François Truffaut’s SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER kicks off Janus Classics series at Lincoln Center
SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER (François Truffaut, 1960)
JULES AND JIM (François Truffaut, 1962)
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St.
Thursday, March 24, 1:00 & 3:00
Series runs through April 1
212-875-5610
www.filmlinc.com
François Truffaut shot out of the blocks in 1959 with the classic 400 Blows, and he followed it up with Shoot the Piano Player, a magnificent noir about a virtuoso saloon piano player and his always-in-trouble brother. French crooner Charles Aznavour is super-cool as the secretive, shy pianist with a hidden past who gets caught up in his crooked brother’s dangerous predicament, against his better judgment. Comedy mixes with pathos, dance-hall jollies lead to murder and kidnapping, and lost love holds a curse in a dark, haunting film you will never forget. Two years later, Truffaut made Jules and Jim, a triangle classic about two best friends, played by Oskar Werner (Jules) and Henri Serre (Jim), World War I, and the woman they both love, the free-spirited Catherine (the marvelous Jeanne Moreau), one of the most charming, entertaining films you will ever see. Shoot the Piano Player and Jules and Jim kick off the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Janus Classics series on March 24, followed by Milos Forman’s Loves of a Blonde (1963) and The Firemen’s Ball (1967) on March 25, Jean Renoir’s The Golden Coach (1952) and The Rules of the Game (1939) on March 28, Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal (1957) and Cries and Whispers (1972) on March 29, and more.