June 29th 2016. 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.
As is usually the case, the month comes to a gradual slow to a stop. And yet while the choices are thin, they're exceptional. Yes we're all getting excited for the sked promised by July 2016, but before we get ahead of ourselves, let's examine what's still on the table, shall we?
Ongoing series today are limited to Modern Matinees: Fifteen By Otto Preminger & Luminosity: The Art of Cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-Bing, both at MoMA. The unspooling ululation be thus;
Film Forum
THE KING OF COMEDY (1982) Dir; Martin Scorsese
MoMA
Modern Matinees: Fifteen By Otto Preminger
ADVISE AND CONSENT (1962) Dir; Otto Preminger
Luminosity: The Art of Cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-Bing
FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI (1988) Dir; Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Carl Schurz Park, Manhattan
THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963) Dir; John Sturges
Syndicated
HEAVY METAL (1980) Dirs; Various
Today's Pick? I'm just gonna get to it. Much as I love Preminger's political procedural, one of the best of its kind, and as goofy a soft spot I have for the Ivan Reitman-produced adap of the cult adult SciFi/Fantasy mag, there's really only one choice today. It could be the greatest WWII film ever made, with one of the finest and most famous all-star casts ever to grace the big screen. It's certainly one of the top Ten "Guy Flicks" ever to come out of Hollywood. It boasts a taut screenplay from W. R. Burnett and James Clavell, that veers between procedural, melodrama, and propoganda flick. The kicker is this: tonight it screens outdoors, free from barracks and barbed wire and armed guards. At least I believe so, I haven't been to this particular venue yet! So tonight celebrate that innate human desire to break free, no matter the situation physical or metaphysical, by cheering on the greatest escape film ever made. John Carpenter would agree with me.
John Sturges' THE GREAT ESCAPE unspools at sunset at Carl Schurz Park, just south of Gracie Mansion on the Uppper Eat Side, in Manhattan. I've said it before and I'll say it again; I'm gonna keep watching this film until McQueen clears that barbed wire fence. One of these days...
For more info on these and all NYC's rep film screenings in June '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. Summer seems to have finally graced our fair metropolis, but milder weather aside 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!
