Saturday, January 22 · 7:30pm Double Feature: 40th Anniversary! THE FRENCH CONNECTION, 1971, 20th Century Fox, 104 min. Arguably the greatest American crime film ever made. Gene Hackman stars as Detective Popeye Doyle, who’s muscling minor hoods in NYC (the "You ever pick your feet in Poughkeepsie?" scene is still a classic) when he catches the ...
Larry Karaszewski Presents: Double Feature: THE LADY IN RED, 1979, New World Pictures, 93 min. The "lady in red" of the title (Pamela Sue Martin) is thrust into a life on the run thanks to her relationship with notorious gangster John Dillinger (Robert Conrad) in this energetic Roger Corman production. A sharp screenplay ...
Before his death in November 2009, director Paul Wendkos put his name on over 180 projects, from the teen surf classic GIDGET to a spate of acclaimed made-for-television movies. His stylish and groundbreaking television movie work from 1967-1977 gave birth to nightmares and a whole generation of young directors. From the off-kilter, Dutch-angled and fish-eyed world he created for THE INVADERS to his DGA-nominated masterpiece THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BELL, Wendkos is a true craftsman deserving of rediscovery and reevaluation.
CRIMINALLY UNKNOWN PRESENTS: LARRY FESSENDEN IN PERSON
WENDIGO, 2001, Magnolia Pictures, 91 min. Dir. Larry Fessenden. A blue Volvo makes its way through the fading light this chilly winter evening in Upstate New York. Kim, George (Jake Weber and Patricia Clarkson) and their eight-year old son, Miles (Erik Per Sullivan), are city dwellers stealing a weekend away at a friend’s country farmhouse. But a fluke accident sets off a chain of events that alters their lives forever and conjures up the ferocious spirit of the Wendigo. Smart, genuinely scary, unforgettable. “…as if John Cassavetes had been working for Universal in the early 30′s.” Dave Kehr, New York Times
HABIT, 1996, Glass Eye Pix/Passport Cinema, 112 min. Autumn in New York. Sam (Larry Fessenden) has broken up with his girlfriend and his father has recently died. World-weary and sloppy drunk, he finds temporary solace in the arms of Anna (Meredith Snaider), a mysterious woman who draws him away from his friends and into a web of addiction and madness. A beautiful “downtown” vampire tale. “a sad and haunting film…” Roger Ebert
Discussion in between films with director Larry Fessenden.
The Next CU:EVENT at the Egyptian Theatre. Thursday, May 6th 7:30PM
CRIMINALLY UNKNOWN: FILM CREWS AMUCK!
CU is proud to present the ultimate FILM CREWS GONE CRAZY double bill. With an ultra rare 35mm double bill of EFFECTS and THE REAL THING aka TEENAGER! With special guests Dusty Nelson, John Harrison, Joseph Pilato, Pasquale Buba, Charles Hoyes from EFFECTS and Gerald Sindell and Sue Bernard from THE REAL THING!
I’ve been so swamped that i missed this a while back… the press released wound up in my spam folder somehow…luckily I noticed this on Schlockmania :) MORE GRINDHOUSE SCREENINGS OF GONE WITH THE POPE!
Bud Cort and Sally Kellerman are coming to the Aero tonight for a Q&A between two CU Altman movies… Brewster McCloud and O.C. and Stiggs….never thought i’d get the chance to see the Gila Monster Car on the big screen….
BREWSTER MCCLOUD, 1970, Warner Bros., 105 min. Director Robert Altman’s achingly funny fantasy/satire on contemporary life features Bud Cort as budding man-child Brewster McCloud, living in a forgotten corner of the Houston Astrodome. He has a dream to fly and is constantly making efforts to that end, all under the protective tutelage of guardian angel Sally Kellerman. However, life has a habit of intruding on Brewster’s dreams, both in pleasant (becoming smitten with Shelley Duvall) and not so pleasant ways (the influx of lawmen and bureaucrats who want to bring him down).
O.C. AND STIGGS, 1985, MGM, 109 min. Dir. Robert Altman. Two bored, mischievous teenagers (Daniel Jenkins and Neill Barry) torment a wealthy family headed by insurance mogul Paul Dooley in Robert Altman’s riff on the teen comedy genre. Ray Walston costars.
Criminally Unknown William Castle Tribute Double Feature
HOLLYWOOD STORY, 1951, Universal, 76 min. Dir. William Castle. Richard Conte plays a wannabe independent producer who buys a vacant studio lot and gets embroiled in the mystery of a film director murdered there many years before.
UNDERTOW, 1949, Universal, 71 min. Director William Castle brings panache to this impoverished B-production, enlivening a fairly routine tale of a framed ex-con (Scott Brady – Lawrence Tierney’s “little” brother) looking for revenge in the Chicago underworld. Hot dishes Dorothy Hart and Peggy Dow complicate matters in time-honored tradition.
Special guest appearance by actress Julie Adams!
Like Ray Bradbury, H.P. Lovecraft is almost impossible to get right. Stuart Gordon made two decent attempts (Re-Animator and Dagon), fine films, but they don’t really qualify as Lovecraft. The Dunwich Horror comes pretty close at times, but Dean Stockwell’s mustache gets in the way.
In the end it’s Dan O’Bannon’s The Ancestor, an adaptation of Lovecraft’s “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”, that comes the closest. There are stretches (especially towards the end in the underground laboratory, where it gets amazingly close.), a “feeling” of dread that comes as close as anything has. (oddly, it’s that same feeling Dan managed to bring to the original draft of Alien).
The Ancestor you say..?
Don’t bother heading over to IMDB to look it up. You won’t find it. The film was taken away, re-edited and butchered beyond belief. You can find it a full screen DVD of the butchered film under the title The Resurrected.
Great article by Lou Lumenick in the New York Post today on Tom Schiller’s Nothing Lasts Forever! My REAL Nothing Lasts Forever article is a few days away, this is just a quick note to let everyone know that tickets are finally on sale for the April 1st screening at the Egyptian. Tom is also bringing a bunch of his 70’s SNL shorts! It’s going to be an amazing night. Get your tickets now at Fandango!