December 22nd 2015. Pick of the Day.
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The pickin's today be slim, but cherce. Here goes;
IFC Center
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) Dir; Frank Capra
Film Forum
PIERROT LE FOU (1965) Dir; Jean-Luc Godard
Today's Pick oh hell I'm just gonna cut to the obvious! It's Frank Capra's essential Xmas classic, once the cinematic hacky sack of local tv stations flourishing on public domain properties, now fully re-copyrighted and no longer ubiquitous during the yuletide, it nevertheless still possesses the power to reduce a soul so inclined to his or her most desperately optimistic iteration. Mr. Gower. Martini's bar. Hee Haw. Plastics from soybeans. Buffalo gals. George Bailey Lassos Moon. Bert and Ernie. Mary. Clarence. And Zuzu's petals. The mere mention of some of these tropes that have become ingrained in the holiday zeitgeist is at times enough to mist an eye. So beloved a tale of friends and family and the true worth of both this remains. Faith, hope and charity endure. So does this film.
Frank Capra's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE unspools at IFC Center as part of their wonderful annual Christmas tradition, and continues to do so right up until the night of the 25th. Mary Owen, daughter of the film's star Donna Reed, will be on hand to intro tonight's 7pm screening. This is not merely one of the greatest holiday offerings ever committed to film, it's very definitely the great Capra's masterpiece, and seeing as he also cranked out IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN, MEET JOHN DOE, and MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, that's saying quite a lot. Do yourself a favor, take a brief break from trimming tress, shopping for presents and mailing cards, and celebrate the holiday with the Baileys.
For more info on these and all NYC's rep film screenings in December '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!
