Tag Archives: Jules Feiffer

FAR-OUT IN THE 70s — A NEW WAVE OF COMEDY, 1969–1979: LITTLE MURDERS

LITTLE MURDERS

Alfred Chamberlain (Elliott Gould) takes a break in Alan Arkin’s Little Murders

LITTLE MURDERS (Alan Arkin, 1971)
Film Forum
209 West Houston St.
Thursday, January 31, 4:20
Friday, February 1 2:40, 7:00
Series runs through February 14
212-727-8110
filmforum.org

Alan Arkin’s directorial debut is a hysterically absurdist foray into the urban paranoia that haunted a lawless New York City in the late 1960s and 1970s. Based on Jules Feiffer’s first play, which was a Broadway flop in 1969 but became a hit in London and off Broadway, Little Murders centers on the offbeat relationship between the determined and domineering Patsy Newquist (Marcia Rodd) and the calm, easygoing Alfred Chamberlain (Elliott Gould). They first meet when Patsy tries to save him from getting beaten up yet again by a group of thugs, but he doesn’t want any help; he never fights back, instead letting them tire themselves out. A former successful commercial photographer, Alfred now spends his time taking artistic pictures of feces he finds on the filthy streets. He and Patsy sort of start dating, but Alfred, who regularly says, “I don’t know what love is,” is too passive for Patsy, who makes it her project to mold him into a stronger man, as if he were one of her interior design projects. The black comedy reaches new heights when Alfred meets Patsy’s rather eccentric family, played by the three actors who originated the roles on the stage. Vincent Gardenia is her high-strung father who laments what has become of the city, Elizabeth Wilson is her prim and proper mother who only sees what she wants to see, and Jon Korkes is deliciously funny as her crazy brother, who finds humor in just about everything. Meanwhile, wherever Patsy goes, a heavy-breathing phone caller follows.

Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, and Alan Arkin discuss the wacky wedding scene in LITTLE MURDERS

Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, and Alan Arkin discuss the wacky wedding scene in Little Murders

Little Murders is one of the great unsung films of the 1970s, a wickedly funny, at times manic examination of love, fear, family, faith, and violence. The story is highlighted by several riotous monologues about the state of the world, including an epic rant delivered by Lou Jacobi as an angry judge and an oddball hippie speech by Donald Sutherland (Gould’s M*A*S*H costar) as an alternative minister. Arkin also appears as Lt. Practice, a cop stuttering about how many unsolved murders there have been in the past six months. The film is shot in a beautifully subdued, lurid palette by Gordon Willis, who photographed such other seminal New York–set ’70s pics as The Landlord, Klute, The Godfather I and II, Annie Hall, and Manhattan. A genuine underground cult classic, Little Murders is screening January 31 and February 1 in the Film Forum series “Far-Out in the 70s: A New Wave of Comedy, 1969–1979,” which continues through February 14 with such other period comedies as Hal Ashby’s Being There, Milos Forman’s Taking Off, a double feature of Art Carney in The Late Show and Harry and Tonto, and Brian De Palma’s Hi, Mom! in addition to The Landlord and a double feature of Annie Hall and Manhattan.

STRANGER THAN FICTION — FAR OUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH: THE TOMI UNGERER STORY

(photo by Sam Norval /  Corner of the Cave Media)

Illustrator Tomi Ungerer talks about his fascinating life in compelling documentary (photo by Sam Norval / Corner of the Cave Media)

FAR OUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH: THE TOMI UNGERER STORY (Brad Bernstein, 2012)
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at West Third St.
Monday, January 19, 8:00
Winter series runs Tuesdays at 8:00 through March 24
212-924-7771
www.faroutthemovie.com
www.stfdocs.com

“I am a self-taught raving maniac, but not as crazy as Tomi, or as great as Tomi,” Maurice Sendak says early on in Brad Bernstein’s engaging documentary, Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story, adding, “He was disarming and funny and not respectable at all.” Another children’s book legend, Jules Feiffer, feels similarly, explaining, “Tomi was this wonderfully brilliant, innovative madman.” Born in Alsace in 1931, Tomi Ungerer developed a remarkably diverse career as an illustrator, incorporating the emotional turmoil he suffered after losing his father when he was still a young child and then living under Nazi rule. In Far Out Isn’t Far Enough, Ungerer takes Bernstein and the audience on a fascinating journey through his personal and professional life, traveling to Strasbourg, Nova Scotia, New York City, and Ireland, which all served as home to him at one time or another as he wrote and illustrated such picture books as The Three Robbers and Crictor for editor Ursula Nordstrom, made bold political posters in support of the civil rights movement and against the Vietnam War, and published a book of erotic drawings, Fornicon, that ultimately led to a twenty-three-year exile from America during which he stopped making books for children. “I am full of contradictions, and why shouldn’t I be?” the eighty-one-year-old Ungerer says in the film. Ungerer discusses how he uses fear, tragedy, and trauma as underlying themes in his stories, trusting that kids can handle that amid the surreal nature of his entertaining tales.

He opens up his archives, sharing family photographs and old film footage, which reveal that he’s been pushing the envelope for a very long time, unafraid of the consequences. He also visits the Eric Carle Museum to check out a retrospective of his work for children, appropriately titled “Tomi Ungerer: Chronicler of the Absurd.” Meanwhile, Rick Cikowski animates many of Ungerer’s drawings, bringing to life his characters, both for children and adults, adding another dimension to this wonderful documentary. Far Out Isn’t Far Enough is a lively, engaging film about a seminal literary figure with an infectious love of life and art, and a unique take on the ills of society, that is a joy to behold. The film kicks off the IFC Center’s winter season of Stranger than Fiction on January 19 at 8:00, followed by a Q&A with Bernstein and Ungerer; Ungerer aficionados will also want to check out the new exhibit ”Tomi Ungerer: All in One” at the Drawing Center through March 22. Stranger than Fiction continues Tuesday nights through March 24 with such other nonfiction works as The Hand that Feeds, Freeway: A Crack in the System, Occupation: Dreamland, Seymour: An Introduction, and A Dangerous Game; each screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director(s), producer(s), and/or subject.

BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL 2013

brooklyn book festival

Brooklyn Borough Hall and Plaza (and other venues)
209 Joralemon St.
Sunday, September 22, free, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
www.brooklynbookfestival.org

The eighth annual Brooklyn Book Festival arrives in the world’s best borough September 22 with more than a hundred panel discussions, readings, signings, live performances, workshops, and other special literary events. Below are our can’t-miss picks for a festival that is growing in popularity every year; among the myriad other participants are Sonia Sanchez, Hilton Als, Edwidge Danticat, Pete Hamill, Meg Wolitzer, Claire Messud, Colum McCann, Francesca Lia Block, David Levithan, William C. Rhoden, Touré, Alan Light, Katherine Applegate, Phillip Lopate, Jane Friedman, Jonathan Ames, Sapphire, Tao Lin, Francine Prose, Leonard Lopate, Nicholson Baker, Ben Katchor, Anders Nilsen, A. M. Homes, Meg Cabot, Rebecca Miller, Lemon Andersen, Quincy Troupe, Katherine Applegate, and Donald and Nina Crews.

10:00 am, “Love to Laugh? Loud and Long and Clear?,” with Jeff Smith, Sherri Winston, and Michael Buckley moderated by Eric Luper, Youth Stoop, Borough Hall Plaza / Columbus Park

11:00 am, “Who? New!,” with debut novelists A. X. Ahmad, Caleb Crain, Ursula DeYoung, Michele Forbes, and Ayana Mathis, Borough Hall Courtroom

12 noon, “The World (According to Cartoonists): Border Crossing Comics,” with Adrian Tomine, Rutu Modan, Dash Shaw, and David Prudhomme, moderated by Kent Worcester, St. Francis Auditorium

1:00, “Sin City,” with K’wan Foye, Albert “Prodigy” Johnson, Ivy Pochoda, and Miasha, moderated by S. J. Rozan, Borough Hall Courtroom

2:00, “Love, Villainy, Ethics, and Karaoke: Chuck Klosterman and Rob Sheffield in Conversation,” moderated by Ed Park, Borough Hall Plaza Main Stage

3:00, “The Secret Lives of Girls,” with Lauren Myracle, Meg Cabot, and Sharon M. Draper, moderated by Mitali Dave, Youth Stoop, Borough Hall Plaza / Columbus Park

4:00, “Art Spiegelman and Jules Feiffer in Conversation,” moderated by Benjamen Walker, St. Francis Auditorium

5:00, “Let’s Talk About (Writing) Sex,” with Sam Lipsyte, Amy Grace Loyd, and Susan Choi, moderated by Angela Ledgerwood, Borough Hall Plaza Main Stage

THALIA DOCS — FAR OUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH: THE TOMI UNGERER STORY

(photo by Sam Norval /  Corner of the Cave Media)

Illustrator Tomi Ungerer talks about his fascinating life in compelling documentary (photo by Sam Norval / Corner of the Cave Media)

FAR OUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH: THE TOMI UNGERER STORY (Brad Bernstein, 2012)
Symphony Space, Leonard Nimoy Thalia
2537 Broadway at 95th St.
Sunday, September 15, 22, 29, and October 6, 13 $14, 2:15
212-864-5400
www.symphonyspace.org
www.faroutthemovie.com

“I am a self-taught raving maniac, but not as crazy as Tomi, or as great as Tomi,” Maurice Sendak says early on in Brad Bernstein’s engaging documentary, Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story, adding, “He was disarming and funny and not respectable at all.” Another children’s book legend, Jules Feiffer, feels similarly, explaining, “Tomi was this wonderfully brilliant, innovative madman.” Born in Alsace in 1931, Tomi Ungerer developed a remarkably diverse career as an illustrator, incorporating the emotional turmoil he suffered after losing his father when he was still a young child and then living under Nazi rule. In Far Out Isn’t Far Enough, Ungerer takes Bernstein and the audience on a fascinating journey through his personal and professional life, traveling to Strasbourg, Nova Scotia, New York City, and Ireland, which all served as home to him at one time or another as he wrote and illustrated such picture books as The Three Robbers and Crictor for editor Ursula Nordstrom, made bold political posters in support of the civil rights movement and against the Vietnam War, and published a book of erotic drawings, Fornicon, that ultimately led to a twenty-three-year exile from America during which he stopped making books for children. “I am full of contradictions, and why shouldn’t I be?” the now-eighty-one-year-old Ungerer says in the film. Ungerer discusses how he uses fear, tragedy, and trauma as underlying themes in his stories, trusting that kids can handle that amid the surreal nature of his entertaining tales. He opens up his archives, sharing family photographs and old film footage, which reveal that he’s been pushing the envelope for a very long time, unafraid of the consequences. He also visits the Eric Carle Museum to check out a retrospective of his work for children, appropriately titled “Tomi Ungerer: Chronicler of the Absurd.” Meanwhile, Rick Cikowski animates many of Ungerer’s drawings, bringing to life his characters, both for children and adults, adding another dimension to this wonderful documentary. Far Out Isn’t Far Enough is a lively, engaging film about a seminal literary figure with an infectious love of life and art, and a unique take on the ills of society, that is a joy to behold. The film is screening September 15 & 22 at Symphony Space as part of the Sunday Thalia Docs series.

FUN CITY — NEW YORK IN THE MOVIES 1967-75: LITTLE MURDERS

LITTLE MURDERS

Alfred Chamberlain (Elliott Gould) takes a break in Alan Arkin’s LITTLE MURDERS

LITTLE MURDERS (Alan Arkin, 1971)
Museum of the Moving Image
35th Ave. at 36th St., Astoria
Saturday, August 17, free with museum admission, 5:30
Series runs August 10 – September 1
718-777-6800
www.movingimage.us

Alan Arkin’s directorial debut is a hysterically absurdist foray into the urban paranoia that haunted a lawless New York City in the late 1960s and 1970s. Based on Jules Feiffer’s first play, which was a Broadway flop in 1969 but became a hit in London and off Broadway, Little Murders centers on the offbeat relationship between the determined and domineering Patsy Newquist (Marcia Rodd) and the calm, easygoing Alfred Chamberlain (Elliott Gould). They first meet when Patsy tries to save him from getting beaten up yet again by a group of thugs, but he doesn’t want any help; he never fights back, instead letting them tire themselves out. A former successful commercial photographer, Alfred now spends his time taking artistic pictures of feces he finds on the filthy streets. He and Patsy sort of start dating, but Alfred, who regularly says, “I don’t know what love is,” is too passive for Patsy, who makes it her project to mold him into a stronger man, as if he were one of her interior design projects. The black comedy reaches new heights when Alfred meets Patsy’s rather eccentric family, played by the three actors who originated the roles on the stage. Vincent Gardenia is her high-strung father who laments what has become of the city, Elizabeth Wilson is her prim and proper mother who only sees what she wants to see, and Jon Korkes is deliciously funny as her crazy brother, who finds humor in just about everything. Meanwhile, wherever Patsy goes, a heavy-breathing phone caller follows.

Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, and Alan Arkin discuss the wacky wedding scene in LITTLE MURDERS

Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, and Alan Arkin discuss the wacky wedding scene in LITTLE MURDERS

Little Murders is one of the great unsung films of the 1970s, a wickedly funny, at times manic examination of love, fear, family, faith, and violence. The story is highlighted by several riotous monologues about the state of the world, including an epic rant delivered by Lou Jacobi as an angry judge and an oddball hippie speech by Donald Sutherland (Gould’s M*A*S*H costar) as an alternative minister. Arkin also appears as Lt. Practice, a cop stuttering about how many unsolved murders there have been in the past six months. The film is shot in a beautifully subdued, lurid palette by Gordon Willis, who photographed such other seminal New York-set ’70s pics as The Landlord, Klute, The Godfather I and II, Annie Hall, and Manhattan. A genuine underground cult classic, Little Murders is screening August 17 at 5:30 as part of the Museum of the Moving Image series “Fun City: New York in the Movies 1967-75,” guest curated by J. Hoberman and continuing through September 1 with such other Big Apple films as the French Connection, Across 110th Street, Born to Win, and The Landlord.

FAR OUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH: THE TOMI UNGERER STORY

(photo by Sam Norval /  Corner of the Cave Media)

Illustrator Tomi Ungerer talks about his fascinating life in compelling documentary (photo by Sam Norval / Corner of the Cave Media)

FAR OUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH: THE TOMI UNGERER STORY (Brad Bernstein, 2012)
Lincoln Plaza Cinema
1886 Broadway at 63rd St.
Opens Friday, June 14
212-757-2280
www.faroutthemovie.com
www.lincolnplazacinema.com

“I am a self-taught raving maniac, but not as crazy as Tomi, or as great as Tomi,” Maurice Sendak says early on in Brad Bernstein’s engaging documentary, Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story, adding, “He was disarming and funny and not respectable at all.” Another children’s book legend, Jules Feiffer, feels similarly, explaining, “Tomi was this wonderfully brilliant, innovative madman.” Born in Alsace in 1931, Tomi Ungerer developed a remarkably diverse career as an illustrator, incorporating the emotional turmoil he suffered after losing his father when he was still a young child and then living under Nazi rule. In Far Out Isn’t Far Enough, Ungerer takes Bernstein and the audience on a fascinating journey through his personal and professional life, traveling to Strasbourg, Nova Scotia, New York City, and Ireland, which all served as home to him at one time or another as he wrote and illustrated such picture books as The Three Robbers and Crictor for editor Ursula Nordstrom, made bold political posters in support of the civil rights movement and against the Vietnam War, and published a book of erotic drawings, Fornicon, that ultimately led to a twenty-three-year exile from America during which he stopped making books for children. “I am full of contradictions, and why shouldn’t I be?” the now-eighty-one-year-old Ungerer says in the film. Ungerer discusses how he uses fear, tragedy, and trauma as underlying themes in his stories, trusting that kids can handle that amid the surreal nature of his entertaining tales. He opens up his archives, sharing family photographs and old film footage, which reveal that he’s been pushing the envelope for a very long time, unafraid of the consequences. He also visits the Eric Carle Museum to check out a retrospective of his work for children, appropriately titled “Tomi Ungerer: Chronicler of the Absurd.” Meanwhile, Rick Cikowski animates many of Ungerer’s drawings, bringing to life his characters, both for children and adults, adding another dimension to this wonderful documentary. Far Out Isn’t Far Enough is a lively, engaging film about a seminal literary figure with an infectious love of life and art, and a unique take on the ills of society, that is a joy to behold. The film opens June 14 at Lincoln Plaza, with writer, editor, and curator Steven Heller, who appears in the documentary, leading intros and Q&As with Bernstein and Cikowski at several screenings on Friday and Saturday night.

BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL 2011

Jhumpa Lahiri will receive the BoBi (Best of Brooklyn) Award at this year’s Brooklyn Book Festival

Multiple venues in Brooklyn
Sunday, September 18, free, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
www.brooklynbookfestival.org

Three’s just something about Brooklyn that both raises many of the world’s best writers and lures them to the Borough of Kings to do their most insightful writing. On Sunday, more than 250 writers will come together for the sixth annual Brooklyn Book Festival, with panel discussions, signings, lectures, workshops, live performances, and other events taking place at Borough Hall, Columbus Park, St. Francis College, St. Ann’s Church, and the Brooklyn Historical Society. This year’s BoBi (Best of Brooklyn) Award goes to Jhumpa Lahiri, who will be at St. Ann’s at 2:00 to speak with Liesl Schillinger. Everything is free, although some of the events require advance ticketing available one hour before program time. Below are our top ten recommendations; other participants include Colson Whitehead, John Sayles, Lawrence Block, Susan Isaacs, Madison Smartt Bell, Edmund White, Alina Simone, DJ Spooky, Pete Hamill, Russell Banks, Nicole Krauss, Larry McMurtry, Jennifer Egan, Tom Perrotta, Cory Doctorow, Dean Haspiel, J Hoberman, Phillip Lopate, Nick Bertozzi, Rita Williams-Garcia, and many more.

Laugh Your Head Off: Teen beauty pageant contestant Mad Libs! with Jon Scieszka, Libba Bray, Paul Acampora, and Tommy Greenwald, moderated by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Youth Stoop, Borough Hall Plaza / Columbus Park, 10:00 am

The Phantom Tollbooth at 50: Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer in conversation with Leonard Marcus, St. Francis Auditorium, 180 Remsen St., tickets required, 12 noon

Epic Confusion: Readings and discussion with Nadia Kalman, Chuck Klosterman, and Sam Lipsyte, moderated by Tiphanie Yanique, St. Francis McArdle Hall, 180 Remsen St., 12 noon

Words of Personal: Readings by Jonathan Safran Foer, Joyce Carol Oates, and Nina Revoyr, followed by a Q&A moderated by Brigid Hughes, St. Francis Auditorium, 180 Remsen St., tickets required, 2:00

Gumshoes: Eoin Colfer and Walter Mosley, moderated by David L, Ulin, St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church, 157 Montague St., 3:00

Making Difficult Choices: Panel discussion with Cory Doctorow, Jacqueline Woodson, and Gayle Forman, moderated by Caragh O’Brien, Youth Stoop, Borough Hall Plaza / Columbus Park, 3:00

Comics Writ Large and Small: Panel discussion with Craig Thompson, Anders Nilsen, and Adrian Tomine, moderated by Meg Lemke, St. Francis Auditorium, 180 Remsen St., tickets required, 3:00

CATCH-22 at 50: Examining the classic novel with Tracy Daugherty, Bruce Jay Friedman, and Troupe, North Stage, Borough Hall Plaza / Columbus Park, 3:00

Where Are We? Panel discussion with Deborah Eisenberg, Fran Lebowitz, and Wallace Shawn, moderated by Harold Augenbraum, St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church, 157 Montague St., 4:00

Kickstarter Conversations: A Symposium on Creative Ideas with Ted Rall, Nelson George, and Meaghan O’Connell, moderated by Yancey Strickler, North Stage, Borough Hall Plaza / Columbus Park, 4:00