Carrie (2013)

WHO: Kimberly Peirce directed this.

WHAT: Brian De Palma's 1976 film Carrie is not just my favorite of that director's films; it's also my favorite American horror movie made in my lifetime, and my favorite film made from a Stephen King novel (both high praise, if only for the existence of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.) So of course I had to see this new remake on its opening weekend.  I did not expect to like it as much as I did, given some of its fundamental flaws, evident early on in the picture. I don't have time to review it, so instead will point to two polar opposite reviews that make compelling cases for and against the movie: Walter Chaw's and Armond White's.

WHERE/WHEN: Multiple showtimes daily at various multiplex theatres in every Frisco Bay county at least through the end of the month.

WHY: Halloween approaches! After posting about Halloween/horror screenings arriving at Frisco Bay cinemas in coming weeks, I was reminded by a reader comment that the Balboa is also hosting two October evenings of horror screenings, namely three silent-era films that have been given new soundtracks (not just music but sound effects and, it appears, dialogue as well) in an attempt to appeal to silent-film averse audiences, and a documentary on local television horror host Bob Wilkins.

After Halloween, the venue is screening a double-bill of 1930s Bela Lugosi horror films The Black Cat and White Zombie on November 7th. For the price being charged I would hope these would be 35mm prints, but I'm skeptical because the event is meant to be a benefit, and a big part of the draw is the presence of San Francisco resident and  horror movie memorabilia collector (oh and Metallica guitarist) Kirk Hammett, along with the display of some of the pieces from his collection which have recently been photographed for publication in a coffee table book. The Another Hole In The Head film festival is also on the horizon at the Balboa and the Roxie, with a just-announced schedule that includes now-rare 35mm screenings of Jaws and The Shining at the Balboa.

HOW: Shot on digital cameras and screening exclusively on digital projectors.

Passion (2012)

WHO: Brian De Palma directed this.

WHAT: I have not seen Passion or the Alain Corneau film it was based on (Love Crime) but I love what De Palma had to say when Fernando F. Croce asked him what drew him to remake the latter film:

I liked the way of the plot. I liked the power struggles between the main characters. I didn't like the way Corneau revealed the murder, but that's okay, because if we're planning on remaking a film, then let's remake one that has room for improvement.

It seems to me this is exactly the right attitude for a director to take toward a remake: with confidence that he or she can improve on the original. Then again, De Palma is no stranger to other common approaches as well: the Hollywoodization of a well-known commercial property (The Untouchables and Mission: Impossible), the reconfiguring of setting and character of a respected classic (Scarface), and even the oblique homage that isn't quite a remake but resembles one (Blow Out from Blow-Up, Obsession, Dressed to Kill, etc. from the collected works of Alfred Hitchcock). As a De Palma fan I'm interested in all of these approaches, and am very excited to finally see Passion a year after its world premiere.

WHERE/WHEN: Screens multiple times daily only at the Rafael Film Center in San Rafael today through Thursday September 5, and at 2:45 and 7:00 at the Castro Theatre only on September 4 & 5.

WHY: I don't know why the Rafael is the only Frisco Bay theatre showing Passion for an entire week-long run (which began this past Friday), but it ought to be a good place to see it, with its 4K digital projection. It's also the only cinema where it's possible to see David Lowery's Ain't Them Bodies Saints now that the latter has left San Francisco and Berkeley theatres. Of course the Rafael is preparing to be one of the main venues for the Mill Valley Film Festival in October, which is slowly revealing a few of its programming selections. Since I last checked in on this subject, it's been announced that filmmaker Costa-Gavras will be present at the venue October 4 for a tribute and screening of his latest film Capital, and that on September 17th, a couple weeks prior to the festival's official start date, the U.S. Public Premiere of Metallica Through The Never will occur there. 

But since San Rafael is out of my way, I'm very glad that the Castro will also be screening Passion this week, if only for two days. I find it a little delicious that the venue has booked a De Palma film to screen so shortly after its (approximately) annual 70mm presentation of Vertigo, which ends with three showings there today. Any De Palma fan knows that Hitchcock is the director's biggest cinematic inspiration, and Vertigo in particular (along with Psycho and Rear Window) frequently alluded to in his filmmaking style and content.

HOW: Passion is (as far as I know) only being distributed on DCP. It was shot on 35mm but I've yet to hear so much as a rumor of a physical exhibition print existing. The Castro screenings pair it with 35mm screenings of prior De Palma films, however; Dressed to Kill on Wednesday, Sep. 4 and Femme Fatale on Thursday, Sep. 5.