Weeklong Runs
North American premiere!
New restored print!
WAR AND PEACE
(VOYNA I MIR)
1967, Sergei Bondarchuk, USSR, 415 min. total
With Lyudmila Savelyeva, Sergei Bondarchuk, Vyacheslav Tikhonov
“The definitive epic of all time. . . You are never, ever going to see anything to equal it.”--Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
There are epic films, and then there is WAR AND PEACE. Winner of the 1968 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, this mammoth production took five years to complete and employed over 100,000 extras. Its cost in today’s dollars has been estimated at $1 billion. It tops several categories in The Guinness Book of Records.
But this WAR AND PEACE is much more than statistics and spectacle. Adapting Tolstoy’s classic novel faithfully but dynamically, Bondarchuk balances the epic and the intimate, with vivid characterizations and powerful emotional climaxes. Bondarchuk himself plays the insecure intellectual Pierre, and Vyacheslav Tikhonov is a dashing Prince Andrei. As Natasha, the enchanting woman they both love against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, Lyudmila Savelyeva is not only a beautiful and talented actress but a trained ballerina whose exquisite grace contributes to the show-stopping ball sequence (Part 2). The staggering Battle of Borodino sequence (Part 3), utilizing a good chunk of the Red Army, has to be seen to be believed.
In collaboration with Seagull Films and Mosfilm, we are pleased to present the North American premiere of a newly restored 35mm print of WAR AND PEACE. Any video version of this legendary achievement is bound to be inadequate. You don’t want to see the biggest film of all time on a small screen. In Russian with English subtitles. 35mm widescreen. (MR)
Reduced admission for all four parts (must be purchased at the same time): $30 General Admission; $24 Students; $16 Members. Tickets to individual parts of WAR AND PEACE available at our regular prices.
June 1--7
Part 1 (147 min.): Fri. at 6:00 pm; Sat. at 2:30 pm; Mon. at 6:30 pm
Part 2 (86 min.): Fri. at 8:45 pm; Sat. at 5:15 pm; Tue. at 6:15 pm
Part 3 (83 min.): Sun. at 2:30 pm; Tue. at 8:00 pm; Wed. at 6:15 pm
Part 4 (98 min.): Sun. at 4:15 pm; Wed. at 8:00 pm; Thu. at 6:15 pm
Due to popular demand, WAR AND PEACE will return to
the Film Center the week of September 1-6.
Three by Phil Grabsky
Reduced admission! Buy a ticket for any of the three Grabsky films and get a ticket for either or both of the others at this discount rate per film (tickets must be purchased at the same time): General Admission $7; Students $5; Members $4.
Back by popular demand!
IN SEARCH OF MOZART
2006, Phil Grabsky, Britain, 128 min.
“A far more accurate, complete and endearingly human portrait of Mozart than any documentary has ever painted.”--John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune
Returning after a record-breaking run in April, IN SEARCH OF MOZART is easily the most comprehensive and credible film ever made about the composer. Narration (by Juliet Stevenson), illustrations, present-day locales, excerpts from letters, and commentary from a host of historians (but no reenactments!) fluidly illuminate every aspect of Mozart’s life, including his stormy relationship with his father, his ardent marriage, his financial worries, his political infighting, and much more. At the same time, the biography is seamlessly interwoven with the music, brought to life through a constant flow of selections from over 70 works performed by distinguished orchestras, ensembles, and opera companies. DigiBeta video. (MR)
Reduced admission for Art Institute of Chicago members! Admitted for $5 with valid AIC membership card to Sun.-Wed. MOZART screenings.
June 1-7
Fri. and Mon-Thu. at 6:00 pm and 8:30 pm;
Sat. at 2:45 pm, 5:15 pm, and 7:45 pm;
Sun. at 2:45 pm
Chicago premiere!
THE BOY WHO PLAYS ON THE BUDDHAS OF BAMIYAN
2004, Phil Grabsky, Britain/Afghanistan, 95 min.
“Gorgeous.”--Dennis Harvey, Variety
The world was watching in 2001, when the Taliban blew up two monumental 1,600-year-old carved Buddhas in Bamiyan, further ravaging Afghanistan’s ancient cultural heritage. The smoke cleared and life went on for some, including families forced by poverty and political upheaval to set up housekeeping in the surrounding caves. Phil Grabsky (IN SEARCH OF MOZART) brings an acute sensitivity to visual beauty and traditional music to this intimate look at what it’s like to live in the rubble of history, through the bright eyes of irrepressible eight-year-old Mir. In Dari and English with English subtitles. DigiBeta video. (BS)
Sunday, June 17, 3:00 pm
Tuesday, June 19, 6:00 pm
Thursday, June 21, 7:45 pm
MUHAMMAD ALI: THROUGH THE EYES OF THE WORLD
2001, Phil Grabsky, Britain, 74 min.
“If you want the real biopic on Muhammad Ali, look no further than [this] fascinating new documentary that gives a deep and rich overview of the champ’s life. . . The best scenes of [Michael Mann’s] ALI are ripped right from this film.”--Christopher Null, filmcritic.com
In this documentary biography of the man still referred to as “the greatest,” director Grabsky (IN SEARCH OF MOZART) characteristically assembles one hell of a story, studded with electrifying boxing footage and impressively flexing a wealth of insight and inside information from sources that include Ali’s family members and friends, actor Billy Crystal, poet Maya Angelou, sports reporter Dick Schaap, and George Foreman, who ruefully reflects on defeat at Ali’s hands. Director’s cut. DigiBeta video. (BS)
Friday, June 15, 6:15 pm
Sunday, June 17, 5:00 pm
Tuesday, June 19, 8:00 pm
Chicago premiere!
I DON’T WANT TO SLEEP ALONE
(HEI YAN QUAN)
2006, Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwan/France/Austria, 115 min.
With Lee Kang-sheng, Chen Siang-chyi
“Ravishing. . . As always, Tsai manages to create knockout images from the most unlikely subjects.”--Jay Weissberg, Variety
“Sublime. . . comically soul-stirring.”--Giovanna Fulvi, Toronto International Film Festival catalogue
Master of the postmodern cinema of lovelorn alienation, Tsai Ming-liang (GOODBYE DRAGON INN, VIVE L’AMOUR) sets up parallel scenarios of sexual longing. A construction worker with vague ulterior motives plays Good Samaritan to a young foreigner beaten unconscious by thugs. Meanwhile, above a nearby coffee shop, a waitress is forced by her boss to tend to the physical needs of a comatose man. A futuristic landscape mired in the Third World decay of Kuala Lumpur is the haunting setting, and Tsai’s sensual, shadowy, fog-bound imagery conveys the ever-present hope that the end of loneliness might lurk around the next crumbling concrete pillar. In Malay, Mandarin, and Bengali with English subtitles. 35mm. (BS)
June 8--14
>Fri. and Mon.-Thu. at 6:00 pm and 8:15 pm;
Sat. at 3:00 pm and 7:45 pm;
Sun. at 3:00 pm and 5:15 pm
Chicago premiere!
Todd Rohal in person!
THE GUATEMALAN HANDSHAKE
2007, Todd Rohal, USA, 96 min.
With Will Oldham, Sheila Scullin
“Convention-defying filmmaking. . . Suggests what Jacques Tati may have done with rural America.”--Robert Koehler, Variety
“Like a cross between GUMMO and NAPOLEON DYNAMITE.”--Sam Adams, Philadelphia City Paper
Anything can happen in a town where Three Mile Island is everybody’s favorite landmark, and it does, in this lovely, fantasy-drenched comedy that walks the line between goofiness and poetic realism. An unexplained power disturbance from said source seriously befuddles a local lad (Oldham) in his odd electric car, zaps a fluffy white dog, and kicks off a chain reaction involving the car, the dog, the man, his inquisitive little friend Turkeylegs, his pregnant fiancée Sadie, and a demolition derby. Small-town life is rendered with a rare lyricism that suffuses comedy with wonder. 35mm widescreen. (BS)
Director Todd Rohal will be present for audience discussion at the Friday and Saturday screenings.
June 8--14
Fri. at 8:00 pm;
Sat. at 5:15 pm;
Mon., Tue., and Thu. at 6:00 pm
Chicago premiere!
Gary Hustwit in person!
HELVETICA
2007, Gary Hustwit, Britain, 80 min.
“A whole movie about a typeface? Yes, and this doc has plenty to say about the font.”--Richard Blackwell, Globe and Mail
“A wave of enthusiasm for the postwar, modernist Swiss design style helped Helvetica onto the world stage.”--Frank Jordans, Washington Post
Who could have guessed that a film celebrating the 50th anniversary of a typeface would be one of the Gene Siskel Film Center’s most requested films in recent memory? Invented by a Swiss designer in 1957, the Helvetica font is now omnipresent in signage, ads, publications, labels, film titles, and e-mail. Director Hustwit turns to the international design community for an entertaining exploration of where the font came from and how it came to be virtually everywhere in our public and private spaces. Featured graphic designers include Massimo Vignelli, Matthew Carter, Eric Spiekermann, Wim Crouwel, and many more. Music includes Battles, Sam Prekop, and Chicago Underground Quartet. HD video. (BS)
Friday's shows at 6:00 pm & 8:15 pm are SOLD OUT! Just added - 10:15 pm late show on Friday! Tickets on sale now at our Box Office! On Friday, director Gary Hustwit will be present for audience discussion at all screenings.
June 15--21
Fri. at 6:00 pm, 8:15 pm, and 10:15 pm;
Sat. at 3:00 pm, 6:30 pm, and 8:15 pm;
Sun. at 3:15 pm and 5:00 pm;
Mon. -Thu. at 6:15 pm and 8:00 pm
First Chicago run!
KLIMT
2006, Raúl Ruiz, Austria/Germany/U.K./France, 99 min.
With John Malkovich, Veronica Ferres
“An eyeful. . . the best of [Ruiz’s] more opulent work since TIME REGAINED.”--Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
“Ruiz’s shimmering new film. . . transports us to a macabre aesthete’s wonderland.”--Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
Only the hyperactive imagination of prolific avant-garde dynamo Raúl Ruiz (TIME REGAINED) could do justice to the life and times of artist Gustav Klimt and 1900 Vienna in all their decadence and excess. Spectacularly sumptuous period costumes and sets showcase the performance of Chicago’s own John Malkovich as the scandal-ridden rake whose gilded masterpieces are drenched in eroticism. Nikolai Kinski, dead-ringer son of the late, great Klaus, is Egon Schiele. We screen Ruiz’s international release cut of the film. In English. 35mm. (BS)
Reduced admission for Art Institute of Chicago members! Admitted for $5 with valid AIC membership card to Sun.-Wed. KLIMT screenings.
June 22--July 5
Fri. and Mon. -Thu. At 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm;*
Sat. at 3:15 pm and 7:30 pm;**
Sun. at 3:15 pm and 5:15 pm;
*Tue. July 3, at 6:00 pm only; Wed. July 4, at 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm
** Sat,, June 30, at 3:15 pm, 5:15 pm, and 7:30 pm
First Chicago run!
ROCK THE BELLS
2006, Casey Suchan and Denis Henry Hennelly, USA, 103 min.
“Electrifying, occasionally terrifying. . . Think DAVE CHAPELLE’S BLOCK PARTY booked on UNITED 93.”--Nathan Lee, Village Voice
“Fascinating . . . lively documentary grabs hold of the backstage drama and doesn’t let go.”--Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times
In 2004, independent-music promoter Chang Weisberg mortgaged his house to finance a dream: to reassemble all of the members of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan, including legendarily unreliable Ol’ Dirty Bastard (who died four months later), as the centerpiece of his all-day hip hop extravaganza Rock the Bells, in San Bernardino, California. The risky folly of that dream, and the ensuing madness, are the subjects of ROCK THE BELLS, as the sound system fails, security is missing in action, Ol’ Dirty Bastard refuses to leave his room, and frustrated fans threaten to riot. Passing through, although not necessarily seen onstage, a veritable Who’s Who of hip hop royalty. DigiBeta video. (BS)
June 30--July 5