a highly-opinionated selection of things happening around town, and sometimes out of town. this month's page here.
thu. sep. 1 the bigamist 7 PM @ broad syl johnson: any way the wind blows @ don't knock the rock @ silent movie theater cosmos 10 PM @ silent movie theater north by northwest @ arclight hollywood the last warning 8:35 PM @ cinecon @ egyptian the spoilers 10:15 PM @ cinecon @ egyptian the manchurian candidate, a face in the crowd @ aero fri. sep. 2 high school @ silent movie theater upset @ junior high bouquet @ basic flowers laurel & hardy program 12:50 PM @ cinecon @ egyptian more pay less work 1:50 PM @ cinecon @ egyptian none shall escape 3:10 PM @ cinecon @ egyptian ramona 8:35 PM @ cinecon @ egyptian navy wife 10:10 PM @ cinecon @ egyptian casablanca, chinatown @ aero the sicilian 6:30 PM, year of the dragon @ new beverly sat. sep. 3 pandoras, loons, flamin' groovies @ bootleg high school 3 PM @ silent movie theater under the sun 6 PM @ silent movie theater von haze (9:00), warlocks (11:00) @ hi hat sky high 10:30 PM @ cinecon @ egyptian the sicilian 6:30 PM, year of the dragon @ new beverly sun. sep. 4 high school 5 PM @ silent movie theater sex stains @ echo play safe 5:00 PM @ cinecon @ egyptian daughter of shanghai 8:30 PM @ cinecon @ egyptian in again out again 9:45 PM @ cinecon @ egyptian city of chance 10:50 PM @ cinecon @ egyptian los angeles plays itself (w/ q&a) @ aero mon. sep. 5 high school 10:15 PM @ silent movie theater prettiest eyes @ echo thieves' highway 2:20 PM @ cinecon @ egyptian who done it? 5:40 PM @ cinecon @ egyptian tue. sep. 6 the devil 9:45 PM @ silent movie theater los olvidados 1 PM @ lacma the ambushers, murderer's row @ new beverly wed. sep. 7 high school @ silent movie theater upsilon acrux, peter kolovos @ smell the guns of navarone, the passage @ new beverly thu. sep. 8 telecaves @ smell small wigs (11:00), mind meld (10:00), rearranged face (9:00) @ cafe nela the guns of navarone, the passage @ new beverly fri. sep. 9 upset @ echo dekalog i & ii @ silent movie theater dekalog iii & iv 10:30 PM @ silent movie theater the guns of navarone 6:30 PM, the passage @ new beverly inglourious basterds MIDNIGHT @ new beverly sat. sep. 10 law and order 5 PM @ silent movie theater dekalog v & vi @ silent movie theater big dick @ bootleg walter FREE @ permanent hp ty segall @ teragram the guns of navarone 6:30 PM, the passage @ new beverly sun. sep. 11 the indian fighter 7 PM, last train from gun hill @ ucla film archive trading places, bowfinger @ aero dekalog i & ii 10 PM @ silent movie theater dekalog vii & viii 4 PM @ silent movie theater dekalog ix & x 7 PM @ silent movie theater thunderbolt and lightfoot 6:30 PM, desperate hours @ new beverly mon. sep. 12 dekalog iii & iv @ silent movie theater dekalog v & vi 10:30 PM @ silent movie theater thunderbolt and lightfoot, desperate hours @ new beverly tue. sep. 13 the spirit of the beehive 1 PM @ lacma the minders @ satellite dekalog vii & viii @ silent movie theater dekalog ix & x 10:30 PM @ silent movie theater wed. sep. 14 triptides @ resident post life @ bootleg thu. sep. 15 cosmonauts @ echoplex who's afraid of virginia woolf? FREE 8 PM @ veggie cloud fri. sep. 16 hospital @ silent movie theater raising bertie @ ucla film archive mike watt & the missing men, qui @ hi hat conquest of the planet of the apes, battle for the planet of the apes @ new beverly sat. sep. 17 the chicago maternity story, home for life @ ucla film archive bombon @ gal palace scientist @ a dub meeting @ the frog spot the master (70mm) @ egyptian the squids @ hi hat dekalog i & ii NOON @ silent movie theater dekalog iii & iv 3 PM @ silent movie theater dekalog v & vi 6 PM @ silent movie theater saccharine trust (11:00) @ cafe nela conquest of the planet of the apes, battle for the planet of the apes @ new beverly sun. sep. 18 kraftwerk @ hollywood bowl the strange love of martha ivers 7 PM, out of the past @ ucla film archive drinking flowers, winter @ echo dr. strangelove 2:00 7:00 PM @ fathom events @ chinese 6, cinemark 18, north hollywood 8, burbank 16 scum FREE 7 PM @ reel grit @ afi dekalog vii & viii 4 PM @ silent movie theater dekalog ix & x 7 PM @ silent movie theater an evening of expanded cinema on 16mm 5:30 PM @ cinefamily @ barnsdall park globelamp (11:00) @ hi hat magick lantern cycle 7 PM @ regent boom! FREE 8 PM @ veggie cloud tiger bay 6:30 PM, ice cold in alex @ new beverly mon. sep. 19 black sabbath @ hollywood bowl a short film about love @ silent movie theater a short film about killing 10 PM @ silent movie theater tiger bay, ice cold in alex @ new beverly tue. sep. 20 fanny and alexander 1 PM @ lacma firewalker, king solomon's mines @ new beverly wed. sep. 21 heron oblivion @ teragram dr. strangelove 2:00 7:00 PM @ fathom events @ chinese 6, cinemark 18, north hollywood 8, burbank 16 robert et robert, cat and mouse @ new beverly thu. sep. 22 heron oblivion @ teragram ticket to write: the golden age of rock music journalism @ don't knock the rock @ silent movie theater the lost honor of katharina blum 2 PM @ goethe-institut the sandpiper FREE 8 PM @ veggie cloud robert et robert, cat and mouse @ new beverly fri. sep. 23 moon duo, strawberry alarm clock, christian bland & the revelators, etc. @ desert stars festival @ pappy & harriet's heron oblivion @ teragram taylor chain i, taylor chain ii, the last pullman car @ ucla film archive mccabe & mrs miller, no subtitles necessary: laszlo & vilmos @ aero chan is missing @ silent movie theater the take (w/ q&a) 7 PM @ skid row history museum cape fear (1962) 7 PM, return from the ashes @ new beverly sat. sep. 24 heron oblivion, triptides, asteroid #4, etc. @ desert stars festival @ pappy & harriet's basic training 4 PM @ silent movie theater demons @ cinematic void @ spielberg @ egyptian the rules of the game, the river @ aero leningrad cowboys go america FREE 9 PM @ secret cinema saturdays @ old focals optical time bandits 2 PM @ new beverly cape fear (1962) 7 PM, return from the ashes @ new beverly sun. sep. 25 dead c, burning star core @ echo neil hamburger @ satellite the big heat 2 PM @ egyptian the happeners @ spielberg @ egyptian cinema paradiso @ egyptian the return 5:30 PM @ aero black orpheus 5:30 PM @ a tribute to carlinhos pandeiro de ouro @ cinefamily @ barnsdall park the films of eva marie rødbro @ filmforum @ lace cleopatra FREE 8 PM @ veggie cloud time bandits 2 PM @ new beverly the flying deuces 6:30 PM, the wild wild world of laurel and hardy @ new beverly mon. sep. 26 the interrupters @ ucla film archive molochs, bombon @ echo the flying deuces, the wild wild world of laurel and hardy @ new beverly gate, preferred pronouns @ landslide tue. sep. 27 kwaidan 1 PM @ lacma mekons, sam coomes, sex stains @ american legion post 206 purple noon @ greg proops film club @ silent movie theater age of shadows FREE (RSVP) 7 PM @ cgv cinemas itasca @ junior high wed. sep. 28 target video: stand up & scream @ regent thu. sep. 29 imitation of life 7 PM @ broad the true cost 7 PM @ aero fri. sep. 30 the bad and the beautiful, two weeks in another town @ ucla film archive jon brion @ largo mae shi, media jeweler @ smell from dusk til dawn MIDNIGHT @ new beverly magic wanderers @ hyperion tavern sat. oct. 1 essene 4 PM @ silent movie theater angelo de augustine @ bootleg personal & the pizzas @ alex's bar journey to the center of the earth 2 PM @ new beverly alien: the director's cut MIDNIGHT @ new beverly high cameras @ frog spot sun. oct. 2 fellini satyricon 5:30 PM @ cinefamily @ barnsdall park pharoah sanders quartet @ angel city jazz festival @ ford theatre journey to the center of the earth 2 PM @ new beverly wed. oct. 5 young frankenstein 5:00 PM @ fathom events @ la live 14, cinemark 18, burbank 16 thu. oct. 6 charles bradley and his extraordinaires @ shrine survive @ echoplex fri. oct. 7 mystic braves, the creation factory @ troubadour charles bradley and his extraordinaires, budos band @ the observatory union station FREE 8 PM @ union station sat. oct. 8 allah-las @ regent aliens @ frights feast film @ eagle rock rec center juvenile court 4 PM @ silent movie theater the phantom carriage (w/ live score) 7 PM @ hm157 mad monster party 2 PM @ new beverly all-night horror show (films TBA) @ new beverly a clockwork orange MIDNIGHT @ vista sun. oct. 9 budos band @ echoplex shark toys, flat worms @ ham and eggs mad monster party 2 PM @ new beverly mon. oct. 10 fred and toody @ bootleg shark toys @ the griffin tue. oct. 11 lee noble @ heavy gel paranoia, a quiet place to kill (16mm) @ new beverly thu. oct. 13 tobacco @ echoplex triptides, temples @ teragram itasca @ resident fri. oct. 14 temples, sonics, mind meld, etc @ desert daze the julie ruin @ roxy true widow @ echo paris texas 8:30 PM @ palace theater itasca (5:00) @ numero group pop-up shop sat. oct. 15 thee oh sees, black angels, godspeed you black emperor, wand, audacity, l.a. witch, etc @ desert daze flickers from the silver screen FREE 1:15 PM @ gordon r howard museum the julie ruin @ roxy bride of frankenstein, creature from the black lagoon @ frights feast film @ eagle rock rec center primate 4 PM @ silent movie theater crawdaddys @ redwood invaders from mars 2 PM @ new beverly alien: the director's cut MIDNIGHT @ new beverly psycho 8 PM @ street food cinema @ brand library park sun. oct. 16 television, white fence, survive, dead meadow, brian jonestown massacre, meatbodies, etc @ desert daze invaders from mars 2 PM @ new beverly horror of dracula 6:30 PM, dracula (1979) @ new beverly mon. oct. 17 horror of dracula, dracula (1979) @ new beverly tue. oct. 18 winter @ bootleg the conqueror worm, jack the ripper (1976) @ new beverly wed. oct. 19 dr jekyll and mr hyde (1931), dr black mr hyde @ new beverly thu. oct. 20 dr jekyll and mr hyde (1931), dr black mr hyde @ new beverly fri. oct. 21 rosemary's baby 6:30 PM, the mephisto waltz @ new beverly from dusk til dawn MIDNIGHT @ new beverly sat. oct. 22 the thing (1982) @ frights feast film @ eagle rock rec center welfare 4 PM @ silent movie theater invasion of the neptune men 2 PM @ new beverly rosemary's baby 6:30 PM, the mephisto waltz @ new beverly alien: the director's cut MIDNIGHT @ new beverly sun. oct. 23 jowe head, sex stains, shark toys @ part time punks @ echo the shining 2:00 7:00 PM @ fathom events @ chinese 6, cinemark 18, north hollywood 8, burbank 16 invasion of the neptune men 2 PM @ new beverly king kong (1933) 6:30 PM, supernatural (1933) @ new beverly mon. oct. 24 king kong (1933), supernatural (1933) @ new beverly tue. oct. 25 walter @ bootleg wed. oct. 26 the shining 2:00 7:00 PM @ fathom events @ chinese 6, cinemark 18, north hollywood 8, burbank 16 the phantom of the opera (1925), phantom of the paradise @ new beverly from dusk til dawn MIDNIGHT @ new beverly thu. oct. 27 the phantom of the opera (1925), phantom of the paradise @ new beverly bob roberts (w/ q&a) @ vidiots fri. oct. 28 jon brion @ largo young frankenstein 7 PM, the man with two brains @ new beverly her @ ampas linwood dunn sat. oct. 29 meat 4 PM @ silent movie theater all night horrorthon (films TBA) @ aero nosferatu (w/ live score) 8 PM @ ace hotel theater young frankenstein 2 PM, the man with two brains 4:15 PM @ new beverly love at first bite 8 PM, an american werewolf in london, beetlejuice, modern problems (16mm), the fearless vampire killers @ horror comedy all-nighter @ new beverly sun. oct. 30 neil hamburger @ satellite mon. oct. 31 nosferatu (w/ live score) 8 PM @ ace hotel theater tue. nov. 1 king khan & bbq show @ el rey fri. nov. 4 criss cross FREE 8 PM @ union station sat. nov. 5 sunrise (w/ live score by rococo jet) 9 PM @ hm157 thu. nov. 10 afi fest fri. nov. 11 afi fest lisa prank @ bootleg sat. nov. 12 afi fest om @ casbah (SD) sun. nov. 13 afi fest om, m geddes gengras @ regent mon. nov. 14 afi fest tue. nov. 15 afi fest wed. nov. 16 afi fest thu. nov. 17 afi fest fri. nov. 18 jon brion @ largo sat. nov. 19 young people, amps for christ, sharp ease, centimeters, w.a.c.o. @ smell fri. dec. 2 too late for tears FREE 8 PM @ union station fri. jan. 27 sleep, melvins @ fonda sat. jan. 28 sleep, melvins @ fonda WHAT IT IS: AGE OF SHADOWS Jee-Woon Kim, director behind some of the most exciting films to come out of Korea in recent decades (I Saw The Devil, A Tale of Two Sisters) returns with a classic espionage tale dense in both betrayal and action. Full of endless double-, triple- and quadruple-crosses, stunning action set pieces and an array of characters that’d make John Le Carre proud, this is a heady trip through 1920s Korea. There are explosions, stabbings, shootings, chases and more in a tale that’s so relentless that everyone stepping out of the theater will need a moment to steady their nerves. Jee-Woon Kim in person! The Bad and the Beautiful Kirk Douglas portrays Jonathan Shields, a driven, highly successful producer of Hollywood pictures, who forms and regularly damages close relationships. Three such friends (an actress, a writer and a director) recall various betrayals, alongside Shields' enormous charm and success, and must then decide what good movies are worth! For his part, Douglas convincingly portrays this tornado of a man, who possibly—arguably—creates more than he destroys. 35mm, b/w, 118 min. DIR: Vincente Minnelli. SCR: Charles Schnee. CAST: Kirk Douglas, Lana Turner, Dick Powell, Walter Pidgeon. (1952) BASIC TRAINING As dozens of plainclothes youth, their hair still long and their blue-jeaned gait still casual, stream out of a bus and into an unmarked building, we are invited to take part in Basic Training, Frederick Wiseman’s immersive portrait of the nine weeks of Army training camp that each new enlisted and drafted recruit must endure. Intense discussions on the ethics of combat precede automatic weapons training, the severity of this message somewhat undone by the ridiculous moral tales in their marching cadences, and a moment of levity during a dental hygiene video. Embedded deeply within the rank-and-file at Fort Knox, Wiseman’s observant camera follows each detail and process as new intakes learn the proper way to scrub a urinal, sergeants hammer through marching drills, and the highest-ranking officers deliver motivational speeches to the impressionable minds that stare a potential Vietnam deployment squarely in the face. Dir. Frederick Wiseman, 1971, 16mm, 80 min. THE BIGAMIST Like Cindy Sherman, Ida Lupino made her mark on both sides of the camera, a defiant siren of film noir, but also one of the first female auteurs, directing and producing independent features that delved into hot-button cultural topics like abortion and polyamory. For The Bigamist, Lupino positioned herself opposite Joan Fontaine, in a subtle and gorgeously photographed potboiler about a traveling salesman who takes on two wives. In Matthias Müller’s short Home Stories, the filmmaker distills gestures of the classic Hollywood melodrama, collecting the moonlit sighs and dramatic departures, shot in 16mm off of a television screen. Tickets to Doll Parts include same-night access to the full museum, including the Cindy Sherman: Imitation of Life special exhibition, before the film program. BLACK ORPHEUS Incredibly, one of the children in this Brazilian classic has grown up to be one the world’s greatest Samba players, and lives right here in Los Angeles. On this day, we will pay tribute to this important and influential musical ambassador, with a “Roda de Choro” (a musical jam) hosted by Thalma De Freitus and other incredible musicians. Marcel Camus’ Black Orpheus took the cinema world by storm upon its release, nabbing both the Palme d’Or and an Oscar for its irresistibly joyous, yet at times aptly melancholic Brazilian retelling of the myth of Eurydice and Orpheus, by way of the Carnivale in Rio and an epochal Bossa Nova soundtrack. Pulsating with life and featuring near-grandiloquent delivery of the myth’s monologues via beautifully lifelike shots (courtesy of Jean Bourgoin’s handling of his Eastmancolor film stock), Orpheus changed the landscape of international arthouse cinema. Dir. Marcel Camus, 1959, Digital Presentation, 100 min. CHAN IS MISSING Director/producer/editor/co-writer Wayne Wang invites us inside a community unrepresented on the big screen with the first Chinese-American feature-length narrative film to achieve broad critical acclaim outside of the Asian-American community. Equal parts The Third Man, culturally-aware allegory and quiet indie comedy, Chan is Missing cracks open the doors to residences and businesses in San Francisco’s Chinatown (and, by association, all American Chinatowns) for a diverse presentation of not just a single, unseen character, but a heretofore untapped swath of the American population. As two taxi drivers search for the illusory “Chan” (perhaps a real person? Perhaps a wink and a nod toward fictional detective Charlie Chan?), Wang pauses to appreciate the humor inherent in cross-cultural misunderstandings and explore the complicated history of Chinatown and its politics. Made in the golden age of American indies for $22,000, Chan is Missing is a much-anticipated–and essential–late inclusion to our massive Underground USA series. Dir. Wayne Wang, 1982, 35mm, 80 min. Wayne Wang in person! THE CHICAGO MATERNITY STORY This galvanizing, rock-fueled documentary (Black Sabbath features prominently on the soundtrack) follows the mid-1970s grassroots fight to save the Chicago Maternity Center after 75 years of serving the community with maternity care and safe at-home births. One woman’s experience with the center, from consultations to delivery, puts the human face on protester demands and the corporatization of American medicine. Digital Video, b/w, 60 min. DIR: Jerry Blumenthal, Suzanne Davenport, Sharon Karp, Gordon Quinn, Jennifer Rohrer. (1976) CITY OF CHANCE (1940, 20TH Century Fox) This is one of a half-dozen films directed by Ricardo Cortez when his acting career began to slow down. In this amusing romantic/screwball comedy/film noir mashup, the beautiful and statuesque Lynn Bari plays a newspaper reporter who goes undercover in an illegal gambling den with the intention of shutting down the operation and getting her childhood sweetheart (Donald Woods) out of the gambling business. With C. Aubrey Smith as the brains behind the casino. COSMOS Zulawski’s final film–a begrudgingly apt swan song–follows a freshly-failed law student’s descent into a bed and breakfast’s vortex of pulsating ids. Based on Witold Gombrowicz’s surreal novel of the same name, the story leaps from free-associative monologues (sometimes in the voice of Donald Duck) declaring Sartre a “mistaken crosseye” to an indulgent obsession with a dead sparrow in the woods, as our Byronic protagonist broods around the property, falls in love, and lusts to touch a hairlip. Dense and deliberate, eerie tableau vivants see Zulawski’s characters writhing on the floor in intense episodes of pain/ecstasy, building a mystery–but one that the audience nonetheless may not, and need not, fully parse. Dir. Andrzej Zulawski, 2015, DCP, 103 min. DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI (1937, Paramount) Gangsters smuggle Chinese immigrants into the U.S. by airplane. When the authorities get a little too close the immigrants are ejected into the ocean below. When her father is murdered by the smugglers, the fabulous Anna May Wong goes undercover to put a stop to the smuggling racket. This film is fascinating for a number of reasons: Buster Crabbe and J. Carrol Naiish play the villains. More importantly, this was a unique instance where Asian performers played the Asian leads in a Hollywood production of this time period, showing the clout Ms. Wong had at the time. With Philip Ahn as Hollywood’s first Asian Federal Agent. DEMONS (DEMONI) 1985, 88 min, Italy, Dir: Lamberto Bava Director Lamberto Bava and producer Dario Argento engage in a bit of SCREAM-style self-consciousness in this gory delight, in which theatergoers attending a zombie movie find themselves under attack by real zombies. 35 mm! THE DEVIL Hitting an off-the-charts level of subversive allegory, Zulawski’s second feature is a blood-splattered rampage through a war-charred 1790s Poland that turns the historical epic inside out, and dances on its carcass. Immediately banned in the director’s Communist Poland for over a decade and a half, The Devil writhes with nonstop demonic energy as it follows a nobleman who, after escaping from prison, swan dives into insanity and mass murder. Returning home to his once-rich family—now reduced to savagery—and manipulated by a black-cloaked Satanic stranger at the center of a web of political treachery, the nobleman eventually enacts a Hamlet-like pyrrhic revenge on just about everyone in sight. But The Devil’s most spectacularly intense violence is all emotional, with near-constant outbursts of grief, and desperation of a seizure-like intensity that is downright mesmerizing. You won’t be able to look away, and with the way Zulawski’s gloriously restless camerawork captures all the detail, you’ll never want to. Dir. Andrzej Zulawski, 1972, Digital Presentation, 119 min. ESSENE Named after the ascetic community purported to have scribed the Dead Sea Scrolls, Essene finds Wiseman immersed in a Benedictine monastery in rural Michigan, whose members struggle to reconcile their individual idiosyncrasies with the community’s collective needs. He films the brethren in prayer, at study, holding mass, and maintaining the grounds, granted access even to private counseling sessions. In a departure from earlier works, he returns to a few subjects, allowing them to become characters in their own right, including one monk on the brink of a nervous breakdown. Wiseman’s presence is all but invisible here, including one virtuosic 360-degree handheld shot around the abbot in the middle of a mass service. Dir. Frederick Wiseman, 1972, 16mm, 86 min. AN EVENING OF EXPANDED CINEMA ON 16mm Expanded Cinema is an attempt to broaden our filmic minds, moving beyond subjective experiences and into the realm of objective experiments. From the dazzling assemblage and collage of Bruce Conner to the cosmic consciousness of Jordan Belson and the computerized slit-scans of the Whitney Brothers, we’ve taken our favorites from the visually dazzling tradition of psychedelic cinema out of the galleries and onto a big screen under the Hollywood stars in the company of Frank Lloyd Wright’s majestic Hollyhock House. Inspired heavily by Gene Youngblood’s definitive text of the same name, we invite you to join us en plein air–on the same grounds where primary resident and avid arts patron Aline Barnsdall once hosted John and Jim Whitney–for an evening of the greatest experimental and exploratory films, all on gorgeous 16mm. THE FILMS OF EVA MARIE RØDBRO With a skillful eye and generous spirit, photographer and filmmaker Eva Marie Rødbro fashions an intimate and utterly unique view into the lives of various contemporary youths from her native Denmark to the American South. Her films remind us of the fervor, awkwardness and often painful experience of adolescent life while savoring the sweet, contemplative moments that are often overlooked in memories. For her first ever in-person program in Los Angeles, Filmforum surveys Rødbro’s films made over the past eight years, showcasing her remarkable ability to construct intoxicating narratives from acutely recorded observations, and marked by a startling intimacy with her subjects. Filmmaker Eva Marie Rødbro in person from Denmark! FLICKERS FROM THE SILVER SCREEN Annual vintage horror show with silent films, talkies, theater slides, and music, going back to the 1890s. The Happeners 1966, 50 min, USA, Dir: David Greene Written by Ernest Kinoy and produced by Herb Brodkin, this unsold pilot about a folk-rock trio in New York City offers a somewhat more serious take on youth culture and rock music than “The Monkees.” Lead actors Craig Smith, Chris Ducey and Suzannah Jordan all went on to careers in music; Smith and Ducey formed the singing duo Chris and Craig before forming cult group Penny Arkade. With Louis Gosset, Jr., Lou Jacobi and an appearance by the Dave Clark Five. Panel discussion follows with Chris Ducey, Don Glut (of the Penny Arkade), producer Robert “Buzz” Berger and others to be announced. Join us in the Spielberg lobby at 6:30 PM, where author Mike Stax will sign his new book, Swim Through the Darkness: My Search for Craig Smith and the Mystery of Maitreya Kali. HIGH SCHOOL The eternally youthful vibes of Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” guide us through establishing shots of suburban Philadelphia and onto the campus of Northeast High School, the setting for Wiseman’s sophomore filmmaking effort. From the hip-as-heck teacher who asks her students to tune into the poetry of Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Dangling Conversation” to the brutal body politics of a homegrown fashion show, High School captures a day-in-the-life of the students and faculty at an upper-middle-class establishment, wandering from homeroom to the gymnasium to capture—with always-impeccable framing—the microdramas inherent in this most American of institutions. 35mm Restoration courtesy of the Library of Congress. Dir. Frederick Wiseman, 1968, 35mm, 75 min. HOME FOR LIFE The first film produced under the Kartemquin banner mobilizes multiple nonfiction modes to draw us into the experiences of two new residents of a Chicago nursing home as they adjust to their new lives. Through their separate circumstances, depicted frankly but with a deep sense of dignity, the larger challenges of age and care for the aged are brought into sharp, poignant view. 16mm, b/w, 82 min. DIR: Gerald Temaner, Gordon Quinn. (1966) Preceded by: * Parents (1968) This fly-on-the-wall document of a parish youth group discussing their parents and the generation gap is a fascinating time capsule from the era of the “rap session” even as it captures the eternal restlessness of adolescence. Digital Video, b/w, 20 min. DIR: Gordon Quinn, Gerald Temaner. HOSPITAL In pre-HIPAA 1970, inside the four walls of the Metropolitan Hospital in New York’s East Harlem, Frederick Wiseman made a film that depended on a degree of access to doctors and patients that is unfathomable today. We see overtaxed doctors handle everything from stoned hippies to neglected children to alcoholics–lots of alcoholics. Wiseman’s attentive gaze never leans on simplification, even as he stares stereotypes in the face. Doctors aren’t villains–they’re flawed and overworked, and sometimes they go the extra mile for their patients while other times they discuss lunch alongside deep suffering. The alcoholics and druggies and various other oft-underprivileged patients that burst through the ER doors aren’t villains either– they are people at the mercy of a limited institution for care. This newly restored 35mm print is an invitation into the bowels of a place where the American movie-going public will likely never be invited again. 35mm Restoration courtesy of the Library of Congress. Dir. Frederick Wiseman, 1970, 35mm, 84 min. IN AGAIN, OUT AGAIN (1917, Paramount) Directed by regular Douglas Fairbanks director John Emerson, and written by Emerson’s future wife Anita Loos, this silent comedy/political satire, was the first film produced by Artcraft, Fairbanks’ production company. When a hopelessly romantic young man (Douglas Fairbanks) is tossed into jail for drunkenness he falls instantly in love with the jail keeper’s daughter. After he’s released he tries everything to get thrown back in. Then he’s mistaken for an anarchist... The Indian Fighter The first picture from Kirk Douglas' own Bryna Productions (named for his mother) was this Western adventure, in which Douglas, as a frontier scout guiding a wagon train through Sioux country, must keep the peace despite the Sioux chiefs' well-founded suspicions of the white men's motives, and the plot of two rogue settlers to steal the Indians' newly discovered gold. 35mm, color, 88 min. DIR: André De Toth. SCR: Frank Davis, Ben Hecht. CAST: Kirk Douglas, Elsa Martinelli, Walter Abel, Walter Matthau. (1955) The Interrupters As the tragic gun violence afflicting Chicago continues to make news, Hoop Dreams (1994) director Steve James’ extraordinary portrait of the people working literally door-to-door and block by block to end it remains as urgent as ever. At its center are three “Violence Interrupters” working for the innovative intervention program CeaseFire. As they endeavor to overcome their own violent pasts, they use their hard won credibility to convince others they can do the same. Heartbreaking and, at times, harrowing, The Interrupters is essential nonfiction filmmaking. DCP, color, 125 min. DIR: Steve James. (2011) In-person: Steve James, Gordon Quinn. JUVENILE COURT An attentive and non-judgemental look at the youth courts system in Memphis, Juvenile Court showcases Wiseman’s inimitable observational abilities. Dealing with cases concerning everything from armed robbery and sexual assault to drug addiction, abuse, and foster care, Wiseman approaches each moment with his trademark respect for his chosen subject. Imbued with remarkably instinctual cinematography, rife with poignant imagery–a piece of tissue sticking to a young girl’s eye as she attempts to wipe the tears away, a badly burned young boy’s pained whisper as he tries to answer sensitive questions–and expertly crafted, Juvenile Court is a captivating document of the devastatingly human turmoil and confusion that finds its home in the supposedly ordered courtroom. Dir. Frederick Wiseman, 1973, 16mm, 144 min. The Last Pullman Car A century of industrial expansion and contraction, bad transportation policy, union building and busting, and racial politics comes to bear when Steelworkers Local 1834 starts a fight to keep the Pullman Standard Chicago Car Works open in the face of global competition. From factory floor to the state legislature, directors Gordon Quinn and Jerry Blumenthal trace the workers’ struggle against the odds to “keep mass transit rolling.” Digital Video, color, 57 min. DIR: Gordon Quinn, Jerry Blumenthal. (1983) In-person: Gordon Quinn. Last Train from Gun Hill When U.S. Marshal Matt Morgan's Native American wife is raped and murdered, and the perpetrator is proven to be the son of his friend, he must supplant the urge for revenge with justice in his aim to put the young man on a train to stand trial. But this is not so easy; he must oppose the young man's father, and make it to the train on time. 16mm, color, 93 min. DIR: John Sturges. SCR: James Poe. CAST: Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, Carolyn Jones, Earl Holliman. (1959) THE LAST WARNING (1929, Universal) Released two years before DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN, this silent could be considered the great-grand uncle of the Universal Horror Cycle. The last film directed by Paul Leni (THE CAT AND THE CANARY), the brilliant German expressionist designer and director, the film tells a story of hauntings and murder in a creepy abandoned Broadway theater. With Laura La Plante and Montagu Love. If you’re a Universal horror fan (and who isn’t?) you’ll want to catch this one for sure! LAW AND ORDER Watching Law & Order, one feels almost as if the black and white 16mm film is the only signifier of time having passed; Wiseman’s attention to the structures of law enforcement and their interaction with race and class seems not to have aged one bit, even 47 years later. The made-for-TV, Emmy-winning doc (best news documentary in 1969) is the filmmaker’s foray into the riots-era Kansas City, MO police department of 1968. As his camera roves, it captures myriad situations that officers are called upon to resolve – some appropriately within their jurisdiction, and others seemingly dumped upon them because civilians didn’t know where else to turn; one such a case is a domestic dispute over child-custody which results in the officer telling the child’s father that he simply must hire a lawyer if anything’s to be done. Wiseman’s hard look at the relations between officers and civilians is sympathetic and genuine, attuned to the limitations of the staid categories of law and order, and the humanity and chaos that spill out of them. Dir. Frederick Wiseman, 1969, 16mm, 81 min. LOS OLVIDADOS (THE YOUNG AND THE DAMNED) A young boy named Pedro lives in the festering slums of Mexico City, where he and other destitute youths are drawn into a brutal cycle of violence and crime. 1950, 80 min, 35mm, Mexico. Directed by Luis Buñuel; written by Luis Alcoriza and Luis Buñuel; with Estela Inda, Miguel Inclan, Alfonso Mejia, Roberto Cobo. THE LOST HONOR OF KATHARINA BLUM Katharina Blum is a young housekeeper, who can afford a small condo and a Volkswagen. She has a cheerful but modest personality, and is known as “the nun” because she recoils from the advances of forward men. When she becomes infatuated with a young man who is a radical criminal wanted by the police and helps him escape, she unwittingly becomes the victim of tabloid sensationalism. The situation escalates when the journalist Werner Tötges comes into her apartment... Adapted for the screen and directed by Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe Von Trotta. 1975, 106min., German w. engl. Subtitles. Starring Angela Winkler, Mario Adorf, Dieter Laser, Jürgen Prochnow, Heinz Bennet MAGICK LANTERN CYCLE A recognized master of avant-garde film, Kenneth Anger's influence can be seen in filmmakers as diverse as Martin Scorsese (who calls hi m"without a doubt, one of our greatest artists"), Roger Corman, George Lucas, Gus Van Sant, Guy Maddin and David Lynch. Join us for a celebration of Kenneth's incomparable "Magick Lantern" cycle of short films (The Invocation of My Demon Brother, Scorpio Rising, Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome and Lucifer Rising), plus a live Q&A with the director, and a live performance by Brian Butler + Kenneth as The Technicolor Skull. MORE PAY - LESS WORK Albert Gran and E.J. Ratcliffe are warring San Francisco shipping magnates; Mary Brian is Gran’s daughter and Charles (Buddy) Rogers is Ratcliffe’s athletic son. The result is a swift, exhilarating comedy, full of laughs and a nonchalant charm. Dir. Albert Ray, 1926, 67 min. NAVY WIFE (1935, Fox) A quirky Fox film, directed by Allan Dwan. Nurse Vicky (Claire Trevor) doesn’t believe in marriage because of her parents' divorce. Dr. Quentin Harden (Ralph Bellamy) is a widower with a polio-stricken daughter. Vicky and the doctor get married, but break up because the doctor can’t forget his first wife. Then Vicky hears about a new treatment that may allow her stepdaughter to walk again. And then there’s the spy ring and the motorcycle-crazed sailors that also figure into the story... NONE SHALL ESCAPE (1944, Columbia) Andre De Toth directed this taut drama. Made more than a year before the end of hostilities in Europe, this is the filmmakers imagining of what war crimes trials would be like after the Second World War has ended. It was released nearly 2 years before the actual Nuremberg Trials. A Nazi officer (Alexander Knox) is on trial as a war criminal. The story of his life and his crimes is told in flashbacks. The first Hollywood film to deal with Nazi atrocities against the Jews, this film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story. Marsha Hunt gives an outstanding performance as the officer’s one-time fiancée. And with Henry Travers. PARANOIA Kathryn West, a glamorous American widow, arrives in Italy several weeks after the death of her older, extremely wealthy husband. With the help of Brian, her lawyer, Kathryn moves into a luxurious villa and proceeds to lead a lonely, uneventful existence until one day, a handsome young man named Peter Donovan shows up at the front gate, looking for tools so he can fix his sports car. Kathryn lets him stay the night, and the next thing she knows, she's madly making love to him in the shower. Peter eventually moves in, and is soon joined by a free spirit he introduces as Eva, his sister. Kathryn enjoys their company and partying with them - until she begins to suspect that Peter and Eva aren't what they seem to be... Dir. Umberto Lenzi, 1969, 91 mins. PLAY SAFE (1927, Monty Banks Enterprises/Pathe) If you’ve seen Robert Youngson’s silent movie compilation THE DAYS OF THRILLS AND LAUGHTER you’ll recall that that film’s climax involves Italian comedian Monty Banks in a hair-raising yet humorous chase where he leaps from a speeding car onto a fast-moving train and back again. Those scenes are from Monty Banks’ most well-known two-reel comedy-thriller, CHASING CHOO-CHOOS. That two-reel short was actually cut down from the five reel feature, PLAY SAFE and for decades it was the only way it could be seen. Now we’re able to see the whole thing. PLAY SAFE may have been forgotten, but it shouldn’t have been. And we’ve got the proof here. Don’t miss the chance to check it out for yourself. PRIMATE Wiseman’s visit to the Yerkes National Primate Research Center is a meticulous study of the processes used to test and document the behavior of various apes, including orangutans, chimps, and gorillas. Equal parts interspecies anthropological study and a slow-cooking horror-show, you’re just as likely to smile at nurses giving baby chimps little milk bottles and changing their diapers as you are to gasp at the harvesting of a gibbon’s brain. Wiseman balances long takes of surgery and observation with quick close-ups of the various instruments and machines used, representing increasingly experimental (think mad-scientist) procedures in excruciating detail, without sacrificing the sense of elapsed time. Dir. Frederick Wiseman, 1974, 16mm, 105 min. A QUIET PLACE TO KILL A race-car driver who's down on her luck is invited by her ex-husband's wife to stay at their plush villa. The two women form a bond, and it's not long before their mutual dislike for the husband culminates into a plan to kill him. As it turns out, though, they're not alone in plotting murder... Dir. Umberto Lenzi, 1970, 94 mins. Raising Bertie The inexorable changing of the seasons, beautifully shot by cinematographer Jon Stuyvesant, lends a poetic undercurrent to director Margaret Byrne’s intensely personal six-year portrait of three young African American boys growing into adulthood in rural Bertie County, North Carolina. All students at The Hive, an alternative school for struggling kids, until its funding gets cut, Byrne’s subjects fight to define themselves and build futures in an environment where opportunities are hard to find. DCP, color, 100 min. (2016) DIR: Margaret Byrne. In-person: Margaret Byrne. Preceded by: * Trick Bag (1974) Bringing their cameras to parks, street corners, factory gates and homes around Chicago, Kartemquin filmmakers sound the state of race relations in the city in this remarkable document that reverberates into the contemporary moment. 16mm, b/w, 21 min. DIR: Kartemquin Films, Rising Up Angry, Columbia College. RAMONA (1928, Inspiration Pictures) This is the third filmed version of Helen Hunt Jackson’s 1884 novel - the first version was directed by D.W. Griffith - a novel so popular that the town of Ramona, California in San Diego County was named after it. Delores Del Rio and Warner Baxter star in this highly romanticized story of a Scotch-Native American orphan girl who falls in love with a Native-American sheepherder in 1840s Mexican-Spanish California and experiences discrimination because of their marriage. For decades this version of the story was thought to be lost until it was recently discovered in an archive in Prague. THE RETURN 2016, 84 min, USA, Dir: Kelly Duane de la Vega, Katie Galloway In 2012, California amended its harsh “three strikes” sentencing policy with the passage of Proposition 36 – the first time in U.S. history that citizens voted to shorten sentences of those currently incarcerated. This thought-provoking new film looks at the aftermath through the eyes of those on the front lines – prisoners suddenly freed, families turned upside down, re-entry providers helping navigate complex transitions, attorneys and judges wrestling with an untested law. An Audience Award winner for Best Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival. Panel discussion following with directors Kelly Duane de la Vega and Katie Galloway; senior advocate for HRW’s children’s rights division Elizabeth Calvin; and documentary subjects Bilal Chatman and Monica Grier. SKY HIGH (1922, Fox) Thrilling stunts and epic scenery are the highlights of this contemporary western. The film was advertised as having the first aerial views of the Grand Canyon. Tom Mix stars as a border patrol agent on the trail of a gang smuggling Chinese immigrants into the U.S. Co-starring one of Tom’s regular leading ladies, Eva Novak, as his love interest. THE SPOILERS (1930 Paramount) 29-year-old Gary Cooper stars in this, the third film (and first sound) version of Rex Beach’s gritty 1906 novel of prospectors during the Alaskan Gold Rush of 1898. It features a knock-down, drag-out fight that sprawls from inside a saloon and out into the unpaved streets of the mining town. During the filming of the brawl between Cooper and William “Stage” Boyd (Zolok in the notorious serial THE LOST CITY), Cooper was seriously injured. SYL JOHNSON: ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS Fans of 1960s R&B music know Syl Johnson as an influential African-American artist who cut under-appreciated classics like “Come On Sock It To Me” and “Is It Because I’m Black.” Despite enormous talent and a dynamic stage presence, mainstream success never happened for Syl. He drifted into obscurity while his smooth, sexy-voiced rival Al Green (“Let’s Stay Together”) zoomed to stardom. Syl eventually quit music and opened a chain of fast-food fish restaurants after disco crushed the memory of soul. Story over, right? Not so fast. Payback’s a bitch, and Syl—a righteously aggrieved curmudgeon—took his revenge in a most satisfying way. The opening seconds of his 1967 song “Different Strokes”—primal grunts over a stark drumbeat with Minnie Riperton’s laughter swirling overhead—became one of the most sampled breakbeats in hip-hop, and Syl turned into a litigation machine. And he was a natural! Syl got so much money from RZA and the Wu-Tang Clan that he now calls his home “The House That Wu Built.” While he chased down more people to sue, a new generation of fans discovered his classic records through the reissue record label Numero Group, and Syl’s on-stage career was reborn. With a funky, energetic soundtrack, an original score by Yo La Tengo, and interviews with hip-hop icons RZA, Prince Paul, Jazzy Jay, and Peanut Butter Wolf, this documentary is a buoyant and satisfying celebration of an unsung legend who stuck around around long enough to finally enjoy his redemption. Dir. Robert Hatch-Miller, 2015, DCP, 85 min. THE TAKE This documentary tells the story of thirty employees who – in the wake of Argentina's dramatic economic collapse in 2001 – walk into their factory, roll out sleeping mats, and refuse to leave. They're part of a daring new movement of workers who are occupying bankrupt businesses and creating jobs in the ruins of the failed system. But their success is far from secure. Like every workplace occupation, they have to run the gauntlet of courts, cops and politicians who can either give their project legal protection or violently evict them from the factory. Directed by Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein | Running time: 1 hr 20 min. Followed by a discussion with Mary Sutton and Kayla Al-Shamma Jones. TARGET VIDEO: STAND UP & SCREAM Stand-Up & Scream is a 90 min. digital film produced by Joe Rees & the Targetvideo77 group featuring documented footage of selected events that shaped the influential punk rock social/policial scene from 1978-1983. The film includes raw, intense performances by Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains, the Germs, the Damned, Crime, Mutants, the Bags, X, Flipper, Screamers, the Dils, Negative Trend, Sleepers, the Ramones, Offs, the Cramps, CH3, the Jim Carroll Band, Crucifix, Toxic Reasons, Middle Class, Circle Jerks, Mau Maus, Noh Mercy, Iggy Pop, John Lydon, the Avengers, KGB and more! With Q&A. Taylor Chain I: A Story in a Union Local The down-and-dirty politics and persuasion of a labor dispute take center stage in this brutally honest document of a seven-week strike at a chain manufacturing plant in Indiana. Digital Video, b/w, 34 min. DIR: Jerry Blumenthal, Gordon Quinn. (1980) Taylor Chain II: A Story of Collective Bargaining Three years after they first visited the workers at Taylor Chain, Kartemquin filmmakers returned to find the factory’s future increasingly uncertain and tensions high as a radically reduced workforce begins talks with a new management team. Digital Video, color, 31 min. DIR: Jerry Blumenthal, Gordon Quinn. (1983) TICKET TO WRITE: THE GOLDEN AGE OF ROCK MUSIC JOURNALISM “We were rock stars!” explains former Creem editor Jaan Uhelszki. From 1966-81, music magazines gave counter culture its literary wit—and the writers were as flamboyant as the rock stars. Music critics like Lester Bangs, Richard Meltzer, Ben Fong-Torres, Gene Sculatti, Sandy Pearlman, Susan Whitall, Bill Holdship, and Sylvie Simmons developed followings of thousands of music listeners who loyally read their writing in the pages of Crawdaddy, Rolling Stone, Creem, Circus, Hit Parader, Trouser Press, New York Rocker, Who Put the Bomp, Mojo and countless other zines, alt-weeklies, and student rags. However, when MTV emerged in 1981, the magazines saw their market share collapse as America shifted from print media to cable television—young people wanted their MTV. Follow the rise and fall of the rock n’ roll magazine! Dir. Raul Sandelin, 2016, Digital Presentation, 85 min. Q&A with filmmakers and rock journalist guest panel! THE TRUE COST 2015, Life Is My Movie Entertainment Company, 92 min, Dir: Andrew Morgan What it cost to put the shirt on your back goes way beyond what you paid at the cash register; the price of clothing has been decreasing for decades, while the human and environmental toll has risen dramatically. Shot in countries around the globe, this groundbreaking new documentary traces a path from Third World sweat shops to fashion runways driven by globalization and unchecked consumerism, and tells you what you can do to dress sustainably. Panel discussion following with experts in the field, including Taryn Hipwell, CEO of EcoDivas and founder of Beyond the Label; and Lorrie Ivas, Professor of Fashion Design and Merchandising at Santa Monica College. Two Weeks in Another Town Jack Andrus (Kirk Douglas) is a washed-up actor whose reckless living effectively ended his career. Summoned to Rome by Maurice Kruger (Edward G. Robinson), his onetime director and friend, Jack is unenthused about the opportunity to coach actors in dubbing films to English. But when Kruger is taken ill and Jack is given the opportunity to direct, he comes alive, stepping up creatively, and taking time to experience integrity, friendship and love. 35mm, color, 107 min. DIR: Vincente Minnelli. SCR: Charles Schnee. CAST: Kirk Douglas, Edward G. Robinson, Daliah Lavi, George Hamilton. (1962) UNDER THE SUN Wide-eyed Zin-mi, a young North Korean girl poised to join the Children’s Union, anchors Under the Sun, her expressive face belying the strain under which we find her. As director Vitaly Mansky follows her in the lead up to the “Day of the Shining Star” (Kim Jong-II’s birthday), he quietly takes a would-be propaganda film—designed by the North Korean government—back. Following extensive negotiations, Mansky was granted permission to film there, with ample caveats. But, in what is as great a feat of journalism as one of filmmaking, he was able to secretly copy the footage that his keepers believed they had wiped from his memory cards. But even without this stealth, the incompatibility of reality and the North Korean-issued script are exceedingly tangible, as characters rattle off the health benefits of kimchi, the beauty of their great country, and the surplus of goods produced by happy factory workers, while a dance class sees fat tears run down Zin-mi’s face. Dir. Vitaly Mansky, 2016, DCP, 110 min. WHO DONE IT? (1942, Universal) There’s a crossover between fans of movies of the ‘30s and ‘40s and fans of radio broadcasts of the same time period. This Abbot and Costello comedy may be the ultimate movie to satisfy both. Bud and Lou are wannabe radio mystery scriptwriters. While they attend a live broadcast of their favorite mystery show, the President of the station is bumped off. Bud and Lou decide that solving the murder will help advance their careers. Unfortunately, the real detectives on the case peg them as the prime suspects. Radio fans: there’s a terrific scene in the station’s sound-effects room that shows how a lot of effects were done.