January 7th 2016! First Pick of the New Year!
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STOCKAHZ! How the Helllahya?!? I can't enthuse enough over the fact that yet another new year has arrived and that you're still here reading my humble missives! It's good to know the rep film circuit in NYC continues to grow, thanks largely to the contributions of master vets like Bruce Goldstein at Film Forum and David Schwartz at Moving Image, newbies like John Woods, Caryn Coleman, and Max Cavanaugh at the Nitehawk Cinema, and contribs to come from the likes of the Metrograph Cinema, the soon-to-reopen Quad Cinema, and whatever surprise IFC Center has in store for us. It's an exciting time to be a Cinegeek, mostly for those who live in our fair metropolis, but for all lovers of the genre cinematic worldwide. I can't wait to see what the preservationists and the programmers have in store for us in 2016! For now, however, we have a brand new January to focus on. So let's do that.
The lone series on display this day are both to be found at one singular venue; Modern Matinees: A Pioneer Cowboy and Modern Matinees: Fashionably Late, both at MoMA. The emulsified ebullience be thus;
Film Forum
CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT (1964) Dir; Orson Welles
MoMA
Modern Matinees: A Pioneer Cowboy
HELL'S HINGES (1916) Dir; William S. Hart
Modern Matinees: Fashionably Late
HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY (1941) Dir; John Ford
BowTie Chelsea Cinemas
AUNTIE MAME (1958) Dir; Morton DaCosta
Today's Pick? Gotta put off Welles' Shakespearean classic as it's an upcoming selection. Ford's foisting of his daydream of Irish life onto Richard Llewellyn's embellished memoir of Welsh mining culture circa the 9-teens is often my go-to, and in the recent wake of star Maureen O'Hara's passage it probably should snag my vote this day. But I feel like a larger and devoted retrospective to the red-headed lightning bolt looms. Most of you who follow this here site know how I feel about my gal Roz, who, under the monicker Rosalind Russell, found one of her signature roles as the iconic AUNTIE MAME. Yet I feel I should honor the spirit of the newness of the calendar, and as such I choose a flick I've never seen, quite frankly from a genre pioneer I've no prior veiwing experience of. I've read about William S. Hart, a longtime and well-respected actor on the stage who found sudden cinematic fame as a manufacturer of westerns,handling most of the chores in their creation both onscreen and off, but I'm shabbily under-educated when it comes to actual viewings of his work. So here's to new experiences in the new year! And also, y'know, to knowing more regarding what I'm talking about. That always helps.
William S. Hart & Charles Swickard's HELL'S HINGES unspools on glorious celluloid at MoMA as part of their fantastic new series Modern Matinees: A Pioneer Cowboy! Six-shooters will be checked at the door. Five-shooters, eh, just try to keep the noise down.
For more info on these and all NYC's rep film screenings in January '16 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. Winter's icy grip seems to have finally taken hold of our fair city, 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!
