Saturday night, I visited the Pacific Film Archive to see Teresa Venerdì, a 1941 screwball comedy directed by and starring Vittorio De Sica. (When the film was finally released in the USA in 1951, it was renamed Doctor, Beware.) If the phrase "screwball comedy directed by and starring Vittorio De Sica" makes your head want … Continue reading Anna Magnani, Vittorio De Sica, Teresa Venerdì, and screwball comedy at the Pacific Film Archive
Category: First-person Report
Strauss, Powell, Leone, and Eastwood: Sunday evening at the Pacific Film Archive
I really wish the Pacific Film Archive allowed eating. When you go to two movies, the first starting at 5:00, hunger can become a problem. And yet I managed it Sunday afternoon/evening. I saw two very different movies, both by filmmakers I respect. Both were in scope, and presented in 35mm prints. Other than that, … Continue reading Strauss, Powell, Leone, and Eastwood: Sunday evening at the Pacific Film Archive
San Francisco portion of Jewish Festival ends with Mr. Spock
Sunday night I attended the last screening at the Castro Theatre for this year's San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. The festival itself will continue in other Bay Area locations. The film was For The Love of Spock, Adam Nimoy's loving tribute to his father, Leonard, and the character that made his father famous. Adam Nimoy, … Continue reading San Francisco portion of Jewish Festival ends with Mr. Spock
Russian Ark & Buena Vista Social Club: Saturday night at the Pacific Film Archive
I saw Aleksandr Sokurov's Russian Ark and Wim Wender's Buena Vista Social Club Saturday night at the Pacific Film Archive. The first film was part of the ongoing series Guided Tour: Museums in Cinema. The second one closed the long-running series Wim Wenders: Portraits Along the Road. But they had an interesting thing in common. … Continue reading Russian Ark & Buena Vista Social Club: Saturday night at the Pacific Film Archive
Sunday Docs at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
I went to the Castro Sunday afternoon to catch two documentaries screening at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. It wasn't until Monday before I realized what they had in common. Both centered on a very old person. A German Life Brunhilde Pomsel, 103 when she was interviewed for this film, worked as a secretary … Continue reading Sunday Docs at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
Adapting Shakespeare: Ran and Chimes at Midnight
400 years after his death, people still love William Shakespeare. I can think of no other story teller whose works have remained popular so long. His talent, obviously, has a lot to do with it. But so is his adaptability. His plays, written with almost no stage directions, give actors and directors countless interpretations. Most … Continue reading Adapting Shakespeare: Ran and Chimes at Midnight
Late Spring at the Pacific Film Archive
As people grow, the way they relate to their family inevitably changes. Some fight the change, and others accept it. I went to the Pacific Film Archive Wednesday night to see Yasujirô Ozu's 1949 masterpiece, Late Spring, about a young woman resisting change. She wants to stay with her widowed father, but he senses that … Continue reading Late Spring at the Pacific Film Archive
3 Views of America: What I saw in theaters this weekend
I saw three movies in theaters this weekend. Free State of Jones at the Elmwood Being a history buff, and particularly one interested in the Civil War and reconstruction, I couldn't help rushing out to see Gary Ross' Free State of Jones. I caught it at the Elmwood. Matthew McConaughey stars as an actual historical … Continue reading 3 Views of America: What I saw in theaters this weekend
Friday at the PFA
I caught two very different films, from two very different series, at the Pacific Film Archive Friday night. Both films were shown without an introduction. Bachelor's Affairs This was the second screening of the UCLA Festival of Preservation 2016 series, and the first in that series that I was able to attend. Before the feature, … Continue reading Friday at the PFA
Kings of the Road at the PFA
I caught Kings of the Road Friday night at the Pacific Film Archive. It was the opening show of the series Wim Wenders: Portraits Along the Road. Like most of the films in this long series (it plays through July), Kings is the beneficiary of a recent 4K restoration. Therefore, the PFA projected the 1976, … Continue reading Kings of the Road at the PFA
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