It’s strange to think that it’s the end of the school year. There’s only one more weekend in the film series, and then it’s over. During the summer, the film series won’t be there for you. If you decide to watch a movie, you’ll need to make a decision on your own. I have faith in you, dearest reader, to make a good choice. It is our hope that this semester’s series has stimulated, educated and entertained you all. Regardless, a couple apologies from the Film Board are in order.
We’re sorry that we didn’t end up showing “Mystic River.” The distributors decided to wait longer until making the film available to show at colleges. Will we show it next year? I don’t know. Maybe. In June it’s coming out on DVD in a 3-disc collector’s edition, which feels like overkill to me.
We’re sorry that you initially laughed at our decision to show “The Emperor’s New Groove.” You were alarmingly wrong. We’re sorry that we’re showing both “Matewan,” and “Ninotchka” this weekend, which clearly violates the rule about showing too many movies with difficult to pronounce titles. Good thing we decided against showing “Koyaanisqatsi” We’re sorry that we did not show “The Passion of The Christ.” People were so stoked about that one. Our bad. We’re sorry that my mom fractured her ankle this week and won’t be able to come see me in the play I’m in next weekend, “The Butterfly’s Evil Spell.” Get well soon.
That said, I’m honored to present to you a list of great movies in the series that you may have missed. This list is in no way an attempt to make you feel like you missed out on something really important and awesome. We know how busy you all are. This is merely my humble attempt to recommend to you some great movies that you couldn’t make it to, for whatever reason. Most of these are available on DVD. So here’s my Top 10 of the semester that you need to see, if you haven’t already:
“The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”
“The Big Sleep”
“Wild At Heart”
“Raging Bull”
“Dracula: Pages From A Virgin’s Diary”
“Grand Illusion”
“Night Of The Hunter”
“The Last Laugh”
“Cabin Fever”
“Sullivan’s Travels”
And now, here’s 10 movies to check out over the summer, if you’re bored; a sort of mini-Film Series, programmed by me: “Beat Girl,” “Minnie and Moskowitz,” “Once Upon A Time In The West,” “Fellini’s Casanova,” “Detour,” “Girls Town,” “Mädchen in Uniform,” “Shock Corridor,” “and, in keeping with the title of this column(and in keeping with my love for Mamie Van Doren), ”High School Confidential.“
Before I get to this weekend’s films, I want to conclude the year by thanking you all for making this such a great place, and for going to the movies that we show. It’s an amazing feeling to share moviegoing experiences with others, and I am so grateful that I get to do so with so many of you folk. To those individuals who have accompanied me to a movie this year, I thank you profusely. Also, it is important to know that despite what may have occurred when I saw ”Hellboy,“ Mr. Ray Tintori is an angel who has no vices except for a dangerously unhealthy appetite for the films of Busby Berkeley.
In the fall, we’ll be showing a great new batch of films, including some special screenings in the unsettlingly large and mind-numbingly awesome new Center for Film Studies. And I’ll be back to tell you about them. Until then, keep watching the screens.
In the Cinema: ”The Triplets of Belleville“ directed by Sylvain Chomet. This new animated comedy from France is truly a pleasure, one which caught on in America as well as abroad. In fact, it was nominated for two Oscars, Best Animated Feature and Best Song. The picture is unlike most other comedies made these days, in that there is no dialogue in the film, aside from incidental bits here and there coming out of radios and such. This places the film firmly in the always-a-pleasure school of simple observational humor, relying on visual information as opposed to witticisms. Parts of ”Belleville“ feel very similar to the sight-gag filled work of countryman Jacques Tati. It comes as no surprise, then, that a poster for Tati’s ”Mr. Hulot’s Holiday,“ appears in the background of a scene in ”Belleville.“ It’s a strange plot, one that is purely French: A very old woman’s
grandson is kidnapped during the Tour de France (he’s a skinny cyclist with a big old French nose), so she and her dog team up with a trio of old women who were a song-and dance team back in the day to venture into the big city, Belleville, to rescue him. It’s a rhythmic film; often surreal, always entertaining in a uniquely quirky manner. When I saw it in the theater, that great comedic penguin, Danny DeVito was in the audience, and I’ll be damned if that little guy wasn’t cackling for the whole movie. So, yes, it’s funny. And it’s only 80 minutes. Friday & Saturday, April 30 & May 1, 7:30 and 10PM, CFA Cinema, $3.
Simultaneously and for free in the Science Center:
Friday: ”Matewan“ directed by John Sayles. It’s about coalminers in West Virginia in 1920. It also stars Chris Cooper and a young Will Oldham a.k.a. Bonnie ”Prince“ Billy a.k.a. Palace Music a.k.a. other pseudonyms a.k.a. fucking awesome musician.
Saturday: ”Ninotchka“ directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring the beautiful and talented Greta Garbo.
Leave a Reply