this week in film and television

THE NEWSPAPER PICTURE: ACE IN THE HOLE

: Kirk Douglas is looking for a way out in Billy Wilder masterpiece ACE IN THE HOLE

ACE IN THE HOLE (Billy Wilder, 1951)
Film Forum
209 West Houston St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Friday, April 9, and Saturday, April 10
“The Newspaper Picture” series runs through May 6
212-727-8110
www.filmforum.org/films/newspaper.html

Sandwiched between such hits as THE LOST WEEKEND, SUNSET BLVD., STALAG 17, and SABRINA, Billy Wilder’s ACE IN THE HOLE might just be his lost masterpiece. A major flop upon its release in 1951, ACE IN THE HOLE is a cynical look at Americans and their values. Chuck Tatum (a classic Kirk Douglas) is a ruthless reporter who has been fired in every major city in the nation because of his love of the bottle, his success with the ladies, and his penchant for playing hard and loose with the facts. He demands a job at a small-town paper in Albuquerque, hoping to land a story that will restore his luster and put him back in the big time. He finds his patsy in the person of Leo Minosa (Richard Benedict), a low-rent Indian artifacts hunter who gets trapped in a cave-in at the base of the Mountain of the Seven Vultures. Sharpening his fangs, Tatum makes a deal with the sheriff (Ray Teal), choosing to take the long way to rescue Minosa in order to keep the sheriff’s name in the news and the reporter’s name on the front page for a longer amount of time. Meanwhile, Minosa’s wife, Lorraine (Jan Sterling, with fabulously uneven eyebrows), who was ready to leave her husband, sees a way for her to cash in as well. The whole thing turns into a huge media circus; in fact, the studio changed the name of the film to THE BIG CARNIVAL upon its release, trying for a more upbeat title. ACE IN THE HOLE opens Film Forum’s series “The Newspaper Picture,” which includes some of the best (HIS GIRL FRIDAY, ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN, CITIZEN KANE, IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT), most overrated (THE PHILADELPHIA STORY), and worst (PARK ROW) movies set in the world of the fourth estate, all being shown in 35mm prints.

HYPERNOVA

Iranian band Hypernova celebrates release of debut album and film with three shows in their new hometown, New York City

Saturday, April 10, Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston St. between Ludlow & Essex Sts., $10, 7:30
Friday, April 16, 92YTribeca, 200 Hudson St. at Canal St., $10, 9:30
Saturday, May 1, Studio at Webster Hall,125 East Eleventh St. between Second & Third Aves., ,8:00
www.myspace.com/hypernovamusic
www.mercuryloungenyc.com
www.92y.org
www.websterhall.com

Iranian indie band Hypernova might have first made news because it took a letter from Sen. Charles Schumer to get the group visas for their 2008-2009 tour of the United States, but what’s more important is that their music is just so damn good. Fans of Interpol, Depeche Mode, Joy Division, and Arctic Monkeys (and just about anyone else) should have a field day listening to their just-released debut album, THROUGH THE CHAOS (Narnack, April 2010), which is filled with killer hooks that will rattle your brains and shake your bones. “This world is not for the faint of heart,” deep-voiced Raam sings on the bonus track “Somewhere Far Away,” and neither is THROUGH THE CHAOS (which is currently streaming for free here). Pop music is banned in Iran, so lead vocalist/guitarist Raam, bassist Jam, guitarist Kodi, and drummer Kami, who are now based in New York City, risked their freedom to spread their music, so when they declare on “Viva La Resistance,” “So dance like you’ve never danced / and scream like you’ve never screamed / ’cause this one might be your last,” they really mean it. (On the same song, they also display their fierce determination by proclaiming, “Your theocratic neo-Fascist ideology / is only getting in the way of my biology / Your book says no! / But my body wants more!”) From the propulsive “Universal” and “Monster in Me” to the slower “Empty Times” and “Here and Now” (the latter featuring a sweet guitar outro), Hypernova lives and breathes their music, sharing their fairytale story, although their prospects are brighter than depicted in “Fairytales That Don’t Have Happy Endings.”

hypernova2

Hypernova will be at Mercury Lounge on April 10 and at the Studio at Webster Hall on May 1, but we’re most excited about their appearance at 92YTribeca on April 16, participating in the official after-party celebrating the release of Bahman Ghobadi’s NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT PERSIAN CATS, a compelling fictional account of the underground indie music scene in Tehran. (Look for our review next week.) Also on the bill are the Yellow Dogs, who appear in the film, along with DJ Loveletters.

JEAN RENOIR

If they know what’s good for them, film fans should be crowding into BAM to see such Jean Renoir masterpieces as GRAND ILLUSION

BAMcinématek
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
April 9 – May 11
718-636-4100
www.bam.org

Son of French Impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Jean Renoir made some forty films during a nearly fifty-year career that left, er, quite an impression on world cinema. One of the most influential auteurs to ever put images on celluloid, Renoir commented on politics, social conventions, and war in his films, with several works being banned in Germany, Italy, and even France because they hit a little too close to home. He compiled one of the great resumes while making films first in France and later in Hollywood, including A DAY IN THE COUNTRY (1936), GRAND ILLUSION (1937), THE RULES OF THE GAME (1939), THE SOUTHERNER (1945), THE DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID (1945), THE RIVER (1951), and FRENCH CANCAN (1955), along the way developing one of the most fruitful actor-director relationships with French star Jean Gabin. Renoir was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1975 and died in 1979, leaving behind a legacy that continues to have a strong impact on filmmakers and film lovers today. BAM will be screening twenty-two of his films from April 9 to May 11, offering a crash course in Renoir’s humanistic approach to storytelling, featuring all of the works mentioned above as well as THE LOWER DEPTHS (1936), LE MARSEILLAISE (1938), THE HUMAN BEAST (1938), and others.

j-CATION: TASTE JAPAN

Japan Society will host full day of amazing Japanese food and more

Japan Society
333 East 47th St. at First Ave.
Saturday, April 10, suggested donation $5, 1:00 pm – 1:00 am
Some events require free tickets available beginning at 12:30
212-715-1258
www.japansociety.org

Even though flights from New York to Tokyo have recently come down, it will still be a lot cheaper to get a taste of the Land of the Rising Sun on Saturday at the Japan Society, which is hosting the extremely exciting j-CATION from 1:00 pm to 1:00 am. The twelve-hour extravaganza, organized into Starters, Main Dishes, Sides, and Dessert, includes calligraphy and language classes, furoshiki and tea workshops, demonstrations from manga artist in residence Hiroki Otsuka, a foodie game show, a lecture by hot-dog-eating champion Takeru Kobayashi, a screening of Mitsuhiro Mihara’s food-related 2008 film FLAVOR OF HAPPINESS, live music by Me & Mars and Asobi Seksu, a cash bar, a virtual bento box battle, food vendors, and a late-night after-party with DJ Aki. If that isn’t enough, the outstanding exhibition “Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters,” a collection of gorgeous prints by nineteenth-century artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi, will be open until 9:00. For a suggested donation of a mere five bucks, you can feel like you’re in Japan, at least for one day.

CLOSELY WATCHED FILMS: KILL!

Tatsuya Nakadai has a ball in Kihachi Okamoto’s campy Eastern Western

KILL! (KIRU) (Kihachi Okamoto, 1968)
92YTribeca
200 Hudson St. at Canal St.
Wednesday, April 7, $12, 8:00
212-415-5500
www.92YTribeca.org/film
www.criterion.com/films/763

Kihachi Okamoto’s goofy, fun Eastern Spaghetti Western, with lots of references to other samurai flicks, is based on the novel PEACEFUL DAYS by Shugoro Yamamoto, which was also turned into Akira Kurosawa’s 1962 Asian oater SANJURO. But this time around, it’s played more for laughs. Tatsuya Nakadai, one of the main villains in both SANJURO and YOJIMBO, stars as former samurai Genta, a laid-back dude who gets caught up in the middle of an inner struggle of a split clan (one group of which contains seven rogue samurai). He meets up with former peasant farmer Hanjiro (Etsushi Takahashi), who dreams of becoming a brave samurai and involves himself in the same battle, though on an opposing side. As the plot grows more impossible to follow, with lots of betrayals, double crosses, would-be yakuza, and romantic jealousy, so does the riotous relationship between Genta and Hanjiro. Masaru Sato’s score is fab as well. This special screening at 92YTribeca, part of the Closely Watched Films series, will be hosted by Elliot Kalan with comic book artist Evan Dorkin.

GEN ART FILM FESTIVAL

Carla Gugino will get folks in the partying mood at fifteenth Gen Art Film Festival

Visual Arts Theatre
333 West 23rd St. between Eighth & Ninth Aves.
April 7-13, $30 (includes film screening and free drinks at after-party)
212-255-7300
www.genart.org

Gen Art is celebrating its fifteenth annual film festival with another slate of indie pics and happening after-parties unlike those thrown by any other organization. Each night matches one film with an after-party, all for one price. Josh Radnor’s HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE gets things going at the Ziegfeld on April 7, followed by a bash at the Park, but that’s already sold out. The screenings then move to the Visual Arts Theater for the rest of the week, which includes the April 9 pairing of Sebastian Gutierrez’s ELEKTRA LUXX and Vaughn Juares’s short BLOWING BUBBLES, followed by a party at Hudson Terrace. Tickets are also still available for Alexandre Franchi’s THE WILD HUNT and a soirée at Juliet Supper Club on April 11, Francesca Gregorini & Tatiana Von Furstenberg’s TANNER HALL and Avenue party on April 12, and Patrick Hoelck’s MERCY and a final-night blowout at BLVD on April 13. Also on April 11, all seven shorts will be screened for free, followed by an open Q&A with many of the filmmakers; admission is free but advance RSVP is required. Seven nights, seven features, seven shorts, and seven parties should make for quite a sweet fifteen, all with an emphasis on love.

TIM BURTON

Creepy exhibition entrance leads to a treasure trove of Burtonalia (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Museum of Modern Art
West 54th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Through April 26 (closed Tuesdays; Fridays free from 4:00 to 8:00)
Admission: $20 (includes same-day film screening), advance timed tickets recommended
212-708-9400
www.moma.org
www.timburton.com
twi-ny slideshow

There are only three weeks left in MoMA’s wildly popular Tim Burton retrospective, so you better hurry over if you want to see this vastly entertaining show. (The museum is even extending its hours over the last three days, staying open until 8:45.) More than seven hundred objects are on view, from early sketchbooks and movie models to watercolors and sculpture, from robots and wild short films (Stainboy gets a corridor all to himself!) to costumes and storyboards. It’s a carnival of excess, a virtual wonderland for fans of Burton’s eclecticism. While Burton’s movies are often hit (SWEENEY TODD, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, SLEEPY HOLLOW, ED WOOD) or miss (BIG FISH, PLANET OF THE APES, BATMAN RETURNS), he has developed an often dazzling visual style that is evident throughout the exhibit. Raised in Burbank and currently based in London, Burton seems to have saved everything he has ever done, every idea that came his way, and has included it in the survey, from his early fascination with horror and Vincent Price to his foray into his own fractured fairy tales (just wait till you see the Hansel and Gretel show he made for Disney) and his creative reinvention of stop-motion animation. It’s all here, bringing to life the ecstatic imagination of a crazed genius who’s yet to fully grow up. (which is not necessarily a bad thing).

Mackinnon & Saunders, "General Bonesapart puppet," metal, cloth, resin, foam latex, and silicone, 2005 (photo by twi-ny/mdr; courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.)

Mackinnon & Saunders, "General Bonesapart puppet," metal, cloth, resin, foam latex, and silicone, 2005 (photo by twi-ny/mdr, figure courtesy Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.)

Fans of Burton’s movies will have a field day with original drawings, vitrines filled with favorite characters, and a reel of the auteur’s earliest shorts, dating from when he was a teenager. In addition to the exhibit, the film series “Tim Burton and the Lurid Beauty of Monsters” still has several screenings left, including THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN’T DIE (Joseph Green, 1962) on April 8, Tex Avery cartoons on April 9, INVADERS FROM MARS (William Cameron, 1953) on April 16, and 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (Nathan Juran, 1957) on April 25.