In a week that would make Sammy Davis Jr. flash his most winning of smiles, the film series continues as the Black History Month series marches on alongside its Israeli counterpart. Along for the ride is a rollicking new sci-fi thriller from South London, in which the toughness of a gang of juvenile delinquents is put to the test by some extraterrestrial killjoys. It might be warm for February already, but between Pam Grier and Lena Horne, Nick Frost, and Haifa during the summer of love, things are about to get very hot indeed.
1974. USA. Dir. Jack Hill. With: L Pam Grier, Antonio Fargas.
8 pm. Wednesday, February 8. $5.
The Black History Month series presents this camp classic from the golden age of Blaxploitation. Beautiful badass Grier (a favorite of Quentin Tarantino, who directed her in 1996’s “Jackie Brown”) does her own stunts as a woman on a mission to bring down the mob. Beyond the mind-boggling gore, sex, and all-out action (which are, by the way, sufficient grounds on which to see the film), the film serves as a fascinating document of a transitional period in American culture’s portrayal of the black experience. Does Grier’s strong black woman transcend stereotypes or is the film ultimately too mired in sploitation? Are both possible? Charismatic Professor Scott Higgins will be around afterwards to navigate the film’s implications and to place it within the larger history of action cinema. Rarely do the sleazy and the enlightening coexist in such thrilling proximity.
2010. Israel. Dir. Avi Nesher. With: Adir Miller, Tuval Shafir.
8 pm. Thursday, February 9. FREE.
An unexpected inheritance throws a middle-aged Arik Burnstein back into his memories of a Summer of Love in the shadow of the Six-Day War. Our protagonist’s particular recollections of that transformative period include his relationship with the eponymous matchmaker (played with gusto by Israeli comic Adir Miller), a family of dwarves, and a movie theater that only plays love stories. Burnstein’s coming of age is reflected by a similar social dynamism. Director Nesher balances these multiple strands with novelistic elegance, earning comparisons to no less than Federico Fellini.
2011. USA. Dir. Joe Cornish. With: Joe Boyega, Nick Frost.
Friday, February 10. $5.
Did “Drive” whet your appetite for stylish ‘80s nostalgia? Well, you’re in luck. This Friday brings another pared-down genre study, this time taking its cues from the likes of John Cameron’s “Aliens” and the early work of John Carpenter, but with more extraterrestrial gore and snappy British banter (inflected with the grittier parlance of South London, for good measure). Set largely inside a towering inner city project, this quick moving thriller sets a gang of youths, aided by a well-meaning nurse and Nick Frost’s jolly pot dealer, against a swarm of hairy aliens. In the tradition of both great genre pictures and classic British lit, Cornish balances entertainment with social portraiture, using the besieged apartment complex as a microcosm of contemporary Britain. It should please fans of both Jane Austen and gooey alien discharge.
BLACK ENTERTAINERS OF THE ’30s AND ’40s
USA. With: Lena Horne, Ethel Waters, Stepin Fetchit, and many more.
Saturday, February 11. FREE.
Terms like “can’t miss” and “once in a lifetime” are thrown around an awful lot in the world of show business, but when else will you be able to see this unique program pulled entirely from Wesleyan’s fantastic archives? These fascinating shorts feature some of Black America’s most talented performers from the ’30s and ’40s as they alternately transcend and reflect the challenges facing them from American culture’s more regressive elements. Films will include “Boogie Woogie Dream,” starring jazz-legend-turned-civil-rights-activist Lena Horne, and “Bubbling Over,” with great blues and gospel vocalist Ethel Waters. Also present is problematic yet fascinating comedian Stepin Fetchit in “Slowpoke.” The program begins with an introduction by Professor Rashida Shaw and will end with Vaudeville-infused semi-feature “Tall, Tan, and Terrific” with comedian Mantan Moreland. It may be overused advice, but you really shouldn’t miss these invaluable documents of the collision between incredible personal talent, opportunism, and social context.