| Special One Night Events &
Limited Engagements in May:
Discuss this series with other film fans on:
http://www.myspace.com/americancinematheque
Thursday, May 1 – 7:30 PM SOLD OUT
Sneak Preview!
IRON MAN, 2008, Paramount, 125 min. Dir. Jon Favreau.
Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark, a dissolute industrialist who builds a heavily
weaponized suit of armor and becomes a super-hero after a near-death incident, in this
big-budget Marvel Comics adaptation. With Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard and Gwyneth
Paltrow. Discussion following with director Jon Favreau. Proceeds go
to Aero Building Fund Donation: $20 at the theatre only. http://ironmanmovie.marvel.com/
Friday, May 2 – 7:30 PM
George Eastman House New Restorations!
BORN TO BE BAD, 1950, Warner Bros. 94 min. Dir. Nicholas
Ray. Joan Fontaine looks sweet and innocent on the surface, but after she
steals millionaire Zachary Scott away from another woman, she continues an illicit
affair with novelist Robert Ryan. Things just get more complicated from there in
this energetic, daring and slightly nasty little melodrama. One of Nicholas Ray's best
early films, and certainly his most audacious up until JOHNNY GUITAR. With Mel Ferrer.
Plus prior to the feature, short "How to
Vote" (1936, 10 min.) Dir. Felix Feist. A whimsical exercise with Robert
Benchley, famed humorist of the ’30s & ’40s who made a series of droll and
satirical shorts about middle class American life. GEH gratefully acknowledges The Film
Foundation and The Hollywood Foreign Press Association for providing preservation funding.
Patrick Loughney, Curator of the George Eastman House Motion Picture Department will
introduce the screening.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042275/
Wednesday, May 21 – 7:30 PM
All New Film Aesthetics Seminar!
CONNECTING THE DOTS: WHAT INSPIRES AN ARTIST?
(120 min)
Presented with support from ELMA
What inspires the visual and narrative construction of a Scorsese, Yimou, Lynch,
Miyazaki, Coen or Dardenne Brothers film? European film movements of the 1920s to the
1990s have often been cited as focal points to understanding the work of our reigning
masters of cinema. Whether it is through Italian Neo-Realism, French Poetic Realism,
French New Wave, ’70s New German Cinema or Dogma 95, this seminar, led by film
consultant Thomas Ethan Harris, will help you to understand the founding principles
of each revolutionary European film movement and how important each is to the design of
cinema today.
Whether it is Surrealism and German Expressionism of the
20s, French Poetic Realism of the 30s, Italian Neo Realism of the 40s, the French New Wave
and the Italian Renaissance Cinema of the 50s and 60s, the New German Cinema of the 70s or
even Dogma 95 Cinema of the late 90s, European Film Movements have often been sighted as
focal points to understanding and appreciating the work of our reigning, contemporary
masters of cinema.
For most of us, it is easy to find the surrealist impulses in a David Lynch film. That
is easy.
But did you know that the masterworks of Woody Allen, Pedro Almodovar, Paul Thomas
Anderson, David Cronenberg, Mike Leigh (to say nothing of Hitchcock, Sayajit Ray, John
Cassavetes, and Akira Kurosawa), owe a heavy debt of gratitude to French Poetic Realists,
the Italian Masters of the 60s, and the New German Cinema artists of the 70s? What exactly
can be said about the current American Independent scene with out acknowledging its ties
to Dogma 95 and Neo Realism?
In this artistically empowering seminar, film aesthetics consultant Thomas Ethan Harris
will define what film movements are, how and why they come to exist and why certain film
movements continue to inspire film artists today.
Close attention will be place on the tenants that define each European Film Movement
before boldly demonstrating on how these traditions have been so uniquely and creatively
embraced and integrated into the work of so many of today’s most acclaimed
filmmakers.
Film clips will be used to inspire an open dialogue with the audience.
So join us as we "connect the dots" to discover what exactly inspires a film
artist!
Great works of art don’t just happen! They are born from creative inspiration!
Our WHAT INSPIRES AN ARTIST seminar is another offering to move emerging filmmakers to
think more deeply and more creatively about the construction of their images and the
necessity of creating a more intricate, complex and personally realized cinema. Moving
beyond the most basic forms of cinematic language is essential to having the film career
you want. Learning how to effectively embrace and understand the functionality of the
primary "visualizing components" of great cinematic construction (the close-up,
the long take, mise-en scene, color schemes, film editing styles, sound design, production
design…) is critical to establishing yourself in the U.S.’s crowded film arena.
To make great cinema is to know what came before…and transcend it!
We hope that you will join us!
Special Ticket Prices: $20 General Admission;
$15 Student/Senior; $12 AC Members.
Thursday, May 22 – 7:30 PM
Kevin Thomas’ Favorites:
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 whose budget had spiraled out of control,
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 1890s
Wyoming. Complicating matters is a burgeoning love triangle between Kristofferson, his
paramour, Ella (Isabelle Huppert), and hired gun Christopher Walken. Film Critic Kevin Thomas will introduce the screening. |
