Photography Show of the Week
03.29.06
1. Art in and around Times Square and Port Authority
2. David Smith at the Guggenheim
4. Tickets for the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival
5. Plus Riff’s Rants & Raves, including
Amy Irving in A SAFE HARBOR FOR ELIZABETH BISHOP
Matthey Barney’s DRAWING RESTRAINT 9
Rian Johnson’s BRICK
Jeff Feuerzeig’s THE DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON
The Dalai Lama in TIBET: A BUDDHIST TRILOGY
Chris Robinson’s ATL
Craig Chester’s ADAM & STEVE
Jason Bateman’s LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN
Nicole Holofcener’s FRIENDS WITH MONEY
Charles Burns’s BLACK HOLE
and
Matisyahu at the Hammerstein Ballroom
Volume 5, Number 43
March 29 — April 12, 2006
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Site Design/Subway Photo:
Fred Gates Design, New York.
© Boubacar Touré Mandemory
Boubacar Touré Mandémory, "Couleurs de Pêche,"
from the series "Capitales Africaines," ca. 2000-2005
International Center of Photography
1133 Sixth Ave. at 43rd St.
Closed Mondays
Through May 28
Admission: $10
212-857-0000
http://www.icp.org/site/c.dnJGKJNsFqG/b.1432339/k.9484/Snap_Judgments.htm
Most exhibitions of African art focus on the continent’s battle against AIDS and poverty and the political struggle for freedom. Curator Okwui Enwezor has taken a different angle in this excellent exhibit that fills the galleries of ICP, featuring contemporary African photographers who turn their lenses on identity, helping define people and place in changing times. The extraordinary works from more than three dozen photographers begin with Kay Hassan’s repurposing of images taken for South African ID cards, immediately putting a unique face on the exhibit. In his "Lost Pictures," Allan deSouza takes family slides, allows them to be trampled on in the home (collecting hair, dust, and other minute objects), then digitally manipulates them into fabulous abstract pieces, including "Lechko" and "Fountain," in which people can sometimes only barely be seen. Yto Barrada’s "Life Full of Holes: The Strait Project" shows men, women, and children trying to find a decent life across the Moroccan border. Andrew Dosunmu’s fashion shots line a wall where his music videos for Tracy Chapman, Bob Marley, Isaac Hayes, Morcheeba, and others play. Zwelethu Mthethwa captures unsatisfied mine workers in South Africa. Tracey Rose reimagines biblical stories using body paint and unusual, controversial costumes. Boubacar Touré Mandémory’s "Capitales Africaines" series of portraits are lively and colorful, while Luis Basto’s posed shots of people in Mozambique are gritty and deeply personal. Hala Elkoussy’s large-scale "Peripheral Landscapes" uncover the controversial urbanization of Cairo.
© Allan deSouza, courtesy the artist and Talwar Gallery, NY
Allan deSouza, "Fountain," from the series "The Lost Pictures," 2004
Downstairs, Ali Chraibi’s "Modern Times" series looks at factory workers in the Casablanca suburbs. The Nigerian collective Depth of Field’s "Lagos Uptight" reveals the people of modern Lagos on four flat screens in color and black and white. Theo Eshetu’s three-screen DVD projection, TRIP TO MOUNT ZIQUALLA, follows a religious pilgrimage of Ethiopian Coptics that includes traditional sounds as well as music by Cypress Hill. Romuald Hazoumé’s "Kpayoland" zooms in on colorfully painted gas cans piled on the backs of bicycles. Fatou Kandé Senghor’s photos of the deserted Palais de Justice comment on the Senegalese justice system itself. Moshekwa Langa’s still lifes of individual household objects in South Africa face Michael Tsegaye’s "In and Out" shots of people in their carefully designed rooms in Addis Ababa. Guy Tillim allows his subjects to set the scene in his "Jo’burg" series. Randa Shaath’s "Rooftops of Cairo" show people living on crumbling rooftops as the world seemingly passes them by. Zohra Bensemra turns her camera on women in different roles in "The Algeria of Yesterday and Today." And Sada Tangara was only fourteen years old and homeless when he began "The Big Sleep," using a disposable camera to take photos of homeless children, some of them his friends, in Dakar. "Snap Judgments," in both its subject matter and its use of photographic technology, offers a unique, thrilling, and revelatory way of looking at a modern-day Africa caught up in tradition and transformation.
School of the International Center of Photography
1114 Sixth Ave. at 43rd St.
http://www.icp.org/site/c.dnJGKJNsFqG/b.886227/k.9EDD/Lectures_amp_Public_Programs.htm
Wednesday, March 29 The Photographers: Vik Muniz, A Primer, $15, 7:00
Friday, March 31 Slide Fest — The Personal, moderated by Susan Kleckner, $5, 7:00
Wednesday, April 5 The Photographers: Meridel Rubenstein, Photoworks, $15, 7:00
Wednesday, April 19 The World: Images of Transformation, with Chris Hondros, $5, 7:00
Wednesday, April 26 The World: Images of Transformation, with Gideon Mendel, $5, 7:00
Friday, April 28 Paging, Paging . . . panel discussion with Clarissa Sligh, Buzz Spector, and Philip Zimmermann, moderated by Ben Rinehart, free, 7:00
Wednesday, May 3 The World: Images of Transformation, with Spencer Platt, $5, 7:00
Monday, May 8 Slide Fest — The Personal, $3, 7:00
Wednesday, May 10 The Changing Landscape of Photojournalism, panel discussion with Pancho Bernasconi, Gigi Giannuzzi, Alison Morley, Tom Kennedy, Alfredo Jaar, Eugene Richards, and Ruth Fremson, moderated by Mary Panzer, $5, 7:00
Friday, May 12
and
Friday, May 19 Contemporary African Cinema: Film Screenings, $5, 7:00
Tuesday, May 16 An Evening with Arnold Newman & David Friend, $5, 7:00
Thursday, May 18 An Evening with Don McCullin & Robert Pledge, $5, 7:00
World Financial Center Courtyard Gallery
225 Vesey St.
Closed Monday
Admission: free
212-945-2600
http://www.worldfinancialcenter.com/calendar
Through April 15 Organized by the Museum for African Art
The Kitchen
West 19th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
April 7 — May 30
Closed Sunday and Monday
Admission: free
Friday, April 7
through
Tuesday, May 30 Photographs and film by Yto Barrada, one of the artists featured in "Snap Judgments" at ICP
Noble Borders
2008 Times Square Station
Admission: free
Saturday, April 1 Karl Rove, THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, reading, signing, and open Q&A, refreshments will be served, 7:00
twi-ny/mdr
Globes line the Crossroads of the World
Times Square Tower
7 Times Square between 41st & 42nd Sts. and Broadway & Seventh Ave.
http://www.timessquarenyc.org/design/index.html
As part of the 2005 Design Times Square competition to encourage businesses to beautify the area, Boston Properties and Fogarty Finger Architects installed two dozens sandblasted bronze globes circling the plaza surrounding Times Square Tower, providing protection and security to the people in Times Square as well as the companies based in the forty-seven-floor skyscraper at the Crossroads of the World. The orbs follow the path of the sun’s shadow over the course of a day; interspersed among them are concrete sundials.
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Port Authority Bus Terminal
Northwest corner of 40th St. & Eighth Ave.
http://www.tvland.com/landmarks/ralphmain.jhtml
New York’s most famous dus briver, Ralph Kramden, is honored with this six-and-a-half-foot statue that stands in front of the Port Authority Bus Terminal near the corner of 40th St. & Eighth Ave. His right hand carrying his lunchbox, his left hand adjusting his collar, Kramden wears a big smile as he leaves the bus station, on his way home to his beloved Alice. The sculpture, which identifies Kramden as "Bus Driver," "Raccoon Lodge Treasurer," and "Dreamer," was designed by Robert DuGrenier and Lawrence Nowlan Jr.; DuGrenier also designed the MTV Movie Awards popcorn statuette. Erected by TVLand to promote THE HONEYMOONERS on its network schedule, the Ralph Kramden statue is part of TV Land Landmarks, which include statues of Bob Newhart as Bob Hartley in Chicago (THE BOB NEWHART SHOW), Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha in Salem (BEWITCHED), Andy Griffith as Sheriff Andy Taylor in Raleigh (THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW), and Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards in Minneapolis (THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW). The Bushwick-born Gleason (1916-87) played Kramden first on CAVALCADE OF STARS in 1951, then on THE JACKIE GLEASON SHOW in 1952, and finally for thirty-nine episodes on THE HONEYMOONERS in 1955-56, with Audrey Meadows as Alice Kramden, Art Carney as Ed Norton, and Joyce Randolph as Trixie Norton.
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George Segal’s trio of travelers are stuck in time
Port Authority Bus Terminal
New Jersey Transit Ticket Booths
After passing by Ralph Kramden, head into Port Authority, walking straight ahead till you reach the New Jersey Transit ticketing area. Here George Segal (1924-2000) set up "The Commuters," which always makes us slow down and take a deep breath. Cast in bronze with white patina, three people are about to go through an open doorway. The trio of frozen, ghostly figures stands in stark contrast to the swirl of rushing commuters and glowing signs that usually surround them, as if trapped in a moment of time. Their eyes are closed, oblivious to everyone else, just like most of the commuters who make their way through this very busy promenade. If you get up close, you can see that they’re deteriorating somewhat; you can also get an idea of how they are plastered. Segal also sculpted the "Gay Liberation Monument" in Christopher Park in the West Village.
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Marine life swims through Port Authority tunnel
Port Authority Bus Terminal
41st St. between Eighth & Ninth Aves.
Admission: free
Running the length of the south wall in the tunnel where the Jersey buses line up, this enormous environmental mural was designed by master marine artist extraordinaire Wyland. Citing such influences as Jacques Cousteau and Salvador Dali, the one-named Wyland has been painting marine life for decades. Four hundred feet long and twenty feet high, the 1993 installation at Port Authority, dedicated to wildlife expert Jim Fowler (from WILD KINGDOM fame), is an underwater wonderland of whales, dolphins, and other fish, making their way across the brick wall. There are more than seven dozen Whaling Wall murals around the globe. "I decided after I finished the first mural that I would complete one hundred walls throughout the world by the year 2011 to raise public awareness not only for the great whales but for all life in the sea," Wyland explains on his Web site. He’s got sixteen more to go in the next five years.
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Rolling ball machine sits quietly in Port Authority
Port Authority Bus Terminal
Admission: free
Continuing west inside Port Authority, you’ll next come upon George Rhoads’s audiokinetic sculpture "Magic Clock — Cermak." This commissioned rolling ball machine is a Rube Goldberg-type contraption in yellow, red, and powder blue, with bells, pipes, chimes, gears, and other moving gizmos that are meant to help propel silver balls, although we haven’t seen it work in quite some time. Curiously, there’s also a spray can in the case. Rhoads, who is also a painter and an origami master, has pieces in airports, bus stations, hospitals, department stores, and even baseball stadiums around the world, including another machine in the north corridor of Port Authority.
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Sheila Bernard’s doors are about to close
Port Authority Bus Terminal
Through March 31
Admission: free
Just to the left of George Rhoads’s "Magic Clock" is a narrow, glassed-in gallery that holds a few dozen photographs by Sheila Bernard, who honed her craft at nearby ICP. You have only a few more days to see this very cool collection of photos of old, shuttered doors on balconies, a close-up of a wooden door with a lock and handle, decrepit entryways, and windows with reflected images that make them look like framed works of art (within framed works of art). In the center, five smaller emulsion lifts hang together, each one abstracted somewhat and mounted on torn paper. You’ll want to reach out for the photo of a doorknob, wondering what lies behind the wall.
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Otterness creatures play around in Times Square
Hilton Times Square
West 41st St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
Admission: free
212-840-8222
http://www.marlboroughgallery.com/artists/otterness/artwork.html
Kansas-born New York City-based artist Tom Otterness has created a cast of playful bronze characters that can be found all over the city as well as throughout the country and in Europe. In 2004, he installed "Life Underground" in the 14th St. subway (A/C/E/L lines), and last year his figures lined the Broadway mall. In 2000, Otterness was commissioned to add some of his motley crew to the Hilton Times Square; avoid the masses on 42nd St. and instead check out the hotel’s southern entrance, where Otterness’s little people are busy at work, unbothered by curious onlookers and crazed crowds. Creatures in funny hats dangle over the horizontal clock, a Buddha-like being sits and meditates, and two large policemen hold up the metal beam, surrounded by coinage. Atop the vertical timepiece, a happy couple dances. Meanwhile, "Male Tourist" and "Female Tourist" look up at the clock from below, the man holding tight to their luggage, the woman taking a picture with her giant camera.
twi-ny/mdr
Gilbert Hsiao, "Topspin"
Hunter College / Times Square Gallery
450 West 41st St. between Ninth & Tenth Aves.
Tuesday — Saturday 1:00 — 6:00
Through April 15
Admission: free
212-772-4991
http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/~art/galleries.html
http://www.minusspace.com/#artists
This vast, twelve-thousand-square-foot space is currently home to the work of sixteen artists who investigate form and color to involve the viewer in unique, mysterious, confounding, annoying, boring, and entertaining ways. Curated by Hunter College Associate Professor of Art Gabriele Evertz, the exhibition opens with Rossana Martinez’s "Glow," a room spray-painted with wavy horizontal orange lines; be sure to take home one of the cards in the center, each one signed by Martinez. Matthew Deleget’s "Case Studies" concentrate on single-colored squares jumping out of painted canvases, with such titles as "Devil," "Infidel," "Heathen," and "Villain." Don Voisine uses colored borders around black rectangles to redefine the language of space in his untitled oils on wood that evoke windows opening into darkness. Lynne Harlow’s sculptural plexiglass installation "Unexplained Fires" burns bright yellow, nearly hidden away in a corner. Visual artist Gilbert Hsiao plays with perception in such acrylic-on-canvas optical illusions as "Topspin," "Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy," and "Reconciliation." Steve Karlik’s "Desio II" literally jumps out of the wall, as if a warning. Mike Stack experiments with density of color and form in such purple-stripped canvases as "Sand and Fog." Charlotte Nicholson’s four "Snow Blind" yellow and white pieces will temporarily blind you. And Changha Hwang’s remarkable multicolored canvases are filled with what appear to be carefully designed architectural grids, computer imagery, and geometric patters but are actually improvised pieces that will overwhelm you as they draw you in.
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David Smith, "Cubi I," 1963
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Ave. at 89th St.
Through May 14
Closed Thursday
Admission: $18 adults; children under twelve free
Pay What You Wish Fridays 5:45 — 7:45: $6 suggested donation
212-423-3500
http://www.guggenheim.org/smith/index.html
http://www.davidsmithestate.org
The Guggenheim celebrates the hundredth anniversary of David Smith’s birth with this exciting exhibition that follows the innovative career of the master sculptor chronologically, from his early, small pieces to his monumental burnished structures. Utilizing his skills learned from his study of painting at the Art Students League and his experience as an assembly-line welder, Smith essentially painted and drew in three dimensions, creating elaborate, iconic installations that breathe with life. The rotunda includes three of his most famous pieces, with "Cubi I" spiraling upward at the center, "Australia" at the base of the twisting passage, and the flat, beautiful "Hudson River Landscape" by the audio tour headsets. Two display cases contain Smith’s miniature reclining figures and experimental constructions. The red, twisted "Agricola Head" sits on the lower railing nearby "Saw Head," which turns a circular saw blade into a face. Nine narrow, vertical varnished steel pieces rise like a forest in their own room. The gorgeous "Interior for Exterior" luxuriates in its open space. Although most of the works are nonrepresentational, mixing Cubism, Abstract Expressionism, and Surrealism, "Leda" is absolutely swanlike, "Sculptor and Model" are precisely that, fighting poultry emerge from the violent "Cockfight — Variation," and faceless eyes focus on the dancers in "Boaz Dancing School." The symbol-laden "Home of the Welder" features what appears to be a pregnant woman among the tools of the trade, hearkening to the artist’s giving birth to new creations. Birth also awaits in the middle of "Royal Incubator" while a (storklike?) bird hovers above. "Jurassic Bird" seemingly flies through the air. A stunning line guides you over the polished female figure in "Cloistral Landscape."
Photo by David Smith
David Smith, "Home of the Welder," 1945,
© 2006 The Estate of David Smith/Licensed by VAGA, New York
"Helmholtzian Landscape" is one of Smith’s most colorful works. The astronomical "Star Cage" is the best solar system model you never made as a kid. As the Nazis stormed through Europe, Smith made "Medals for Dishonor," a series of antiwar cast bronze medallions filled with iconic images of death and destruction; "Munition Makers" is covered with skeletons, and a bomb pierces through a baby while the Earth Mother surveys a torn-apart land in "Bombing Civilian Populations." "Structure of a Small Concept Possessing a Big Power" is extremely well titled. The appropriately olive-toned "24 Greek Y’s" is like an exquisite candelabra. "The Letter" is unlike any font we’ve ever seen, an ode to Smith’s unique language. Check out the red heart in the middle of "Fish." A room containing four of Smith’s burnished stainless-steel "Cubis" is like a playroom filled with giant blocks for adults. Don’t miss the base of "Sentinel I," a very different kind of fork in the road. "History of LeRoy Borton" is awash in a fiery rust red. "Tanktotem III" takes the form of a three-legged woman. In "Voltri XII," five melancholy figures line up on a two-wheeled chariot made of machine parts. "Voltri VIII" impossibly folds into itself. And "Volton XVIII" is like an enormous artist’s palette crafted out of metal. Smith was undergoing a remarkable burst of creativity when he died in a car accident in 1965, at the age of fifty-nine. This marvelous retrospective, which also includes Smith’s drawings and sketchbooks, is a fitting tribute to the master sculptor.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Free with museum admission unless otherwise noted
212-423-3587
http://www.guggenheim.org/education/index.html
Daily Tours David Smith and Personage, 12 noon & 2:00
Daily Tours David Smith and Process, 1:00 & 3:00
Friday, March 31 An Educator’s Eye, with Rebecca Shulman Herz, 2:00
Tuesday, April 4 "Do You See What I See?" panel discussion with Joel Shapiro, John Newman, Carmen Gimenéz, and Rebecca Smith, moderated by Ann Reynolds, $10, 7:30
Tuesday, April 11 SuperCinema: Scale, with John G. Hanhardt, $10, 6:30
Friday, April 14 An Educator’s Eye, with Rebecca Shulman Herz, 2:00
Friday, April 21 See a Masterpiece at Lunchtime, featuring two pieces performed by the Martha Graham Dance Company, Peter B. Lewis Theater, 12:30
Friday, April 21 An Educator’s Eye, with Rosanna Flouty, 2:00
Saturday, April 22 PhotoShop Sculpture, class taught by Rosanna Flouty, for children seven to thirteen, $20 adult with child, $15 each additional child, registration required at 212-23-3587, 2:00
Tuesday, April 25 Interior Landscapes, panel discussion with David Anfam, Janet Eilber, Mark Franko, and Candida Smith, moderated by Deborah Jowitt, $10, 6:30
Friday, April 28 A Curatorial Eye, 2:00
Wednesday, May 10 Anne Wagner, Home and Away: David Smith’s Domestic Vision, $10, 6:30
Tuesday, May 16 SuperCinema: Sound and Music, with John G. Hanhardt, $10, 6:30
92nd Street Y
1395 Lexington Ave. at 92nd St.
Full-day package: $59, address only $25
212-415-5500
http://www.92y.org/shop/event_detail.asp?productid=T%2DHL5WH01
Sunday, April 2 Opening Keynote Address: Gail Sheehy, Pursuing the Passionate Life, 9:15 am; events through 5:00
92nd St. Y
1395 Lexington Ave. at 92nd St.
Mondays at 8:00 pm unless otherwise noted
Tickets: $16 unless otherwise noted
212-415-5500
http://www.92ndsty.org/calendar/calendar.asp
Sunday, April 2 Sunday at Three…Dance Previews -- Natural Order: Peter Sciscioli and Dancers, $10, 3:00
Monday, April 3 Reading Series — Samuel Beckett at 100: Three Plays, $17, 8:00
Tuesday, April 4
and
Wednesday, April 5 Chamber Music at the Y: Nathaniel Webster, baritone, $35, 8:00
Friday, April 7 Fridays at Noon: Tanya Calamoneri, Ellen Cornfield, Hilary Easton + Company, free, Buttenwieser Hall, 12 noon
Saturday, April 8
and
Sunday, April 9 Harnick: Collector’s Items (Other People’s Lyrics), hosted by Sheldon Harnick, $45-$55, 8:00
Monday, April 3 Reading Series: Henri Cole and Carl Phillips, $17, 8:00
Monday, April 17 Reading Series: Wole Soyinka, $17, 8:00
Thursday, April 20 Reading Series: Kathryn Davis & Sigrid Nunez, $17, 8:00
Friday, April 21 Fridays at Noon: the Martha Graham Dance Company, free, Buttenweiser Hall, 12 noon
BULLET BALLET dances into the Japan Society on April 10 & 16
Japan Society
333 E. 47th St. at First Ave.
April 6-16
Tickets: $10 unless otherwise noted
212-832-1155
http://www.japansociety.org/events/series.cfm?id_series=1694866756
The Japan Society celebrates independent-minded rebels — both behind the camera and on-screen — in this outstanding collection of old and new films that are rarely shown in the United States.
Thursday, April 6 MAISON DE HIMIKO (MEZON DO HIMIKO) (Isshin Inudo, 2005), introduced by the director and the producer, followed by a reception, $15, 7:30
Friday, April 7 WILD BERRIES (HEBIICHIGO) (Miwa Nishikawa, 2003), 6:15
Friday, April 7 DOWN THE DRAIN (HADASHI NO PIKUNIKU) (Shinobu Yaguchi, 1993), 8:30
Saturday, April 8 KAZA-HANA (Shinji Somai, 2001), 4:00
Saturday, April 8 CANARY (KANARIA) (Akihiko Shiota, 2004), 6:30
Sunday, April 9 YAKUZA GRAVEYARD (YAKUZA NO HAKABA KUCHINASHI NO HANA) (Kinji Fukasuku, 1976), 4:00
Sunday, April 9 RIKIDOZAN: A HERO EXTRAORDINARY (RIKIDOZAN) (Hae-sung Seong, 2004), 6:00
Monday, April 10 THE OWL (FUKURO) (Kaneto Shindo, 2004), 6:15
Monday, April 10 BULLET BALLET (Shinya Tsukamoto, 1998), 8:45
Tuesday, April 11 PREPARATIONS FOR THE FESTIVAL (MATSURI NO JUNBI) (Kazuo Kuroki, 1975), 6:15
Tuesday, April 11 KAZA-HANA (Shinji Somai, 2001), 8:45
Wednesday, April 12 MAISON DE HIMIKO (MEZON DO HIMIKO) (Isshin Inudo, 2005), 6:15
Thursday, April 13 CANARY (KANARIA) (Akihiko Shiota, 2004), 6:15
Thursday, April 13 WILD BERRIES (HEBIICHIGO) (Miwa Nishikawa, 2003), 9:00
Friday, April 14 BELIEVE (Ken’ichi Oguri, 2005), 6:15
Friday, April 14 PREPARATIONS FOR THE FESTIVAL (MATSURI NO JUNBI) (Kazuo Kuroki, 1975), 8:30
Saturday, April 15 THE OWL (FUKURO) (Kaneto Shindo, 2004), 4:00
Saturday, April 15 YAKUZA GRAVEYARD (YAKUZA NO HAKABA KUCHINASHI NO HANA) (Kinji Fukasuku, 1976), 6:30
Sunday, April 16 RIKIDOZAN: A HERO EXTRAORDINARY (RIKIDOZAN) (Hae-sung Seong, 2004), 4:00
Sunday, April 16 BULLET BALLET (Shinya Tsukamoto, 1998), 6:45
twi-ny/mdr
Holocaust wall remembers the Warsaw ghetto
Forty-seventh St. between First & Second Aves.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/html/99b/pr322-99.html
There are a myriad of cool things to check out around the Japan Society. First, stop at the sculpture on the First Ave. median. "Hope" is made up of five marble monoliths and a bronze briefcase donated by Hungary and dedicated to Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish World War II savior of 100,000 Jews; Wallenberg has been missing since his arrest by the Russians in January 1945. Next continue west through the renovated Dag Hammarskjøld Plaza. On your left is the Holocaust wall of the Lucille & Martin Kantor Foundation. Designed by A. Blazas, the wall is made up of fascinating sculptures detailing the seven stages of the Holocaust in the Warsaw ghetto; the marble counter describes each of the stages. To your immediate right is the Katharine Hepburn Garden, dedicated in 1997 to the former Turtle Bay resident who lived in the area for some six decades. Walk through the garden of evergreen shrubs and trees with an eye to the ground, as every so often a quote from Ms. Hepburn will appear on the paving stones. The garden also includes two cast-iron fountains. When you get to Second Ave., look over your shoulder; the UN statue of St. George appears to be slaying the evil Long Island City Pepsi-Cola dragon.
Quad Anthology Forum
310 First Ave. at Five Corners St.
Admission: free
Saturday, April 1 GRAVITY’S RAINBOW (Oliver Stone, 2006), followed by a discussion with Thomas Pynchon, 8:00
People can’t wait to battle the crowds at the 2006 TFF
April 25 — May 7
Tickets: $12
Tribeca Talks: $20
212-321-7400
http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org
Single tickets for the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival go on sale later this month, for more than 250 films. Keep watching twi-ny.com for updates on the Tribeca Talks Panel Series, the Family Festival, and our recommendations from this year’s crop. Among the things we’re looking forward to are John Malkovich as Stanley Kubrick in COLOUR ME KUBRICK, Guy Pearce in FIRST SNOW, Sigourney Weaver in SNOW CAKE and THE TV SET, THE ARCHITECT with Anthony LaPaglia and Isabella Rossellini, Isabelle Huppert in Claude Chabrol’s COMEDY OF POWER, Laura Linney in DRIVING LESSONS, Laurence Fishburne and Ryan Phillippe in FIVE FINGERS, Edward Burns’s THE GROOMSMEN, Jeff Garlin’s I WANT SOMEONE TO EAT CHEESE WITH, Rosie Perez in JUST LIKE THE SON, Chris Marker’s THE CASE OF THE GRINNING CAT, Matthew Modine and Gina Gershon in KETTLE OF FISH, Ralph Fiennes in LAND OF THE BLIND, Ray Liotta in COMEBACK SEASON and LOCAL COLOR, Richard E. Grant’s WAH-WAH, John Travolta and Salma Hayek in LONELY HEARTS, Jeff Goldblum in MINI’S FIRST TIME and PITTSBURGH, and Guy Maddin’s MY DAD IS 100 YEARS OLD, as well as documentaries about the Pixies, Al Franken, Frank Gehry, Dorothy Day, Toots Shorr, Nam June Paik, the Wu-Tang Clan, Will Shortz, Robert Frank, HEDWIG, Jack Smith, the Gates, Jonestown, the New York Cosmos, and Golden Gate Bridge suicides. This year’s panel discussions include T-Bone Burnett, Harold Ramis (Toga, Toga, Toga! What the Industry Learned at Faber College), Steven Soderbergh (Downloading at a Screen Near You), Rosie Perez and Mia Maestro (Adalante Mujeres: Latina Women at the Helm), and Michael McKean, Lewis Lapham, Jeff Goldblum, and Bob Balaban (Professional Amateurs: Mocking the Truth). (Above: scene from DEAR FATHER, QUIET, WE’RE SHOOTING…)
Available Now Special festival passes, including the Family Film Pass ($60 adults, $30 children fourteen and under), the Daytimer Pass ($150), and the Hudson Pass ($1,000)
Saturday, April 8 Single tickets available for American Express Cardmembers
Friday, April 14 Single tickets available to general public
James Leynse
Amy Irving stars as Elizabeth Bishop in new play
Primary Stages
59E59
59 East 59th St. between Madison & Park Aves.
Through April 30
Tickets: $60
212-279-4200
http://www.primarystages.com/safeharbor.htm
During a brief stopover in Brazil in the early 1950s, poet Elizabeth Bishop fell in love with the country — and architect Lota de Macedo Soares. Their nearly twenty-year relationship and the impact it had on Bishop’s work are the subjects of a new one-woman play, A SAFE HARBOR FOR ELIZABETH BISHOP, at Primary Stages. Amy Irving, who was formerly married to Brazilian film director Bruno Barreto and still maintains a home in the South American nation, saw the Portuguese version of Góes’s hit play and instantly decided to bring it to the States, where it was first tested at Vassar’s Powerhouse Theater a few years ago. (It was at Vassar, in 1934, that Bishop met Marianne Moore, who convinced her to write instead of going to Cornell Medical School.) Irving is splendid as Bishop, alternately addressing the audience about her life, carrying on conversations with the unseen Lota, or reciting Bishop’s poetry under a warm red light. A revolving stage changes scenes from bedrooms in Petrópolis to Boston Harbor, from a workroom with a typewriter and a bottle of booze to beautiful Brazilian waterfalls. Many of the photographs that are projected onto the stage were actually taken by Bishop; Góes herself, as a child, lived near Bishop and Lota, lending yet more legitimacy to the story. Directed by Richard Jay-Alexander (the assistant stage manager for AMADEUS when Irving starred in the Broadway production), A SAFE HARBOR is casual, intimate, and evenly paced — there are no purely theatrical moments of epiphany or tragic twists that overwhelm the audience, despite Bishop’s rather tumultuous life. That both helps and hinders the play, but it seems to match Bishop’s way of dealing with what could be a cruel world. Many of the scenes are short — too short — yet at only eighty minutes, the play feels the right length. A SAFE HARBOR is not stirring theater, yet it is a compelling, private look at a brave woman who was unafraid to take chances in uncertain times.
Matthew Barney’s latest is confounding and compelling
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at Waverly Pl.
Opens Wednesday, March 29, with Matthew Barney present at 6:40 & 9:30 screenings on 3/29
Tickets: $10.75
212-924-7771
http://www.drawingrestraint.net
In our review of Matthew Barney’s expansive "Cremaster Cycle" retrospective at the Guggenheim in 2003, we wrote, "We have no idea what any of it means, but we love it." We feel sort of the same way about his latest film, DRAWING RESTRAINT 9, although we don’t quite love it, but we do get a little more of what it’s getting at. Barney’s two hour, fifteen minute, evenly paced avant-garde exploration is set aboard an actual Japanese whaling vessel. One at a time, a pair of "occidental guests" (Barney and his wife, Björk) are brought onto the ship and make their way down narrow hallways to separate rooms, where they are taken care of in fascinating yet confounding ways. Meanwhile, the crew is hard at work on deck creating a bizarre, carefully designed pool of oozy liquid that could be ambergris but looks more like tofu. (As the Guggenheim exhibit showed, Barney has a thing for oozy liquid, especially petroleum jelly.) There’s also a marching band with animals, a very strange tea ceremony (with virtually the only dialogue in the movie), cool repeated patterns and designs (in architecture, rocks, and flags), a ridiculous headpiece on Barney, some gorgeous shots of the setting sun, the best wrapping ever captured on celluloid, a Kubrickian monolithic sea stone that looks like a giant turd, and a stunning soundtrack by Björk, with help from Mayumi Miyata playing the sho, Leila digitally manipulating sounds on her computer, and Will Oldham singing lines from a letter a Japanese woman wrote to General MacArthur after he lifted the whaling moratorium. Although we can’t imagine who the audience is for this rather different kind of film — which actually keeps growing on us the more we think about it — it is an aesthetic treat for those adventurous enough to open their mind and take a chance on an unusual yet rewarding experience. Just don’t blame us if you can’t stand a minute of it, which is very possible. (In a related event, CREMASTER 4 and CREMASTER 5 will be screening at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema at midnight on April 7 and 8.)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt shines in teen noir BRICK
Angelika Film Center
18 West Houston St. at Mercer St.
Opens Friday, March 31
Tickets: $10.75
212-995-2000
http://www.city-cinemas.com/angelika.html
Rian Johnson’s directorial debut is an outrageously entertaining low-budget teen noir shot in a mere twenty days in and around his hometown of San Clemente, California. THIRD ROCK FROM THE SUN’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Brendan, a high school loner who speaks in dialogue torn from the pages of Hammett and Chandler, mixed in with a little Jim Rockford and the Coen brothers. The bespectacled Brendan pines for his ex-girlfriend, Emily (LOST’s Emilie de Ravin), whose mysterious exploits get him mixed up with some pretty strange characters, including Dode (Noah Segan), a neo-punk who hangs out by parking-lot Dumpsters; Tugger (Noah Fleiss), the fast-driving muscle for the local drug dealer; Kara (Meagan Good), the classic femme fatale; Brad (Brian White), the tough-talking but not very smart jock; Assistant Vice President Trueman (SHAFT’s Richard Roundtree), who is willing to bend the rules only so far; and the Pin (Lukas Haas), the goth drug kingpin who holds meetings in his kitchen while his mother (Reedy Gibbs) serves milk and cookies. And like every good detective, Brendan, who doesn’t seem to mind taking hard shots to the face, has his sidekick, the Brain (Matt O’Leary), who helps him navigate through the complex plot. But this is no mere parody or BUGSY SIEGEL wannabe; BRICK might be set in high school, but the stakes are much higher, which Johnson lets us know from the very beginning, as Brendan stands over a dead body. Winner of the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the Sundance Film Festival, BRICK, financed primarily by Johnson’s relatives, is an indie delight.
© Complex Corp.
Daniel Johnston rehearses in his crowded room
Landmark Sunshine Cinema
143 East Houston St. between First & Second Aves.
Opens Friday, March 31
Tickets: $10.75
212-330-8182
http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/NewYork/NewYork_frameset.htm
http://www.sonyclassics.com/devilanddaniel
Jeff Feuerzeig’s THE DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON is a sad portrait of fame and folly. The mesmerizing documentary examines the life and career of Daniel Johnston, an outsider artist and musician who has a ravenous underground following. From the time he was a kid, Johnston was obsessed with recording his existence, making deeply personal audiocassettes and inventive Super-8 films, many of which Feuerzeig includes here, revealing Johnston’s curious, unique past. In the mid-1980s, Johnston recorded a pair of homemade tapes, SONGS OF PAIN and MORE SONGS OF PAIN, that detailed his unrequited love for an acquaintance of his named Laurie. His music quickly developed a cult audience, landing him on MTV and at the prestigious SXSW festival while gaining such fans as Kurt Cobain, Matt Groening, Sonic Youth, and the Butthole Surfers. All the while, he created comic-book-style paintings and drawings that began to be shown in galleries. But as Feuerzeig’s amazing mix of archival footage, home movies, and new interviews reveals, Johnston is also a manic depressive with severe mental problems who cannot survive on his own. Now in his mid-forties, he still lives with his Christian fundamentalist parents, seemingly as childlike as ever, unable to understand the realities of his situation. While many people consider him a genius — at the beginning of the film, he is introduced at a live gig as the greatest songwriter in the world, and his art is part of the current Whitney Biennial — it’s also easy to think that he’s being celebrated for all the wrong reasons and that this worship is doing him — and us — more harm than good. Favorite scene: Butthole Surfer Gibby Haynes talking about Johnston while sitting in a dentist’s chair getting his teeth drilled.
Some of Daniel Johnston’s art is on view in Chelsea
Clementine Gallery
623 West 27th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Admission: free
212-243-5937
http://www.clementine-gallery.com/clementinemain.html
Through April 15 We know what we think of Daniel Johnston’s art, which is also included in the Whitney Biennial; you can make your own decisions at this Chelsea gallery show
A captivating cremation ceremony in third part of Tibet trilogy
Quad Cinema
34 West 13th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Opens Friday, March 31
Tickets: $9.50
http://www.tibetantrilogy.org.uk/uk/index.html
In 1979, when TIBET: A BUDDHIST TRILOGY was first released, not much was known about the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhists. Since then, the Dalai Lama has become a more familiar public figure (he’ll be at the Beacon Theater September 23-25 teaching about "The Blade Wheel of Mind Transformation"), and more of the world recognizes China’s invasion of Tibet in 1959, which forced the Dalai Lama and his people into exile, and the continuing oppression of Tibetan culture by the Chinese. The first part of the film, "The Dalai Lama, the Monasteries and the People," follows the leader, also known as Tenzin Gyatso, as he blesses his community, prays, and talks about how best to deal with the future, stressing human kindness and compassion for all sentient beings, including their so-called enemies. There are also engaging scenes of monks debating such concepts as stealing and the nature of being. Part II, which was shown separately from the other two sections back in 1979, goes inside monastic life. In "Radiating the Fruit of Truth," director Graham Coleman is given extraordinary access as the lamas of the Phulwary Sakya Monastery in Nepal perform the ritual "A Beautiful Ornament," which includes the building of a colorful cosmogram and the playing of unique instruments, all in worship of the female deity Tara. Part III, and the most powerful, is "The Fields of the Senses," detailing the cremation ceremony of a village elder in Ladakh, with contemplations of life, death, and existence. Much of TIBET: A BUDDHIST TRILOGY features gentle narration or subtitled explanations of what is happening onscreen, not always direct translations of what is being heard. Themes such as compassion, goodness, delusion, attachment, sentience, mind and body, form and emptiness, and impermanence are continually contemplated, with Coleman’s camera matching the slow, easy pace of the Buddhist rituals. This ethnographic study of the Tibetan people, complete with fascinating iconography and, thankfully, no talking heads, has been digitally restored and reedited into a single, 134-minute marvel. It’s almost impossible to watch A BUDDHIST TRILOGY and not come away reconsidering your own impermanence.
Rapper T.I. Harris looks concerned for his future as an actor
Regal Union Square Stadium 14
850 Broadway at 13th St.
Regal Battery Park Stadium
102 North End Ave.
Opens Friday, March 31
Tickets: $10.75
212-253-6266
http://www2.warnerbros.com/atl
Loosely based on the real-life experiences of TLC’s Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and music producer / film composer Dallas Austin, ATL is a silly , derivative, cliché-ridden drama of teenagers growing up on the wrong side of the tracks in urban Atlanta. Rapper T.I. stars as Rashad, a cool cat who spends Sunday nights — we kid you not — roller skating with his crew: younger brother Ant (Evan Ross, son of Diana), who is enticed by fancy cars and drug money; Esquire (Jackie Long), who needs a letter of recommendation to get accepted to an Ivy League school; Teddy (Jason Weaver), who works at Eddy’s Gold Teeth; and Brooklyn (Al Be Daniels from DEF POETRY JAM), a gentle giant who can’t hold down a fast-food job. Among the myriad stereotypes are John Garnett (Keith David), a wealthy black man unwilling to admit his ghetto past; Uncle George (Mykelti Williamson), a janitor who ends up being a wise philosopher; New-New (Lauren London), a street-talking hottie who likes Rashad but has a deep, dark secret; and Marcus (OutKast’s Big Boi), the local drug dealer who likes to start them young. Directed by music video veteran Chris Robinson, ATL has a good heart and good music, but T.I.’s acting is wooden, the story line is obvious, and the roller-skating scenes — well, the word "ludicrous" comes to mind. (Ludacris himself raps the opening number, with help from Ray Charles.) The story is credited to Antwone Fisher, who wrote the sleeper hit ANTWONE FISHER (Denzel Washington, 2002), based on his own life.
Quad Cinema
34 West 13th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Clearview Chelsea
260 West 23rd St.
Opens Friday, March 31
http://www.adamandstevemovie.com
Craig Chester’s film-festival veteran, ADAM & STEVE, is a jaw-droppingly inept romantic comedy about two men who are supposedly meant to be together, although it’s impossible to tell why from this malodorous mess. Indie actor Chester (SWOON, I SHOT ANDY WARHOL, THE ANNIVERSARY PARTY) wrote, directed, and stars in the film as Adam Bernstein, a Long Island Jew with a cursed family. As a goth teen in 1987, he goes to Danceteria with his fat, disgusting best friend, Rhonda (Parker Posey) and immediately falls for Steve Hicks (Malcolm Gets), a Dazzle Dancer with big hair and lots of coke. But just as they’re about to get in bed together, Steve can’t stop himself from, well, let’s just say he loses control of his bowels, forcing Adam to lose control of his lunch. (The woman sitting next to us lost control of her patience, as she got up and walked out right then and there.) Seventeen years later, Adam is a birding guide in Central Park, Steve is a psychiatrist, and Rhonda is a woefully unfunny stand-up comic who insists on still doing fat jokes even though she’s now thin as a rail. As Adam and Steve start dating — including participating in some gay cowboy dancing that would make Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal shudder — they have no idea that they were the ones who met back on that crazy day in 1987 that changed each of their lives forever. Chester attempts to mix broad comedy with tender moments, spoofing numerous genres while trying to create a poignant love story — and even playing the 9/11 card — but too many of the scenes come off like TV skits gone wrong. (In fact, SNL’s Chris Kattan is on board, playing Steve’s slimy roommate.) We added half a star because some of the sight gags involving Adam’s family (father Paul Sand, mother Julie Hagerty, sister Kristen Schaal) actually made us laugh intermittently.
Lucy Liu and Josh Hartnett team up in SLEVIN
Opens Friday, April 7
http://www.capitolfilms.com/cgi-bin/buildpage.pl?page='263'
Poor Slevin (Josh Hartnett). He shows up in New York City to visit his friend Nick Fisher and instead finds himself in one big, dangerous mess. First he gets mugged on the street. Then he gets mistaken for his childhood friend, who owes some very powerful people a whole lotta money. And his only way out seems to be to do some dirty little favors for the Boss (Morgan Freeman) and the Rabbi (Sir Ben Kingsley), two rival gang leaders hidden away across the street from each other in their well-protected, fortresslike ivory towers in the Village. Thrown into the mix is loopy neighbor Lindsey (Lucy Liu, who will annoy the hell out of you at the start but whom you’ll eventually warm up to), professional hit man Mr. Goodkat (Bruce Willis), and determined detective Brikowski (Stanley Tucci). Written by first-time screenwriter Jason Smilovic (KAREN SISCO), who uses way too many silly TV and movie references, and directed with style by Paul McGuigan (GANGSTER NO. 1), LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN is a very clever caper film that throws in an unfair red herring or two — and has one completely manipulative moment that nearly blows the whole deal — but has enough cool twists and turns to keep you guessing through the awesome conclusion. Shot in Toronto and New York and also featuring bits by Danny Aiello and Robert Forster, the oddly named LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN is a two-and-a-half-star movie with a four-star ending.
Aniston, Keener, and Cusack contemplate their lives in MONEY
Opens Friday, April 7
http://www.sonyclassics.com/friendswithmoney
Nicole Holofcener’s third film, following 1996’s WALKING AND TALKING and 2002’s LOVELY AND AMAZING, both indie faves, is a very adult look at life, love, and loot in Los Angeles as four friends try to figure out where they are — and where they’re going. Christine (Catherine Keener) is working on a screenplay with her husband, David (Jason Isaacs), and building an extension to their house, but they have stopped connecting. Jane (Frances McDormand) is a successful clothing designer who starts having ugly public outbursts and whose husband, Aaron (Simon McBurney), might be gay. Franny (Joan Cusack) is ultrarich, donating two million dollars to one of her children’s schools more or less on a whim, and has a wonderful relationship with her caring husband, Matt (Greg Germann). And the youngest of the quartet, Olivia (Jennifer Aniston), is a misguided pothead working as a maid who calls her married ex-lover every night just to hear his voice, then hangs up. In all three of her films, Holofcener has shown she can write with a deft touch, creating unique situations dealt with intelligently; unfortunately, in this case, there isn’t a likable major character in the movie, so while you’ll respect what she’s trying to do, you really won’t care all that much. Of course, we’re not women in our mid-forties reexamining the state of our being, so some of you might find FRIENDS WITH MONEY a lot more relevant and entertaining than we did. However, you’ll all love Rickie Lee Jones’s original music.
In theaters now
Spike Lee goes for the big time with this studio heist film that wants to be DOG DAY AFTERNOON (Sidney Lumet, 1975) mixed with QUICK CHANGE (Howard Franklin, 1990) but falls well short of both. Written by first-timer Russell Gewirtz, INSIDE MAN looks great — it’s probably Lee’s most accomplished film from a technical standpoint — but it has huge, embarrassing plot holes you could drive several Brinks trucks through. Lee veteran Denzel Washington stars as Keith Frazier, a detective who, despite being under investigation regarding some missing drug money, gets assigned to a bank robbery case with his partner, Bill Mitchell (Chiwetel Ejiofor). They need to work together with one of New York’s Finest (Willem Dafoe) in handling a hostage situation at a Lower Manhattan bank that has been taken over by Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) and his small crew of masked painters. That part of the film works fine, but the subplot involving Jodie Foster as a high-powered woman hired to do a special task by bank CEO Christopher Plummer is completely unnecessary, and the nonlinear storytelling device Lee employs needlessly obfuscates things. And you don’t have to look too hard to find a bit of anti-Semitism yet again in a Lee film. INSIDE MAN could have been a great caper movie, but instead it’s a mediocre triviality.
In theaters now
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/thankyouforsmoking
Jason Reitman, the son of producer/director Ivan Reitman (STRIPES, GHOST BUSTERS, DAVE), makes his sparkling feature-film debut with the brilliant THANK YOU FOR SMOKING, a devilishly delightful black comedy based on the novel by acerbic wit Christopher Buckley. Aaron Eckhart gives a riotous performance as Nick Naylor, a fast-talking, handsome, smarmy lobbyist for the Academy of Tobacco Studies, a Big Tobacco laboratory that, remarkably, cannot find a link between cigarettes and health risks. A master of spin, Naylor seems to even believe himself when he tells a young boy dying of cancer that he’s better off smoking. As a grandstanding senator (William H. Macy) plans congressional hearings on the evils of tobacco — especially on teenagers — Naylor is being groomed as the industry’s savior by his high-strung boss (J.K. Simmons) and the Captain (Robert Duvall) while trying to establish a meaningful relationship with his son (the suddenly ubiquitous Cameron Bright). The fine ensemble also features Katie Holmes as a hot young reporter who’ll go to virtually any length to get a story; Sam Elliott as the Marlboro Man, who is dying of lung cancer; Rob Lowe as a Zen-like Hollywood agent who is considering Naylor’s idea of making cigarette smoking cool in the movies again; and Dennis Miller and Joan Lunden as themselves, adding a bit of reality to the hysterical situation, which might not be as far off from the truth as we might think. Among the funniest scenes in this wicked film are Naylor’s weekly meetings with the M.O.D. Squad (the Merchants of Death), as the lobbyists for the alcohol (Maria Bello), tobacco (Eckhart), and firearms (David Koechner) industries playfully call themselves. The film is produced by David O. Sacks, who amassed his fortune when he sold his Internet baby, PayPal, to eBay in 2002 and headed straight for Hollywood. (Sacks also makes a cameo as an oil lobbyist.)
In theaters now
Regal Union Square Stadium 14
850 Broadway at 13th St.
Tickets: $10.75
212-253-6266
Lincoln Plaza Cinemas
1866 Broadway at 63rd St.
Tickets: $10.50
212-757-2280
http://www.lincolnplazacinema.com
http://www.sonyclassics.com/dontcomeknocking
http://www.reverse-angle.com/english/home-eng.htm
Reteaming with Sam Shepard for the first time since the indie classic PARIS, TEXAS (1984), German director Wim Wenders continues his exploration of the American psyche with this dark comedy set in the wide-open prairie. The movie begins the way many Westerns end — with the hero riding away into the distance, but in this case it is the sunrise, not the sunset, signaling a new start. Shepard stars as Howard Spence, a former big-time movie star whose career has fallen apart in a whirlwind of drugs, alcohol, and women. After a wild night in his trailer, he takes off from the set of his latest film, being made in Moab, Utah (and directed by the great George Kennedy), and decides to disappear, first going home to Elko, Nevada, to see his mother (Eva Marie Saint), whom he hasn’t spoken to in thirty years, and then heading to Butte, Montana, to find an old love (Jessica Lange) — and perhaps some lasting meaning to his miserable, wasted life. Meanwhile, Sutter (Tim Roth), a detective who works for the bond company that financed the film, is after him, determined to bring him back to finish the picture. Gorgeously photographed by Franz Lustig and featuring a great soundtrack by T Bone Burnett, DON’T COME KNOCKING is a fascinating character study and a whole lot of fun. The excellent cast also includes Gabriel Mann, Sarah Polley, and Fairuza Balk as an offbeat trio representing the next generation.
In theaters now
http://vforvendetta.warnerbros.com
Writer Alan Moore and illustrator David Lloyd’s genre-defining 1980s graphic novel about a Thatcherian dystopia has been brought to the big screen by the Wachowski brothers (BOUND, THE MATRIX) in a swirl of controversy. Moore, who has been unhappy with other film versions of his work (FROM HELL, THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN), declared that the screenplay by Andy and Larry Wachowski was "rubbish" and demanded his name be taken off the credits. Like the original, V FOR VENDETTA is still set in a futuristic England, but the film version is a none-too-subtle attack on the policies of the Bush administration, especially regarding issues of terrorism, state-sponsored torture, national security, and individual freedom, leading some critics to denounce it for its heavy-handed politics. Which is all too bad, because, as directed by James McTeigue (the first AD on the Matrix trilogy and STAR WARS — EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES), V FOR VENDETTA is a visual delight with compelling characters and a powerful story. Hugo Weaving stars as the man behind the Guy Fawkes mask, an eerily smiling and mellifluously literate vigilante known only as V who harbors a mysterious past and believes that "violence can be used for good." Natalie Portman plays Evey, a young television assistant who unwittingly becomes V’s sidekick in his quest to rally the people against the totalitarian state and blow up Parliament. John Hurt, who played beleaguered victim Winston Smith in NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR (Michael Radford, 1984), has come full circle, as he is now larger-than-life dictator Adam Sutler, who spouts his repressive pegagogy from monitors all across the troubled nation. Among his fiercest supporters is Lewis Prothero (Roger Allam), a pudgy talk-show host with a liking for prescription drugs; Evey works for the same network’s Deitrich (Stephen Fry), who has a completely different, radical, tongue-in-cheek take on the situation. Meanwhile, Chief Inspector Finch (Stephen Rea), in his determined quest to unmask V, uncovers facts that eventually put his own life in danger. V FOR VENDETTA has a thrilling beginning and end, but the middle section drags on way too long, with too much unnecessary peripheral information. And its use of music, especially in the big finale, is rather curious. But its visual flair and excellent lead acting (primarily by Weaving, Portman, and Rea) overcome its numerous faults.
http://www.randomhouse.com/pantheon/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780375423802
http://www.fantagraphics.com/artist/burns/burns.html
Over the course of more than ten years, Raw magazine veteran Charles Burns told the story of teen angst in twelve comic books published by Fantagraphics. Pantheon has brought the entire tale together in this beautifully packaged hardcover edition. Set in mid-1970s Seattle, BLACK HOLE focuses on a group of teenagers experimenting with sex and drugs while trying to avoid the bug, a horrific disease that turns them into mutants in one form or another; some become misshapen creatures who live outside of society, in dark and dangerous woods, whereas others merely grow talking mouths on their chest, alluring tails, or a black hole that runs down their back, causing them to occasionally molt. While dissecting a frog with the lab partner of his dreams, Chris Rhodes, Keith has "a premonition. I felt like I was looking into the future…and the future looked really messed up." How messed up he could have no idea. BLACK HOLE has a 1950s feel to it, like an Annette and Frankie movie gone terribly wrong; it also reminds us of rainy Saturday afternoons watching horror movies on our parents’ couch. Burns’s shadowy black-and-white drawings are eerily compelling, and the characters will feel familiar to you, making you think back to your own terrible teens.
Tuesday, March 7
A Hasidic reggae rapper who performs wearing his tallit under traditional Orthodox clothing (black hat, black pants, black jacket), sings about the messiah leading the Jewish people back to Jerusalem, no longer stage-dives because a woman might come in physical contact him, and whose latest album debuted last month at number four on the Billboard charts? Matthew Miller was born in Pennsylvania, grew up in White Plains, followed the jam band Phish around the country, then converted to Orthodox Judaism in 2001, changing his name to Matisyahu, which means "gift of G-d." Based in Crown Heights, Matisyahu first gained notice with his 2004 release, SHAKE OFF THE DUST…ARISE, then last year came out with LIVE AT STUBB’S; his brand-new record, YOUTH, combines tracks from both of those discs, along with new tunes, produced by Material’s Bill Laswell, that have simply exploded all over MTV, iTunes, and the Web. Mixing rap, reggae, funk, soul, R&B, and classic rock, Matisyahu has been accused of being a derivative novelty act, but he’s no Vanilla Ice.
At the Hammerstein Ballroom on March 7, a worshipful packed house danced and davened as Matisyahu pranced across the stage, jumped on speakers, and even swung from a rope ladder. He opened the show with "Sea to Sea," immediately praising G-d. In "Jerusalem," from YOUTH, he proclaimed, using a sample from Matthew Wilder’s "Break My Stride," that not even the Holocaust can stop the Jews’ return to the Holy Land. "Chop ’em Down" related the story of the Exodus and the rise of Joseph. On YOUTH’s title track, he declared, "Young man / Control in your hands / Slam your fist on the table and make your demands." One of his most infectious songs, the showstopper "King Without a Crown," which is set in Crown Heights, nearly tore down the house as he professed, "My love will rip a hole in the ceiling / Givin’ myself to you from the essence of my being / Sing to my G-d all these songs of love and healing / Want Moshiach now so it’s time we start revealing." "Fire of Heaven / Altar of Youth," which kicks off the new album, features some great fast rapping. He even threw in snippets of Jewish prayers, including "Avinu Malkeinu" and the Shema. For the encores, Stan Ip joined Matisyahu and his band, Roots Tonic (guitarist Aaron Dugan, drummer Jonah David, and bass player Josh Werner), for a raging "Sparkseekers," then guitarist extraordinaire Yossi Piamenta rocked out on an extended "Close My Eyes."
Despite his deep beliefs, the concert did not have the feel of an evangelist tent show. Matisyahu is an engaging performer who, in the spirit of Bob Marley (who also sang about his religious beliefs and quoted the Bible) and the reggae pop of such bands as UB40, shares his convictions with fun music and involving shows. The new album is a good introduction to his work; among the songs not played at the Hammerstein Ballroom on March 7 were "Dispatch the Troops," which quotes the Police ever so briefly; the acoustic "What I’m Fighting For"; "WP," about his youth in White Plains, in which he sings, "You can’t sew a stitch a with one hand while you’re taking it apart"; the tender love song "Unique Is My Dove"; and "Ancient Lullaby," which actually includes a drum solo.
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Kettle of Fish
59 Christopher St. at Seventh Ave.
Admission: free
212-414-2278
Wednesday, March 29 Jenny Pollack, KLEPTO, and Charlie Huston, ALREADY DEAD, 7:00
CUNY Graduate Center
Martin E. Segal Theater
365 Fifth Ave. at 34th St.
Admission: free
212-817-8215
http://www.gc.cuny.edu/events/index.htm
Wednesday, March 29 Greil Marcus with Kim Gordon, moderated by Julia Sneeringer, 6:30
Armory at Gramercy Park
Lexington Ave. and 26th St.
Admission: $15
532-1516
http://www.caskeylees.com/shows/4/asian/ny
Wednesday, March 29 Preview benefit with wine, hors d’oeuvres, catalog, and repeat admission, $60
Thursday, March 30
through
Sunday, April 2 More than six dozen galleries from all over the world will be displaying and selling Asian art for the fifteenth year
Whitney Museum of American Art
945 Madison Ave. at 75th St.
Tickets: $8
Advance purchase strongly recommended
1-877-whitney / 212-570-7715
http://www.whitney.org/www/2006biennial/programs_latest.php
Wednesday, March 29 Architecture Dialogues: Natalie Jeremijenko / Bureau of Inverse Technology, 7:00
Saturday, April 1 Conversations on Art — Fugitives: Objects, Practices, Communities, with Carolina Caycedo, Lori Cheatle, Trisha Donnelly, Jutta Koether, Gedi Sibony, Reena Spaulings, Zoe Strauss, Jordan Wolfson, and Daisy Wright, 6:00
Thursday, April 6 Seminars with Artists: Marilyn Minter, 7:00
Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center
70 Lincoln Center Plaza
1941 Broadway at West 65th St.
Tickets: $50-$500
212-721-6500
http://www.ccoc.net/new/CCOCConcert/Default.asp
Thursday, March 30 International Celebration of Jewish Music with four cantors from New York and Israel, benefiting Chabad’s Children of Chernobyl, 7:30
New York Philomusica Chamber Ensemble
Broadway Presbyterian Church
Broadway at 114th St.
Tickets: $35
212-580-9933
Thursday, March 30 Jim Bracchitta and Martin Vidnovic star in Igor Stravinsky’s classic, featuring new text by Kurt Vonnegut, 8:00 (preceded by 7:30 Meet the Artists talk)
KGB Bar Red Room Theater
85 East Fourth St. between Second & Third Aves.
Admission: free
RSVP to: weloveadults@newyork-tokyo.com
212-505 3360
http://www.kgbbar.com/calendar.shtml
Thursday, March 30 BELLADONNA OF SADNESS (Osamu Tezuka, 1973), adult-oriented anime, presented by New York-Tokyo celebrating the opening of "Peeping, Probing and Porn: Four Centuries of Graphic Sex in Japan" exhibit at the Museum of Sex, 10:00, preceded by manga readings from 7:00 to 9:00
Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology
Seventh Ave. at 27th St.
Seminar Room 9, D-building
212-217-5714
Friday, March 31 Illustrated lecture on Lucien Lelong and her clients, which included Marlene Dietrich and Mrs. Cole Porter, $15, 6:00
The Town Hall
123 West 43rd St. between Sixth Ave. & Broadway
Tickets: $30-$37.50
212-840-2824
http://www.the-townhall-nyc.org
Friday, March 31 Stand-up from the author of ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY and DRESS YOUR FAMILY IN CORDUROY AND DENIM , 8:00
761 Seventh Ave. at 50th St.
Cover charge: $10
Minimum: $12 food and drink
212-944-8910
Friday, March 31
and
Saturday, April 1 Launch of new comedy venue hosted by the great Joe Franklin, featuring Jackie "the Joke Man" Martling, Sherrod Small, Gregory Kaye, Billy Bingo, George Diaz, Santo D’Asaro, and surprise guests, 8:00 & 10:30
American Museum of the Moving Image
35th Ave. at 36th St., Astoria
Free with museum admission of $8.50
718-784-4520
http://www.ammi.org/site/screenings/index.html
Friday, March 31 Repertory Nights: PERFORMANCE (Nicolas Roeg an Donald Cammell, 1970), 7:30
Saturday, April 1
and
Sunday, April 2 Repertory Nights: PERFORMANCE (Nicolas Roeg an Donald Cammell, 1970), 6:30
Mick Jagger gives a unique performance in Roeg / Cammell underground classic
A British gangster on the run hides out with a psychedelic rock star in this strangely enticing film from Donald THE DEMON SEED Cammell and Nicolas Roeg (making his big-screen directorial debut). James Fox didn’t know what he was getting into when he signed on to play Chas, a mobster who finds sanctuary with mushroom-popping rock-diva has-been Turner, played with panache by Mick Jagger. Throw in Anita Pallenberg, a fab drug trip, and the great "Memo to Turner" scene and you have a film that some consider the real precursor to MTV, some think a work of pure demented genius, and others find to be one of the most pretentious and awful pieces of claptrap ever committed to celluloid.
Sunday, April 7 Repertory Nights: PLAYTIME (Jacques Tati, 1967), 7:30
Saturday, April 8
and
Sunday, April 9 Repertory Nights: PLAYTIME (Jacques Tati, 1967), 6:30
Landmark Sunshine Cinema
143 E. Houston St. between First & Second Aves.
Friday and Saturday nights at midnight
212-330-8182
http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/NewYork/NewYork_frameset.htm
Friday, March 31
and
Saturday, April 1 PULP FICTION (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
Friday, April 7
and
Saturday, April 8 CREMASTER 4 (Matthew Barney, 1994) and CREMASTER 5 (Matthew Barney, 1997)
Penn Plaza Pavilion
401 Seventh Ave. a 33rd St.
Tickets: $15
201-865-3288
Friday, March 31
through
Sunday, April 2 This year’s Big Apple Con features nearly one hundred dealers and exhibitors, with special appearances by Elvira, Bill (Major Healy) Daily, Ken Foree, Jerri Manthey, Margot Kidder, Brande Roderick, Karen Lynn Gorney, Jane Weidlin, Charlene Tilton, Peter Mayhew, Jasmine St. Claire, Cathy St. George, and more; see below for list of special events, all free with regular admission
Friday, March 31 Special Sci-Fi and Horror Author Panel Discussion, with Ellen Datlow, Jack Ketchum, C.J. Henderson, Paul Witcover, Gary Frank, and Amy Grech, 4:00
Friday, March 31 Inside the New York City Horror Film Festival, featuring shorts and previews, hosted by Michael J. Hein, 7:00
Saturday, April 1 How to Make an Independent Movie, with Troma Entertainment, 11:00 am
Saturday, April 1 The Ultimate Toxic Avengers Panel, 12 noon
Saturday, April 1 The Dark Age: The Modern Age of Comics Begins, with Mark Volger, Jack C. Harris, Danny Fingeroth, and Jim Salicrup, 1:00
Saturday, April 1 Valiant Panel, featuring panel of Valiant creators, 2:00
Saturday, April 1 The Big Apple Costume Contest, 3:30
Saturday, April 1 The Cutting Edge of Independent Comics, with Richard Howell, Todd Smith, and Al Milgrim, 4:30
Saturday, April 1 George A. Romero, Q&A with Allan Rosenberg and Chris Roe, 5:30
Saturday, April 1 Inside the New York City Horror Film Festival, featuring shorts and previews, hosted by Michael J. Hein, 6:30
Saturday, April 1 Martial Arts Film Fest, 7:30 pm — 12 midnight
Sunday, April 2 Kyle Baker in conversation with Ken Gale, 12 noon
Sunday, April 2 Frank Miller interviewed by Neal Adams, 2:00
Sunday, April 2 Frank Miller signing, 3:30
Sunday, April 2 How to Draw Comics, with Greg Weich, 5:15
Snug Harbor Cultural Center
Veterans’ Memorial Hall
1000 Richmond Terr.
Fridays - Saturdays at 8:00, Sundays at 2:00
Tickets: $25
718-815-SNUG
Friday, March 31
through
Sunday, April 9 Six performances of Andrew Lloyd Webber / Tim Rice rock opera
Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Ave. at 70th St.
212-517-ASIA
http://www.asiasociety.org/events
Saturday, April 1 Featuring storytelling, live performances, arts and crafts, and more, free with museum admission of $10 (children under sixteen free), 12 noon — 3:00
Concern Worldwide US
Central Park North, East Dr. & 99th St.
212-557-8000
http://www.concernusa.org/funrun
Saturday, April 1 Ninth annual 5K run or walk to raise funds for Concern Worldwide’s fight to end world hunger, 9:30 am
Bowery Poetry Club
308 Bowery at Bleecker St.
212-614-0505
Saturday, April 1 Celebrating the release of LET YOUR GHOST GO (Rough Trade), with Megan Reilly, the Scene Is Now, and a film by Emily Hubley with a live score by Sue Garner & Co., 7:00
Brooklyn Museum of Art
200 Eastern Parkway
Admission: free after 5:00 pm
718-638-5000
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/first-saturdays
Saturday, April 1 Film: Short films and videos by William Wegman, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, third floor, 5:15
Saturday, April 1 World Music: The Wiyos, Hall of the Americas, first floor, 6:00 — 8:00
Saturday, April 1 Hands-on Art: create your own postcards inspired by the work of William Wegman, Education Division, first floor (free timed tickets available in the Education Gallery at 6:00), 6:30 — 8:30
Saturday, April 1 Family Films and Music: Silent Comedy Canines, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, third floor (free tickets available at the visitor center in the Grand Lobby at 5:30), 6:30
Saturday, April 1 Performance: Upright Citizens Brigade Touring Company, throughout the first floor, 7:00 — 8:30
Saturday, April 1 Drop-in Art Making: drawing workshop, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Gallery, fifth floor, 7:30 — 9:30
Saturday, April 1 Dance Lesson: Stepping Out Dance Studio, 1970s dances, Beaux-Arts Court, third floor, 8:00
Saturday, April 1 Curator Talk: Marilyn Kushner, "William Wegman: Funney / Strange," Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing, fifth floor (free tickets available at the visitor center in the Grand Lobby at 7:00), 8:00
Saturday, April 1 Film: RADIATION (Suki Hawley and Michael Galinsky, 1999), Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, third floor (free tickets available at the visitor center in the Grand Lobby at 7:30), 8:30
Saturday, April 1 Dance Party: DJ Delmar Browne of KTU Studio 54 Clubhouse, Music Choice, Beaux-Arts Court, third floor, 9:00 — 11:00
Time-Warner Cable channel 75
Saturday and Sunday at 9:00 pm
Repeated the following Friday at midnight
Discussion follows screening
http://www.cuny.tv/specials/special2.lasso?specialsID='SP000234'
Friday, March 31 THE LEGEND OF RITA (Volker Schlöndrorff, 2000), followed by discussion with Leonard Quart
Saturday, April 1
Sunday, April 2
and
Friday, April 7 ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF ANDREI ARSENEVICH (Chris Marker, 2000) and THE STEAMROLLER AND THE VIOLIN (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1960), followed by discussion
Chris Marker’s short documentary combines footage of Tarkovsky’s final days as he finished shooting THE SACRIFICE with cinematographer Sven Nykvist (which was very fitting for this most Bergmanesque of Russian filmmakers), saw his son for the first time in five years, and faced his final curtain. The documentary examines each of his works, especially their foundations in nature and the earth and in fire and water. Add half a star if you’ve seen most of his work — particularly THE SACRIFICE; otherwise, you’ll find out a bit too much about what happens in some of the films.
Andrei Tarkovsky experiments with many of the leitmotifs that will run through his feature films in this student thesis work that is less than an hour long. Igor Fomchenko stars as Sasha, a pretty boy who is studying the violin and getting pushed around by neighborhood toughs. He becomes friends with Sergei (Vladimir Zamansky), who drives a steamroller at a construction site. Tarkovsky utitlizes such themes as mirrors, water, and childhood as Sergei and Sasha learn a little bit about life from each other.
Saturday, April 8
and
Sunday, April 9 THE MIRROR (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1960), followed by discussion
"Words can’t really express a person’s emotions. They’re too inert." So says Andrei Tarkovsky in his dream-filled, surreal masterpiece THE MIRROR, which features long scenes with little or no dialogue. Tarkovsky turns the mirror on himself and his childhood to tell the fragmented and disjointed story of WWII-era Russia through his own personal experiences with his family. Tarkovsky was obsessed with film as art, and this nonlinear film is his poetic masterpiece; he even includes his father’s poems read over shots that are crafted as if paintings. Many of the actors play several roles; have fun trying to figure out who is who and what exactly is going on at any one moment.
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at Waverly Pl.
First weekend of every month
Tickets: $10.75 adults, $7 children under twelve
212-924-7771
http://www.gkids.com/schedulenew.html
Saturday, April 1
and
Sunday, April 2 MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (Hayao Miyazaki, 2002), all ages, 11:00 am
Saturday, April 1
and
Sunday, April 2 NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND (Hayao Miyazaki, 1984), ages nine and up, 11:30 am
Multiple venues
April 1-8
212-980-0844
Saturday, April 1
through
Saturday, April 8 The Scottish Village, featuring celebrity kilts, live music and dance, a golf zone, Highlands artifacts, fashion shows, culinary and cooperage demonstrations, and Scottish products for sale, free, 11:00 am — 7:00 pm
Saturday, April 1
through
Saturday, April 8 New Editions Scotland, IPCNY, 526 West 26th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves., room 824, closed Sunday and Monday, free, 11:00 am — 6:00 pm
Saturday, April 1
through
Saturday, April 8 Scotland on Film, 1942-2006, featuring free screenings of CHARIOTS OF FIRE (Hugh Hudson, 1981), THE GOSPEL TRUTH (Terry Wolsey, 2005), THE MAGGIE (Alexander Mackendrick, 1954), ON A CLEAR DAY (Gaby Dellal, 2005), TRAINSPOTTING (Danny Boyle, 1995), LOCAL HERO (Bill Forsyth, 1983), AMERICAN COUSINS (Don Coutts, 2003), YOUNG ADAM (David Mackenzie, 2002), THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE (Ronald Neame, 1970), and more, Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Ave. at Second St., 8:00
Sunday, April 2 The Scotland Run 10K, Central Park, West Dr. near 62nd St. around the park to West Dr. at 67th St., 10:00 am
Sunday, April 2 Fresh Scottish Talent: Rodge Glass and Alan Bissett, KGB Bar, 85 East Fourth St. between Second & Third Aves., free, 7:00
Monday, April 3 The Scotland Conversations: Simple Gifts, featuring music by students of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, hosted by Tom Conti, Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, East 68th St. between Park & Lexington Ave., 5:30
Monday, April 3 Louise Welsh: Readings, Barnes & Noble, Sixth Ave. at 22nd St., free, 7:00
Monday, April 3 The Scotland Conversations: The Arts and the Pursuit of Happiness, featuring music by Billy Taylor and students from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, with Cairns Craig and Charles McKean, hosted by Tom Conti, Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, East 68th St. between Park & Lexington Ave., 7:15
Monday, April 3 Dressed to Kilt, Synod Hall, St. John the Divine Cathedral Garden, Amsterdam Ave. at 110th St., $150-$5,000, 7:30 cocktails and live entertainment, 9:00 fashion show, 10:00 postparty celebration
Monday, April 3
through
Saturday, April 8 A Scottish Salon: Eighteenth Century Scottish Art at Christie’s, Christie’s Townhouse, 21 East 67th St., free, 9:30 — 5:30
Tuesday, April 4 Scots in the USA, with Jenni Calder, the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, 122 East 58th St., free, 5:30
Tuesday, April 4 The Scotland Conversations New York: Is Patriotism History? with Leonard Lopate, Tom Devine, Todd Gitlin, and Bill Miller, with performance by the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, introduced by Tom Conti, Tishman Auditorium, the New School, 66 West 12th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves., 7:00
Tuesday, April 4 Michel Faber and A L Kennedy: Readings, Barnes & Noble Union Square, 33 East 17th St., free, 7:00
Tuesday, April 4 Runrig with Laura McGhee, Nokia Theatre, 1515 Broadway at 44th St., $35-$49.50, 8:00
Wednesday, April 5 Whisky Live!, with live entertainment, a tasting hall, seminars, and more, Tavern on the Green, Central Park West at 67th St., $16-$120, 5:00 pm — midnight
Wednesday, April 5 Global Scots Book Launch, with Kenny McAskill, Henry McLeish, and Lin Anderson, Barnes & Noble Greenwich Village, 396 Sixth Ave. at Eighth St., free, 7:30
Wednesday, April 5 Scottish Poetry, with Alastair Reid, Liz Lochhead, Janice Galloway, and James Robertson, the National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park, free, 7:30
Wednesday, April 5
through
Saturday, April 8 GEORDIE, a new Scottish musical, Rose Nagelburg Theatre, Baruch College, CUNY, 55 Lexington Ave. at 25th St., suggested donation $10 minimum, 7:00
Thursday, April 6 National Tartan Day Cocktail Reception, New York Racquet and Tennis Club, 370 Park Ave., $50, 5:30 — 8:30
Thursday, April 6 Public and Private Lives, with Andrew O’Hagan and Janice Galloway, Barnes & Noble, 4 Astor Pl., free, 7:00
Friday, April 7 Book Launch: Struan Stevenson, CRYING FOREVER: A NUCLEAR DIARY, Dag Hammarskjöld Library, UN, 5:00
Friday, April 7 Treasures of the John Murray Archive, illustrated lecture by Cate Newton, New York Public Library, South Court, Fifth Ave. at 42nd St., free, 7:00
Friday, April 7 A Celebration of Modern Highland Art, illustrated slide lecture with Shirleyanne Cumberlege, Abigail Adams Auditorium, 417 East 61st St., $10 (includes snacks and beverages), 6:00
Friday, April 7 Scotland in Story and Song, with Grace Banks, Margaret Bennet, and Martyn Macintyre, Swift Hibernian Lounge, East Fourth St., free, 7:00
Friday, April 7 National Tartan Day Pre-Parade Ceilidh, featuring live entertainment by Madra Confrach, Maeve Gillies, and the New York Scottish Pipes & Drums, Abigail Adams Auditorium, 417 East 61st St., $20, 8:00
Saturday, April 8 Tartan Army vs. USA, football match, the Great Lawn, Central Park, free, 10:00 am
Saturday, April 8 Eighth Annual New York Tartan Day Parade, 45th to 58th Sts. on Sixth Ave., 2:00
Saturday, April 8 Tartan Army Party, Mundial, 505 East Twelfth St. between Aves. A & B, free, 8:00
Saturday, April 8 Tartan Week Gig, the Continental, 25 St. Marks Pl. at Third Ave., with the Ordinary at 10:30, Aaron and Mordechai at 11:30
Symphony Space
Leonard Nimoy Thalia
2537 Broadway at 95th St.
Saturday mornings at 11:00, with film curator Fabiano Canosa
April 1 - May 20
Tickets: $25 per session, $184 for full series
212-864-5400
http://www.symphonyspace.org/genres/eventPage.php?genreId=2&eventId=1612
Saturday, April 1 The Silent World: Cinema on Industrial (and Artistic) Revolution
Saturday, April 8 The Magnificent Nine
The Ailey Citigroup Theater
Joan Weill Center for Dance
405 West 55th St. at Ninth Ave.
Tickets: $15
212-715-1914
http://www.treehouseshakers.com
Saturday, April 1
Saturday, April 8
and
Sunday, April 9 Original performance presented by the Treehouse Shakers, for all ages, 11:00 am
Canticum Novum Singers
Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church
82nd St. between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.
Tickets: $20
212-279-4200
http://www.canticumnovum.org/html/schedule.html
Sunday, April 2 Featuring Palestrina: Pope Marcellus Mass, laments by Josquin Des Pres, Ludwig Senfl, Heinrich Isaac, John Ward, and John Tavener, plus Samuel Barber’s Agnus Dei (Adagio for Strings), 3:00
Cathedral of St. Patrick
460 Madison Ave. between 50th & 51st Sts.
Admission: free
212-753-2261
http://www.SaintPatricksCathedral.org/Music.html
Sunday, April 2 Boguslaw Grabowski, 4:30
Sunday, April 2 Stephen Tharp, 7:00
Museum of Jewish Heritage: A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
36 Battery Pl.
646-437-4202
http://www.mjhnyc.org/visit_safra_hall6.htm
Sunday, April 2 Concert: Regina Resnik Presents: Covert or Convert? A Powerful Expression of the Jewish Spirit, $20, 2:30
Wednesday, April 5 Film: RIVERS AND TIDES: ANDY GOLDSWORTHY WORKING WITH TIME (2001), $5, 7:00
Sunday, April 9 Community Family Seder, led by Shira Kline, $40 per family of four, $15 per adult, $10 per child, 12 noon
Galapagos Art Space
70 North Sixth St. between Wythe and Kent
Williamsburg
Sunday nights in April at 8:00
Tickets: $12
718-782-5188
http://www.galapagosartspace.com/events.html
Sunday, April 2, 9 Stage adaptation of hit Keanu Reeves film, with Reeves’s role selected randomly from the audience
Barbès
376 Ninth St. at Sixth Ave.
Park Slope, Brooklyn
First Monday night of the month at 7:00
Admission: free
718-965-9177
http://www.barbesbrooklyn.com/calendar.html
Monday, April 3 FAVELA RISING (Matt Mochary & Jeff Zimbalist, 2005), preceded by EXPRESO ARTE (dQUeen2005) and RACIONAIS MCs (dQueen, 2005)
MoMA Film
Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
April 3-30
Tickets: $10, in person only, may be applied to museum admission within thirty days, same-day screenings free with museum admission, available at Film and Media Desk
212-708-9400
http://moma.org/exhibitions/film_media/2006/Baseball.html
Monday, April 3 BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY (John Hancock, 1973), introduced by Dr. Carl E. Prince, 6:00
Monday, April 3 HEADIN’ HOME (Lawrence Windom, 1920) and THE JACKIE ROBINSON STORY (Alfred Green, 1950), introduced by Dr. Carl E. Prince and Dr. David Levering Lewis, 8:00
Wednesday, April 5 THE LIFE AND TIMES OF HANK GREENBERG (Aviva Kempner, 2003), 6:00
Wednesday, April 5 THE BINGO LONG TRAVELING ALL-STARS & MOTOR KINGS (John Badham, 1976), 8:00
Friday, April 7 BULL DURHAM (Ron Shelton, 1988), 8:30
Sunday, April 9 A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN (Penny Marshall, 1992), 5:30
Monday, April 10 COBB (Ron Shelton, 1994), 8:30
Wednesday, April 12 FIELD OF DREAMS (Phil Alden Robinson, 1989), 6:00
180 Maiden Lane at Front St.
Tuesdays at 12:30 pm
Admission: free
212-769-7406
http://www.juilliard.edu/asp/calendar/calendar.asp
Tuesday, April 4 Barci Quartet: works by Mozart
Tuesday, April 11 The Lautreamont Trio: works by Beethoven and Handel/Halvorsen
Clearview Chelsea West unless otherwise noted
333 West 23rd St. between Eighth & Ninth Aves.
April 5-11
Tickets: $25 (includes premiere feature-length premiere, short film, and two-hour open-bar after-party)
http://www.genart.org/x/filmfest
In addition to the below screenings, there will be encore screenings of everything but WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY, with tickets only $5 but no after-party.
Wednesday, April 5 DREAMLAND (Jason Matzner, 2006), Ziegfeld Theater, 141 West 54th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves., after-party at the Park, 118 Tenth Ave. between 17th & 18th Sts., 7:30
Thursday, April 6 WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY (Goran Dukicm 2006), four-hour rafter-party at B.E.D., 530 West 27th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves., 7:30
Friday, April 7 F*CK (Steve Anderson, 2006), after-party at Happy Valley, 14 East 27th St. between Fifth & Madison Aves., 7:30
Saturday, April 8 Free Filmmaker Panel: Censorship, with Steve Anderson, 5:00
Saturday, April 8 BEHIND THE MASK (Scott Glosserman, 2006), after-party at SOL, 609 West 29th St. between Eleventh Ave. & the West Side Highway, 7:30
Sunday, April 9 Free Filmmaker Panel: Making It! "From Dream to Screen," with Gregg Kavet and Andy Robin, 5:00
Sunday, April 9 SHUT UP AND SING (Bruce Leddy, 2006), after-party at HOME, 532 West 27th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves., 7:30
Monday, April 10 NEVERWAS (Joshua Michael Stern, 2006), after-party at Embassy, 28 West 20th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves., 7:30
Tuesday, April 11 LIVE FREE OR DIE (Gregg Kavet & Andy Robin, 2006), after-party at Pacha, 618 West 46th St. between Eleventh Ave. & the West Side Highway), 7:30
MoMA Film
Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
April 5-30
Tickets: $10, in person only, may be applied to museum admission within thirty days, same-day screenings free with museum admission, available at Film and Media Desk
212-708-9400
http://moma.org/exhibitions/film_media/2006/Ziegler_Film.html
Wednesday, April 5 UNKENRUFE (WROZBY KUMAKA/THE CALL OF THE TOAD) (Robert Glinski 2005), introduced by Regina Ziegler, 6:15
Wednesday, April 5 EROTIC TALES: THE WAITING ROOM (Jos Stelling 1995), THE GAS STATION (Jos Stelling 2000), and THE GALLERY (Jos Stelling 2003), 8:30
Thursday, April 6 FABIAN (Wolf Gremm 1978), 6:00
Thursday, April 6 RODINA MEANS HOME (Helga Reidemeister 1991), 8:15
Saturday, April 8 RODINA MEANS HOME (Helga Reidemeister 1991), 6:15
Saturday, April 8 THE RAPOPORTS–OUR THREE LIVES (Sisi Hutetlin and Britta Wauer 2003), 8:30
Sunday, April 9 EINE JAHNR DER RUHENDEN SONNE (ROK SPOKOJNEGO SLONCA/A YEAR OF THE QUIET SUN) (Krzysztof Zanussi 1984), 2:00
Sunday, April 9 KORCZAK (Andrzej Wajda 1990), 4:30
Monday, April 10 FABIAN (Wolf Gremm 1978), 6:00
Wednesday, April 12 EINE JAHNR DER RUHENDEN SONNE (ROK SPOKOJNEGO SLONCA/A YEAR OF THE QUIET SUN) (Krzysztof Zanussi 1984), 8:30
BAMcinématek / BAM Rose Cinemas
Brooklyn Academy of Music
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
April 5-25
Tickets: $10
718-636-4100
http://bam.org/film/series.aspx?id=69
Wednesday, April 5 A PLACE IN THE SUN (George Stevens, 1951), 4:30, 6:50, 9:30
Tuesday, April 11 THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (Charles Laughton, 1955), 7:30 & 9:30
Robert Mitchum stars in Charles Laughton’s lurid story of traveling preacher/con man/murderer Harry Powell, who has the word "love" tattooed on one set of knuckles and "hate" on the other. While in prison, Powell bunks with Ben Harper (Peter Graves), who got caught stealing $10,000 -- but the only person who knows where the money is is Ben’s young son, John (Billy Chapin). When Preacher is released from jail, he shows up on the Harpers’ doorstep, ready to woo the widow Willa (Shelley Winters) -- and get his hands on the money any way he can, including torturing John and his sister, Ruby (Gloria Castillo). Laughton’s only directorial effort is seriously flawed -- the scenes in the beginning and end with Lillian Gish are wholly unnecessary and detract from the overall mood. Stanley Cortez’s cinematography is outstanding, featuring his unique use of shadows, the battle between light and dark (which plays off of several themes: old versus young, rich versus poor, good versus evil, and men versus women), and some marvelous silhouettes.
Dahesh Museum of Art
580 Madison Ave. at 57th St.
Admission: free from 6:00 to 9:00
212-759-0606
http://daheshmuseum.org/publicprograms_events
Thursday, April 6 Illustrators and Advertising: The Kelly Collection in an Art-Historical Context, illustrated lecture with Michele H. Bogart, 6:30
The New School
Tishman Auditorium (TA) or Room 510 (510)
66 West 12th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
212-299-5611
http://www.nsu.newschool.edu/02a_specdiv.htm#0201
Thursday, April 6 Ashbery’s Landscapes, with Marit MacArthur, Timothy Gray, Ann Mikkelsen, and Kacper Bartczak, 510, 1:00
Thursday, April 6 Selected Prose and Selected Translations, with David Kermani, Micaela Morrissette, Eugene Richie, and Rosanna Wasserman, 510, 2:30
Thursday, April 6 Poets and Artists, with Jane Hammond, Archie Rand, Jane Freilicher, and Karen Wright, TA, 4:30
Thursday, April 6 Homage to Ashbery: A Group Reading, with Mark Bibbins, Star Black, Marc Cohen, Billy Collins, Douglas Crase, Jacek Gutorow, Daniel Halpern, Vicki Hudspith, Tomoyuki Iino, Deborah Landau, Ann Lauterbach, James Longenbach, Geoffrey O’Brien, Ron Padgett, Robert Polito, Pawel Marcinkiewicz, David Shapiro, James Tate, Susan Wheeler, Dara Wier, and John Yau, introduced by David Lehman, TA, 7:30
Friday, April 7 Roger Glbert, James Longenbach, Meghan O'Rourke, Jacek Gutorow, and Melcion Mateu-Adrover, 510, 11:00 am
Friday, April 7 Tomoyuki Iino, Jennifer Quilter, Andrew DuBois John Emil Vincent, Pawel Marcinkiewicz, and William Burgos, 510, 2:00
Friday, April 7 John Koethe, Dara Wier, John Yau, and Lacy Rumsey, 510, 4:30
Friday, April 7 John Ashbery, introduced by James Tate, TA, 7:30
Saturday, April 8 The Heroes, with Bob Holman, Vicki Hudspith, and David Lehman, Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery at Bleecker St., 2:00
Saturday, April 8 "Litany," with John Ashbery and Ann Lauterbach, Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery at Bleecker St., 3:00
The Theater at Madison Square Garden
31st to 33rd Sts. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
Tickets: $15-$44.50
http://www.usaboxingmetro.com/golden.shtml#schedule
http://www.thegarden.com/sports_boxing.jsp
Thursday, April 6
and
Friday, April 7 Seventh-ninth Annual Daily News amateur event concludes with two nights of boxing, 7:30
Crobar
530 West 28th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Benefit tickets: $100
VIP tickets: $250
http://www.coneyislandusa.com/benefit.shtml
Friday, April 7 Spring fundraiser featuring a silent auction, Ula the Pain Proof Rubber Girl, live music by the New York City Blues Devils, Dick Zigun battling Crazy-Legs Conti in a mini-hot-dog-eating contest, performances by the Sideshow cast, Bambi the Mermaid, Grinder Girl, and more; this year’s honorary committee includes Karen Black, Adele Cohen, Maggie Estep, Marty Markowitz, Rick Moody, Kembra Pfahler, Martha Wilson, and Robert Wilson, 7:30
Poetry Project
St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery
Second Ave. and Tenth St.
Admission: $10
212-674-0910
http://www.poetryproject.com/calendar.html
Saturday, April 8 Fundraiser for the Poetry Project featuring special readings, refreshments, and signed items from, among many others, David Amram, John Ashbery, William Burroughs, Peter Carey, Francesco Clemente, Robert Creeley, Tim Davis, Diane di Prima, Jane Freilicher, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Kenneth Koch, Elizabeth Murray, Frank O’Hara, Salman Rushdie, Anne Sexton, Kiki Smith, Anne Waldman, and Robert Wilson, 2:00 — 8:00
Galapagos Art Space
70 North Sixth St. between Wythe and Kent
Williamsburg
Free with RSVP: rsvp@freenyc.net
718-782-5188
http://www.galapagosartspace.com/events.html
Saturday, April 8 Two rooms of music celebrating the second anniversary of freeNYC.net, including live performances by Greenways8 and Chin Chin and an open-bar keg till it runs out, 10:30 pm — 4:00 am
The Jewish Museum
1109 Fifth Ave. at 92nd St.
212-423-3337
Sunday, April 9 David Grover and the Big Bear Band, ages three to eight with adults, $12, 2:00
Eldridge Street Synagogue
12 Eldridge St. between Canal & Division Sts.
212-219-0888
http://www.eldridgestreet.org/programs_c.htm
Sunday, April 2 Family Program: A Lower East Side Passover, featuring matzah baking, a neighborhood walking tour, shadow puppets, arts & crafts, a chometz hunt, and a musical presentation by Frank London, $12 ($25 per family), 1:00
Sunday, April 9 Walking Tour: Pre-Passover Nosh & Stroll, $18, 1:00
MoMA Film
Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Through April 19
Tickets: $10, in person only, may be applied to museum admission within thirty days, same-day screenings free with museum admission, available at Film and Media Desk
212-708-9400
http://moma.org/exhibitions/film_media/2006/Munch.html
Sunday, April 9 EDVARD MUNCH (Peter Watkins, 1976), 2:00
Monday, April 10 A DOLL’S HOUSE (Joseph Losey, 1973), 6:00
Monday, April 10 NORA HELMER (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1973), 8:15
Wednesday, April 12 FRÖKEN JULIE (MISS JULIE) (Alf Sjöberg, 1951), 6:00
Wednesday, April 12 GANASHATRU (AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE) (Satyajit Ray, 1989), 8:00