Our look at the Castro Theatre's September repertory lineup kicks off with arguably one of the top five American films in the second half of the 20th century.
Blue Velvet (1986) Writer/director David Lynch's exploration into the Id of young Jeffrey Beaumont (low-key triumph for Kyle MacLachlan) kicks off when Jeffrey discovers a severed ear in the fields outside of Lumberton, his deceptively sleepy hometown. Jeffrey is a Huck Finn-like figure who has the ability, when inspired by his devil-like mentor Frank Booth (a career-redefining Dennis Hopper), to morph into a perverse being who can respond to young women and, more shockingly, to Frank in a disturbing tryst that defies screen taboos.
Blue Velvet's brilliance can be gleaned from a couple of dialogue pulls. First there's Jeffrey's dangerous liaison with the damsel in distress, torch singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini), whose first encounter with Jeffrey has her holding a butcher knife on the nearly naked youth, flushed out of her front closet. Later Dorothy, having gotten used to the young man's surprise visits to her art deco flat, whispers to her young lover, "I looked for you in my closet tonight."
Even odder is Jeffrey's seemingly ordinary hookup with girl-next-door blonde sweetheart Sandy Williams. Beginning with not-so-innocent chats at the local malt shop, Sandy goes from mild crush to confederate in crime, a break-in to Dorothy's apartment. Sandy opines, "I can't figure out if you're a detective or a pervert," to which Jeffrey slyly replies, "Well, that's for me to know, and you to find out."
The most perverse chapters concern Jeffrey's near-death encounters with the dangerous lunatic drug criminal Frank. In real life a sophisticated art collector and great dad to an actor son, here Hopper takes his own drug binges and career-wrecking bouts to create an American villain so layered I'm still getting new takes after more than a dozen-and-half screenings over 30 years. (9/15)
Days of Heaven (1978) Terrence Malick's stunning portrayal of the American heartland was photographed by camera geniuses Nestor Almendros & Haskell Wexler. There is probably no better film by which to study the cinematographer's art. Check out Almendros' account of his experiments with light in the book Man with a Camera. With Brooke Adams, Sam Shepherd and Linda Manz.
Knight of Cups (2015) Recent neglected film from Malick, one of the least prolific of master filmmakers. With Christian Bale, Wes Bentley, Brian Dennehy, Cate Blanchett & Natalie Portman. (both 9/8)
The Holy Mountain (1973) Alejandro Jodorowsky conducts a spiritual journey in Spanish with English subtitles.
Zardoz (1974) Director John Boorman sets this dystopian science fiction fantasy in the year 2293. With Sean Connery and Charlotte Rampling. (both 9/9)
California Independent Film Festival: Flatbush Luck (2016) Gay director Casper Andreas has two hunky phone company guys using their tech savvy to engage in insider trading. Kiss Me, Kill Me (2016) Andreas' tale of a man who faints after a fight with his cheating boyfriend. With American Queer as Folk star Gale Harold. King Cobra (2016) Justin Kelly's drama is about a lonely guy in the porn business who discovers mob rivals after his cute young star. Loosely based on the career of Sean Paul Lockhart, aka Brent Corrigan. With James Franco, Christian Slater, Molly Ringwald & Alicia Silverstone. (all 9/10)
Remains of the Day (1993) Anthony Hopkins plays a butler whose devotion to old-fashioned British ideals of service will take you inside the Anglo worldview. Emma Thompson is a fellow domestic who tries to get Tony to lighten up. With Hugh Grant, James Fox, Michael Lonsdale, Christopher Reeve & Patrick Godfrey.
Howards End (1992) Closeted gay British novelist E.M. Forster's shrewd and emotionally revelatory skewering of class, money and snobbery in an Edwardian England whose elite fail to detect their own coming doom in war. James Ivory directs a stellar cast: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, James Wilby, Vanessa Redgrave. Particularly compelling is the romantic relationship between Thompson and Hopkins, its clear-eyed lessons on the damage class can do to the human heart, and the power of love to heal. (both 9/11)
The Seven Year Itch (1955) Tom Ewell brings his hound-dog puss to this Billy Wilder-directed comedy about a husband reduced to summer bachelorhood by the vacation of wife and son. Ewell's loneliness is temporary, as he is soon seduced by his ravishing upstairs neighbor, Marilyn Monroe in her early prime, who demonstrates why her fame was no fluke.
Lord Love a Duck (1965) George Axelrod's first stint as director is a dark comedy about high school kids with agricultural skills. With Tuesday Weld, Roddy McDowall, Lola Albright, Martin West, Ruth Gordon, & Harvey Korman. (both 9/14)
Multiple Maniacs (1970) A newly restored print of this naughty John Waters classic has Divine as a funny urban terrorist, in acts of terror against the uptight citizens brigade of middlebrow Baltimore. A good introduction to the Waters gang, witty, carefree and perverse in the best possible sense.
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) First and last collaboration between schlockmeister Russ Meyer and movie critic Roger Ebert has young maidens heading to the lower depths of Hollywood, where they are badly used. At least partly a satire. (both 9/16)
Ace in the Hole (1951) The most toxic of Billy Wilder features is a funny, bitter diatribe against tabloid journalism. Kirk Douglas is an unscrupulous headline-hunter. Jean Arthur as a hard-bitten cafe owner has a one-liner that still sings: "Kneeling bags my nylons."
Nightcrawler (2014) Jake Gyllenhaal's Lou Bloom is an ambulance-chasing TV reporter who prides himself on beating everyone to the goriest accidents and crime scenes. Rene Russo is fabulous as a tough assignment editor who does all she can to temper this bargain with the devil. (both 9/18)
Alan Cumming in conversation with Cleve Jones The Scottish-born queer star of stage, screen and TV shares his adventures co-starring on the seven-year run of CBS' The Good Wife, the stage hit Cabaret, and his recently published book You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams. (9/22)
Chinatown (1974) Jack Nicholson is the cynical private dick who works for untrustworthy people. Jake Gittes' case begins when an LA water commissioner is discovered drowned in the city's reservoir. Clues point in all directions, focusing on an avuncular and dangerous Mr. Big (sly turn by director John Huston). The best thing director Roman Polanski left before he was run out of town. With a sultry turn from Faye Dunaway as Huston's daughter.
The Two Jakes (1990) Nicholson directs and stars in this long-delayed sequel that catches up with the characters post-WWII. Again fueled by a magnificent Robert Towne screenplay. (both 9/23)
The Castro presents a one-day orgy of Anna Magnani films , courtesy of the Italian Cultural Institute (9/24). Rome Open City (1945) is a slice-of-history drama: Magnani is the wife of an Italian resistance fighter against the Nazi occupation. Roberto Rossellini is director and co-writer. Bellissima (1952) In Visconti's send-up of the Italian film industry, Magnani is a stage mom whose daughter is pushed into auditioning for a famous director. The Rose Tattoo (1955) Magnani won an Oscar as Tennessee Williams' widow with a teenage daughter. Williams based the character on her. Daniel Mann directed. Cinematographer James Wong Howe also won an Oscar. Co-starring Burt Lancaster as an earthy truck driver who woos Magnani. The Passionate Thief (1960) Inside-the-film-biz drama drawn from a couple of novels by Albert Moravia. Magnani co-stars with Toto as a couple of has-been film actors. (all 9/24)
All three films of Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future trilogy, back to back to back. Used Cars (1980) Untidy comedy set in the world of used car dealers features a turf war between rival dealers, twin brothers (both played by Jack Warden). Kurt Russell is an untrustworthy car salesman. (all 9/25)
Some Like It Hot (1959) Men-in-dresses farce stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as Depression-era musicians fleeing the Mob. Marilyn Monroe steals all her scenes as the singer for "Sweet Sue and Her Society Synchopators." Top-grade slapstick penned by director Billy Wilder and co-writer I.A.E. Diamond.
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) Frank Tashlin directs blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield, based on her Broadway turn starring opposite Tony Randall. (both 9/28)