| Director's Cut
Series
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From classics like THE BIG SLEEP to controversial,
often-disputed films like BRAZIL, BLADE RUNNER and HEAVEN’S GATE, there has rarely
been a final word in Hollywood filmmaking. Movies exist in different versions because of
censorship issues, disputes over running time and story clarity, personality conflicts
between director and producer, and more – film is an amazingly fluid medium, and
between first cut and release date, a movie can lose (or gain) dialogue, voice-over, music
tracks, major and minor characters, and even entire subplots. The term
"Director’s Cut" can mean longer and (arguably) better, but it can also
mean a version of the film that is fundamentally different than the one we know.
We’re pleased to present several truly great ‘director’s cuts,’
including Sergio Leone’s DUCK YOU, SUCKER! (restored to it’s original
European length), HEAVEN’S GATE and BURN! (QUIEMADA).
Friday, March 31 – 7:30 PM
Director’s Cut Series
Restored 35mm Print! DUCK YOU SUCKER aka A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE (GIU LA
TESTA), 1971, MGM/UA, 157 min. The last—and least-seen—of Sergio Leone’s
epic Westerns: earthy peasant Rod Steiger and Irishman James Coburn (hiding
from the I.R.A.) find themselves tossed into the middle of the Mexican Revolution. Widely
ignored on its release, DUCK YOU SUCKER looks better and better with each year:
Leone’s blend of explosive action and boozy poetry is just strange enough to work.
Recently restored to its original, longer European running time. Music by Ennio
Morricone.
Saturday, April 1 – 7:30 PM
DONNIE DARKO: THE DIRECTOR’S
CUT, 2004, Newmarket Films, 133 min. Dir. Richard Kelly. Largely underrated on
its initial release in 2001, DONNIE DARKO quickly became a cult classic via word-of-mouth
buzz -- and for very good reason. With its blend of fantasy, sci-fi and earnest
"tortured teen" drama, DONNIE DARKO is perhaps the best ‘80’s movie
ever to be made outside of the 80’s. Director Richard Kelly, only 25 when he made the
film, in which he uses visionary imagination to explore time travel, mental illness and
imaginary friends, while perfectly capturing what it felt like to be a teenage outcast at
the end of the 1980’s. This special director’s cut, which includes 20 extra
minutes, is a true cinematic treat for old fans and first-timers alike, with plenty of
surprises in store. October 2, 1988: just another ordinary day in Donnie Darko's (Jake
Gyllenhaal) teen-aged existence. He's taken his medication, watched Dukakis and Bush
debate and had dinner with the family. Suddenly, an outrageous accident occurs, which just
misses claiming Donnie's life. As Donnie begins to explore what it means to still be
alive, and in short order to be in love, he uncovers secrets of the universe that give him
a tempting power to alter time and destiny. With Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore,
Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Duval, Patrick Swayze and Noah Wylie.
Featuring music by Echo and the Bunnymen, Duran Duran, INXS, Joy Division and many more.
Sunday, April 2 – 6:30 PM
Director’s Cut Series
Restored and Uncut: HEAVEN’S GATE, 1980, Sony Repertory, 219 min.
Director Michael Cimino’s sprawling, epic anti-western was one of the most
hotly debated films of its time, a blockbuster that had spiraled out of control in the
budget department, nearly bankrupting United Artists and hastening the embattled
company’s sale to MGM. When it was released, many critics reacted to the hoopla and
negative hype, instead of the actual content of the film. Today, though still
controversial, the film has undergone significant re-appraisal and its considerable
virtues are now widely recognized. Many consider it a masterpiece, especially in its uncut
form, the version Cimino had originally intended for release. Kris Kristofferson is
a sheriff caught in the middle of mounting tensions between affluent landowners and newly
arrived homesteaders in 1890’s Wyoming. Complicating matters is a burgeoning love
triangle between Kristofferson, his paramour, Ella (Isabelle Huppert) and hired
gun, Christopher Walken. Introduction by Sony film
preservationist John Kirk and cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond TBC.
Thursday, April 6– 7:30 PM
Director’s Cut Series- Full Length
European Version!!
QUEIMADA (aka BURN!), 1969, UA (Sony Repertory), 132 min. Dir. Gillo Pontecorvo.
Cut by nearly 20 minutes before its U.S. release, this controversial real life saga of
19th century British colonials instigating a slave revolt to serve their own imperialist
agenda, is a trenchant allegory of U.S. interference in the Caribbean, and features one of
Marlon Brando's most mesmerizing performances as the bigger-than-life Sir William
Walker. |
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