October 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.
Day three of the Joseph L. Mankiewicz series at Lincoln Center, what I am now short-handedly referring to as the Mankrospective, is in the books, and the ensuing report follows shortly. This moment's focus, however, belongs to the enirety of NYC's rep film sha-boopieings. Hashtag Robert Preston.
Ongoing series today include 1939 - Hollywood's Golden Year at IFC Center, Final Girl at the Nitehawk Cinema, the Tennessee Williams trib at Film Forum, Also Like Life: The Films of Hou Hsiao-hsien at Museum of the Moving Image, and Retro Metro at BAM Cinématek. The kino rapscallionism be thus;
IFC Center
1939 - Hollywood's Golden Year
NINOTCHKA (1939) Dir; Ernst Lubitsch
Nitehawk Cinema
THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1962) Dir; Mario Bava
RE-ANIMATOR (1985) Dir; Stuart Gordon
Film Forum
SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER (1959) Dir; Joseph L. Mankiewicz
CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (1958) Dir; Richard Brooks
Museum of the Moving Image
Also Like Life: The Films of Hou Hsiao-hsien
DAUGHTER OF THE NILE (1987) Dir; Hou Hsiao-hsien
BAM Cinématek
SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (1978) Dir; John Badham
Landmark Sunshine Cinema
EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN (1988) Dir; Sam Raimi
Today's Pick? Let's go with the brunchtime screening of Mario Bava's THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, what is simultaneously considered the first work of giallo, that particularly garish brand of Italian horror/stalker/slasher flick, and the initiation of the modern movie trope that scholar Carol J. Glover would colorfully coin final girl, a suppressed female empowerment that leapt to the forefront in cheap thriller denouement. From such disposable lowbrow hijinks is great art eventually assessed. Bava is rightly revered not only for his ability to make ten bucks look like a thousand, he was also able to delve into psychological horror with inventive aplomb. It unspools today and tomorrow for brunch at the Nitehawk Cinema, and I can't wait to see what specialty menu they've constructed to accompany the film. They ain't shy in BillyBurg, y'know.
For more info on these and all NYC's classic film screenings in October '14 click on the interactive calendar on the upper right hand side of the page. For the monthly overview and other audio tomfoolery check out the podcast, and follow me on SoundCloud! For reviews of contemporary cinema and my streaming habits (keep it clean!) check out my Letterboxd 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 safe, sound, make sure the next knucklehead is too.
-Joe Walsh
P. S. We're swiftly returning to the winter climate, and believe it or not some of our fellow NY'ers have still yet to be made whole in the wake of the 2012 storm. Should you be feeling charitable please visit the folks at OccupySandy.net, follow their hammer-in-hand efforts to restore people's lives, and donate/volunteer if you have the inclination and availability. Be a collective mensch, Stockahz!
