NOT NECESSARILY NOIR @ the Roxie in SF 8/20 - 9/2
Posted: July 17th, 2010, 4:41 pm
Hey everyone -
Next month the Roxie Theater in San Francisco plays host to my latest film series--
NOT NECESSARILY NOIR! Two thrilling weeks (August 20 - September 2) of dark and disturbing motion picture
entertainment featuring films in a variety of unusual genres (horror, science fiction, westerns) as well as films made in COLOR in the years long past the period generally associated with film noir.
Here's the line-up:
Friday, August 20:
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956) Don Siegel's original
version of what is, for many, the ultimate sci-fi noir of the period!
THE CREEPING UNKNOWN (1956) Val Guest directs this eerie
UK horror-scifi-noir hybrid and it's a major creep-fest. Brian Donlevy
stars as the enigmatic Professor Quartermass.
Saturday, August 21:
MIRAGE (1965) Director Edward Dmytryk's wide-screen black & white
homage to Hitchcock starring Gregory Peck and Diane Baker. Amnesia
noir at its best. Great score by Quincy Jones.
13 WEST STREET (1962) Unsung Alan Ladd late-model noir. It was his
second from last film and he really looks haggard in this. Directed by
Philip Leacock.
Sunday & Monday, August 22 & 23:
A pair of unjustly ignored films from director Jack Garfein!
THE STRANGE ONE (1957) Ben Gazzara as a sociopathic military
cadet determined to destroy all those around him. Awesome!!
SOMETHING WILD (1961) Carroll Baker as a rape victim who winds
up in a relationship with mentally unstable Ralph Meeker. Incredible!
Tuesday, August 24:
THE DAY OF THE OUTLAW (1959) Andre DeToth's snowbound western
noir stars the iconic Robert Ryan. One of Hollywood's great, forgotten films.
TERROR IN A TEXAS TOWN (1958) Sterling Hayden stars in Joseph H.
Lewis' wholly eccentric western drama. Justice comes at the end of a harpoon!
Wednesday, August 25:
THE SADIST (1963) Arch Hall, Jr. in one of the most disturbing terror films ever
made. Photographed in stunning black & white by Vilmos Zsigmond.
A TOWN HAS TURNED TO DUST (1958) Rediscovered TV Noir from "Playhouse
90." Written by Rod Serling and directed by John Frankenheimer. Dynamic tale of
small-town racial prejudice. William Shatner stands out as the rabid leader of a
lynch mob!
Thursday, August 26:
THE FACE BEHIND THE MASK (1941) Brilliant horror-noir hybrid with Peter Lorre as
an idealistic immigrant who becomes a savage criminal after being hideously disfigured
in a fire. Evelyn Keyes is in it, too. Directed (with flair) by Robert Florey.
HOUSE OF HORRORS (1946) This was Rondo Hatton's last film. The actor suffered
from the degenerative disease acromegaly and required no make-up. A real oddity.
Friday, August 27:
OBSESSION (1976) Brian DePalma's odd take on Hitchcock's "Vertigo" starring Cliff
Robertson and Genevieve Bujold. Written by Paul Schrader. Score by Bernard Herrmann.
LAST EMBRACE (1979) Director Jonathan Demme's turn to pay regards to the Master
of Suspense. Starring Roy Scheider and Janet Margolin.
Saturday, August 28
BREATHLESS (1983) Jim McBride's incredible remake of Godard's new wave trend-setter.
Am I the only one who prefers this version? Richard Gere and Valerie Kaprisky star.
ROMEO IS BLEEDING (1993) Gary Oldman and Lena Olin re-imagine film noir by turning
every classical notion on its ear. Peter Medak directs, and how!
Sunday & Monday, August 29 & 30:
BAD LIEUTENANT (1992) Harvey Keitel as the eponymous, nameless cop in Abel Ferrara's
brutal and brilliant tale of redemption.
BLUE COLLAR (1978) Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto in Paul Schrader's
unforgettable dissection of the American Dream. One of the 70s most shamefully overlooked
films!
Tuesday, August 31:
THIEF (1981) Michael Mann's first feature as a director is also one of his best! James Caan,
Tuesday Weld and Willie Nelson star in this rugged, visually exhilarating crime saga. Tangerine
Dream does the music.
CUTTER'S WAY (1982) John Heard, Jeff Bridges, and Lisa Eichhorn all take home the acting
honors in Ivan Passer's heartbreakingly real drama of post-Vietnam War disillusionment.
Wednesday, September 1:
MICKEY ONE (1965) A couple of years before they altered cinema history with "Bonnie & Clyde,"
Warren Beatty and director Arthur Penn teamed up for this one-of-a-kind existential crime drama.
THE WOMAN CHASER (1999) Based on Charles Willeford's demented novel of the same name,
this is one whacked-out, retro noir classic in the making. Patrick Walburton (Putty, on the "Seinfeld"
show is the star).
Thursday, September 2:
HARDCORE (1979) George C, Scott as the straighlaced Michigan businessman who comes to LA
in order to rescue his teenage daughter from the evils of prostitution! "Oh my God, that's my daughter!"
Peter Boyle plays a sleazy private eye. Paul Schrader wrote and directed.
ROLLING THUNDER (1977) Brutally violent shocker finds William Devane in the unenviable position
of seeking vengeance on those who murdered his family. Tommy Lee Jones plays his buddy. Schrader
wrote it; John Flynn directed.
Next month the Roxie Theater in San Francisco plays host to my latest film series--
NOT NECESSARILY NOIR! Two thrilling weeks (August 20 - September 2) of dark and disturbing motion picture
entertainment featuring films in a variety of unusual genres (horror, science fiction, westerns) as well as films made in COLOR in the years long past the period generally associated with film noir.
Here's the line-up:
Friday, August 20:
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956) Don Siegel's original
version of what is, for many, the ultimate sci-fi noir of the period!
THE CREEPING UNKNOWN (1956) Val Guest directs this eerie
UK horror-scifi-noir hybrid and it's a major creep-fest. Brian Donlevy
stars as the enigmatic Professor Quartermass.
Saturday, August 21:
MIRAGE (1965) Director Edward Dmytryk's wide-screen black & white
homage to Hitchcock starring Gregory Peck and Diane Baker. Amnesia
noir at its best. Great score by Quincy Jones.
13 WEST STREET (1962) Unsung Alan Ladd late-model noir. It was his
second from last film and he really looks haggard in this. Directed by
Philip Leacock.
Sunday & Monday, August 22 & 23:
A pair of unjustly ignored films from director Jack Garfein!
THE STRANGE ONE (1957) Ben Gazzara as a sociopathic military
cadet determined to destroy all those around him. Awesome!!
SOMETHING WILD (1961) Carroll Baker as a rape victim who winds
up in a relationship with mentally unstable Ralph Meeker. Incredible!
Tuesday, August 24:
THE DAY OF THE OUTLAW (1959) Andre DeToth's snowbound western
noir stars the iconic Robert Ryan. One of Hollywood's great, forgotten films.
TERROR IN A TEXAS TOWN (1958) Sterling Hayden stars in Joseph H.
Lewis' wholly eccentric western drama. Justice comes at the end of a harpoon!
Wednesday, August 25:
THE SADIST (1963) Arch Hall, Jr. in one of the most disturbing terror films ever
made. Photographed in stunning black & white by Vilmos Zsigmond.
A TOWN HAS TURNED TO DUST (1958) Rediscovered TV Noir from "Playhouse
90." Written by Rod Serling and directed by John Frankenheimer. Dynamic tale of
small-town racial prejudice. William Shatner stands out as the rabid leader of a
lynch mob!
Thursday, August 26:
THE FACE BEHIND THE MASK (1941) Brilliant horror-noir hybrid with Peter Lorre as
an idealistic immigrant who becomes a savage criminal after being hideously disfigured
in a fire. Evelyn Keyes is in it, too. Directed (with flair) by Robert Florey.
HOUSE OF HORRORS (1946) This was Rondo Hatton's last film. The actor suffered
from the degenerative disease acromegaly and required no make-up. A real oddity.
Friday, August 27:
OBSESSION (1976) Brian DePalma's odd take on Hitchcock's "Vertigo" starring Cliff
Robertson and Genevieve Bujold. Written by Paul Schrader. Score by Bernard Herrmann.
LAST EMBRACE (1979) Director Jonathan Demme's turn to pay regards to the Master
of Suspense. Starring Roy Scheider and Janet Margolin.
Saturday, August 28
BREATHLESS (1983) Jim McBride's incredible remake of Godard's new wave trend-setter.
Am I the only one who prefers this version? Richard Gere and Valerie Kaprisky star.
ROMEO IS BLEEDING (1993) Gary Oldman and Lena Olin re-imagine film noir by turning
every classical notion on its ear. Peter Medak directs, and how!
Sunday & Monday, August 29 & 30:
BAD LIEUTENANT (1992) Harvey Keitel as the eponymous, nameless cop in Abel Ferrara's
brutal and brilliant tale of redemption.
BLUE COLLAR (1978) Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto in Paul Schrader's
unforgettable dissection of the American Dream. One of the 70s most shamefully overlooked
films!
Tuesday, August 31:
THIEF (1981) Michael Mann's first feature as a director is also one of his best! James Caan,
Tuesday Weld and Willie Nelson star in this rugged, visually exhilarating crime saga. Tangerine
Dream does the music.
CUTTER'S WAY (1982) John Heard, Jeff Bridges, and Lisa Eichhorn all take home the acting
honors in Ivan Passer's heartbreakingly real drama of post-Vietnam War disillusionment.
Wednesday, September 1:
MICKEY ONE (1965) A couple of years before they altered cinema history with "Bonnie & Clyde,"
Warren Beatty and director Arthur Penn teamed up for this one-of-a-kind existential crime drama.
THE WOMAN CHASER (1999) Based on Charles Willeford's demented novel of the same name,
this is one whacked-out, retro noir classic in the making. Patrick Walburton (Putty, on the "Seinfeld"
show is the star).
Thursday, September 2:
HARDCORE (1979) George C, Scott as the straighlaced Michigan businessman who comes to LA
in order to rescue his teenage daughter from the evils of prostitution! "Oh my God, that's my daughter!"
Peter Boyle plays a sleazy private eye. Paul Schrader wrote and directed.
ROLLING THUNDER (1977) Brutally violent shocker finds William Devane in the unenviable position
of seeking vengeance on those who murdered his family. Tommy Lee Jones plays his buddy. Schrader
wrote it; John Flynn directed.