Forum's centennial celebration of Chaplin's Little Tramp, the Film Society's expiring trib to studio-era ace George Cukor, IFC Center's The Way He Was: Early Redford, and MoMA's valentine to the work of legendary production designer Dante Ferretti. The brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreakdown (ya see what I did there?) as follows;
IFC Center
THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR (1975) Dir; Sydney Pollack
ALIENS (1986) Dir; James Cameron
Film Forum
CITY LIGHTS (1930) Dir; Charlie Chaplin
BIRTH OF THE TRAMP: CHAPLIN AT KEYSTONE (1914)
Film Society of Lincoln Center
BHOWANI JUNCTION (1956) Dir; George Cukor
JUSTINE (1969) Dir; George Cukor
MoMA
THE NAME OF THE ROSE (1986) Dir; Jean-Jacques Annaud
Nitehawk Cinema
VIDEODROME (1982) Dir; David Cronenberg
Today's Pick? Wanna see the birth of one of the most iconic fictional characters of the 20th century, and in the process one of the most important, inventive and influential voices the cinematic medium ever made boast of? The story goes that one Charlie Chaplin, touring California as the star of Fred Karno's vaudeville revue, contracted with Mack Sennett for a series of comedy shorts, and that literally on the way to filming the first of these, Mabel's Strange Predicament, he cobbled together the prop and wardrobe accoutrements that shabbily, yet solidy, emerged for the first as his Little Tramp screen persona. If true this counts as the single most miraculous moment of celluloid serendipity in the history of the art from, and if not then screw the truth; it isn't as true as this apocrypha.
As Chaplin's continued success and bold imagination with the camera helped boost the artistic status of the one-time novelty that had drawn crowds to "Nickleodeons", so did his Little Tramp become something more than just slapstick frivolity. The Hollywood envisioned in the early days by the men who would become its Moguls was a place where immigrants with no status and little money could have access to a highbrow art of their own, and it was for this reason that an Adolph Zukor of Famous Players/Lasky, soon to be renamed Paramount Pictures, would hire no lesser a talent than acting legend Sarah Bernhardt to re-enact her stage triumphs for ten minute film capsulizations. The Little Tramp, however, was something altogether different; a tattered soul, with no luck and perhaps less hope, but resolutely clinging to his dreams and his dignity. Chaplin, himself an immigrant from a nighmare childhood of neglect, hunger and madness, forged a connection with the immigrant waves flooding America's shores in that part of the 20th century, and they in turn were only too happy to celebrate his onscreen perserverence with their repeat attendance. I have always associated the Chaplin CV with a single word, that defines both his artistry and his empathy; grace. It's what we all strive for and so rarely achieve, whether walking down roads designed for our precise accomodation or struggling to maintain our balance when the world shifts beneath our feet, and it's why king and peasant alike can relate to Sir Charles' indelible creation.
It's rare that we get to witness the inception of something so integral to the culture of our world as these painstakingly restored earliest efforts form Chaplin, so for that reason alone I impore you to get off your couch, into a series of warm layers and over to Film Forum for THE BIRTH OF THE TRAMP: CHAPLIN AT KEYSTONE. Hey, 100 years is 100 years, let's show a little love.
For more info on these and all NYC's classic film screenings in January '14 click on the interactive calendar on the upper right hand side of the page. And be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter! Back tomorrow with a brand new Pick, til then stay safe and soaund and look out for the next knucklehead too! Now wouldn't be the worst time to check in with the team at Occupy Sandy to see if you can donate/volunteer to those NY'ers still displaced from last year's storm. It's cold out there.
-Joe Walsh
