Two Eyes: Veronika Ferdman

In the San Francisco Bay Area, moviegoing is not just for the newest releases. In 2013 there were more theatrical opportunities to see films spanning the history of cinema than any one person could take advantage of. Therefore, I've asked a sampling of local moviegoers to select a few favorites seen in cinemas last year. An index of participants is found here.  

The following list comes from Veronika Ferdman, who writes for Slant Magazine, notcoming.com and elsewhere.

I tend to chafe at the "canon" - I'm always a little suspicious of any film that appears shoulder to shoulder on a list between, say, Citizen Kane and The Searchers. (Note: I find both films rightfully heralded for their achievement, but when it comes to the cinematic canon I do not consider ossification a virtue.) A film that is universally acknowledged as a masterpiece has to work far harder to win me over than something that has been sitting neglected in the darkest, dustiest corner of an archive. It has to excel above and beyond on every level, whereas with a lesser known title little victories are enough to bring me to its side - a handful of good scenes, some effective use of lighting, etc.

Thus, one of the greatest delights I experienced in my rep-going this year was attending a screening of The Big Sleep at the Stanford where I promptly fell in love with it and was reminded of how silly my canon prejudice can be. An exceedingly odd film, Bacall and Bogart's banter hides the subterranean (sub-image) gutter, the suggestion of vile and abhorrent things lurking just outside of the 1.37 frame.

The double feature of two of Raoul Walsh's Westerns (which played at the PFA as part of their 14-film Walsh series), Pursued and The Lawless Breed, was an inverse experience of the one I had with The Big Sleep. Both films barely left an imprint on me when I first saw them. Even on the drive home I hardly gave them two thoughts. And now, too many months and too many other films stand between me and them for my mind to bring up more than small pockets of memory. The contempt in Teresa Wright's face and the dull silver images of Pursued and the cyans of The Lawless Breed insist on playing over and over again in my minds eye, nudging me to revisit them, and the career of Walsh at large.

Year in and year out the PFA provides some of the most interesting and daring programming in the country. Particularly exemplary of this was the PFA's Werner Schroeter retrospective where I got the chance to catch Dress Rehearsal and Goldflakes. Both are beautiful and ultimately mystifying works that I am so grateful for having gotten the chance to see, especially since Schroeter's films are rarely screened and very little known in the U.S., which is such a shame. Fassbinder ranked Schroeter as #2 - behind only Fassbinder himself, naturally - on his list of The Ten Most Important Directors In The New German Cinema.



Two Eyes: Terri Saul

In the San Francisco Bay Area, moviegoing is not just for the newest releases. In 2013 there were more theatrical opportunities to see films spanning the history of cinema than any one person could take advantage of. Therefore, I've asked a sampling of local moviegoers to select a few favorites seen in cinemas last year. An index of participants is found here.  

The following list comes from cinephile Terri Saul, a writer and visual artist.

For my year in repertory and revival film I've chosen a set of ten mostly-underground films from 1953-2010 about people who are not what they seem, in kaleidoscopic places, during times of recovery or transition. These secondary, shape-shifting anti-heroes are threatened, drifting, compelled to be another, or elsewhere, or not human at all.

A story has been written. It has its own rules. But the role-players don't stick to the script. They disrupt, disturb, disrobe, and disorient the audience, and perhaps even the filmmaker.

1) She And He (1963) Japan
dir. Susumu Hani
Where: PFA in Berkeley
When: Feb 09 2013 8pm

2) The Inferno Of First Love (1968) Japan
dir. Susumu Hani
Where: PFA in Berkeley
When: Feb 10 2013 5pm

3) ...And God Created Woman (1956) France
dir. Roger Vadim
Where: PFA in Berkeley
When: Mar 02 2013 6:30pm

4) The Bomber Pilot (1970) West Germany
dir. Werner Schroeter
Where: PFA in Berkeley
When: Mar 2 2013 8:30pm

5) Violent Summer (1959) Italy, France
dir. Valerio Zurlini
Where: PFA in Berkeley
When: Mar 9 2013 6:30pm

6) Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) France, Germany, Spain, Thailand, UK
dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Where: PFA in Berkeley
When: Mar 19 2013 7pm

7) ¡Bienvenido, Mr. Marshall! (1953) Spain
dir. Luis García Berlanga
Where: PFA in Berkeley
When: Mar 29 2013 7pm

8) ¡Vivan Los Novios! (1970) Spain
dir. Luis García Berlanga
Where: PFA in Berkeley
When: Apr 12 2013 7pm

9) Z (1969) France, Algeria
dir. Costa-Gavras
Where: PFA in Berkeley
When: Apr 12 2013 8:40pm

10) Kuroneko (1968) Japan
dir. Kaneto Shindo
Where: PFA in Berkeley
When: July 6 2013 8:30pm

Two Eyes: Michael Hawley

In the San Francisco Bay Area, moviegoing is not just for the newest releases. In 2013 there were more theatrical opportunities to see films spanning the history of cinema than any one person could take advantage of. Therefore, I've asked a sampling of local moviegoers to select a few favorites seen in cinemas last year. An index of participants is found here.  

The following list comes from Michael Hawley, who blogs at film-415.

10 Favorite Bay Area Repertory/Revival Screenings 2013

The Joyless Street (1925, Germany, dir. G.W. Pabst, Castro Theatre, SF Silent Film Festival, live accompaniment by the Matti Bye Ensemble)

The Weavers (1927, Germany, dir. Friedrich Zelnik, Castro Theatre, SF Silent Film Festival, live accompaniment and vocalizations by Günter Buchwald)

Inferno (1953, USA, dir. Roy Ward Baker, Castro Theatre, Noir City)

The Thief of Bagdad (1924, USA, dir. Raoul Walsh, Castro Theatre, SF Silent Film Festival Winter Event, live accompaniment by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra)

Cleopatra (1963, USA, dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Castro Theatre)

Medea (1969, Italy, dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini, Castro Theatre)

F.T.A. (1972, USA, dir. Francine Parker, Castro Theatre)

Fear of Fear (1975, Germany, dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Roxie Theatre)

Safe in Hell (1931, USA, dir. William Wellman, Roxie Theatre, Hollywood Before the Code: Deeper, Darker, Nastier!)

Pursued (1947, USA, dir. Raoul Walsh, Pacific Film Archive, A Call to Action: The Films of Raoul Walsh)