November 12th 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.
New and continuing series this day include Modern Matinees: The Film Library at 10 and To Save and Project: The 13th MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation, both at MoMA (you guessed it!), and Action and Anarchy: The Films of Seijun Suzuki at the Walter Reade Theater. The ubiquitous unspoolery be thus;
Film Forum
SPARTACUS (1960) Dir; Stanley Kubrick
MoMA
Modern Matinees: The Film Library at 10
THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA (1937) Dir; William Dieterle
To Save and Project: The 13th MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation
OH THE DAYS (1978) Dir; Ahmed El Maanouni
LIMITE (1931) Dir; Mário Peixoto
CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962) Dir; Herk Harvey
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Action and Anarchy: The Films of Seijun Suzuki
FIGHTING ELEGY (1966) Dir; Seijun Suzuki
GATE OF FLESH (1964) Dir; Seijun Suzuki
Today's Pick? One of the damndest and, consequently, most influential horror films ever made. Its chief disciple seems to have been one George A. Romero, who, coincidentally, worked in a biz adjacent to his predecessor; advertising as opposed to industrial filmmaking. Much like Romero, the earlier effort's maker sought to branch out into features via the cheap yet effective horror genre, then mostly the province of drive-ins and grindhouses. Both men sought to employ the heebies and jeebies in an effort to jolt an already complacent horror audience, yet the work of the predecessor traveled a more ethereal, and far creepier route. The film was unceremoniously double-billed with something called THE DEVIL'S MESSENGER, and fell into obscurity for years. Until, that is, it was picked up as late night spook bait by local TV stations looking to program the witching hour block. It slowly but surely found its way into the nightmares of genre fans, film scholars, and amnesiacs, the latter of which is probably redundant. In subsequent interviews its director has claimed that he sought from the start a film that had the "look of a Bergman and the feeel of a Cocteau", which in other instances might seem pretentious hyperbole. Once seen, though, the statement not only rings perfectly true, it haunts. As intended.
Herk Harvey's spine-chilling CARNIVAL OF SOULS unspools tonight in a gorgeous new restoration of its original theatrical release version, as part of MoMA's essential series To Save and Project: The 13th MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation! Many films have the power to make ya jump outta yer socks. Few have the ability to linger for days, even years. Which is to say, should you choose to catch this flick, don't worry so much about keepin' yer socks. Worry about sleeping in them peacefully for eons to come.
For more info on these and all NYC's rep film screenings in November '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 warmer, fiercer cuddle of the sun's sunnier disposition has begun its annual wane, 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!
