March 25th 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.
Today's continuing series inlcude The Complete Hitchcock at Film Forum, Auteurs Gone Wild at Anthology Film Archives, Under the Influence: Scorsese/Walsh at BAM, and Vice presents the Film Foundation Series at the Nitehawk Cinema. The tomfoolery be thus;
Film Forum
TOPAZ (1969) Dir; Alfred Hitchcock
DOWNHILL (1927) Dir; Alfred Hitchcock
Anthology Film Archives
UNDER CAPRICORN (1949) Dir; Alfred Hitchcock
PETER IBBETSON (1935) Dir; Henry Hathaway
BAM Cinematek
THE BOWERY (1933) Dir; Raoul Walsh
Nitehawk Cinema
MACBETH (1948) Dir; Orson Welles
Today's Pick? As tempting as the waning days of Film Forum's Hitchcock trib may prove, and as big a Bucket Lister Hathaway's PETER IBBETSON might be, an auteur and film of equal if not greater stature bests all competition today; Orson Welles' MACBETH, screening at the Nitehawk Cinema as part of their Vice/Film Foundation series. Welles' notoriety as enfant terrible following the "debacle" known as CITIZEN KANE is legendary, as one troubled production followed another and the bad press, covering matters both professional and personal, piled up. After the failure of the now beloved LADY FROM SHANGHAI Welles convinced B-Movie stalwart Herbert Yates at Republic Studios to finance a reworking of an earlier controversial stage production of the Scottish Play he'd co-produced with onetime partner John Houseman. As was Yates' wont he meagerly opened the purse strings for talent recently removed from the A-lists, in the hopes that the combo of austere backing and famous monicker would result in a hit. The resulting effort was met with indifferene by audiences and dersion by critics, but important contemporary voices, numbering amongst them one Jean Cocteau, found inspiration in Welles' inventive utilization of limited resource. It's now considered amongst his finest cinematic works, and the Nitehawk offers the opportunity to view it in glorious 35mm, in the venue intended. Plus root beer n' tots. I'm consistent if nothing else.
For more info on these and all NYC's classic film screenings in March '14 click on the interactive calendar on the upper right hand side of the page. And be sure to follow me on both Facebook, where I provide further info and esoterica on the rep film circuit and star birthdays, and Twitter, where I provide a daily feed for the day's screenings and other blathery. Back tomorrow with a brand new Pick, til then answer me this; how is Boil, Bubble, Toil and Trouble not the name of a Williamsburg all-fiddle musical act? I'm waiting.
-Joe Walsh
P. S. Should you be feeling charitable during this harsh weather period please remember to check in with the good folks over at Occupy Sandy. Some of our NY neighbors are still feeling the effects of last year's hurricane. Be a mensch.
