twi-ny recommended events

KUROSAWA’S SAMURAI: RASHOMON

RASHOMON kicks off Kurosawa samurai festival at BAM

RASHOMON (Akira Kurosawa, 1950)
BAMcinématek
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
Friday, October 29, 2:00, 4:30, 6:50, 9:15
Series continues through November 21
718-636-4100
www.bam.org

As part of its Next Wave Festival, BAM is presenting Ping Chong’s theatrical adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s THRONE OF BLOOD, running at the Howard Gilman Opera House November 10-13. In conjunction with that highly anticipated event, BAMcinématek will be screening eight of Kurosawa’s period samurai dramas, including THRONE OF BLOOD on November 3-4. The series opens October 29 with one of the most influential films of all time, RASHOMON. The 1950 masterpiece stars Toshiro Mifune as a bandit accused of the brutal rape of a samurai’s wife (Machiko Kyo) and the murder of her husband (Masayuki Mori). However, four eyewitnesses tell a tribunal four different stories, each told in flashback as if the truth, forcing the characters — and the audience — to question the reality of what they see and experience. Kurosawa veteran and twi-ny fave Takashi Shimura — the Japanese Ward Bond — plays a local woodcutter, with Minoru Chiaka as the priest. The mesmerizing work, which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, is beautifully shot by Kazuo Miyagawa; RASHOMON is nothing short of unforgettable. The series also includes SEVEN SAMURAI on October 31, KAGEMUSHA on November 5, THE HIDDEN FORTRESS on November 6, YOJIMBO on November 7, SANJURO on November 14, and RAN on November 21.

WHITE LIGHT FESTIVAL

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s SUTRA will make its U.S. premiere at Lincoln Center’s music-centric White Light Festival

Lincoln Center
Alice Tully Hall, Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, Church of St. Paul the Apostle, Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, Rose Theater, Avery Fisher Hall, David Rubenstein Atrium
October 28 – November 18, free – $90
www.lincolncenter.org

A sort of extension of July’s annual Lincoln Center Festival, in which the vaunted institution stages more experimental works from around the world, the inaugural White Light Festival consists of three weeks of dance, theater, and concerts “focused on music’s transcendent capacity to illuminate our larger interior universe,” as explained by vice president for programming Jane Moss in the festival’s chic booklet. The series begins October 28 with Meredith Monk and Vocal Ensemble’s free performance of THE SOUL’S MESSENGER in the David Rubenstein Atrium at Broadway and 63rd St. at 8:30 and continues with such eagerly anticipated programs as the U.S. premiere of Belgian-Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s SUTRA, Katarina Livljanić’s JUDITH (A Biblical Story from Renaissance Croatia), Tallis Scholars’ unique take on Arvo Pärt’s MAGNIFICAT, and Roysten Abel’s inventively executed THE MANGANIYAR SEDUCTION. Other highlights include Antony and the Johnsons teaming up with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Hilliard Ensemble and saxophonist Jan Garbarek playing OFFICIUM NOVUM at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, and the Hilliard Ensemble, the Latvian National Choir, the Wordless Music Orchestra, and Alex Somers and Jonsi from Sigur Rós performing CREDO at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle. There will also be free panel discussions on “The Sound of Silence” with Karen Armstrong and John Luther Adams, Janet Cardiff’s free sound installation “The Forty-Part Motet” at the Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman Rehearsal and Recording Studio at Broadway and 60th St., and several postshow White Light Lounges in which ticket holders can mingle with the artists.

PETTYFEST 2010

Bowery Ballroom
6 Delancey St.
Thursday, October 28, $20, 8:00
www.boweryballroom.com

When we recently saw Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at the Garden, one of the things that struck us most was what a truly great songwriter he is, and just how many great songs he has written. His vast catalog will be unleashed at the Bowery Ballroom Thursday night for the annual PettyFest. Billed as “a night to get drunk and celebrate Tom Petty’s sixtieth birthday,” this year’s extravaganza features another all-star lineup of musicians paying tribute to one of Florida’s favorite sons. The Gainesville native might have turned sixty on October 20, but he’s still making vital rock and roll, as evidenced by his latest record, June’s MOJO (his first studio disc with the Heartbreakers since 2002’s THE LAST DJ), on which the grizzled veteran plays with a renewed bluesy swagger, proving that he’s not just a greatest hits act resting on his laurels. Among those who will be covering songs from such classic albums as YOU’RE GONNA GET IT! (1978), DAMN THE TORPEDOES (1979), HARD PROMISES (1981), LONG AFTER DARK (1982), SOUTHERN ACCENTS (1985), LET ME UP (I’VE HAD ENOUGH) (1987), FULL MOON FEVER (1989), INTO THE GREAT WIDE OPEN (1991), WILDFLOWERS (1994), ECHO (1999), and HIGHWAY COMPANION (2006) are Norah Jones, Jesse Malin, Nicole Atkins, Adam Green, Hymns, SNL’s Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis, Catherine Pierce, and members of such groups as Fountains of Wayne, the Mooney Suzuki, the Strokes, and the All American Rejects, joining the Cabin Down Below Band.

SCARY MOVIES 4

STAKE LAND sets the stakes high as opening film at Lincoln Center horrorfest

Film Society of Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
October 27-31
212-875-5601
www.filmlinc.com

Lincoln Center’s fourth annual Halloween week mini-festival of horror begins tonight with the New York premiere of Jim Mickle’s vampire flick, STAKE LAND, with Mickle, screenwriter Nick Damici, and stars Connor Paolo and Kelly McGillis in person at the Walter Reade Theater. The fourteen-film series continues with a mix of old classics and new cult faves, from Brian DePalma’s CARRIE (1976), Clive Barker’s first HELLRAISER (1987), and the suspenseful 1945 British omnibus DEAD OF NIGHT to the New York premieres of Sean Byrnes’s THE LOVED ONES, Christopher Smith’s BLACK DEATH, and James Rabbitts’s THE CLINIC in addition to the world premiere of Fouad Benhammou’s VILLAGE OF SHADOWS. And you’ll find plenty of other cool creepiness in DR. TERROR’S HOUSE OF HORRORS (Freddie Francis, 1965), MESSIAH OF EVIL (Willard Huyck, 1973), and, of course, THE CREEPING FLESH (Freddie Francis, 1973). And one of our all-time faves will be screened Wednesday and Thursday, John Hough’s eerie 1973 frightfest THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE, with the great Roddy McDowall and Clive Revill and written by the master himself, Richard Matheson.

SPINE TINGLING & TRUE: GHOST STORIES OF THE MERCHANT’S HOUSE MUSEUM

The elegant Merchant’s House Museum will be transformed for a ghost-story funeral on Halloween

Merchant’s House Museum
29 East Fourth St. between Lafayette St. and the Bowery
Sunday, October 31, $25 (VIP $100), 7:00 & 9:00
212-777-1089
www.merchantshouse.com

On Halloween night, the Merchant’s House Museum will hold its annual ghost-story reading, led by Anthony Bellov and Dayle Vander Sande, who will delve into scary nineteenth-century texts. Bellov has compiled the booklet “Some Say They Never Left: Tales of the Strange and Inexplicable at the Merchant’s House Museum,” so you never know who else will show up at the event, taking place in one of the parlor rooms, which will be rearranged for a funeral. (VIP tickets include a signed copy of the booklet.) The museum will also be holding Candlelight Ghost Tours October 28-30 ($13).

HALLOWEEN IS HAPPENING

Trinity Church and Courtyard
Broadway at Wall St.
Friday, October 29, free, 4:00 – 9:00
212-602-0800
www.trinitywallstreet.org

Trinity Church’s annual Halloween festivities begin at 4:00 on Friday in the North Churchyard with Family Fun, two hours of tricks and treats, games, a photo booth, storytelling, and other children’s activities. From 5:00 to 7:00, the Haunted Hamilton Happy Hour takes place in the South Churchyard, honoring the great American leader who is buried at Trinity. Everyone will head inside at 7:00 for a screening of one of the creepiest films ever made, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (Robert Wiene, 1920), with live organ accompaniment by Robert Ridgell. All events are free, although donations are accepted.

HALLOWEEN EXTRAVAGANZA

Procession of Ghouls is part of annual Halloween doings at St. John the Divine

The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
1047 Amsterdam Ave. at 112th St.
Friday, October 29, $10, 7:00 & 10:00
212-316-7540
www.stjohndivine.org

The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine describes itself as “a house of prayer for all people,” and there should be plenty of praying going on Friday night as the religious landmark holds its annual Halloween Extravaganza. The evening begins with a screening of Robert Wiene’s very creepy 1920 German Expressionist classic, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, accompanied by live music on the Great Organ. After the film, Ralph Lee and the Mettawee River Theater Company present the annual Procession of the Ghouls, featuring puppets, scary creatures, and special effects. The cathedral will also be holding related events on Saturday: “Morning of the Gargoyles: A Children’s Halloween Workshop” ($8, 10:00 am) and the guided tour “Crypt Crawls” ($12, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00).