April 17th 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.
Apologies, Stockahz. A bad plate of shrimp ingested on Wednesday did me in for the bulk of my Thursday, so I was unable to organize the new podcast for ya. If all goes well I'll be recording it later tonight, so keep yer fingers crossed. And avoid shellfish. Or so I've learned.
New and continuing series this day include Strictly Sturges at Film Forum, Acteurism: Joel McCrea at MoMA, The Vertigo Effect at BAM Cinématek, Old School Kung-Fu Fest 2015: Enter the Ninja! at Anthology Film Archives, Art of the Real 2015 at the Film Society, Cabaret Cinema at the Rubin Museum, and Tune In, Turn On at the Nitehawk Cinema. The popcorn-fueled pandemonium be thus;
Film Forum
THE PALM BEACH STORY (1942) Dir; Preston Sturges
THE LADY EVE (1941) Dir; Preston Sturges
MoMA
BARBARY COAST (1935) Dirs; Howard Hawks/William Wyler
CITIZEN KANE (1941) Dir; Orson Welles
BAM Cinématek
LAST EMBRACE (1979) Dir; Jonathan Demme
Anthology Film Archives
Old School Kung-Fu Fest 2015: Enter the Ninja!
REVENGE OF THE NINJA (1983) Dir; Sam Firstenberg
SAMURAI SPY (1965) Dir; Masahiro Shinoda
A LIFE OF NINJA (1983) Dir; Lee Tso-nam
Film Society of Lincoln Center
LA POINTE COURTE (1955) Dir; Agnes Varda
*Post-screening Q&A with the filmmaker.
Rubin Museum of Art
HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971) Dir; Hal Ashby
Nitehawk Cinema
FRITZ THE CAT (1972) Dir; Ralph Bakshi
Today's Pick? Big menu today, with the still-active Agnes Varda joining, quite literally, the hijinks. The grande dame will be on hand to discuss her 1955 LA POINTE COURTE, screening in a brand-new DCP resto. MoMA unspools the former greatest film of all time, while its succesor, at least according to the knuckleheads at Sight & Sound, is honored by a series which bears its name at BAM. A spectacular series of martial arts flicks screen in our adoringly collapsing film dojo, Anthology film Archives, but the AFA doesn't ever offer two- or threefers, and I have to take that into consideration. Film Forum, on the other hand, does indeed routinely provide excellent double and triple bills, and today they've got an unbeatabe pairing as part of a series which I have not yet shone my Kliegs upon. So let's correct this oversight, shall we?
Preston Sturges' THE PALM BEACH STORY and THE LADY EVE, both boasting of its maker's sparkling wit, crisp dialogue and situations screwball in nature, unspool today for a single admission price at Film Forum as part of the series Strictly Sturges! Be sure to get a big bag of popcorn. No shellfish. I'm serious.
For more info on these and all NYC's classic film screenings in April '15 click on the interactive calendar on the upper right hand side of the page. 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 mercifully feeling the loosening of winter's embrace, but 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!
