February 11th 2015. 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.
After 9 whole months of dread, fear, impatience, desperation, anxiety, hopelessness, and out-and-out societal delinquency on the part of some fans, our long Cinegeek nightmare is finally over; SPIDER-MAN's finally getting a REBOOT! Hallelloo! Never make us wait this long again, knuckleheads in charge!!!!
New and continuing series this day include the overlapping tribs to filmmaker John Boorman and thesp Charles Laughton at Film Forum, Tell It Like It Is: Black Independents, 1968-86 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, and John Carpenter: Master of Fear at BAM Cinématek. The big-screen bounty be thus;
Film Forum
POINT BLANK (1967) Dir; John Boorman
ST. MARTIN'S LANE (1938) Dir; Tim Whelan
THE BEACHCOMBER (1938) Dir; Erich Pommer
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Tell It Like It Is: Black Independents, 1968-86
LOSING GROUND (1982) Dir; Kathleen Collins
THE CRUZ BROTHERS AND MISS MALLOY (1980) Dir; Kathleen Collins
BAM Cinématek
John Carpenter: Master of Fear
PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1987) Dir; John Carpenter
Today's Pick? How'm I gonna takes sides against Gilhooley? Even though that's a completely different Lee Marvin flick?
Director John Boorman, who has long boasted one of filmdom's more maddening CV's over its long and glorious course, is feted finally and fully at our most favored cinematic temple, West Houston Street's own Film Forum. The wondrous, and what some consider woeful, aspect of his IMDB bonafides are the wild swing in the quality of his work, from masterpieces like DELIVERANCE to barkers like THE EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC, from the simplistic perfection of HOPE AND GLORY to the what-was-he-thinking WHERE THE HEART IS, wherein the otherwise regal Christopher Plummer portrays a character monickered "Shitty". From heights achieved like 1981's absolutely perfect romantic fantasy EXCALIBUR, to, well, look, you describe what ZARDOZ is. I quit.
It all began with his Dave Clark 5 flick, 1965's CATCH US IF YOU CAN, produced to capitalize on the success of four Liverpool lads and their groundbreaking cinematic debut, A HARD DAY'S NIGHT. It all really began, however, with his bold experiment in style, which flouted his utter contempt for traditional narrative style while celebrating myopic focus and the brutality that both motivates and is served by it. Focal point of all this organized chaos, one that sees time chopped, blended and smeared to the point where we're left to decide whether we are experiencing flashbacks, hallucinations, or the prolonged delusion that accompanies our moment of expiration, focal point of all this is one Lee Marvin, serving out the function of his surname: Walker. He moves relentlessly yet steadily, maintaining a brisk yet determined pace through the proceedings, a revenge scenario, one where the targets of his emnity fare poorly. It was a unique take on existentialist filmmaking for the psychedelic era, one that also fulfilled its debt to the gangster classics of Hollywood's golden age. It granted one more signature role to its star, and announced the coming of an important directorial voice, for both good and ZARDOZ. He deserves a shoulder-hoisting, and this is its onscreen equivalent.
John Boorman's POINT BLANK screens all day today at Film Forum, as part of the tribute series Boorman. The takeaway here: make sure Lee Marvin gets paid. Everyone's just better of for it.
For more info on these and all NYC's classic film screenings in February '15 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 soon with new Picks 'n perks, til then safe, sound, make sure the next knucklehead is too!
P. S. We're fully entwined in winter's embrace, 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!
