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69
69
January-December, 2009
1969 was a moment between times. The year was simultaneously the epitome and the end of an era. With optimism and fear, triumphs and tragedies, freedoms and violations, love and war, a decade of diametric struggles was coming to an end. Filmmakers attempted to reconcile the clash of mixed emotions and a social, political and cultural landscape that had quickly become convoluted. Hollywood struggled to keep up with the great shifts of the time, and the studios made awkward dance partners with a new generation of irreverent independent, foreign and avant-garde filmmakers. Forty years later, as we close out the first decade of the 21st Century, 1969 is a reflection of the kinds of issues, dilemmas, creative sparks, contradictions and open future that we face today, in our world and our cinema. Northwest Film Forum presents an in-depth, yearlong exploration of the films of 1969, presenting a diversity of feature films, documentaries and experimental works that were seen on screens during that tumultuous year.
Vastly different visions from both veteran directors and emerging filmmakers (many of whom would come into prominence in the ‘70s) challenge traditional ideas of war, patriotism, faith, sexuality, human nature and the very boundaries of filmmaking. The films share a common sense of alienation, discontent and uncertainty toward the future. Outsiders and drifters of various incarnations grope for meaning, love and direction. Many take to the open road, embarking on quests for freedom, connection and the great unknown. Seen together, these must-see films comprise a fascinating mosaic of cinema in a significant time of transition when essential questions were being asked in bold new ways. And this is just the beginning of our ongoing series. 69 provides a rare opportunity to experience important works of modern filmmaking as well as the overlooked rarities of the time on the big screen. And it presents a vast cinematic landscape for one’s own personal road trip.
Easy Rider
Sponsored by the Vera Project
Jan 09 - Jan 15, 2009
(Dennis Hopper, USA, 1969, 35mm, 94 min) New 35mm Print!
This low-budget road movie directed by then-unknown weirdo Dennis Hopper and featuring rock music as its score (mostly songs from Hopper’s record collection) turned out to be a huge success that turned Hollywood on its ear.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
New 35mm Print!
Jan 09 - Jan 15, 2009
(George Roy Hill, USA, 1969, 35mm, 110 min)
Paul Newman and Robert Redford star as loveable outlaws Butch and Sundance in George Roy Hill’s funny take on the Western genre. Based on real turn-of-the-century thieves, the train robbers are forced to escape a pursuing posse and flee the shrinking American West.
The Milky Way
Jan 14 - Jan 15, 2009
(Luis Buñuel, France/West Germany/Italy, 1969, 35mm, 105 min)
Luis Buñuel’s entertaining, absurdist spoof on religion daringly deconstructs contemporary and traditional views on Catholicism.
Alice’s Restaurant
Jan 16 - Jan 22, 2009
(Arthur Penn, USA, 1969, 35mm, 111 min)
Following his 1967 breakout hit film Bonnie and Clyde, Arthur Penn co-wrote and directed this relaxed portrait of hippie culture and gentle lament to the end of the counterculture revolution.
Oh! What A Lovely War
Jan 16 - Jan 22, 2009
(Richard Attenborough, UK, 1969, 35mm, 114 min)
Based on Joan Littlewood’s stage play about World War I and featuring an all-star cast (including Laurence Olivier), Richard Attenborough’s directorial debut employs song, satire and absurdist humor to deliver a potent critique of the senselessness of war and how a generation of young British men were killed.
Stereo
Jan 21 - Jan 22, 2009
(David Cronenberg, Canada, 1969, 35mm, 65 min)
David Cronenberg’s first feature film is a truly original take on humankind’s schizophrenic nature and the obsessive introversion of science.
The Model Shop
Feb 13 - Feb 19, 2009
(Jacques Demy, USA/France, 1969, 35mm, 95 min)
The first and only Hollywood movie from French director Jacques Demy is a poetic tale of human disarray, transient happiness and love lost. A semi-sequel to Lola, which also stars Anouk Amiée, Model Shop focuses on a directionless young architect who quits his job and bums off his friends.
Lion’s Love
Feb 13 - Feb 19, 2009
(Agnes Varda, USA/France, 1969, 35mm, 110 min)
Lion’s Love is an imaginative, cinema verité-like fiction film starring Gerome Ragnai, James Rado (the composers of Hair) and Warhol superstar Viva as a ménage-à-trois looking for a future in LA.
Me And My Brother
Sponsored by the Hideout Bar
Feb 18 - Feb 19, 2009
(Robert Frank, USA, 1969, 35mm, 91 min)
The first feature film by photographer/filmmaker Robert Frank is a bold experimental hybrid of documentary and fiction. Catatonic schizophrenic Julius Orlovsky is taken by his brother, poet Peter Orlovsky, and Allen Ginsberg across the country on their reading tour.
Midnight Cowboy
Sponsored by Seattle Gay News
Feb 27 - Mar 05, 2009
(John Schlesinger, USA, 35mm, 113 min)
This New York story of dreams, friendship and male prostitution introduced two unforgettable drifters into our collective consciousness. Naïve Texan stud Joe Buck (Jon Voight) and the cynical and seedy Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman) become unlikely pals in the grubby underside of Times Square.
They Shoot Horses Don’t They?
Sponsored by the Century Ballroom Actress Bonnie Bedelia to introduce screening on Thursday, March 5
Introduction and discussion on February 28th with UW Professor of Sociology Mike Mulcahy
Feb 27 - Mar 05, 2009
(Sydney Pollack, USA, 1969, 35mm, 120 min)
Director Sydney Pollack’s dark and impassioned adaptation of Horace McCoy's novel reflects the dreams, ideals and overwhelming feeling of disenchantment of the 1930s (and the late 60s).
Funeral Parade Of Roses
Mar 04 - Mar 05, 2009
(Toshio Matsumoto, Japan, 1969, 16mm, 105 min)
Matsumoto’s first feature, a masterful drag-queen melodrama, was the most formally complex film to emerge from the Japanese New Wave and the first Japanese film to deal unabashedly with gay culture.
The Wild Bunch
Mar 13 - Mar 19, 2009
(Sam Peckinpah, USA, 1969, 35mm, 145 min)
Master director Sam Peckinpah’s classic tale of aging desperados determined to forge one last stand is a feat of technical and artistic genius.
Paint Your Wagon
Mar 13 - Mar 19, 2009
(Joshua Logan, USA, 1969, 35mm, 166 min)
This big-budget Western musical starring Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood and Jean Seberg in a ménage-à-trois was the last blast from director Joshua Logan (South Pacific).
Rain People
Mar 18 - Mar 19, 2009
(Francis Ford Coppola, USA, 1969, Beta-SP, 102 min)
Starring Shirley Knight, James Caan and Robert Duvall, Coppola’s Rain People tells the story of a pregnant Long Island housewife who journeys across America.
The Damned
Apr 03 - Apr 07, 2009
(Luchino Visconti, Italy, 1969, 35mm, 156 min)
The Damned is a devastating account of the rise of fascism in 1930s Germany.
Fellini Satyricon
Apr 03 - Apr 07, 2009
(Federico Fellini, Italy, 1969, 35mm, 128 min)
Fellini’s tumultuous work of art looks at ancient Rome as it has never been seen before.
First Charge Of The Machete
Apr 08 - Apr 09, 2009
(Manuel Octavio Gómez, Cuba, 1969, Beta-SP, 84 min)
Cuban director Gómez combines elements of documentary form with extreme stylization in this experimental retelling of a battle between Cuban rebels and the Spanish army in 1868.
Take The Money And Run
May 01 - May 07, 2009
(Woody Allen, USA, 1969, 35mm, 85min)
Woody Allen's first film as director-writer-actor is a hilarious mock documentary (one of the earliest examples of the genre) that follows the life and failed career of an utterly inept criminal named Virgil Starkweather.
Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe And Find True Happiness?
May 01 - May 07, 2009
(Anthony Newley, USA, 1969, 35mm, 107 min)
An entertaining disaster, this X-rated musical comedy is the autobiographical magnum opus of its writer-director-composer-star Anthony Newley. Hieronymus has recently turned 40 and watches a film of his own life unspool before his eyes.
The Virgin's Bed (Le Lit de la Vierge)
New 35mm Print
May 06 - May 07, 2009
(Philippe Garrel, France, 1969, 35mm, 114 min)
Made without a script and under the influence of LSD, director Philippe Garrel’s parable about Jesus is set in modern times and conveyed in an episodic and nonlinear narrative.
Duet for Cannibals
Jun 24 - Jun 25, 2009
(Susan Sontag, Sweden, 1969, 35mm, 105 min)
The directorial debut of famed American writer, philosopher, and political activist Susan Sontag is an intriguing tale of two couples involved in academia and politics.
My Night At Maud's
Jun 19 - Jun 25, 2009
(Eric Rohmer, France, 1969, 35mm, 105 min)
In this brilliant centerpiece of Eric Rohmer’s “Moral Tales” series, Jean-Louis Trintignant plays one of the great conflicted figures of 1960s cinema -- a pious Catholic engineer in his early thirties who vows to wed the delicate blonde Françoise only to have his rigid ethical standards challenged when he unwittingly spends the night at the apartment of a bold, brunette divorcée, Maud.
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
Jun 19 - Jun 25, 2009
(Paul Mazursky, USA, 1969, 35mm, 104 min)
What happens when the sexual revolution hits affluent bourgeois life? Paul Mazursky’s comedy of manners has its protagonists torn between the new hedonism of the late 60s and the domestic status quo.
"An orgy of pot-smoking and on-screen nudity, the movie was undeniably a response to the new cultural permissiveness, but there was nothing glib or opportunistic about it." -Seattle Weekly
The Gay Deceivers
Co-Presented by Three Dollar Bill Cinema
Jul 08 - Jul 09, 2009
(Bruce Kessler, USA, 1969, 35mm, 97 min)
In the year of the Stonewall riots and the dawn of the gay rights movement, it’s ironic that the one US release to deal openly with homosexuality was this outrageous comedy about two straight men pretending to be gay to avoid the draft. Although criticized for its stereotypes, for viewers today it's a fun watch that’s frequently hilarious—with a lavishly decorated bungalow as the set for the bedlam and bed-hopping.
Downhill Racer
Special introduction by film critic Ted Fry on July 17
Jul 17 - Jul 23, 2009
(Michael Ritchie, USA, 1969, 35mm, 101 min)
The debut film from director Michael Ritchie (The Candidate) is satirical spin on the American Dream set in the world of Olympic skiing. Robert Redford (the same year as Butch Cassidy) stars as a handsome, detached loner who is determined to be the best. He travels with the US ski team to Kitzbuhel, St. Anton, Wengen and several other world cup venues. Gene Hackman plays the team coach, and the gorgeous Camilla Sparv plays the love interest.
Camille 2000
Jul 17 - Jul 23, 2009
(Radley Metzger, Italy/France, 1969, 35mm, 115 min)
Originally X-rated, legendary “art film” director Radley Metzger's version of Dumas' Camille is a stylish work of 60s erotic cinema that sets a succession of parties and lovemaking amidst the opulent palaces of Rome. The film stars the beautiful Daniele Gaubert and Nino Castelnuovo, and features bubble furniture, mirrored dresses and a classic, ethereal-yet-funky lounge score by Piero Piccioni. The film opened in New York on July 16th, nearly 40 years ago to the day of our weeklong engagement.
"Sexadelic delight!" -Seattle PostGlobe
Moon Landing: Screening and Live Event
In Honor of the Moon Landing 40th Anniversary!
Jul 20, 2009
Join us as we commemorate this profound event for humankind with a 40th anniversary screening of the original television broadcast (at 7pm), followed by a live remix presentation in which filmmaker and sound artist Joe Milutis reworks images of major NASA events leading up to and including the landing.
Topaz
Special introduction by film critic Ted Fry on July 31
Jul 31 - Aug 06, 2009
(Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1969, 35mm, 143 min)
Hitchcock’s adaptation of the Leon Uris novel is an exciting espionage thriller set in Washington, Paris and Havana at the time of the Cuban missile crisis. Unlike most of the director’s previous films, the cast is comprised mostly of unknowns. While Topaz was not well received at the box office, New York Times critic Vincent Canby hailed it as "Hitchcock at his best," and Hitchcock won the Best Director prize from the National Board of Review for the film.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Special introduction by film critic Ted Fry on July 31
Jul 31 - Aug 06, 2009
(Peter R. Hunt, UK, 1969, 35mm, 142 min)
In one of the best and often overlooked films in the long running James Bond series (and the first without Sean Connery), 007 (George Lazenby) teams up with the lovely Tracy Di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg, of Avengers fame) to topple scar-faced Ernst Blofeld (Telly Savalas) in the Swiss Alps. Her Majesty’s has the distinction of being the only film in which Bond falls in love. No other filmmakers took Bond this seriously again until 2006’s Casino Royale.
Dillinger is Dead
New 35mm Print
Aug 05 - Aug 06, 2009
(Marco Ferreri, Italy, 1969, 35mm, 90 min)
Michel Piccoli stars as an alienated industrial designer yearning to break free from his materialistic, humdrum existence. His life is changed when he discovers a revolver tucked away in a kitchen cabinet, wrapped in old newspapers announcing the death of notorious bank robber John Dillinger.
Le Gai Savoir
Aug 14 - Aug 20, 2009
(Jean-Luc Godard, France, 1969, 35mm, 95 min)
Le Gai Savoir begins to integrate the director’s formal concerns with his political ones, building a case for the historical necessity of revolution. This film essay is an account of young militants who meet in a darkened TV studio to discuss, and ultimately deconstruct, the oppressive connection between language and capitalism.
Mississippi Mermaid
Aug 14 - Aug 20, 2009
(François Truffaut, France, 1969, 35mm, 123 min)
Inspired by Hitchcock and dedicated to Jean Renoir, François Truffaut’s updating of Cornell Woolrich’s story stars Jean-Paul Belmondo as a wealthy industrialist living on a remote island in the Indian Ocean and Catherine Deneuve as a lovely, double-crossing mail-order bride.
"Truffaut's personal exploration of Hitchcock's fascination with love, secrets and guilt...It stands as vital testimony to one filmmaker's deep regard for the legacy of another." –Seattle Times
Army of Shadows
Aug 19 - Aug 20, 2009
(Jean-Pierre Melville, France/Italy, 1969, 35mm, 145 min)
Precursor of the New Wave and legend of the French gangster film, Jean-Pierre Melville realized his dream of a quarter century when he adapted Joseph Kessel’s The Book of the Resistance. Army Of Shadows is a riveting, intimate epic of the French Resistance in WWII. Melville himself served underground for years in his youth, and the director added a finale of his own that reduced Kessel to sobs on his first viewing.
The Prime of Ms. Jean Brodie
Sep 11 - Sep 17, 2009
(Ronald Neame, UK, 1969, 35mm, 116 min)
Based on the novel by Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie stars Maggie Smith as an eccentric and loveable teacher at an exclusive Catholic girl's school in 1930s Edinburgh. The charismatic, idiosyncratic, fearless and funny Jean Brodie is worshipped by her students, adored by her married lover (Robert Stephens, Smith's real-life husband at the time) and cordially hated by the Headmistress (Celia Johnson). Smith won her first Oscar for this role.
If...
Sep 11 - Sep 17, 2009
(Lindsay Anderson, UK, 1968, 112 min)
An allegorical critique of the rigid social structures exemplified by the British public school system, If…caused a sensation upon its initial release and launched the career of charismatic young actor Malcolm McDowell. The rebellious student Mick Travis unleashes chaos on the authority figures around him as he increasingly blurs fantasy and reality.
Heavy Visuals '69: Electronic Cinema and Experimental Films
Co-presented by the Sprocket Society
Sep 23, 2009
(Various directors, 1969, 16mm, 71 min)
A selection of 1969's cutting-edge landmarks in avant garde shorts, video art, and even computer animation. Featuring: Kenneth Anger (Invocation of My Demon Brother), Nam June Paik and Jud Yalkut (Beatles Electronique, and Electronic Moon No. 2), Larry Jordan (Our Lady of the Sphere), Michael Whitney (Binary Bit Patterns), Scott Bartlett (Moon 1969), a rare screening of Le Labyrinthe by Piotr Kamler (with electronic score by Bernard Parmegiani), plus Stephan Gebhardt's short documentary about controversial Aktionist performance artist, Hermann Nitsch.
Johnny Cash at San Quentin
Sep 29, 2009
(Michael Darlow, 1969, UK, Beta-SP, 60 min)
Legendary country singer Johnny Cash gave one of the most stellar shows of his career at San Quentin Prison in 1969, resulting in his first number one album on the pop charts. This documentary features songs from the unforgettable show as well as moments of lively interaction between Cash and his prisoner audience.
Focal Points: Documentary Shorts from 1969
Co-presented by the Sprocket Society
Oct 14, 2009
(Various directors, 1969, 16mm, 71 min)
In 1969 America was painfully divided by politics, culture and even aesthetics. These short documentaries provide riveting glimpses of the nation at a turning point.
Salesman
Sponsored by The Hideout
Oct 09 - Oct 15, 2009
(Albert and David Maysles, USA, 1969, 35mm, 90 min)
A staple of cinema vérité, Salesman is an unflinching look into the world of door-to-door Bible sales.
True Grit
Please note updated showtimes!
Dec 12 - Dec 13, 2009
(Henry Hathaway, 1969, USA, 35mm, 127 min)
An unusually intimate character study for John Wayne, True Grit showcases John Wayne's ability to convey compassion and gruffness at the same time. A teenager hires Rooster Cogburn (Wayne) to track down her father's killer. Their adventure into the west ends with a memorable final scene that rests among the finest of Wayne showdowns.
Once Upon a Time in the West
Please note updated showtimes!
Dec 12 - Dec 13, 2009
(Sergio Leone, 1968, Italy/United States, 35mm, 175 min)
Only recently made available in the U.S., Leone’s preferred version of his classic western is one of the finest examples both of the western genre and of the Italian director’s impressive filmography. Ennio Morricone’s equally famous score sets the backdrop for stars Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, Jr. and Claudia Cardinale to set the screen ablaze.