<<< May 4 - 6, 2006 >>>

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The sensation of seeing a Cinemascope (or any other bona-fide "scope" aspect ratio) film on the big screen is something close to the hearts of all true movie-lovers, especially those who still make the effort to go out to an actual theatre to catch repertory film screenings. There’s just something undefinable about it, a magical quality that enhances the already miraculous idea of using bigger-than-life, projected moving pictures to tell a story. Here to kick off a periodic, ongoing series, is a weekend of special wide-screen ‘scope treats, all showing just what amazing things you can do with the medium, from J. Lee Thompson’s epic adventure THE GUNS OF NAVARONE and Sam Fuller’s groundbreaking action pictures (FORTY GUNS, HOUSE OF BAMBOO) to Vincente Minelli’s phantasmagorical dramas (SOME CAME RUNNING, TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN) to a very special memorial double feature (VIOLENT SATURDAY, BARABBAS) dedicated to much-beloved filmmaker, Richard Fleischer (1916-2006).

THE GUNS OF NAVARONE,1961, Columbia, 157 min. Dir. J. Lee Thompson. Gregory Peck leads David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Stanley Baker, Anthony Quayle and James Darren on a perilous mission to destroy an enormous Nazi gun battery on the Greek coast. Partisans Irene Papas and Gia Scala lend their support behind enemy lines. Grueling and exhilirating, with some truly awe-inspiring suspense/action sequences. After EL CID, one of the most intelligent and human of the epic adventure spectaculars.

FORTY GUNS, 1957, 20^th Century Fox, 79 min. Director Sam Fuller had to sacrifice his original title, WOMAN WITH A WHIP but he kept everything else – from Barbara Stanwyck’s black-leather dominatrix gear to the film’s naked gun-lust (Her: "May I feel it?" Him: "It might go off in your face."). Still the most subversively entertaining Western ever made, a surreal dreamscape in which nothing is motivated by natural laws. One of Jean-Luc Godard’s favorite American movies. With Barry Sullivan, Gene Barry. "It’s not even really a Western – I don’t know what it is... FORTY GUNS doesn’t care." – Martin Scorsese.

HOUSE OF BAMBOO, 1955, 20^th Century Fox, 102 min. Director Sam Fuller’s insanely-beautiful gangster film set in postwar Tokyo has the unspoken subtext of a tough-guy crime-boss (Robert Ryan) falling in love with an undercover cop played by Robert Stack. But Stack is enamored of the beautiful widow (Shirley Yamaguchi) of a late member of Ryan’s gang. Also starring Cameron Mitchell as a hair-trigger henchman with his own twisted relationship within the band of ex-soldier cutthroats. Fuller’s use of the wide-screen, especially in the fantastic, climactic rooftop shootout is a thing to behold. "Lightning fast tracking shots, disorienting set ups, bizarre compositions and dazzling panoramas." – Lee Server, Sam Fuller – Film Is A Battleground

SOME CAME RUNNING, 1958, Warner Bros., 136 min. The ultimate, "serious" Rat Pack movie. Lest those words "serious" and "Rat Pack" seem incongruous used in the same sentence, let’s make it plain: pantheon director Vincente Minelli’s lush, visually rich adaptation of James Jones’ bestseller about post-WWII malaise is never less than fascinating and, at times, extremely moving. Frank Sinatra is unusually credible as a cynical, hard-drinking writer returning from military service to his small, Midwestern hometown. When Frank’s infatuation with repressed schoolteacher, Martha Hyer is continually frustrated, he finds solace with new best friend, eccentric, alcoholic gambler, Dean Martin. (For just how influential this film was, check out Godard’s CONTEMPT where Michel Piccoli keeps his hat on even in the bathtub in tribute to Dean’s character!). Fellow cast members, Hyer, Arthur Kennedy (as Frank’s venal brother) and Shirley MacLaine were all nominated for Best Supporting Oscars. MacLaine is especially fine, heartrending as a seemingly empty-headed party girl who emerges as the most genuine, noble character in the film.

TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN, 1962, Warner Bros, 107 min. Recovering alcoholic actor, Kirk Douglas, fresh out of a sanitorium, flies to Rome for a role in "friend," director Edward G. Robinson’s latest epic. But when he arrives, Kirk’s character remembers just exactly why he had started drinking in the first place! Adding fuel to Kirk’s psychological distress is the presence of impossibly glamorous Cyd Charisse (in her most memorable role) as his nymphomaniac ex-wife. But Kirk’s budding romance with sweet Rosanna Schiaffino and his mentoring of temperamental actor, George Hamilton, offer him hope of redemption. Director Vincente Minelli’s mesmerizing depiction of runaway productions finding lower production costs and exotic locales at Cinecitta is unusually honest in its depiction of the petty backbiting that goes on behind the scenes in the industry. Be sure to look out for the great Claire Trevor as Robinson’s harridan spouse, surely one of the most hateful characters to ever appear in a Hollywood movie. Like SOME CAME RUNNING, TWO WEEKS offers more than its share of astounding ‘scope compositions!

>> Also showing at the Egyptian, May 17.