The calendar has sure picked up from last week. The Castro presents six Hitchcock double bills this week. Most of them are relatively obscure, and with good reason. Except the first double bill, they're not his best work. I've concentrated those listings at the bottom of this newsletter. And the Pacific Film Archive opens from … Continue reading What’s Screening: January 7 – 13
Upcoming One- (and Two-) Night Stands
I got a chance to preview two foreign films that will make very brief Bay Area appearances next week. If you don't catch them now, you may never get another chance. A- Sawako Decides, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Thursday, January 13, 7:30; Sunday, January 16, 1:00. How do you manage in a highly … Continue reading Upcoming One- (and Two-) Night Stands
America Lost & Found: The BBS Story
Yes, this is another Blu-ray review coming out of my my PC World Blu-ray boxed set gift guide. If you've read Peter Biskind's excellent history of Hollywood in the 70s, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood, you know something about BBS, the small, short-lived production company that changed everything. … Continue reading America Lost & Found: The BBS Story
My Top 10 Movie-Going Experiences of 2010
I didn't see enough new movies last year to do a top ten list. And I didn't cover enough festivals to do a Festival Top 10, either. So instead, here are my top 10 movie-going experiences of 2010. Half of these were silent film screenings. This was a great year for silents--dominated by Metropolis and … Continue reading My Top 10 Movie-Going Experiences of 2010
What’s Screening: December 31 – January 6
Sorry, folks, but the only things playing this week that I've got enough knowledge to talk about are the last pieces of the Mifune x Kurosawa : A Beautiful Man series at the VIZ Cinema. Things should pick up when the holidays are over. A+ Seven Samurai, VIZ Cinema, Sunday, 1:30. f you think all … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 31 – January 6
The Bridge On the River Kwai Blu-ray Collector’s Edition
So here we are with another war film set (and shot) in the jungle. And like the previous one I wrote about, The African Queen, Bridge On the River Kwai was produced by Sam Spiegel. Aside from that, the only things these films have in common are that they were made in the 1950s and … Continue reading The Bridge On the River Kwai Blu-ray Collector’s Edition
What’s Screening: December 24 – 30
Once again, slim pickings plus the last rattle of Kurosawa Centennial Fever. A+ It's a Wonderful Life, Stanford, Friday, 9:00. There’s a rarely-acknowledged dark side to Frank Capra’s feel-good fable. George Bailey (James Stewart) saves his town and earns the love of his neighbors, but only at the expense of his own dreams and desires. … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 24 – 30
Upcoming Festivals
How long can the Bay Area go without film festivals? Obviously not that long. These festivals will (hopefully) delight local cinephiles in early 2011: German Gems, January 14 – 16, Castro. Berlin & Beyond may be gone, but this new festival (only the second year) seems to filling its slot—both on the calendar and in … Continue reading Upcoming Festivals
San Francisco Film Museum
I received an emailed holiday card this morning from the San Francisco Film Museum. I'd never heard of the place. So I had to check out the web site. Let's start with the bad news: There is no San Francisco Film Museum in the strict sense of the word. There is no building in which … Continue reading San Francisco Film Museum
What’s Screening: December 17 – 23
As Akira Kurosawa's centennial year comes to a close, someone in the Bay Area had to get in one more Kurosawa series. That someone is the VIZ Cinema, and if it wasn't for them, there would only be two items in this week's newsletter. And one of those two would still be Kurosawa! Hey, he's … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 17 – 23
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