Two Eyes: Michael Guillén

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 Guillén, who blogs at The Evening Class.

Absence makes the cinephilic heart grow fonder.  Relocating to Boise, Idaho from San Francisco has all but meant letting go of repertory programming.  Although Boise's movie "palace" The Egyptian offers some older fare, they project from DVD onto a large screen and resolution suffers accordingly.  Hardly the ideal in-cinema experience.  Thus, I rely on my sojourns back to San Francisco and film festivals here and there to satisfy my hunger for restorations and revivals.  Here's what I've enjoyed in San Francisco and the Bay Area in 2013.

Gun Crazy (Castro / Noir City / 01/25/13)—The term "value added" has come to qualify the spectatorial experience.  Although the Film Noir Foundation's annual Noir City prides itself on screening titles generally unavailable on digital formats, they know how to up the ante when a film is available on DVD, Blu-Ray or online streaming.  Case in point would be the opening night for the 11th edition of Noir City where Peggy Cummins—"the deadliest female in all of film noir"—was fêted in an onstage conversation with "Czar of Noir" Eddie Muller.

Curse of the Demon (Castro / Noir City / 01/26/13)—Featuring Peggy Cummins once again, and one of my favorite Jacque Tourneur vehicles because of its supernatural audacity, catching Curse of the Demon (1957) at an afternoon matinee screening made me feel all of 12.  Never discount how the movies can provide the sense of recapturing one's youth; surely one of the presiding aesthetics that inform repertory viewings.

Try and Get Me! (Castro / Noir City / 01/26/13)—There are absolutely no 35mm screenings in Boise, Idaho.  None.  Thus—as Paolo Cherchi Usai has recently argued—the screening of a 35mm restoration has all the earmarks of a "special event."  Attending the world premiere of a brand new 35mm restoration by the Film Noir Foundation and the UCLA Film and Television Archive is about as special as filmgoing gets.  Stir in local interest—the film's narrative borrows from events in 1934 San Jose—and it makes for a tasty Saturday night experience.

The Other Woman (Castro / Noir City / 01/31/13)—Along with the aforementioned aspect of recapturing one's youth through revival screenings, sometimes films like Hugo Hass's The Other Woman (1954) featuring the voluptuous Cleo Moore harbor fascination for not being the literal films of one's youth but more films that informed the culture one is born into, especially with regard to sexual attitudes of the time.  As a young gay boy growing up in the hinterlands of Idaho I wanted desperately to be a bad girl.  My self-image virilified over time but I've never let go of thoroughly enjoying a Bad Girls Night at the Castro Theater.  It's an indulgence I look forward to once a year.

In effect, I could easily replicate the programming of Noir City 2013 to satisfy the 10-film requirement of this year-end wrap-up; but, that wouldn't be fair to the rest of the fine programming executed in the Bay Area during the rest of the year.  Before leaving Noir City, however, I have to give honorable mentions to the world premiere of a 3-D 4K digital resoration of Man In the Dark (1953), its Technicolor counterpart Inferno (1953)—also in a brand new 4K digital restoration—a traumatized Lee Remick in Blake Edwards' Experiment in Terror (1962), Edward Dmytryk's tense and engaging The Sniper (1952), Clarence Brown's 1949 adaptation of William Faulkner's Intruder in the Dust, the over-the-top close-ups of Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard (1950) where Gloria Swanson's iconic and unhinged Norma Desmond stares out at all those faces in the dark, and the pre-Code proto-noir A House Divided (1931), notable for an early version of Walter Huston's infamous Treasure of Sierra Madre jig.

The Thief of Bagdad (Castro / Silent Winter / 02/16/13)—As I reduce the number of film festivals I'm attending, some cannot be forsaken for being so unique and stellar; namely the San Francisco Silent Film Festival's bi-annual events.  At Silent Winter 2013 I was thrilled to the marrow by Raoul Walsh's The Thief of Bagdad (1924) wherein Douglas Fairbanks embodied the role of Ahmed with athletic virtuosity to the welcome accompaniment of the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.  Honorable mentions at Silent Winter 2013 would have to include J. Searle Dawley's Snow White (1916), which contextualized both Disney's animated version of the tale, as well as more contemporary efforts such as the Spanish Blancanieves and Hollywood's Snow White & The Huntsman.  Also, Buster Keaton's shorts, Sam Taylor's My Best Girl (1927) featuring sweetheart Mary Pickford, and F.W. Murnau's atmospheric adaptation of Goethe's Faust rounded out a satisfying edition.

 

Blood Money (Roxie / Pre-Code / 03/01/13)—Rowland Brown's Blood Money (1933) was one of the highlights of Elliot Lavine's "Hollywood Before the Code: Deeper, Darker, Nastier!!"  With its endearing portrayals of transvestism and sadomasochism, Blood Money titillated, entertained, and/or offended its Roxie audience as much as it did 70+ years ago.  Add Judith Anderson's film debut, Frances Dee at her kinkiest, Katherine Williams' sapphic "Nightclub Woman Wearing Monocle" and Blossom Seely's bluesy musical numbers, and it was blood money well-spent.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Castro / SF International / 05/05/13)—Philip Kaufman was the recipient of the San Francisco Film Society's 2013 Founder's Directing Award.  The catalog related a lovely anecdote of how Kaufman met Anaïs Nin at the University of Chicago in 1962.  They spent the day together, shared ideas, and she encouraged him to become a film director.  Among the remarkable roster of films to follow, his 1978 adaptation of Jack Finney's classic novel updated Finney's 1950 Cold War paranoia to post-Nixon era San Francisco.  One could extend that narrative to the present day to wonder if all these Google buses aren't actually transporting pod people?  Just as the HBO series Looking weaves its San Francisco locations into its narrative design, Invasion of the Body Snatchers likewise provides a tangible sense of '70s San Francisco, such that to this day I can't walk through Civic Center without fearing that I'll encounter something half human, half dog.

Wild Girl (PFA / Kehr / 08/01/13)—Back to the notion of a "special event", Berkeley's Pacific Film Archive brought New York Times film critic/historian Dave Kehr to the Bay Area to introduce and contextualize three Raoul Walsh westerns: Wild Girl (1932), a new print of The Lawless Breed (1953), and the "noir western" Pursued (1947).  Having the opportunity to dine with one of my favorite film writers, hearing him in conversation with local critic Michael Fox, and sharing the experience with Idaho filmmaker Zach Voss who was visiting the Bay Area made for a special event indeed.  Further, on the occasion of these screenings, Film International granted permission for me to republish my seen-by-few interview with Dave Kehr upon the publication of his book When Movies Mattered: Reviews From A Transformative Decade.

Sorcerer (PFA / 09/19/13)—With my habit for recording nearly every public film appearance in the Bay Area, it seems almost unbelievable that I didn't bother to record or have recorded my on-stage conversation with William Friedkin when the newly restored digitally remastered Sorcerer (1977) screened mid-September at the Pacific Film Archive during their Friedkin retrospective.  Memory will have to serve with this one; but, oh, what a memory!!

The Gospel According to Matthew (PFA / 09/22/13)—I gave up on Pier Paolo Pasolini after being introduced to him via Salò: 120 Days of Sodom, which I was way too young and inexperienced to absorb.  But wooed back to his oeuvre by Fandor who invited me to interview Ninetto Davoli, one of Pasolini's key actors, during a Bay Area multi-venue retrospective of Pasolini's films, I was stunned to—first of all—discover that I could now appreciate Salò on its own merits (perhaps because of years of watching torture porn in the horror genre, which makes Salò seem nearly quaint by comparison), but just how beautiful some of his earlier films were, particularly the incandescent Gospel According to Matthew, which aligned neatly with my interest in the Historical Christ and the Gnostic Gospels.  Not only did this film reawaken my interest in Pasolini, but it literally reawakened my passion for arthouse cinema.

Two Eyes: James Brown

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 James Brown, cinephile, musician, DJ and blogger

Here are my favorite vintage films that I saw last year.

The Earrings of Madame de... (1953) at Alliance Francaise

Max Ophuls' delectable bon mot starring Danielle Darrieux and Charles Boyer as an aristocratic French couple whose surreptitious affairs are exposed by a pair of earrings that are secretly traded amongst their illicit lovers. Ophuls' camerawork is dazzling, as usual.

Tree Of Wooden Clogs (1978) at The Randall Museum

This three hour masterpiece, directed by Ermanno Olmi, is a triumphant homage to an earlier cinematic age of Italian neorealism. A film about 19th century poor Italian peasants in which every role is played not by an actor but by real farmers and locals.

And Give My Love to the Swallows (1971) at PFA
Czechoslovakian director Jaromil Jires, best known for Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders, adapted to the big screen this dramatization of the real life letters written in prison by young Czech resistance fighter Maruska Kuderíková, who was imprisoned by the Nazis, sentenced to death, and beheaded with an axe. Haunting, powerful imagery.

Rolling Stones performance clips (1962-1972) at the SF Main Library
Local rock music historian and writer Richie Unterberger often does shows of music video clips around the Bay Area, but this one composed of rare live and studio performances by the Stones in the first decade of their career was exceptional.

French Can Can (1954) at Alliance Francaise
A light-hearted Jean Renoir film about Paris' most notorious dance hall, the Moulin Rouge, starring Jean Gabin. Fun fun fun.

Revenge Of the Pearl Queen (1956) at YBCA

Shintoho exploitation flick with the stunning Michiko Maeda trapped on an island with five horny male castaways. First Japanese film to feature female nudity.

Le Joli Mai (1963) at Opera Plaza

Director Chris Marker takes to the streets to interview Parisians about love, life, politics and other social issues, made around the same time as his infamous La Jetee.

King Of Marvin Gardens (1972) at The Castro

Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Ellen Burstyn, Scatman Crothers, Atlantic City, the 70s. Enough said.

Street Angel (1937) at PFA

A Depression-era Chinese film set in Shanghai about a good-hearted musician tries to rescue two young sisters from poverty and prostitution. Great black and white cinematography and made by a leftist collaborative.

Bring Me The Head Of Afredo Garcia (1974) at The Castro
Sam Peckinpah's surreal Mexican bloodbath starring the inimitable Warren Oates. A flop at the time but now considered one of the best cult films of the 70s.

Two Eyes: Carl Martin

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 Carl Martin, projectionist and keeper of the Bay Area Film Calendar.

the rep scene is not healthy, and i saw far fewer films than in years past (and read far more books).  but i saw enough that i still had to do some winnowing to get down to ten.  except for Shura in 16mm, all were screened in 35mm.  once again i broke a rule and included a private screening.  it was part of a curated series, just not a public one.  these days film is being driven underground.

january 19, pfa: China 9 Liberty 37.  the red-herring title comes from a mile-marker sign glimpsed in this ultra-obscure late classic-era monte hellman film.  a film needs a title, you know, for marketing purposes.  beyond that, hellman doesn't give a f-star-star-k!  endless foul-mouthed quotability.  faded (unique?) print.

february 24, pfa: Shura - the 48th Ronin.  an audacious formal exercise.  what is real, what is not?  it is all cinema.

april 11, roxie: The Witch Who Came From The Sea.  whether intentionally or not, a bizarre millie perkins performance meanders through narrative holes to weave a concise, tragic portrait of a very messed-up dame.  we had to bring this back later in the year as a film on film show.  shot by dean cundey!

april 26, castro: Duel.  i would come across spielberg's debut when it played on tv years ago and be transfixed, but had never caught the beginning where some of the subtext is clarified.  a complete and proper screening confirms its brilliance.  life in the twentieth century has left dennis weaver unmanned, un-humanned even.  his malaise takes the shape of a gnarly big rig he can't shake.  hellish.  hellman-ish.

july 20, castro: The House on Trubnaya Square (дом на трубной).  wonderfully riveting montage in a ravishing svema print.  the curtain wash came on for a spell in reels 4 and 5, casting a horrid red glow on the screen.  that was unfortunate.

august 15, roxie: Vice Squad.  wings hauser unchained!  shot by john alcott.

september 15, castro: Carnival of Souls.  i'd been wanting to see this for years.  the print was to die for.  such contrast, such sensuous tones!  low-budget poetry.

october 25, pfa: Fear of Fear (angst der angst).  i failed to appreciate this one when i first saw it back in '97.  it's fassbinder at his most sirkian.  when you peel the onion, tears come.

december 3, private screening: Tough Guys Don't Dance.  an outrageous, lurid potboiler from the machismo-addled mind of norman mailer (who helmed as well).  you never saw such lines delivered with straight faces by ryan o'neal, isabella rossellini, lawrence tierney, penn jillette, WINGS HAUSER, and a couple of palookas with the most ineptly overblown southern accents in cinema.  "ah just whasn't maaade for this kahnd of imbrohglio!"

december 18, castro: Blast of Silence.  i saw a triple feature one day back in the nineties at the uc theatre.  first, a quite excellent noir, i forget which one.  then, one of those amazing, unforgettable, genre-defining noirs, can't remember the title.  and then, Blast of Silence.  from that day on (one of the best days of movie-watching i've had), i've enshrined allen baron as a genius in my mind, despite never seeing any of his other work.  he came to the castro.  everybody loved him.  i was moved.  my only regret is that i couldn't bring him home with me.