Spring is a mighty special time here at Wesleyan. Along with finer weather, Foss-frolicking, and final papers, we also usher in a new Film Board. As we wave a bittersweet goodbye to our outgoing members, we also look forward to a new, exciting era of the Film Series – one in which we will continue to blow your mind for four nights a week. Our consistent commitment to screening beautiful prints of spectacular films will remain, and in the coming year we hope to take the Film Series into the stratosphere. In the loosely-relevant words of the great Doc Brown, “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”  

 

That said, although the spring brings a plethora of promises, it is often a very lackluster season for fervent moviegoers. We tend to suffer from an unfortunate illness that only comes this time of year – an ailment I sometimes like to call “Cinemallergies.” Between the buzz of Oscar season and the spectacle of the summer movie wave, us film fans are forced to cope through a lonely lull of B-List movies and itchy eyes. Films like “Confessions of a Shopaholic” and “Race to Witch Mountain” (no offense, Dwayne Johnson) only seem to intensify the condition. 

 

But never fear, friends and fellow sufferers: the almighty Wesleyan Film Series is the perfect cure. This quarter’s calendar is packed with a variety of extra-strength flicks that will relieve cinematic sniffles and breathe new life into your spring season. The coming week is no exception – our combination of cowboys, dysfunctional families and teenage killers, is just the remedy you need. So swing by the Goldsmith, sit back and let the Film Series heal you.  

UNFORGIVEN

1992. USA. Dir: Clint Eastwood. With Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman. 131 min.

Friday, April 3, 8 p.m. $5

 

Unfortunately, the continued theatrical success of “Gran Torino” has prevented us from obtaining a print of the film, so we won’t be able to screen it as originally planned. However, lest you fear that you may have to spend tonight without any Clint Eastwood-lovin’, we are instead showing his impeccably crafted 1992 western, “Unforgiven.” The winner of four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, and often described as Eastwood’s swan song to the dying Western genre, this film tells the tale of an aging gunslinger who straps on his boots for one last showdown. For those who praise Eastwood as the manliest man to ever grace the silver screen (as well as those who need any convincing), this is a must-see. Instead of watching Clint wield that wimpy ‘finger-gun’ in “Gran Torino,” come see him pack some real heat in “Unforgiven.”

  

WINCHESTER ‘73

1950. USA. Dir: Anthony Mann. With James Stewart, Shelley Winters. 92 min.

Saturday, April 4, 8 p.m. FREE

 

Helmed by vastly underrated golden-age auteur Anthony Mann (“Border Incident,” “Raw Deal,” “El Cid”) and starring classic Hollywood man-of-morals Jimmy Stewart in a surprisingly dark, psychological role, this Western is as wildly adventurous as they come. The story follows Stewart’s character on his determined quest to recover a rare “perfect” rifle and seek revenge on the bandit who wronged him.  It is, in short, a myth of the ultimate weapon and the gunslinger it possesses. This “Mann-handled” picture also showcases elements of its director’s noticeably inventive style–at times it veers away from traditional western conventions into the dark territories of film noir. Originally advertised as “A Drama of Epic Greatness,” “Winchester ’73” is a staple of the Western-Noir genre that cannot go overlooked; Jimmy Stewart makes for an exceptional desperado and Shelley Winters in her prime is quite the smokeshow.  

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

2008. USA. Dir: Jonathan Demme. With Anne Hathaway, Debra Winger. 113 min.

Wednesday, April 8, 8p.m. $5

Director Jonathan Demme’s eclectic body of work, (i.e. “The Silence of The Lambs,” “Stop Making Sense” and “Philadelphia”) seems to have taken another unexpected, yet visionary turn with “Rachel Getting Married.” The film’s gritty, vérité stylization brilliantly frames its much-lauded performances, including that of Oscar-nominee Anne Hathaway, who portrays Kym, the drug-addled agent of chaotic dysfunction. Despite my  soft spot for “The Princess Diaries,” I can assure you that Hathaway delivers the performance of her young career in this film. As heartbreaking as it is hopeful, this critically-acclaimed gem blends narrative and sentiment into a world that seems strikingly real and surprisingly original. For anyone who bypassed “Rachel” to ride the “Slumdog Millionare” bandwagon this past Oscar season, this is your chance to catch up.  

RIVER’S EDGE

1986. USA. Dir: Tim Hunter. With Keanu Reeves, Crispin Glover. 99 min.

Thursday, April 9, 8PM FREE

 

Before Keanu Reeves was a time-traveling metalhead in “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” and before Ione Skye wooed us to the sounds of Peter Gabriel in “Say Anything,” they were both accessories to a gruesome teenage murder in “River’s Edge.” Winner of the Independent Spirit Award for Best Picture in 1986, this controversial flick focuses on a group of high-schoolers entangled in a web of paranoia, sexuality and lost innocence. This movie also features the irreplaceable Dennis Hopper in the follow-up performance to his iconic role in “Blue Velvet,” along with Crispin Glover of ‘George McFly’ fame. Not to be ignored are the film’s impressive array of quintessentially eighties hairdos.

 

Note: Despite the similarity in name, this film bears no connection to River Edge, New Jersey, also known as my hometown. No murders ever occur in River Edge. No one even jaywalks.