April 22nd 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.
No series today, new, continuing, ongoing or otherwise. No scheduled anything today, it seems. Well, at least no counter-programming. There is one very special screening happening today, a rather gargantuan effort, featuring one of the most endurng icons of the silver screen. And its listing appears, further explanation be damned, as thus;
Film Forum
GODZILLA (1954) Dir; Ishiro Honda
The original Kaiju man returns to the big screen today, for a week ending Thursday (should no last minute reprieve be forthcoming), in celebration of his 60th year in our hearts and minds, as well as to promote, and compete with, Hollywood's freshest attempt to match or even outdo his original building-crushing/military-bashing antics. The latter seems impossible and even the former sounds like a pipe dream, but no matter the quality of Gareth Edwards' reboot Ishiro Honda's intro to our scaly, fire-breathing friend remains among the most entertaining fantasy films ever made, spawning not merely sequels but an entire genre that thrives to this day. It even delves soberly into social commentary, musing on the consequences of nuclear testing and referencing Hiroshima not ten years past its bombing. Finally, though, it comes down to a simple, primal repsonse to the proceedings; we all, of any age, still wanna be the guy in the suit and stomp stomp stomp. The mayhem and rubble should look more catastrophic than ever in this brand-spankin'-new DCP restoration, so blow off any of this schmancy 3D nonsense populating our multiplex-mad metropolis and come see how city-levelling is really done.
Ishiro Honda's GODZILLA (1954) screens today all day at Film Forum. Happy Birthday Gojira, and domo arigato.
For more info on these and all NYC's classic film screenings in April '14 click on the interactive calendar on the upper right hand side of the page. For the monthly overview listen in to the inaugural podcast! 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 LOOK OUT! HE'S GOING TO CRUSH US ALL!!!
-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 the 2012 hurricane. Be a mensch.
