Rarely Seen Cinema - Past Films
The Childhood of a Leader
“When I try to trace my way back to other first films that provide the kind of thrilling and unbridled cinematics that define The Childhood of a Leader, I keep slamming into an American debut film from the 40s, directed by a then 25-year-old fledgling filmmaker named Welles. There, I said it.” (Jonathan Demme)
“No guts, no glory. Actor Brady Corbet flings himself off the cliff of his directorial debut with a defiant disregard for safety or convention that is startling, admirable and exceptionally unusual to see from a neophyte filmmaker.” (Indiewire)
Loosely inspired by the early childhood experiences of many of the great dictators of the 20th Century, The Childhood of a Leader is an ominous portrait of emerging evil. Winner of the Best Director award in the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival and the presitigious “Luigi de Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film, Childhood is a mind-blowing directorial debut and “[l]ike nothing you’ve quite seen before[.]” (Screendaily)
Q&A filmmaker/actor Brady Corbet (Mysterious Skin, Force Majeure) with series host Jonathan Demme.
Brady Corbet. 2015. 113 m. NR. Various Countries, English/French/Italian with subtitles.
Terraferma
Set on and around a summer tourist island off the coast of Sicily, Terraferma tells the story of two struggling yet disparate families whose members become fatefully intertwined. A well-intentioned but illegal rescue of immigrant ‘boat people’ forces the individuals of the indigenous family to choose between their economic survival and doing the right thing. In the process, both families are slowly torn apart as they come to grips with the harsh reality and consequences of their actions.
Reel Talk with series host Jonathan Demme and Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan, a film writer, curator, and programmer who has published numerous books on American cinema, including monographs on Clint Eastwood and William Friedkin.
Emanuele Crialese. 2011. 88 m. NR. Italy, Italian.
Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man
“Perhaps the least known of Bertolucci’s features, it is far from the least interesting.” (Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader)
The son of the owner of a large Italian cheese factory is kidnapped, but as the factory is on the verge of bankruptcy the owner hatches a plan to use the ransom money as a reinvestment in the factory. A truly rarely seen masterpiece from the legendary director – produced between two more well-known Bertolucci titles, 1900 (1976) and The Last Emperor (1987) – Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man is a must-see film for not only fans of Italian cinema, but the medium on the whole. Screening from a 35mm print courtesy of Luce-Cinecitta.
Q&A host Jonathan Demme
Bernardo Bertolucci. 1981. 116 m. PG. Italy, Italian with subtitles. Swank Releasing.
55 Days at Peking
Charlton Heston stars as the leader of a multinational army that heads to Peking to stave off the anti-foreigner Boxer Rebellion of 1900. An extrava- gant epic—and commercial disaster —directed by Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause), it features David Niven as the fussy British ambassador and Ava Gardner as a sultry Russian baroness. Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive
Q&A host Jonathan Demme
Nicholas Ray. 1963. 154 m. NR. USA. The Weinstein Company.
The Oscar
“The Oscar is my guiltiest of movie pleasures. I have seen it at various times over the years and it never ceases to amaze me how deeply fun and gratifying this inarguably “bad” movie can be.
“I do know why it is so much fun, at least for movie buffs like me and the “rarely seen” crowd — it’s a movie-movie-movie-movie about MOVIES and ACTORS and it has such a dazzling 60s style “almost” cast — Stephen Boyd, Tony Bennett (in his profoundly ill-conceived screen debut), Elke Sommer, Jill St. John, Milton Berle, Peter Lawford, Ernest Borgnine, and many more— it’s the B-list dream team of all time. The story is an epic Hollywood career journey for Frankie Fane (Boyd), played with stunning — and riveting — SINCERITY by Boyd and all-concerned. I’m so excited to be screening The Oscar at the Burns ONE WEEK BEFORE THIS YEAR’S CEREMONY — eek! What a warm-up for those who tune in to the telecast!”–Jonathan Demme
Q&A host Jonathan Demme
Russell Rouse. 1966. 119 m. PG. USA.
Rockers
“Rockers holds its ground, thanks to its funny, offbeat players and sinuous reggae score.” (Janet Maslin, New York Times)
This cult classic was originally intended to be a documentary but blossomed into a rollicking Robin Hood style tribute to the roots and rhythms of Jamaica. Starring Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace and Richard “Dirty Harry” Hall, and many other prominent reggae musicians playing fictionalized versions of themselves, Rockers is the story of oppressed Jamaican musicians getting even with the “mafia types” that run the business. Featuring the music of Burning Spear, Bunny Wailer, Third World, Peter Tosh, Jacob Miller, Gregory Isaacs, Kiddus I, Junior Murvin, Inner Circle, the Heptones, and the Abyssinians. “An excellent soundtrack, and an endearingly witty script which digresses through explanations of the Rasta faith and countless idiosyncratic solidarity rituals, make for a delightful piece of whimsy.” (Time Out New York)
Q&A filmmaker Ted Bafaloukos via Skype
Theodoros Bafaloukos. 1978. 100 m. NR. . The Blue Sun Film Company.
Goodbye to Language
“Godard can’t stop himself from exploring new ways to make pictures. He seems to enjoy doing so almost as much as he enjoys frustrating the expectations of those who still want a movie to have a beginning, a middle and an end, in that order.” (Mark Jenkins, NPR)
Presented in 3D! At 83, Godard makes his first foray into the world of 3D, joined by his dog Roxy, who is the de facto “star” of this oblique and challenging film. Jury Prize Winner, Cannes Film Festival.
Jean-Luc Godard. 2014. 70 m. NR. France, French with subtitles. Kino Lorber Films.
You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet
“… [A] sly, elegant meditation on the relationship between reality and artifice. But it is a thought-experiment driven above all by emotion.” (A.O. Scott, New York Times)
Based on two works by the playwright Jean Anouilh, the film opens with a who’s-who of French acting royalty being summoned to the reading of a late playwright’s last will and testament. There, the playwright (Denis Podalydès) appears on a TV screen from beyond the grave and asks his erstwhile collaborators to evaluate a recording of an experimental theater company performing his Eurydice-a play they themselves all appeared in over the years. But as the video unspools, instead of watching passively, these seasoned thespians begin acting out the text alongside their youthful avatars, looking back into the past rather like mythic Orpheus himself
Q&A Academy Award winner and series host Jonathan Demme
Alain Resnais. 2012. 115 m. NR. France/Germany, French with subtitles. Kino Lorber Films.
The Raid: Redemption
A rookie member of an elite special-forces team is instructed to hang back during a covert mission involving the extraction of a brutal crime lord from a rundown fifteen-story apartment block. Soon their cover is blown and every killer, gangster, and thief in the building is after their heads.
Gareth Evans. 2012. 101 m. R. Indonesia, Indonesian with subtitles. Sony Pictures Classics.
A Field in England
“Some films are described as kaleidoscopic, but few have ever earned that adjective as literally as A Field In England. In that mind-bending meltdown, the film becomes a living kaleidoscope.” (Matt Singer, The Dissolve)
Amid the Civil War in 17th-century England, a group of deserters flee from battle through an overgrown field. Captured by an alchemist, the men are forced to help him search to find a hidden treasure that he believes is buried in the field. Psychedelia, madness and chaotic forces slowly overtake the group as they question what treasure lies within the malignant field.
Q&A Academy Award winner and series host Jonathan Demme
Ben Wheatley. 2013. 90 m. NR. UK. Drafthouse films.
Burn!
“What I would prefer for people to discover is something that is in all my films, a certain kind of tenderness for man, an affection which grows from the fragility of the human condition. But we must have soup. Soup over all.” (Gillo Pontecorvo)
“An unusually successful attempt to mate good drama with political analysis.” (Dave Kehr,Chicago Reader)
Sir William Walker (Marlon Brando), sent to a Portuguese colony to organize a slave uprising on behalf of the British Crown, befriends a black dockworker and plants revolutionary ideas in his head.
Q&A Fab Five Freddy and Jonathan Demme. Rap pioneer, visual artist and film buff, Fab(born Fred Brathwaite) is currently focusing on making visual art and was recently featured in the Los Angeles Museum Of Contemporary Art, “Art In The Streets”, the block buster exhibit that was a historical survey on graffiti and street art. Burn! is one of his favorite films.
Gillo Pontecorvo. 1969. 132 m. R. France/Italy, Italian/Portuguese with subtitles. Park Circus.
Children of Men
Set in a bleak future where humans are on the brink of extinction, Children of Men is a dazzling vision of technology, politics, random bursts of violence—and pure blessed hope, which makes everything possible. There’s nothing like Alfonso Cuarón’s (Gravity) breathtaking action scenes and daring, fluid camera.
Q&A Jonathan Demme
Alfonso Cuarón. 2006. 109 m. R. UK/USA. Universal Pictures.
Wonder Boys
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen another American comedy that mixed rue and slapstick and sentiment in quite this way.” (Peter Rainer, New York Magazine)
Michael Douglas stars as novelist and professor Grady Tripp. Unable to finish his second novel, and dumped by his third wife, Grady spends the time he should be writing smoking pot and having an affair with the wife of the chairman of his department. Directed by Curtis Hanson and based on the novel of the same title by Michael Chabon, Wonder Boys is a quirky screwball comedy filled with rich characters. Arguably Michael Douglas’ best performance his career. Also starring: Robert Downey Jr., Frances McDormand and Tobey Maguire.
Curtis Hanson. 2000. 112 m. R. USA.
The Elephant Man
A rare screening of an archival 35 mm print! Don’t miss this chance to see David Lynch’s haunting black-and-white portrayal of the story of John Merrick, the deformed Victorian-era man known as the Elephant Man. John Hurt is outstanding as the sensitive, intelligent man trapped in a grotesque body, and Anthony Hopkins shines as the doctor who rescues him from a carnival sideshow. Lynch’s second feature (after Eraserhead) earned eight Oscar nominations.
Q&A host Jonathan Demme
David Lynch. 1980. 124 m. PG. USA. Paramount Pictures.
Rosewood
In 1923 a group of white men burned a predominantly black Florida town to the ground, slaughtering its residents—based on a lie. John Singleton’s (Boyz in the Hood) incendiary dramatization of this shocking episode stars Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, and Jon Voight.
John Singleton. 1997. 140 m. R. USA. Warner Bros.
The Night of Counting the Years
Jonathan Demme: A riveting tone-poem of a film that I have loved and been haunted by since first seeing it in London in the 1960s. Its portrayal of an Egyptian family that has subsisted for generations by selling artifacts removed from ancient tombs is an unlikely gateway into a motion picture of rich mood and visual texture. Not a thriller, The Night of Counting the Years is rather a cinematic state of mind, a rare treasure tracked down for us by the indefatigable sleuths of the JBFC programming unit.
Q&A w/ Jonathan Demme
Shadi Abdel Salam. 1969. 103 m. NR. Egypt, Arabic with subtitles. World Cinema Foundation/Cineteca di Bologna .
Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion
Jonathan Demme: “Given that sense of humor is admittedly a highly personal vibe, I’ve still got to say this is one of the smarter, funnier, and edgier modern American comedies I’m aware of—I hope this doesn’t get me into too much trouble with those who may find the whole thing…kind of way over the top? Having watched “R&M,” as it’s known around my house, many times on VHS and DVD, I’m psyched to see this high-style, weird, and wildly original movie on the JBFC big screen. At the heart of the film are the brave and incredible performances by the great Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow as the most unlikely movie heroines since Thelma and Louise.”
Q&A with Jonathan Demme
David Mirkin. 1997. 91 m. R. USA. Buena Vista.
An Evening with the Brothers Quinn
Released in 1998, This is My Father was a family affair for the brothers Quinn. Actor Aidan (Legends of the Fall, Benny & Joon, Michael Collins) and cinematographer Declan (Hysterical Blindness, Rachel Getting Married, Leaving Las Vegas) teamed up with their brother Paul to help bring his writing and directing debut to life. Starring James Caan, This is My Father is the story of a Chicago schoolteacher who travels to Ireland in search of his roots. With cameo appearances by Colm Meaney, Brendan Gleeson, and John Cusack, This is My Father is a film about family, love, and reconciling the past.
Q&A Actor Aidan Quinn, cinematographer Declan Quinn, and filmmaker Paul Quinn will join Jonathan Demme for a post-screening discussion
Paul Quinn. 1998. 119 m. R. Canada. Sony Pictures Classics.
Nothing But a Man
“…this beautiful film opened my head up, introduced me in a shattering way to the notion of race, drove me to James Baldwin, Soul on Ice, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, — thus birthing a whole new world-view for me, where previously there had been a basically blissful haze of movies, movies, movies.” (Jonathan Demme)
Focusing on the struggles of a young black couple for respect and justice in early-60s Alabama, this important film is a reemerging landmark in American cinema. Hailed for its handling of sensitive subject matter and its groundbreaking visual style, Nothing But a Manis a fiction film that looks like a documentary.
Read a personal note from Jonathan Demme about Nothing But A Man.
A Cinema Conservancy Release of a Cinedigm/New Video Film. Restored by Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation.
Michael Roemer. 1964. 95 m. NR. USA.
The Center
Directed by Charlie Griak, an animator from Minneapolis, The Center is an intense, boldly cinematic, new vision which focuses on a cult-like group, and a young man who becomes involved in their agenda. Through a brief filmmaker residency at the Burns, Griak created a new cut of this low-budget live action film and we are thrilled to share this work-in-progress with the Burns audience.
Charlie Griak. 2013. 65 m. NR. .
La Cienaga
Also known as The Swamp, La Cienaga is an unsettling family drama set in contemporary Argentina with stunning ensemble performances and plenty of bourgeois boredom and alcohol consumption. It’s the very impressive, award-winning debut from the great Argentine director Lucrecia Martel (The Holy Girl, The Headless Woman).
Q&A w/Jonathan Demme
Lucrecia Martel. 2001. 103 m. R. France/Spain/Argentina, Spanish. Cinema Tropical.
Seven Days in May
After The Manchurian Candidate, John Frankenheimer returned with another tense Cold War thriller, this one the story of an attempted military takeover of the US government. With a convincing docudrama feel, snappy writing, and a cast featuring Burt Lancaster, Fredric March, Kirk Douglas, and Ava Gardner, the movie earned two Oscar nominations.
Q&A Jonathan Demme
John Frankenheimer. 1964. 118 m. NR. US. Warner Bros.
Jeff, Who Lives at Home
We’re kicking off this season of Jonathan Demme’s Rarely Seen Cinema with special guest Jason Segel and the film Jeff, Who Lives at Home, a 2011 comedy from the Duplass Brothers (The Puffy Chair), in which Segel plays the title role. Jeff is a thirty-something stoner who won’t leave his mother’s basement. After an incident leads him to suspect his sister-in-law of cheating, Jeff helps his brother spy on her—a choice which leads him to finally realize his true purpose in life. The film co-stars Susan Sarandon, Ed Helms (The Hangover), and Judy Greer (The Descendants).
Q&A actor/screenwriter Jason Segel (star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Muppetsand TV’s How I Met Your Mother) with filmmaker Jonathan Demme
Jay Duplass/Mark Duplass. 2011. 83 m. R. USA. Paramount/Vantage.
A Special “Rarely Seen” with Activist Majora Carter and Film: Pray for Japan
This month’s edition of Jonathan Demme’s “Rarely Seen Cinema” features what will no doubt be an eye-opening and inspiring Q&A with activist Majora Carter.
A MacArthur “genius” grant recipient, Ms. Carter is a prominent and innovative activist who views urban renewal through an environmental lens, drawing a direct connection between ecological, economic and social degradation. As witnessed in her 2006 TED Talk, Carter is fearless, persistent and inspiring. Through her work at Sustainable South Bronx and her consulting firm, The Majora Carter Group, Ms. Carter has pushed for eco-friendly practices, job training and green-related economic development. Carter’s inspired ideas coupled with her renowned persistence led to the first open-waterfront park in the South Bronx in 60 years, Hunts Point Riverside Park. Carter is now putting the green economy and green economic tools to use within the cities of New Orleans, Detroit, and the small coastal towns of northeastern North Carolina.
FILM: Pray For Japan
Pray for Japan focuses on the March 11, 2011 earthquake and devastating tsunami that followed. Through various vantage points, the film examines the vast ramifications of this large-scale natural disaster – and the battle real-life heroes fought on behalf of their loved ones and their hometown.
Stu Levy. 2011. 85 m. Japan, Japanese with subtitles.
The Rundown
“Since I am quoting my old reviews today, let it be noted that I wrote in my review of [Very Bad Things]: ‘ [Peter] Berg shows that he can direct a good movie, even if he hasn’t.’ Now he has.” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)
This month’s Rarely Seen selection falls into the shameless entertainment category. The Rundown is a hyper-kinetic action comedy from the director of Friday Night Lights and the upcoming summer blockbuster Battleship. The film stars The Rock as a bounty-hunter who treks down to the Amazon to find the archeologist son of a billionaire. Overloaded with raucous set-pieces and super-charged with stylish direction, the film gets stolen by Christopher Walken as a slave-driving mining magnate standing in the way of our hero. His speech about the tooth fairy is priceless – and a perfect example of The Rundown’s genuinely idiosyncratic blend of off-beat humor and action tropes. Watch out for a cameo from Arnold Schwarzenegger, where he passes the metaphorical Action Hero torch to The Rock.
Peter Berg. 2003. 104 m. PG-13. USA, English/Portuguese. Universal Pictures.
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Petulia
It’s Vietnam-era San Francisco, and the life of physician Archie (George C. Scott) is in turmoil as his marriage collapses. Things only get more complicated when dazzling – and troubled – young newlywed Petulia (Julie Christie) decides she intends to marry him instead. Gorgeously shot by Nicolas Roeg and innovative in narrative and style, this provocative, affecting dissection of Summer of Love manners and mores features first-rate acting.
Q&A w/host Jonathan Demme and award-winning cinematographer Declan Quinn (In America, Leaving Las Vegas) will be co-moderating this event and will provide insight into the work of legendary cinematographer Nicolas Roeg (other credits include: Fahrenheit 451, Far from the Madding Crowd).
Richard Lester. 1968. 105 m. NR. US. Warner Bros.
Mon oncle d’Amerique
Many consider Mon oncle d’Amerique to be one of Alain Resnais best films. The didactic film won the Grand Prize at Cannes when it debuted thirty years ago. Starring Gerard Depardieu,Mon oncle d’Amerique uses the life story of three siblings to illustrate the ideas of French physician, writer and philosoper, Henri Laborit, who plays himself in the film.
Alain Resnais. 1980. 125 m. PG. France, French.
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Duck, You Sucker
Duck, You Sucker is ipso facto a marvelous film and a fantastic western simply because it comes from one of the greatest of maestros, Sergio Leone! It’s all here (in a movie sometimes known as A Fistful of Dynamite or Once Upon a Time…the Revolution)—huge star performances from James Coburn and Rod Steiger, spectacular location photography, phenomenal action and staging, superb cutting, sumptuous visual design—and yet another truly magnifico score from Ennio Morricone, maybe Leone’s most vital ongoing creative collaborator. -Jonathan Demme
Q&A Academy Award winner Jonathan Demme
Sergio Leone. 1971. 157 m. R. Italy, Italian/Spanish. MGM.
Robin and Marian
The delightful director Richard Lester’s (Hard Day’s Night) unsung and rarely screened romantic tale of Robin Hood starring Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn. The film picks up the Robin Hood legend some twenty years after most versions of the story, with Robin and his sidekick Little John returning to their old Sherwood haunts world-weary from the Crusades and their sickening brutality. Also features Robert Shaw, Richard Harris, Nicol Williamson and Denholm Elliot.
Join us for a post-screening discussion with series host Jonathan Demme.
Richard Lester. 1976. 106 m. USA.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Join us for an Extra Special Edition of “Jonathan Demme Presents Rarely Seen Cinema!” This month, Demme has selected the 2001 sci-fi drama, A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Based on the 1969 short story Super-Toys Last All Summer Long by Brian Aldiss, A.I. was adapted for the screen by Spielberg from Stanley Kubrick’s treatment. In a film whose resonance in the technology age only grows with time, Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense) stars as David, the first robot designed to experience love. Featuring an all-star cast that includes Sam Robards, Frances O’Connor, Jude Law, Robin Williams, William Hurt, and Meryl Streep.
Q&A Academy Award winner Jonathan Demme will be joined by writer Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married) and New York Times critic Janet Maslin for a post screening discussion.
Steven Spielberg. 2001. 146 m. PG-13. USA. Warner Bros.
Providence
Providence is for me a truly MAGNIFICENT motion picture. It is Alain Resnais at the peak of his cinematic powers—and it’s in English! It’s got predictably exquisite performances by the 14-carat cast (John Gielgud, Ellen Burstyn, Dirk Bogarde) and a revolutionary, dimension-shifting narrative form that is just challenging enough to guarantee delicious thematic epiphanies as the edgy, witty, and profoundly moving story unfolds. If I were forced one day to name the one movie I love the most of all, Providence would for sure be the first title to go on that very short list. And what a SUBLIME score by the brilliant Miklós Rózsa (google him—you won’t believe this composer’s accomplishments)!” —JD
Alain Resnais. 1977. 110 m. R. France/Switzerland. Jupiter Films.
Four Friends
Jonathan Demme picked Four Friends as a tribute to his own friend the great director/producer Arthur Penn, who passed away last fall. In Penn’s touching look at the sixties, we see it all through the joyful and wrenching experiences of a group of friends. They start the movie—and the decade—as high school seniors, and end up in places they never would have been able to predict or even imagine.
Arthur Penn. 1981. 114 m. R. US. MGM.
Silentium
Jonathan Demme:
“I saw Silentium at the International Festival of Police Films in Cognac, France a couple of years ago when I was on the jury there. It’s a phenomenally smart, funny, and terrifically suspenseful entertainment made in, of all places, Austria! Beyond being a gripping and moving thriller with beaucoup laughs along the way, Silentium is a virtual illumination of the art of filmmaking: every aspect of this picture is rendered with exceptional skill and artistry—storytelling, performances, editing, cinematography—everything!
“Silentium ran away with the grand prize for best film at Cognac, and I actually made an effort to find a distributor in America to release it. But all were concerned that due to its overt artistry, intelligence, and fine taste matched with its utter absence of cheap thrills, horror and sensationalism that Silentium might have too great a challenge competing with the kind of films making the moolah at the box office today.
“If you’re an adventurous movie-goer, you’ve got to come to see this incredibly rare showing of this wonderful contemporary movie!” —JD
Only the second screening ever in the U.S.!
Wolfgang Murnberger. 2004. 110 m. NR. Austria, German with subtitles.
Holy Smoke
“I saw this picture when it came out and I was totally dazzled by its wild originality, courage, audacity, and sheer cinematic energy. Kate Winslet and Harvey Keitel. Australia and India. Sexually and spiritually startling. I remember Holy Smoke as proof positive of the fact that Jane Campion is one of the very finest and boldest filmmakers on the planet.” — Jonathan Demme
A young Australian (Kate Winslet) has a spiritual awakening while in India. Her worried parents hire a deprogrammer (Harvey Keitel) to ensure her safe return, but her wit, iron will, and sexuality threaten to upset their plans. From the director of The Piano.
Q&A: host Jonathan Demme
Jane Campion. 1999. 115 m. R. US/Australia. Miramax Films.
The Passion of Joan of Arc
One of the great landmarks of cinema, this silent film stars Renée Falconetti in what Pauline Kael said “may be the finest performance ever recorded.” This haunting portrayal of the country girl from Orléans who led the French in their defeat of the British and eventually died for God and country is famous for its intimacy and power.
LIVE PERFORMANCE In the Nursery, a noted two-man musical group composed of Klive and Nigel Humberstone, joins us from London with its hypnotic new score. Blending electronica with a symphonic style, In the Nursery has performed its original soundtracks for silent classics around the world.
Carl Theodor Dreyer. 1928. 114 m. NR. France, French with subtitles.
CQ
CQ takes you behind the scenes of a sci-fi thriller being filmed in 1969 Paris—but set in “futuristic” 2001! A novice filmmaker has just been given the chance of a lifetime, but when he starts to believe that his on-screen heroine is seducing him from within the film, he risks his job and his sanity to join her in an adventure beyond even his imagination. A vibrant cast, including Gerard Depardieu and Billy Zane, shines in this unpredictable movie where past meets future, reality blurs with fantasy, and tight leather catsuits are the perfect accessory for a ray gun that can stop time!
Q&A with host Jonathan Demme
Roman Coppola. 2001. 91 m. R. France/Italy/Luxembourg/US, English/French with subtitles. MGM.
The Flowers of St. Francis
The teachings of the People’s Saint—humility, compassion, faith, and sacrifice—are conveyed in vignettes cowritten by Federico Fellini. A gorgeous portrait of the search for spiritual enlightenment.
Q&A with host Jonathan Demme
Roberto Rossellini. 1950. 75 m. PG. Italy, Italian with subtitles. Janus Films.
Greaser’s Palace
A surreal, oddball parody of the life of Christ in which a zoot-suited drifter lands in a small Old West town, begins performing “miracles,” and discovers his true calling.
Q&A: director Robert Downey Sr. and host Jonathan Demme. Robert Downey Sr. has led a career over half a century as an actor, producer, writer, cinematographer, and independent filmmaker. Best known for Putney Swope (1969), a scathing satire of Madison Avenue, Downey initially achieved renown during the 60s as an underground filmmaker with a string of surrealist, absurdist, and avant-garde films.
Robert Downey Sr.. 1972. 91 m. NR. US. N/A.
The Ruins
“A horrifying, mortifyingly violent movie.” (Jonathan Demme)
When two young couples this attractive go on an idyllic vacation in Mexico you can be sure something awful is bound to happen. Based on the best-seller by Scott Smith, and disturbingly gory to the extreme, the film operates in the “tourist terror” sub-genre, but creates something much more unique, bizarre, and frightening than most typical Hollywood horror fare.
Q&A: host Jonathan Demme and Academy Award–nominated screenwriter Scott Smith, who wrote the novels and film adaptations for both The Ruins and A Simple Plan.
Carter Smith. 2008. 90 m. R. US/Australia, English/Spanish. Paramount Pictures.
The Music Room
In his poetic fourth feature, Ray brings his singular vision to this spectacle of music, dance, and powerful narrative. Roger Ebert called it “the story of a man who has been compared to King Lear because of his pride, stubbornness, and the way he loses everything that matters.”
This film was restored by the Satyajit Ray Preservation Project at the Academy Film Archive with funding from the Film Foundation. Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.
Satyajit Ray. 1958. 95 m. NR. India, Bengali with subtitles. Academy Film Archive.
The Hired Hand
Two years after Easy Rider Peter Fonda made his directing debut with this Western, lyrically filmed by the master Vilmos Zgismond. Over the next decades The Hired Hand was rarely shown theatrically, until it was rediscovered and gained a cult following.
Peter Fonda. 1971. 90 m. US. MoMA Collection.
The River
The languid, visually rich story of an adolescent girl’s journey into womanhood was shot on the banks of the Ganges in pastoral India. It’s one of the most beautiful color films ever made—and here it is in a Technicolor print struck in 2006.
Jean Renoir. 1951. 99 m. NR. France/India/US, Bengali/English with subtitles. Janus Films.
Stroszek
After his release from prison, Bruno (played by Bruno S., from The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser) is ready for a change. He allies himself with a downtrodden prostitute, and they make their way to Wisconsin, of all places. Funny, bizarre, and deeply Herzog in every sense, this tale of the American dream gone awry on the snowbound prairie has magnetic power.
Werner Herzog. 1977. 115 m. West Germany, German. New Yorker Films.
Coming Home
In Ashby’s (Shampoo, Harold and Maude) powerful, steamy Vietnam drama, Jane Fonda plays a military wife whose narrow world opens up when her husband is deployed. Volunteering at the VA hospital, she gets to know a ferocious young vet (Jon Voight), who came home a haunted paraplegic, and her life is changed forever. With Oscar-winning performances from the two leads, cinematography by the great Haskell Wexler, and a perfect, path-breaking soundtrack.
Hal Ashby. 1978. 127 m. R. US. MGM.
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
One of the finest films by one of the world’s most prolific and unpredictable directors, Ali tells of a 60ish German widow who falls in love with a Moroccan man 20 years her junior. Together, they struggle to overcome the stark disapproval of neighbors, shopkeepers, and even their own families.
Werner Fassbinder. 1974. 93 m. Germany, German. Genius Products.
Five Easy Pieces
In the movie that made him a star, Jack Nicholson plays a promising concert pianist who has renounced middle-class American life—until his father’s illness summons him home. Incisive and funny, this is a time capsule of life in a chaotic period of America’s history. Nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Actor.
Bob Rafelson. 1970. 98 m. US. Sony Pictures Entertainment.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Still able to traumatize after more than a quarter-century, Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a sly social commentary rendered in a psychotically psychedelic style that’s unmatched in the history of horror cinema. This vastly influential shocker has rarely been beat for sheer, exhilarating terror.
Tobe Hooper. 1974. 83 m. R. US. MPI.
Zatoichi
“A riot of samurai lore, peppered with quicksilver fights and winking humor.” (New York Magazine)
This big-budget celebration of the 19th-century blind warrior Zatoichi features spectacular swordplay and a rich lode of emotion. Starring cult filmmaker, writer, and actor Takeshi Kitano, this is “the rare exploitation film that values relationships over bloodshed. But the bloodshed is still pretty awesome” (San Francisco Chronicle).
Takeshi Kitano. 2003. 116 m. R. Japan, Japanese with subtitles.
The Profound Desire of the Gods
Also known as Legends from a Southern Island, this truly rare, epic film is unavailable in either DVD or VHS! While relatively unknown in the US, Shohei Imamura, the first Japanese director to win two Palme d’Or awards at Cannes, is regarded as one of the most important and outrageous filmmakers in Japanese cinema. This is the story of a Tokyo engineer who arrives on a tropical island and comes face to face with a primitive culture governed by superstition and bizarre ritual.
Shohei Imamura. 1968. 172 m. NR. Japan, Japanese with subtitles.
Stavisky
From one of the favorite directors in this series (Muriel, Same Old Song, and La Guerre est Finie), this period piece features a cocky Jean-Paul Belmondo as a swindler who dazzles 1930s French society, eventually leading it into ruin. Charles Boyer won Best Actor at Cannes for his great performance as a baron who sponsors the swindler.
Alan Crosland. 1974. 120 m. PG. France/Italy, English/French with subtitles. Harvard Film Archives.
The Runner
One of the first films to come out of postrevolutionary Iran, The Runner “ranks with those classics of childhood, Shoeshine and The 400 Blows” (San Francisco Chronicle). While survival is a constant struggle for the orphan boy at the heart of the movie, he finds passionate joy in running.
Amir Naderi. 1985. 94 m. NR. Iran, Persian with subtitles.
The Pumpkin Eater
A brilliant view of a shattered marriage, this movie has got it all: a Harold Pinter screenplay based on a witty Penelope Mortimer novel, an intriguingly intricate structure, and outstanding performances by a top-flight cast led by Anne Bancroft (who earned a Best Actress nomination for her performance), Peter Finch, and James Mason.
Jack Clayton. 1964. 118 m. NR. UK.
Gadjo Dilo
A hip young Parisian searches Romania for a gypsy singer, appearing as exotic to the villagers he meets as they are to him (and us). Earthy, joyous, and warm—and made by the filmmaker who brought us the musically intoxicating Latcho Drom—Gadjo Dilo conveys a rare insider’s view of life among the Romany (Gypsies) of Eastern Europe.
Tony Gatlif. 1997. 102 m. NR. France/Romania, French/Romanian/Romany.
Muriel
Against the backdrop of a France wrenched by the memory of World War II and its recent defeat in Algeria, the magnetic Delphine Seyrig plays a widow whose reunion with an old lover is complicated by the presence of his current mistress and her own unstable stepson. A tale of lost love and obsession and one of the rarely seen masterpieces of the great Alain Resnais (Last Year at Marienbad).
Alain Resnais. 1963. 116 m. NR. France/Italy, French with subtitles. Koch Lorber Films.
Go
Told from the decidedly off-center perspectives of three parties involved in the outrageous events surrounding a botched drug deal, this breakneck, raucous comedy takes place over 24 hours in L.A. and Las Vegas. With Sarah Polley as a 20-something supermarket cashier short on rent, Katie Holmes as her best friend, William Fichtner as the scariest cop you’ll ever see, and a manic tangle of other young actors.
Doug Liman. 1999. 100 m. R. USA. Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Time Stands Still
Winning awards at Cannes and from the New York Film Critics Circle, this film set in Budapest after the 1956 revolution focuses on changing times in Hungary through the experience of one family. The moody, evocative cinematography is by the great Lajos Koltai, who directed Fateless and the upcoming Evening (starring Meryl Streep).
Péter Gothár. 1982. 103 m. NR. Hungary, Hungarian with subtitles. Magyar Filmunió.
Jazz on a Summer’s Day
The classic music documentary that gives us the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, celebrated by a joyous crowd of jazz enthusiasts. “One of the most pleasurable of all concert films” (Pauline Kael), it features Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, Dinah Washington, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan, and other music greats.
Aram Avakian/Bert Stern. 1960. 85 m. NR. US. New Yorker Films.
Nowhere to Hide
In a rare American appearance, South Korean movie star Park joins us with one of his best known films, Nowhere to Hide. He plays a detective hunting down the leader of a massive drug cartel in this fast-paced, violent thriller that boasts one jaw-dropping set piece after another. A big hit at Sundance.
Myung-se Lee. 1999. 112 m. R. South Korea, Korean with subtitles.
Blackboards
A prizewinner at Cannes, this “indelible and ultimately moving vision of humanity” (New York Times) is a bold parable about teachers in search of students in remote Iranian Kurdistan. From one of Iran’s most promising young filmmakers, the daughter of the legendary director Mohsen Makhmalbaf (Kandahar).
Samira Makhmalbaf. 2000. 84 m. NR. Italy/Japan/Iran, Kurdish with subtitles.
Dragon Squad
Stylish and ultraviolent, this big-budget story of urban warfare between a team of Interpol officers and a group of Hong Kong mercenaries is all about the action. This is the first East Coast theatrical screening of this incredible film, virtually unseen in this country.
Daniel Lee. 2005. 110 m. NR. Hong Kong, Cantonese/English with subtitles.
Songs from the Second Floor
A brilliant, absurd collection of straight-faced vignettes about life. Critics compare the director’s command to Stanley Kubrick’s and his wildly original humor to Jacques Tati, Monty Python, and Salvador Dalí all rolled into one.
Roy Andersson. 2000. 98 m. NR. Denmark/Sweden/Norway, Swedish with subtitles. New Yorker Films.
Lamerica
Lamerica is a “spare, supremely eloquent” (New York Times) story about a get-rich-quick scheme two Italian men bring to the impoverished Albanian countryside. Critically acclaimed and winner of many, many awards, this intelligent, beautifully made movie lives up to its reputation.
Gianni Amelio. 1994. 116 m. NR. France/Germany/Italy, Albanian/Italian with subtitles. New Yorker Films.
Model Shop
In his only American film, an underrated tale of ephemeral happiness, Jacques Demy turns his camera on a young man, played by Gary Lockwood, who falls for the gorgeous Anouk Aimée, a model at a Los Angeles store where lonely men go to photograph sexy young women.
Jacques Demy. 1969. 92 m. NR. France. Sony Pictures Classics.
Crime and Punishment in Suburbia
A lurid and brilliant film by a great young director, a graduate of Purchase College. Loosely based on Dostoyevsky but dealing with high school violence, it was eclipsed by the 1999 Columbine shootings and never received its due.
Rob Schmidt. 2000. 100 m. R. USA. Sony Pictures Entertainment.
The Hill
Imprisoned in a British military “glasshouse” in Northern Africa during World War II, a group of soldiers including Sean Connery’s insubordinate sergeant major are put through a grueling gauntlet of sadistic exercises meant to crush their spirits. Tensions mount as Lumet examines unyielding defiance in the face of brutal authority. A riveting and unjustly overlooked film, winner of the Best Screenplay award at Cannes.
Sidney Lumet. 1965. 123 m. NR. UK. Warner Bros.
La Guerre est Finie
Resnais applied cutting-edge New Wave filmmaking techniques to a standard spy thriller, and the results are gripping. Yves Montand stars as a member of the Marxist underground fomenting revolution in Fascist Spain. When eager Parisian student Genevieve Bujold enters the picture, the situation quickly gets complicated.
Alain Resnais. 1966. 121 m. NR. France/Sweden, French with subtitles. Harvard Film Archives.
Report to the Commissioner
A young NYPD detective (Michael Moriarty) learns the hard way about the politics that govern a big-city police department when he becomes involved in a department cover-up following a murder. Also featuring Yaphet Kotto, Tony King, Susan Blakely, William Devane and Hector Elizondo. Based on the novel James Mills.
Milton Katselas. 1975. 112 m. PG. USA.
Pont de Varsóvia
Catalan filmmaker Pere Portabella owes much to Buñuelian surrealism in this story about three characters—a professor, a writer, and an orchestra conductor—who attend a grand literary cocktail party, where the writer is being honored for his book, The Warsaw Bridge. The New York Times calls this film an “aesthetic of narrative enigma, elegant camerawork and attractive people who speak in literary and intellectual riddles.”
Pere Portabella. 1989. 90 m. NR. Spain, Spanish with subtitles.
Chappaqua
Conrad Rooks’ wild, hallucinatory tale of his journey back from drug addiction is a tour de force of cinematography (by the legendary Robert Frank) with an ecstatic soundtrack featuring Ravi Shankar, Ornette Coleman, The Fugs, and others. One of the stunning, forgotten cult films of the sixties.
Conrad Rooks. 1966. 82 m. NR. USA.
