WEDNESDAY - Programmer's Picks
You asked for it! Celluloid every Wednesday! Join Doc for an assortment of some programming favorites.
Brazil (1985)
Terry Gilliam · 132m · 35mm
What would you do if Robert De Niro, as a rogue HVAC technician and state-designated terrorist, broke into your house and showed you how life could be different? Jonathan Pryce works a dead-end job when a literal bug in his printer ropes him into meeting the woman of his dreams, and into aiding De Niro's resistance movement. Quirky, hilarious, and ever-relatable, Terry Gilliam's Brazil will have you singing along to Geoff Muldaur's eponymous cover by the end.
Wednesday, March 20th 7:00PM · Saturday, March 23rd 9:30PM
Come and See (1985)
Elem Klimov · 142m · 35mm
Epic feel-bad cinema from Elim Klimov, Come and See tracks a young boy as he wanders through a forest of resistance fighters, encountering the horrors of WWII. Mixing archival images with the terrifying surrealistic cinematography of Aleksei Rodionov, this is a work that pushes itself deep into the abject terror of war.
Wednesday, March 27th 7:00PM · Saturday, March 30th 4:00PM
Funny Games (1997)
Michael Haneke · 108m · 35mm
Due to print availability, Funny Games will now be a digital screening. We apologize for the inconvenience. We are adding a screening of Caché on 35mm on Wednesday 4/3 9:00pm, after Funny Games. Caché will also repeat at 4/7 at 1pm before the 4pm screening of Funny Games. Those who buy a ticket to Funny Games will also be able to go to the same day screening of Caché (and those who want to pre-order tickets for Caché can order same day tickets to Funny Games). If you’d like to return pre-purchased tickets to Funny Games, please contact the Logan Box Office at boxoffice@uchicago.edu.
Wednesday, April 3rd 7:00PM · Sunday, April 7th 4:00PM
Kagemusha (1980)
Akira Kurosawa · 160m · 35mm
This late Kurosawa film sees him return to the samurai genre, and tells the story of a thief who is asked to impersonate a dying warlord in order to uphold his clan's reputation. Kurosawa spent years during the pre-production of Kagemusha painting the images he envisioned for the film; this influence can clearly be seen in the vivid, colorful cinematography of the final product: an epic drama of human folly.
Wednesday, April 10th 7:00PM · Saturday, April 13th 8:30PM
Breaking the Waves (1996)
Lars von Trier · 159m · 35mm
Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.
Breaking the Waves is an operatic vision of love, faith, obsession, and violence. The young bride Bess concocts a bizarre mixture of sexuality, Christianity, and sadism after her lover Jan is paralyzed in an oil rig accident. Stunning cinematography courtesy of Robby Müller, an incredible early ‘70s soundtrack, and the single greatest performance ever put on screen: what more can you ask for?
Wednesday, April 17th 7:00PM · Saturday, April 20th 7:00PM
Electrical Gaza (2015) / 5 Broken Cameras (2011)
Rosalind Nashashibi / Guy David and Emad Burnat · 18m / 90m · 35mm / DCP
All proceeds from this screening will go to Care for Gaza and the Palestine Children's Relief Fund.
What can the camera do in a place being ravaged by occupation? Electrical Gaza captures the quotidian beauty of a place which also exists when violence is not happening. 5 Broken Cameras tells the story of Emad Burnat, a Palestinian farmer in Bil’in who buys a camera in 2005 and ends up documenting the peaceful resistance of the villagers against the unending, forceful occupation by the Israeli army.
Wednesday, April 24th 7:00PM
Bad Education (2004)
Pedro Almodóvar · 106m · 35mm
The darkest of Almodóvar’s melodramas, Bad Education melds childhood sexual abuse, blackmail, and murder to form a meta film-within-a-film mystery that’s equally soulful and shocking. What begins with two lovers bonding over their traumatic upbringing at the hands of an abusive priest quickly warps into a rhapsodic tale of lust and revenge starring the great Gael García Bernal in a captivating triple performance.
Wednesday, May 1st 7:00PM · Saturday, May 4th 9:30PM
Rocco and His Brothers (1960)
Luchino Visconti · 179m · 35mm
How messed up can family really be? Set in a gorgeous black-and-white Milan, Rocco follows the lives of four brothers who become increasingly enmeshed in desires for money, fame, and women upon moving to the city from Sicily. Quite possibly Luchino Visconti's magnum opus, this is one film you definitely won't want to miss.
Wednesday, May 8th7:00PM · Saturday, May 11th 7:00PM
Opening Night (1977)
John Cassavetes · 144m · 35mm
An alcoholic actress must confront her own image in the wake of tragedy. The premise, perhaps a tad mundane on paper, becomes anything but with John Cassavetes at the helm. Featuring his classic eye for the vérité camera, extended riffs by a cast including Gena Rowlands in her finest hour, and explosions of emotions, Opening Night capped off Cassavetes' independent golden era.
