Weeklong Runs
Chicago premiere!
LAKE OF FIRE
2006, Tony Kaye, USA, 152 min.
“Surprisingly fluid and continuously engaging. . . a provocatively beautiful movie on the hottest hot-button issue in American life.”--J. Hoberman, Village Voice.
“An extraordinary documentary achievement. . . compels audiences to reassess their own feelings about this contentious issue.”--Leslie Felperin, Variety
The passions that drive the debate surrounding all sides of the abortion issue in the U.S. are given full rein. So are the rational and philosophical arguments for and against, voiced by Noam Chomsky, Frances Kissling, Alan Dershowitz, Nat Hentoff, Randall Terry, and others. Pro-lifers from the religious right have their say; pro-choice demonstrators make their voices heard. With stunning, maddening, intensely thought-provoking even-handedness, director Kaye (AMERICAN HISTORY X) examines every angle of the abortion issue, shying away from nothing, including graphic imagery not for the faint of heart. The power of Kaye’s monumental and deliberately neutral work lies in allowing his viewers the right of interpretation. HD video. (BS)
October 26--November 1
Fri. at 5:45 pm and 8:30 pm;
Sat. at 2:45 pm and 7:30 pm;
Sun. at 2:30 pm and 5:15 pm;
Mon. -Thu at 6:30 pm
November 2--8
Fri. and Mon.-Thu. at 6:30 pm;
Sat. at 3:15 pm and 7:30 pm;
Sun. at 3:30 pm
Chicago Premiere
HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE ME?
(COMBIEN TU M’AIMES?)
2005, Bertrand Blier, France/Italy, 93 min.
With Monica Bellucci, Bernard Campan, Gerard Depardieu
“Thoroughly enjoyable. . . larger than life.”--Lisa Nesselson, Variety
Sexy titillation in the joie de vivre manner only the French can manage spices a provocative and touching story of romantic redemption. Nerdy office worker Francois (Campan) hooks up with an impossibly beautiful hooker (Bellucci, seen almost exclusively in lingerie throughout) and floors her with the combined news of his massive lottery fortune and his precarious heart condition. A lucrative deal makes the lovely Daniela the roommate of her patron’s dreams until her gangster husband/pimp (Depardieu in a blustering, strictly-for-fun performance) shows up to reclaim the merchandise. In French with English subtitles. 35mm widescreen. (BS)
November 9--15
Fri. and Mon.-Thu. at 6:15 pm and 8:15 pm
Sat. at 3:15 pm, 5:15 pm, and 7:45 pm
Sun. at 3:15 pm and 5:15 pm
Chicago premiere!
OSWALD’S GHOST
2007, Robert Stone, USA, 90 min.
Like the 1863 assassination of Lincoln, the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy stands as a cataclysmic marker in the political and emotional life of the nation. More than forty years later, the motives and the circumstances surrounding Kennedy’s murder are even more obscured by myth and speculation than the day presumed assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested. Stone’s grippingly detailed account of November 22 and its far-reaching aftermath explores the mystery through archival footage, first-person accounts, and interviews with Norman Mailer, Gary Hart, Dan Rather, Tom Hayden, and others. DigiBeta video. (BS)
November 16--21
Fri. and Mon.-Wed. at 6:15 pm and 8:00 pm
Sat. at 3:00 pm, 4:45 pm, 6:30 pm, and 8:15 pm
Sun. at 3:15 pm and 5:00 pm
New Print!
ERASERHEAD
1977, David Lynch, USA, 98 min.
With Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart
“A masterpiece of texture, a feat of artisanal attention, an ingenious assemblage of damp, dust, rock, wood, hair, flesh, metal, ooze.”--Nathan Lee, Village Voice
In the intervening time since our retrospective of his work in July, director David Lynch has seemingly done an about-face regarding his “DVD Only” policy for his debut feature. The Film Center is pleased to present this seminal work in a long-awaited, freshly minted 35mm print. Henry Spencer (Lynch regular Nance) and Mary X (Stewart) inhabit a grungy hovel in the middle of a decaying industrial city with their baby, a reptilian mutant that cries ceaselessly. When Mary eventually flees, leaving the child alone with Henry, he quickly spirals into the madness of Lynch’s surreal, nightmare world. Every frame is bursting with the visual cues and distinctive sound design that would become hallmarks of the director’s future work. 35mm. (Christopher Sanew)
November 23--29
Fri., Tue., and Thu. at 8:00 only;
Sat. at 4:45 pm and 8:15 pm;
Sun. at 3:15 pm only;
Mon. and Wed. at 6:15 pm only
Chicago Premiere!
LYNCH_ (one)
2007, blackANDwhite, USA, 84 min.
“When I catch an idea for a film, I fall in love with the way cinema can express it. I like a story that holds abstractions, and that’s what cinema can do.”--David Lynch, Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness and Creativity
Culled from over two years of footage as Lynch labored on his latest opus, INLAND EMPIRE, this new documentary provides fans and newcomers alike with a look behind the red velvet curtain and a chance to see the master in action. Lynch speaks frankly about his art in all its forms (film, painting, sculpting, music) and how it relates to his belief in the Transcendental Meditation Movement. The director is notoriously reticent to discuss the meaning behind any of his work, be it during Q&A sessions with fans or on DVD supplements and commentary tracks. LYNCH (one) may be the next best thing to picking Lynch’s brain--an intimate exploration of the man and his creative process. DigiBeta video. (CS)