Veterans' Day Discount

By Devin Wachs, Public Relations Manager, BMFI

Today, Veterans' Day, Bryn Mawr Film Insitute honors our nation's troops by offering discounted admission for all films playing today to anyone who presents their military ID.

Just show your military ID at the Box Office and receive BMFI members' price admission ($5) to any show all day long. We're currently featuring the Sundance hit Martha Marcy May Marlene and The Ides of March, directed by and starring George Clooney. Both films are showing at 4:00, 7:15, and 9:30 today.

Thank you for your service to our country.

Film Preservationist Robert A. Harris: The Winning Question

By Devin Wachs,  Public Relations Manager, BMFI

We at BMFI are looking forward to hosting renowned film preservationist and producer Robert A. Harris for a dinner and multimedia talk on Thursday, December 1. Tickets are available now at the Box Office and online here.

One lucky winner will attending the lecture for free! Last week, we offered two tickets to Mr. Harris's lecture to the person who came up with the best question to ask Mr. Harris (as judged by BMFI staff). I hope you'll all come to the event and ask your questions in person, but we can only have one winner.

And the free tickets go to... Alan Webber! If he could ask one question of Mr. Harris, this is what he'd ask:

Vertigo is certainly one of the most beautiful films ever made and the use of color has meaning in the film. The “green” of Madeleine’s Jaguar is repeated elsewhere in the film and is no “ordinary green”. How does the preservationist assure that this “green” doesn’t become “ordinary” in the preservation process and adheres to Hitchcock’s original color scheme of over 50 years ago?

That is one detailed question! I for one look forward to hearing Mr. Harris's answer in person on December 1. Thanks to everyone who submitted their questions. You can read the other entries in the comments here.

Alan, congratulations, and please contact me to redeem your tickets.

Win Tickets to Meet Hollywood Film Preservationist Robert A. Harris

By Devin Wachs, Public Relations Manager

Not unlike Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady (which Robert A. Harris restored), sometimes films need to be refreshed and polished to be seen for the beauties they are. Film preservationist Robert A. Harris is both Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering to these tarnished gems, gently cajoling new color and life out of some of the twentieth century's best cinematic masterpieces. Learn about his fascinating process and hear his stories of Hollywood past and present at a special illustrated lecture and dinner on Thursday, December 1.

In addition to My Fair Lady, Robert A. Harris is responsible for restoring Lawrence of Arabia, The Godfather trilogy, Vertigo, Rear Window, Spartacus, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, and more. A fascinating man (and quite the raconteur), he has numerous stories from the Hollywood trenches as a producer (The Grifters) and film preservationist.

A scene from The Godfather, before (left) and after Robert A. Harris's restoration.

Be a Winner:
Do you want to find out about where he gets the film prints that he restores? What it was like to work with Martin Scorsese and David Lean? How the change from 35mm to digital effects film preservation?

In the comments here, post one question you'd like to ask Robert A. Harris. We'll choose our favorite question. The author will receive two tickets to hear Robert A. Harris's illustrated lecture in the theater, where they'll be able to ask him in person!

Entries must be posted by Monday, November 7 at noon. We'll announce the winners next week.

Please note: When posting your comment, you will be asked to select a log-in from a list. If you do not have a Google account, etc., please select either 1) "Name/URL", which requires that you have a valid website address of your own, or 2) "Anonymous". If you select the latter, please be sure to sign your name in the post. Thanks!

BMFI Manager Alexis Mayer: Why I Love DEAD MAN

BMFI Theater Manager and film preservationist Alexis Mayer writes about why she loves Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man, which is being shown tonight in conjunction with BMFI's Film Education Spotlight series and four-week course on Jarmusch's films. Her take on the "acid western" is the latest in a series of posts began this summer about the movies that BMFI's staff and community members love.

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Why I Love Dead Man
By Alexis Mayer, Theater Manager

The first time I saw Dead Man was sometime in 2009 in Rochester New York. I was lucky enough to catch it in 35mm. Something terrible had happened that day and so I went in a daze and came to at the end when [SPOILER ALERT] William Blake (Johnny Depp) is in the canoe staring up at the sky as it floats away from the shore. It's a powerful moment and I realized, "Wow, this is an amazing movie, and I just missed the entire thing!" 

The film is full of these moments. When I actually saw it (on DVD this time), I had to watch it a second time the very next day. It's one of the few films that I can say I enjoy watching over and over and over again. My favorite thing about this film is it's tone. It's a fantasy western shot in black and white with stunning scenes, an incredible original score by Neil Young, and weird characters played by actors like Crispin Glover. 

I find myself lingering on every bit of dialogue; it's purposeful, clever, and funny in a way that is nothing short of perfect. One of my favorite lines is when John Dickinson (Robert Mitchum) tells Conway Twill (Michael Wincott), "You're a real good killer, but be sure you keep that goddamn trap shut." Another is during my favorite scene in the woods when Big George Drakoulious (Billy Bob Thornton) asks his friend Salvatore 'Sally' Jenko (Iggy Pop), "What's a Philistine?" and Sally responds, "Well, it's just a real dirty person." 

Dead Man is full of cameos, like Iggy Pop's cross-dressing
Salvatore "Sally" (left), shown here with star Johnny Depp.

This movie is so good! Don't miss the chance to see it today in 35mm at Bryn Mawr Film Institute!

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Theater Manager Alexis Mayer is a film handler and projectionist with a B.F.A. in Visual and Media Arts from Emerson College and a professional certificate in the Preservation and Restoration of Motion Picture Films from the L. Jefferey Selznick School of Film Preservation.

See Dead Man tonight, Tuesday, November 1 at 7:00 pm. Film critic and author Chris Long, M.A., will introduce the screening. Watch a trailer and buy tickets here.

We Have a Winner for "The Late Show" Film Series Programming Contest!

By Devin Wachs, Public Relations Manager

Thank you for everyone's amazing suggestions for our newest film series, "The Late Show," which will feature an eclectic mix of cult films showing on Friday nights at 10:30 pm. We had 23 responses! You can read them all in the comments here.

You made it very difficult to choose a winner, but we had to pick just one, so... drum roll please... 

Congratulations, Ann Capozzolo! Of all the films that were suggested, we've chosen to show Head, the Monkees' trippy 1968 flick, on Friday, March 30. Here is Ann's winning entry, which will also be reprinted in the next issue of Projections, our quarterly programming guide:

Please consider the [1968] movie Head starring the Monkees. This plotless film did what the creators wanted: showed the ‘zany, goofy’ Monkees in a different light. Written and produced by Bob Rafelson and a pre-Easy Rider Jack Nicholson, Head captures psychedelia in a raw and avant-garde way. Sprinkled amongst the psychedelic chaos are some great musical numbers and unusual cameos (Annette Funicello, anyone?) to spot.

Ann, you'll receive four tickets for you and your friends to see Head on the big screen. You will all receive the VIP treatment that night, with complimentary popcorns and drinks. You can also introduce the film as well if you'd like—but you don’t have to if you don’t want to. And, of course, your winning entry will be credited in Projections and on our blog!

If you're wondering, a winner was chosen based on 1) how the suggested film fit with the rest of the series and its purpose, 2) how well-written and convincing the entry was, and 3) film availability (a necessary reality).

Even if you didn't win this time, don't fret. There will be other contests!

Halloween Chills at BMFI

By Mike Mazzanti, BMFI Intern

It’s the time of year for costumes, pumpkins, and stores filled with aisle-after-aisle of candy. This week Bryn Mawr Film Institute celebrates with two spooky events, one R-rated and one for the whole family.

For those still donning masks, exotic get-ups, and wielding all assortments of weapons, wands, and pillow cases, Bryn Mawr Film Institute has a family-friendly movie just for you! On Saturday, October 29, three evil witches will haunt the screen in Disney’s Hocus Pocus, the spooky story about a brother and sister who accidently awaken an ancient evil. This campy family flick, which stars Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker, concludes BMFI's month of Kids Matinees devoted to kid-friendly scares.

In Disney's Hocus Pocus, Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler, and Sarah Jessica Parker (left to right) play the Sanderson sisters, three nasty witches transported to modern-day Salem.

However, if going door-to-door and saying “Trick or treat!” to neighbor after neighbor doesn’t cut it anymore, we still have you covered. Tonight, Tuesday, October 25, BMFI will feature the provocative, atmospheric, and twisted sci-fi horror flick Splice. After two genetic engineers (Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley) attempt to splice the DNA of humans and animals together, things go disturbingly awry. You can ask real-life genetic researcher Dr. Janet Sawicki about the facts behind the fiction when she introduces the film, which is shown as part of Bryn Mawr Hospital's "What's Up, Doc?" series.

Sarah Polley (right) stars as one of the overzealous scientists in Splice whose experiments create the hybrid creature Dren (Delphine Chanéac), with dangerous consequences for all.

So, whether you’re moonlighting as a superhero or fairy princess with a pillowcase for the night, or are handing out endless pieces of candy to Hannah Montana and Captain America, you’re sure to find a perfectly eerie October at BMFI.

Contest: Choose a Film for BMFI’s New Film Series!

By Devin Wachs, Public Relations Manager, BMFI

Attention, film geeks! Bryn Mawr Film Institute is programming a brand new series of screenings starting in January. Called “The Late Show,” this BYO series will feature an eclectic mix of five cult films showing on Friday nights at 10:30 pm.

“It’s going to be awesome,” says Valerie Temple, BMFI’s Programming Coordinator. “There’s a lot of fun, unusual fare out there that is rarely shown. We want to spotlight it.”

Best yet, you get to decide one of the films that we’re showing! That’s right, we’re taking your suggestions.

How it Works:
In the comments section below, write the title of the film that you’d like us to show, and a few sentences about why you think we should feature it. (Hint: Try to make it something that isn’t shown in theaters very often.) Make sure to leave your name!* Entries are due by Wednesday, October 19 at 6:00 pm. We’ll announce the winner on Thursday, October 20, right here on our blog.

We’ll choose the film suggestion and write-up that we like best from your entries, and (pending film availability) it will be the final film in the series!

What You Win:
If you’re selected, you’ll win four tickets for you and your friends to go see the movie you chose on the big screen, plus four popcorn and drink passes. A version of your write-up will appear in Projections, our programming guide, and on our blog (with credit, of course). You can also introduce the film the night of the event as well—but you don’t have to if you don’t want to.

I look forward to reading your entries!

*Please Note: When posting your comment, you will be asked to select a log-in from a list. If you do not have a Google account, etc., please select either 1) "Name/URL", which requires that you have a valid website address of your own, or 2) "Anonymous". If you select the latter, please be sure to sign your name in the post.

California Lawsuit Brings Theater Clearance Zones to Forefront

By Juliet Goodfriend, President, Bryn Mawr Film Institute

Last week the Los Angeles Times published an article detailing the lawsuit brought against Cinemark, one of the top theater chains, by the owners of the Palme d'Or, an independent theater in Palm Desert, California. The suit, which reporter Richard Verrier calls a "David-versus-Goliath battle in the desert," cites that Cinemark, which operates a nearby theater complex, has been "circuit dealing", using their clout to prevent distributors from allowing the smaller Palme d'Or to certain films. You can read the full article here.

This article brings to the foreground an unfair competitive practice that has troubled BMFI for years: chain theaters drawing unreasonable non-compete zones (so-called "clearance zones") around them and not letting independent theaters show the same film at the same time (showing "day and date"). In our region it is mostly the Clearview Bala and Anthony Wayne that we struggle against; rarely the Narberth.

The good news for BMFI is that distributors have learned that their films will earn much more here than at the local chains, so we are more likely to get the movies we want, when we want them. And we think you'll enjoy them more at our theater.

The legal case in California will no doubt unearth an older case in Philadelphia between the Roxy and the Ritz. The Roxy lost that one. Let's see how the new case comes out--maybe the little guy will win for once.

Juliet Goodfriend's Take on the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival

Toronto International Film Festival 2011
by Juliet J. Goodfriend, Executive Director, BMFI

This year, as in years past, I feel frustrated that I missed as many good films as I saw. No, I didn’t get to Shame, or Crazy Horse, or We Need to Talk About Kevin, or Le Havre, or Martha Marcy May Marlene, or Faust. All missed because of scheduling overload and conflicts. Nevertheless, I found enough good movies to keep us very busy in 2011 and saw quite a few that you will be happy not to see at BMFI.

Programming Main Attractions is rife with distributor negotiations, and my having seen a great many films helps us narrow our battleground to the territory with the most potential—artistically and commercially. Below are my take on the 33 I did catch. It has taken some time to get this written, as I came home with a dreadful cold in addition to some good film impressions. (Did you follow my tweets after each film as the festival progressed?)


16 Films I Would Like to Get for BMFI:

Albert Nobbs (d. Rodrigo Garcia)
Glenn Close played this role of a male servant on stage and we who never saw it should be delighted that the movie is an excellent translation. It is a very tender treatment of gender uncertainty, class, and the meaning of love. Need more? Nope!

Albert Nobbs

The Artist (d. Michel Hazanavicius) is a mostly silent, black and white homage to Hollywood that feels so good you want it to last longer. It seems to be true that great directors yearn to make a silent. This one succeeded in spades. And the little dog adds just the right touch.

The Awakening (d. Nick Murphy)
At last, a ghost movie that I can really endorse. As with others of its genre, this takes place in a “haunted” boys’ school in England. But it seems to me to move beyond other tales by engaging in the analysis of the source of the ghostly mysteries: in early trauma and guilt of the heroine. The methods of ghost-killing are ingenious and the whole movie is well constructed and entertaining.

A Dangerous Method (d. David Cronenberg)
Despite an annoying performance by Keira Knightley, this film passes the test because of 1) Viggo Mortenson, 2) Michael Fassbinder and 3) the interesting interplay between Freud and Jung. As with several other period pieces this year, the mise en scene makes up for a number of weaknesses. This is a must-see for spouses of psychiatrists!

Death of a Superhero (d. Ian Fitzgibbon)
Making imaginative use of graphic novel animation, this movie puts us into the head of an adolescent cancer patient. It is not sentimental, but it captures his parent’s fraught attempts to cure him and his buddies’ well-meaning attempts to de-flower him before he dies. One would not expect to be entertained by a film dealing with pediatric oncology, but this boy and this film are special and believable.

The Descendants (d. Alexander Payne) is perhaps the best movie I saw at TIFF. Pictorially vivid and real scenes of Hawaii—a setting rarely used for dramatic movies—and real emotions about the hardest experiences in life: death, marital deception, family discord. George Clooney has never been better. Hardened movie industry guys were crying on my row.

The Descendants

Flying Machine (d. Martin Clapp, Dorota Kobiela, Geoff Lindsey)
Starring Lang Lang playing Chopin, what a charming interlude for me during the hectic TIFF. The music is marvelous, the animation and live action lovely to look at but not tightly tied with a terrific plot. Instead the point is for parents to pay attention to their inner souls and creativity and to be present and inspiring to their children. A good moral, indeed. And with enough plusses that I would love to show it to our younger audiences, and I’d go again just to hear Lang play. He is voiced by another actor!

Footnote (d. Joseph Cedar) is an Israeli film that reveals and revels in a father-son schtick as only university-based Talmudic scholars could endure. Father-son issues date to Abraham and Isaac. Here the sacrifice takes a turn. A must see for male academics--both fathers and sons. I liked it very much, too.

Hysteria (d. Tanya Wexler)
OK, this goes over the top in a number of ways but it certainly tickled me! And that’s more than I would have expected from a history of hysteria. Except that it’s a history of vibrators--hence the giggles and fun. The credits alone are an education. It will captivate much of the movie-going audience, no matter their gender or age.

Hysteria

The Ides of March (d. George Clooney) is not a great movie. But it is good enough, especially as a directing effort of its star, and the acting of Ryan Gosling. My fault with it is its lack of genuine originality. We’ve seen this film before, and this treatment is very smooth and professional, but it does not offer warmth or human empathy. Nevertheless, it is engrossing and you don’t want to leave before it’s over. The ending will enrage some and delight others.

I’m Carolyn Parker: The Good, the Mad, and the Beautiful (d. Jonathan Demme) is the first film produced by our aspirational arthouse model, Jacob Burns Film Center, so I went to see it out of loyalty. It tells the tale of a remarkably out-spoken and determined resident of the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans following Katrina. We would all be better off with more Carolyn Parkers in our neighborhoods, that’s for sure.

In Darkness (d. Agnieszka Holland)
If two and a half hours in a sewer is not too hard on your senses, then see this film. As one friend said, it’s actually a refreshing relief when one character escapes the sewer to voluntarily go to a concentration camp! Nevertheless, this true story of the fourteen-month ordeal of a group of Polish Jews during the Holocaust is worth the stench and dampness. The “Righteous” Polish sewer worker who cared for “his Jews” experiences a genuine moral dilemma as his work endangers his family and co-workers. We still need to see these stories on film. And this director does not spare us the harsh realities. I did object to her stealing Spielberg’s red touches from Schindler’s List! A petty complaint, perhaps.

In Darkness

The Island President (d. Jon Shenk )
In this excellent documentary we follow, very intimately, the efforts of the young President of the Maldives who, at age 42, overturned a 30-year dictator and took on the task of saving this archipelago of 2000 islands from certain destruction by the rising seas of our man-made warmer climate. He has not yet achieved his goal, but watching him learn (and then teach) diplomacy and will pique the interest of all doc audiences. How his efforts are stunted by China and the USA, to name but a couple of challengers, will reconfirm our distrust of large nations’ motivations to correct the destructive direction of their societies.

The Kid with a Bike (d. the Dardenne Brothers) is just about perfect: characters you really care about, insights into the hearts of a troubled boy and a well-meaning foster mother, good pace and enough plot to keep you interested. These directors typically deal with troubled children or families, but never better than this time.

Page Eight (d. David Hare) is the smart and sophisticated spy story that one expects from this fine stage writer-director, and it doesn’t let you down. Bill Nighy is the cool spy whose every move is calculated to keep you wanting to see more. Why couldn’t this be the first of a long series? Even alone it is well worth the time. And there’s Michael Gambon, Ralph Fiennes, and Rachel Weisz showing their best as well.

Samsara (d. Ron Fricke) Transformative and transporting photography with a message that if nature isn’t destroying the earth, man certainly is. This is an utterly beautiful movie: think National Geographic and Koyaanisqatsi combined and HD enhanced. As huge scenes of nature or of mankind are captured in seemingly horizon-less views, they are instantly deconstructed into their composite details. And the power of the moving picture to create a mind-changing perspective is proven once again, e.g. I will never eat chicken that is not from my daughter’s farm again!

Samsara

14 Films I Would Not Bring to BMFI (not counting the ones I won’t even bother to list)

360 (d. Fernando Meirelles)
Almost a good movie, but not. One does wonder how there can be so many dumb women involved with bad men. And then one wonders who all these women are because it’s very hard to tell them apart.

Almayer’s Folly (d. Chantal Akerman)
Interesting to transplant Joseph Conrad’s 1895 novel to the 1950s in Malaysia. It is a beautiful but very slow-moving film that is good for a certain mood, but I am not certain what that mood would be.

Always Brando (d. Ridha Behi)
The scenery of Tunisia and the looks of the Brando double don’t compensate for the film’s weak premise and execution.

Damsels in Distress (d.Whit Stillman)
There may be some co-eds who identify with, or laugh at this, but not many, I bet. There was one very funny line (I bet it will be in the trailer) and for the rest, you have to like Greta Gerwig a lot. It was another disappointment.

Dark Horse (d. Todd Solondz)
This was one of several disappointments of the festival. The great cast had no material and poor direction (from a good writer-director) and there was no reason to expect the characters will ever grow up or amount to anything.

Elles (d. Malgorzata Szumowska)
Too much deviant kiddy porn as Juliette Binoche examines female sexuality among young prostitutes for an article she is writing. Binoche is always a pleasure to watch, but did I really want to see her masturbate? As we sometimes tell our exploring toddlers, “Not in the living room, in your own room,” and that goes for theaters, too.

Into the Abyss (d. Werner Herzog)
Not his best and who wants to get inside these dreadful characters anyway?

Keyhole (d. Guy Maddin)
Canada’s favorite experimental filmmaker muddled up some aspects of the Odyssey with his family’s home and his memory of growing up. Neither evocative nor interesting to me, though I liked his My Winnepeg.

Neil Young Journeys (d. Jonathan Demme)
Not very interesting, but lots of good lyrics (bad tunes) and whiskers.

Rampart (d. Oren Moverman)
I loved this director’s The Messenger, but this film was too raw and harsh. Woody Harrelson is excellent, but I could not watch it for very long.

This Side of Resurrection (d. Joaquim Sapinho)
Good surfing photography. End of story.

Trishna (d. Michael Winterbottom)
Moving Tess of the D’Urbervilles (Thomas Hardy) to current day rural and urban India made this movie a sure-fire travelogue but a dull tale. Another disappointment.

Twixt (d. Francis Ford Coppola)
This teaches the lesson that really great directors can trip and fall. Coppola inserts 3-D only twice in his return to the horror story genre. While that’s fun, it doesn’t help. Nor does it help that there is a connection in the plot and his personal family life. The master misses.

The Woman in the Fifth (d. Pawel Pawlikowski)
Another big disappointment from Kristin Scott Thomas and Ethan Hawke, both of whom seem dead in this film. Nothing to recommend it, though a lot of the audience waited till the end to leave and moan rather than bolting half way through.

Labor Day Movies

By Zoe Portman, BMFI Intern

In honor of Labor Day, here are six films that all reflect pride in the power of the common laborer and their ability to organize. Celebrate the end of summer and the return to work by recognizing the sacrifices of workers across the years.  

1) The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Based on John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath stars Henry Fonda as Tom Joad, a migrant worker during the Depression, traveling from Oklahoma to California with his family. Despite overwhelming poverty, the Joads manage to keep their family together, because they are “the people.” Both John Steinbeck and director John Ford were later investigated by Senator McCarthy due to the pro-union stance of the film.

2) Salt of the Earth (1954)

This story of Mexican miners living in New Mexico who go on strike for humane working and living conditions was made by workers who were blacklisted from Hollywood due to Communist leanings. Starring few professional actors, actual miners appeared in Salt of the Earth, which was purposefully suppressed and shown in very few theaters at the time of its release, due to the controversial subject matter. (This film will be shown as part of BMFI's Film History Discussion Series: 1945-Present later this fall.)

3) On the Waterfront (1954)

On the Waterfront stars Marlon Brando at his glowering best as dockworker Terry Malloy who confronts a corrupt labor boss Johnny Friendly. Friendly controls the docks and all dockworkers, and no one is willing to tell the police about his crimes, until Terry finds the courage to speak up. This film is always "a contender."

4) Matewan (1987)

John Sayles's Matewan depicts the struggle of West Virginian coal miners in the 1920s. A union organizer comes to town, attempting to unite workers of different races while struggling against a union infiltrator who attempts to incite violence. The mythic tone of the story is underscored by the realism of its characters, and the film is praised for its strong performances.

5) Harlan County, USA (1976)

This documentary chronicles a nearly year-long miners strike in Harlan County, Kentucky. Told through interviews with miners and their families, Harlan County, USA is unremitting in its images of poor working conditions, while the presence of the camera crew at the strike is credited with limiting the violence enacted against the striking miners.

6) Norma Rae (1979)

Sally Fields won the Best Actress Academy Award for portraying Norma Rae, a textile worker who attempts to unionize her mill despite the riffs it causes in her personal life and the dangers of antagonizing the factory.



BMFI will be showing regularly scheduled main attractions this week, but if you're in the mood for a more topical film, you can check these out.



Zoe Portman is a Film Studies student entering her fourth year at Hampshire College. She recently completed an internship at Bryn Mawr Film Institute.