Calendar
Two Years At Sea
Oct 26 - Nov 01, 2012
British filmmaker Ben Rivers' first feature Two Years At Sea is a nearly-wordless portrait of a man called Jake who lives a solitary existence in a Scottish forest in Aberdeenshire. Jake is seen in all seasons, surviving frugally, passing the time with strange projects, and living the radical dream he had as a younger man which he spent two years working at sea to realize.
Detropia
Seattle Premiere!
Oct 19 - Nov 01, 2012
(Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, USA, 2012, Blu-ray, 90 min)
The latest vitally-important film to explore the disintegration of modern urban life, Detropia looks at crumbling buildings, foreclosed homes, and loss of same in Detroit. The city’s deterioration is seen from buses and subways to cultural institutions like opera, as directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady look for answers and infuse their film with a good dose of humor and even some hope.
The Rolling Stones - Charlie is My Darling
Nov 01, 2012
(Peter Whitehead, Ireland, 1965, Blu-ray)
ABKCO Films presents a meticulously restored and fully-realized version of this first-ever, legendary, but never released film. Shot during a quick tour of Ireland just weeks after “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” hit # 1 on the charts, The Rolling Stones - Charlie is my Darling - Ireland 1965 is an intimate, behind-the-scenes diary of life on the road with the young Stones. It features the first professionally-filmed concert performances of the band and documents the early frenzy of their fans and the riots the band’s appearances inspired.
In Conversation: Julio Ramirez
Free!
Nov 02, 2012
Our free quarterly In Conversation series is moderated by Warren Etheredge, as he joins local filmmakers in conversation about their process. Our inaugural program features a new project by filmmaker Julio Ramirez.
The Birds
New 35mm print!
Special introduction by film critic Tom Keogh!
Nov 02, 2012
(Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1963, 35mm, 120 min)
"Always make the audience suffer as much as possible," said Alfred Hitchcock, and we love him for tickling us while submerging us in the cold water of fear. With The Birds, Hitchcock lulls viewers into a real-world setting before unleashing the antagonists on them like a splash of cold water. When a wealthy socialite follows a potential boyfriend to a sleepy coastal California town the birds there suddenly start to attack. This cautionary tale is nearly 50 years old, but still feels timely. You’ll never look at a flock of birds the same way again.
Photographic Memory
Seattle Premiere!
Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2012
(Ross McElwee, USA 2011, Blu-ray, 87 min)
Filmmaker Ross McElwee (Sherman’s March, Bright Leaves) finds himself in frequent conflict with his son, a young adult seemingly addicted to and distracted by the virtual worlds of the internet. In an attempt to understand and connect, McElwee travels back to St. Quay-Portrieux in Brittany for the first time in decades to retrace his own journey into adulthood. He also hopes to track down his former employer, a fascinating Frenchman named Maurice, and Maud, a woman with whom he was romantically involved during that spring 38 years ago. Photographic Memory is a meditation on the passing of time, the praxis of photography and film, and the fractured love of a father for his son.
Frankenstein
Special introduction by TV host Warren Etheredge!
Nov 03, 2012
(James Whale, United States, 1931, 35mm, 70 min)
“It’s alive!” The words provoke a collective thrill for all lovers of horror, and have cemented this Frankenstein as the standard by which all later depictions of the monster are measured. Boris Karloff’s unforgettable performance, which would launch his career, shows the monster as more brutal—yet still more human—than even the novel could. Among horror stories in all media, Frankenstein stands alone, the face of Karloff still number one in our minds when we imagine the undead. Why watch the grandfather of all scary movies at home when you could see it on the big screen?
Dracula
Special introduction by film critic Robert Horton!
Nov 04, 2012
(Tod Browning, United States, 1931, 35mm, 75 min)
This landmark horror film isn’t just about a legend—it’s a legend in itself, from its chaotic production (you may notice certain plotlines disappear into thin air) to its main man, Bela Lugosi, in the most resounding performance of his career. One of the oldest depictions of Hollywood’s most-often-portrayed character, this Dracula still remains unmatched, the fanatical Renfield never more unnerving, the voice of the vampire never more magnetic. Don’t miss a chance to experience Dracula as the enthralled American public first experienced it…though we won’t censor the screams for you this time.
High Plains Drifter
Nov 05, 2012
(Clint Eastwood, United States, 1973, 35mm, 105 min)
After making a name for himself as a mainstay of spaghetti Westerns, Clint Eastwood stepped behind the camera and swiftly redefined the genre with a film that made John Wayne’s hair curl. High Plains Drifter tells of an anonymous gunslinger who, after being hired by a corrupt community to protect their town from vengeful outlaws, reveals an eerie agenda of his own. (You’ll never hear the phrase “paint the town red” the same way again.) Fans of the Western and/or the postmodern will forever remember Eastwood’s unsung antihero, who honors the genre even as he exposes its dark reverse.
All Quiet on the Western Front
Nov 06, 2012
(Lewis Milestone, United States, 1930, 35mm, 145 min)
Too rarely are classic novels done real justice on film, but Lewis Milestone’s wartime masterwork is a triumphant exception to the rule. All Quiet follows a troop of young German soldiers in World War I as they discover the difference between images of battle and battle itself. A stylistic inspiration for war films including Saving Private Ryan, whose sweeping crane shots may not have existed but for Milestone’s artistry, All Quiet is a harrowing and powerful exposé whose story has lost none of its relevance today. This is film’s definitive portrait of World War I and, perhaps, of war itself. Don’t miss it.
Winchester 73
Special introduction by film critic Richard Jameson!
Nov 07, 2012
(Anthony Mann, USA, 1950, 35mm, 105min)
Anthony Mann’s breakthrough hit and the first of his James Stewart westerns. Here he chases his murderous brother and a one-in-a-million Winchester rifle half-way across the West. The American action movie at its finest, the film also stars Shelley Winters, Stephen McNally and Tony Curtis (in one of his first screen roles.) Mann commented, "As for Winchester 73, that was one of my biggest successes. And it is also my favorite western. I really believe that it contains all the ingredients of the western, and that it summarizes them." Ironically, Mann replaced Fritz Lang at the beginning of shooting. Watch for a young Tony Curtis, and Rock Hudson as an Indian Brave!
Blind Husbands
Featuring a live score by Spencer Thun!
Nov 08, 2012
(Erich von Stroheim, United States, 1919, 35mm, 92 min)
In 1919, film tycoon Carl Laemmle took a risk on an inexperienced but earnest director: Erich von Stroheim, who would one day be one of the most famous names of the silent era. Blind Husbands propelled him to stardom, telling the story of an Austrian cavalryman who attempts to seduce an American doctor’s wife. The story’s moral grey areas and precise cinematography made it a masterpiece in 1919 and kept it as such long after the end of the silent era. Fans of psychological mind-benders won’t be able to forget Blind Husbands. This screening features a live score!
Jaws
New 35mm print!
Special introduction by film writer Alexandra Nakelski!
Nov 09, 2012
(Steven Spielberg, USA, 1975, 35mm, 124 min)
Amity Island had everything. Clear skies. Gentle surf. Warm water. People flocked there every summer. It was the perfect feeding ground... In 1974, veteran producers Richard Zanuck and David Brown chose a young 27-year-old director to do the impossible: film a feature project on location with a killer shark. Steven Spielberg was up to the task. 'Courage and stupidity.' That's what Spielberg said he was full of when he took the assignment. Based on the best-selling novel by the late Peter Benchley,Jaws went on to become an international cinematic sensation and established a new paradigm for motion-picture marketing and distribution.
We Won’t Grow Old Together
Nov 09 - Nov 15, 2012
(Maurice Pialet, France, 1972, 35mm, 110 min)
This autobiographical film from French master Maurice Pialat is the harrowing account of a relationship in breakdown. Painfully intimate and marked by Pialat's trademark blend of naturalism and psychologically penetrating formalistic experimentation, We Won't Grow Old Together is a wrenching account of emotional masochism. Starring Jean Yanne (who won the best actor award at Cannes for this role).
Howdy Pardner - Tales of the Cowboy Hat
Nov 10, 2012
Come saddle up for a rough-cut screening of Howdy Pardner - Tales of the Cowboy Hat, a documentary film that chronicles the rise, fall and rebirth of the cowboy hat as a symbol of the American spirit.
4Culture Art and WIF grant recipients David Wild and Lulu Gargiulo wil be there to talk about the project. Participate in an after-screening open discussion and questionnaire to provide feedback about the film - your opinions are appreciated. FREE ADMISSION!
Francis the Talking Mule
New 35mm print!
Nov 10, 2012
(Arthur Rubin, United States, 1950, 35mm, 91 min)
Soldier Peter Sterling has all the right information, from all the wrong places: no one in his troop will believe he’s been discussing military strategy with a talking mule! This wacky comedy was so successful that it spawned six sequels, and has all the charm today that it did in the 1950s (really, in the comedic world, can you get any more timeless than a hyper-intelligent mule?). Bring family and friends to see this classic comedy on the big screen and you might find yourselves wanting a sequel, too!
The Sting
New 35mm Print!
Nov 10, 2012
(George Roy Hill. USA, 1973, 35mm, 129 min)
The epitome of the 1970s buddy film, The Sting stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford as Depression-era con men. Newman is a seasoned, always drunk veteran who is game for one final score before retirement. With its Scott Joplin soundtrack and 1930s atmosphere, the film, which won an Oscar for Best Picture, is suffused with lighthearted wit and nostalgia.
Pillow Talk
New 35mm print!
Nov 11, 2012
(Michael Gordon, United States, 1959, 35mm, 102 min)
One of Hollywood’s most well-known screen couples, Rock Hudson and Doris Day, kicked off their partnership with this classic romantic comedy. Hudson’s Brad Allen and Day’s Jan Morrow are strangers who happen to share a phone line—and also happen to hate each other—until Brad decides to amuse himself by adopting a Texan accent and sweet-talking Jan over the phone. What’s he going to do when he realizes he’s fallen in love with Jan? Find out—and laugh out loud—in the stylish and saucy flick that earned Doris Day her first Academy Award nomination.
Do the Right Thing
Nov 12, 2012
(Spike Lee, United States, 1989, 35mm, 120 min)
Often cited as one of the most moving films ever to deal with racism in America, Spike Lee’s masterpiece is immediately both more comic and more nerve-wracking than can be imagined before it is experienced. Taking place over a scorching 24 hours across a few Brooklyn city blocks, the film assembles a crowd of characters facing tensions both racial and personal, goading the viewer to take a side as the tensions rise. This film—once protested by critics out of fear that it would provoke violence, and later declared one of the 10 best films of the 1980s—is a cultural landmark not to be missed.
The Magnificent Obsession
Nov 13, 2012
(Douglas Sirk, United States, 1954, 35mm, 108 min)
If ever a movie was made that could be called an American opera, then this was it: the story of a spoiled young man who falls in love with a widow after indirectly causing her husband’s death. The hero’s “obsession” with making compassion the new focus of his life plays out against saturated pictures of middle America, and even the leading man, Hollywood legend Rock Hudson, looks too perfect to be real. The irresistible allure of this modern fairytale makes it a must-see for film lovers and film historians alike.
The Incredible Shrinking Man
Nov 14, 2012
(Jack Arnold, 1957, USA, 81mins, 35mm)
Young marrieds Scott and Louise are out in their boat for a quiet weekend getaway. Suddenly enveloped in a strange mist, Scott is covered with a dust they at first think odd, but then don’t think much about. But in the days and weeks afterwards, what seems like nothing more than bad sunburn envelops Scott’s sense of manhood and then puts him at a bizarre threat. Despite the cheesy sensationalism of the title, this remains one of Universal’s and Hollywood’s smartest science fantasy films of the 1950s. The script is one of the best from Richard Matheson, with the H-bomb fallout that blew in from the US bomb tests in Bikini Atoll hanging heavy over its meaning; but like Invasion of the Body Snatchers it’s not just rich with Cold War paranoia, but also with hints at the 1950’s more private psychological anxieties. A pulp masterpiece and according to Universal, this is the last 35mm print of this movie in know existence
Bestiaire
Nov 16 - Nov 21, 2012
Denis Côté’s latest is a startling filmic picture book where both humans and animals are on display. As we observe them, they also observe us and one another, invoking the Hindu idea of darshan: a mutual beholding that initiates a shift in consciousness.
The Sheik and I
Seattle Premiere!
Nov 16 - Nov 21, 2012
(Caveh Zahedi, USA/United Arab Emirates, 2012, Blu-ray, 109 min)
Commissioned by a Middle Eastern Biennial to make a film on the theme of "art as a subversive act," independent filmmaker Caveh Zahedi (I Am A Sex Addict) goes overboard in The Sheik And I. Told that he can do whatever he wants except poke fun at the Sheik, who rules the country and finances the Biennial, Zahedi decides to do just that. His court jester antics fail to amuse, as Zahedi's film is banned for blasphemy and he is threatened with arrest and fatwa.
Bel Borba Aqui
Nov 23 - Nov 29, 2012
(Burt Sun and André Costantini, Brazil, 2012, Blu-ray, 95 min)
The Brazilian city of Salvador da Bahia has existed for 500 years, but its historic streets received a loud reawakening when native son Bel Borba launched his artistic career. Driven by curiosity about his city and love for the people who live there, Bel has used abandoned urban spaces as his canvas, and abandoned materials as the stuff of giant paintings and sculptures. Bel Borba Aqui turns the spotlight on a man who has erased the line between artist and citizen, in an explosively colorful ride soundtracked by the local music of Bahia. Bel is only one of this film’s two heroes: his hometown is the other.
Jack and Diane
Nov 23 - Nov 29, 2012
(Bradley Rust Grey, USA, 2011, Blu-ray, 106 min)
Jack and Diane (Juno Temple & Riley Keough) meet as two teenage girls in New York City and spend the night kissing ferociously. Diane’s charming innocence quickly begins to open Jack’s tough-skinned heart. But when Jack discovers that Diane is moving, she pushes her away. Unable to grasp hold of her new feelings, Diane's emotions begin to cause unexplainable, violent changes to her body. The girls must struggle through their awkward and insecure feelings to turn their first love into an enduring one. With an unforgettable cameo by Kylie Minogue and animation by the Brothers Quay, Jack and Diane is most definitely not like other teen romances you’ve seen.
Big Boys Gone Bananas
Nov 25, 2012
(Fredrik Gertten, 2012, Sweden, Blu-ray, 88 min)
What is a big corporation capable of in order to protect its brand? Swedish filmmaker Fredrik Gertten recently found out. His previous film Bananas! (2009) recounted a lawsuit brought by 12 Nicaraguan plantation workers against the fruit giant Dole Food Company. The film was selected for competition by the Los Angeles Film Festival. Nothing wrong so far, right? But then Gertten got a strange message: the festival removed Bananas! from competition. Next, a scathing article appeared in the Los Angeles Business Journal about the film, and Gertten subsequently received a letter from Dole's attorney threatening him with legal action. What follows in Big Boys is an unparalleled thriller, as Gertten captures on camera Dole, attacking the producers with a defamation lawsuit and bullying scare-tactics, media-control and PR-spin.