Observer » Film Forum

To Do Wednesday: Prep Rally

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:42:45 -0400

Museum of Arts & Design

The Prince of UES/Hamptons prep, J. McLaughlin, purveyor of D-ring ribbon belts with ubiquitous skulls and martini glasses, is upgrading its vibe and debuting its modern take on the Ivy League look with a preview at the Museum of Arts & Design, that freaky-modern masterpiece or eyesore—you judge—originally called the Gallery of Modern Art, which the late squandered-millionaire Huntington Hartford built in 1964 to house his massive collection of 19th- and 20th-century art. That has nothing to do with embroidered coral-colored corduroy pants and Lilly Pulitzer-like patterned shirts, but we just had to mention it.

The Museum of Arts & Design, 2 Columbus Circle, seventh floor, (212) 956-3535, 8:30am-5:30pm, by invitation only.

Philip Roth turns 80 this month, and two documentaries have been made to honor his important position in American literature. One of them, Philip Roth: Unmasked, is debuting at Film Forum on Wednesday, March 13, and runs through Tuesday, March 19. Mr. Roth recently announced that he no longer wants to write novels, so the film makes for a good excuse to look back on his work with the knowledge that he won’t be doing much more of it.

Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street, (212) 727-8110.

To Do Friday: To the Max

Daniel D'Addario — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 08:00:46 -0400

Max von Sydow

A weeks-long tribute to Max Von Sydow concludes at BAM with a screening of Never Say Never Again, the Bond flick in which the forbidding Swede faces off against an aging Sean Connery over a hijacked nuclear warhead; this good-bad slice of cheese may not exactly be The Seventh Seal, but last night’s von Sydow screening at BAM was the bad-bad Dune ... Meanwhile, the Film Forum features the dark animated film Consuming Spirits, a dystopic story whose complicated animations took 15 years to complete. Director Chris Sullivan appears at the 6:30 screening tonight to explain just how this differs from your typical Pixar flick.

Never Say Never Again, BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Avenue (Brooklyn), tickets and information can be found at bam.org/film; Consuming Spirits features director Christopher Sullivan at 6:30pm screening, Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street, box office can be reached at (212) 727-8110.

Citing Concerns About Backpage.com, Film Forum Pulls Advertising from Village Voice

Kat Stoeffel — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:40:47 -0400

Image via Google News

The independent Manhattan movie house Film Forum has decided to pull its advertising from the Village Voice, citing concerns about Backpage.com, the classifieds site owned by Voice parent company Village Voice Media.

Longtime Film Forum director Karen Cooper told Off the Record that Nicholas Kristof’s Friday op-ed in The New York Times prompted her decision.

“It really held Backpage.com accountable for underage prostitution,” she said.

In it Mr. Kristof described a 13-year-old Brooklyn runaway coerced into prostitution and sold over Backpage.com, whom he called "Babyface," and called for Backpage.com to close its Adult section, as Craigslist did in 2010.

Given Film Forum’s eagerness to show the shows films that depict the tragedies of human trafficking, Ms. Cooper explained, “it would be a hypocrisy to continue advertising.”

The nonprofit cinema has advertised in the Village Voice since at least 1971.

In July, Ashton Kutcher used Twitter to publicly pressure other Voice advertisers, including American Airlines, Domino's Pizza and Disney, to withdraw from the alt-weekly. In one of a series of editorial articles defending Backpage.com, the Voice had written that statistics distributed by Mr. Kutcher’s sex trafficking awareness group, Real Men Don’t Buy Girls, were incorrect. Mr. Kutcher later announced that American Airlines had pulled its advertising, though the company never confirmed it.

A group of attorneys general has also sent letters to Village Voice Media calling for Backpage.com’s adult serivces to be shut down. Others, including clergy members and Village Voice co-founder Norman Mailer’s son, John Buffalo Mailer, have spoken out against the website through Groundswell, a social justice organization backed by the Presbyterian Auburn Theological Seminary.

The Voice did not immediately respond to request for comment. In a public response to the attorneys general, however, Village Voice Media has said that censorship is not the solution to human trafficking, and that the company effectively monitors the escort listings.

On an unrelated note, Ms. Cooper added that she was disappointed that longtime Voice film critic Jim Hoberman was laid off earlier this month.

The Eight-Day Week: March 30-April 6

Daniel D'Addario — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 23:06:14 -0400

Wednesday, March 30

Coffee Talk

We're betting Tina Brown likes her coffee the same way she likes her copy: "V. v. hot!" Guests will find out tonight as the High Beastess herself throws a private book party at her Upper East Side townhouse for Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz's memoir, Onward (we hear it's full of beans). Expect plenty of Ms. Brown's beloved "buzz"--especially after those lattes start flowing. ... Meanwhile, Rob Pruitt will reveal his Andy Monument, a larger-than-life-size statue of the late Pop pioneer Andy Warhol, in Union Square near where the Factory was once located. Chloë Sevigny-who was 12 when Andy died but seems as good a choice as any-will perform the unveiling, which is to be followed by a private cocktail reception and dinner for the likes of happily married Peter Brant and punky princess Hope Atherton (we hope she never grows up!).
Tina Brown residence, private event begins 6:30 p.m.; Unveiling of The Andy Monument at Broadway and 17th Street, 6 p.m., private cocktails near the old Factory, 6:30 p.m., dinner hosted by Interview magazine in Union Square, 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 31

Making Bank

Turns out Muhammad Yunus, the Macher of Microlending, is also a movie star. Screening for one night only, To Catch a Dollar, a documentary about Mr. Yunus' attempts to bring his style of teensy-weensy loans to Queens, in 2008, will unspool at two theaters, under the auspices of Screenvision. Yes, this is also the service that brought moviegoers Suzanne Somers talking about her vitamins for two hours! The Nobel Peace Prize winner was recently relieved of his duties at the institution he founded, Grameen Bank, so if he's looking for a new home, we hope he'll consider New York. We spent all our money at Starbucks--Tina told us to--so maybe he can float us a little scratch?
Chelsea Cinemas, 260 West 23rd Street; 86th Street Cinemas, 210 East 86th Street; both screenings begin at 7:30 p.m. with taped appearances by Suze Orman, Matt Damon, Hugh Jackman and others; go to tocatchadollar.com for tickets.

Friday, April 1

Tokyo Stories

We can hardly believe the multiple tragedies unfolding in Japan right now. And yes, it seems a very awkward time for a tribute to "five Japanese divas" of the silver screen. But Film Forum's long-planned series offers numerous reminders of the nation's incredible resilience, not to mention the sublime beauty of its movies. The series begins tonight with Kenji Mizoguchi's Life of Oharu, a heartbreaking 1952 melodrama starring Kinuyo Tanaka. After the movie, head up the street to the Maritime Hotel, where Matsuri restaurant is hosting the Sachiyo Ito dance company. Ten percent of the restaurant's proceeds go to the Japan Society's Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.

The Life of Oharu plays at 1:10, 4:20, and 7:30 Friday and Saturday at Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street, buy tickets at filmforum.org or at the box office. Matsuri, 369 West 16th Street; Sachiyo Ito performs in 20-minute sets, go to dancejapan.com for more information.

Saturday, April 2

Le Geek, C'est Chic

Somewhere along the line-probably around the time we elected a new-media billionaire mayor-we became a city of geeks. The whole town! (We hear Lady Liberty is even sporting a pocket protector.) Last month, we all lost our heads anticipating Rupert Murdoch's iPad app-then, appetite sated by the bananas-looking weather page, we went back to flinging little birds around and cultivating virtual corn. Now the Brooklyn Academy of Music is taking it to the "next level" (gamer humor) with a two-night festival of the music from Final Fantasy. Yes, the video game. (Think Super Mario meets Pagilacci.) Premium tickets, which are going for $175 (almost enough for your very own real-life Sword of Nero!), include a meet-and-greet with the game's composer and the conductor as well as that Comic-Con hallmark: an autograph opportunity.

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Avenue (Brooklyn), Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. (two-night program), tickets available at ffdistantworlds.com (BAM ticketing policies do not apply).

Sunday, April 3

Damn Yankees

Baseball's opening day was Thursday (we know, you were busy trying to secure that microloan), and today the Yankees conclude their opening series against the Detroit Tigers. Warning: This is an athletic event. Some people-you know who you are-find such displays to be mindlessly absurd. But if you find yourself dragged to a sports bar, remember this: It's also a human drama. We hear Minka Kelly's boyfriend is playing. ... Speaking of human drama, mega-miniseries The Kennedys begins tonight on ReelzChannel-and if you get ReelzChannel, welcome to the most exclusive party in town! The show was booted from the History Channel for not being historical enough-or was it too historical?-but who cares! You'll come for the year's most tragic and protracted game of dress-up (Katie Holmes is Jackie Kennedy) but stay because you lost the remote!

Yankee Stadium, 1 East 161st Street (the Bronx), game begins at 1:05 p.m., tickets available at yankees.com; part one of The Kennedys airs at 8 p.m. on ReelzChannel.

Monday, April 4

Some Turnout!

The weather's finally getting halfway decent, but some like it cold, right? At least, so hope the good people behind the Skating With the Stars benefit in Central Park, which helps fund Figure Skating in Harlem. High-rollers can join the likes of Evan Lysacek for a ladies'-choice whirl around the rink. Too bad our ankles are weak-we'll have to sit in the stands, sipping hot cocoa with co-chairs Kenneth Cole and the Tisches. ... Meanwhile, the National Dance Institute's well-trained tykes show off their pliés to donors at its annual gala. The event honors a bunch of corporate types-and Alec Baldwin (who plays one on TV)-for their commitment to the arts.

Skating With the Stars, Wollman Rink, Central Park, 6 p.m., call 212-675-9474 or visit figureskatinginharlem.org for details; National Dance Institute Gala, Best Buy Theater, 1515 Broadway, cocktails at 6 p.m., dinner and performance by the children of National Dance Institute at 7 p.m., call 800-807-1787 or visit nationaldance.org for details.

Tuesday, April 5

Scotch, Neat

We still owe Mel Gibson a debt of gratitude-loony-bird that he is--for igniting the whole men-in-skirts trend (bless his little Braveheart). Gibby won't be attending the the "Dressed to Kilt" fashion show tonight-we promise! Instead, Sir Sean and Lady Connery (yes, there's a Lady Connery) will host the knee-baring runway peepfest. Kyle MacLachlan, our pick to replace Charlie Sheen, is dropping by, along with celebrities ranging from quasi-Scottish (Mike Myers) to not-Scottish-at-all (model Selita Ebanks). And for the kiddies, Gossip Girl's Matthew Settle will be modeling, too. Publicity--it knows no tartan!... Meanwhile the Brits (Scots' sworn enemies) will be recalling their own glories at a Lincoln Center gala for the opening of West End wonder War Horse. The show is followed by dinner with the cast and Steven Spielberg's producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, surely taking notes for Mr. Spielberg's film adaptation. Who knew the Great War was so much fun?

Dressed to Kilt, Hammerstein Ballroom, 311 West 34th Street, cocktails at 7:30 p.m., fashion show at 9 p.m.; for tickets, go to dressedtokilt.com or call 408-206-6051; War Horse Gala, Lincoln Center Theater, 150 West 65th Street, 6:30 p.m. performance, 9 p.m. dinner with cast, 10:30 p.m. "carriages" (or depart
ure).

Wednesday, April 6

Poetic Justic

The FSG Reading Series--a two-author evening for which we can thank current Paris Review party boy-in-chief Lorin Stein--welcomes former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky and Maggot man Paul Muldoon (that's the title of his latest book; we actually think he's lovely) to the Russian Samovar. "The space itself is so appealing-it's a good place to spend a couple hours," co-organizer Mark Krotov told us. "And the vodka doesn't hurt." (Don't worry, it's infused, so no hangovers!) The FSG organizers take the authors out to dinner afterwards as thanks; stay in the hood and you might be able to chew over free verse--or your favorite limerick!--with Mr. Pinsky. (Stalkery?)

Russian Samovar, 256 West 52nd Street, bar opens at 6:30 p.m., reading begins at 7 p.m., $5 entry fee

ddaddario@observer.com :: @DPD_

'Bill Cunningham' Director: Bill Got Personal, But Hasn't Seen Movie

Daniel D'Addario — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:42:06 -0400

On Wednesday, the Film Forum will premiere Richard Press' new documentary Bill Cunningham New York, about the indefatigable New York Times fashion photographer. Access to the press-shy shutterbug was perhaps the most challenging aspect of the film, though Mr. Press told The Observer that he had the inside track: "Actually, I knew Bill, because when I first started making movies, I was freelancing as an art director at The Times... He never would have agreed to it had he not known us the way he knew us." Times connections abounded: "There was a moment where The Times came on as a coproducer--Arthur Sulzberger came on and called him, and there were all these factors where he thought, this'll be safe. I want to do it."

That access distinguishes Bill Cunningham New York, which shifts gradually from a professional appreciation of Mr. Cunningham's work to a very personal account of a solitary, constantly-working man. About the film's climactic revelations about Mr. Cunningham's romantic past and his religion, which reduce the photographer to tears, Mr. Press said, "I think those two questions--you would ask anybody if you were interviewing them... That was the last interview we did, and it was at the tail end of a long interview."

Mr. Cunningham had, in the first year of filming, been more resistant to the filmmakers' efforts-he instructs them, at the film's midpoint, that they are not to follow him to Paris, though they do. By filming's end, he is startlingly honest, particularly given that he has never thus far made himself the story in his work. Mr. Press said of Mr. Cunningham's emotional moment: "We had no idea it would be such a powerful moment. That wasn't the end of the interview; it was just not a problem. That's the thing about Bill--he's very honest."

Mr. Cunningham has been honest, too, about his lack of desire to see the film-no Anna Wintour-at-September Issue screenings moments for him. "He's never seen the film. He knows what's in it. He just wasn't interested. He's given us his blessing--he's very happy, like, Oh, you kids made a movie!" said Mr. Press. It may have been easy to forget he was being filmed--Mr. Press indicated he worked without a large documentary crew, not even a sound person or boom mic operator. "I really tried to shoot the movie in the way he shoots his subjects. He tries to be invisible and I wanted to be invisible as well. He stands on the street for hours waiting for the right person, for his subject, trying to get a great shot, and I think he realized we were doing the same thing."

ddaddario@observer.com :: @DPD_

Martin Scorsese Sells Out–the Film Forum, At Least!

Daniel D'Addario — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 21:30:26 -0400

It'll be sitting room only for 180 lucky fans of GoodFellas (or, just maybe, Shutter Island) at the Film Forum next week, as the Manhattan auteur not named Woody Allen addresses the Film Forum audience at a Feb. 23 screening of last year's Fran Lebowitz documentary Public Speaking. Wait, everyone loves Martin Scorsese, but hadn't that already come and gone--in 2010--and on HBO, no less?

A Film Forum rep explained to the Observer: "When Rialto [Pictures] picked it up, they thought it had a wider audience beyond HBO--it's such a New York movie, and so perfect for the Film Forum audience and the New York audience." The film is to run for a limited engagement; Scorsese's Taxi Driver is to screen there March 18 through 31.

This may be the first time Scorsese's spoken at Film Forum, the rep told us, in about fifteen years--he presented Mean Streets there, ages before winning an Oscar--though he's active in film preservation. Margaret Bodde, executive director of Scorsese's Film Foundation, helped broker Scorsese's appearance, for which demand was clearly pent-up. "It was an instant sell-out," after an email blast to those well-heeled cineastes who opt in on the mailing lists. So, any room for the Observer to hear our favorite director talk about filming our favorite curmudgeon? "No."

ddaddario@observer.com :: @DPD_

Sara Vilkomerson’s Third Stringer: Buddha Me Up

Sara Vilkomerson — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:47:06 -0400

After all the scary future robots and Trekkies and Ben Stiller at the museum, you’d be forgiven if you were looking for a meditative break of some sort. On June 3, the Film Forum premieres Unmistaken Child, a documentary chronicling the search for a reincarnated Tibetan master. We’ll be honest: We know nothing about Tibetan Buddhism (beyond its occasional outbreak on the terrible N.Y.C. dating scene), nor its precepts of reincarnation, so this film was a rather fascinating look at a beautiful culture. At the center of the story is Tenzin Zopa, who had been a devoted disciple of one Lama Konchog since the age of 7. After Lama Konchog died in 2001, Tenzin Zopa begins a four-year-long, worldwide search for the older man’s reincarnation in a child. Tenzin Zopa is a great documentary subject, handsome and sweet and charming. We follow him into villages and eventual dealings with a sweet little boy who, reincarnated or not, is not above throwing a massive tantrum over getting his head shaved or behaving in front of the Dalai Lama. Israeli filmmaker Nati Baratz wisely doesn’t try to explain every ritual, but keeps himself and his camera in the role of observer. The pacing is on the slow side but the imagery is beyond stunning.

Don’t Miss: Bunuel at Film Forum

Andrew Sarris — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:50:04 -0400

Luis Buñuel’s Viridiana (1961), with Sylvia Pinal, Fernando Rey, Francisco Rabal and Margarita Lozano, will be shown at Film Forum from Friday, April 24, through Thursday, April 30, with show times daily at 1, 2:50, 4:40, 6:30, 8:20 and 10:10. I first saw Viridiana on the last morning and evening of the 1961 Cannes Film Festival, and wrote one of its first rave reviews in the British film magazine Movie. Through this review I was later introduced to Buñuel (1900-1983) by his producer. Buñuel particularly liked my line about his being a man of the left who did not make “boy meets tractor” Soviet-style films. Amazingly, Buñuel made the wondrously sacrilegious Viridiana in Franco’s Spain when the dictator’s censors must have been dozing. After almost half a century, it still retains its brilliance and humanity. Don’t miss it.

The Underappreciated Giant of the French New Wave

Andrew Sarris — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:00:38 -0400

Jean-Pierre Melville’s (1933-1973) Léon Morin, Prêtre (Léon Morin, priest) (1961), from his own screenplay, based on Béatrix’ Beck’s (1914-2008) autobiographical novel, will be revived at Film Forum from April 17 to April 23. Both the book and the film are constructed as a dialectical confrontation between a skeptical communist woman and an intellectual Catholic priest, with Emmanuelle Riva as the woman, and Jean-Paul Belmondo as the priest. Riva had just created a sensation in Alain Resnais’ Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959), and Belmondo had just leaped to stardom in Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless (1960), in which Melville himself had played a cameo part as a Rumanian poet interviewed at the Paris airport by Jean Seberg.

The setting of the film is a small French provincial town during and after the German Occupation. Henri Decae provided the ritualized cinematography in a series of short uninflected vignettes centered on a spiritual duel between a nonbeliever and a true believer. It further establishes Melville as the last to be discovered and appreciated giant of the French New Wave of the ’50s and ’60s.

Films of Wrath

Andrew Sarris — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:46:38 -0400

Film Forum’s series of Depression movies, Breadlines & Champagne, resumes on Saturday, Feb. 14, on an especially high note, with Gregory La Cava’s My Man Godfrey (1936), starring William Powell, Carole Lombard, Gail Patrick, Alice Brady, Eugene Pallette, Alan Mowbray, Mischa Auer and Franklin Pangborn, at 1, 4:35 and 8:20; and Mitchell Leisen’s Easy Living (1937), from a Preston Sturges screenplay, with Jean Arthur, Edward Arnold, Ray Milland, Franklin Pangborn, William Demarest, Mary Nash and Luis Alberni, at 2:50, 6:25 and 10:10.

On Sunday the 15th, Alfred E. Green’s Baby Face (the uncensored version; 1933), with Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Donald Cook, Margaret Lindsay, Douglass Dumbrille and John Wayne, plays at 2:35, 5:40 and 8:45. Roy Del Ruth’s Blessed Event (1932), with Lee Tracy, Mary Brian, Dick Powell, Emma Dunn, Frank McHugh, Allen Jenkins, Ned Sparks and Ruth Donnelly, shows at 1, 4:05, 7:10 and 10:15.

On Monday, Feb. 16, La Cava’s Gabriel Over the White House (1933), with Walter Huston, Karen Morley, Franchot Tone, C. Henry Gordon, Samuel S. Hinds, Jean Parker and Dickie Moore, screens at 1, 4:20 and 7:40. James Cruze’s Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932), with Lee Tracy, plus Betty Boop for President, shows at 2:40, 6 and 9:30.

On Tuesday the 17th, William Wellman’s Night Nurse (1931), with Barbara Stanwyck, Ben Lyon, Joan Blondell, Clark Gable, Charlotte Merriam and Charles Winninger, plays at 2:45, 6, and 9:30, and Sam Wood’s Hold Your Man (1933), with Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Stuart Erwin, Elizabeth Patterson and Blanche Friderici, screens at 1, 4:15 and 7:30.

On Wednesday, Feb. 18, Archie Mayo’s Black Legion (1936), with Humphrey Bogart, Erin O’Brien-Moore, Dick Foran, Ann Sheridan, Joe Sauers (Sawyer), Helen Flint, Dickie Jones and Henry Brandon, plays at 1, 4:30 and 8. Michael Curtiz’s Black Fury (1935), with Paul Muni, Karen Morley, William Gargan, Barton MacLane, John Qualen, J. Carrol Naish and Vince Barnett, shows at 2:40, 6:10 and 9:40.

On Thursday the 19th, Lewis Milestone’s Hallelujah, I’m a Bum (1933), with Al Jolson, Madge Evans, Frank Morgan, Harry Langdon, Chester Conklin, Tyler Brooke and Edgar Connor—not to mention cameo appearances by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, and a script by Ben Hecht and S. N. Behrman—plays at 3:30 and 7:10. “Vitaphone Varieties of 2009,” introduced by Ron Hutchinson of the Vitaphone Project, and with rare early talkie footage of banjo ace Roy Smeck; Gus Arnheim’s band featuring Russ Columbo; vaudevillians Shaw & Lee and Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy; and Al Jolson’s pre–Jazz Singer “Plantation Act,” screens at 1:30, 5:10 and 8:50.

On Friday, Feb. 20, William Wyler’s Dead End (1937), with Sylvia Sidney, Joel McCrea, Humphrey Bogart, Wendy Barrie, Claire Trevor, Marjorie Main, Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey, Gabriel Dell, Ward Bond, Billy Halop, Bernard Punsley and Allen Jenkins, shows at 1:30, 4:40 and 7:50. Mervyn LeRoy’s Three on a Match (1932), with Warren William, Joan Blondell, Bette Davis, Ann Dvorack, Humphrey Bogart, Lyle Talbot, Glenda Farrell and Dawn O’Day (Anne Shirley), plays at 1:30, 4:40 and 7:50. Amy Lehr, granddaughter of director William Wyler, will introduce the 7:50 show.

asarris@observer.com