this week in film and television

PORTRAYING THE HUMAN CONDITION: THE FILMS OF MASAKI KOBAYASHI AND TATSUYA NAKADAI

Kaji (Tatsuya Nakadai) has to search hard to find the humanity in the world (photo © Shochiku Co., Ltd.)

Kaji (Tatsuya Nakadai) has to search hard to find the humanity in the world in Masaki Kobayashi three-part masterpiece (photo © Shochiku Co., Ltd.)

THE HUMAN CONDITION (Masaki Kobayashi, 1959-61)
Museum of the Moving Image
35th Ave. at 36th St., Astoria
Part I: Saturday, May 16, $15, 1:00
Part II: Saturday, May 16, $12, 6:00
Part III: Sunday, May 17, $12, 1:00
Series runs May 15-24
718-777-6800
www.movingimage.us

Masako Kobayashi’s ten-hour epic, The Human Condition, based on a popular novel by Jumpei Gomikawa, is one of the most stunning achievements ever captured on film, and you can catch it all this weekend at the Museum of the Moving Image. Shot over the course of three years, the film follows one man’s harrowing struggle to never give up his humanity as he is dragged deeper and deeper into the morass of WWII. Tatsuya Nakadai is remarkable as Kaji, a man who believes in common decency, personal discipline, and, above all else, that humanity will always triumph. In the first part, No Greater Love, the steadfastly practical Kaji is hesitant to marry his sweetheart, Michiko (Michiyo Aratama), for fear that he will be called to serve in the Japanese army and might not come back to her alive. But when his detailed plan to treat workers fairly is accepted by the government, he is made labor supervisor of a mine in far-off Southern Manchuria, where hundreds of Chinese prisoners are brought in as well — and regularly starved, beaten, and, on occasion, brutally killed in cold blood. Kaji’s methods, which have close ties to communism, leading many to refer to him as a “Red,” anger both sides — the Japanese want to treat the workers like animals, and the Chinese prisoners don’t trust that he has their welfare in mind. A series of escape attempts threatens the stability of the labor camp and comes between Kaji and Michiko, whose undying love is echoed in the yearning, unfulfilled desire between a Korean prisoner and a Japanese prostitute. Broken promises, lies, and betrayal reach a tense conclusion that sets the stage for the second part of Kobayashi’s masterpiece.

Michiyo Aratama and Tatsuya Nakadai hope that love trumps all in antiwar epic (photo © Shochiku Co., Ltd.)

SPOILER ALERT: Skip the next paragraph if you don’t want to know what happens in parts II & III!

In Road to Eternity, Kaji has been drafted into the Kwantung Army, going through basic training in preparation for battle. Kaji hopes to find some semblance of humanity in the army, but the superiors are constantly slapping and hitting the recruits, punishing them in brutal ways. When Michiko suddenly shows up, Kaji suffers harassment as it is being decided whether he will be allowed to spend the night with her. With the Soviets on the march, a firefight beckons, but the Japanese troops are woefully short on weapons and ammunition — and confidence, with rumors of Japan’s demise rampant. The epic concludes with the powerful, emotional A Soldier’s Prayer. Kaji is determined to make it back to Michiko, even if it means desertion, but a long, treacherous trip awaits him and he is dangerously low on supplies. He is trying desperately to hang on to his dignity and humanity, but it becomes more and more difficult as the weather worsens, hopelessly lost people join him through the forest, and food is nowhere in sight.

The Human Condition, which has had a profound influence on such filmmakers as Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, Andrei Tarkovsky, and so many others, might take place during WWII, with Japan fighting for the Axis powers while also immersed in the Second Sino-Japanese War, but its story about man’s inhumanity to man is timeless. At its core, it’s not about Fascism, socialism, democracy, and ethnocentricity but humankind’s need for love and truth. Kaji and Michiko represent everyman and everywoman, separated by a cruel, cold world. Kobayashi provides no answers — the future he envisions is bleak indeed. At Film Forum a few years back for a tribute to his career, Nakadai talked about how brutal the making of The Human Condition was — it is also brutal to sit through, but it is a landmark work that must be seen. All three parts of the film are being shown May 16-17 at the Museum of the Moving Image in “Portraying the Human Condition: The Films of Masaki Kobayashi and Tatsuya Nakadai,” a ten-day series of nine works the pair made together, including Black River, The Inheritance, Kwaidan, Samurai Rebellion, Strike a Life for Nothing, and Harakiri. Nakadai will be at the museum to discuss his work at the May 16 screening of No Greater Love and the May 24 showing of Harakiri.

SOUNDS LIKE MUSIC — THE FILMS OF MARTIN REJTMAN: TWO SHOTS FIRED

Life goes on after a bizarre shooting event in Martín Rejtman’s absurdist TWO SHOTS FIRED

TWO SHOTS FIRED (DOS DISPAROS) (Martín Rejtman, 2014)
Film Society of Lincoln Center, Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center
Howard Gilman Theater / Francesca Beale Theater
144 West 65th St. between Broadway & Amsterdam Aves.
May 13-19
212-875-5601
www.filmlinc.com
www.cinematropical.com

Last year, award-winning Argentine writer-director Martín Rejtman returned with his first film in eight years (and only his fourth feature in his nearly thirty-year career), the absurdist black comedy Two Shots Fired. The calmly paced story begins as sixteen-year-old Mariano (Rafael Federman), after a night of dancing, goes about his daily chores, swimming laps in his family’s backyard pool (as the dog runs alongside him) and mowing the lawn. He shows no emotion when he accidentally runs over the mower’s electric cord; instead he simply goes into the house for tools to fix it. There he also finds a box with a gun, so he goes into his room, puts the gun against his head, and pulls the trigger, like it’s a perfectly normal thing to do. He then places the barrel against his stomach and shoots himself a second time. The first shot merely grazes his temple, while the second shot seems to have left a bullet lodged in his body. Mariano evenhandedly claims that he is not depressed and was not trying to kill himself, and his friends and family essentially act as if nothing has happened, going on with their simple, ordinary lives. The only ones who appear to be even the slightest bit concerned are his mother (Susana Pampin), who secretly hides all the scissors and kitchen knives, and the dog, who runs away.

When Mariano attempts to go anywhere with his brother (Benjamín Coelho) that involves passing through a metal detector, the system beeps at him; when his brother tries to explain that it must be because there is a bullet in him, Mariano doesn’t care, opting not to enter, instead waiting outside without complaining, explaining, or making a scene. When he practices with his woodwind quartet, his recorder releases a second note every time he plays, presumably the result of the lodged bullet, but he continues on, like it’s no big deal. And when his cell phone incessantly goes off, he doesn’t get mad or embarrassed; he simply tries to find a place to put it where it won’t disturb him or anyone else. He, and everyone around him, including a potential girlfriend (Manuela Martelli) and his music teacher (Laura Paredes), just keep on keeping on, going about their business, virtually emotionless. They’re not trying to forget what happened; instead, it’s like it is just another part of daily existence in this Buenos Aires suburb. A minimalist, Rejtman first focuses his camera on a place, then doesn’t move it as characters walk in and some kind of “action,” however critical or monotonous, takes place; then the people leave the frame as the camera lingers, like Ozu on Valium. What happens is just as important, or unimportant, as what doesn’t happen. Every scene is treated the same, a meditation on the mundanity of life (with perhaps more than a passing reference to how Argentina has dealt with los desaparecidos and its long-running volatile political climate). And just like life, parts of the film are boring, parts are wildly funny, parts are unpredictable, and parts are, well, just parts of life. A selection of the 52nd New York Film Festival, Two Shots Fired is having its official U.S. theatrical release May 13-19 at Lincoln Center in conjunction with “Sounds Like Music: The Films of Martín Rejtman,” with Rejtman on hand for Q&As following the 6:30 screenings on May 13 and 15. The one-week festival also includes Rejtman’s Elementary Training for Actors, The Magic Gloves, Rapado, and Silvia Prieto.

ONE CUT, ONE LIFE

Lucia Small and Ed Pincus team up to film the end of his time on Earth in ONE CUT, ONE LIFE (photo by Danielle Morgan)

ONE CUT, ONE LIFE (Lucia Small & Ed Pincus, 2014)
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at West Third St.
Opens Wednesday, May 13
212-924-7771
www.ifccenter.com
onecutonelife.com

When documentarian and flower farmer Ed Pincus, considered the father of first-person film, was diagnosed with a terminal illness, he did what he had done previously in his life: turn the camera on himself. Teaming up with Lucia Small (My Father, the Genius), with whom he had made the post-Katrina nonfiction film The Axe in the Attic in 2007, Pincus (Black Natchez, Diaries [1971–1976]) shared the intimate details of his story as they compiled what would become One Cut, One Life, named for a Japanese Aikido philosophy that means “Everything could be the last time,” “Everything counts,” “Everything has meaning.” Not everyone was thrilled with Pincus’s decision; in particular, Jane, his wife of fifty years, had severe reservations about his making a film with death on the horizon. But in her director’s statement, Small explains, “Rather than slowing us down, Ed’s illness created a flurry of creative work, as well as the impetus to delve into difficult emotional territory. We wrote [in a grant application], ‘When he is filming, he easily immerses himself into something productive, something that extends his creative life. Making another film offers a much-needed crucial distance from his potential fate.’” Pincus died in November 2013, but One Cut, One Life lives on, to show how he faced the end. The film opens Wednesday, May 13, at the IFC Center, and the first week will feature a series of special discussions at select shows. On May 13 at 7:15, “Celebrating Ed Pincus’s Life and Legacy: Pushing Boundaries — Up Close and Personal” brings together Small, Michel Negroponte, Marco Williams, and moderator Tom Roston. On May 14 at 7:15, Small, Nina Davenport, and Judith Helfand will delve into “Female Voice and First Person Non-Fiction.” On May 15 at 7:50, Liz Giamatti will talk about “The Art of Collaboration: Trauma, Loss, and Creative Partnership.” The 7:50 screening on May 18 will be followed by a Q&A with Small. And on May 19 at 7:50, Judith Schwarz explores “The Reality of Being Mortal: End of Life, Quality of Life, and Navigating Options.”

TICKET ALERT: NEW YORK COMIC CON 2015

The mad rush for New York Comic Con begins on May 13, when tickets go on sale for the October event (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Who: Spotlight Guests Jewel Staite, John Rhys-Davies, Adam Hughes, Chris Claremont, Greg Capullo, Masashi Kishimoto, Scott Snyder, Todd McFarlane, and John Rhys-Davies, Featured Guests Allison Sohn, Amy Reeder, Charles Soule, Terry Dodson, and many, many more to be announced
What: New York Comic Con
Where: Javits Center, 655 W 34th St. at 12th Ave.
When: October 8-11, single day $40-$50, three-day pass $75, four-day pass $105, tickets go on sale Wednesday, May 13, at 12 noon
Why: New York Comic Con continues its exponential growth as it reaches its tenth anniversary, making it harder and harder to get tickets, so there’s no time to waste if you want to go to the annual celebration of pop culture, with particular focuses on gaming, science fiction and fantasy books and films, anime, and all things comic-book-related. The four days, part of New York Super Week, are chock full of panel discussions, sneak-peek screenings, photo and autograph opportunities, book signings, and tons and tons of costumed fans. It’s getting so that those who come dressed in regular clothes are the minority. Tickets will go very quickly, so get yours now; don’t wait around until the big-time celebrity attendees are announced, as there will be plenty of major stars there to promote their latest work and smile for the camera with you.

HAUTE COUTURE ON FILM: HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE

CinéSalon: HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE (Jean Negulesco, 1953)
French Institute Alliance Française, Florence Gould Hall
55 East 59th St. between Madison & Park Aves.
Tuesday, May 12, $13, 4:00 & 7:30
Festival runs through May 26
212-355-6100
www.fiaf.org

Fox’s first CinemaScope romantic comedy, How to Marry a Millionaire, is not exactly a feminist’s dream, as a trio of gorgeous blonde models concoct a dubious plan to snare rich husbands in très chic 1950s Manhattan. Mastermind Schatze Page (Lauren Bacall), blind-as-a-bat Pola Debevoise (Marilyn Monroe), and far-from-genius Loco Dempsey (Betty Grable) move into a luxury Manhattan high-rise on Sutton Place when the previous tenant, Freddie Denmark (David Wayne), has to suddenly disappear because of tax problems. The three women are going for the gold, so Schatze refuses the constant attention of Tom Brookman (Cameron Mitchell), a man she thinks is a “gas pump jockey” but is actually one of the richest men in the city. Instead, she soon drapes herself all over aging widower and Texas cattleman J. D. Hanley (William Powell), while Loco goes away with married businessman Waldo Brewster (Fred Clark) and Pola takes up with mysterious oil baron J. Stewart Merrill (Alex D’Arcy). But no one ends up with who they brought to the dance in this outdated, old-fashioned, often annoying, yet still fun farce.

Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, and Lauren Bacall go wealthy husband hunting in 1950s romantic comedy

Director Jean Negulesco (Humoresque, Johnny Belinda) tries to inject some class into the proceedings by beginning the film with Alfred Newman conducting the Twentieth Century-Fox Symphony Orchestra performing part of his score for the 1932 film Street Scene before the opening credits. Cinematographer Joseph MacDonald’s (My Darling Clementine, Pickup on South Street) camera lingers over shots of such iconic locations as Rockefeller Center, the George Washington Bridge, and the United Nations as Monroe, Grable, and Bacall seek out a ritzy future built on the wallets of men. Screenwriter producer Nunnally Johnson (The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, The Three Faces of Eve), who based the story on two plays, Zoë Akins’s The Greeks Had a Word for It and Dale Eunson and Katherine Albert’s Loco, includes inside jokes for each of the three female stars, Bacall referencing husband Humphrey Bogart, Grable mentioning hubby Harry James, and Monroe being told that “diamonds are a girl’s best friend.” Just because the filmmakers know the premise is silly doesn’t excuse it for several ridiculous plot twists and its not-so-subtle misogyny. But it all looks great, especially the lead actresses, who are dressed to the nines in dazzling Christian Dior outfits that earned Charles LeMaire and Travilla an Oscar nomination for Best Costume Design (Color), so it is appropriate that How to Marry a Millionaire is screening in the French Institute Alliance Française CinéSalon series “Haute Couture on Film,” part of the larger “Fashion at FIAF” festival, being shown May 12 at 4:00 & 7:30; both presentations will be followed by a wine reception, and Wesleyan professor and All We Know: Three Lives author Lisa Cohen will introduce the later show. The series continues through May 26 with Luis Buñuel’s Belle de jour and Deborah Riley Draper’s Versailles ’73: American Runway Revolution.

FREE SUMMER FILMS 2015

Roy Scheider cant believe JAWS is coming back for another summer

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. The season’s free festivals are slowly being announced, with more to come. Below are the day-by-day listings of favorites as well as lesser-known festivals, including the Intrepid Summer Movie Series, Syfy Movies with a View, SummerScreen, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Films on the Green, SummerStage, RiverFlicks, Celebrate Brooklyn!, Coney Island Flicks on the Beach, the Central Park Conservancy Film Festival, Roosevelt Island’s Outdoor Summer Movie Series, Passport Thursdays at the Queens Museum, the Urban Drive-In at Abrons Arts Center, Red Hook Flicks at Valentino Pier, and other movies in the parks. Keep watching this page as more festivals are announced. (Films without exact start times generally begin around sunset.)

Friday, May 15
Movie Night: Annie (Will Gluck, 2014), Victor Hanson Recreation Center, Rochdale Park

Friday, May 22
Summer Movie Series: Top Gun (Tony Scott, 1986), introduced by Scott D. Altman, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Friday, May 29
Films on the Green: . . . And God Created Woman (Roger Vadim, 1956), Central Park, 79th St. & Fifth Ave.

Movie Night: Space Jam (Joe Pytka, 1996), Frederick B Judge Playground

Tuesday, June 2
FAB Flicks: Soul Power (Jeff Levy-Hinte, 2008), Putnam Triangle Plaza

Thursday, June 4
Rooftop Films: Sundance Film Festival Shorts, with Palm Rot (Ryan Gillis), The Face of Ukraine (Kitty Green), Papa Machete (Jonathan David Kane), Mynarski Death Plummet (Matthew Rankin), Volta (Stella Kyriakopoulos), Pop-Up Porno: m4m (Stephen Dunn), Mulignans (Shaka King), Myrna the Monster (Ian Samuels), and Storm Hits Jacket (Paul Cabon), MetroTech Commons, live music by Balancer at 8:30, screening at 9:00

Friday, June 5
Films on the Green: Caramel (Nadine Labaki, 2008), Washington Square Park

Free Summer Movies: The Lego Movie (Chris Miller & Phil Lord, 2014), Crocheron Park

Sunday, June 7
SummerStage: BattleFest League Dancers and screening of Flex Is Kings (Michael Beach Nichols & Deidre Schoo, 2013), Red Hook Park, 7:00

Tuesday, June 9
FAB Flicks: Dave Chappelle’s Block Party (Michel Gondry, 2006), Putnam Triangle Plaza

Thursday, June 11
Summer on the Hudson Picture Show: Hyde Park on Hudson (Roger Michell, 2012), Riverside Park, 72nd Track and Lawn

Friday, June 12
Films on the Green: Pépé le Moko (Julien Duvivier, 1937), Washington Square Park

Movie Night: Frozen (Jennifer Lee & Chris Buck, 2013), MacNeil Park

Monday, June 15
Outdoor Movie Night: Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975), Touchdown of the 103rd St. Footbridge, Randall’s Island Park

Tuesday, June 16
FAB Flicks: Shake! Otis at Monterey (D. A. Pennebaker & Chris Hegedus, 1987) and Jimi Plays Monterey (D. A. Pennebaker & Chris Hegedus, 1986), Putnam Triangle Plaza

Friday, June 19
Films on the Green: Priceless (Pierre Salvadori, 2008), Tompkins Square Park

Sunday, June 21
SummerStage: The Bullitts + DJ Spinna, with screening of They Die By Dawn (Jeymes Samuel, 2013), Herbert Von King Park, 7:00

Monday, June 22
Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Ghostbusters (Ivan Reitman, 1984), Bryant Park

Friday, June 26
Films on the Green: Zarafa (Rémi Bezançon & Jean-Christophe Lie, 2012), Tompkins Square Park

Monday, June 29
Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: The Killers (Richard Siodmark, 1946), Bryant Park Lawn

Tuesday, June 30
Summer Movie Night: Despicable Me 2 (Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud, 2013), Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson Community Garden

Wednesday, July 1
Summer on the Hudson Picture Show: Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993), Pier 1, Riverside Park South

Outdoor Cinema: Don’t Look Back (D. A. Pennebaker, 1967), with a prescreening performance by Pam Reyes and Guests, Socrates Sculpture Park

Friday, July 3
Free Summer Movies: The Young Girls of Rochefort (Jacques Démy, 1967), Castle Clinton, Battery Park

Monday, July 6
Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: The Poseidon Adventure (Ronald Neame, 1972), Bryant Park Lawn

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: The Terminator (James Cameron, 1984), West Tenth St.

The Iron Giant rules the Rockaways on June 7

The Iron Giant rules the Rockaways on July 7

Tuesday, July 7
Movie Nights in the Rockaways: The Iron Giant (Brad Bird, 1999), Beach 17th St. & Seagirt Blvd.

Red Hook Flicks: Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993), Valentino Pier

Wednesday, July 8
SummerScreen: Clueless (Amy Heckerling, 1995), McCarren Park

Outdoor Cinema: Live-in Maid (Jorge Gaggero, 2005), with a prescreening performance by the Adam Tully Trio, Socrates Sculpture Park

Hudson RiverFlicks, Big Hit Wednesdays: The Imitation Game (Morten Tyldum, 2014), Pier 63, Hudson River Park, Chelsea Piers

Summer on the Hudson Picture Show: Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton, 1990), Pier 1, Riverside Park South

Thursday, July 9
Summer Movie Series: October Sky (Joe Johnston, 1999), introduced by Kayla Rajsky, the Intrepid sea, Air & Space Museum

Urban Drive-In: His People (Edward Sloman, 1925), Abrons Arts Center

SyFy Movies with a View: High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Summer on the Hudson Picture Show: Pride & Prejudice (Joe Wright, 2005), Riverside Park, 72nd Track and Lawn

Friday, July 10
Films on the Green: Goha (Jacques Baratier, 1958), Riverside Park, Pier I at 70th St.

Hudson RiverFlicks, Family Fridays: SpongeBob: Sponge Out of Water (Paul Tibbitt, 2015), Pier 46, Hudson River Park, Greenwich Village

Sunday, July 12
SummerStage: Gerardo Contino y Los Habaneros and screening of Celia: The Queen (Joe Cardona & Mario de Varona, 2008), St. Mary’s Park, 7:00

Monday, July 13
Outdoor Movie Night: Back to the Future Part II (Robert Zemeckis, 2989), Touchdown of the 103rd St. Footbridge, Randall’s Island Park

Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: I’m No Angel (Wesley Ruggles, 1933), Bryant Park Lawn

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014), West Tenth St.

Tuesday, July 14
Summer Movie Night: All Dogs Go to Heaven (Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, & Dan Kuenster, 1989), 103rd St. Community Garden

Rooftop Films @ Bronx Terminal Market: The Lego Movie (Chris Miller & Phil Lord, 2014), Bronx Terminal Market

Red Hook Flicks: Coming to America (John Landis, 1988), Valentino Pier

Wednesday, July 15
SummerScreen: Wet Hot American Summer (David Wain, 2001), McCarren Park

Summer on the Hudson Picture Show: The Natural (Barry Levinson, 1984), Pier 1, Riverside Park South

Hudson RiverFlicks, Big Hit Wednesdays: Neighbors (Nicholas Stoller, 2014), Pier 63, Hudson River Park, Chelsea Piers

POSTPONED UNTIL AUGUST 26: Outdoor Cinema: Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (Joann Sfar, 2010), with a prescreening performance by Ginkgoa, Socrates Sculpture Park

Thursday, July 16
Passport Thursdays – Caribbean: Braata Folk Singers, Pan! Our Music Odyssey (Jérôme Guiot, 2014), Queens Museum

Summer Movie Series: Moon (Duncan Jones, 2009), introduced by Dr. Charles Marmar, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Urban Drive-In: The Naked City (Jules Dassin, 1948), Abrons Arts Center

SyFy Movies with a View: Sharknado 2 (Anthony C. Ferrante, 2014), Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday, July 17
Films on the Green: Queen to Play (Caroline Bottaro, 2011), Riverside Park, Pier I at 70th St.

Celebrate Brooklyn! The Son of the Sheik (George Fitzmaurice, 1926) with live score by Alloy Orchestra, and Ghost Train Orchestra, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:30

Hudson RiverFlicks, Family Fridays: The BoxTrolls (Graham Annable & Anthony Stacchi, 2014), Pier 46, Hudson River Park, Greenwich Village

Sunday, July 19
SummerStage: Pete Rock and screening of Time Is Illmatic (One9, 2014), Queensbridge Park, 7:00

Monday, July 20
Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973), Bryant Park Lawn

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: The Goonies (Richard Donner, 1985), West Tenth St.

Tuesday, July 21
Summer Movie Night: The Rescuers Down Under (Mike Gabriel & Hendel Butoy, 1997), Westervelt Community Garden

Red Hook Flicks: Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson, 2009), Valentino Pier

Wednesday, July 22
SummerScreen: Dirty Dancing (Emile Ardolino, 1987), McCarren Park

The Great Gatsby brings the party to Riverside Park on July 22

Summer on the Hudson Picture Show: The Great Gatsby (Baz Luhrmann, 2013), Pier 1, Riverside Park South

Hudson RiverFlicks, Big Hit Wednesdays: Selma (Ana DuVernay, 2014), Pier 63, Hudson River Park, Chelsea Piers

Outdoor Cinema: Iron Crows (Bong-nam Park, 2009), with a prescreening performance by Bangladeafy, Socrates Sculpture Park

Thursday, July 23
Passport Thursdays – Taiwan: Taiwanese Music Ensemble of New York, Zone Pro Site: The Moveable Feast (Zung Pou Si, 2013), Queens Museum

Summer Movie Series: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977), introduced by Dr. Steve B. Howell, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Urban Drive-In: Hester Street (Joan Micklin Silver, 1975), Abrons Arts Center

SyFy Movies with a View: Attack the Block (Joe Cornish, 2011), Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday, July 24
Films on the Green: La Dérive (Paula Delsol, 1964), Transmitter Park

Hudson RiverFlicks, Family Fridays: Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (Tim Burton, 1985), Pier 46, Hudson River Park, Greenwich Village

Saturday, July 25
Roosevelt Island’s Outdoor Summer Movie Series: The Wiz (Sidney Lumet, 1978), Firefighters Field

Monday, July 27
Summer of Music: Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (D. A. Pennebaker, 1973), introduced by D. A. Pennebaker, preceded by Night of 1000 Bowies’ Dance Party and Look-a-Like Contest with DJ Cosmo Baker, Reel Harlem: The Historic Harlem Parks Film Festival, Morningside Park

Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Footloose (Herbert Ross, 1984), Bryant Park Lawn

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Steven Spielberg, 1984), West Tenth St.

Tuesday, July 28
Summer Movie Night: How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Dean DeBlois, 2014), Swindler Cove, Sherman Creek

Red Hook Flicks: Trouble in Little China (John Carpenter, 1986), Valentino Pier

Wednesday, July 29
SummerScreen: Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater, 1993), McCarren Park

Summer on the Hudson Picture Show: Beasts of the Southern Wild (Behn Zeitlin, 2012), Pier 1, Riverside Park South

Hudson RiverFlicks, Big Hit Wednesdays: St. Vincent (Theodore Melfi, 2014), Pier 63, Hudson River Park, Chelsea Piers

Outdoor Cinema: Kings of the Wind & Electric Queens (Gaspard Kuentz & Cédric Dupire, 2015), with a prescreening performance, Socrates Sculpture Park

Thursday, July 30
Passport Thursdays – India: Parul Shah Dance Company, Haider (Vishal Bhardwaj, 2014), Queens Museum

Rooftop Films at Brookfield Place: Animation Block Party, with Almost There (Julia Glassman), Meanwhile (Stephen McNally), Beach Flags (Sarah Saidan), Aubade (Mauro Carraro), Little Doorman (Matt Marblo), Stella Nova (Ted Wiggin), Positronic (Ryan Mauskopf), Itch (Su-An Ng), Harvey Beaks (C. H. Greenblatt), and sneak peaks from Dreamworks TV, 230 Vesey St., live music at 7:30, films at 8:45

Summer Movie Series: Wall-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008), the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER: Urban Drive-In: Crossing Delancey (Joan Micklin Silver, 1988), Abrons Arts Center

SyFy Movies with a View: Clue (Jonathan Lynn, 1985), Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday, July 31
Films on the Green: La Collectionneuse (Eric Rohmer, 1967), Transmitter Park

Hudson RiverFlicks, Family Fridays: Annie (Will Gluck, 2014), Pier 46, Hudson River Park, Greenwich Village

Rooftop Films at Brookfield Place: Racing Extinction (Louie Psihoyos, 2015), 230 Vesey St., live music at 7:30, films at 8:45

Lincoln Center Out of Doors — “Silent” Movie: Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 1975), Damrosch Park Bandshell, 11:45

Saturday, August 1
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: A Celebration of the Life of Geoffrey Holder, with the panel discussion “The Life and Work of Geoffrey Holder” and screening of documentary Carmen and Geoffrey (Nick Doob, 2005) and rare archival footage, Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, 1:00

Rooftop Films at Brookfield Place: Stop Making Sense (Jonathan Demme, 1999), 230 Vesey St., live music at 7:30, films at 8:45

Monday, August 3
Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Marathon Man (John Schlesinger, 1976), Bryant Park Lawn

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: Big Hero 6 (Chris Williams, 2014), West Tenth St.

Tuesday, August 4
Movie Nights in the Rockaways: Back to the Future Part II (Robert Zemeckis, 1989), Beach 17th St. & Seagirt Blvd.

Red Hook Flicks: When We Were Kings (Leon Gast, 1996), Valentino Pier

Nitehawk Presents BuzzFeed Throwback Theater: Twentieth anniversary screening of Mallrats (Kevin Smith, 1995), preceded by a DJ set by Steve Reynolds and a Q&A with Smith and costar Jason Mewes, 50 Kent, Brooklyn

Wednesday, August 5
Outdoor Cinema — Cold Conflicts: Swedish Short Films, with I Turn to You (Victor Lindgren, 2015), Bath House (Niki Lindroth von Bahr, 2014), and Pussy Have the Power (Lovisa Sirén, 2014), with a prescreening performance, Socrates Sculpture Park

Free Movies in the Park: Big Hero 6 (Chris Williams, 2014), Flushing Meadows Corona Park

SummerScreen: Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg 1993), McCarren Park

Summer on the Hudson Picture Show: Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012), Pier 1, Riverside Park South

Hudson RiverFlicks, Big Hit Wednesdays: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (Francis Lawrence, 2014), Pier 63, Hudson River Park, Chelsea Piers

Thursday, August 6
Passport Thursdays – Colombia: M.A.K.U. Sound System, Mateo (Maria Gamboa, 2014), Queens Museum

SyFy Movies with a View: Friday (F. Gary Gray, 1995), Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday, August 7
Hudson RiverFlicks, Family Fridays: Jumanji (Joe Johnston, 1995), Pier 46, Hudson River Park, Greenwich Village

Saturday, August 8
Roosevelt Island’s Outdoor Summer Movie Series: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Richard Brooks, 1958), Firefighters Field

Monday, August 10
Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Desk Set (Walter Lang, 1957), Bryant Park Lawn

Roosevelt Island’s Outdoor Summer Movie Series: A Streetcar Named Desire (Elia Kazaon, 1951), Firefighters Field

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: Mrs. Doubtfire (Chris Columbus, 1993), West Tenth St.

Tuesday, August 11
Summer Movie Night: Flight of the Navigator (Randal Kleiser, 1986) 103rd St. Community Garden

Rooftop Films @ Bronx Terminal Market: Big Hero 6 (Chris Williams, 2014), Bronx Terminal Market

Red Hook Flicks: High Fidelity (Stephen Frears, 2000), Valentino Pier

Wednesday, August 12
Outdoor Cinema: Wadjda (Haifaa al-Monsour, 2012) and Me and My Moulton (Torill Kove, 2014), with a prescreening performance by Nashaz with Shelley Thomas, Socrates Sculpture Park

SummerScreen: Audience Pick, McCarren Park

Summer on the Hudson Picture Show: Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (Chris Renaud &Kyle Balda, 2012), Pier 1, Riverside Park South

A young boy grows up before our eyes in BOYHOOD

Hudson RiverFlicks, Big Hit Wednesdays: Boyhood (Richard Linklater, 2014), Pier 63, Hudson River Park, Chelsea Piers

Thursday, August 13
Passport Thursdays – South Korea: Korean Traditional Music & Dance Center, Miss Granny (Hwang Dong-hyuk, 2014), Queens Museum

Summer on the Hudson Picture Show Extension: The Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson, 2009), Riverside Park, 72nd Track and Lawn

SyFy Movies with a View: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964), Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday, August 14
Hudson RiverFlicks, Family Fridays: Paddington (Paul King, 2015), Pier 46, Hudson River Park, Greenwich Village

Monday, August 17
Outdoor Movie Night: Frozen (Jennifer Lee & Chris Buck, 2013), Touchdown of the 103rd St. Footbridge, Randall’s Island Park

Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974), Bryant Park Lawn

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: Guardians of the Galaxy (James Gunnn, 2014), West Tenth St.

Tuesday, August 18
Summer Movie Night: An American Tail (Don Bluth, 1986), Westervelt Community Garden

Red Hook Flicks: The Incredibles (Brad Bird, 2004), Valentino Pier

Wednesday, August 19
Outdoor Cinema: Alice (Jan Svankmajer, 1988), with a prescreening performance by Xeon and Oaklander, Socrates Sculpture Park

Free Movies in the Park: Guardians of the Galaxy (James Gunn, 2014), Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Hudson RiverFlicks, Big Hit Wednesdays: Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, 2014), Pier 63, Hudson River Park, Chelsea Piers

Thursday, August 20
Passport Thursdays – South Africa: Azanian People’s Movement, Felix (Roberta Durrant, 2013), Queens Museum

SyFy Movies with a View: Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater, 1993), Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday, August 21
Hudson RiverFlicks, Family Fridays: Hook (Steven Spielberg, 1991), Pier 46, Hudson River Park, Greenwich Village

Monday, August 24
Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985), Bryant Park Lawn

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: film TBA, West Tenth St.

Tuesday, August 25
Central Park Conservancy Film Festival: Fame (Alan Parker, 1980), Sheep Meadow and the 72nd St. Cross Drive, beginning with a DJ at 6:30

Roosevelt Island’s Outdoor Summer Movie Series: Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly, 1952), Firefighters Field

Summer Movie Night: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982), Swindler Cove, Sherman Creek

Red Hook Flicks Neighborhood Choice: The Bad News Bears (Michael Ritchie, 1976), Valentino Pier

Wednesday, August 26
Central Park Conservancy Film Festival: The Blues Brothers (John Landis, 1980), Sheep Meadow and the 72nd St. Cross Drive, beginning with a DJ at 6:30

Outdoor Cinema: Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (Joann Sfar, 2010), with a prescreening performance by Ginkgoa, Socrates Sculpture Park

Free Summer Movies: Big Hero 6 (Chris Williams, 2014), Highland Park

Thursday, August 27
Central Park Conservancy Film Festival: Airplane! (Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker & David Zucker, 1980), Sheep Meadow and the 72nd St. Cross Drive, beginning with a DJ at 6:30

SyFy Movies with a View: Die Hard (John McTiernan, 1988), Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday August 28
Central Park Conservancy Film Festival: Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980), Sheep Meadow and the 72nd St. Cross Drive, beginning with a DJ at 6:30

Saturday, August 29
Central Park Conservancy Film Festival: Superman II (Richard Donner & Richard Lester, 1980), Sheep Meadow and the 72nd St. Cross Drive, beginning with a DJ at 6:30

Tuesday, September 1
Red Hook Flicks: Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990), Valentino Pier

Wednesday, September 2
Free Summer Movies: Big Hero 6 (Chris Williams, 2014), George Seuffert Bandshell, Forest Park

Thursday, September 10
Films on the Green: The Rabbi’s Cat (Joann Sfar & Antoine Delesvaux, 2012), Columbia University at 116th St.

THE APU TRILOGY: PATHER PANCHALI

Apu (Subir Banerjee) watches life unfold in his small Indian village in Satyajit Ray’s PATHER PANCHALI

PATHER PANCHALI (SONG OF THE LITTLE ROAD) (Satyajit Ray, 1955)
Film Forum
209 West Houston St.
May 8-28
212-727-8110
filmforum.org

A groundbreaking work in the history of world cinema, Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali and its two sequels, Aparajito and Apur Sansar, have been meticulously restored by the Criterion Collection and the Academy Film Archive following a nitrate fire in 1993 — the year after Ray was awarded an honorary Oscar on his deathbed — and now are being shown together as “The Apu Trilogy,” running May 8-28 at Film Forum. Inspired by a meeting with Jean Renoir in Kolkata, where Renoir was shooting The River, and watching ninety-nine films in six months while working as a graphic designer for an advertising agency in London, Ray decided to make his first film, adapting Bibhutibhushan Banerjee’s 1929 novel, which he knew well; Ray had contributed illustrations to a later edition of the book. The film took nearly five years to make as Ray faced repeated financing problems, such delays as cattle eating flowers that were needed for an important scene, and a cast and crew primarily of nonprofessionals. Despite all those issues, Pather Panchali is a stunning masterpiece, a bittersweet and captivating tale of a rural family mired in poverty, struggling to survive in extremely hard times. In a small village, Sarbajaya (Karuna Banerjee) is raising her daughter, Durga (Runki Banerjee), a rambunctious teen, and son, Apu (Subir Banerjee), while her husband, dreamer Harihar (Kanu Banerjee), a wannabe playwright and poet, goes off for months at a time, trying to find work in the city. (The actors shared a common surname but were not related in real life.) Sarbajaya is also caring for their elderly cousin, “Auntie” Indir (retired theater actress Chunibala Devi), who walks very slowly, hunched over and with impossibly leathery skin. The family goes about its business from day to day, as the kids play with friends, figure out how they can get something from the sweets man, and hang out with Auntie, who offers a fresh perspective on life. Sarbajaya is embarrassed that she cannot pay back several rupees she owes her relatively wealthy neighbor, who owns an orchard from which Durga steals fruit. It’s a meager existence, but it avoids being completely dark and bleak because of Auntie’s sense of humor and Apu’s wide-eyed innocence. The film is told from his point of view — in fact, the first time we see him, he is lying down, covered, and one of his eyes pops open, dominating the screen. It’s a difficult, challenging life, but there’s always hope.

Durga (Runki Banerjee) offers Auntie (Chunibala Devi) a stolen treat in PATHER PANCHALI

The episodic Pather Panchali was heavily influenced by Italian Neorealism while also evoking works by Ozu, Kurosawa, and Renoir, providing an alternative to the flashier, popular Bollywood style. First-time writer-director Ray and first-time cinematographer Subrata Mitra maintain a lyrical, poetic pace, accompanied by a traditional score by sitar legend Ravi Shankar. The film succeeds both as a cultural testament, lending insight into the poor of India, as well as a fully realized cinematic story; it won the country’s National Film Award for Best Feature Film while also earning Best Human Document honors at Cannes. Sarbajaya, Durga, Apu, and Auntie are almost always barefoot, wearing the same clothes, scraping the bottom of the pan with their fingers for that last grain of rice, but there’s an elegance and grace, an intoxicating honesty, to their simple, laborious daily lives. Ray would go on to make such other films as Teen Kanya, Jalsaghar, Ashani Sanket, Devi, and Agantuk, but he is most remembered for “The Apu Trilogy,” which looks absolutely gorgeous in these new 4K restorations, reaffirming its lofty place in the coming-of-age pantheon alongside François Truffaut’s Antoine Doinel series. Ray’s son, director and cinematographer Sandip Ray, who collaborated with his father on several projects, will introduce the 8:00 screening of Pather Panchali on May 8.