Yearly Archives: 2012

THE CINEMA AND ITS DOUBLES: ALL ABOUT EVE

Margo Channing (Bette Davis) sees more than a little of herself in Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) in Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s ALL ABOUT EVE

ALL ABOUT EVE (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950)
Museum of the Moving Image
35th Ave. at 36th St., Astoria
Friday, November 23, 7:00, and Sunday, November 25, 3:00
718-777-6800
www.movingimage.us

Nominated for fourteen Academy Awards and winner of six, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, All About Eve is one of Hollywood’s all-time greatest movies, a searing depiction of naked ambition set on the Great White Way. Based on Mary Orr’s 1946 short story “The Wisdom of Eve,” writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s flawless drama stars Anne Baxter as Eve Harrington, who is not exactly the mousey wallflower she at first appears to be. She quickly worms her way into an inner circle of Broadway vets populated by superstar Margo Channing (Bette Davis), her younger lover, Bill Sampson (Gary Merrill), playwright and director Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlowe), and Richards’s wife, Karen (Celeste Holm), who takes Eve under her wing. Joining in on all the fun is powerful theater critic Addison DeWitt (Oscar winner George Sanders), who marvels at all the manipulation and backstage drama, much of which he wickedly orchestrates himself. “There never was, and there never will be, another like you,” DeWitt tells Eve in one of the film’s most poignant moments. All About Eve is filled with classic quotes, including the iconic “Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night,” boldly proclaimed by Davis. In a movie about acting and the theater, Mankiewicz never shows anyone onstage; instead, he focuses on the characters and the intrigue with a sly flair that is deliciously entertaining. All About Eve is screening November 23 & 25 as part of the Museum of the Moving Image series “The Cinema and Its Doubles,” consisting of films that involve physical, fantastical, or psychological doppelgängers; the festival continues through December 16 with such films as Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt, Don Siegel’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Robert Mulligan’s The Other, and David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers.

THE CONTENDERS 2012 — MARINA ABRAMOVIĆ: THE ARTIST IS PRESENT

Performance artist Marina Abramović is present in more ways than one in intimate documentary

MARINA ABRAMOVIĆ: THE ARTIST IS PRESENT (Matthew Akers, 2012)
MoMA Film, Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Saturday, November 24, 7:30
Series continues through January 12
Tickets: $12, 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 beginning at 9:30 am
212-708-9400
www.moma.org
www.marinafilm.com

For forty years, Belgrade-born performance artist Marina Abramović has been presenting cutting-edge, often controversial live works that redefine what art is. For her highly anticipated major career retrospective at MoMA in 2010, “Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present,” which was titled and curated by Klaus Biesenbach, the longtime New Yorker had something extraordinary planned: For the run of the show, from March 14 through May 31, she would spend the entire time the museum was open sitting across from strangers, gazing into each other’s eyes for as long as the visitor wanted. Documentary cinematographer Matthew Akers takes viewers behind the scenes of that remarkable show in his directorial feature debut, also called Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present. Given unlimited access to both Abramović and MoMA, Akers follows the sixty-three-year-old artist as she prepares for the exhibition; heads to a country retreat where she trains several dozen men and women who will “re-perform” some of her older works; and reconnects with former partner and lover Ulay, with whom she first performed many of the pieces in the show. Abramović is seen relaxing in a tub, chopping vegetables, and taking a rare turn behind the wheel of a car, performing relatively menial tasks compared to her art, in which she flagellates herself, carves a star into her stomach, runs into walls, gets slapped by and slaps Ulay, and allows visitors to do whatever they want to her using various objects. The film is at its best when Abramović and Ulay open up about their relationship, get emotional over seeing the old van they used to live in, and discuss their final performance, “The Great Wall Walk,” when they started at opposite ends of the Great Wall of China and walked toward each other over the course of three months, then broke up. While various art critics and curators, including Biesenbach and the Whitney’s Chrissie Iles, sing Abramović’s praises, the film never delves into the more serious meaning behind her art and avoids examining its controversial nature, save for one brief news report decrying its use of nudity. But the long scenes in which Abramović and visitors look into each other’s eyes are absolutely mesmerizing; the elegant Abramović is always steady and stalwart, her concentration intoxicating, inspiring, and more than a little frightening, the opening of her eyes a work of art in and of itself, while the person opposite her tears up, smiles, or pats their heart softly, thanking her for the intense, emotional connection occurring between them, which is essentially what all art is about. Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present is screening November 24 back where it all took place as part of MoMA’s annual series “The Contenders,” consisting of exemplary films they believe will stand the test of time; upcoming entries include Amy Berg’s West of Memphis, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, David France’s How to Survive a Plague, and Behn Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild.

WUTHERING HEIGHTS

Heathcliffe (Solomon Glave) and Cathy (Shannon Beer) explore forbidden love in new version of classic novel (photo by Agatha Nitecka)

WUTHERING HEIGHTS (Andrea Arnold, 2011)
IndieScreen
285 Kent Ave. at South Second St.
November 23-29
347-227-8030
www.indiescreen.us
www.oscilloscope.net

Digging deep into Emily Brontё’s classic — and only — novel, writer-director Andrea Arnold creates a radically different Wuthering Heights from such previous versions starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon (1939), Keith Michell and Claire Bloom (1962), and Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche (1992). Setting the bar high following her exceptional first two films, Red Road and Fish Tank, Arnold’s Wuthering Heights is told from the point of view of a black Heathcliffe, played as a teenager by Solomon Glave and an adult by James Howson, both of whom make their acting debut in the film. Although Cathy (newcomer Shannon Beer, then Kaya Scodelario) takes a nearly instant liking to the poor Heathcliffe, who has been brought in off the streets by her father, Earnshaw (Paul Hilton), her brother, Hindley (Lee Shaw), treats Heathcliffe like a slave, continually beating him and shouting racial epithets at him. Heathcliffe and Cathy try to take advantage of their every stolen moment together by wandering across the Yorkshire moors, but when he learns that she is considering marrying Edgar (Jonathan Powell, then James Northcote), Heathcliffe disappears, only to return later a changed man with a new mission.

Working with Oscar-nominated screenwriter Olivia Hetreed (Girl with a Pearl Earring), Arnold streamlines Wuthering Heights down to its bare emotions, eschewing an epic costume drama in favor of a more intimate story that is often more faithful to the book. Shot by Robbie Ryan, who won the Best Cinematography award at the 2011 Venice Film Festival, Wuthering Heights has a look that is dark and captivating, focusing more on character than period dress and sweeping locations. Unfortunately, however, Heathcliffe is significantly lacking in character; his younger self, in particular, broods about, rarely speaking, letting things happen to him and not fighting back. He might be in a precarious situation, but his continued silence grows tired fast, detracting from the overall impact of the film, a shortcoming that is nearly overridden by Beer’s more energetic and interesting Cathy. This might not be a Wuthering Heights for the ages, but it most certainly is a fascinating version of a familiar, sometimes misunderstood classic romantic drama. Following its theatrical release last month at Film Forum, Wuthering Heights is moving to Brooklyn for a week-long run at IndieScreen.

SPANISH CINEMA NOW: THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGOISIE

A group of restless bourgeoisie is in search of a dinner party in surreal Luis Buñuel classic

THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE (Luis Buñuel, 1972)
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center: Francesca Beale Theater, 144 West 65th St. between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.
November 23-29, $13
212-875-5601
www.filmlinc.com

Winner of the 1972 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, Luis Buñuel’s The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is a sharp, cynical skewering of the European power structure, taking on the high-falutin’ hypocrisy of the government, the military, religion, and, primarily, the wealthy class in hysterical vignettes that center around a group of rich friends trying to sit down and enjoy a meal. But every time they get close, they are ultimately thwarted by miscommunication, a corpse, army maneuvers, terrorists, and, perhaps most bizarrely, fake stage chicken. Buñuel regular Fernando Rey is a hoot as Rafael Acosta, the cocaine-dealing ambassador of Miranda who doesn’t take insults well. Stéphane Audran and Jean-Pierre Cassel play the Sénéchals, a lustful couple desperate to finish a romantic rendezvous even as their guests wait, Julien Bertheau is the local bishop who moonlights as a gardener, Claude Piéplu is an erudite colonel not afraid to share his opinion at a haughty cocktail party, and Maria Gabriella Maione is a sexy stranger who might or might not be a revolutionary after Acosta. Meanwhile, Acosta doesn’t mind making a play for Simone Thévenot (Delphine Seyrig) right under her husband’s (Paul Frankeur) nose. And Ines (Milena Vukotic), one of the Sénéchals’ maids, watches it all with a wonderfully subtle disdain. As if the first half of the film were not surreal enough, the second half includes a series of riotous dream sequences involving ghostly apparitions and a bit of the old ultra-violence, either outwardly related by characters or as cinematic surprises dished out by the masterful Buñuel. None too discreet about its myriad charms, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is having a week-long fortieth-anniversary engagement at the Film Society of Lincoln Center in advance of the annual Spanish Cinema Now series, which runs December 7-16 and includes a special sidebar of Buñuel’s Land Without Bread, Tristana, and Viridiana; when you buy a ticket to Discreet Charm, you can get tickets for any Spanish Cinema Now screening for nine dollars by selecting the “Affiliate” option online or showing your ticket stub at the box office.

THE ROLLING STONES — 50 YEARS ON FILM: PERFORMANCE

Mick Jagger’s performance in PERFORMANCE is one of the highlights of Stones film festival at MoMA

PERFORMANCE (Donald Cammell & Nicolas Roeg, 1970)
MoMA Film, Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Friday, November 23, 7:30, and Saturday, November 24, 5:00
Series runs through December 2
Tickets: $12, 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 beginning at 9:30 am
212-708-9400
www.moma.org

A British gangster on the run hides out with a psychedelic rock star in this strangely enticing film from Donald (The Demon Seed) Cammell and Nicolas Roeg (making his big-screen directorial debut). James Fox didn’t know what he was getting into when he signed on to play Chas, a mobster who finds sanctuary with mushroom-popping rock-diva has-been Turner, played with panache by Mick Jagger. Throw in Anita Pallenberg, a fab drug trip, and the great “Memo to Turner” scene and you have a film that some consider the real precursor to MTV, some think a work of pure demented genius, and others find to be one of the most pretentious and awful pieces of claptrap ever committed to celluloid. We fall somewhere in the middle of all of that. Performance is screening November 23-24 as part of the MoMA tribute “The Rolling Stones: 50 Years on Film,” celebrating the group’s golden anniversary, which includes appearances in New Jersey and Brooklyn next month. Throughout their career, the Stones have gotten some of the world’s greatest directors to make live concert films of their shows, most of which are part of this series, which continues through December 2 with such other films as Hal Ashby’s Let’s Spend the Night Together, Martin Scorsese’s Shine a Light, Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin’s Gimme Shelter, and Jean-Luc Godard’s Sympathy for the Devil in addition to Kenneth Anger’s Invocation of My Demon Brother and more.

CHUCK AMUCK

Chuck Jones’s RABBIT OF SEVILLE helped revolutionize and redefine the cartoon industry

CHUCK JONES SHORTS
BAMcinématek, BAM Rose Cinemas
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
Program 1: Friday, November 23, 2:00 & 6:50
Program 2: Saturday, November 24, 2:00 & 6:50
Program 3: Sunday, November 25, 2:00 & 6:50
Series runs November 23-26
212-415-5500
www.bam.org

“I suppose it would be nice if I knew the age and social structure of my audience,” Chuck Jones explained in his 1989 memoir, Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist, “but the truth is, I make cartoons for me.” Perhaps that was the secret of his success in a storied career that comprised more than three hundred films, from 1938’s The Night Watchman to 1980’s Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½ Century. Jones created such Warner Bros. stars as Pepé Le Pew, Henery Hawk, Marvin Martian, Sniffles the cat, Ralph Wolf, Sam Sheepdog, and both Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote while also helping develop such favorites as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, and Porky Pig, mixing in sight gags with classical music (and other genres) in revolutionary ways, giving life to unique animal characters while commenting on the state of the nation and the human condition. Jones, who passed away ten years ago at the age of eighty-nine, would have turned one hundred this year, and BAMcinématek is celebrating the centennial of his birth with the holiday weekend festival “Chuck Amuck,” highlighted by three programs of Jones shorts in 35mm along with screenings of Robert Zemeckis’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Jean-Pierre Gorin’s Routine Pleasures, and Joe Dante’s Gremlins 2: The New Batch and Looney Tunes: Back in Action. The November 23 Jones program includes such greats as Robin Hood Daffy, Rabbit Fire, Duck Dodgers in the 24½ Century, Ali Baba Bunny, For Scent-i-mental Reasons, and the amazing, surreal Duck Amuck. The hits just keep on coming on Saturday, with such shorts as Abominable Snow Rabbit, A Star Is Bored, Bear for Punishment, Rabbit Hood, Stop! Look! Hasten!, Duck! Rabbit! Duck!, and the epic Rabbit of Seville. And Sunday’s lineup rolls right along with The Scarlet Pumpernickel, Little Beau Pepé, Rabbit Seasoning, No Barking, the ingenious One Froggy Evening, and one of the greatest cartoons ever made, What’s Opera, Doc?

WAVERLY MIDNIGHTS: DR. STRANGELOVE, OR HOW I STOPPED WORRYING AND LEARNED TO LOVE THE BOMB

Peter Sellers has some grand plans for the end of the world as Dr. Strangelove in classic Kubrick cold war comedy

AMERICA, F*** YEAH! DR. STRANGELOVE, OR HOW I STOPPED WORRYING AND LEARNED TO LOVE THE BOMB (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at West Third St.
November 21-24, $13.50, 12:15 am
212-924-7771
www.ifccenter.com

Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb is one of the grandest satires ever made, the blackest of black comedies. With the threat of nuclear annihilation looming over the United States and the Soviet Union, General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) has a meltdown, becoming obsessed with protecting the country’s “precious bodily fluids” and threatening to launch the bombs. While President Merkin Muffley (Peter Sellers) tries to make nice with the Soviets, General Buck Turgidson (George C. Scott) gets caught up in all the military excitement, Colonel Bat Guano (Keenan Wynn) defends the Coca-Cola Company, Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (Sellers) can’t get anyone to listen to him, and Major T. J. “King” Kong (Slim Pickens) prepares for the ride of his life. Based on Peter George’s novel Red Alert and written by George, Kubrick, and Terry Southern, Dr. Strangelove is hysterically funny and wickedly prescient, an absolute hoot from start to finish, featuring razor-sharp dialogue, inspired slapstick, and just enough truth to scare the hell out of you. (Be sure to watch for Peter Bull not being able to stop laughing as Sellers goes crazy in a wheelchair at the end.) The film is screening November 21-24 as part of the IFC Center’s Waverly Midnights series, which is currently in the midst of an “America, F*** Yeah” presentation that includes such other military favorites as They Live, M*A*S*H, and The Manchurian Candidate in coming weeks.