In April, the Castro Theatre is transformed into a movie-palace Chautauqua with a sterling array of classic film programs leavened by special talks and live presentations.
Last Men Standing (2016) The San Francisco Chronicle produced this 65-minute documentary following the lives of eight young men living with AIDS. (4/8)
Labyrinth (1986) One of the strangest entries on the David Bowie film resume, this Jim Henson (of the Muppets) -directed kids' tale involves Bowie as a "King of the Goblins" creature who abducts a teen girl's baby brother. Good of a kind.
The Dark Crystal (1982) Jim Henson and co-director Frank Oz provide a Muppet spin to this struggle to recover a missing hunk of the crystal that will save the world. (both 4/9)
The Grapes of Wrath (1940) Director John Ford produced perhaps his greatest Depression-era chronicle of ordinary Americans overcoming economic collapse and personal despair. The film was Hollywood's last stab at vox populism before the nation would be mobilized in the Titanic two-front war against Fascist totalitarianism. Lead actor Henry Fonda is forever linked to his conscience-stricken ex-con in a career that would take him to Broadway and beyond.
Citizen Kane (1941) While no longer an automatic pick for greatest American film of the sound era, this masterwork from then-25 Orson Welles still exposes the sins of corporate media, especially when tied to an oversized ego. Welles' Charles Foster Kane was widely believed to be based on real-life media tycoon William Randolph Hearst. Welles took his best shot (in collaboration with his screenwriting partner Herman J. Mankiewicz), although his career took a hit from Hearst critics from then on. The complete story of this cursed masterpiece is contained in New Yorker critic Pauline Kael's The Citizen Kane Book, including her tart essay "Raising Kane." (both 4/10)
Hail, Caesar! (2016) Trust it to director brothers Joel and Ethan Coen to concoct a screwballish comedy-drama where real-life star George Clooney is abducted for ransom. Josh Brolin is the studio honcho who must raise the ransom while keeping the news from two Hollywood gossip mavens (a dual turn by Tilda Swinton). The Coens round up the usual suspects in a fine ensemble: Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Jonah Hill, Frances McDormand and Channing Tatum.
Anomalisa (2015) Filmmaker Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) employs stop-motion animation to poke fun at the plight of a motivational speaker who has swallowed his own b.s. (both 4/11)
San Francisco Moth GrandSLAM V: Leaps This pretentious title is merely the name of a local storytelling contest. (4/12)
Beyond Prisons Live on-stage conversation on prison reform with Van Jones and Shaka Senghor. (4/13)
San Francisco Green Film Festival features 70 new environmental films, with opening & closing nights at the Castro. (4/14)
Big Trouble in Little China (1986) Kurt Russell is the main attraction in this copycat melodrama set in a sinister fake Oriental-style setting. Production values triumph over story sense. Horrormeister John Carpenter takes the rap.
Never Too Young To Die (1986) Leonard Maltin cites this travesty's singular virtue as Gene Simmons scoring a few points in his portrayal of a power-crazed hermaphrodite. (both 4/15)
Peaches Christ presents a Spice World parody. (4/16)
Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) American-born British director Stanley Kubrick was at the zenith of his career as a world-class satirist when he unleashed Peter Sellers in a triple-threat turn as a British Air Force officer, a befuddled American president, and the wheelchair-bound, totally bonkers, evil inventor of a doomsday machine. At a remote Air Force base, Sellers' incredulous officer hears the ravings of a lunatic who plans to launch a sneak attack on the Soviet Union.
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) Roger Moore as 007 confronts an end-of-the-world plot from a mad man who plans a new civilization under the sea.
The Madness of King George (1994) Nigel Hawthorne rounds out this trilogy of madness in high places with a sublime portrait of British King George III losing his way. Alan Bennett's play is deliciously mounted by Nicholas Hytner. (all three, 4/17)
Laura (1944) Otto Preminger showed an uncharacteristic gentle touch with this classic noir/romance. Dana Andrews is the detective who becomes emotionally involved with the mysterious dead Laura (Gene Tierney). Vincent Price and Clifton Webb are outstanding in supporting roles. According to gay critic Vito Russo, "In the original script, numerous allusions to the homosexuality of [gossip columnist] Waldo Lydecker were cut before shooting began. It was widely acknowledged that Preminger had to fight to get Clifton Webb for the role because the studio brass had labeled him a homosexual."
Mike's Murder (1984) James Bridges directs Debra Winger in this neglected minor classic about a lonely bank clerk's attempt to discover why her boyfriend was brutally murdered. Note a brief turn by Paul Winfield as a gay man who has an amusing theory about the Mafia's role in promoting homophobia. (both 4/18)
Born Free (1966) Wildlife trackers Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna return Elsa the Lioness to the wild in the classic animal-lovers feel-good romp. McKeena appears in person in support of the animal rescue work of her foundation. With Not Without Us, part of San Francisco Green Film Festival. (4/20)
Love and Friendship (2016), the 59th San Francisco International Film Festival Opening Night. Whit Stillman directs this 1790s Ireland romantic drama starring Kate Beckinsale as a pushy commoner seeking to hoist herself into the ruling class. (4/21)
Miss Sharon Jones! (2016) Oscar-winning doc-maker Barbara Kopple explores a South Carolina musical diva's struggle against cancer and to make it big on the Beacon Theatre stage.
Author: The JT Leroy Story (2016) Jeff Feuerzeig's doc promises to get to the bottom of the literary flap. (both 4/22)
Cast a Dark Shadow (2016) Dirk Bogarde is a murderous cad who kills older women for their money. The film provides his downfall at the hands of Margaret Lockwood and Kay Walsh.
Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World (2016) Director Werner Herzog presents the history of the World Wide Web. (both 4/23)
The Man Who Knew Infinity (2016) Indian film star Dev Patel appears as a young man who encounters prejudice during his studies at WWI-era Cambridge.
Monsoon Wedding (2001) Mira Nair directed and Sabrina Dhawan wrote this romantic drama that unfolds at a traditional Punjabi Hindu wedding in Delhi. Winner of the Golden Lion award and recipient of a Golden Globe Award nomination.
The Fixer (2016) Ian Olds directs this drama about a retired war correspondent who runs into trouble after taking a job at small Northern California newspaper. (all three, 4/24)
The SF International Film Fest honors the Criterion Collection, and in this connection features an onstage chat with directors Joel and Ethan Coen followed by a screening of their first feature, Blood Simple.
The Family Fang (2016) Jason Bateman adapts and stars, based on the popular novel about a brother and sister searching for their missing parents.
High-Rise (2016) Based on J.G. Ballard's science-fiction novel about the importance of identity in an oddly run high-rise tower. (all three, 4/30)