June 9th 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.
Thank goodness May '15 arrived, and brought with it AGE OF ULTRON, FURY ROAD and TOMORROWLAND. Thank goodness June '15 is here, so I can forget multiplexes exist and head back to my beloved rep houses. Ya gotta prioritize, y'know?
Ongoing series today include The Apu Trilogy and the trib to legendary Mexican DP Gabriel Figueroa at Film Forum, CinéSalon: Jean-Claude Carrière - Writing the Impossible at the French Institute, Glorious Technicolor: From George Eastman House and Beyond at MoMA, and Black & White 'Scope: International Cinema at BAM Cinématek. The Jujube jollility be thus;
Film Forum
APARAJITO (1956) Dir; Satyajit Ray
APUR SANSAR (1959) Dir; Satyajit Ray
PEDRO PARAMO (1966) Dir; Carlos Velo
THE FUGITIVE (1947) Dir; John Ford
French Institute/Alliance Française
CinéSalon: Jean-Claude Carrière - Writing the Impossible
LA PISCINE (1969) Dir; Jacques Deray
MoMA
Glorious Technicolor: From George Eastman House and Beyond
FOLLOW THRU (1930) Dir; Lloyd Corrigan
NIAGARA (1952) Dir; Henry Hathaway
BAM Cinématek
Black & White 'Scope: International Cinema
VALLEY OF THE BEES (1967) Dir; Frantisek Vlacil
THE FIFTH HORSEMAN IS FEAR (1964) Dir; Zbynek Brynych
Today's Pick? Though I find my loyalties pulled in multiple directions, from the French Institute's wonderful CinéSalon series, to MoMA's Technicolor harrumphery, to BAM's trib to the glories of widescreen monochrome, I really have but one option this day, one loyalty, one obligation. And that, Stockahz, is to Pappy.
John Ford returned from WW2 having inserted himself into several life-threatening situations in order to capture a record of the war as only vets of the film industry could provide, one clear and concise. Upon his return stateside he found his financial situation to be in dire straits, having drawn no salary during his wartime tenure yet maintaining his pre-war costs, some of which were devoted to helping out industry vets down on their luck, most notably his brother Francis. He made bold plans to revive his fortunes and secure his independence, as did Capra and Wyler, seeking independence from the studios and starting up his very own production company with pal and producer Merian C. Cooper. Their new joint endeavor would be christened Argosy Pictures, and its first product would be an adap of Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory, planned before Pearl Harbor threw a monkey wrench into the Hollywood agenda, yet never abandoned by Ford. Having worked at Fox during the years when F. W. Murnau emigrated and joined the studio, and his disciple Frank Borzage became his posthumous voice, Ford publicly decried the stylistic methods pioneered by the great German silent filmmaker, yet privately sought critical praise like a sugar-deprived child staring at a candy shop window. He went over budget and over schedule on the adap, one that employed the man in whose name this series screens, who some described as the Greg Toland of Mexican cinema. Ford indulged in his long-repressed desire to fully walk in Murnau's shoes, and spared no expense in the process. The resulting film recieved bad notices, flopped at the box office, and sent the auteur into a debt tailspin that he wouldn't right until 1952's THE QUIET MAN, a film everyone deemed a debacle for the twenty years it spent in development. By contrast, Ford's first Argosy picture sank into obscurity, branded with a tarnished rep. Rarely screened, almost never aired, tonight we get the opportunity to discover for ourselves whether the great man took a major misstep or crafted a masterpiece decades ahead of its time. Don'tchya just love these events?
John Ford's THE FUGITIVE screens today at Film Forum as part of their trib to legendary Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa. Somehow, no matter the quality of this film, it still just has to be better than the Harrison Ford flick, right? It's just gotta!
For more info on these and all NYC's rep film screenings in June '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. The warm cuddle of the sun's friendlier disposition seems finally to have arrived, 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!
