Chelsea Art Walk of the Week
09.28.05
1. Strolling through Chelsea art galleries
2. New York City architectural landmarks open their doors
3. Jean Hélion turns one hundred at the National Academy
4. Greta Garbo turns one hundred at Scandinavia House
Volume 5, Number 17
September 28 — October 12, 2005
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Roy Lichtenstein’s "House II" creates optical illusion
Gagosian Gallery
555 West 24th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am — 6:00 pm
Through October 22
Admission: free
212-741-1111
http://www.gagosian.com/current/exhibitions/?gid=2
http://www.lichtensteinfoundation.org/lonindex.htm
The colorful, playful, and influential sculptures of Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein turn the four galleries in the Gagosian into a carnival of fun, exciting, involving imagery. In the first gallery, "Brushstroke Nude" twists in the wind. Make sure to walk past the fabulous "House II" staring at the center; you’ll feel as if it is alive, moving inside and outside of itself. Gallery II features several of his line sculptures as well as the extraordinary "Woman Contemplating a Yellow Cup" and "Woman with Mirror," which you can look into from either side. In the third gallery is one of our favorites, "Goldfish Bowl," resting on a book on an easel, as well as the bright yellow, diagonal "Maquette for the Gilman Paper Company Lamp." In the small fourth gallery, notice the optical tricks perpetrated by "Pyramid." And don’t forget about the back office gallery, where you’ll find the Victorianesque "Surrealist Head."
Courtesy ClampArt
"Apparition #907" by Bill Armstrong
ClampArt
531 West 25th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am — 6:00 pm
Through October 22
Admission: free
646-230-0020
Setting his lens at infinity, Bill Armstrong takes pictures of reworked photographs of Roman sculpture heads, resulting in haunting images that are purposely severely out of focus. Against a black background, faces can barely be made out, in green, red, purple, blue, white, yellow, and other hazy colors. The pictures are filled with the mystery of spirituality and death; interestingly, Armstrong took these photos shortly after the passing of his father, and he writes in the catalog that it is "uncanny" that "some of the ghostly images actually resemble my father … It was only later that I understood that I had been trying to communicate with him through the medium of light-sensitive materials." Conversely, if you stare at these pictures long enough, you’ll think the subjects in them are trying to communicate with you (perhaps reminding us that all great empires eventually fall).
Luhring Augustine
531 West 24th St.
Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am — 6:00 pm
Through October 22
Admission: free
212-206-9100
http://www.luhringaugustine.com
Joel Sternfeld continues his photographic exploration of America with this extraordinary series that he’s been working on for twelve years. He has traveled the nation to find current and past sites of social experimentation, where people formed unique communities of environmental sustainability. His subjects range from the endangered Liz Christy Garden on the Bowery to Leonard Knight’s remarkable Salvation Mountain in Slab City, California, from the ruins of Drop City in Trinidad, Colorado, to the remains of Zzyzx Springs on Lake Tuendae in California, from Patch Adams’s stunning Dacha/Staff Building at the Gesundheit! Institute in Hillsboro, West Virginia, to the tree-laden Lost Valley Education Center in Dexter, Oregon. Each photo is accompanied by text detailing the site’s history as a place of communal gathering, green living, and peace and love. When we stopped by, Sternfeld just happened to be there, speaking passionately about his work. "I am so sorry this one is over," he said. You have until October 22 to check these out, or else you can buy the book, which includes many more destinations.
Kim Foster Gallery
529 West 20th St., ground floor
Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am — 6:00 pm
Through October 22
Admission: free
212-229-0044
Evoking the work of such Hudson River School painters as Thomas Cole, John Frederick Kensett, and George Inness, Susan Wides has taken a series of stunning photographs around Kaaterskill Falls in upstate New York. In one photo, the leaves are changing, providing a gorgeous backdrop for — a car dump, which just happens to be across the street from where Cole lived. Notice how the image goes in and out of focus the deeper you look, questioning the reality of the view. Several shots of the falls themselves go beyond pretty landscape pictures, mixing in abstract concepts that challenge the viewer. We’ve been to Kaaterskill Falls numerous times, and we’ve taken lots of photos there, but we’ve never seen anything quite like this there.
twi-ny/mdr
Literary pub caters to Chelsea gallerygoers
505 West 23rd St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Admission: free
212-462-4300
Named after an eighteenth-century leader of the Seneca and the Delaware Indians, this very pleasant pub serves a good brunch, decent burgers, and very good Guinness in an outdoor patio, a bar area with wooden booths (all the wood came from a two-hundred-year-old Pennsylvania barn), and a dining room with long couches, fast-moving fans, and an art show along the walls. "One in a Billion: Coming of Age in the New China," which was supposed to end in early September but is still up, features excellent photographs by New York City-born photojournalist David Butow, documenting what he calls the "transitional, only-child generation" in China, "the world’s greatest Work in Progress." Owned by Scott Anderson, Nanette Burstein, and Sebastian Junger, the Half King also hosts reading and music series.
Monday, October 3 Nick Flynn, ANOTHER BULLS–T NIGHT IN SUCK CITY, 7:00
Monday, October 10 Michael Segell, THE DEVIL’S HORN, 7:00
Monday, October 17 Rosa Lowinger, TROPICANA NIGHTS: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE LEGENDARY CUBAN NIGHTCLUB, 7:00
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New York Marble Cemetery opens its doors
Various venues in all five boroughs
October 8-9
Admission: free
Reservations required for some visits
917-583-2398
Some of New York’s most exciting and impossible-to-get-into locations are opening their doors to celebrate architecture at this third annual free event — but you better reserve early for some of the hottest spots. From the Old Croton Aqueduct and Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx to the Fifty-ninth St. Marine Transfer Station and the Little Red Lighthouse in Manhattan, from the Hindu Temple Society of America and Fort Tilden in Queens to the Brooklyn Army Terminal and the Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House in Brooklyn, from the St. George Theater and Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island to Ellis Island’s South Side, visitors will be given special tours and learn about the architectural history of New York City landmarks.
Among the dozens of other participants are the Arsenal, the Seguine Mansion, the Eldridge Street Synagogue, the Church of the Transfiguration, Governors Island, the General Grant National Memorial, the Old Quaker Meeting House, the John J. Harvey Fireboat, Chelsea Market, the Green-Wood Cemetery, Floyd Bennett Field, Scandinavia House, the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, the Merchant’s House Museum, an MTA Substation, the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage, the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace, Teardrop Park, Wave Hill, the Morris-Jumel Mansion, MoMA’s Conservation Department, the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden, the Jacob Riis Park Bathhouse, and such old standbys as the Chrysler Building, Grand Central Terminal, and the Waldorf=Astoria. There are also canoe tours of Red Hook Harbor and the Gowanus Canal. In the first two years we visited the Grand Lodge of Masons on West 23rd St. and both downtown marble cemeteries, which were all revelations. Prepare for very long lines at some of the more popular spots, so always have a backup plan in the neighborhood.
Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Paris, © Adagp, Paris 2004
"Against the Grain" ("Wrong Way Up"), 1947
-- Jean Hélion, after marrying Peggy Guggenheim’s daughter, "Jean Hélion" at the National Academy
National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts
1083 Fifth Ave. between 89th & 90th Sts.
Through October 9
Closed Monday & Tuesday
Admission: $10
212-369-4880
http://www.nationalacademy.org
The colorful career of little-known twentieth-century French painter Jean Hélion (1904-87) is finally getting a well-deserved retrospective at the National Academy. Trained as an architectural draughtsman, Hélion was influenced by the work of Poussin, Torres-Garcia, Van Doesburg, Léger, and Miro as well as his friends Calder, Tanguy, Mondrian, and Arp. Attempting to paint "the life of my time," his style developed from Cubism to abstraction to figuration and naturalism. Organized by the Centre Pompidou in celebration of Hélion’s centenary, the exhibit at the National Academy is unfortunately an abbreviated version of the original, although it still is highly enjoyable. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Hélion mixed Mondrian-like grids with Calder-like lines, then mixed in rounded curves for his "Circular Tensions" series. Abstract geometric shapes made their way into his "Equilibrium" and "Composition" paintings, which led to his "Standing Figures"; "Pink Figure," an iconic religious woman with head bowed, is particularly powerful.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Hélion, who had survived a German prison camp during WWII, broke away from abstraction in favor of cartoonish scenarios of real life and nudes. He cleverly announced this change in style in 1947’s "Against the Grain" ("Wrong Way Up"), in which he uses abstract shapes to create a version of himself standing in between an "Equilibrium"-like painting on an easel in a gallery and an upside-down naked woman drifting out a window. A red carpet leads to a nude woman stretched out on a tiny bed in front of an open door in "Star-nude with Trousers," while in "Nude Leaning on Elbow" the same nude woman sits on a folding chair in front of a closed door, wallpaper peeling behind her. Social commentary worked its way into such pieces as "Big Mannequin Event," as two well-dressed half mannequins loom over a homeless man sleeping in the street, wearing only one shoe. In "The Big Daily Read," five men sit on a park bench, calmly reading the paper, surrounded by twigs and a pair of wonderfully placed trees in the background. Hélion also had a penchant for incorporating hats, umbrellas, loaves of bread, and especially pumpkins into many of these canvases and still-lifes.
Hélion continued painting through the 1980s, developing his ever-changing style in such pieces as "The Moment After," in which a nude woman lies on the floor near an overturned chair, with a torn-apart pumpkin in the foreground and an artist painting her in the background. And in 1983’s "Upturns," Hélion revisits "Fallen Figure" from 1939, using similar shapes and perspective to neatly sum up his career — something he also did in 1953, when his very different "The Studio" took viewers inside his place of work, where drawings line the walls, canvases pile up everywhere, an art-buyer friend examines a new piece, a hat and newspaper rest on a bench, and his bored wife, Pegeen Vail (Peggy Guggenheim’s daughter), looks on from a staircase. The elaborate catalog contains many more drawings and paintings, a detailed chronology, and several illuminating essays about this fascinating, nearly forgotten artist. (By the way, he lived and worked in New York for several years, in case you’re wondering why the exhibition is being held at a museum dedicated to American art.)
twi-ny/mdr
Boy Mayor honored at gate
Fifth Ave. & 90th St.
http://www.centralpark.org/home.html
http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/nyc100/html/classroom/hist_info/mayorsold.html#mitchel
We’ve all been down Museum Mile along Fifth Ave. countless times, but how many of us have actually stopped to check out Engineers’ Gate, dedicated to former New York City mayor John Purroy Mitchel, who died in a military training accident in 1918? The gold bust past the gate is of the Boy Mayor, the youngest ever elected to lead New York City. (He was only thirty-five when he took office in 1914.) Mitchel fought against corruption and Tammany Hall and for workers’ rights, but amazingly he was not reelected. Walk up the stairs around the memorial and take in the beauty that is the New York City Reservoir, with a sparkling view of the Central Park West skyline. Note to Long Islanders: Mitchel Field in Hempstead was named for Major John Purroy Mitchel on July 16, 1918, just ten days after his death.
Doyle New York
175 East 87th St. between Lexington & Park Aves.
Admission: free, but advance tickets required for select events
212-427-4141 ext600, events@DoyleNewYork.com
Saturday, October 8
through
Tuesday, October 11 Doyle at Home: Exhibition of fine furniture, decorations, and paintings
Sunday, October 9 How to Buy at Auction, seminar, reservations required, 11:30 am
Wednesday, October 12 Doyle at Home auction, 10:00 am
Garbo demands a whiskey in ANNA CHRISTIE
Scandinavia House
58 Park Ave. at 38th St.
Through December 17
Tickets: $8
212-847-9740
http://www.scandinaviahouse.org/programs.html#fi
As part of its celebration of Greta Garbo’s centenary, Scandinavia House is presenting an exhibition of memorabilia as well as a film series of most of the Swedish actress’s most acclaimed works, from 1924’s silent GÖSTA BERLINGS SAGA to such classics as CAMILLE, NINOTCHKA, GRAND HOTEL, ANNA CHRISTIE, FLESH AND THE DEVIL, ANNA KARENINA, and QUEEN CHRISTINA, along with clips from lost films, commercials, and documentary footage. If you’ve never seen the great Garbo on the big screen, don’t miss this splendid opportunity.
Wednesday, September 21 CAMILLE (George Cukor 1937), 5:30 & 8:00
Saturday, September 24 CAMILLE (George Cukor 1937), 3:00
Wednesday, September 28 NINOTCHKA (Ernst Lubitsch, 1939), 5:30 & 8:00
Saturday, October 1 NINOTCHKA (Ernst Lubitsch, 1939), 3:00
Wednesday, October 5 FLESH AND THE DEVIL (Clarence Brown, 1927), 5:30 & 8:00
Saturday, October 8 FLESH AND THE DEVIL (Clarence Brown, 1927), 3:00
Wednesday, October 12 LOVE (Edmund Goulding, 1927), 5:30 & 8:00
Saturday, October 15 LOVE (Edmund Goulding, 1927), 3:00
Wednesday, October 19 A WOMAN OF AFFAIRS (Clarence Brown, 1929), 5:30 & 8:00
Saturday, October 22 A WOMAN OF AFFAIRS (Clarence Brown, 1929), 3:00
Wednesday, October 26 GRAND HOTEL (Rouben Mamoulian, 1933), 5:30 & 8:00
Saturday, October 29 GRAND HOTEL (Rouben Mamoulian, 1933), 3:00
Wednesday, November 2 GÖSTA BERLINGS SAGA (THE SAGA OF GÖSTA BERLING) (Parts I & II) (Mauritz Stiller, 1924), 6:00
Saturday, November 5 GÖSTA BERLINGS SAGA (THE SAGA OF GÖSTA BERLING) (Parts I & II) (Mauritz Stiller, 1924), 3:00
Thursday , November 10 THE KISS (Jacques Feyder, 1929), preceded by the short film THE DIVINE WOMAN (Victor Sjöström, 1928), the film fragment LUFFAR-PETTER (PETER THE TRAMP) (Lasse Ring, 1922), and Garbo’s first film appearances in early Swedish commercials, 5:30 & 8:00
Saturday, November 12 THE KISS (Jacques Feyder, 1929), preceded by the short film THE DIVINE WOMAN (Victor Sjöström, 1928), the film fragment LUFFAR-PETTER (PETER THE TRAMP) (Lasse Ring, 1922), and Garbo’s first film appearances in early Swedish commercials, 3:00
Wednesday, November 16 ANNA CHRISTIE (Clarence Brown 1930), U.S. version, 5:30
Wednesday, November 16 ANNA CHRISTIE (Jacques Feyder 1930), German version, 8:00
Saturday, November 19 ANNA CHRISTIE (Clarence Brown 1930), U.S. version, 3:00
Saturday, November 19 ANNA CHRISTIE (Jacques Feyder 1930), German version, 5:30
Wednesday, November 30 MATA HARI (George Fitzmaurice, 1931), 5:30 & 8:00
Saturday, December 3 MATA HARI (George Fitzmaurice, 1931), 3:00
Wednesday, December 7 ANNA KARENINA (Clarence Brown, 1935), preceded by documentary footage and a test shot of Garbo, 5:30 & 8:00
Saturday, December 10 ANNA KARENINA (Clarence Brown, 1935), preceded by documentary footage and a test shot of Garbo, 3:00
Wednesday, December 14 QUEEN CHRISTINA (Rouben Mamoulian, 1933), 5:30 & 8:00
Saturday, December 17 QUEEN CHRISTINA (Rouben Mamoulian, 1933), 3:00
Collection of the Reisfield Family
Clarence Sinclair Bull captures Garbo during filming of AS YOU DESIRE ME
Scandinavia House
58 Park Ave. at 38th St.
Through November 12
Admission: $3
212-847-9740
http://www.scandinaviahouse.org/programs.html#1
The great Greta Garbo, one of Hollywood’s most talented, glamorous, and photogenic stars, was not a fan of posing for pictures. In fact, in 1927 the Swedish Sphinx stopped allowing herself to be photographed except when she was on the set, often in costume, doing publicity specifically for that film. This exhibit of eighty-nine photos from Garbo’s personal collection (hence the name "Garbo’s Garbos"), begins with rarely seen Swedish shots of Garbo from 1924-25, including a sexy Garbo by Olaf Ekstrand, a frumpy Garbo by Alexander Binder, and a nasty Garbo by Arnold Genthe. But after that, save for a few shots (including one with Garbo and designer Adrian in a stripey setting), all the photos are of Garbo during the making of a film, and almost always alone. (She rarely allowed herself to be photographed with her leading man, and she was never photographed with another woman. She also rarely smiles in photos.)
Among the standouts here are seven marvelously mysterious portraits of Garbo by Clarence Sinclair Bull from MATA HARI, with Garbo’s hair pulled back tight, looking both gorgeous and ominous; Garbo barefoot and beautiful in one of Ruth Harriet Louise’s LOVE photos; Bull’s floating-head shot from ANNA CHRISTIE; an alluringly unkempt Garbo in a pair of Bull photos from AS YOU DESIRE ME; and other pictures from George Hurrell, Russell Ball, Bert Longworth, Cecil Beaton, George Hoyningen-Huene, and Edward Steichen’s stunning shot of Garbo with her hands on her head. There are also several cases containing various memorabilia items, including lobby cards, magazine covers, a caricature, press books, and a thank-you note Garbo sent to President John F. Kennedy dated November 18, 1963.
twi-ny/mdr
AQ Café offers Scandinavian treats
Scandinavia House
58 Park Ave. between 37th & 38th Sts.
Open Monday to Saturday, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
212-879-9779
One of the many reasons why we love Scandinavia House is that you can do it all right there in its headquarters on Park Ave.: see a gallery show, eat good food, and then go to the movies. Scandinavia House scored a major coup when they got the terrific Midtown restaurant Aquavit to run the café. We have been a fan of Marcus Samuelsson’s splendid cuisine for a bunch of years now, and we’re glad to slip into this small, inexpensive outlet every chance we get, because Aquavit itself is too pricey to go to all the time. Everything on the café menu is under ten bucks, including Swedish meatballs, the fab herring plate, and the smorgasbord, which are actually worth a trip on their own. And you must try the Sweedie, made with dark chocolate, coconut, and soft meringue, a bargain at only two bucks. Also available are such Scandinavian treats as Swedish fish, Panda licorice, Daim chocolate, Fazermints, Freia Dronning Sjokolade, and more.
Scandinavia House
58 Park Ave. at 38th St.
212-847-9740
http://www.scandinaviahouse.org/programs.html#3
Tuesday, September 20 Concert: Ditt Ditt Darium, $10, 6:00
Thursday, September 29 Change and Continuity: The Enduring Modernity of Georg Jensen, panel discussion with David Taylor, Toni Greenbaum, Bent Gabrielsen, and Karsten Ravn, followed by a reception, $35, 6:30
Thursday, October 6 Film Screening and Discussion: LETTERS FROM KARELIA (Kelly Saxberg), with Varpu Lindström and Saxberg, $15, 6:30 p.m
Saturday, October 8 Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, WHY KINGS & QUEENS DON’T WEAR CROWNS, reading and signing, free, 11:30 am
Sunday, October 9 Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales Come Alive! $10 ($5 children under 12), 1:00
Tuesday, October 11 New Classicism and Danish Design in the 1920s: The Transition to Modernism, with Claire Selkurt, followed by reception, $20, 6:30
Monday, October 17 The City of Peace: Explaining the Oslo Accords, with Daniel Heradstveit, free, 6:30
Thursday, October 20 Voyagers of the Northern Seas: Ships and Sailing in Viking and Medieval Times, with Alf Bøe, $10, 6:30
Tuesday, October 25 Sámi Music with VAJAS, $15,7:30
Tuesday, November 1 The Cat Journey, with the Swedish Peek-a-Boo theater company, ages 2—5, $10 ($5 children under 12), 10:30 a.m. & 2:00 p.m.
Tuesday, November 1 Lectures on Norwegian Architecture: Snøhetta: Oslo to Alexandria to New York, $10, 6:30
Thursday, November 3 Norwegian Music: Past, Present & Future, panel discussion with conductor Per Brevig, cellist Darrett Adkins, musicologist Hallgjerd Aksnes, composer Arne Nordheim, violinist Arve Tellefsen, and baritone Per Vollestad, $15, 6:00
Friday, November 4 Lectures on Norwegian Architecture: A New Wave in Norwegian Architecture: Three Young Voices, $10, 6:30
Tuesday, November 8 Jonas Hassen Khemiri, ONE EYE RED (ETT ÖGA RÖTT), reading (Swedish) and talk (English), free 6:30
Tuesday, November 15 Finnish Tango & Kaiku, $10, 6:00
Saturday, November 19 For Children and Families: Norse Myths, with Rolf Stang, $6, 1:00
Saturday, December 3 A Family Lucia, led by Swedish actress Eva Engman, $10 ($5 children under 12), 1:00
Sunday, December 11 Holiday Concert with the Scandinavian Chamber Orchestra, $25, 4:00
twi-ny/mdr
Publisher’s artwork on Park Ave.
90 Park Ave. between 40th & 41st Sts.
http://www.salander.com/artists/artists_represented/carter.html
Native New Yorker and Connecticut farm owner Arthur Carter is also a successful sculptor; this piece went up in October 2001, overlooking busy Park Ave. More than thirty feet high, the abstract piece consists of two narrow, twisting ovals, one bronze, one stainless steel, that form a kind of infinity symbol; the security guard on duty when we first came upon the work said that it displayed the spirit of fraternity, the balance of life, and we can’t argue with that, although the title tells us something a little different. Be sure to walk all around the sculpture, as it changes significantly when viewed from different angles. Bonus fact: This Arthur Carter is indeed the same Arthur L. Carter who is the publisher of the New York Observer and the Litchfield Times.
Things are not so serene in Joss Whedon’s space Western
Opens September 30
We were huge fans of Joss Whedon’s BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and ANGEL, so it was with much disappointment that we watched his 2002 TV show, FIREFLY, come and go so quickly. But the diehard fans, known as Browncoats, wanted more than the Fox network gave them, so Whedon has delivered this exciting feature-length film for Universal, reuniting the cast, including Nathan Fillion as Mal, Gina Torres as Zoe, Alan Tudyk as Wash, Morena Baccarin as Inara, Adam Baldwin as Jayne, Jewel Staite as Kaylee, Sean Maher as Simon, Summer Glau as River, and Ron Glass as Shepherd. The bad guy this time around is known simply as the Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a cold-blooded killing machine out to destroy River, who has very dangerous special powers that the Alliance wants silenced. Also getting in the crew’s way are the Reavers, vile creatures who prefer to eat their prey alive. While the Browncoats should be thrilled with the film, so should newbies to this world, as Whedon has managed to make SERENITY an involving stand-alone space western that sci-fi fans can enjoy without knowing anything about FIREFLY. But after you see this thoroughly enjoyable flick, we’re betting you’ll go rushing to get the DVD set to catch up on everything you missed. At least, that’s what we’ll be doing.
Clooney and Strathairn battle McCarthy in GOOD NIGHT
Opens September 30
http://wip.warnerbros.com/goodnightgoodluck
Shot in sharp black and white that makes the characters virtually jump off the screen, George Clooney’s GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK., which opened this year’s New York Film Festival, is a thrilling behind-the-scenes look at the early days of television journalism at CBS News. David Strathairn is outstanding as Edward R. Murrow, a dedicated reporter who took on Joseph McCarthy’s communist witch hunt in the mid-1950s. As the junior senator continued bringing innocent people down, Murrow challenged him on live TV, walking a fine line between fact and opinion, between staying neutral and injecting personal beliefs into the story. Mixing in plenty of original footage, Clooney captures the mood of the era which was primarily fear while also questioning the importance of television as a form of serious journalism, both things that are extremely relevant in today’s mass-media-driven political culture. Clooney, who cowrote and directed the film, plays legendary CBS producer Fred Friendly in a cast that also features Robert Downey Jr. (Joe Wershba), Patricia Clarkson (Shirley Wershba), Ray Wise (Don Hollenbeck), Frank Langella (William Paley), Jeff Daniels (Sig Mickelson), cowriter Grant Heslov (Don Hewitt), and Dianne Reeves as a jazz singer who often links scenes. Sports fans, take note: Among the executive producers of this low-budget triumph is Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
Hoffman channels Capote during writing of IN COLD BLOOD
Angelika Film Center
18 West Houston St. at Mercer St.
Opens September 30
Tickets: $10.75
212-995-2000
http://www.city-cinemas.com/angelika.html
http://www.sonyclassics.com/capote
In November 1959, Richard Hickock (Mark Pellegrino) and Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.) brutally murdered a Kansas family. After reading a small piece about the killings in the New York Times, New Yorker writer Truman Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman) sets out with his research assistant, Harper "Nell" Lee (Catherine Keener), to cover the story from a unique angle, which soon becomes the workings of the classic nonfiction novel IN COLD BLOOD. Capote tells police chief Alvin Dewey (Chris Cooper) right off the bat that he cares only about the story, not what happens to the killers, which does not endear him to the local force. But when the murderers are caught, Capote begins a dangerous relationship with Smith, who comes to think of the writer as a true friend, while Capote gets caught up deeper than he ever thought possible. Based on the exhaustive biography by Gerald Clarke, CAPOTE, fresh off its inclusion in the New York Film Festival, is a slow-moving character study featuring excellent acting and some interesting surprises, even for those who thought they knew a lot about the party-loving chronicler of high society and high living.
Photofest
Charles Bronson has a date with destiny in Leone classic
Film Forum
209 West Houston St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
September 30 — October 6
Tickets: $10
212-727-8110
http://www.filmforum.org/films/once.html
http://www.sergioleone.net/intro_sk.html
One of the grandest Westerns ever made, this masterpiece features an all-star cast that includes Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Jason Robards, Woody Strode, Keenan Wynn, Lionel Stander, and Jack Elam, all enhanced by Ennio Morricone’s epic score and Tonino delli Colli’s never-ending extreme close-ups. (The opening shot of a fly crawling over Elam’s grimy face is unforgettable.) Fonda was never more evil, and Bronson was perhaps never more likable. The film is a huge step above most of Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns, partially because of the cast, but also because of the script help he got from Italian horrormeister Dario Argento and iconic filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci. Film Forum is presenting the film in a new 35mm print, complete and uncut.
New York Film Festival
Alice Tully Hall
70 Lincoln Center Plaza, 1941 Broadway at West 65th St.
Friday, September 30, 6:00
Sunday, October 2, 8:30
212-875-5050 / 212-875-5166
http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/nyff.htm
Park Chanwook’s awesome revenge trilogy (following SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE and OLDBOY) comes to a stirring conclusion with the thrilling tale of Lee Geum-ja (Lee Young-ae), a beautiful thirty-one-year-old woman who has just been released from prison after serving thirteen years for the kidnapping and murder of a five-year-old boy (Nam Song-woo). While behind bars, Geum-ja plotted out a detailed, complex plan to gain revenge on her co-conspirator (OLDBOY’s Choi Min-sik as Mr. Baek), who harbors a dark secret. As Geum-ja, known as both "Angel" and "Witch," visits each former prisoner participating in the elaborate set-up, Park flashes back to reveal the woman’s original crime and her relationship to Geum-ja -- who is also being followed by a wacky preacher with a great hairdo (Kim-Byeong-ok). Now working in a bakery, Geum-ja has become a magical pastry chef as part of her scheme to serve Mr. Baek his just deserts, but, as Park shows rather gruesomely, vengeance -- and repentance -- comes with a heavy price. As with the first two parts of this masterful series, LADY VENGEANCE serves up a cunning concoction of bizarre characters, stunning surprises, existential exegesis, and plenty of psychological terror. You need not have seen the first two to love this one; in fact, all three films are stand-alones as well as stand-outs.
New York Film Festival
Alice Tully Hall
70 Lincoln Center Plaza, 1941 Broadway at West 65th St.
Wednesday, October 5, 6:00
Thursday, October 6, 9:00
212-875-5050 / 212-875-5166
http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/nyff.htm
Hou Hsiao-hsien’s gorgeous THREE TIMES -- which inexplicably does not have a distributor -- is an evocative, poetic trilogy of tales about life and love in Taiwan, all starring the mesmerizing Shu Qi (Hou’s MILLENNIUM MAMBO) and the stalwart Chang Chen (Wong Kar-wai’s 2046 and HAPPY TOGETHER). In A TIME FOR LOVE, set in 1966 and featuring a repeated soft-rock soundtrack, Chen, about to leave for military service, meets May, a pool-hall girl, and promises to write to her even though they have only just met and barely said a word to each other. When he gets a furlough, he goes to the pool hall only to find that she’s on the move, so with Zen-like cool he tries to track her down. A TIME FOR FREEDOM, a silent film with interstitial dialogue and period music, takes place in an elegant brothel in 1911, where Mr. Chang regularly visits a beautiful courtesan. But while she dreams of him buying out her contract and marrying her, he seems intent on helping out another couple instead. Hou concludes the trilogy with A TIME FOR YOUTH, set in fast-paced modern-day Taipei, as Jing, an epileptic singer, and Zhen, a motorcycle-riding photographer, embark on a passionate, nearly wordless affair that has serious consequences for their significant others. THREE TIMES is a rare treat for cineastes, a poetic, intelligent, though overly long study of relationships between men and women in a changing Taiwan over the last hundred years, focusing on character, time and place, and the art of filmmaking itself.
Opens Wednesday, October 5
http://www.squidandthewhalemovie.com
We have no idea how Noah (KICKING AND SCREAMING) Baumbach pulled this off. You’ll think you’ll know just where his Sundance Film Festival award winner (for writing and directing) and New York Film Festival hit is going – yet another painfully realistic look into the dissolution of a New York City family – but lo and behold, THE SQUID AND THE WHALE will surprise you over and over again. And even when it does head toward the cliché route, it adds just the right twist to keep things fresh. Bernard (Jeff Daniels) and Joan Berkman (Laura Linney) are reaching the end of their marriage, and their two sons, Walt (Jesse Eisenberg) and Frank (Owen Kline), aren’t handling it very well; Walt is taking credit for having written Pink Floyd’s "Hey You," and Frank has developed the curious habit of pleasuring himself and then – well, you’ll have to see it to believe it. And while Joan hits the dating scene and has begun writing, Bernard is becoming a woolly has-been author who just might be getting the hots for one of his sexy students (Anna Paquin). Set in 1986 Park Slope (there are scenes shot in Prospect Park, the Santa Fe Grill, and other familiar locations), THE SQUID AND THE WHALE features sharp dialogue, well-developed characters, and outstanding acting. The soundtrack includes Lou Reed’s great "Street Hassle" and a score, composed by Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips (of the recently defunct Luna), that borrows liberally from RISKY BUSINESS, of all things.
Photo by Sean Anders
Shelly has yet to be thawed herself
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between University Pl. & Fifth Ave.
Opens Friday, October 7
Tickets: $10
212-924-3363
First-time director and cowriter Sean Anders hits his mark more often than not in NEVER BEEN THAWED, a slight but funny mockumentary about a group of misfits who make up the Mesa Frozen Entrée Enthusiast Club. The very strange members include Shelly (Shelly Frasier), who works at a hotline trying to talk girls out of having sex while they are in the midst of passion; Al (Allen Zwolle), a moody clown "smilist" who cuts kids’ hair and has a deep crush on Shelly; Scott (Scott Baxter), a formerly gay fireman who steals collector plates from fire sites; Matt (Charles Arnold), an efficiency expert and road alphabet game champ who wears shorts that reveal the urine bag he uses so he can go whenever he wants; Vince (Mike Gordon), a wealthy collector who runs the Viet Cong Prison Camp Experience for corporate executives; and Shawn (Anders), the ersatz leader of the group who is also a foul-mouthed Christian rocker. Rather than focus just on frozen food jokes, of which there are plenty, Anders develops these original, offbeat characters as they prepare for the first-ever Frozen Entrée Enthusiasts Convention, with lots of infighting and refrigeration. We suggest a Swanson’s Hungry Man dinner — in the blue box — before checking this fun flick out.
Dark Sky Films
Alternate HENRY poster art is included in DVD
Two-disc special edition DVD now available
http://www.darkskyfilms.com/Display.asp?ID=10
25% off at http://www.mpihomevideo.com/productdetail.asp?pid=1274 with code "mpisale"
Nearly twenty years ago, director John McNaughton was asked by executive producers Malik B. and Waleed B. Ali to make a low-budget horror film, and he and cowriter Richard Fire decided to base their story on the exploits of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, whose story McNaughton had just seen on 20/20. The result is this creepy, dark, well-paced effort starring Michael Rooker as Henry, a brooding, casual serial killer who can’t quite remember how he murdered his mother. Henry lives in suburban Chicago with ex-con Otis (Tom Towles), whose sexy young sister, Becky (Tracy Arnold), comes to stay with them to get away from her abusive husband. As the relationship among the three of them grows more and more complicated, Henry continues to kill people — and get away with it. The opening tableaux of some of Henry’s murder victims — we don’t get to see the actual killings in the beginning — is beautifully done, although it also fetishizes violence against women, which is extremely disturbing. (Trivia: Several of the victims are played by the same woman, Mary Demas, in different wigs.) The twentieth-anniversary two-disc DVD set includes interesting commentary by McNaughton (who went on to make MAD DOG AND GLORY and WILD THINGS), a making-of featurette, deleted scenes, a documentary on Henry Lee Lucas, and Joe Coleman’s original poster art, which was banned. HENRY, which was not released until 1989 because of its graphic content, was nominated for six Independent Spirit Awards in 1990, and Rooker was named Best Actor at the Seattle International Film Festival.
BONUS: The third twi-ny subscriber to answer the following question correctly will win a free copy of the two-disc special edition DVD of HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER, courtesy of Dark Sky Films. Please send your responses to mark.rifkin@twi-ny.com:
In what film did HENRY star Michael Rooker play Chicago Black Sox first baseman Arnold "Chick" Gandil?
Congratulations to our winner, JB of Long Island, who was the third subscriber to correctly identify EIGHT MEN OUT (John Sayles, 1988) as the answer to our contest question. Keep on the lookout for more contests in future issues of This Week in New York.
Available on DVD October 4
http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=313
Kihachi Otamoto’s goofy, fun Eastern Spaghetti Western, with lots of references to other samurai flicks, is based on the novel PEACEFUL DAYS by Shugoro Yamamoto, which was also turned into Akira Kurosawa’s 1962 Asian oater SANJURO. But this time around, it’s played more for laughs. Tatsuya Nakadai, one of the main villains in both SANJURO and YOJIMBO, stars as former samurai Genta, a laid-back dude who gets caught up in the middle of an inner struggle of a split clan (one group of which contains seven rogue samurai). He meets up with former peasant farmer Hanjiro (Etsushi Takahashi), who dreams of becoming a brave samurai and involves himself in the same battle, though on an opposing side. As the plot grows more impossible to follow, with lots of betrayals, double crosses, would-be yakuza, and romantic jealousy, so does the riotous relationship between Genta and Hanjiro. Masaru Sato’s score is fab as well.
-- Bob Gruen, JOHN LENNON: THE NEW YORK YEARS (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2005, $29.95)
Meet the Writers: Bob Gruen at Barnes & Noble
675 Sixth Ave. at 22nd St.
Friday, October 7, 7:00
Admission: free
Bob Gruen at CUNY Graduate Center
365 Fifth Ave. at 34th St.
Friday, October 14
Tickets: $15
212-817-8215
http://www.gc.cuny.edu/events/index_oct_al.htm#14
http://www.abramsbooks.com/index.php/d/2/1584794321
From November 1971 through December 8, 1980 — the day John Lennon was murdered by Mark David Chapman in front of the Dakota on Central Park West — Bob Gruen served as John and Yoko Ono’s personal photographer. On the occasion of Lennon’s sixty-fifth birthday (October 9) and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the former Beatle’s death, Gruen, in this heavy horizontal hardcover, uses text and images to tell about the Lennon he knew. Quite by accident, John and Yoko invited Gruen into their lives, where he photographed them in the recording studio, walking in the park, hanging out with son Sean in their bed, and simply being themselves. In simple text that, despite revealing a deep affection for John and Yoko, attempts to be as nonjudgmental as possible, Gruen writes of intimate moments between the couple, John’s "Lost Weekend" alcoholic binge, his years as a househusband, his fling with May Pang, a surprise visit from Paul and Linda McCartney, John testifying in court, his UFO encounter, being followed by the feds, and the making of such records as SOME TIME IN NEW YORK CITY, WALLS AND BRIDGES, ROCK ‘N’ ROLL, and DOUBLE FANTASY.
Along the way there are shots of John with Mick Jagger at the keyboards, with David Bowie and Simon & Garfunkel at the Grammys, with Elton John rehearsing "Whatever Gets You Through the Night," with Rudolf Nureyev and Geraldo Rivera at the studio, with James Taylor, Carly Simon, and Merce Cunningham after a dance performance, with Jerry Lewis on the MDA telethon, and with Harry Nilsson shooting pool. Gruen, who has also snapped iconic shots of the New York Dolls, the Sex Pistols, Led Zeppelin, Chuck Berry, and many other musical legends, took some of the most famous shots of John, in addition to some of the most personal (and rarely seen); you can check them out on his Web site as well as in this well-designed must-have for fans of John Lennon, New York City, and rock and roll. And Gruen will be signing books at the Chelsea Barnes & Noble on October 7.
All contents copyright 2005 by Mark Rifkin and twi-ny. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without written permission. Please note that events, dates, and prices are subject to change.
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Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Ave. at Second St.
Through October 2
Tickets: $10
212-229-1207
http://www.moonandstarsproject.org
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/filmschedule-fset.html
In addition to the below feature films, there are programs of short films every day as well.
Wednesday, September 28 Contemporary Turkish Cinema: EGRETI GELIN (BORROWED BRIDE) (Atif Yilmaz, 2005), 8:00
Thursday, September 29 Debut Films: KISA VE ACISIZ (SHORT SHARP ROCK) (Fatih Akin, 1998), 8:00
Friday, September 30 Without Borders: KEBAB CONNECTION (Anno Saul, 2005), 8:00
Saturday, October 1 Documentaries: SIRTLARINDAKI HAYAT (LIFE ON THEIR SHOULDERS) (Yesim Ustaoglum 2004) and PARALEL YOLCULUKLAR (PARALLEL TRIPS) (Yapim Tarihi, 2004), 5:00
Saturday, October 1 Contemporary Turkish Cinema: KARPUZ KABUGUNDAN GEMILER YAPMAK (BOATS OUT OF WATERMELON RINDS) (Ahmet Ulucay, 2004), 8:00
Sunday, October 2 Contemporary Turkish Cinema: HIRSIX VAR! (ROBBERY ALLA TURCA!) (Oguzhan Tercan, 2005), 5:00
Sunday, October 2 Contemporary Turkish Cinema: YAZI TURA (TOSS UP) (Ugur Yucel, 2004), 8:00
September 29 — October 2
Milk Studios, 415 West 15th St. at Tenth Ave.
Phillips Theatre, 315 West 39th St. between Eighth & Ninth Aves.
Panel discussions and screenings: $15-$35
Packages: $200-$1,200
866-698-8389 / 212-404-2850
http://www.newyorktelevisionfestival.com
In addition to the below special events, this five-day festival includes numerous screenings of collections of pilots divided into comedy, drama, reality, student, and animation genres. Some special events, including VH-1’s I LOVE THE ’80s: 3D, are open only to people with festival passes.
Thursday, September 29 Television’s Big Chill: Broadcast, Decency, and the First Amendment, panel discussion with Eric Alterman, Tom Fontana, and Frank Luntz, moderated by Catherine Crier, Milk Studios 1, $25, 11:30 am
Thursday, September 29 Celebrating Australian Television: McLEOD’S DAUGHTERS, Milk Studios 2, $25, 5:00
Thursday, September 29 TV LAND Producers Panel, panel discussion with Diane English, Stan Lathan, Bill Persky, Phil Rosenthal, and Mike Scully, moderated by David Wild, Milk Studios 1, $25, 8:00
Friday, September 30 Covering a Crisis: Katrina in the News, panel discussion with Bill Hemmer, Richard Leibner, John Siegenthaler, and Tracy Smith, Milk Studios 1, $25, 5:00
Friday, September 30 Celebrating Australian Television: VENUS AND APOLLO, Phillips Theatre, $25, 5:00
Saturday, October 1 The View from Daytime, panel discussion with Bill Geddie, Jill Larson, Jesse Murray, Frank Valentini, and David Zyla, moderated by Meredith Viera, Milk Studios 1, $25, 4:45
Sunday, October 2 INSIDE THE BUBBLE (Steven Rosenbaum, 2005), Milk Studios 2, $15, 4:00
Barnes & Noble
33 East 17th St. at Union Square (US)
600 Fifth Ave. at 48th St., Rockefeller Center (RC)
675 Sixth Ave. at 22nd St., Chelsea (CH)
160 East 54th St. at Third Ave., Citicorp (CC)
105 Fifth Ave. at 18th St. (18)
4 Astor Pl. at Broadway (AP)
1972 Broadway at West 66th St., Lincoln Triangle (LT)
396 Sixth Ave. at Eighth St., Greenwich Village (GV)
2289 Broadway at 82nd St. (BW)
240 East 86th St. at Second Ave. (86)
106 Court St., Brooklyn (CS)
267 Seventh Ave., Park Slope (PS)
Admission: free
http://storelocator.barnesandnoble.com/events.do
Thursday, September 29 Jack Klugman, TONY AND ME: A STORY OF FRIENDSHIP, RC, 1:00
Friday, September 30 E.L. Doctorow, THE MARCH, US, 7:00
Tuesday, October 4 Cynthia Lennon, JOHN, US, 7:00
Wednesday, October 5 Harvey Pekar and Dean Haspiel, THE QUITTER, US, 7:00
Thursday, October 6 Renee Fleming, INNER VOICE, LT, 7:00
Friday, October 7 Jill Ciment, THE TATTOO ARTIST, LT, 7:00
Monday, October 10 Joan Didion, THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING, US, 7:00
Tuesday, October 11 Editors of the Onion, EMBEDDED IN AMERICA: THE ONION AD NAUSEAM, AP, 7:00
66 North Sixth St. between Kent & Wythe Aves.
718-599-5103
Thursday, September 29 Medications + Gospel with Monofog, $10, 9:00
Saturday, October 8 Sons & Daughters with Eiffel Tower, $12, 9:00
Golden Post Screening Room
799 Washington Ave.
Tickets: $10 per screening, $8 per panel discussion
Friday, September 30 EXPERIMENT (Dan Turner, 2005), 7:00
Friday, September 30 Filmmaking at the Edge of the High-Definition Transition, 8:30
Friday, September 30 HD Shorts Presentation One, 9:30
Saturday, October 1 Fantastic Festivals of the World: Kyu-Bon and Eisa Festivals, 12 noon
Saturday, October 1 HD for the New and Uninitiated, 1:00
Saturday, October 1 HD Shorts Presentation Two, 2:00
Saturday, October 1 HDV: A Cinematographer’s Point of View, 3:00
All events approximately 11:00 am - 6:00 pm unless otherwise noted
Admission: free
http://www.nyctourist.com/st_fairs_calendar.htm
http://nycSt.fairs.com/sched.html
http://www.clearviewfestival.com
http://www.brooklyn-usa.org/St._fair_concerts/St._fairs.htm
Friday, September 30 Downtown Visiting Neighbors / Maiden Lane Festival: Wall St. between South & Water Sts.
Saturday, October 1 Congress of Racial Equity (CORE) Festival: University Pl. between Waverly Pl. & 14 St.
Saturday, October 1 Jerome Ave. BID Festival: Jerome Ave. between Moshulu Pkwy & Gunhill Rd.
Saturday, October 1 Caring Community Fair: Washington Square North between Sixth Ave. & University Pl.
Sunday, October 2 NYC Octoberfest: Lexington Ave. between 42nd & 57th Sts.
Sunday, October 2 Cathedral High School Fair: Lexington Ave. between 42nd & 57th Sts.
Sunday, October 2 North Flatbush BID Fair: Flatbush Ave. between Plaza St. & Atlantic Ave.
Sunday, October 2 Third Ave. Merchants Association Festival: Third Ave. between 68th & 94th Sts.
Sunday, October 2 NYC Octoberfest: Lexington Ave. between 42nd & 57th Sts.
Thursday, October 6
through
Sunday, October 9 Greek Orthodox Shrine Church of St. Nicholas: 196th St. between Northern Blvd. & 45th Ave.
Saturday, October 8 Stonewall Veterans Association Festival: Greenwich Ave. between Sixth & Sventh Ave.
Saturday, October 8 Gramercy Park / Union Square Autumn Fair: Park Ave. between 17th & 23rd Sts.
Saturday, October 8 Upper West Side Recycling Center / 13th Annual Upper Broadway Fall Festival: Broadway between 110th & 118th Sts.
Saturday, October 8 Forest Hills / Rego Park Lions Club Fair: 63rd Dr. between Queens Blvd. & Austin St.
Sunday, October 9 Soldiers, Sailors, Marines & Airmen’s Club / Lexington Ave. Fall Festival: Lexington Ave. between 34th & 42nd Sts.
Sunday, October 9 St. Mathew’s / St. Timothy’s & Concerned Citizens for Community Action / Amsterdam Ave. Fall Fair: Amsterdam Ave. between 76th & 86th Sts.
Sunday, October 9 College Point Board of Trade Fair: College Point Blvd. between 14th & 20th Aves.
Monday, October 10 Columbus Day Festival: Broadway between Battery Pl. & Fulton St. & on Whitehall St. between Water & Stone Sts.
Monday, October 10 Columbus Day Parade, Fifth Ave. from 44th to 79th Sts., 12 noon
Monday, October 10 Sunnyside Community Services Festival: Greenpoint Ave. between 44th & 48th Sts.
Midpark at 72nd St. between the band shell and Sheep Meadow
Admission: free unless otherwise noted
212-794-6564
http://www.centralparknyc.org/17613/5339367
http://www.centralparkpaws.org
Saturday, October 1 Fourth annual event features agility trials, contests, a microchip ID clinic, dog photographers, Ask the Vet advice center, Good Citizen testing, animal communicators, a guided Hound Hike, product booths, and pets for adoption, 11:00 am — 4:00 pm
Parkside Lounge
317 Houston St. at Attorney St.
No cover charge
212-673-6270
Saturday, October 1 The Ks (the full nine-piece band) play their unique brand of pop music, 10:00
Brooklyn Museum of Art
200 Eastern Parkway
Admission: free after 5:00 pm
718-638-5000
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/first-saturdays
Saturday, October 1 World Music: Martha Redbone, Beaux-Arts Court, third floor, 6:00 — 8:00
Saturday, October 1 Film: BULLETS IN THE HOOD: A BED-STUY STORY (Terrence Fisher & Daniel Howard, 2004), followed by Q&A with the directors, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, third floor (free tickets available at the visitor center in the grand lobby at 5:00), 6:00
Saturday, October 1 Hands-On Art: Sketch a live model, Education Division, first floor (free tickets available in the education gallery at 6:00), 6:30-8:30
Saturday, October 1 Curator Talk: Michelangelo of the Menagerie: Bronze Works by Antoine-Louis Barye, with Lisa Bruno, Grand Lobby, first floor (free tickets available at the visitor center in the grand lobby at 6:00), 7:00
Saturday, October 1 Artist Talk: Xenobia Bailey, Luce Center for American Art, fifth floor (free tickets available at the visitor center in the grand lobby at 7:00), 8:00
Saturday, October 1 Film: Brooklyn Midnight Run, short films, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, third floor (free tickets available at the visitor center in the grand lobby at 7:00), 8:00
Saturday, October 1 Storytelling: Wiley and the Hairy Men, with 3bean Children’s Theatre of Brooklyn, Hall of the Americas, first floor, 8:15
Saturday, October 1 Dance Party: Martino Atangana and African Blue Note, , Beaux-Arts Court, third floor, 9:00 — 11:00
KeySpan Park
1904 Surf Ave. between 16th & 19th Sts., Coney Island
Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George
75 Richmond Terr., Staten Island
Tickets: $55 per show; two-day pass: $100
http://www.acrossthenarrows.com
Saturday, October 1 The Killers, New York Dolls, Interpol, British Sea Power, Tegan and Sara, the Ordinary Boys, Lake Trout, Richmond County Bank Ballpark, 12 noon
Saturday, October 1 The Pixies, Gang of Four, Built to Spill, Rilo Kiley, Death from Above 1979, Mando Diao, Nine Black Alps, KeySpan Park, 12 noon
Sunday, October 2 Oasis, Jet, Doves, the Lemonheads, Kasabian, Jesse Malin, the Redwalls, Richmond County Bank Ballpark, 12 noon
Sunday, October 2 Beck, Belle & Sebastian, the Polyphonic Spree, the Raveonettes, Gang Gang Dance, Whirlwind Heat, KeySpan Park, 12 noon
BAMcinematek / BAM Rose Cinemas
Brooklyn Academy of Music
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
Tickets: $10
718-636-4100
http://bam.org/film/series.aspx?id=34
Saturday, October 1 Shorts Program, 2:00
Saturday, October 1 YOU ARE ALONE (Gorman Bechard, 2005), 4:30
Saturday, October 1 A SIDEWALK ASTRONOMER (Jeffrey Fox Jacobs, 2005), followed by Q&A with the director, 6:50
Saturday, October 1 FADE (Franklin Strachan, 2005), 9:30
Sunday, October 2 A SIDEWALK ASTRONOMER (Jeffrey Fox Jacobs, 2005), followed by Q&A with the director, 2:00
Sunday, October 2 ROCKAWAY (Mark Street, 2005), 4:30
Mark Street, assistant professor of film in the Visual Art Department at Fordham University-Lincoln Center, directed, produced, and edited this charming little Tribeca Film Festival entry about three teenage girls from Rockaway getting ready to graduate high school. Vanessa Yuille is outstanding as Merida, a fun-loving, free-spirited young woman who lives for the moment, not yet ready to face that she might never leave her suburban community. Laura Johnson is Kelly, a more reserved pianist who is secretly sleeping with a much older bartender. And Jennifer Brown is Juanita, who has a domineering mother and is still trying to discover her own sexuality. The very close trio drink on the beach, reenact a scene from Chekhov’s THREE SISTERS, share their innermost thoughts, and sometimes speak to the camera as they look forward to a last-gasp limo ride that will take them through Times Square. Street alternates from a documentary video style to grainy poetic shots of the Rockaway landscape, from quick flashbacks to longer, improvised scenes, avoiding genre cliches and ending up with a sweet, personal film.
Sunday, October 2 A TALE OF TWO PIZZAS (Vincent Sassone, 2004), followed by Q&A with actors Vincent Pastore and Frank Vincent, along with free pizza, 6:50
Sunday, October 2 Shorts Program, 9:30
Japan Society
333 E. 47th St. at First Ave.
Through October 23
212-752-3015
Saturday, October 1 UNDER THE FLAG OF THE RISING SUN (GUNKI HATAMEKU MOTO NI) (Kinji Fukasuka, 1972), followed by reception with Kenta Fukasaku, $10, 5:00
Sunday, October 2 CHILDREN OF THE BEEHIVE (HACHI NO SU NO KODOMOTACHI) (Hiroshi Shimizu, 1948), $10, 2:00
Sunday, October 9 OUT OF THIS WORLD (KONO YO NO SOTOE- CLUB SHINCHUGUN) (Junji Sakamoto, 2003), introduced by the director and followed by a reception, $10, 2:00
Orchard St. between Houston & Stanton Sts.
Admission: free
212-226-9010
http://www.lowereastsideny.com
Sunday, October 2 Live music, walking tours, arts and crafts, special activities, books, displays, and lots of free pickle samples, 11:00 am - 4:30 pm
Multiple venues
October 2-10
212-501-1799
http://www.nycundergroundcomedy.com/2005site.htm
Sponsored by one of our favorite childhood magazines, Cracked, the third annual underground comedy festival will take place at venues all over the city, from improv and stand-up to full-fledged productions and Hurricane Katrina benefits, offering a great opportunity to catch a rising star. Below are just some of the dozens of events that will be going on; visit the above Web site to find out about the rest and to see profiles of many of the performers, from such emerging talents as Emily Epstein, Nicole Savage, and Catie Lazarus in addition to such old favorites as Bob Nelson, Eddie Brill, Patrice O’Neal, Freddie Roman, Judy Gold, Marc Maron, Dom Irrera, and the one and only Joe Franklin.
Sunday, October 2 Sheck It Out Sundays with Angel Salazar, Laugh Lounge NYC, 8:30
Monday, October 3 Stand-Ups Asylum Show, the New York Comedy Club, 8:00
Monday, October 3 Fu Man Choose Your Own Adventure, Upright Citizen Brigades Theater, 8:00
Tuesday, October 4 The David Letterman Auditions, Gotham Comedy Club, 8:30
Wednesday, October 5 Comedy Against Evil, the Laugh Factory, 8:00
Thursday, October 6 A Night of Dirty Songs, Galapagos Art Space, 7:00
Thursday, October 6 Homocomicus, Gotham Comedy Club, 8:30
Friday, October 7 Tomboys in Fishnets, Medicine Show Theatre, 7:00
Friday, October 7 The Improv Masters starring Nick DiPaolo & Marc Maron, the NY Improv, 9:00 & 11:00
Saturday, October 8 The Joe Franklin Show Live, Medicine Show Theatre, 7:00
Saturday, October 8 The Grand Extravaganza Saturday Edition, the Laugh Factory, 8:30
Sunday, October 9 Sunday Soiree, the Botanica Bar, 8:00
Monday, October 10 Gettin’ Wood, Cake Shop, 8:00
Barrow Street Theatre
27 Barrow St. at Seventh Ave. south of Christopher St.
Admission: free
Monday, October 3 Reading of play written by Elise Thoron and with music by Jill Sobule, featuring Steve Bassett, Linda Marie Larson, James Mastro, Manu Narayan, Jill Sobule, Adrienne Williams, and Gina Young, 7:00
Grand Central Terminal
Admission: free
http://www.grandcentralterminal.com
http://www.columbuscitizensfd.org/pages/mainframeset.html
Monday, October 3
through
Monday, October 10 "Lombardia: The Lake Region" and "History of the United States Supreme Court" exhibits, Vanderbilt Hall, 8:00 am — 10:00 pm
Friday, October 7 Concert by Italy’s Banda Della Polizia and Lamborghini Gallardo Raffle, Main Concourse, 8:30
French Institute Alliance Française
Florence Gould Hall
55 East 59th St. between Park & Madison Aves.
Tuesdays through November 29
Tickets: $9
212-355-6160
Tuesday, October 4 LE PLACARD (THE CLOSET) (Francis Veber, 2001), 12:30, 4:00 & 7:00
Tuesday, October 11 LA FEMME D’À CÔTÉ (THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR) (François Truffaut, 1981), 12:30 & 6:30
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Ave. at 89th St.
212-423-3500
http://www.guggenheim.org/education/index.html
Wednesday, October 5 American Collectors of Russian Art, $10, 6:30
Tickets: $18
718-784-4520
http://www.ammi.org/site/screenings/index.html
Wednesday, October 5 SERPICO (Sidney Lumet, 1973), with Sidney Lumet in person, Museum of the Moving Image, 35th Ave. at 36th St., Astoria, 7:00
Friday, October 7 WHERE THE TRUTH LIES (Atom Egoyan, 2005), with director Atom Egoyan, actress Alison Lohman, and producer Robert Lantos, Alliance Française, 22 East 60th St. between Park & Madison Aves., 7:00
Hooters
211 West 56th St. between Seventh Ave. & Broadway
212-581-5656
http://www.hooterscalendar.com
Thursday, October 6 Unveiling of the 2006 Hooters calendar, with swimsuit calendar girls present and signing autographs, including cover girl Anna Burns, free, 12 noon — 1:30, 5:30 — 7:30
Dahesh Museum of Art
580 Madison Ave. at 57th St.
Admission: free from 6:00 — 9:00
212-759-0606
http://www.daheshmuseum.org/publicprograms_events/firstthursdays.html
Thursday, October 6 Dining Customs of Ancient Greece, lecture with Francine Segan, 6:30
The Great Hall of the Cooper Union
7 East Seventh St. at Third Ave.
Admission: free
212-353-4195
http://www.cooper.edu/month.html
Thursday, October 6 Social Justice and Entrepreneurship in Nineteenth-Century New York, panel discussion with Barbara Balliet, Peter Buckley, Kenneth Jackson, and Sean Wilentz, 7:00
Puck Building
295 Lafayette St.
Tickets: $10 in advance, $12 at the door; three-day pass: $30
Gala reception: $85; collectors’ evening: $60
Thursday, October 6
through
Sunday, October 9 The Show of Contemporary African, Caribbean & Latin American Art, including painting, sculpture, prints, collages, and photography booths as well as seminars, gallery talks, and a juried competition
Metropolitan Pavilion
125 West 18th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
One-day pass: $15; three-day pass: $25; collecting seminars: $75
Preview reception: $30, Thursday, October 6, 6:00 — 10:00 pm
877-772-5425
http://www.photonygalleries.com
Friday, October 7
through
Sunday, October 9 Second International New York Photographic Art Exposition, featuring dozens of exhibitors, collecting seminars, art installations, and a preview reception
Cantor Film Center / Tribeca Film Institute
36 East Eighth St. between Broadway & Sixth Ave.
Select Saturdays through November 19
Tickets: $10
212-941-3890
https://www.tribecafilminstitute.org/tixSYS/2005/nvntickets/screenings.php#
Saturday, October 8 U.S. premiere of THE PRINCE (AL-AMIR) (Mohamed Zran, 2004), followed by discussion with the director, 6:30
Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center
70 Lincoln Center Plaza
1941 Broadway at West 65th St.
Tickets: $25-$40
Sunday, October 9 Multimedia presentation headlined by Richard Bosworth, followed by worldwide Internet broadcast of show and live Q&A, 7:00
Columbia University Morningside Campus Faculty House
116th St. courtyard between Amsterdam Ave. & Morningside Dr.
Admission: free
212-854-7463
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/calendar/#special
Wednesday, October 12 Melissa Raz, soprano, and Kelly Horsted, piano: Works by Strauss, Mozart, Puccini, Handel, Donizetti, 12:15