Masters of Modern Cinema Series-
Saturday Nov 15th, 2008
Spike Lee, Do The Right Thing 1989
In 1999, Do The Right Thing was deemed culturally significant by the United States libray of congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. It was one of the first films in modern cinematic history to raise awareness of the inter-racial relations found in multi-ethnic cities much like we have here in Los Angeles. Produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee, This film tells a tale of bigotry and racial conflict in a multi-ethnic community in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, on the hottest day of the year. Filmed on Stuyvesant Avenue between Lexington Avenue and Quincy Street, the film stars Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, and John Turturro. Do the Right Thing marks the feature film debuts of both Martin Lawrence and Rosie Perez. Samuel L. Jackson plays DJ Mister Señor Love Daddy, an alternative voice of the author to Spike Lee's character.
Saturday December 20th, 2008
Tim Burton, The Nightmare Before Christmas 1993
A stop motion fantasy film directed by Henry Selick and produced/co-written by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, a being from "Halloween Town" who opens a portal to "Christmas Town". Danny Elfman wrote the film score and provided the singing voice of Jack, as well as other minor characters. The remaining principal voice cast includes Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, and Glen Shadix.
The genesis of The Nightmare Before Christmas started with a poem by Burton as a Disney animator in the early-1980s. With the success of Vincent in 1982, Disney started to consider The Nightmare Before Christmas as either a short subject or 30-minute television special. Over the years, Burton's thoughts regularly returned to the project, and in 1990, Burton and Disney made a development deal. Production started in July 1991 in San Francisco. Walt Disney Pictures decided to release the film under their Touchstone Pictures banner because they thought Nightmare would be "too dark and scary for kids".[2] The Nightmare Before Christmas has been viewed with critical and financial success. Disney has reissued the film under their Disney Digital 3-D format as a yearly tradition.
Saturday January 17th, 2009
Mike Nichols, The Graduate 1969
American comedy/drama/romance film directed by Mike Nichols, based on the novel of the same name by Charles Webb, who wrote the piece shortly after graduating from Williams College. The screenplay is by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry, who makes a cameo appearance as the hotel clerk. The film tells the story of Ben Braddock (played by Dustin Hoffman), a recent university graduate with no well-defined aim in life, who is seduced by Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) and then falls in love with her daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross). The Graduate was the breakthrough role for Hoffman, whose sole previous film role was in The Tiger Makes Out (1967). His next big successes (and Oscar nominations) came from Midnight Cowboy, Lenny, and All the President's Men.
Saturday Feburary 21st, 2009
Jim Jarmusch, Stanger Than Paradise 1984
Stranger Than Paradise is an absurdist comedy film written and directed by American director Jim Jarmusch in 1984. It starred jazz musician John Lurie, former Sonic Youth drummer-turned-actor Richard Edson and Hungarian-born actress Eszter Balint.
Shooting was begun using leftover film stock from the production of Wim Wenders' Der Stand der Dinge in (1982). It started out as a 30-minute short subject film and was later expanded into a three-act feature. This short film was shown as "Stranger Than Paradise" at the 1983 International Film Festival Rotterdam. When it was used for the three-act feature it was renamed "The New World".
The first act, "The New World," takes place in New York, the second act, "One Year Later," in Cleveland, and the third act, "Paradise," in Florida.
The film tells the story of a self-identified "hipster" (John Lurie) living in New York City when his Hungarian cousin comes to visit. Her visit makes up the first act. The second act focuses on Lurie and his friend (played by Richard Edson) going to visit the cousin at her new home in Cleveland, Ohio. The third and final act focuses on the journey that the three of them make from Cleveland, to Florida.
The entire film consists of long takes; each of the film's scenes is contained within a single shot, followed by a few seconds of black leader.
The song "I Put a Spell on You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins features prominently in the soundtrack. In 2002, Stranger Than Paradise was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Documentary Series-
Saturday March 21st 2009
David LaChapelle, Rize 2005
Filmed on the streets of South Central LA, photographer David LaChapelle documents the modern dance phenomenon called "Krumping”. La Chapelle takes advantage of unprecedented access to the neighborhood bringing to light a revolutionary form of artistic expression borne from oppression. The aggressive and visually stunning dance modernizes moves indigenous to African tribal rituals and features mind-blowing, movement never before seen in dance. "RIZE" grew out of LaChapelle's acclaimed short "Krumped" which played in the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. The film received a 10 minute standing ovation at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival after its world primere.
Saturday April 18th, 2009
Jenny Livingston, Paris is Burning 1990
Penetrating the tight-knit community of minority drag queens living in New York City, Jennie Livingston's acclaimed documentary was one of several films to be shut out of Oscar contention for its unconventional content, prompting the academy to reevaluate its standards in the face of critical backlash. The film offers an early glimpse at the art of "voguing. Paris Is Burning is an invaluable documentary of the end of the "Golden Age" of New York City drag balls, as well as an exploration of race, class, and gender in America.
Saturday May 16th 2009
Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato, The Eyes of Tammy Faye 2000
In this quirky documentary, co-directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato catch up with the infamous former Tammy Faye Bakker, 12 years after the Jim Bakker embezzlement scandal and the collapse of the PTL. The film narrated by drag icon RuPaul, is a campy yet ultimately loving portrait of Tammy Faye, who comes across as surprisingly sympathetic, a cheerful and irrepressible survivor of many calamities.
