this week in film and television

BRIAN DE PALMA: DIONYSUS IN ’69

Brian De Palma uses split-screen technique to capture as much of DIONYSUS IN ’69 as he possibly can

DIONYSUS IN ’69 (Brian De Palma, Bruce Rubin, and Robert Fiore, 1970)
Metrograph
7 Ludlow St. between Canal & Hester Sts.
Sunday, June 5, 5:30
Series runs June 1-30
212-660-0312
metrograph.com

Newark-born auteur Brian De Palma might be best known for such critical and popular successes as Scarface, Carrie, The Untouchables, Dressed to Kill, and Mission:Impossible, but he got his start as an underground indie filmmaker working in downtown Manhattan. One of his most intriguing pictures is the documentary Dionysus in ’69, screening June 5 in a monthlong retrospective at Metrograph that includes every De Palma movie save for his first, Murder a la Mod. In 1968, the Performance Group, led by Richard Schechner, staged Dionysus in ’69 in the Performing Garage on Wooster St., a participatory play based on William Arrowsmith’s translation of Euripides’ The Bacchae. The show was almost more of a happening than a drama, as the actors regularly disrobed (and at several points form a kind of sexual human centipede) and the audience, either sitting on the floor or up in wooden platforms with ladders, became part of the action. Dionysus in ’69 was the first example of Schechner’s Environmental Theater, a theory that posited, among other things: “1. The audience is in a living space and a living situation. Things may happen to and with them as well as ‘in front’ of them. 2. When a performer invites participation, he must be prepared to accept and deal with the spectator’s reactions. 3. Participation should not be gratuitous.” In a 1975 interview with David Bartholomew, De Palma explained, “I was very strongly affected by the play when I saw it. . . . This was the most exciting thing I’d seen on stage in years. So I began to try and figure out a way to capture it on film. I came up with the idea of split-screen, to be able to show the actual audience involvement, to trace the life of the audience and that of the play as they merge in and out of each other. I wanted to get the very stylized dramatic life of the play juxtaposed to what was really going on in that room at that time. I was floored by the emotional power of it.”

The cast and the audience interact in unique ways in DIONYSUS IN ’69

De Palma and codirectors Bruce Rubin and Robert Fiore weave in and around the actors and the audience with handheld cameras that make viewers feel like they are right there in the midst of a wild and crazy orgiastic experience as Dionysus (William Finley, who appeared in eight of De Palma’s films) engages in verbal battles with Pentheus (Will Shepherd) over faith, the wrath of the gods, and ritualistic behavior, referring to each other by their real names as well as their characters’. The cast also includes Joan MacIntosh as Agave, Patrick McDermott as Tiresias, and Richard Dia as Cadmus. De Palma uses a split screen to show two angles of what is occurring in the garage at every moment, including occasionally getting glimpses of the cameramen themselves. De Palma would go on to use the split-screen technique in future works, and the theme of voyeurism would become one of his trademarks. In 2012, the Austin-based company Rude Mechs restaged the original Dionysus in ’69 at New York Live Arts, using De Palma’s film as a major source, but seeing the original event onscreen has a charm, and strangeness, all its own. “I always feel that even though the film didn’t make any money, it was something that should have been done. I think [Dionysus in ’69] will live long, long, after some of my other movies,” De Palma told Bartholomew. You can judge for yourself during the Metrograph series, which boasts such early, experimental flicks as Get to Know Your Rabbit, Greetings, and Hi, Mom! as well as many films that will live on much, much longer.

GENRE IS A WOMAN: WANDA

Barbara Loden wrote, directed, produced, and stars in WANDA

WANDA (Barbara Loden, 1970)
Film Forum
209 West Houston St.
Friday, June 3, 12:30, and Tuesday, June 14, 6:20
Series runs June 3-16
212-727-8110
filmforum.org

“If you don’t want anything, you won’t have anything, and if you don’t have anything, then you’re as good as dead,” Mr. Dennis (Michael Higgins) tells Wanda Goronski (Barbara Loden) in Wanda, which appropriately kicks off Film Forum’s two-week “Genre Is a Woman” festival on June 3. The first theatrical feature written, directed, produced by, and starring an American woman, Wanda is a raw, naturalistic road-trip movie about an emotionally vacant woman who walks through life in a kind of stupor, wandering into situations to avoid being alone yet still trapped in an unrelenting alienation. Loden, who won a 1964 Tony for her portrayal of Maggie in Arthur Miller’s After the Fall — the play was directed on Broadway by Elia Kazan, whom she would marry four years later and remain with through her tragic death in 1980 — doesn’t try to turn Wanda into a feminist antihero, but she does take all the power away from her, making her completely dependent on other people, primarily men, an excellent counterpoint to Loden herself, who has all the power. Staying on her sister’s (Dorothy Shupenes) couch in the middle of Pennsylvania coal country, Wanda is almost zombielike as she slowly heads to court in curlers and a housecoat and lets the judge award custody of her two children to her soon-to-be-ex-husband (Jerome Thier). “I’m just no good,” she mumbles. Broke and apparently with no faith or hope in her future, she proceeds to get involved with some sketchy losers, including Mr. Dennis, who takes her on a minor crime spree that is a far cry from Bonnie and Clyde. All along the way, she rarely has anything of any interest to say to anyone; the only time she speaks clearly and definitively is when she explains that she likes onions on her hamburgers.

Mr. Dennis (Michael Higgins) takes Wanda Goronski (Barbara Loden) for quite a ride in WANDA

Shot in a cinéma vérité style by documentary cinematographer Nicholas T. Proferes, Wanda is a riveting and infuriating exploration of the death of the American dream as the 1960s come to an end and the country reexamines itself, not necessarily liking what it sees. Apathy competes with melancholy as Wanda is unable and unwilling to take control of her life, dressed in the same white outfit and carrying the same white pocketbook throughout nearly the entire film, but she is more disconsolate than angelic. Much of the film is improvised and most of the characters are portrayed by nonprofessional actors or people who just happened to be in the area, like the scene in which Mr. Dennis and Wanda encounter a family flying a remote-control model airplane. (Higgins would go on to make more than fifty films, including The Conversation, The Stepford Wives, and The Seduction of Joe Tynan.) Coming on the cusp of the women’s liberation movement, Wanda is about a pouty sad-sack who barely ever changes emotion, always wearing the same blank stare. It’s not that she’s promiscuous, adventurous, or even unpredictable; she just is. You desperately want her to take action, to care about something or someone, but it’s just not going to happen. It’s almost as if Loden is setting the groundwork for such future films as Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and Taxi Driver, which feature such strong, decisive female characters as Alice (Ellen Burstyn) in the former and Iris (Jodie Foster) in the latter, who at least attempt to take matters into their own hands; elements of Wanda can also be found in Aki Kaurismäki’s Match Factory Girl and Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. Wanda would end up being Loden’s only film as writer and director; she died in 1980 of cancer at the age of forty-eight. Named Best Foreign Film at the Venice International Film Festival, Wanda is screening in a recently restored 35mm print on June 3 and 14 at Film Forum; “Genre Is a Woman” continues through June 1 with such other woman-directed features as Kathryn Bigelow’s Blue Steel and Point Break, Cindy Sherman’s Office Killer, Ida Lupino’s The Hitch-Hiker, Doris Wishman’s Bad Girls Go to Hell, Katt Shea’s Poison Ivy, Mary Harron’s American Psycho, Penelope Spheeris’s SubUrbia, and Amy Heckerling’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

FIRST SATURDAY: PRIDE AND AGITPROP!

LJ Roberts, “Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves,” Jacquard-woven cotton and Lurex, hand-dyed fabric, crank-knit yarn, thread, 2011 (photo by Mario Gallucci)

Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway at Washington St.
Saturday, June 4, free, 5:00 – 11:00
212-864-5400
www.brooklynmuseum.org

Pride Month is the centerpiece of the Brooklyn Museum’s June edition of its vastly popular free First Saturday program. The evening will feature live performances by New York City Gay Men’s Chorus and DJ Mursi Layne; storytelling by Queer Memoir; screenings of Jake Witzenfeld’s Oriented, followed by a talkback with Tarab NYC, and Asurf Oluseyi’s Hell or High Water, followed by a talkback with activists Kehinde Bademosi, Noni Salma Lawal, Ekene Okuwegbunam, and Adejoke Tugbiyele; a movement workshop inspired by domestic workers, by Studio REV-; pop-up gallery talks on “Disguise: Masks and Global African Art”; a hands-on workshop in which participants can make their own Pride-based iron-on patch; a curator talk by Catherine J. Morris and Stephanie Weissberg on “Agitprop!”; the talk “Women, Art, AIDS, and Activism,” with Joy Episalla, Kia Labeija, Jessica Whitbread, Egyptt Labeija, Sue Schaffner, and Carrie Moyer, hosted by Visual AIDS and moderated by LJ Roberts; a printmaking workshop about immigration and undocumented youth; and outdoor projections by the Illuminator. In addition, you can check out such other exhibitions as “This Place,” “Tom Sachs: Boombox Retrospective, 1999–2016,” and “Stephen Powers: Coney Island Is Still Dreamland (to a Seagull).”

RAIN: ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS

Julien Tavernier (Maurice Ronet) finds himself in a tight squeeze in French Nouvelle Vague noir classic

Julien Tavernier (Maurice Ronet) finds himself in a tight squeeze in noir classic on cusp of Nouvelle Vague

CABARET CINEMA: ASCENSEUR POUR L’ECHAFAUD (ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS) (Louis Malle, 1957)
Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Friday, June 3, $10, 9:30
212-620-5000
www.rubinmuseum.org

Louis Malle’s first feature-length fiction film, following The Silent World (made with Jacques Cousteau), is a classic French noir that comes with all the trimmings — and was recently restored in an excellent 35mm print with new subtitles. Jeanne Moreau stars as Florence Carala, who is married to ruthless business tycoon Simon (Jean Wall) but is carrying on an affair with Simon’s right-hand man, Julien Tavernier (Maurice Ronet). Julien plans the perfect murder — or so he thinks, until he has to go back to retrieve a crucial piece of evidence and gets trapped on the elevator. While he struggles to find a way out and Florence waits for him anxiously at a neighborhood bistro, young couple Louis (Georges Poujouly) and Veronique (Yori Bertin) take off in Julien’s convertible and get into some serious trouble of their own. Mistaken identity, cold-blooded killings, jealousy, and one of the greatest film scores ever — by Miles Davis, recorded in one overnight session — make Elevator to the Gallows a splendid debut from one of the world’s finest filmmakers. The film is screening June as part of the Rubin Museum Cabaret Cinema series “Rain,” being held in conjunction with the “Nepalese Seasons: Rain and Ritual” exhibition, and will be introduced by documentarian Alison Klayman (Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry). The series continues June 10 with Deepa Mehta’s Water, introduced by writer Meera Nair, June 17 with Akira Kurosawa’s Rashômon, and June 24 with Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night.

FREE SUMMER FILMS 2016

Prince will pull into Brooklyn Bridge Park for free screening of PURPLE RAIN on July 21

There’s nothing quite like catching a free movie in the summer in New York City, lying on a blanket in a park, gathering on an aircraft carrier, or huddling in an air-conditioned theater. Here are the day-by-day listings of favorites as well as lesser-known festivals; keep watching this space as more are announced. So far, you’ll find the following festivals below: the Intrepid Summer Movie Series, Movies with a View in Brooklyn Bridge Park, SummerScreen in McCarren Park, Films on the Green, SummerStage, RiverFlicks in Hudson River Park, Celebrate Brooklyn! in Prospect Park, BAMcinématek’s FAB Flicks at Putnam Triangle Plaza, Alamo Drafthouse’s free series in Fort Greene Park, Rooftop Films (advance RSVP required), the always-packed HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival, Outdoor Movie Night in Randall’s Island Park, Outdoor Cinema in Socrates Sculpture Park, Movies Under the Stars in numerous parks, Summer on the Hudson and Hudson RiverFlicks in Hudson River Park, and Movies on the Waterfront in Astoria Park. (Films without exact start times generally begin around sunset.)

Tuesday, May 31
Rooftop Films: The Fits (Anna Rose Holmer, 2016), live music by the Q-Kidz, followed by a Q&A with Holmer, the Elevated Acre, 55 Water St., free with RSVP, 7:30

Movies Under the Stars: Happy Feet (George Miller, 2011), St. Mary’s Park

Wednesday, June 1
Movies Under the Stars: Creed (Ryan Coogler, 2015), Flynn Playground

Thursday, June 2
BAMcinématek: FAB Flicks — ’70s Black Cinema: Mahogany (Berry Gordy, 1975), Putnam Triangle Plaza, 22 Putnam Ave., 8:00

Friday, June 3
Alama Drafthouse Free Outdoor Movie Series: quote-along with Labyrinth (Jim Henson, 1986), Fort Greene Park

Movies Under the Stars: Captain America: The First Avenger (Joe Johnston, 2011), St. Mary’s Park

Arts, Culture & Fun: T-Rex (Drea Cooper & Zackary Canepari, 2016), followed by a Q&A with the producer, Tony Dapolito Recreation Center, 7:00

Tuesday, June 7
Films on the Green — A Summer in Paris: Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1961), preceded by The Red Balloon (Albert Lamorisse, 1957), Cedar Hill, Central Park, 8:30

Thursday, June 9
BAMcinématek: FAB Flicks — ’70s Black Cinema: Cleopatra Jones (Jack Starrett, 1973), Putnam Triangle Plaza, 22 Putnam Ave., 8:00

Friday, June 10
Rooftop Films — Territory: Short Films about Turf Wars, preceded by live music and followed by a Q&A, Firefighter’s Field, Roosevelt Island, 8:00

Alama Drafthouse Free Outdoor Movie Series: Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich, 2003), Fort Greene Park

Movies Under the Stars: Inside Out (Pete Docter & Ronnie del Carmen, 2015), Crocheron Park

Films on the Green — A Summer in Paris: The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (Yves Robert, 1973), Washington Square Park, 8:30

Saturday, June 11
Rooftop Films: Sundance Short Films, live music by Alice Cohen, MetroTech Commons, 8:00

Wednesday, June 12
Rooftop Films — The Ties That Bind: Short Films about Families, preceded by live music, MetroTech Commons, 8:00

Monday, June 13
SummerStage: screening of Afripedia and music by DJ Hard Hittin’ Harry, Saratoga Park, 7:00

Thursday, June 16
BAMcinématek: FAB Flicks — ’70s Black Cinema: Claudine (John Berry, 1973), Putnam Triangle Plaza, 22 Putnam Ave., 8:00

Friday, June 17
Films on the Green — A Summer in Paris: Air of Paris (Marcel Carné, 1954), Washington Square Park, 8:30

Ferris Bueller will bring friends to several free outdoor screenings this summer in NYC

Ferris Bueller takes the day off so he can bring friends to several free outdoor screenings this summer in NYC

Monday, June 20
HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (John Hughes, 1986), Bryant Park Lawn, gates open at 5:00, film at dusk

SummerStage: Screening of In My Father’s House (Ricki Stern & Anne Sundberg, 2015), followed by Q&A with film subject Rhymefest, Saratoga Park, 7:00

Thursday, June 23
BAMcinématek: FAB Flicks — ’70s Black Cinema: Friday Foster (Arthur Marks, 1975), Putnam Triangle Plaza, 22 Putnam Ave., 8:00

Friday, June 24
Films on the Green — A Summer in Paris: Subway (Luc Besson, 1985), Transmitter Park, 8:30

Saturday, June 25
Rooftop Films: Living Stars (Mariano Cohn & Gastón Duprat, 2014), preceded by live music, Solar One, 8:00

Sunday, June 26
SummerStage: DJ Gringo and screening of Queen Nanny: Legendary Maroon Chieftainess (Roy T. Anderson, 2015), Betsy Head Park, 7:00

Outdoor Movie Night: Remember the Titans (Boaz Yakin, 2000), Randall’s Island Connector, Randall’s Island Park, 8:00

Monday, June 27
HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 1955), Bryant Park Lawn, gates open at 5:00, film at dusk

Tuesday, June 28
SummerStage: Lisa Simone and screening of What Happened, Miss Simone? (Liz Garbus, 2015), Herbert Von King Park, 7:00

Wednesday, June 29
SummerStage: Screening of A Ballerina’s Tale (Nelson George, 2015), with Jeremy McQueen’s Black Iris Project and preshow panel discussion, Rumsey Playfield, Central Park, 8:00

Thursday, June 30
BAMcinématek: FAB Flicks — ’70s Black Cinema: Shining Star: A Tribute to Maurice White, with Earth, Wind & Fire in Concert (Michael Schultz, 1981) and Earth, Wind & Fire Live on Soul!, Putnam Triangle Plaza, 22 Putnam Ave., 8:00

Friday, July 1
Films on the Green — A Summer in Paris: The 400 Blows (François Truffaut, 1959), Transmitter Park, 8:30

Monday, July 4
HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Top Gun (Tony Scott, 1986), Bryant Park Lawn, gates open at 5:00, film at dusk

Wednesday, July 6
SummerScreen: Scream (Wes Craven, 1996), McCarren Park, live music at 6:00, film at dusk

Outdoor Cinema — The River (USA): The African Queen (John Huston, 1951), Socrates Sculpture Park, live performance at 7:00, film screening at sundown

Summer on the Hudson — Pier I Picture Show: The Walk (Robert Zemeckis, 2015), Pier I, Riverside Park South

Hudson RiverFlicks — Big Hit Wednesdays: Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015), Pier 63 lawn, Hudson River Park

J. J. Abrams’s STAR TREK reboot will land on the Intrepid on July 7

Thursday, July 7
Summer Movie Series: Star Trek (J. J. Abrams, 2009), the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, gates open at 7:00

Movies with a View: Singin’ in the Rain (Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen, 1952), Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Movie Nights in the Rockaways: Grease (Randal Kleiser, 1978), Beach 94th St. off Shorefront Pkwy, 8:00

Friday, July 8
Hudson RiverFlicks — Family Fridays: Minions (Pierre Coffin & Kyle Balda, 2015), Pier 46, Hudson River Park

Films on the Green — A Summer in Paris: April and the Extraordinary World (Christian Desmares & Franck Ekinci, 2016), Riverside Park, Pier I at 70th St., 8:30

Saturday, July 9
Movie Nights in the Rockaways: The Goonies (Richard Donner, 1985), Beach Channel Park, 8:00

Sunday, July 10
SummerStage: DJ Kool Herc, Little Shalimar, and screening of Rubble Kings (Shan Nicholson, 2010), Crotona Park, 7:00

Outdoor Movie Night: Selena (Gregory Nava, 1997),Touchdown of the 103rd Street Footbridge, Randall’s Island Park, 8:00

Monday, July 11
HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: The Palm Beach Story (Preston Sturges, 1942), Bryant Park Lawn, gates open at 5:00, film at dusk

Wednesday, July 13
SummerScreen: Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (Danny Leiner, 2004), McCarren Park, live music at 6:00, film at dusk

Outdoor Cinema — The River (France): L’Atalante (Jean Vigo, 1934), Socrates Sculpture Park, live performance at 7:00, film screening at sundown

Summer on the Hudson — Pier I Picture Show: Baquiat (Julian Schnabel, 1996), Pier I, Riverside Park South

Hudson RiverFlicks — Big Hit Wednesdays: Jurassic World (Colin Trevorrow, 2015), Pier 63 lawn, Hudson River Park

Thursday, July 14
Summer Movie Series: Star Trek IV (Leonard Nimoy, 1986), the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, gates open at 7:00

Celebrate Brooklyn! Music & Movies: Triplets of Belleville (Sylvain Chomet, 2003), Jessica Fichot, Prospect Park Bandshell, 8:00

Movies with a View: Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (Danny Leiner, 2004), Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday, July 15
Films on the Green — A Summer in Paris: Un Flic (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1972), Riverside Park, Pier I at 70th St., 8:30

Hudson RiverFlicks — Family Fridays: The Peanuts Movie (Steve Martino, 2015), Pier 46, Hudson River Park

Monday, July 18
HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: The Omen (Richard Donner, 1976), Bryant Park Lawn, gates open at 5:00, film at dusk

Wednesday, July 20
SummerScreen: The Fast and the Furious (Rob Cohen 2001), McCarren Park, live music at 6:00, film at dusk

Outdoor Cinema — The River (Iran/UK): Sonita (Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami, 2015), Socrates Sculpture Park, live performance at 7:00, film screening at sundown

Summer on the Hudson — Pier I Picture Show: Arthur (Steve Gordon, 1981), Pier I, Riverside Park South

Hudson RiverFlicks — Big Hit Wednesdays: Trainwreck (Judd Apatow, 2015), Pier 63 lawn, Hudson River Park

Thursday, July 21
Summer Movie Series: Galaxy Quest (Dean Parisot, 1999), the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, gates open at 7:00

Hudson RiverFlicks — Sing-Along Special: Grease (Randal Kleiser, 1978), Clinton Cove, Hudson River Park

Movies with a View: Purple Rain (Albert Magnoli, 1994), Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday, July 22
Hudson RiverFlicks — Family Fridays: Shaun the Sheep (Richard Starzak & Mark Burton, 2015), Pier 46, Hudson River Park

Films on the Green — A Summer in Paris: Cleo from 5 to 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962), Tompkins Square Park, 8:30

Monday, July 25
HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Three Days of the Condor (Sydney Pollack, 1975), Bryant Park Lawn, gates open at 5:00, film at dusk

Movies on the Waterfront: Big Hero 6 (Don Hall & Chris Williams, 2014), Astoria Park Great Lawn, 8:30

Claudette Colbert has a unique way to get to Brooklyn Bridge Park to see IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT on July 28

Wednesday, July 27
SummerScreen: 10 Things I Hate About You (Gil Junger, 1999), McCarren Park, live music at 6:00, film at dusk

Outdoor Cinema — The River (Germany/UK): Rivers and Tides (Thomas Riedelsheimer, 2001), Socrates Sculpture Park, live performance at 7:00, film screening at sundown

Summer on the Hudson — Pier I Picture Show: Dog Day Afternoon (Sidney Lumet, 1975), Pier I, Riverside Park South

Hudson RiverFlicks — Big Hit Wednesdays: The Big Short (Adam McKay, 2015), Pier 63 lawn, Hudson River Park

Thursday, July 28
Rooftop Films: Animation Block Party, preceded by live music and followed by a Q&A, Waterfront Plaza at Brookfield Place, 8:00

Movies with a View: It Happened One Night (Frank Capra, 1934), Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday, July 29
Summer Movie Series: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Nicholas Meyer, 1982), introduced by Nicholas Meyer, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, gates open at 7:00

Movies Across from Golden Pond: Jurassic World (Colin Trevorrow, 2015), Crocheron Park

Hudson RiverFlicks — Family Fridays: Kung Fu Panda 3 (Jennifer Yuh Nelson & Alessandro Carloni, 2016), Pier 46, Hudson River Park

Films on the Green — A Summer in Paris: Boyfriends and Girlfriends (Eric Rohmer, 1987), Tompkins Square Park, 8:30

Saturday, July 30
Rooftop Films: In Pursuit of Silence (Patrick Shen, 2015), preceded by live music and followed by a Q&A with Shen, Waterfront Plaza at Brookfield Place, 8:00

Sunday, July 31
Outdoor Movie Night: The Goonies (Richard Donner, 1985), Touchdown of the 103rd Street Footbridge, Randall’s Island Park, 8:00

Monday, August 1
HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Harvey (Henry Koster, 1950), Bryant Park Lawn, gates open at 5:00, film at dusk

Movies on the Waterfront: Mary Poppins (Robert Stevenson, 1964), Astoria Park Great Lawn, 8:30

Wednesday, August 3
SummerScreen: The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001), McCarren Park, live music at 6:00, film at dusk

Outdoor Cinema — The River (Australia): Girl Asleep (Rosemary Meyers, 2015), Socrates Sculpture Park, live performance at 7:00, film screening at sundown

SummerStage: Screening of Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (Michel Ocelot & Bénédicte Galup, 2005), Orisha’s Journey, DJ Djib Sayo, Clove Lakes Park, 7:00

Summer on the Hudson — Pier I Picture Show: The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2003), Pier I, Riverside Park South

Hudson RiverFlicks — Big Hit Wednesdays: Creed (Ryan Coogler, 2015), Pier 63 lawn, Hudson River Park

Thursday, August 4
Celebrate Brooklyn! Music & Movies: Run Lola Run (Tom Tykwer, 1999) with U.S. premiere of live score by the Bays, Joan as Police Woman, Benjamin Lazar Davis, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:30

Movies with a View: American Graffiti (George Lucas, 1973), Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday, August 5
Summer Movie Series: Big Hero 6 (Don Hall & Chris Williams, 2014), the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, gates open at 7:00

Movies Across from Golden Pond: Minions (Pierre Coffin & Kyle Balda, 2015), Crocheron Park

Hudson RiverFlicks — Family Fridays: Penguins of Madagascar (Eric Darnell & Simon J. Smith, 2014), Pier 46, Hudson River Park

Sunday, August 7
Movie Nights in the Rockaways: Goosebumps (Rob Letterman, 2015), Beach 17th St. & Seagirt Blvd., 8:00

Clint Eastwood is a mysterious man with a plan as he gallops into Bryant Park on August 8 for a screening of HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER

Monday, August 8
HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: High Plains Drifter (Clint Eastwood, 1973), Bryant Park Lawn, gates open at 5:00, film at dusk

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: Rooftop Shorts, West Tenth St.

Movies on the Waterfront: Minions (Pierre Coffin & Kyle Balda, 2015), Astoria Park Great Lawn, 8:30

Wednesday, August 10
SummerScreen: audience pick, McCarren Park, live music at 6:00, film at dusk

Outdoor Cinema — The River (China): Suzhou River (Lou Ye, 2000), Socrates Sculpture Park, live performance at 7:00, film screening at sundown

Celebrate Brooklyn! Music & Movies: Labyrinth (Jim Henson, 1986), Donny McCaslin Group, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:30

Summer on the Hudson — Pier I Picture Show: audience vote, Mary and Max (Adam Elliot, 2009) v. Carol (Todd Haynes, 2015) v. The Warriors (Walter Hill, 1979), Pier I, Riverside Park South, 6:30

Hudson RiverFlicks — Big Hit Wednesdays: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (Francis Lawrence, 2015), Pier 63 lawn, Hudson River Park

Thursday, August 11
Movies with a View: Selma (Ava DuVernay, 2014), Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday, August 12
Summer Movie Series: Star Trek (J. J. Abrams, 2009), the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, gates open at 7:00

Movies Across from Golden Pond: The Avengers (Joss Whedon, 2012), Crocheron Park

Hudson RiverFlicks — Family Fridays: Goosebumps (Rob Letterman, 2015), Pier 46, Hudson River Park

Saturday, August 13
Movie Nights in the Rockaways: Zootopia (Byron Howard, Rich Moore & Jared Bush, 2016), Broad Channel Park, 8:00

Sunday, August 14
Outdoor Movie Night: The Good Dinosaur (Peter Sohn, 2015), Randall’s Island Connector, Randall’s Island Park, 8:00

Monday, August 15
HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: The Big Chill (Lawrence Kasdan, 1983), Bryant Park Lawn, gates open at 5:00, film at dusk

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: Purple Rain (Albert Magnoli, 1984), West Tenth St.

Movies on the Waterfront: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (John Hughes, 1986), Astoria Park Great Lawn, 8:30

Wednesday, August 17
Outdoor Cinema — The River (Germany/Peru): Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Werner Herzog, 1972), Socrates Sculpture Park, live performance at 7:00, film screening at sundown

Summer on the Hudson — Pier I Picture Show: Auntie Mame (Morton DaCosta, 1958), Pier I, Riverside Park South, 6:30

Hudson RiverFlicks — Big Hit Wednesdays: The Martian (Ridley Scott, 2015), Pier 63 lawn, Hudson River Park

Thursday, August 18
Movies with a View: A League of Their Own (Penny Marshall, 1992), Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday, August 19
Hudson RiverFlicks — Family Fridays: The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1987), Pier 46, Hudson River Park

Monday, August 22
HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Nicholas Meyer, 1982), Bryant Park Lawn, gates open at 5:00, film at dusk

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: Creed (Ryan Coogler, 2015), West Tenth St.

Central Park Conservancy Film Festival: School of Rock (Richard Linklater, 2003), Marcus Garvey Park

Movies on the Waterfront: Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975), Astoria Park Great Lawn, 8:30

Tuesday, August 23
Central Park Conservancy Film Festival: The Last Dragon (Berry Gordy, 1985), Marcus Garvey Park

Wednesday, August 24
Outdoor Cinema — The River (Colombia): Embrace of the Serpent (Ciro Guerra, 2015), Socrates Sculpture Park, live performance at 7:00, film screening at sundown

Central Park Conservancy Film Festival: I Am Legend (Francis Lawrence, 2007), Central Park

Thursday, August 25
Movies with a View: public vote, Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Central Park Conservancy Film Festival: Tootsie (Sydney Pollack, 1982), Central Park

Friday, August 26
Central Park Conservancy Film Festival: Desperately Seeking Susan (Susan Seidelman, 1985), Central Park

Saturday, August 27
Movie Nights in the Rockaways: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (J. J. Abrams, 2015), Beach 59th St., 8:00

Sunday, August 28
Outdoor Movie Night: Inside Out (Pete Docter & Ronnie del Carmen, 2015), Randall’s Island Connector, Randall’s Island Park, 8:00

Thursday, September 8
Films on the Green — A Summer in Paris: Girlhood (Céline Sciamma, 2014), Columbia University, 116th St., 7:30

MAY BRUNCH AND MIDNITE — THE WASTE LAND: CHILDREN OF MEN

Alfonso Cuarón’s CHILDREN OF MEN predicts a bleak future for humankind

CHILDREN OF MEN (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)
Nitehawk Cinema
136 Metropolitan Ave. between Berry St. & Wythe Ave.
Saturday, May 28, and Sunday, May 29, 11:30 am
718-384-3980
www.nitehawkcinema.com
www.childrenofmen.net

It’s 2027, and there hasn’t been a baby born in the world in eighteen years. For some unknown reason, women have become infertile, leading to chaos around the globe. Only England perseveres, but it is on the brink of destruction as warring factions prepare for doomsday. Onetime revolutionary Theo (an as-even-keeled-as-ever Clive Owen) has settled down into a mundane life, but he’s thrust back into the middle of things when he is kidnapped by a radical organization run by his ex-wife, Julian (Julianne Moore), and her right-hand man, the hard-edged Luke (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Theo is forced to escort Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey), a young fugee (refugee), through the danger zone and to the Human Project, a supposed safe haven that might not actually exist. Also staring extinction in the face are Theo’s brother, Nigel (Danny Huston); Theo’s hippie friend, Jasper (a longhaired Michael Caine); and homeland security officer Syd (Peter Mullan). Inspired by the novel by P. D. James, the chilling Children of Men is a violent, prescient, nonstop thrill ride, moviemaking of the highest order, cowritten and directed by Alfonso Cuarón (Y Tu Mamá También, Gravity) and photographed in vibrant filth and muddiness by Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman, The Tree of Life). Nominated for three Academy Awards (Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay), Children of Men is one of the best of the dystopian science fiction films of the twenty-first century, predicting a future that is not as impossible as one might think. Stay through the credits for a tiny but critical coda. Children of Men is screening May 28 and 29 at 11:30 am as part of the Nitehawk Cinema series “May Brunch and Midnite: The Waste Land,” which also features Shaun of the Dead at 12:20 am Friday and Saturday night.

DanceAfrica — SENEGAL: DOORS OF ANCIENT FUTURES

WAATO SiiTA will be celebrating its native Senegal at DanceAfrica at BAM this weekend (photo courtesy of the artist)

Brooklyn Academy of Music
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAMcafé, BAM Rose Cinemas
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
May 27-30, free – $60
718-636-4100
www.bam.org

For its thirty-ninth season, BAM’s extraordinary DanceAfrica program takes audiences to Senegal, celebrating “Doors of Ancient Futures.” The Memorial Day weekend festivities, under the leadership of new artistic director Abdel R. Salaam (from Forces of Nature) and beloved artistic director emeritus Chuck Davis, feature performances in the Howard Gilman Opera House by the Senegalese troupes Les Ballets de la Renaissance Africaine “WAATO SiiTA” and Compagnie Tenane, Senegalese legend Germaine Acogny (“the Mother of Contemporary African Dance”), and Brooklyn’s own BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble, joined by Forces of Nature founding member Dyane Harvey-Salaam and Reverend Nafisa Sharriff. Be on the lookout for both traditional and contemporary movement, including krumping, popping, and breakdancing. There will also be a late-night dance party May 28 in the BAMcafé with DJ Tony Humphries, workshops on May 30 with WAATO SiiTA choreographer Pape Moussa Sonko, a FilmAfrica series consisting of ten films screening in BAM Rose Cinemas (including Nicolas Cissé’s Le Terreau de L’Espoir, Yared Zeleke’s Lamb, and Jason Silverman and Samba Gadjigo’s Sembene!), and the oh-so-fab outdoor DanceAfrica Bazaar (May 28-30), chock-full of vendors selling African products, from clothing and music to jewelry and food.