July/August 2017 schedule for the Cleveland Cinematheque

[Press release from the Cleveland Cinematheque.]

 

Alejandro Jodorowsky, the Marx Brothers, and Sweden’s Arne Sucksdorff are the subjects of three film series showing in July and August at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque.

 

“Endless Poetry: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky” (July 13 – August 25) consists of seven films by the Chilean-French surrealist best known for EL TOPO and THE HOLY MOUNTAIN. Included is his brand new feature, ENDLESS POETRY.

 

“Late Marx Brothers” (July 28 – August 31) consists of the rarely-revived-in-theaters last six features by the famous comedy team.

 

“Divided Worlds: The Films of Arne Sucksdorff” (July 6-16) consists of three programs of stunningly shot shorts and features by the late, great, Oscar-winning Swedish nature filmmaker who was born 100 years ago.

 

Screenings of numerous first-run films (including new works by Werner Herzog  and Bill Morrison) and classics (including David Lynch’s THE STRAIGHT STORY, INDUSTRIAL SYMPHONY NO. 1, and RABBITS) will supplement the movies in the above three series. The complete two-month Cinematheque lineup is below.

 

All  films will show in the Peter B. Lewis Theater at the Cleveland Institute of Art, 11610 Euclid Avenue in the Uptown District of University Circle. Unless noted, admission to each program is $10; Cinematheque members, CIA & CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $7. An added film on the same day costs an additional $7 (or the member price for that film).

 

Free parking for filmgoers is available in Lot 73 and in the CIA Annex Lot, both accessed from E. 117^th Street off Euclid Avenue. Cinematheque programs are supported by Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.

 

For further information, visit cia.edu/cinematheque; send an email to cinema@cia.edu; or call John Ewing or Tim Harry at (216) 421-7450.

 

JULY 1-2

 

Saturday, July 1, at 5:00 pm &

Sunday, July 2, at 6:30 pm

Film Classics in 35mm!

THE STRAIGHT STORY

France/UK/USA, 1999, David Lynch

David Lynch’s only G-rated feature (made between Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive) is one of his best and most acclaimed works. Based on a true story, it’s a surreal road movie in which Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth), an elderly man from Iowa, undertakes a 240-mile journey on a riding lawn mower to visit his estranged, ailing brother in Wisconsin (Harrry Dean Stanton) and make amends. With Sissy Spacek; music by Angelo Badalamenti. 112 min. Special admission $11; members, CIA & CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Saturday, July 1, at 7:15 pm &

Sunday, July 2, at 8:45 pm

OBIT.

USA, 2016, Vanessa Gould

How do you summarize a person’s entire life in a few hundred words—and do it on deadline? That’s the unique challenge facing the skilled (and widely read) writers on the New York Times obituary desk, which is the subject of this fascinating—and surprisingly funny—new documentary. Reveals how subjects are chosen, how death notices are placed, and who warrants tightly guarded “advance obits.” “An enjoyable behind-the-scenes look at one of journalism's odder jobs.” –Hollywood Reporter. Cleveland premiere. DCP. 94 min.

 

Saturday, July 1, at 9:10 pm &

Sunday, July 2, at 4:15 pm

CITIZEN JANE: BATTLE FOR THE CITY

USA, 2016, Matt Tyrnauer

Journalist and urban activist Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) was the author of the seminal 1961 book The Death and Life of Great American Cities. The visionary Jacobs perceived the vitality and diversity of life in America’s urban neighborhoods at a time when most city planners (like New York’s “master builder” Robert Moses) saw only unsightly slums that needed to be razed and then replaced with sterile planned communities of monolithic high rises. During the early 1960s, Jacobs went head to head with the autocratic and near-omnipotent Moses over his plan to build an expressway through the middle of Manhattan. And she won. This new film tells her important, inspiring, and still relevant story. DCP. 92 min.

 

Sunday, July 2, at 6:30 pm

THE STRAIGHT STORY

See 7/1 at 5:00 for description

 

Sunday, July 2, at 8:45 pm

OBIT.

See 7/1 at 7:15 for description

 

JULY 6-9

 

Thursday, July 6, at 6:45 pm &

Friday, July 7, at 7:15 pm

The Films of Arne Sucksdorff

THE GREAT ADVENTURE

DET STORA ÄVENTYRET

Sweden, 1953, Arne Sucksdorff

Perhaps the most celebrated work by the great Swedish nature filmmaker Arne Sucksdorff (who was born 100 years ago), this poetic, painstakingly photographed feature follows two Swedish farm boys who coexist with foxes, lynx, and other wild animals—and secretly domesticate an otter—over the course of four seasons. We will show a DCP from Sweden, affording moviegoers a rare chance to see this multi-award-winning classic with English subtitles instead of English narration. 77 min. Preceded at showtime by Sucksdorff’s Oscar-winning Symphony of a City (aka Rhythm of a City/Människor i stad, 1947, DCP, 20 min.), an impressionistic portrait of Stockholm. Special admission $11; members, CIA & CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Thursday, July 6, at 8:45 pm &

Sunday, July 9, at 8:10 pm

THE LEVELLING

UK, 2014, Hope Dickson Leach

A young English woman training to be a veterinarian (Ellie Kendrick of Game of Thrones) returns to the family farm—and to her hated father—after her brother dies, an apparent suicide. Shocked by the state of the property after being ravaged by floods, she must come to terms with her upbringing—and with herself—as part of a painful emotional reckoning. This acclaimed debut feature was one of Sight & Sound magazine’s three “films of the month” for June. Cleveland theatrical premiere. DCP. 83 min.

 

Friday, July 7, at 7:15 pm

THE GREAT ADVENTURE

See 7/6 at 6:45 for description

 

Friday, July 7, at 9:15 pm &

Saturday, July 8, at 6:40 pm

QUEEN OF THE DESERT

Morocco/USA, 2015, Werner Herzog

Nicole Kidman and James Franco star in Werner Herzog’s epic historical drama about Gertrude Bell (1868-1926), an English writer, explorer, cartographer, archaeologist, and political administrator who worked for decades in the Middle East. She’s been called the female Lawrence of Arabia and helped establish the modern state of Iraq. With Robert Pattinson as T.E. Lawrence. Cleveland theatrical premiere. DCP. 128 min.

 

Saturday, July 8, at 5:00 pm &

Sunday, July 9, at 6:30 pm

Film Classics in 35mm!

World War I + 100

BROKEN LULLABY

aka THE MAN I KILLED

USA, 1932, Ernst Lubitsch

The great German émigré Ernst Lubitsch directed this Hollywood classic that was remade last year by François Ozon as Frantz (see 7/8 at 9:10). It follows a guilt-ridden young French soldier who, after the 1918 armistice, travels to Germany to meet the family of a young soldier he killed during the war. With Lionel Barrymore. Print from the Universal Pictures studio archive! “Perhaps the most neglected of Lubitsch’s great films.” –NY Times. 76 min. Special admission $11; members, CIA & CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Saturday, July 8, at 6:40 pm

QUEEN OF THE DESERT

See 7/7 at 9:15 for description

 

Saturday, July 8, at 9:10 pm &

Sunday, July 9, at 4:00 pm

World War I + 100

FRANTZ

France/Germany, 2016, François Ozon

This remake of Ernst Lubitsch’s 1932 drama Broken Lullaby (see 7/8 at 5:00) is one of the most mature and emotionally affecting works by the veteran French director of Swimming Pool and In the House. The film focuses on a young German woman, shattered by the death of her betrothed during the Great War, who one day encounters a mysterious young Frenchman who proceeds to insinuate himself into her life and that of her fiancé’s grieving parents. Subtitles. DCP. 113 min.

 

Sunday, July 9, at 6:30 pm

BROKEN LULLABY

See 7/8 at 5:00 for description

 

Sunday, July 9, at 8:10 pm

THE LEVELLING

See 7/6 at 8:45 for description

 

JULY 13-16

 

Thursday, July 13, at 6:45 pm &

Saturday, July 15, at 8:50 pm

The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky

JODOROWSKY’S DUNE

USA/France, 2013, Frank Pavich

This recent documentary is a look back at a movie that was never made—a grand, multi-million-dollar film version of Frank Herbert's epic sci-fi novel Dune that was to have been Alejandro Jodorowsky’s follow-up to El Topo and The Holy Mountain. With art direction by H.R. Giger and French comic book artist Moebius, special effects by Dan O'Bannon, music by Pink Floyd, and a cast consisting of Orson Welles, Salvador Dali, Mick Jagger, and David Carradine, Dune was going to be a movie to remember. All it lacked was financing. The documentary shows and animates some of the hundreds of drawings and sketches from the project that still survive, to give a sense of what might have been. Equally animated is the ebullient and inspiring Jodorowsky, then 85, as he walks us through his visionary almost-masterpiece that, even without being made, influenced Star Wars, Alien, and other sci-fi films that followed. DCP. 90 min.

 

Thursday, July 13, at 8:35 pm &

Friday, July 14, at 7:30 pm

THE HAPPIEST DAY IN THE LIFE OF OLLI MÄKI

HYMYILEVÄ MIES

Finland/Sweden/Germany, 2016, Juho Kuosmanen

This sweet, modest, dryly funny debut feature was one of the most endearing and acclaimed debut films of last year, winning its first-time director the “Discovery” prize at the 2016 European Film Awards. Set in 1962 Finland (and inspired by a real person), the movie tells of a country baker turned boxer who contends for the world featherweight championship at the same time he is trying to win the woman of his dreams. So he’s conflicted; does he want to be a national hero or just a simple lover and suitor? “Remarkable.” –Variety. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 92 min.

 

Friday, July 14, at 9:25 pm &

Sunday, July 16, at 4:15 pm

I CALLED HIM MORGAN

Sweden/USA, 2016, Kasper Collin

The new jazz film from the Swedish director of My Name Is Albert Ayler explores the circumstances surrounding the shocking death of celebrated jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, who was shot during a 1972 gig at an East Village jazz club by his common-law wife Helen. “I Called Him Morgan isn’t just the greatest jazz documentary since Let’s Get Lost, it’s a documentary-as-jazz.” –The Guardian. Cleveland premiere. DCP. 92 min.

 

Saturday, July 15, at 5:00 pm

Film Classics in 16mm!

The Films of Arne Sucksdorff

SHORT FILMS BY ARNE SUCKSDORFF

Sweden, 1941-51, Arne Sucksdorff

This program consists of seven short nature films (including A Divided World) by the great Swedish filmmaker who was born 100 years ago. All were painstakingly shot in Sweden and India, and they feature an assortment of mammals and birds. Total approx. 81 min. Special admission $11; members, CIA & CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Saturday, July 15, at 6:45 pm &

Sunday, July 16, at 8:10 pm

SPIRIT GAME: PRIDE OF A NATION

USA, 2017, Peter Spirer, Peter Baxter

Lacrosse originated with the Iroquois, and this new documentary follows the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team on their historic journey to the 2015 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship. For the first time ever, the finals were held on Native soil—in Onondaga in upstate New York, the capital of the Iroquois Confederacy. With Jim Brown (a lacrosse great as well as a football great). “Its focus is on spiritual matters as well as the physical.” –Kenneth Turan, L.A. Times. Cleveland premiere. DCP. 102 min.

 

Saturday, July 15, at 8:50 pm

JODOROWSKY’S DUNE

See 7/13 at 6:45 for description

 

Sunday, July 16, at 4:15 pm

I CALLED HIM MORGAN

See 7/14 at 9:25 for description

 

Sunday, July 16, at 6:30 pm

The Films of Arne Sucksdorff

THE FLUTE AND THE ARROW

EN DJUNGELSAGA

Sweden, 1957, Arne Sucksdorff

Arne Sucksdorff’s first film in color and scope is set in India, where members of the ancient, agricultural Muria tribe are menaced by a jungle predator (a leopard) believed to be possessed by demons. Music by Ravi Shankar. Subtitles. DCP from Sweden. 78 min. Special admission $11; members, CIA & CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Sunday, July 16, at 8:10 pm

SPIRIT GAME: PRIDE OF A NATION

See 7/15 at 6:45 for description

 

JULY 19-23

 

Wednesday, July 19, at 7:00 pm

Jonathan Demme, 1944-2017

STOP MAKING SENSE

USA, 1984, Jonathan Demme

Tonight the Cinematheque joins art house theaters across the U.S. in celebrating the life of Jonathan Demme, the Oscar-winning filmmaker who died earlier this year at age 73. Demme’s first documentary is one of the greatest concert films ever made, showcasing David Byrne and the Talking Heads just after they achieved widespread success. Wear your biggest suit, put on your dancing shoes, and go! DCP. 88 min.

 

Thursday, July 20, at 6:45 pm &

Sunday, July 23, at 8:50 pm

ALL THESE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS

WSZYSTKIE NIEPRZESPNE NOCE

Poland/UK, 2016, Michal Marczak

Two twentysomething Polish men, unfettered by responsibilities or thoughts of mortality, choose to experience life at its fullest—roaming the city at night, floating from encounter to encounter, chain-smoking, drinking, and partying with only instinct and desire as their guides. This immersive, intoxicatingly shot paean to youth is almost pure sensation, and won a “best director” prize at Sundance. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 100 min.

 

Thursday, July 20, at 8:45 pm &

Saturday, July 22, at 5:00 pm

New Digital Restoration!

BLESS THEIR LITTLE HEARTS

USA, 1983, Billy Woodberry

Here’s a new restoration of one of the key works of the “L.A. Rebellion” movement of the 1970s and 1980s that produced such prominent African-American filmmakers as Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep), Julie Dash (Daughters of the Dust), and Haile Gerima (Sankofa). Billy Woodberry’s indie classic, written and shot by Burnett, was added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 2013. It’s a neorealist drama that chronicles the devastating toll that joblessness takes on a South Central L.A. married couple and their children. “Passionately recommended.” –Jonathan Rosenbaum. Preceded at showtime by Woodberry’s 13-min. short The Pocketbook (1980), inspired by Langston Hughes’ short story “Thank You, Ma’am.” Cleveland revival premiere. DCP. Total 93 min.

 

Friday, July 21, at 7:15 pm &

Sunday, July 23, at 4:00 pm

HEAL THE LIVING

RÉPARER LES VIVANTS

France/Belgium, 2016, Katell Quillévéré

In this gripping tale that movingly demonstrates the profound connections between total strangers, a tragedy shatters one French family but an organ transplant lifts another. One of the best reviewed films of the year! With Tahar Rahim, Emmanuelle Seigner, and Anne Dorval. “A wrenching medical drama that blends dazzling formal polish with rawest emotion...Sublimely compassionate.” –Variety. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 104 min. This film supported by a generous grant from Maison Française de Cleveland.

 

Friday, July 21, at 9:20 pm &

Saturday, July 22, at 6:55 pm

The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky

ENDLESS POETRY

POESÍA SIN FIN

Chile/France, 2016, Alejandro Jodorowsky

Alejandro Jodorowsky’s follow-up to his autobiographical film The Dance of Reality (see 7/29 at 8:35) picks up the story of his life when he is a young man in his 20s, as he tries to find himself and his way in the world. Having moved from the sticks to Santiago with his repressive father (who doesn’t want a poet in the family) and his mother (who sings all her dialogue in an operatic voice), young Alejandro (now played by the director’s youngest son, Adan) finds friendship and sustenance in the capital city’s bohemian quarter, an eye-opening, mind-expanding night world of art and sex, poetry, passion, and possibility. “The most accessible movie [Jodorowsky] has ever made, and it may also be the best.” –Variety. Adults only! Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 128 min.

 

Saturday, July 22, at 5:00 pm

BLESS THEIR LITTLE HEARTS

See 7/20 at 8:45 for description

 

Saturday, July 22, at 6:55 pm

ENDLESS POETRY

See 7/21 at 9:20 for description

 

Saturday, July 22, at 9:25 pm &

Sunday, July 23, at 6:30 pm

Film Classics in 35mm!

Back by Popular Demand!

THE LOVE WITCH

USA, 2016, Anna Biller

Anna Biller’s extravagantly praised new film is a sly, sexy, visually splendiferous feminist fantasy about a beautiful and dangerous young witch who uses spells and potions to get men to love her—usually with unhappy results. Imitating (and subverting) 1960s-1970s European and American color exploitation films, this lavishly designed work was actually shot and printed on 35mm film—and that’s how we’ll show it. Adults only!  120 min. Special admission $11; members, CIA & CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Sunday, July 23, at 4:00 pm

HEAL THE LIVING

See 7/21 at 7:15 for description

 

Sunday, July 23, at 6:30 pm

THE LOVE WITCH

See 7/22 at 9:25 for description

 

Sunday, July 23, at 8:50 pm

ALL THESE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS

See 7/20 at 6:45 for description

 

JULY 27-30

 

Thursday, July 27, at 6:30 pm

New Digital Restoration!

GIANT

USA, 1956, George Stevens

James Dean (in his last screen appearance before his untimely death), Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and Dennis Hopper star in this Texas-sized epic set in the Lone Star State. It’s a sprawling, two-generation saga about a wealthy cattle baron and his beautiful bride, and a less refined neighbor and rival who rises from ranch hand to oil tycoon. George Stevens’ follow-up to Shane won him the Oscar for Best Director. Giant is co-presented by MOCA Cleveland, where several paintings of James Dean, including one inspired by this film, can be seen in the exhibition “Keith Mayerson: My American Dream” through 9/17. DCP. 201 min. Special admission $11; Cinematheque & MOCA members, CIA & CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Friday, July 28, at 7:30 pm &

Sunday, July 30, at 8:25 pm

MANIFESTO

Germany/Australia, 2015, Julian Rosefeldt

In this film version of a multi-screen art installation by German video artist Julian Rosefeldt, a chameleon-like Cate Blanchett recites assorted 20th-century artistic manifestos (for Dadaism, Futurism, Minimalism, Surrealism, Dogma 95, et al.) while playing 13 different characters (CEO, sanitation worker, punk rocker, nuclear scientist, teacher, funeral orator, et al.) in a series of playful, often funny vignettes. Placing zealots’ philosophical fighting words into the mouths of non-artists in a variety of mundane settings results in some incongruous delights—like a TV anchorwoman delivering Sol LeWitt’s notes on Conceptual Art, or a suburban Southern mom reciting Claes Oldenburg’s Pop Art prayer before serving a turkey dinner. Cleveland premiere. DCP. 95 min.

 

Friday, July 28, at 9:30 pm &

Saturday, July 29, at 5:00 pm

Film Classics in 35mm!

Late Marx Brothers

ROOM SERVICE

USA, 1938, William A. Seiter

Groucho, Harpo, and Chico star in this film version of a popular Broadway comedy, about a penniless theatrical producer who’s desperately trying to raise money for a new play while avoiding being thrown out of the hotel where he and his company are holed up. With Lucille Ball and Ann Miller. 78 min. Special admission $11; members, CIA & CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners. The first 75 moviegoers attending Room Service on Friday night will get a free scoop of Mitchell’s ice cream before the film.

 

Saturday, July 29, at 6:40 pm &

Sunday, July 30, at 6:30 pm

2017 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL SHORT FILM TOUR

Canada/Chile/Poland/Sweden/USA, 2016-17, various directors

Come Swim, directed by actress Kristen Stewart, is one of seven international short films included in this new program of Sundance favorites. The mix of fiction, documentary, and animation ranges from laugh-out-loud comedies to contemplative reflections on the contemporary world. It also includes the 2017 Short Film Jury Award winners for U.S. Fiction and International Fiction. Full program details can be found at sundance.org/festivals/short-film#tour. Cleveland premiere. Some subtitles. DCP. Total 95 min.

 

Saturday, July 29, at 8:35 pm &

Sunday, July 30, at 3:30 pm

The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky

THE DANCE OF REALITY

LA DANZA DE LA REALIDAD

Chile/France, 2013, Alejandro Jodorowsky

Alejandro Jodorowsky’s prequel to Endless Poetry (see 7/21 at 9:20) is “something very close to a masterpiece,” according to the NY Times, and “maybe Alejandro Jodorowsky's best film” (Village Voice)." In it, the self-proclaimed “psychomagician” filmmaker returns to the coastal Chile of his childhood to tell a singularly strange tale of growing up. The result is a Spanish-language Amarcord that blends autobiography with metaphor, myth, and poetry, and teems with indelible images. Subtitles. DCP. 133 min.

 

Sunday, July 30, at 6:30 pm

2017 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL SHORT FILM TOUR

See 7/29 at 6:40 for description

 

Sunday, July 30, at 8:25 pm

MANIFESTO

See 7/28 at 7:30 for description

 

AUGUST 3-6

CINEMATHEQUE 31^ST ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND!

SPECIAL PROGRAMS FOR CINEPHILES!

 

Thursday, August 3, at 6:45 pm

Cinematheque 31^st Anniversary Weekend!

Film Classics in 16mm!

FLOORSHOW

USA, 1978, Richard Myers

This key shot-in-northeast Ohio feature by the dean of Ohio filmmakers, Richard Myers, won first prize at the 18^th Ann Arbor Film Festival. It’s a kaleidoscopic consideration of films, filmmaking, and life that prompted the L.A. Times to declare: “There’s probably no filmmaker more successful in transmitting his imagination to the screen than Ohio experimentalist Richard Myers.” 16mm. 90 min.

 

Thursday, August 3, at 8:30 pm &

Sunday, August 6, at 3:30 pm

Cinematheque 31^st Anniversary Weekend!

DAWSON CITY: FROZEN TIME

USA, 2016, Bill Morrison

The latest found-footage assemblage from the maker of Decasia continues Bill Morrison’s fascination with the archaeology of early cinema.  Dawson City, in the Yukon Territory just south of the Arctic Circle, was the destination of thousands of prospectors during the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 19th century. It was also the final resting place for hundreds of nitrate prints of silent movies that were shipped there (the last stop on a film distribution circuit) and never returned. Buried in—and protected by—the permafrost, this cache of movies was accidentally uncovered by a bulldozer in 1978. It proved a gold mine to film historians, with many previously lost rarities. Morrison pairs clips from these rediscovered films with other archival footage, interviews, period photographs, and a score by Sigur Rós collaborator and composer Alex Somers to relate the unique history of this Canadian Gold Rush town and the life cycle of a singular film collection. Cleveland premiere. DCP. 120 min.

 

Friday, August 4, at 7:30 pm &

Saturday, August 5, at 9:15 pm

Cinematheque 31^st Anniversary Weekend!

Film Classics in 35mm!

25^th Anniversary!

RESERVOIR DOGS

USA, 1992, Quentin Tarantino

In 1993 (a year before Pulp Fiction) we wrote the following: “Mark our words: first-time writer/director Quentin Tarantino made one for future film history books with this savage, stylish, tightly-plotted thriller about the bloody aftermath of a bungled jewel heist. Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, and Michael Madsen will live for years as Mr. White, Mr. Orange, Mr. Pink, and Mr. Blonde.” If you didn’t believe us then, then don’t miss seeing Reservoir Dogs this time around, in a 35mm color & scope print that has been newly struck for the film’s 25th anniversary. Adults only! 99 min. Special admission $11; members, CIA & CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Friday, August 4, at 9:30 pm

Cinematheque 31^st Anniversary Weekend!

David Lynch Double Feature!

INDUSTRIAL SYMPHONY NO. 1: THE DREAM OF THE BROKENHEARTED

USA, 1990, David Lynch

RABBITS

USA, 2002, David Lynch

Two little-known works by David Lynch, neither made for theatrical release. Industrial Symphony No. 1 is a film version of an avant-garde musical play by Lynch and composer Angelo Badalamenti; it constitutes something of a bridge between Wild at Heart and Twin Peaks. When a guy (Nicolas Cage) dumps his gal (Laura Dern), her shattered “dreamself” (Julee Cruise) sings a series of aching lovesongs. Sometimes she’s floating above a stage littered with junk; sometimes she’s backed up by dancers. Rabbits is a four-episode adaptation of Lynch’s eight-episode web series. Scott Coffey, Laura Elena Harring, Rebekah Del Rio, and Naomi Watts play humanoid rabbits in an ominous living room setting. As it pours rain outside, they deliver non-sequitur dialogue and occasionally sing, while an eerie laugh track and applause from an unseen audience heighten the atmosphere of anxiety and menace. DVD. Total 93 min. Screening courtesy of ABSURDA/Asymmetrical Productions.

 

Saturday, August 5, at 5:00 pm

Cinematheque 31^st Anniversary Weekend!

Film Classics in 35mm!

Late Marx Brothers

AT THE CIRCUS

USA, 1939, Edward Buzzell

The Marx Bros try to save a bankrupt circus from conniving creditors in this three-ring comedy that co-stars Margaret Dumont. Groucho sings “Lydia the Tattooed Lady.” Archive print! 87 min. Special admission $11; members, CIA & CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Saturday, August 5, at 6:50 pm

Cinematheque 31^st Anniversary Weekend!

Film Classics in 35mm!

The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky

SANTA SANGRE

Italy/Mexico, 1989, Alejandro Jodorowsky

Set in a world of circus freaks and religious fanatics, Alejandro (El Topo) Jodorowsky’s surreal, sensational south-of-the-border tale concerns an insane young man who becomes the arms—and does the nefarious bidding—of his mutilated, armless mother. Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive. No one under 18 admitted! Subtitles. 123 min. Special admission $11; members, CIA & CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Saturday, August 5, at 9:15 pm

RESERVOIR DOGS

See 8/4 at 7:30 for description

 

Sunday, August 6, at 3:30 pm

DAWSON CITY: FROZEN TIME

See 8/3 at 8:30 for description

 

Sunday, August 6, at 6:00 pm

Cinematheque 31^st Anniversary Weekend!

New Digital Restoration!

DR. MABUSE, THE GAMBLER

DR. MABUSE, DER SPIELER

Germany, 1922, Fritz Lang

Prior to directing Metropolis and M, the great Fritz Lang exploited the fear, social unrest, and decadence of post-WWI Germany (and foreshadowed Hitler) with this famous, visually stunning silent epic about a criminal genius, hypnotist, and master of disguise (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) who wreaks economic havoc and plots to take over the world. Comprised of two parts (The Great Gambler and The Inferno) that were released one month apart, this seminal crime drama was recently restored by three German film archives. The resulting “authorized” version is not only the longest available cut of the film, but also the one that most closely represents Lang's original vision. English intertitles. Music track. Blu-ray. 270 min. Special admission $12; members, CIA & CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $9; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

AUGUST 10-13

 

Thursday, August 10, at 6:45 pm &

Sunday, August 13, at 4:00 pm

50^th Anniversary!

New Digital Restoration!

ACCIDENT

UK, 1967, Joseph Losey

The second collaboration between screenwriter Harold Pinter and director Joseph Losey stars Dirk Bogarde—just like their first one, 1963’s The Servant. But this is a color movie—in which a placid Oxford summer is disrupted by the arrival of a pretty Austrian student who ignites sexual, social, and intellectual conflicts among two middle-aged professors and another student.  With Stanley Baker, Michael York, and Delphine Seyrig. Cleveland revival premiere! DCP. 105 min.

 

Thursday, August 10, at 8:50 pm &

Sunday, August 13, at 8:15 pm

HARMONIUM

FUCHI NI TATSU

Japan/France, 2016, Kōji Fukada

In this compelling, unsettling new drama from the maker of 2011’s striking Hospitalité, a married couple’s suppressed tensions rise to the surface when a mysterious former acquaintance (Tadanobu Asano), just released from prison, goes to work in the husband’s metal shop and begins living with him and his family. “Proclaims the arrival of a major talent.” –Japan Times. Adults only! Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 118 min.

 

Friday, August 11, at 7:15 pm &

Saturday, August 12, at 9:05 pm

Film Classics in 35mm!

The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky

THE HOLY MOUNTAIN

LA MONTAÑA SAGRADA

Mexico/USA, 1973, Alejandro Jodorowsky

Jodorowsky’s follow-up to his midnight hit El Topo (see 8/18 at 7:00) is perhaps the strangest and most visually splendiferous of his career. The film charts a spiritual quest toward enlightenment in which an alchemist (Jodorowsky) leads a Christ-like thief and seven other disciples (each representing one of the planets) to the Holy Mountain. There they will overthrow the immortal beings who secretly rule the universe. “Not even Buñuel with a brainful of Woodstock's bad brown acid could have made something this gloriously screwy.” –Time Out. No one under 18 admitted! Subtitles. 35mm. 114 min. Special admission $11; members, CIA & CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Friday, August 11, at 9:30 pm &

Saturday, August 12, at 6:45 pm

TOMORROW

DEMAIN

France, 2015, Cyril Dion, Mélanie Laurent

The new film by actress turned director Mélanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds) is a documentary about global climate change that foregoes doom and gloom prophecies to focus on the good things that countless individuals around the world are doing to combat the problem. “Required viewing for anyone wondering what they could do to pitch in and save the planet.” –Hollywood Reporter. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 118 min.

 

Saturday, August 12, at 5:00 pm &

Sunday, August 13, at 6:30 pm

Film Classics in 35mm!

Late Marx Brothers

GO WEST

USA, 1940, Edward Buzzell

Groucho, Harpo, and Chico head West to become rich, but instead become embroiled in a crooked land-grab scheme. Lots of musical numbers and some hilarious sequences—especially the train chase climax (which includes gags concocted by an uncredited Buster Keaton). 81 min. Special admission $11; members, CIA & CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Saturday, August 12, at 6:45 pm

TOMORROW

See 8/11 at 9:30 for description

 

Saturday, August 12, at 9:05 pm

THE HOLY MOUNTAIN

See 8/11 at 7:15 for description

 

Sunday, August 13, at 4:00 pm

ACCIDENT

See 8/10 at 6:45 for description

 

Sunday, August 13, at 6:30 pm

GO WEST

See 8/12 at 5:00 for description

 

Sunday, August 13, at 8:15 pm

HARMONIUM

See 8/10 at 8:50 for description

 

AUGUST 17-20

 

Thursday, August 17, at 6:45 pm &

Sunday, August 20, at 8:40 pm

HERMIA & HELENA

Argentina/USA, 2016, Matías Piñeiro

The latest Shakespeare-inspired film from Argentinian director Matías Piñeiro (his first in English) focuses on a young Buenos Aires theatre director translating A Midsummer Night’s Dream while living in New York. The text resonates with her romantic and family life, which we come to know via a series of lyrical scenes and flashbacks. “A sunny Shakespearean pleasure.” –Village Voice. Cleveland premiere. DCP. 87 min.

 

Thursday, August 17, at 8:35 pm &

Saturday, August 19, at 5:00 pm

Late Marx Brothers

THE BIG STORE

USA, 1941, Charles Reisner

The last of the Marx Bros’ MGM films follows two-bit detective Wolf J. Flywheel (Groucho) as he uncovers a department store manager’s nefarious plot to take control of the whole operation. With Harpo, Chico, and Margaret Dumont. DVD. 83 min.

 

Friday, August 18, at 7:00 pm &

Saturday, August 19, at 9:30 pm

Film Classics in 35mm!

The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky

EL TOPO

Spain/Mexico, 1970, Alejandro Jodorowsky

Alejandro Jodorowsky’s trippy, sexy, underground epic was the first midnight-movie hit, and became a counterculture touchstone during the early 1970s. The film is a surreal, symbol-laden religious allegory disguised as an ultraviolent spaghetti western—about a mystical master gunfighter (Jodorowsky) who dispatches a lot of people before seeking redemption. John Lennon proclaimed it a masterpiece. No one under 18 admitted! Subtitles. 35mm. 125 min.  Special admission $11; members, CIA & CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Friday, August 18, at 9:30 pm &

Sunday, August 20, at 6:30 pm

I AM THE BLUES

USA, 2015, Daniel Cross

This new documentary takes viewers on a musical journey through the swamps of the Louisiana Bayou, the juke joints of the Mississippi Delta, and Moonshine-soaked BBQs of the North Mississippi Hill Country. The film visits longtime blues musicians, some in their 80s and 90s, who once toured the Chitlin’ Circuit and still live in the Deep South—among them, 2017 Grammy winner Bobby Rush, Barbara Lynn, and Henry Gray. Cleveland theatrical premiere. DCP. 106 min.

 

Saturday, August 19, at 5:00 pm

THE BIG STORE

See 8/17 at 8:35 for description

 

Saturday, August 19, at 6:45 pm &

Sunday, August 20, at 3:30 pm

New 4K Digital Restoration!

MAURICE

UK, 1987, James Ivory

James Wilby, Hugh Grant, and Rupert Graves star in this meticulous Merchant/Ivory adaptation of an E.M. Forster novel—a tale of homosexuality in a less enlightened age. Set against the stifling conformity of pre-World War I English society, the film follows two Cambridge students who, for fear of humiliation and possible imprisonment, must keep their feelings for each other secret. With Ben Kingsley and Helena Bonham Carter. Cleveland revival premiere. DCP. 141 min.

 

Saturday, August 19, at 9:30 pm

EL TOPO

See 8/18 at 7:00 for description

 

Sunday, August 20, at 3:30 pm

MAURICE

See 8/19 at 6:45 for description

 

Sunday, August 20, at 6:30 pm

I AM THE BLUES

See 8/18 at 9:30 for description

 

Sunday, August 20, at 8:40 pm

HERMIA & HELENA

See 8/17 at 6:45 for description

 

AUGUST 24-27

 

Thursday, August 24, at 6:45 pm &

Sunday, August 27, at 4:15 pm

New Digital Restoration!

IL BOOM (THE BOOM)

Italy, 1963, Vittorio De Sica

Never before released in the U.S., this Italian classic from the exalted director/screenwriter team of Vittorio De Sica and Cesare Zavattini (The Bicycle Thief, Shoeshine, Umberto D.) is a comedy about the country’s post-WWII economic boom. Top Italian comic Alberto Sordi (The White Sheik, I Vitelloni, Mafioso) stars in the movie, playing an inept, debt-ridden contractor who struggles to maintain the high standard of living enjoyed by his frivolous wife. But when a super-rich matron offers him a permanent way out of debt, he must decide whether the price is too high. Cleveland revival premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 88 min.

 

Thursday, August 24, at 8:35 pm &

Friday, August 25, at 9:45 pm

The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky

FANDO AND LIS

FANDO Y LIS

Mexico, 1968, Alejandro Jodorowsky

Inspired by a play by Spanish writer Fernando Arrabal, Alejandro (El Topo) Jodorowsky’s first feature caused a riot when it premiered at the Acapulco Film Festival. The movie follows a young man and his paraplegic girlfriend as they journey through a desolate wasteland on their way to the mythical city of Tar, which promises them enlightenment. Along the way they have a series of dreamy, surreal encounters worthy of Buñuel, David Lynch, or John Waters. “An adorable, preposterous mutant film.” –Village Voice. No one under 18 admitted! Subtitles. DCP. 96 min.

 

Friday, August 25, at 8:00 pm &

Saturday, August 26, at 9:55 pm

Film Classics in 35mm!

Late Marx Brothers

A NIGHT IN CASABLANCA

USA, 1946, Archie Mayo

This independent production is perhaps the funniest of the late Marx Bros films. Intended as a parody of the Bogart-Bergman classic but softened into a general spoof of wartime melodramas after Warner Bros threatened a lawsuit, the film is set in postwar Casabalanca, where Groucho becomes the unwitting new manager of a hotel where his predecessors have been serially murdered. Harpo and Chico help identify and thwart the killer—an escaped Nazi war criminal (Sig Ruman). 85 min. Special admission $11; members, CIA & CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Friday, August 25, at 9:45 pm

FANDO AND LIS

See 8/24 at 8:35 for description

 

Saturday, August 26, at 8:15 pm &

Sunday, August 27, at 8:25 pm

KEDI

Turkey/USA, 2016, Ceyda Torun

The picturesque city of Istanbul is home to thousands of stray cats who live independently between two worlds, neither wild nor tame. This gentle, gorgeously shot documentary, part nature film and part travelogue, profiles a handful of these felines, all with unique personalities, as well as the kind, cat-loving city residents who often care for them. Subtitles. DCP. 79 min.

 

Saturday, August 26, at 9:55 pm

A NIGHT IN CASABLANCA

See 8/25 at 8:00 for description

 

Sunday, August 27, at 4:15 pm

New Digital Restoration!

IL BOOM (THE BOOM)

See 8/24 at 6:45 for description

 

Sunday, August 27, at 6:30 pm &

Thursday, August 31, at 8:45 pm

Late Marx Brothers

LOVE HAPPY

USA, 1949, David Miller

A young Marilyn Monroe makes a brief but memorable appearance in the Marx Bros’ final film. Based on a story by Harpo and originally intended as a vehicle just for him, the film was reworked by co-writers Frank Tashlin and Ben Hecht to include parts for Groucho and Chico. It’s about a group of young actors who are trying to stage a musical revue when they become unwittingly involved with some dastardly diamond thieves. Blu-ray. 91 min.

 

Sunday, August 27, at 8:25 pm

KEDI

See 8/26 at 8:15 for description

 

AUGUST 31

 

Thursday, August 31, at 6:45 pm

GRAPHIC MEANS: A HISTORY OF GRAPHIC DESIGN PRODUCTION

USA, 2017, Briar Levit

This new documentary explores how graphic design production was accomplished before the advent of the desktop computer almost three decades ago. From the 1950s and into the 1990s, it took ingenious analog machines and tools, and skilled hands, to marry images and type on meticulously prepared paste-up boards that were then delivered to the printer. Cleveland premiere. DVD. 85 min. Screening co-sponsored by AIGA Cleveland, Cleveland Digital Publishing Users Group (CDPUG), and the Northern Ohio Illustrators Society (NOIS). AIGA, CDPUG, and NOIS members $7.

 

Thursday, August 31, at 8:45 pm

LOVE HAPPY

See 8/27 at 6:30 for description