Free Midtown Art Walk of the Week
10.03.07
1. Scribbles, unnicorns, and more in Midtown
2. The Rangers have a homecoming
3. New York opens its doors for architecture
4. Sidebars to the New York Film Festival
5. Butoh parades into the Japan Society
6. The CMJ Marathon runs into town
Volume 7, Number 18
October 3-17, 2007
Look for our new weekly column, now available at www.TimesSquare.com!
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Site Design/Subway Photo:
Fred Gates Design, New York.
twi-ny/mdr
PaceWildenstein
32 East 57th St. between
Through November 3
Closed Sunday & Monday
Admission: free
212-421-3292
http://www.pacewildenstein.com
twi-ny/mdr
Sol LeWitt, "Wall Drawing #1247, Scribbles 7 (PW)," graphite, August 2007
In his June 1967 Artforum essay "Paragraphs on Conceptual Art," Sol LeWitt wrote, "When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes the machine that makes the art." Although LeWitt was involved in the planning of "Scribble Wall Drawings," on view at PaceWildenstein on 57th St. through November 3, he died of cancer on April 8 of this year at the age of seventy-eight, leaving his studio staff to actually carry out the works themselves. Comprising eight graphite drawings made directly onto the gallery’s white walls, the pieces will be painted over when the exhibition ends, as impermanent as life itself. Seen from a distance, the shadowy grayscale works alternate carefully between light and dark, often resulting in a peaceful balance. The most unusual of the group, "Wall Drawing #1247," gets its own room, with the lighting creating a warm shadow on the floor; measuring nine feet square, the work is a sharp white X inside a larger gray X in which all four points shoot out into the corners. Although obviously flat, "Wall Drawing #1248" appears to have depth — as well as motion. Up close, you can follow the graphite scribbles, but the exhibition is best viewed from a distance; stand in the center of the gallery and slowly turn around, absorbing part of a great artist’s legacy.
Neuhoff Edelman Gallery
41 East 57th St. at Madison Ave., fourth floor
Through October 27
Closed Sunday & Monday
Admission: free
212-838-1122
The Neuhoff Edelman Gallery, a new Midtown space, is presenting a small but engaging career retrospective of multidimensional sculptor Marisol Escobar, who is known professionally by her first name only. Born in Paris in 1930, Marisol, who designed the American Merchant Mariners Memorial in Battery Park, sculpts shamanistic figures and totem-like objects as well as ritualistic masks, using plaster, wood, ceramic, oil paint, and other media. The works on view, ranging from 1964 to 2007, feature intricate carving and offbeat design. In "Desmond Tutu," the archbishop’s head sits atop a rectangular slab of wood, with a cutout to show his glowing heart, a sword leaning against him. In "Coule 1," the body of two figures are carved onto a vertical slab of wood, their heads in smaller blocks on top, with one face inside a concave hole and the other’s consisting of a long white cone blowing out cold air. In "The Funeral," a sculpture of a young boy saluting (JFK Jr.) overlooks a miniature funeral procession. And in the frighteningly endearing "Fishman," two figures, one small, one large, are combinations of fish and human. Curator Carter Ratcliff has put together a tantalizing collection; we only wish there was more of it.
© Red Grooms
Red Grooms, "Arbus at the Met," oil on canvas, 2007
Marlborough Gallery
40 West 57th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Through October 27
Closed Sunday & Monday
Admission: free
212-541-4900
http://www.marlboroughgallery.com
Born in Nashville and based in New York City, multimedia artist Red Grooms is best known for his engaging sculpto-pictoramas, bringing cityscapes to life in a barrage of bright colors and playful scenes. Now seventy, he has changed direction again, reimagining the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s famous Unicorn Tapestries that hang in the Cloisters. Using his trademark bold colors, Grooms fills six large-size canvases with humans, animals, and lots of drama and action as the unicorn purifies the stream, strikes back at his attackers, is romanced by female spirits, is hunted down, dies in glory, and is reborn. Take your time marveling at these works so you don’t miss any of the myriad details. The exhibit also features a glassed-in room of seven smaller paintings in which Grooms places famous artists (Degas, Manet, Morandi, Pisarro, Sargent, and Brancusi) within the their own works. Other new paintings include the noirish "Eggs Over Midnight" and "The Client"; "The Funny Place," a crowded carnivalesque food orgy ruled by an intense smile; "Side Pocket," in which men in top hats roll boulders into large holes in a surrealistic landscape; and "Arbus at the Met," in which Grooms pays tribute to the photographer by using subdued black, white, and gray oils. Be sure to walk through the side gallery, comprising sixteen prints primarily of New York City, featuring scenes set amid such landmarks as the Cedar Bar, the Morgan Library, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Terminal, and others.
© Joann Verburg
JoAnn Verburg, "Sacred Trees (for Bruce)," 2000
Pace/MacGill Gallery
32 East 57th St. between
Through October 13
Closed Sunday & Monday
Admission: free
212-759-7999
In conjunction with her "Present Tense" exhibit at MoMA, the Pace/MacGill Gallery is presenting a collection of eleven photographs by JoAnn Verburg. Her photographs capture a moment in nature caught between time and space, a unique instant that is as beautiful as it is mysterious. Often consisting of two, three, four, or as many as six prints, the works play with light and perspective, resulting in captivating impossibilities set amid the sacred olive trees of Spoleto and other outdoor locations. In "Sacred Trees (for Bruce)," a huge out-of-focus knot in a tree dominates the right print, while the more open left print takes viewers down a path that disappears into the distance. In "Underground," one of several photos featuring her husband, the poet John Moore, Moore is sleeping on a park bench peacefully, clutching a newspaper open to a story of death and destruction, resting below leaves and trees. See below for information on Verberg’s MoMA show, which runs through November 15.
© JoAnn Verburg
JoAnn Verburg, "Exploding Triptych," three chromogenic color prints, 2000
Museum of Modern Art
Special Exhibitions Gallery, third floor
West 54th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Through November 15
Admission: $20 (includes same-day film screening)
Fridays free from 4:00 to 8:00
212-708-9400
Born in New Jersey and now living and working in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Spoleto, Italy, photographer JoAnn Verburg has been taking pictures since she was six years old. Using a large-format camera, Verburg examines time and space in her works, divided into several series – portraits, still lifes, landscapes – and often appearing as diptychs and triptychs. In "With Michael and John in Minnesota," artists Mike Kelley and John Miller, along with Verburg, are seen in three photos side by side, but the subjects are arranged in such a way that inferring a linear narrative is impossible. In the digital video "Tina, Silent," on the left is a still photo of a woman, while on the right is a silent video of her moving her head and talking, creating a jarring yet compelling effect. In "Scuds Are Gone; Israeli Fears Linger," Verburg captures an unseen person reading a newspaper, the title coming from a story in the paper, emphasizing anonymity in the new world order. The most exciting room features Verburg’s landscapes, primarily pictures of trees, including the captivating "Exploding Triptych," three chromogenic color prints that at first appear to be panoramic but are not, playing with perception, reality, and, again, time and space.
71 FRAGMENTS OF A CHRONOLOGY OF CHANCE gets rare screening at MoMA
MoMA Film
Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
October 3-15
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
The complete works of German-born, Austria-raised writer-director Michael Haneke comprise this exciting film festival at MoMA, including several works making their North American theatrical premiere. Although Haneke has made noise in the United States with his last few features — THE PIANO TEACHER, TIME OF THE WOLF, CACHÉ — he has been experimenting with various unique and challenging narrative forms since the late 1970s, for Austrian-German television. He will be on hand October 13 to introduce CODE UNKNOWN: INCOMPLETE TALES OF SEVERAL JOURNEYS, his 2001 film starring Juliette Binoche.
Wednesday, October 3 LEMMINGE — TEIL 1 — ARKADIEN (LEMMINGS — PART 1 — ARCADIA) (Michael Haneke, 1979), 6:15
Wednesday, October 3 LEMMINGE — TEIL 2 — VERLETZUNGEN (LEMMINGS — PART 2 — INJURIES) (Michael Haneke, 1979), 8:30
Thursday, October 4 VARIATION (Michael Haneke, 1983), 6:15
Thursday, October 4 WER WAR EDGAR ALLAN? (WHO WAS EDGAR ALLAN?) (Michael Haneke, 1984), 8:30
Friday, October 5 DER SIEBENTE KONTINENT (THE SEVENTH CONTINENT) (Michael Haneke, 1989), 6:15
Friday, October 5 71 FRAGMENTE EINER CHRONOLOGIE DES ZUFALLS (71 FRAGMENTS OF A CHRONOLOGY OF CHANCE) (Michael Haneke, 1994), 8:30
Saturday, October 6 FRAULEIN (Michael Haneke, 1986), 2:00
Saturday, October 6 DIE REBELLION (THE REBELLION) (Michael Haneke, 1993), 4:15
Saturday, October 6 DAS SCHLOß (THE CASTLE) (Michael Haneke, 1997), 6:15
BENNY’S VIDEO makes the camera a character
Saturday, October 6 BENNY'S VIDEO (Michael Haneke, 1992), 8:45
Sunday, October 7 71 FRAGMENTE EINER CHRONOLOGIE DES ZUFALLS (71 FRAGMENTS OF A CHRONOLOGY OF CHANCE) (Michael Haneke, 1994), 2:00
Sunday, October 7 CODE INCONNU (CODE UNKNOWN: INCOMPLETE TALES OF SEVERAL JOURNEYS) (Michael Haneke, 2000), 4:00
Sunday, October 7 LA PIANISTE (THE PIANO TEACHER) (Michael Haneke, 2001), 6:30
Monday, October 8 BENNY'S VIDEO (Michael Haneke, 1992), 4:00
Monday, October 8 LE TEMPS DU LOUP (TIME OF THE WOLF) (Michael Haneke, 2003), 6:15
Monday, October 8 CACHÉ (Michael Haneke, 2005), 8:45
Daniel Auteil and Juliette Binoche find their share of trouble in CACHÉ
http://www.sonyclassics.com/cache
Writer-director Michael Haneke (THE PIANO TEACHER) was named Best Director at Cannes for this slow-moving yet gripping psychological drama about a seemingly happy French family whose lives are about to be torn apart. CACHÉ stars Daniel Auteil as Georges, the host of a literary public television talk show, and Juliette Binoche as his wife, Anne, a book editor. One day a mysterious videotape is left for them, showing a continuous shot of their house. More tapes follow, wrapped in childish drawings of a boy with blood coming out of his mouth. Fearing for the safety of their son, Pierrot (Lester Makedonsky), they go to the police, who say they cannot do anything until an actual crime has been committed. As the tapes reveal more information and invite more danger, Georges’s secrets and lies threaten the future of his marriage. CACHÉ is a tense, involving thriller that is both uncomfortable and captivating to watch. Haneke zooms in closely on the relationship between Georges and Anne, keeping all other characters in the background; in fact, there is no musical score or even any incidental music to enhance the searing emotions coming from Auteil and Binoche. CACHÉ has also won a number of year-end critics awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Oh, and be sure to pay close attention to the long final shot for just one more crucial twist that many people in the audience will miss.
Wednesday, October 10 WER WAR EDGAR ALLAN? (WHO WAS EDGAR ALLAN?) (Michael Haneke, 1984), 6:15
Wednesday, October 10 DAS SCHLOß (THE CASTLE) (Michael Haneke, 1997), 8:15
Thursday, October 11 DREI WEGE ZUM SEE (THREE PATHS TO THE LAKE) (Michael Haneke, 1976), 6:15
Thursday, October 11 VARIATION (Michael Haneke, 1983), 8:15
Friday, October 12 FRAULEIN (Michael Haneke, 1986), 6:15
Friday, October 12 DIE REBELLION (THE REBELLION) (Michael Haneke, 1993), 8:30
© Les Films du Losange
Ben (Lucas Biscombe) feels the heat in TIME OF THE WOLF
Saturday, October 13 LEMMINGE — TEIL 1 — ARKADIEN (LEMMINGS — PART 1 — ARCADIA) (Michael Haneke, 1979), 1:30
Saturday, October 13 LEMMINGE — TEIL 2 — VERLETZUNGEN (LEMMINGS — PART 2 — INJURIES) (Michael Haneke, 1979), 4:00
Saturday, October 13 DER SIEBENTE KONTINENT (THE SEVENTH CONTINENT). (Michael Haneke, 1989), 6:15
Saturday, October 13 CODE INCONNU (CODE UNKNOWN: INCOMPLETE TALES OF SEVERAL JOURNEYS) (Michael Haneke, 2000), introduced by Michael Haneke, 8:30
Sunday, October 14 DREI WEGE ZUM SEE (THREE PATHS TO THE LAKE) (Michael Haneke, 1976), 1:00
Sunday, October 14 CACHÉ (Michael Haneke, 2005), 3:00
Sunday, October 14 LA PIANISTE (THE PIANO TEACHER) (Michael Haneke, 2001), 5:30
Monday, October 15 LE TEMPS DU LOUP (TIME OF THE WOLF) (Michael Haneke, 2003), 4:30
twi-ny/mdr
The Blueshirts hope to spend many nights lifting their sticks in triumph at center ice
Madison Square Garden
31st to 33rd Sts. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
October 4 through April 6
Tickets: $30 - $1,004.50
Individual game tickets now on sale
212-465-6741
Despite huge expectations last year, the Rangers finished third in their division, with an admirable 42-30-10 record, upsetting the Thrashers in four games in the conference quarters but losing to Buffalo in six games in the conference semis. The Rangers open the 2007-2008 season at home on October 4 against the Florida Panthers and finish up in Jersey on April 6. Once again goaltending phenom Henrik Lundqvist (37-22-8, 2.34) is expected to spend the yeoman’s share of time between the pipes. During the offseason, the Rangers went after some big-name free agents, landing former Devils center Scott Gomez (13-47-60) and former Sabres center Chris Drury (37-32-69) to support an offense led by Jaromir Jagr (30-66-96), Brendan Shanahan (29-33-62), and Martin Straka (29-41-70), with help from major pest Sean Avery (18-30-48) and Petr Prucha (22-18-40).
twi-ny/mdr
Rangers announcer and MSG vault keeper Al Trautwig stopped off in section 416 at a recent game and posed for twi-ny
Coach Tom Renney will be taking long looks at such players as Ryan Callahan, Nigel Dawes, Brandon Dubinsky, and the puzzling Marcel Hossa while solidifying a defense led by Paul Mara, Dan Girardi, Fedor Tyutin, Michal Rozsival, Marek Malik, and promising rookie Marc Staal. With the Islanders and Devils expected to drop in the standings, the Rangers have a good shot at winning the division. Look for us again in section 416, as always with dreams of Lord Stanley dancing in our heads.
twi-ny/mdr
The old Williamsburg Savings Bank is now known as One Hanson Place
Various venues in all five boroughs
October 6-7
Admission: free, but reservations required for some sites
212-991-OHNY
It’s time again for one of the city’s most exciting weekends, openhousenewyork, when many buildings, structures, and landmarks open their doors to the general public, all for free. Among the places we’ve visited during previous openhousenewyork weekends, all of which we highly recommend, are Washington Irving High School, the High Line, the South Side of Ellis Island (a must!), the Grand Lodge of Masons, the Sailors and Soldiers Memorial Arch at Grand Army Plaza (yes, you get to go inside and up to the top), the New York City Marble Cemetery and the nearby New York Marble Cemetery, One Hanson Place (the old Williamsburg Savings Bank Building), and the Chrysler Building (go during one of the talks, which are fascinating). Other highlights include the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum, the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage, Woodlawn Cemetery, Brooklyn Borough Hall, Floyd Bennett Field, Mark Morris Dance Center, McCarren Park Pool, Pratt Institute, Sixpoint Craft Ales in Redhook, UrbanGlass, Fort Totten, the Hindu Temple Society of North America, the Jacob Riis Park Bathhouse, Snug Harbor, the Arsenal in Central Park, Castle Clinton National Monument in Battery Park, the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, Dance Theatre of Harlem, the Forbes Galleries, the Gatehouse, the John J. Harvey Fireboat, the Little Red Lighthouse, Morris-Jumel Mansion, Teardrop Park, the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace, and lots of other churches, synagogues, museums, galleries, architect offices, parks, markets, memorials, monuments, arts centers, schools, botanical gardens, and more.
But be sure to do your homework first; many of the sites are open on only one of the days, and then only at certain times. In addition, if there is a tour, it gets more crowded then, so be prepared to wait on some long lines. And if you need to RSVP in advance, do it now! Finally, we strongly suggest that wherever you go, have some backups in the same neighborhood to maximize your time — and so you’re likely to see something if your first choice is already full.
Friday, October 5 Grand Opening of the African National Burial Ground Monument memorial, Duane St. between Broadway & Elk St., free, 212-491-2012, 1:00, followed by Greet the Torch, arrival of ceremonial torch celebrated with drummers and a mass choir, 6:00 — 8:00, and Candlelight Procession, Battery Park to Foley Square, with live performances, 8:00 — 10:00
Saturday, October 6 opendialoguenewyork: Bill Conway and Kate Lemos, Grand Central Terminal, reservations at ohny@bbbarch.com, 10:00 am and 12 noon
Saturday, October 6 International Tribute Concert for the grand opening of the African National Burial Ground Monument, Foley Square, 11:00 am — 4:00 pm
Saturday, October 6 opendialoguenewyork: Robert Lobenstein, MTA Substation, Flatbush Ave., reservations at 718-964-1867, 11:00 and 1:00
Saturday, October 6 Project for Public Spaces, 700 Broadway at West Fourth St., 10:00 am — 5:00 pm
Saturday, October 6 Tom Otterness Studio, 96 Fourth St. at Bond St., Brooklyn, RSVP at rsvp@tomotterness.net, 11:00, 1:00, and 2:00
Saturday, October 6 opendialoguenewyork: Ehrenkrantz Eckstut and Kuhn Architects, the Building of Battery Park City, Winter Garden, World Financial Center, 3 West St. between Vesey & Liberty Sts., 11:00, 1:00, 3:00
Saturday, October 6 ohny tours: Mad Monk’s Guide to Gramercy Park, reservations at www.monk.com/ohny, 11:30 and 1:00
Saturday, October 6 sustainablenewyork: Harlem Through Our Five Senses: A Mapping Workshop, Salvadori Center City College of New York, 137th St. at Convent Ave., for children ages five to ten, reservations at hillary@salvadori.org, 12 noon — 2:00
Saturday, October 6 architecturemoves: Angels and Accordions, tour, live music, and site-specific dance presented by Green-Wood Cemetery and Dance Theatre Etcetera, 25th St. at Fifth Ave., Brooklyn, 718-768-7300, 12 noon and 3:30
Saturday, October 6 opendialoguenewyork: Jeff Vandeberg, Chelsea Market, 75 Ninth Ave. at 15th St., 2:00
Saturday, October 6
and
Sunday, October 7 The Encampment, Southpoint Park, Roosevelt Island, reservations at encampmentreservations@gmailcom, talks on the hour every hour, 7:00 am — 1:00 pm
Sunday, October 7 sustainablenewyork: Solar 1, 2420 FDR Dr., 9:00 am — 12 noon
twi-ny/mdr
Murals fill Washington Irving High School
Saturday, October 6
and
Sunday, October 7 ohny tours: Ellis Island’s South Side, meet at information desk of Ellis Island Immigration Museum, seventeen and older only, reservations at 212-363-3206 ext580, 9:30, 11:00, 12:30, 2:00, 3:30
Saturday, October 6
and
Sunday, October 7 ohny tours: Governors Island, meet at Governors Island ferry landing, hourly from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Saturday, October 6
and
Sunday, October 7 sustainablenewyork: Alexander Hamilton US Custom House / Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, One Bowling Green, 10:00 am — 5:00 pm
Saturday, October 6
and
Sunday, October 7 opendialoguenewyork: Introduction and Q&A with curator, Mike Nelson’s "A Psychic Vacuum," 117 Delancey St. at Essex St., 10:00 and 11:00
Saturday, October 6
and
Sunday, October 7 opendialoguenewyork: United Nations, First Ave. at East 46th St., reservations at tourshunhg@un.org, 10:15, 11:45, 12:15
Saturday, October 6
and
Sunday, October 7 ohny tours: Harlem One Stop, meet in front of Hispanic Society of America, Broadway between 155th & 156th Sts., reservations at info@harlemonestop.org, Saturday at 11:00, 1:30, 3:00, Sunday at 1:00 and 2:00
twi-ny/mdr
Chrysler Building talk is one of weekend highlights
Saturday, October 6
and
Sunday, October 7 opendialoguenewyork: Robert Klara, Chrysler Building, 405 Lexington Ave. at 42nd St., Saturday at 11:00 and 2:00, Sunday at 12 noon
Saturday, October 6
and
Sunday, October 7 ohny tours: Architectural Transitions of Roosevelt Island, meet at Tramway Station, Roosevelt Island, reservations at wmenking@hotmail.com, 2:00
Saturday, October 6
and
Sunday, October 7 ohny tours: Gowanus Canal Canoe Tour, end of Second St. at Bond St., 2:00 — 6:00 (last tour at 5:00)
Sunday, October 7 opendialoguenewyork: Kristina Kozak, Barzel Iron Works, 61 Jefferson St. at Bushwick Ave., reservations , 10:00, 11:30, 1:00, 2:30
Sunday, October 7 ohny tours: Brooklyn Army Terminal Tour, 140 58th St. at First Ave., Building B lobby area, reservations at kbranford@nycedc.com, 11:00 and 1:00
Sunday, October 7 architecturemoves: New Amsterdam Boys Choir, Webster Ave. at East 223rd St., 11:30 and 1:00
Sunday, October 7 opendialoguenewyork: Tom Lindberg, Temple Emanu-El, 1 East 65th St. at Fifth Ave., 12 noon and 2:00
"The Encampment" will settle in for a few days on Roosevelt Island
Sunday, October 7 opendialoguenewyork: W. Jose Higgins, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Crossbay Blvd. at Sixth Rd., Broad Channel, reservations at 718-318-4340, 1:00
Sunday, October 7 Tom Otterness Studio, 96 Fourth St. at Bond St., Brooklyn, RSVP at rsvp@tomotterness.net, 1:00 and 3:00
Sunday, October 7 opendialoguenewyork: Wave Hill, West 249th St. at Independence Ave., 2:00
Sunday, October 7 ohny tours: Historic Richmond Hill, Kearns Funeral Home, 85-66 115th St. at Myrtle Ave., reservations at 718-847-7878, 2:00
Sunday, October 7 opendialoguenewyork: Ralph Carmasino, Litchfield Villa, 95 Prospect Park at West Fourth St., 2:00 and 3:00
THE WILD, WILD ROSE (YI MEI GUI ZHI LIAN) (Wong Tin-lam, 1960)
Walter Reade Theater
65th St. between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.
October 10-16
Tickets: $11
This special showcase of the forty-fifth New York Film Festival honors Cathay Studios, which made some of China’s most popular films of the 1950s and 1960s, many starring Grace Chang. The series also pays tribute to Hong Kong’s tenth anniversary as a special administrative region. The films range from romantic comedies to a two-part historical epic to a musical, the only film in color.
Wednesday, October 10 THE BATTLE OF LOVE (QING CHANG RU ZHAN CHANG) (Yue Feng, 1957), 5:00
Wednesday, October 10 MAMBO GIRL (MANBO NULANG) (Yi Wen, 1957), 7:00
Wednesday, October 10 OUR DREAM CAR (XIANGJU MEIREN) (Yi Wen, 1959), 9:00
Thursday, October 11 SISTER LONG LEGS (CHANGTUI JIEJIE) (Tang Huang, 1960), 5:00
Thursday, October 11 THE WILD, WILD ROSE (YI MEI GUI ZHI LIAN) (Wong Tin-lam, 1960), 7:00
Thursday, October 11 JUNE BRIDE (LIUYUE XINNIANG) (Tang Huang, 1960), 9:30
Saturday, October 13 THE WILD, WILD ROSE (YI MEI GUI ZHI LIAN) (Wong Tin-lam, 1960), 4:30
Sunday, October 14 MAMBO GIRL (MANBO NULANG) (Yi Wen, 1957), 6:15
Sunday, October 14 OUR DREAM CAR (XIANGJU MEIREN) (Yi Wen, 1959), 8:15
Sunday, October 14 SISTER LONG LEGS (CHANGTUI JIEJIE) (Tang Huang, 1960), 8:15
Tuesday, October 16 SUN, MOON AND STAR (PARTS ONE AND TWO) (Yi Wen, 1961), 12 noon
Tuesday, October 16 JUNE BRIDE (LIUYUE XINNIANG) (Tang Huang, 1960), 4:30
Tuesday, October 16 SUN, MOON AND STAR (PARTS ONE AND TWO) (Yi Wen, 1961), 6:45
© Peter Hutton
Peter Hutton’s AT SEA tells the story of a container shop
Walter Reade Theater
65th St. between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.
October 6-7
Tickets: $11
This eleventh annual special showcase of the New York Film Festival features eleven programs of shorts and full-length films that challenge the notion of cinema, including works by Ken Jacobs, Peter Hutton, Peggy Ahwesh, Ben Rivers, Helga Fanderl, Paolo Gioli, Jonathan Schwartz, Robert Beavers, and Ernie Gehr
Final, definitive cut of BLADE RUNNER is one of fest’s highlights
Frederick P. Rose Hall
Broadway at 60th St.
Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. between Eighth Ave. & Broadway
September 28 - October 14
Selected by Richard Peña, Scott Foundas, J. Hoberman, Kent Jones, and Lisa Schwarzbaum, the films at the forty-fifth New York Film Festival is another intriguing collection of international fare, with Wes Anderson’s THE DARJEELING LIMITED the Opening Night film, Joel and Ethan Coen’s NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN the Centerpiece, and Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud’s PERSEPOLIS the Closing Night film. Other highlights include Noah Bambauch’s MARGOT AT THE WEDDING, starring Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh; Todd Haynes’s I’M NOT THERE, with Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, and Heath Ledger; Sidney Lumet’s BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD, with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, and Albert Finney; and Gus Van Sant’s PARANOID PARK, Brian De Palma’s REDACTED, John Landis’s MR. WARMTH: THE DON RICKLES PROJECT, Julian Schnabel’s THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, Abel Ferrara’s GO GO TALES, Hou Hsiao Hsien’s THE FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON, Eric Rohmer’s THE ROMANCE OF ASTREA AND CELADON, music documentaries about Fados, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and other works by Catherine Breillat, Alexander Sokoruv, Jia Zhang-ke, and Lee Chang-dong, among others.
There will be yet another version of Ridley Scott’s BLADE RUNNER (this one called the "definitive final cut," in honor of the film’s twenty-fifth anniversary), the Alloy Orchestra will play their new score to Josef von Sternberg’s UNDERWORLD, and John Ford’s DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK will be celebrated. In addition, the sidebars include works by Brazilian filmmaker Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, the annual Views from the Avant-Garde series, and a tribute to Hong Kong’s Cathay Studios. Keep watching www.twi-ny.com for select reviews throughout the festival.
Three very different brothers go on a spiritual quest in DARJEELING
Friday, September 28, Walter Reade Theater, 7:45
Friday, September 28, Avery Fisher Hall, 9:00
In theaters now
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/thedarjeelinglimited
Wes Anderson takes viewers on a wild ride through India aboard THE DARJEELING LIMITED in this black comedy that opens the New York Film Festival. Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody), and Jack (cowriter Jason Schwartzman) are brothers who have not seen each other since their father’s funeral a year before, after which their mother disappeared. Having recently survived a terrible accident, Francis — looking ridiculous with his face and head wrapped in bandages — convinces them to go on a spiritual quest together to reestablish their relationship and help them better understand life. Peter and Jack very hesitantly decide to go along on what turns out to be a series of madcap adventures involving bathroom sex, bloody noses, jealousy, praying, cigarettes galore, running after trains, and savory snacks. Anderson (THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, RUSHMORE) injects his unique brand of humor on the action, ranging from the offbeat to the sensitive to the absurd as the brothers bond and battle in a search for themselves and what’s left of their family, set to a score adapted from the films of Satyajit Ray and Merchant-Ivory. The film features cameos by Bill Murray, Natalie Portman, Barbet Schroeder, and Anjelica Huston and is preceded by the very entertaining related short “Hotel Chevalier.”
Jeon Do-yeon gives a harrowing performance in SECRET SUNSHINE
Monday, October 1, 6:00
Tuesday, October 2, 9:15
Lee Chang-dong’s fourth film — and his first since 2002’s OH AH SHISOO (OASIS) — is a harrowing examination of immeasurable grief. After losing her husband, Lee Shin-ae (Jeon Do-yeon) decides to move with her young son, Jun (Seon Jeong-yeob), to Miryang, her late husband’s hometown. Miryang, which means "secret sunshine," is a typical South Korean small town, where everyone knows everybody. Restarting her life, Shin-ae gets help from Kim Jong-chan (Song Kang-ho), a local mechanic who takes an immediate liking to her. But Shin-ae is more concerned with settling down with her son and giving piano lessons. But when a horrific tragedy strikes, she begins to unravel, refusing help from anyone until she turns to religion, but even that does not save her from her ever-darkening sadness. Jeon gives a remarkable, devastating performance, holding nothing back as she fights for her sanity. Song, best known for his starring role in THE HOST, is charming as Jong-chan, a friendly man who is a little too simple to understand the depth of what is happening to Shin-ae. Don’t let the nearly two-and-a-half-hour running time scare you away; SECRET SUNSHINE is an extraordinary film that does not feel nearly that long.
The Weinstein Company
Cate Blanchett is one of many Dylans in Todd Haynes’s I’M NOT THERE
Thursday, October 4, 8:30
Saturday, October 6, 10:00 am
Todd Haynes’s highly anticipated dramatization of the musical life of Bob Dylan is ambitious, innovative, and, ultimately, overblown and disappointing. Working with Dylan’s permission (though not artistic input), Haynes crafts a nonlinear tale in which six actors play different parts of Dylan’s psyche as the Great White Wonder develops from a humble folksinger to an internationally renowned and revered figure. Dylan is seen as an eleven-year-old black traveling hobo who goes by the name Woody Guthrie (Marcus Carl Franklin); Jack (Christian Bale), a Greenwich Village protest singer who later becomes a pastor; Robbie (Heath Ledger), an actor who has portrayed a Dylan entity and is having marital problems with his wife, Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg); Arthur Rimbaud (Ben Whishaw), a staunch defender of poetry and revolution; an old Billy the Kid (Richard Gere), who has settled down peacefully in the small town of Riddle; and Jude Quinn (Cate Blanchett), who is attacked by her audience when she goes electric. Each story line is shot in a different style; for example, Jude’s is influenced by Fellini and the Dylan documentary EAT THIS DOCUMENT!, Robbie’s by Godard, and Billy’s by Peckinpah. Excerpts from Dylan’s own version of his songs are interwoven with interpretations by Tom Verlaine, Yo La Tengo, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Stephen Malkmus, the Hold Steady, Sonic Youth (who do a killer version of the unreleased BASEMENT TAPES-era title track over the closing credits), and many more, with cameos by Kris Kristofferson (as the opening narrator), Richie Havens, Julianne Moore, Kim Gordon, Paul Van Dyck, Michelle Williams, and David Cross (looking ridiculous as Allen Ginsberg). The most successful section by far is Blanchett’s; she takes over the role with relish, and cinematographer Edward Lachman and production designer Judy Becker nail the feel of the mid-’60s energy surrounding Dylan. But the rest of the film is all over the place, a great concept that bit off more than it could chew.
Hou Hsiao Hsien falls in love with Paris in FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON
Sunday, October 7, 1:00
Monday, October 8, 9:00
Commissioned by the Musee d’Orsay and inspired by Adam Gopnik's book PARIS TO THE MOON and Albert Lamorisse’s children’s classic THE RED BALLOON, director Hou Hsiao Hsien creates a wonderfully gentle, beautifully peaceful work in FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON. Mimicking the Taiwanese Hou making a film in Paris, Song Fang stars as Song, a Taiwanese film student who arrives in Paris to be a nanny to Simon (Simon Iteanu), whose mother, Suzanne (a blonde Juliette Binoche), runs a local puppet theater — which is currently putting on a version of the Chinese story of Zhang Yu, in French. Song goes everywhere with her video camera, recording whatever she sees. Meanwhile, a mysterious red balloon follows Simon through the city. (In THE RED BALLOON, it’s reversed, as a young boy runs after the balloon.) There is no real plot but merely daily life, sort of Truffaut meets Ozu as Song makes pancakes, Suzanne gets involved in a rent dispute, and Simon practices the piano. The film is all about place and character, not about narrative; in fact, much of the dialogue is improvised. Lovingly shot by Mark Lee Ping Bing, FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON is a sweet, tender film.
De Palma war flick goes off the deep end
Wednesday, October 10, 6:00
Thursday, October 11, 9:00
Director Brian De Palma, best known for such thrillers as DRESSED TO KILL, SCARFACE, and CARRIE, has taken on the Vietnam War in several of his films, including 1990’s CASUALTIES OF WAR. In REDACTED, he turns his attention to the war in Iraq, telling a brutal story using such secondary sources as security cameras, Web sites, reports from embedded journalists, and, primarily, a video diary being made by an American soldier, Angel Salazar (Izzy Diaz), stationed at a dangerous checkpoint with Sgt. Jim Ross (Mike Figueroa), Master Sgt. Sweet (Ty Jones), and privates B. B. Rush (Daniel Stewart Sherman), Reno Flake (Patrick Carroll), Gabe Blix (Kel O'Neil), and Lawyer McCoy (Rob Devaney). Salazar captures the camaraderie among the men — and their fears, as an IED blows apart one of them — until Rush and Flake decide to get even by planning to rape a fifteen-year-old girl in her home. While the first half of the film works well, with De Palma cleverly cutting between the various sources, lending the film a realistic, documentary-like feel, the second half, anchored by the brutal attack on the girl and her family and the aftermath, falls apart, dragged down by De Palma’s overt antiwar sentimentality and characters who suddenly turn from familiar to cliche-ridden.
Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman run into family trouble in Lumet flick
Friday, October 12, 6:00
Saturday, October 13, 12:45
http://www.7h58cesamedila-lefilm.com
Sidney Lumet (DOG DAY AFTERNOON, NETWORK) spins an intriguing web of mystery and severe family dysfunction in BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD. Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Hank (Ethan Hawke) are very different brothers who are both in desperate financial straits. Andy, a real estate exec, has a serious drug problem and a fading marriage to his sexy but bored young wife (Marisa Tomei), while ne’er-do-well Hank can’t afford the monthly child-support payments to his ex-wife (Aleksa Palladino) and daughter (Amy Ryan). Andy convinces Hank to knock off their parents’ (Albert Finney and Rosemary Harris) jewelry store, but when things go horribly wrong, everyone involved is forced to face some very difficult situations, leading to a harrowing climax. Seymour and Hawke are both excellent, the former cool, calm, and collected, the latter scattershot and impulsive. Tomei gives one of her finest performances as the woman sleeping with both brothers. Lumet tells the story through a series of flashbacks from various characters’ point of view, with fascinating overlaps — although a bit overused — that offer different perspectives on critical scenes. Adapted from a script by playwright Kelly Masterson — whom Lumet has never met or even spoken with — BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD (the title comes from an Irish toast that begins, "May you be in heaven half and hour…") is a thrilling modern noir that is from one of the masters of melodrama.
Henny Garfunkel
Johnny Rotten mugs for Henny Garfunkel
Frieda and Roy Furman Gallery
Walter Reade Theater
September 17 — October 31, 2:00 — 8:00
Admission: free
In conjunction with the New York Film Festival, the Film Society of Lincoln Center is presenting dozens of Polaroids taken by Henny Garfunkel since 2000. Garfunkel, a well-established photographer, would ask many of her subjects if they minded if she took a Polaroid of them after an official shoot was over. Not only would the celebrities agree, but they would often make fun, goofy faces and poses for Garfunkel, resulting in playful, unique pictures. They also signed each one, sometimes drawing over themselves. "[Polaroids] are considered less serious, rough and imperfect, and there’s a certain familiarity about using that camera that encourages people to open up and relax," Garfunkel said about her work. Thus, Tim Robbins adds a beard and mustache to his visage, Guillermo del Toro draws a caricature of himself, Terry Gilliam pulls his cheeks out, Frances McDormand and Johnn Depp cross their eyes, and Lucy Liu, Tim Burton, Todd Field, and Anne Hathaway stick out their tongues. Bruno Ganz, Werner Herzog, and David Lynch are far more serious. Other participants include Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat, Pedro Almodóvar, Queen Latifah, Sam Shepard, Mena Suvari, Ed Harris, Toni Collette, Crispin Glover, Penelope Cruz, Tilda Swinton, Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig, and even Al Gore, who, alas, does not make a funny face.
twi-ny/mdr
Hans Van de Bovenkamp, "Cloud Kicker," stainless steel, 2006
Dante Park
Between 63rd & 64th Sts. and Columbus Ave. & Broadway
Admission: free
Passing by Lincoln Center last week, we came upon a sculpture being set up in Dante Park, in between Ettore Ximenes’s statue of Dante holding tight to his DIVINE COMEDY and Philip Johnson’s four-sided Movado clock known as "TimesSculpture." Standing nearly twelve feet high, the new piece, "Cloud Kicker," is by architectural designer and sculptor Hans Van de Bovenkamp, who was carefully monitoring the installation. The shiny stainless-steel work, which appeared to be surprisingly light as it was placed on the ground, glittered in the afternoon sunlight, giving it a deceptive depth that seemed to come alive with inner motion, interacting with the trees in the park as well as Lincoln Center’s Revson Fountain in the background. "In recent works, I have emphasized myth, symbol, and dream to evoke an atmosphere in which the sculpture and its environment speak to the subconscious to make the observer aware of the dreamlike nature of life," Van de Bovenkamp explains on his Web site. Make sure to walk all the way around "Cloud Kicker," which looks very different when seen from different angles and with changing light.
© Eikoh Hosoe
Butoh festival honors one
of its founders, Kazuo Ohno
Japan Society
333 East 47th St. at First Ave.
Tickets: $30-$35 ($113 for all programs and birthday party)
212-715-1258
As part of the Japan Society’s centennial celebration, they are presenting a tribute to butoh legend Kazuo Ohno, who would have been 101 this year. Ohno was one of the founders of the avant-garde dance form, developed shortly after World War II. The Japan Society is marking the occasion with a three-week program of special events, featuring butoh masters from Japan as well as American performers — in addition to a special appearance by Yoshito Ohno, Kazuo’s son.
Tuesday, October 9
and
Wednesday, October 10 TIGER’S CAVE: BUTOH BOOT CAMP (BUTOH: TORA NO ANA), all-male work choreographed by Kumotaro Mukai, performed by members of Dairakudakan, 7:30
Friday, October 12
and
Saturday, October 13 YUPITERS, all-female work choreographed by Yuko Kobayashi, performed by members of Dairakudakan, 7:30
Thursday, October 18
through
Saturday, October 20 Eiko & Koma: Mourning, with Margaret Leng Tan on toy and grand piano, world premiere centennial commission, 7:30
© Hideyo Tanaka
Kazuo’s son Yoshito carries on
the family tradition
Thursday, October 25
through
Saturday, October 27 Akira Kasai: BUTOH AMERICA, world premiere centennial commission, created by Akira Kasai and performed by five hand-picked U.S.-based performers
Saturday, October 27 U.S. Butoh Marathon, featuring performances by Jeff Janisheski & Yanira Castro, Moeno Wakamatsu; Haruko Nishimura, Koichi & Hiroko Tamano, Juan Merchan, Shinichi Iova Koga, and Ximena garnica, $12-$15, 4:30
Saturday, October 27 YOSHITO OHNO: EMPTINESS (KUU), solo work by Yoshito Ohno, son of Kazuo Ohno, followed by birthday party with live music and improvised performances (free to holders of Butoh Parade main event tickets)
twi-ny/mdr
Bradford Cox leads Deerhunter into the CMJ Music Marathon
Multiple venues
Marathon Badge: $495
VIP Badge: $750
More than a thousand bands will descend on New York City for the CMJ Music Marathon, playing their hearts out in an effort to get recognized and reach that next level. In addition to the below shows, we’re looking forward to appearances by Dean & Britta, the GoStation, Holy F–k, Japanther, Mates of State, Matt & Kim, NYC Smoke, Robbers on High Street, Shout Out Out Out Out, and the Teenage Prayers. A festival badge gets you into shows as long as they’re not already packed and/or sold out, so get there early for the biggies. A certain number of tickets are sold in advance and at the door, so if you’re not up to the $495 Marathon Badge, you better get your individual tix as soon as you can, because it will be a madhouse for a whole bunch of much-hyped events. Keep watching this space for updates, recommendations, previews, and reviews.
Tuesday, October 16 The Rosebuds, Dean & Britta, the Most Serene Republic, Miracle Fortress, the Shaky Hands, and Bon Iver, Bowery Ballroom, $16, 7:00
Tuesday, October 16 The Forms, Soundfix Records
Tuesday, October 16 Care Bears on Fire, Love Takes Flight, the Beast of Eden, Oppenheimer, Rochester Road, the GoStation, Crash Mansion, free, 7:00
Tuesday, October 16 Q-Tip, Gramercy, $25-$30, 7:00
Tuesday, October 16 Regina Spektor, Hammerstein Ballroom, $35, 6:30
Wednesday, October 17 Deerhunter, Dan Deacon, No Age, White Williams, and Ponytail, Bowery Ballroom, $16, 7:00
Wednesday, October 17 Rock and Roll, the Rosewood Thieves, the Airborne Toxic Event, Eagle Seagull, the Little Ones, Robbers on High Street, and Eskimo Joe, Mercury Lounge, $12, 7:00
Wednesday, October 17 Holy Fuck, Cadence Weapon, Videohippos, New Violators, Oh No! Oh My!, Turbo Fruits, Bald Eagle, and Titus Andronicus, Galapagos, $5, 8:00
Wednesday, October 17 Balthrop, Alabama, The Big Sleep, The Muggabears, The Jealous Girlfriends, Elk City, Aeroplane Pageant, Pre, Fatal Flyin' Guillotines, Soundfix Records, 3:00
Wednesday, October 17 Holly Beth Vincent, Nikki Corvette and the Stingrays, the Little Girls, Miss Georgia Peach, and Black Tie Revue, Southpaw, $12, 7:00
Thursday, October 18 British Sea Power, Pela, 1990s, Tiny Masters of Today, Stardeath and White Dwarfs, the Grey Race, $15, 7:00
twi-ny/mdr
Gabe Levine and Takka Takka will be at Union Pool
Thursday, October 18 Simian Mobile Disco, Crystal Castles, Invisible Conga People, Music Hall of Williamsburg, $18, 9:00
Thursday, October 18 New Young Pony Club, Muscles DJ set by Simian Mobile Disco, the Cool Kids, Studio B, $10, 10:00
Thursday, October 18 Elk City with Camphor, Joe’s Pub, $10, 11:30
Thursday, October 18 Turbo Fruits, Cheap Time, Miss Alex White, the Intelligence, Jay Reatard, the Dirtbombs, $12, 7:00
Thursday, October 18 Speck Mountain, Le Loup, Papercuts, Bowerbirds, His Name Is Alive, and St. Vincent, Knitting Factory Main Space, $12-$14, 7:00
Thursday, October 18 Division Day, the 1900s, and Let’s Go Sailing, Union Hall, $8, 7:30
Friday, October 19 O’Death, Takka Takka, the Black Hollies, Chris Mills, Union Pool, 8:00
Friday, October 19 AIDS Wolf, Ruins, Old Time Relijun, Japanther, Sightings, the Apes, Health, Pre, Made in Mexico, Shellshag, Monotonix, Yip Yip, Dynasty Handbag, Wizardzz, the Mall, Knitting Factory, $14-$16, 7:00
Friday, October 19 Rodrigo y Gabriela, Roseland Ballroom, $30, 7:00
Friday, October 19 M.I.A., Terminal 5, $25-$30, 7:00
Friday, October 19 The Spinto Band, Sons and Daughters, the Maccabees, Alberta Cross, Sahara Hotnights, the 1900s, and Drug Rug, Bowery Ballroom, $17, 6:00
Friday, October 19 The Citizens and the Epochs, BAMcafé Live, free, 9:30
Friday, October 19 Lozen, Bleach03, Lebanon, Pixel Panda, and Gay Blades, Lit Lounge, $6, 8:00
Friday, October 19 The Insomniacs, the Brought Low, the Above, and Nouvellas, Magnetic Field, $8, 7:00
twi-ny/mdr
The Ponys’ Jered Gummere has a thing for Silly String
Saturday, October 20 The Flesh, Goes Cube, the Forms, Mussels, Four Fifty One, Club Midway, $10, 7:00
Saturday, October 20 Spoon, the Ponys, Roseland Ballroom, $27, 6:45
Saturday, October 20 Pillow Theory and the Smyrk, BAMcafé Live, free, 9:30
Saturday, October 20 Single File, Paper Rival, the Dear Hunter, Colour Revolt, Anathallo, the New Amsterdams, the Color Fred, Saves the Day, Knitting Factory, $17-$20, 8:00
Saturday, October 20 Justice and Midnight Juggernauts, Terminal 5, $25, 7:00
Saturday, October 20 Matt & Kim with Art Goblins, the Hood Internet, and Flosstradamus, Music Hall of Williamsburg, $5, 8:30
Saturday, October 20 Centro-Matic, Ha Ha Tonka, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, the Silos, Union Pool, 12 midnight
Kimmel Center unless otherwise noted
Shorin Music Performance Center
60 Washington Square South
This year’s marathon includes more than sixty panel discussions on the past, present, and future of the music business. In addition to the below, panels tackle such subjects as "The Almighty Blog," "The Art of the Remix," "The Decline of the Album Format," "Booze, Boobs, and Bribes," "Doing It Green," "Iraq: Music Under Fire," "Katrina: Surviving Still," "PR on a Shoestring," and "Shock the Vote."
Tuesday, October 16 Punk’s Still Not Dead, with Jonathan Anastas, Richard Lloyd, and Jason Tate, moderated by Garry Velletri, 2:30
Wednesday, October 17 Stage Diving 101, with Peter Criss, Eric Davidson, Tom Jackson, and Roy Turner, moderated by Jake Szufnarowski, 2:45
Wednesday, October 17 Beat Generation, with Stefanie Douglas, Pete Rock, and DJ Spinna, moderated by DJ Kervyn Mark, 4:00
Thursday, October 18 Lit Ronk, with Michael Azerrad, Will Johnson, Ronen Kaufman, Jonathan Lethem, and Kara Zuara, moderated by Mike Conklin, 10:30 am
Thursday, October 18 Disposable Content, with Anthony Batt, Adam Farrell, Bob George, and Marcy Wagman, moderated by David Thomas, 11:45 am
Thursday, October 18 Iconic Songs, with Rick Carnes, Erin Davis, Mele Mel, and Andy Rourke, moderated by Robert Christgau, Frederick Loewe Theater, Room 300, 35 West Fourth St., 12:30
Friday, October 19 The State of Hip-Hop Address, with Tim Baker, Tommy Morello, KRS-One, and Frank Satterwhite, moderated by Chuck Creekmur, 3:45
Goran Dukic’s WRISTCUTTERS screens at CMJ on October 18
IFC Center (IFC)
323 Sixth Ave. at Third St.
Tribeca Cinemas (TC)
54 Varick St.
Film Festival Badge: $50 for all film screenings and parties
CMJ has expanded its film presentations this year into a grouping worthy of being called a festival, even if they’re not all about music. In addition to several premieres and sneak previews, there will be an all-day marathon of Clash-related films, featuring the awesome hat trick of the punk classic RUDE BOY as well as the new docs JOE STRUMMER: THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN and THE CLASH: WESTWAY TO THE WORLD.
Tuesday, October 16 FRANK & CINDY (G.J. Ekternkamp), followed by a Q&A with G.J. Ekternkamp, Cynthia Brown, and Frank Garcia, moderated by Ira Glass, Pop Rally at the Museum of Modern Art, 7:00
Wednesday, October 17 JIMMY CARTER MAN FROM PLAINS (Jonathan Demme), followed by an open-forum debate on the Israel/Palestine peace conflict, IFC, 11:30 am
Wednesday, October 17 GREETINGS FROM THE SHORE (Greg Chwerchak), followed by a Q&A with Greg Chwerchak and cast members Kim Shaw and David Fumero, IFC, 3:30
Thursday, October 18 THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR - BOB DYLAN LIVE AT THE NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL 1963 - 1965 (Murray Lerner), followed by a Q&A with Murray Lerner, moderated by Bob Frye, IFC, 11:15 am
Thursday, October 18 FLESH AND BLOOD (Larry Silverman), IFC, 2:00
Thursday, October 18 PATHOLOGY (Marc Schoelermann), IFC, 3:45
Thursday, October 18 WRISTCUTTERS (Goran Dukic), followed by a Q&A with Goran Dukic and cast members Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, and others, the Grand Screen, 5:45
Friday, October 19 HELL ON WHEELS (Bob Ray), followed by a Q&A with Bob Ray IFC, 11:00 am
Friday, October 19 DARIUS GOES WEST (Logan Smalley), TC, 12 noon
Friday, October 19 PLANET IN PERIL, followed by a Q&A with Anderson Cooper, IFC, 1:15
Friday, October 19 BEFORE THE MUSIC DIES (Andrew Shapter), TC, 3:00
Friday, October 19 VINCE VAUGHN’S WILD WEST COMEDY SHOW (Ari Sandel), followed by a Q&A with Vince Vaughn, IFC, 4:00
Friday, October 19 MOTHERFUCKER: A MOVIE (David Casey), TC, 6:30
Saturday, October 20 JOE STRUMMER: THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN (Julien Temple, 2007), TC, 11:00, 5:45
Julien Temple gets inside friend Joe Strummer in awesome doc
http://www.joestrummerthemovie.com
Director Julien Temple, who has made two outstanding documentaries about the Sex Pistols (THE GREAT ROCK AND ROLL SWINDLE and THE FILTH AND THE FURY), turns his camera on Joe Strummer of the British punk group the Clash in THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN. Temple collects remarkable home movies of Strummer, from his early days as young John Mellor, a career diplomat’s son, through his time as the leader of one of the most famous and controversial bands in the world and his death at the age of fifty from a congenital heart defect. Strummer’s friends and family gather around a campfire in Brooklyn’s Empire St.-Fulton Ferry Park and talk about Strummer’s life and career, sharing keen insight in a format that the musician loved; his campfire get-togethers came to be known as Strummerville, a place for people to assemble and discuss life, art, and anything else that came to mind. Temple adds lots of footage of the Clash in action, as well as clips from Strummer’s earlier band, the 101ers, made up of squatters fighting the power, and his last band, the Mescaleros. He also brings some of Strummer’s drawings to life, animating them in humorous ways. Strummer essentially narrates the film himself, as Temple includes audio excerpts from Strummer’s "Last Call" radio show and interviews he gave over the years. Temple, a close friend of Strummer’s, paints a fascinating portrait of the complex man, featuring stories from the likes of Bono, Johnny Depp, Flea, Mele Mel, Courtney Love Cobain, Martin Scorsese, Steve Jones, John Cusack, Matt Dillon, Steve Buscemi, Damien Hirst, Roland Gift, Don Letts, Mick Jones, and many others. And there’s lots of music as well, of course, including several versions of "White Riot."
Saturday, October 20 RUDE BOY (David Mingay and Jack Hazan), 2:30, 5:00
Saturday, October 20 THE CLASH: WESTWAY TO THE WORLD (Don Letts), TC, 11:30, 2:15
Saturday, October 20 RUN, FAT BOY, RUN (David Schwimmer), TC, 7:00
Thomas Jay Ryan and Tilda Swinton star in strange STRANGE CULTURE
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between University Pl. & Fifth Ave.
October 5-18
212-924-3363
STRANGE CULTURE tells the remarkable post-Patriot Act story of Steve Kurtz, a Buffalo artist and professor who the government is treating as a bioterrorist. On May 11, 2004, his wife, Hope, unexpectedly dies. When the medics arrive on the scene, they immediately become suspicious of the chemical elements they find there and notify the FBI. Although they’re actually all legally acquired materials that are part of an environmental art project he was putting together for the Critical Art Ensemble, Kurtz is detained on suspicion of bioterrorism. And, unbelievably, the more he and others explain his situation, the deeper he gets caught up in what could be a high-level corporate conspiracy, not just a whole lot of red tape. Unfortunately, Kurtz’s compelling story is told in ridiculous re-creations featuring such stars as Thomas Jay Ryan (as Steve) and Tilda Swinton (as Hope) — and other boneheaded scenes in which Ryan (as himself) talks with the real Kurtz about the making of the film. At one point, Swinton has to identify herself as being Tilda, not Hope, and Peter Coyote also introduces himself as being Peter Coyote, not playing one of the characters in the film. It’s actually more annoying than confusing. Because the case is ongoing, Kurtz and others cannot publicly discuss many of the details, resulting in director Lynn Hershman Leeson’s silly attempt to get the story out in this absurd mishmash that plays more like an infomercial than an important documentary work.
Michael Caine and Jude Law play a murderous game in smooth remake
Opens Friday, October 12
http://www.sonyclassics.com/sleuth
In 1972, Anthony Shaffer adapted his Tony-winning play, SLEUTH, into a film, leading to Oscar nominations for director Joseph L. Mankiewicz and its two stars, Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine. Olivier played mystery writer Andrew Wyke, while Caine played Milo Tindle, a young man having an affair with Wyke’s wife. Thirty-five years later, Harold Pinter has rewritten the script for director Kenneth Branagh in a thrilling update of SLEUTH that teeters on the edge of ridiculousness but always rights itself just in time. Jude Law (also one of the film’s producers) is Tindle, a hot hairdresser locked in a battle of wits against the older, more experienced Wyke, a role now taken on by Caine in a marvelous triumph of casting. Wyke has invited Tindle to his country home, which is festooned with all sorts of electronic gadgets and cool colors courtesy of production designer Tim Harvey. The back-and-forth cat-and-mouse game between the two are a joy to behold as the audience never quite knows who is telling the truth, especially after a few gunshots enter the fray. Law stands up well to Caine, who maliciously chews up all the scenery he can muster. Pinter’s script goes occasionally over the top but is mostly razor-sharp, and the gadgets, though sometimes too gimmicky, add plenty of fun to the complex battle of wits.
MoMA Film
Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Friday, October 12, 6:30
Sunday, October 14, 5:00
Monday, October 15, 8:00
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
Woo Ming Jin’s international festival favorite THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA is a meditative, elegiac film filled with simple beauty and a subtle elegance. Shot in and around the coastal village of Kuala Selangor on the west coast of Malaysia, the film has sparse dialogue, natural sound and light, and offbeat, intriguing characters. Yun Ding is a teen who scrapes up money selling whatever he can find, including a young woman. Ah Ngau is a fisherman whose wife died and was cremated while he was out to sea; their home has been quarantined, so he is forced to live in a public men’s shelter. Barely saying a word, the two main characters go through life slowly, treating every incident with the same nonchalance, as if nothing has any real meaning. Eventually, Yun Ding shows interest in a fish with special lottery powers, and Ah Ngau visits a prostitute that awakens something inside him, but even then it is hard to tell if anything can ever truly move either of them. Woo Ming Jin wrote, directed, and edited this minimalist delight, gorgeously shot by cinematographer Chan Hai Liang.
Matt Damon is looking for answers in THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
In theaters now
http://www.thebourneultimatum.com
Still struggling to find out who he really is — and who was behind the top-secret program that turned him into a killing machine for the government — Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is on the run again, spurred by a reporter (Paddy Considine) who has uncovered some classified information about the operation that might just lead Bourne to the answers he’s been searching for. But Noah Vosen (David Strathairn), the head of a special government organization, is desperate to make sure Bourne doesn’t find out anything — and that he ends up dead in the process. THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, the last of three films based on the trilogy by Robert Ludlum, actually surpasses its predecessors, THE BOURNE IDENTITY (Doug Liman, 2002) and THE BOURNE SUPREMACY (Paul Greengrass, 2004), both of which were good. Greengrass (UNITED 93) ups the action quotient with breathless chases, well-choreographed fights, and nonstop suspense, including sensational scenes set in Tangiers, Paris, and New York City. Although it helps to have seen the first two films, it is not absolutely necessary. Joan Allen and Julia Stiles are back, with new additions Albert Finney and Scott Glenn. Moby contributes the song over the closing credits.
Jennifer Garner heads into dangerous Saudi territory in THE KINGDOM
In theaters now
http://www.thekingdommovie.com
After a horrific terrorist attack on an oil company family event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, kills and wounds hundreds of American men, women, and children, the FBI wants to go after the cell behind the vicious plot, but the attorney general (Danny Huston) denies their request because of the U.S. government’s cozy relationship with the Saudis. But Special Agent Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) figures out a way to buy a few days in Saudi Arabia with three of his fellow agents — bomb expert Grant Sykes (Chris Cooper), forensics examiner Janet Mayes (Jennifer Garner), and intelligence analyst and comic relief Adam Leavitt (Jason Bateman). Initially hamstrung by protocol, the four agents, watched closely by Col. Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom), start uncovering evidence that could potentially lead them to Abu Hamza (Hezi Saddik), one of the most feared terrorists in the world, while taking them into the most dangerous parts of Saudi Arabia. Written by Matthew Michael Carnahan (SOLDIER FIELD) and directed by Peter Berg — who makes a big jump from such family fare as FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS and THE RUNDOWN — THE KINGDOM, inspired by an actual attack by Saudi Hezbollah in Khobar in 1996, is a tense, gripping procedural that makes some cogent points about the state of the world post-9/11.
Michael Douglas and Evan Rachel Wood go on quite a quest in KING OF CALIFORNIA
Village East
181 Second Ave. at 12th St.
212-777-FILM
http://www.firstlookstudios.com/films/king
Sixteen-year-old Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood) is doing her best just to get by. With her mother long gone and her father (Michael Douglas) in a mental institution, she is desperately trying to save their house by dropping out of school and working extra shifts at McDonald’s. But when her father, whom she calls Charlie instead of Dad, suddenly shows up at her doorstep declaring that he has broken a code in the memoirs of a sixteenth-century Spanish explorer that will lead them to buried treasure, she has to decide whether to believe him, humor him, or have him recommitted. His Quixote-like quest takes the two of them through the mallification of America, as nearly every stop along the way includes some corporate franchise. Wood (THIRTEEN, ONCE AND AGAIN), one of Hollywood’s best young actors, is excellent as Miranda, a confused teenager forced to make some important decisions well beyond her years. Douglas, wild-eyed and bushy-faced and looking more and more like his father, Kirk, is full of surprises; the audience never knows what crazy thing he’s going to do next. Written and directed by first-time filmmaker Mike Cahill, KING OF CALIFORNIA gets past some early muddled moments in which it is too happy with its own cleverness, but the last half hour or so is gripping and exciting.
Clive Owen has violently good fun as 007’s alter ego
AMC Empire 25
42nd St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
212-398-3939
Clive Owen might not have been chosen as the next James Bond, but he gets to play quite the hero — nearly the opposite of 007 — in Michael Davis’s riotously funny and hysterically violent SHOOT ’EM UP. Owen stars as Mr. Smith, a haggard, homeless dude who unwittingly finds himself in a rather bloody mess, on the run with lactating hooker DQ (Monica Bellucci) trying to protect a baby from the villainous Hertz (a scenery-chewing Paul Giamatti) and dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens of hired assassins. Smith constantly munches on carrots — not only to preserve his eyesight but to convert them into weapons as necessary — and uses guns in wild and wacky ways, not merely to shoot the bad guys. Paying homage to the spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood, Sam Peckinpah’s THE WILD BUNCH and STRAW DOGS, the Bond films, Quentin Tarantino’s KILL BILL, Joel and Ethan Coen’s RAISING ARIZONA, John Woo’s HARD-BOILED (the most direct influence), and even Alfonso Cuarón’s CHILDREN OF MEN (in which Owen protects the world’s first pregnant woman in a generation), Davis creates some of the most inventive, remarkable shootouts ever filmed, one following another in an endless parade of bullets — more twenty-five thousand, according to the production notes, resulting in fifteen gallons of blood. The plot makes little sense, but that doesn’t really matter; the action’s the thing, and it’s a thing of beauty.
Angelika Film Center
18 West Houston St. at Mercer St.
212-995-2000
http://www.city-cinemas.com/angelika
http://www.2daysinparisthefilm.com
Julie Delpy’s delightful debut, 2 DAYS IN PARIS, is a true DIY indie, with Delpy serving as writer, director, editor, star, composer, soundtrack performer, and one of the producers. Delpy plays Marion, a flitty Frenchwoman who decides to bring her boyfriend of two years, Jack (a heavily tattooed Adam Goldberg), to spend two days with in her hometown in Paris as a stopover on their way from Venice to their apartment in New York City. But spending forty-eight hours with Marion’s family (Delpy’s real-life parents, Albert Delpy and Marie Pillet, and sister, Alexia Landeau) and bumping into a seemingly endless stream of Marion’s former boyfriends while not understanding a word anyone is saying might be a bit much for Jack, an interior designer whose own insides are rife with stomach problems and migraines. 2 DAYS IN PARIS is Delpy’s ANNIE HALL (Woody Allen, 1977), an engaging film filled with slapstick humor, inventive characters, and underlying truths about love and life.
Christian Bale and Russell Crowe are on opposite sides of the law in remake
In theaters now
James Mangold’s remake of Delmer Daves’s 1957 Western 3:10 TO YUMA starts out promising but ultimately delves into the wholly ludicrous. Christian Bale stars as Ben Evans, a hobbled Civil War vet who is about to lose his ranch — and the respect of his wife (Gretchen Mol) and kids (Logan Lerman and Benjamin Petry). Desperate for money, he signs on to help transport vicious killer Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) on a dangerous three-day journey from Bisbee to Contention, where Wade will be sent straight to prison on the 3:10 train to Yuma. But even handcuffed, Wade is a dangerous criminal and a more-than-worthy adversary; meanwhile, his villainous crew, led by the brutally evil Charlie Prince (Ben Foster), has set out to rescue him, killing all who get in their way. Based on an Elmore Leonard story, the film gets muddled quickly, with far too much of the action beyond belief. Why don’t they just tie up Wade’s arms and legs, or at least cuff him behind his back? How many hundreds of bullets does it take to miss easy targets? By choosing to focus more on the transporting of Wade — which was not the center of the 1957 original, which starred Glenn Ford as Wade, Van Heflin as Evans, and Richard Jaeckel as Charlie Prince — Mangold (HEAVY, WALK THE LINE) has turned the film into an annoying chase flick lacking in real drama. But it’s always fun seeing Peter Fonda, here playing grizzled Pinkerton detective Byron McElroy.
http://www.vertical-inc.com/books/crimson.html
Before becoming a successful horror writer in Japan, Yusuke Kishi was in the insurance industry. That experience could possibly explain at least part of why THE CRIMSON LABYRINTH, his first book to be published in America, is so good. With a calm, careful precision, Kishi tells the story of a small group of people forced into playing a life-and-death game in a faraway, isolated land. But it’s never boring. We hate mimicking press releases and jacket copy, which refer to the book as a mix of SURVIVOR, LOST, and BATTLE ROYALE, but that is pretty much exactly what it is, with a wry sense of humor and some truly gruesome scenes. One day, down-on-his-luck Fujiki awakens in a "strange, crimson world, wet with rain." He is quickly joined by Ai, a young cartoonist who also has no idea how she arrived in this bizarre place. But they each have a game machine that offers confusing information that sends them on their way, meeting up with and then doing battle against other teams, with things getting ever more frightening as the game goes on. Don’t be put off by the game-playing aspect of THE CRIMSON LABYRINTH; you don’t have to be a fan of gaming, SURVIVOR, LOST, or BATTLE ROYALE to enjoy Kishi’s entertaining brand of horror.
twi-ny/mdr
The Hsu-Nami blow into the M.E.A.N.Y. Fest on October 4
Multiple venues
Admission: $10
October 3-13
The sixth annual Musicians & Emerging Artists New York festival gets under way October 3, with more than 250 bands battling for twenty hours of recording time and other prizes, playing twenty-five-minute sets at such venues as the Mean Fiddler, Crash Mansion, Maxwell’s, Lit, Arlene’s Grocery, Fontana’s, Mo Pitkin’s, the Cutting Room, the Charleston, Niagara, Joe’s Pub, the Bowery Poetry Club, 169 Bar, and the Knitting Factory. We recently saw Mahway, New Jersey’s the Hsu-Nami open up for ChthoniC at the Highline Ballroom. They’ll be at Cave Canem on October 4 with Someone’s Story, Need, Avi, and Poison Slower Downer. At last year’s CMJ Music Marathon, we caught the fabulous New York Howl at Crash Mansion; they’ll be playing Luna Lounge on October 9, with Night Kills the Day. Other bands to watch out for, either because there’s good buzz around them or they just have a great name, include the Baghdaddios, Batorats, Thank You Good Night, Doug Scofield & the Evolution with Liberty DeVitto, Motel Creeps, Mighty Space Monkeys, Spazmatic Adjustable Ed, the Rivington Project, Jess Furman, the White Elephant Club, Tiger Cried Beef, and Serial Obsession. The M.E.A.N.Y. Fest is a great appetizer for the CMJ Music Marathon; don’t be surprised to see more than a handful of these bands at next year’s CMJ.
twi-ny/mdr
Wade Schuman takes it all in with Hazmat Modine in Montreal
Joe’s Pub
425 Lafayette St. between East Fourth St. & Astor Pl.
Saturday, October 6
Tickets: $15
212-967-7555
New York-based Hazmat Modine plays an infectious melange of blues, klezmer, R&B, soul, funk, folk, and swing, as evidenced by their latest CD, BAHAMUT, featuring such hot tunes as "Broke My Baby’s Heart," "Steady Roll," and "Yesterday Morning." Led by the energetic Wade Schuman on lead vocals and harmonica, the band knows how to get crowds shaking. Hazmat Modine’s instrumentation is as eclectic as their musical style, with Randy Weinstein on chromatic harmonica and sheng, Joseph Daley on tuba, Pamela Fleming on trumpet and flugelhorn, Richard Huntley on drums, Pete Smith and Michael Gomez on guitar, and Steve Elson on various saxophones as well as clarinet, duduk, and flute. They also often have guest musicians adding accordion, claviola, French horn, lap steel guitar, and other instruments. We caught them earlier this year at the Montreal Jazz Festival and they blew us away — but unfortunately, a storm blew their set short, so we’re looking forward to this full show at Joe’s Pub.
Lin Ching-yuan
WILD CURSIVE trilogy concludes at BAM
BAM Next Wave Festival
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave.
October 2-7
Tickets: $20-$60
718-636-4100
Taiwan’s Cloud Gate Dance Theatre kicked off the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival with the brilliant WILD CURSIVE, the final chapter of CURSIVE: A TRILOGY. Completing his exploration of Chinese calligraphy, Taiwanese choreographer and company artistic director Lin Hwai-min has created a meditative dance that brings to life the freestyle writing form known as kuang chao, or wild calligraphy. As vertical panels of white rice paper are lowered from above, dancers weave around them, stopping in front to mimic calligraphic characters with movements that include elements of ballet, martial arts, and tai chi. Meanwhile, black ink drips down the paper in ever-evolving abstract shapes and figures. Whereas CURSIVE commissioned a score by Chinese composer Qu Xiaosong and CURSIVE II featured the music of John Cage, WILD CURSIVE is set to such sounds as rain, wind, and cicadas, as if the dancers are in a forest of words and letters, themselves part of the natural environment. Then the landscape changes subtly as waves wash up on the shore. Throughout the performance, the dancers never touch one another, each character developing on its own, with rare moments of movement in unison. Occasional grunts and loud breathing emanate from the twenty dancers, dressed in black (the men are shirtless), as they twist, turn their bodies and windmill their arms. At one point the panels are illuminated and the dancers move slowly behind them, to be seen as silhouetted shadows flowing up and down the rice paper. The excellent dance troupe includes Wen Ching-ching, a wonderful pairing of Huang Pei-hua and Tsai Ming-yuan, and associate artistic director Lee Ching-chun.
Thursday, October 4 BAMdialogue with Lin Hwai-min, BAM Rose Cinemas, $8, 6:00
Michael Brosilow
SITI goes inside the box at BAM
BAM Next Wave Festival
BAM Harvey Theater
Tickets: $20-$60
718-636-4100
The second of Charles L. Mee’s quartet of plays dealing with American artists (BOBRAUSCHENBERG IN AMERICA appeared at BAM in 2003, with upcoming works about James Castle and Norman Rockwell), HOTEL CASSIOPEIA goes inside the mind of collagist Joseph Cornell, who is best known for creating boxes filled with found objects. Turning the Harvey stage into its own box through which characters and objects move about, director Anne Bogart crafts a fascinating, entertaining look at Cornell’s creative process as Cornell (Barney O’Hanlon) shuts himself off from any real physical and emotional contact with the outside world. Among those stopping by for a spot of tea or a slice of chocolate cake (Cornell was a sweets junkie) are a ballerina (Ellen Lauren), an herbalist (Leon Ingulsrud), a pharmacist (J. Ed Araiza), and an astronomer (Stephen Webber). Also waltzing through his life are his mother (Akiko Aizawa, Mee’s real-life wife), a waitress (Michi Barall), and his beloved brother (Araiza again), who has cerebral palsy. Cornell loses himself in movies (his favorite stars are Lauren Bacall and Hedy Lamarr) while he collects objects to use for his boxes, which contain such items as stamps, ladders, string, clock parts, stars, cut-out birds, balls, and just about anything else he comes into contact with — which is somewhat limited, as he spent all of his adult life living and working in his mother's basement in Queens, coming out primarily to wander through Manhattan and watch the world pass him by while sitting in coffee shops. The main prop in the show is a desk where Cornell carefully arranges objects on top of it while also placing a variety of things in its many drawers, as if compartmentalizing them in his psyche. Lauren steals the show, doing turns as a ballerina, a lounge singer, and an angel, coming the closest to connecting with the obsessive Cornell. HOTEL CASSIOPEIA is a wonderfully entertaining way for Bogart’s SITI Company to celebrate its fifteenth anniversary.
Donna Uchizono brings THIN AIR to DTW
Dance Theater Workshop
219 West 19th St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
October 9-13, 7:30
Tickets: $25
212-924-0077
http://www.dancetheaterworkshop.org/uchizono
As Donna Uchizono’s new evening-length piece, THIN AIR, opens, three faces are seen on a black curtain, which rises to reveal Antonio Ramos, Hristoula Harakas, and Julie Alexander sitting atop high ladders, moving only from the neck up, like three bobblehead dolls. They slowly begin discovering their arms and legs, eventually climbing down to the stage, which is soon covered by a white plastic tarp. Concentrating primarily on their feet, they walk, twist, turn, hop, and paint to a wonderful guitar-based score by electronic-music master Fred Frith. THIN AIR explores the three-dancer dynamic via shifting alliances of two and one, referring to classical ballet not only in foot positions but also in pas-de-deux-like passages and a male solo. They perform in unison only twice, including in a sexy menage a trois-like grouping. They interact with projected video (by Michael Casselli), blurring the lines between perception and (virtual) reality, time and space, particularly when Harakas has the image of another dancer projected directly onto her body while back on the ladder, mimicking the video dancer’s moves. (Interestingly, the piece’s working title was “As eye see it.”) Though too abstract and disjointed at times, THIN AIR, which Uchizono based on quantum physics and the Buddhist theory of emptiness, is an exciting night of experimental dance theater.
twi-ny/mdr
Jon Langford gets primed onstage at Mekons show
Blender Theatre at Gramercy
127 East 23rd St. at Lexington Ave.
Wednesday, October 3
http://www.mekons.de/mekonhom.htm
On October 3, eight musicians gathered around a semicircle onstage at the Blender Theatre at Gramercy, sitting down for a show billed as a Quiet Evening with the Mekons, who are on the road touting their latest CD, the excellent NATURAL, while celebrating their thirtieth anniversary. Quiet evening, indeed. For the next two hours, the Mekons invited the audience into an intimate, sometimes embarrassing, always infectious party filled with dirty jokes, self-deprecating humor, lots of booze, great music, and wild dancing. As the band played songs from throughout its career, including such seminal late-’80s numbers as “Hard to Be Human Again,” “Last Dance,” “(Sometimes I Feel Like) Fletcher Christian,” and “Ghosts of American Astronauts” in addition to seven songs from the new record, various band members swooped up to the front-stage mic, taking vocal turns, playing solos, swizzling tequila, or just bopping around madly. Like any thirty-year relationship, there was a bumpy patch in the middle, with Sally Timms acting as mother, scolding the others for drinking too much, disappearing from the stage, or not being able to tune their instruments properly.
twi-ny/mdr
Tom Greenhalgh and Jon Langford take center stage
Tom Greenhalgh was especially dangerous, nearly falling over several times as he kicked out at the audience while Jon Langford shook his jiggling belly and adopted pseudo-rock-star poses. Timms and Langford are the yin and yang, the mum and pop of the band, with Greenhalgh their illegitimate child. Even if at times it was like watching Ingmar Bergman’s SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE, the show was outrageously entertaining, where anything could happen at any moment. Steve Goulding banged away on a wooden box, Lu Edmonds plucked away at his saz, and Rico Bell, channeling a bit of Tom Jones, added harmonica and accordion. Only Sarah Corina on bass and Jean Cook on violin maintained any semblance of decency. “You don’t have to believe in the end,” Timms sings on "Cockermouth.” “You have to believe this is the end.” After thirty years, the Mekons, hopefully, are nowhere near the end, despite all their references to death and satan and hollering at the audience, “F—k the Mekons!”
twi-ny/mdr
Anarchist and activist Danbert Nobacon gets serious at Gramercy
Opening the show was Chumbawumba cofounder Danbert Nobacon, an anarchist and activist who alternated between songs from his pointedly acerbic new record, THE LIBRARY BOOK OF THE WORLD (his first solo disc in twenty years), and stories and set pieces about political figures and the war in Iraq. While the album features Jon Langford’s Pine Valley Cosmonauts backing him up, Nobacon is touring solo, just him, his acoustic guitar, his sweating bald head, and his cell phone, which he works into his act. Nobacon, who calls his blog the Axis of Dissent, holds nothing back as he references Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush, Bin Laden, Rockefeller, the bomb, global warming, mass marketing, the Iraq war, Zionism, and other controversial topics in such songs as “Straight Talk (Meet Frank),” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Holy Wars,” “Red Mist,” and “Nixon Is My Dentist.” In “The Last Drop in the Glass,” he sings, “Society wedding, East Coast embedding, the military marries into industry / The drinks are flowing, let’s all get blasted, enjoy it while it lasts / Harry Truman raises his glass to Churchill! for warming the seat for his ass / The happy couple are already in the family way / Fossil fuel catches the bouquet.” Nobacon even sang a duet by himself. Good stuff.
twi-ny/mdr
Bruce and the E Street Band show their magic at the Meadowlands
Continental Airlines Arena: October 9-10
Madison Square Garden: October 17-18
http://www.brucespringsteen.net
It didn’t take long for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band to find their groove on their first tour in four years. On October 10 at the Continental Airlines Arena, Springsteen was downright giddy, showing off his sparkling white teeth as he smiled his way through an inventive setlist that combined songs from his brilliant new record, MAGIC, with chestnuts and rarities that delighted his crazed hometown audience of faithful followers. Springsteen’s energetic high was infectious as he audibled several times, daring the band to join him in songs that they were not necessarily prepared for, leading to what Bruce called a “debate society.” (Bassist Garry W. Tallent seemed particularly reluctant on one of the set changes.) Following a dramatic “Gypsy Biker” and an intimate “Magic” from the new disc, Springsteen played the killer triple shot of a fabulously refashioned “Reason to Believe” (with a nod to Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky”), a fierce “Adam Raised a Cain,” and a soaring “She’s the One.” He pulled out the TRACKS oldie “Cynthia” for only its second live performance ever, nailed “Incident on 57th Street,” and premiered MAGIC’s “Your Own Worst Enemy” before letting loose on “You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch),” which he dedicated to Nuggets legend Lenny Kaye, who was watching from the pit. The five-song encore kicked off with the sing-along “Girls in Their Summer Clothes” and a full-on version of “Thundercrack,” a staple of Bruce’s live shows back in the early 1970s. On only the fifth show of the tour, Bruce and the band are already proving that there’s magic in the night — and that there’s no place like home. They come to Madison Square Garden on October 17-18; although tickets sold out in minutes, Bruce usually has a ticket drop of excellent seats the day before (and sometimes the day of) each performance, so keep checking Ticketmaster; you just might get lucky.
Carnegie Hall
Wednesday, October 10
Tickets: $40-$150
212-247-7800
Michael Dorf has put together another impressive event, after staging tributes to Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen, all benefits for Music for Youth — UJA-Federation of New York, which provides music education for kids in the metropolitan area. This tribute to the impeccable songwriting duo of Elton John and Bernie Taupin will feature the pair’s songs interpreted by a diverse all-star cast that includes Joss Stone, Aimee Mann, Shawn Colvin, Phoebe Snow, Roy Ayers, Roger McGuinn, Jill Sobule and Lloyd Cole, Brendan Benson, and others. The Springsteen show at Carnegie Hall set the bar high, as Bruce himself showed up and played a few songs.
twi-ny/mdr
Matt Berninger sings as if his life depends on it
Terminal 5
610 West 56th St., 212-260-4700
Thursday, October 11
Music Hall of Williamsburg
66 North Sixth St.
Friday, October 12, and Saturday, October 13
Tickets: $20-$25
http://www.musichallofwilliamsburg.com
The National has spent a lot of time in the New York area recently, playing five sold-out nights at the Bowery Ballroom in the spring, a packed free show at the South Street Seaport in the summer, and now three more nights in the fall. Originally from Cincinnati, the National are in the midst of a world tour in support of their latest album, the well-received BOXER (Beggars Banquet, May 2007). Live, brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner on guitars (and occasional keyboards), Davendorf brothers Scott on bass and Bryan on drums, and Padma Newsome on keyboards and fiddles display fine craftsmanship, strong melodies, and cool hooks not laden down with standard bridges and choruses. Lead singer Matt Berninger, gripping the mic to his face like he never wants to let go, warbles heartfelt if obtuse lyrics about love gone wrong, gone missing, filled with mistakes, his eyes shut tight as if he can’t bear to look. The way he holds the mic is reminiscent of the Psychedelic Furs’ Richard Butler, adding a casual elegance and intelligence to the music. Among the highlights of the new disc, many of which appear in the band’s live show, are “Mistaken for Strangers,” “Squalor Victoria,” and “Fake Empire.”
Van Morrison will team up with Bobby "Blue" Bland uptown
United Palace Theater
4140 Broadway at 175th St.
October 12-14, 7:00
Tickets: $79-$254
212-568-6700
http://www.theunitedpalace.com/home.htm
Belfast-born Van Morrison has been confounding critics and fans alike for more than forty years, experimenting in different genres and putting on a wide range of concerts, some perfunctory, many exhilarating. Rooted in R&B and soul, Morrison has scored hits with such seminal albums as ASTRAL WEEKS, MOONDANCE, INTO THE MUSIC and such more recent records as TOO LONG IN EXILE, THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE, and PAY THE DEVIL. His two latest releases are compilations: AT THE MOVIES, featuring such songs as "Gloria," "Domino," "Bright Side of the Road," "Wonderful Remark," and "Comfortably Numb," and THE BEST OF VAN MORRISON VOL. 3, containing duets of covers and classics with Tom Jones, Ray Charles, the Chieftains, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Carl Perkins, Junior Wells, Bobby "Blue" Bland, and others. Van the Man is scheduled to play three shows at the beautiful United Palace Theater before heading off on a brief tour of Europe. Although the October 14 show is sold out, there are still some tickets available for the October 12-13 performances, all with Bland on the bill, promising to be a memorable series of shows.
twi-ny/ees
Multimedia vinyl battle gets ’em dancing in Williamsburg
Tuesday, September 25
LVHRD always gets it right. Announcing the locations of their unique events via SMS at the last minute, the LVHRD folks organize ultracool happenings seeking to "unite creative individuals that have a passion for change, a willingness to succeed, and the determination to overcome conventions." Their latest, the Master-Disaster DNCHRD III: VNYL, held in a desolate yet loungeworthy Williamsburg warehouse space on Wythe St., pitted three DJs – DJ Elhaam, Robot Blair, and DJ Woodman — in a turntable match in which partygoers added their own vinyl to the crates, then voted on three rounds of ten-minute sets with their balls — by throwing bright plastic ones, that is. Although our contribution, the Busboys’ MINIMUM WAGE ROCK 'N ROLL, never made it to the wheels, the sets featured everything from late Bowie to "Welcome to the Jungle" to mixes incorporating Positive ("I Got a Man") K., Young MC, Salt-N-Pepa, Nu Shuz, the Cure, Beck, and Danzig. A couple of selects brought the crowd to a standstill; others made them dance like crazy as spontaneous dance-offs brewed across the floor. DJ Woodman emerged victorious, one cute nineteen-year-old selector had a very happy birthday, and the open-bar offerings were so copious that the DJs were exhorting the crowd to "drink more!" all night. They didn’t have to exhort them to dance more. LVHRD indeed.
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French Institute Alliance Française
Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th St. between Park & Madison Aves.
September 25 — October 30
Tickets: $10
212-355-6160
Through Saturday, October 20 Visual Arts: Cécile Pitois, "inhale-exhale from A to C," interactive installation, FIAF Gallery, free
Tuesday, October 2 Nouvelles Vagues: From Godard to Audiard, with Traffic Quintet performing scores from the French New Wave, featuring new arrangements by award-winning composer Alexandre Desplat, $30, 8:00
Wednesday, October 3 FranceOff! featuring seven-minute pieces by Francophile dance troupes, Performance Space 122, 150 First Ave. at Ninth St,, $15, 7:00, 9:00
Friday, October 5
and
Saturday, October 6 Centre Pompidou presents The Best of Hors Pistes (Off-Track), Tinker Auditorium, $10, 7:00
Saturday, October 6 Invitation to Dance: Myriam Gourfink, site-specific dance piece, "inhale-exhale from A to C," interactive installation, FIAF Gallery, free (RSVP required at 646-388-6682), 2:00
Thursday, October 11 Pianist Jacky Terrasson, Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th St., $15-$25, 8:00
Friday, October 12 Chez Bushwick presents Video Art from France, Florence Gould Hall, $10, 8:00
Monday, October 15 Invitation to Dance: Daniel Larrieu, site-specific dance piece, "inhale-exhale from A to C," interactive installation, FIAF Gallery, free (RSVP required at 646-388-6682), 7:00
Asia Society and Museum, New York Auditorium
725 Park Ave. at 70th St.
Tickets: $15
212-327-9385
Wednesday, October 3 Choreographer of WILD CURSIVE, which opens BAM’s twenty-fifth Next Wave Festival, in conversation with Rachel Cooper, 6:30
The Kitchen
512 West 19th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Tickets: $12
212-255-5793
Wednesday, October 3
and
Thursday, October 4 Seminal Japanese Choreographer Mika Kurosawa in a live improvisation with Japanese Experimental Musician, SKANK, and special Guests Jennifer Monson, Margarita Guergue, and Hahn Rowe. Kurosawa will also perform a version of her signature Solo Dance, Romantic Night
Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture
Hostos Community College / CUNY
450 Grand Concourse, C-141B
718-518-6700
http://www.hostos.cuny.edu/culturearts
Wednesday, October 3
through
Sunday, October 7 Festival featuring live music and dance, a crafts market, panel discussions, workshops, demonstrations, classes, a block-party jam, and more
Anthology Film Archives (AFA)
32 Second Ave. at Second St.
Millennium Theater (MT)
66 East Fourth St.
October 3-8
Individual tickets: $9
Day Pass: $25
Fest Pass: $99
718-399-6359
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org
Wednesday, October 3 Evil City Kickoff Party, White Rabbit, 145 East Houston St., 9:00
Thursday, October 4 SARBANE’S OXLEY (Ramcess Jean Louis), AFA, 6:30
Thursday, October 4 COWBOY STAN (Sam Bassett) preceded by "Fashion Freak" by Naked Ape, AFA, 8:30
Thursday, October 4 Opening Night Bash, Lit Lounge, 93 Second Ave., 10:00
Thursday, October 4 ROCK ’N TOKYO (Pamela Valente) preceded by "Ballad of Draygon Nevermore" by Prowler, AFA, 10:30
Friday, October 5 STATISTICS (Frank Robak), MT, 2:00
Friday, October 5 Happy Hour Short Program, MT, 4:00
Friday, October 5 ECFF and Brooklyn Independent Cinema Series Presentation, MT, 4:00
Friday, October 5 THE CLOSET (Luis Cortina) and UP AT LOU’S FISH (Corinna Mantlo & Alex Brook Lynn), MT, 8:00
Friday, October 5 THE BALLAD OF A J WEBERMAN (James Bluemel & Oliver Ralfe), MT, 10:00
Saturday, October 6 Juvy Hall Student Short Program, AFA, 1:30
Saturday, October 6 Scoring School: Music in Film, A conversation with Craig Wedren and Randy Woolf, hosted by Joe McGinty, Fontana’s, 105 Eldridge St., 2:00
Saturday, October 6 TOYS ARE US: A REVOLUTION IN PLASTIC (Brian Stillman) and MONSTER CAMP (Cullen Hoback), AFA, 3:00
Saturday, October 6 URBAN EXPLORERS (Melody Gilbert), AFA, 3:30
Saturday, October 6 Yo Shorty Short Program, AFA, 5:30
Saturday, October 6 SMITHEREENS (Susan Seidelman), hosted by Susan Seidelman, AFA, 5:30
Saturday, October 6 LONG PIGS (Chris Power & Nathan Hynes), AFA, 7:30
Saturday, October 6 ROLLING (Billy Samoa Saleebey), AFA, 8:00
Saturday, October 6 Saturday Night Cartoons Animation Program, AFA, 9:30
Saturday, October 6 BLOOD CAR (Alex Orr), AFA, 10:30
Sunday, October 7 Battle of the Bands Music Video Program followed by ZOMBIE PROM (Vince Marcello), AFA, 1:30
Sunday, October 7 2 IN THE AM PM (JG Quintel) and ROLLING (Billy Samoa Saleebey), AFA, 2:00
Sunday, October 7 Black and White Short Program, AFA, 3:30
Sunday, October 7 MOJAVE PHONE BOOTH (John Putch), AFA, 4:00
Sunday, October 7 Blog Till You Bleed, with Stu Van Airsdale, Pamela Cohn, Mike Tully, and Karina Longworth, moderated by Mark Rabinowitz, Fontana’s, 105 Eldridge St., 4:00
Sunday, October 7 Shortopolis Short Program, AFA, 5:30
Sunday, October 7 ONE RAT SHORT (Alex Weil) and THE POOL (Sam Griffin), AFA, 6:00
Sunday, October 7 Lifestyles of the Not-So-Rich and Almost Famous: Indie Filmmakers Tell All, a conversation with Susan Buice and Arin Crumley, Jerry Rapp, and Leah Meyerhoff, Fontana’s, 105 Eldridge St., 6:30
Sunday, October 7 Ransacked and Burnt Shorts Program, AFA, 7:30
Sunday, October 7 GRANDMA GOTH (Deborah Hiestand) and BEGGING NAKED (Karen Gehres), AFA, 8:00
Sunday, October 7 URBAN EXPLORERS (Melody Gilbert), AFA, 10:30
Sunday, October 7 Oh, the Horror . . . Horror Program, including Lacy Trogdon’s MURDER ON THE TURNPIKE ROAD, Matthew Stawski’s HANK’S AUTO REPAIR, and Phil Roc’s RHYME ANIMAL, AFA, 10:00
Monday, October 8 The third annual Skullie Awards & Closing Night Bash, with the Giraffes and DJ Greg Poole, B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 West 42nd St. between Broadway & Eighth Ave., free admission, 7:00
Roulette
20 Greene St. between Canal & Grand Sts.
Tickets: $10-$15
212-219-8242
http://www.interpretations.info
Thursday, October 4 Germany-based collective featuring Astrid Schmeling (Flutes), Michael Schröder (Guitar, Electric Guitar), and Matthias Kaul (Percussion) plays with guests Thomas Buckner (Baritone), Liuh-Wen Ting (Viola), Jennifer DeVore (Cello), and Bohdan Hilash (Clarinet): works by Eckart Beinke, Matthias Kaul, Michael Maierhof, Ernstalbrecht Stiebler, and Annea Lockwood, 8:00
Mondays at 1:00, St. Paul’s Chapel, Broadway at Fulton St.
Thursdays at 1:00, Trinity Church, Broadway at Wall St.
Suggested donation: $2
212-602-0747
http://www.trinitywallstreet.org
Thursday, October 4 Gotham Trio: Works by Mozart
Thursday, October 11 Bellows and Brass: Works by Pelinksy and Piazzolla
The Leukemia & Lymphona Society
Check-in at 5:30 pm; walks begin at 7:00 pm
Minimum funds raised per walker: $25
212-532-5054
Thursday, October 4 Walk raising money and awareness to cure Leukemia, with supporters carrying red balloons, patients and survivors white balloons, and gold balloons honoring those lost to a blood cancer, South Street Seaport/Brooklyn Bridge
Saturday, October 13 Walk raising money and awareness to cure Leukemia, with supporters carrying red balloons, patients and survivors white balloons, and gold balloons honoring those lost to a blood cancer, Forest Park
Hemmerdinger Hall, NYU
100 Washington Sq. East
Admission: free
212-998-6780
Friday, October 5 All-day symposium featuring panel discussions and lectures with Sergio Bessa, Estrellita Brodsky, Vanessa Davidson, Rubén Gallo, Valerie Hillings, Ariel Jiménez, Sarah Montross, Gabriel Pérez-Barreiro, Luis Pérez-Oramas, Liliana Porter, and Cecilia de Torres, 9:00 am — 5:00 pm
Miller Theatre, Columbia University
2960 Broadway at 116th St.
Tickets: $25
212-854-7799
Friday, October 5 Esa-Pekka Salonen, with Imani Winds, pianist Blair McMillen, cellist Darrett Adkins, and soprano Tony Arnold, 8:00
Brooklyn Academy of Music Opera House Café
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
No cover, no minimum
718-636-4100
http://www.bam.org/events/bamcafelive
Friday, October 5 Gary Lucas & Gods and Monsters, 9:00
Saturday, October 6 Jen Shyu & Jade Tongue, 9:00
Friday, October 12 MuthaWIT, 9:00
Saturday, October 13 Grady Tate, 9:00
Rumsey Playfield, Central Park
Enter at 72nd St. & Fifth Ave.
Admission: free
http://www.peopleenespanol.com/fiesta
Sunday, October 6 All-day party featuring games, prizes, special guest Maria Celeste Arraras, and live performances by Ivy Queen, Kat DeLuna, Miguelito, Miredys, and master of ceremonies Ruperto Vanderpool, 12 noon — 10:00 pm
Brooklyn Museum of Art
200 Eastern Parkway
Admission: free after 5:00 pm (some events require free tickets available that night)
718-638-5000
Saturday, October 6 Reading: Elizabeth Nunez, PROSPERO'S DAUGHTER, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Forum, fourth floor, 6:00
Saturday, October 6 Dance: INSPIRIT, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, third floor, 6:30 — 8:30
Saturday, October 6 Hands-On Art: Create your own imaginary map of the Caribbean, Education Division, first floor, 6:30 — 8:30
Saturday, October 6 Music: Pianist Arturo O'Farrill and his septet, Riza Negra, with special guest soloist Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR), Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, first floor, 6:30 — 8:30
Saturday, October 6 Artist Talk: Nicole Awai, meet at entrance to "Infinite Island," fifth floor
7:00
Saturday, October 6 Curator Talk: Tumelo Mosaka, "Infinite Island," fifth floor, 8:00
Saturday, October 6 Performance and Discussion: Samantha Thornhill, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Forum, fourth floor, 8:00
Saturday, October 6 ONE LOVE (Rick Elgood & Don Letts, 2003), Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, third floor, 8:30
Saturday, October 6 Music: Charanga Soleil and DJ Neva, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, first floor, 9:00
Saturday, October 6 Dance Party: DJ Rich Medina, Beaux-Arts Court, third floor, 9:00 — 11:00
Riverside Park along Riverside Dr.
Admission: free
800-510-WALK
http://walk.avonfoundation.org
Saturday, October 6 Opening Ceremonies, Hudson River Park, Pier 84, 43rd St. at Twelfth Ave., 6:30 am
Saturday, October 6 Cheering stations at Union Square Park, Washington Square Park, the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, Covenant House, Booker T. Washington Junior High School, the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, the George Washington Bridge Pedestrian Path, and Leonia Middle School
Sunday, October 7 Cheering stations at First Presbyterian Church, Plaza Lafayette, Riverside Park, and the Soldiers & Sailors Monument
Sunday, October 7 Closing Ceremonies, Hudson River Park, Pier 84, 43rd St. at Twelfth Ave., 3:00 pm
The powerHouse Arena
37 Main St.
Admission: free, but donations of toys or books greatly encouraged
212-604-9074 x308
http://www.powerhousearena.com
Saturday, October 6 The Birth of a Legend: A Discussion of VH1 Hip Hop Honoree a Tribe Called Quest, 12 noon
Saturday, October 6 New Jack Swing: A discussion of VH1 Hip Hop Honorees Teddy Riley and Andre Harrell, 12 noon
Saturday, October 6 Book Signing: Brian Coleman, CHECK THE TECHNIQUE, 1:00
Saturday, October 6 Born in the Bronx Slide Show & Artists Talk, with Joe Conzo and GrandMaster Caz, 2:00
Saturday, October 6 Book Signing: Janette Beckman, THE BREAKS: STYLIN’ AND PROFILIN’ 1982—1990, 2:00
Saturday, October 6 Author Talk and Book Signing: Teri Woods, TRUE TO THE GAME, 4:00
Saturday, October 6 Book Signing: Martha Camarillo, FLETCHER STREET, 5:00
Sunday, October 7 Terrence Jennings presents Hidden Glances: Beyond the Unseen
Slide Show, 11:00 am
Sunday, October 7 Slide Show and Book Signing: Lauri Lyons presents 'Hoods, Flavelas, and Hip-Hop for Flag, 1:00 pm
Sunday, October 7 Artist Talk and Book Signing: Martha Cooper and Rokafella present We B*Girlz, 3:00 pm
Sunday, October 7 Book Signing: Felicia Pride presents The Message: 100 Life Lessons from Hip-Hop’s Greatest Songs, 3:00 pm
Sunday, October 7 Book Signing: Claw Money presents Bombshell: The Life and Crimes of Claw Money, 4:00 pm
Sunday, October 7 Slide Show and Book Signing: Charlie Ahearn presents Wild Style The Sampler, Wild Style’s 25th Anniversary is a VH1 Hip Hop Honors 2007 recipient, 5:00 pm
Sunday, October 7 Slide Show and Book Signing: David Yellen presents Hair Wars, 5:00
Museum of the Moving Image
35th Ave. at 36th St., Astoria
October 6-14
Tickets: $10 (includes museum admission)
718-784-4520
http://movingimage.us/site/screenings
Saturday, October 6 ESTHER KAHN (Arnaud Desplechin, 2000), 3:00
Saturday, October 6 SUMMER INTERLUDE (Ingmar Bergman, 1950), 6:00
Sunday, October 7 MY SEX LIFE... OR HOW I GOT INTO AN ARGUMENT (Arnaud Desplechin, 1996), 3:00
Sunday, October 7 TWO ENGLISH GIRLS (François Truffaut, 1971), 6:30
Saturday, October 13 KINGS AND QUEEN (Arnaud Desplechin, 2004), with Arnaud Desplechin and Jean-Michel Frodon in person, 3:00
Emmanuelle Devos is spectacular in this terrific film from Arnaud Desplechin (ESTHER KAHN, MY SEX LIFE…OR HOW I GOT INTO AN ARGUMENT), playing Nora, a divorced single mother with a ten-year-old son (Valentin Lelong), an ailing father (Maurice Garrel), a troubled sister (Nathalie Boutefeu), a straitlaced, boring fiance (Olivier Rabourdin), a dead ex-husband who appears as a ghost (Joachim Salinger), a manic, tax-evading ex-husband who is institutionalized (a fabulous Mathieu Almaric), and a deep-seated survival instinct that is infectious. Throw in a suicidal woman (Magalie Woch) who can’t get enough sex, an alluring doctor (Catherine Deneuve), a drug-addicted lawyer (Hippolyte Girardot), a remarkably calm, gun-toting convenience-store owner (Jean-Paul Roussillon), and other unusual characters and plotlines and you have one highly entertaining, complex, and marvelously original French drama that will fly by much faster than its two-and-a-half-hour length would lead you to believe.
Saturday, October 13 FACES (John Cassavetes, 1968), 7:00
Sunday, October 14 LA SENTINELLE (Arnaud Desplechin, 1992), 3:00
Sunday, October 14 JE T’AIME, JE T’AIME (Alain Resnais, 1968), 6:00
Long Island University
One University Plaza
General admission: $10
Sunday, October 7 Second annual event, with basketball game featuring such players as Common, Fatman Scoop, MIMS, Grandmaster Caz, Chubb Rock, Saigon, and more, coached by Grandmaster Melle Mel, Tyrone Williams, and EBRO, and with celebrity MC Melyssa Ford and a halftime performance by Swizz Beatz; proceeds benefit the Madison Square Boys and Girls Club, 3:00
Symphony Space, Leonard Nimoy Thalia
2537 Broadway at 95th St.
Tickets: $11
212-864-5400
Sunday, October 7 PANIC IN THE STREETS (Elia Kazan, 1950), 7:30
Tuesday, October 9 FAT CITY (John Huston, 1972), 7:30
Sunday, October 14 SAWDUST AND TINSEL (Ingmar Bergman, 1953), 7:30
Tuesday, October 23 TAKING OFF (Milos Forman, 1971), 7:30
Sunday, October 28 THE THIRD MAN (Carol Reed, 1949), 7:30
Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd St.
Admission: $5 (RSVP required)
212-534-1672 ext3395
Monday, October 8 Mary Kent, SALSA TALKS! A MUSICAL HERITAGE UNCOVERED, with live performance by Zon Del Barrio, 6:30
Puck Building
203 Lafayette St. at Houston St.
General Admission Tickets: $10, Deluxe Goodie Bag Tickets: $30*Purchase Girlfriend Group Tickets and save up to 20%.
212-242-2566
Monday, October 8
through
Friday, October 12 Five nights of complimentary cocktails, beauty treats, giveaways, goodie bags, and shopping, featuring dozens of vendors selling jewelry, beauty products, clothing and accessories, and more, 4:30 — 10:00 pm
The New School
Theresa Lang Community and Student Center
55 West 13th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Admission: $5
212-229-5488
Tuesday, October 9 Screening of documentary BROOKLYN MATTERS, followed by panel discussion about development in Brooklyn, with Candace Carponter, Isabel Hill, Francis Morrone, and Ronald Schiffman, moderated by Linda Lees, 7:00
James Beard House
167 West 12th Street
Voluntary donation: $20 (free for culinary students)
RSVP: 212-627-2308
Wednesday, October 10 Alex Prud’homme, MY LIFE IN FRANCE by Julia Child, talk and book signing, 12:00 — 1:30 pm.
World Financial Center Winter Garden
225 Vesey St. at West & Liberty Sts.
Admission: free
212-945-2600
http://www.worldfinancialcenter.com/calendar
Wednesday, October 10 Mini-marathon paying tribute to Thelonious Monk, with Geri Allen, Cedar Walton, Frank Kimbrough, Luis Perdomo, Rodney Kendrick, Helio Alves, Aaron Goldberg, Dan Tepfer, Juan Jose Chuquisengo, Aaron Diehl, Ran Jia, Joel Fan, Martha Manchena, Deidre Rodman, Erno Feher, Joanne Brackeen, and Alon Yavnai, 5:00 — 9:00 pm
Merchant's House Museum
29 East Fourth St. between Lafayette St. and the Bowery
Admission: $15 (RSVP required)
212-777-1089
Wednesday, October 10 Board member Anthony Bellov and paranormal investigator Dan Sturges examine the findings of a recent séance and various spirited stories, followed by a reception, 6:30
Elabash Recital Hall
CUNY Graduate Center
365 Fifth Ave. at 34th St.
Admission: free
202-633-7959
Wednesday, October 10 Pianist Jason Moran in Conversation with Gary Giddins, 6:30
Tribeca Performing Arts Center
Borough of Manhattan Community College
199 Chambers St.
Tickets: $36-$45
212-220-1460
Wednesday, October 10 Andalucía flamenco performed by Arte y Pureza Flamenco Company from Spain, 8:00
Madison Square Garden
31st to 33rd Sts. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
Tickets: $34.50 - $3,004.50
800-4NBA-TIX
Thursday, October 11 Exhibition game between the New York Knicks and Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv, winner of forty-seven Israeli championships, benefiting the children of Migdal HR, 7:00
Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Friday nights from 7:00 to 10:00; includes free admission to galleries
212-620-5000 ext 344
Friday, October 12 Harlem in the Himalayas: the Aaron Diehl Trio, $20, 7:00
Friday, October 12 Book Launch: Justin Guariglia, SHAOLIN: TEMPLE OF ZEN, 7:30
Friday, October 12 CabaretCinema: SHAO LIN TZU (SHAOLIN TEMPLE) (Xinyan Zhangm 1982), introduced by Justin Guariglia with slide show, free with seven-dollar bar minimum, 9:15
A Unique Festival of Sound, Music and Ecology
Judson Church unless otherwise noted
55 Washington Square South
October 12-20
Suggested donation: $10 unless otherwise noted
888-749-9998
Friday, October 12 A Dip in the Lake by John Cage: Sound installation scored for Toronto and performed by Bill Blakeney, Gayle Young, and George Boski, 8:30
Saturday October 13 Walking Through Sounds, free but reservations suggested, 2:00
Saturday October 13 Citizen Sound: A Forum on Urban Sound Issues, with Edmund Mooney, Tom Agnotti, and Aviva Rahmani, moderated by Andrea Polli, 4:30
Saturday, October 13 The Poles: Encounters with Bernie Krause & Andrea Juan, sonic/visual presentation, 8:30
Tuesday October 16 ModernWorks: Madeleine Shapiro, cello & electronics, playing Matthew Burtner’s Fragments from Cold, Guilermo Galindo’s Tx3 (Tres, Tristes, Tigres), Paul Rudy’s Degrees of Separation: Grandchild of Tree, Judith Shatin’s For the Birds, Morton Subotnick’s Axolotl, and Peter Zummo’s Invocation, 8:30
Wednesday, October 17 Mark Moffett: Exploding Ants and Other Stories, sonic/visual presentation, 8:30
Thursday, October 18 Explorers in the Wild: Julia Calfee and David Monacchi, sonic/visual presentation introduced by Mark Moffett, 8:30
Friday, October 19 An evening with Walter Branchi, featuring three pieces from Intero, with Walter Branchi on flute and electronics and David Monacchi on bansuri flute, New York Friends Meeting House, 15 Rutherford Pl. (15th St. between Second & Third Avs.), $10, 7:00
Friday, October 19
and
Saturday, October 20 Bruce Odland and Sam Auinger: Requiem for Fossil Fuels, for eight channels of sound, electronics, and voices, with Martha Kluver, Hai-Ting Chinn, Joshua South, and John Young, voices, 8:30
Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Ave. at Second St.
Tickets: $10
212-229-1207
http://moonandstarsproject.org
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org
Friday, October 12
Through
Sunday, October 21 Ninth annual festival of short works and contemporary feature-length films from Turkey
Wednesday, October 17, 9:00
Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, CLIMATES is a beautifully elegiac look at a desperate relationship set in modern-day Turkey. The film opens with Isa (writer-director Nuri Bilge Ceylan) and Bahar (Ebru Ceylan, Nuri’s real-life wife) visiting desert ruins. As he walks among ancient pillars, taking photos, she watches him from a distance; the silence is deafening. Later, on a beach, they agree to part ways; while he heads back into the arms of Serap (Nazan Kesal), a friend’s lover, she takes a job on a faraway television program, set in the bitter cold and snow. But Isa still can’t get the younger Bahar out of his mind. CLIMATES features long scenes of little dialogue, with cinematographer Gökhan Tiryaki alternating extreme close-ups with gorgeous, nearly empty landscapes, shot in HD digital video, with a haunting piano-based score. Ceylan’s follow-up to DISTANT, which won the 2003 Jury Grand Prix at Cannes, is a wrenching, challenging tale that will leave audiences emotionally exhausted.
Multiple locations
212-219-0888
http://symphonyspace.org/event/2267
Friday, October 12 Lower East Side Procession and Concert, with more than eighty klezmer musicians, procession begins at corner of Canal & Eldridge Sts. at 12 noon, with concert following in Seward Park at East Broadway & Rutgers St. at 12:30
Sunday, October 14 Klezmer concert featuring Theodore Bikel, Don Byron, Zalman Mlotek, Adrienne Cooper, Eleanor Reissa, Barry Mitterhoff, Elizabeth Schwartz, and others, Symphony Space, Peter Jay Sharpe Theatre, 2537 Broadway at 95th St., $20-$30, RSVP at 212-864-1414, 7:00
Galapagos Art Space backroom
70 North Sixth St. between Wythe and Kent
Admission: $10
718-384-4586
http://www.galapagosartspace.com
Saturday, October 13 Live performances by Rob Gee, Broken Schematics, Norman Bates, Love Hate Theory, Soni Minos, and Xaunitex, with DJs Rob Gee, Mike Hemp, Jen Mas, Nevermind, and Low-Key, 5:00 pm — 4:00 am
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts
250 Bedford Park Boulevard West
Tickets: $40-$50
718-960-8833
Saturday, October 13 The Way It Used to Be, with the Original Kings of Hip Hop, including Kurtis Blow, Big Daddy Kane, Rob Base, and DJ Hollywood, 8:00
Battery Park
State St. & Battery Pl.
Admission: free
212-484-1222
Saturday, October 13
and
Sunday, October 14 Seventh annual festival of arts and culture, with participation by more than 125 institutions, from museums and botanical gardens to theater and dance groups, from orchestras and zoos to parks and historical societies; a kids stage featuring the Bucky & Gigi Show, the Niall O’Leary School of Dance, Swingset Mamas, Dikki’s Wacky Magic & Circus Show, TADA! Resident Youth Ensemble, Wildlife Theater from the Central Park Zoo, and the Kids’ Dash; and dishes from downtown restaurants, 11:00 am — 5:30 pm
Saturday, October 13 Taiko Masala (12 noon), Chris Byars Quintet (12:30), the Smyrk (1:00), Flamenco Latino (1:30), Jennifer Muller / the Works (2:00), Parsons Dance (2:30), the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artists (3:30), Citigrass, Avantango (3:45), Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra with Arturo O’Farrill (4:30)
Sunday, October 14 The Nashville Attitude (12 noon), Mariachi Citlalli and Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Nueva York (12:30), Bargemusic Players (1:00), Lotus Music & Dance (1:15), Sara Joel and Kevin Gibbs (2:15), David Neumann / advanced beginner group (2:30), Imani Uzuri (3:30), Eddie Allen Quartet (4:00), Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All-Stars (4:45)
Queens Theatre in the Park
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Tickets: $22-$39
718-760-0064
Saturday, October 13
and
Sunday, October 14 Dancers from the New York City Ballet perform works by Balanchine, Martins, and Petipa, set to the music of Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Richard, Rodgers, Ray Charles, and others
JCC in Manhattan
334 Amsterdam Ave. at 76th St.
Admission: free
646-505-5708
Sunday, October 14 Screening of O JERUSALEM (Elie Chouraqui, 2006), followed by Q&A with the filmmakers and star Tova Feldshuh, 8:00
BAMcinematek
BAM Rose Cinemas
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
October 15 — November 19
Tickets: $11
718-636-4100
Monday, October 15 HIGH AND LOW (TENGOKU TO JIGOKU) (Akira Kurosawa, 1963), 6:00, 9:00
Tuesday, October 16 THIS SPORTING LIFE (Lindsay Anderson, 1963), 6:00, 9:00
Wednesday, October 17 LA COLLECTIONNEUSE (Eric Rohmer, 1967), 4:30, 6:50, 9:15
American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West & 81st St. entrance
Tickets: adults $150, children $75
Tuesday, October 16 Fourteenth annual benefit, featuring buffet dinner, entrance to exhibitions, live music, moonwalks, Expedition Guide, science experiments, fossil digs, live animals and reptiles, and more, 5:00 — 7:30
Tribeca Performing Arts Center
Borough of Manhattan Community College
199 Chambers St.
Admission: free
212-220-1460
Tuesday, October 16 Part 1: Legacies, featuring film of musicians who played at Jazz Forum, Jazzmania, and Jazz Gallery, including Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Teddy Wilson, Count Basie, Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, and more, followed by a Q&A moderated by Krin Gabbard, 8:00