Cinematheque Sept-Oct film schedule includes Polish masterpieces, much more

[Press release from the Cleveland Cinematheque.]

The Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque will show 50 films during September and October, including 18 restored classics in a series entitled “Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema.” Forty-seven of the films will show in the Cinematheque’s new, state-of-the-art Peter B. Lewis Theater inside the new Cleveland Institute of Art building at 11610 Euclid Avenue. The other three will be offsite Cinematheque screenings showing at the Capitol Theater at W. 65^th and Detroit.

 

The films will be a mix of new international films, film classics (most in new digital restorations) and worthy second-run films. The Cinematheque has presented the same mix of the old and the new throughout its 30-year history. As always, every movie shown will be a Cleveland exclusive at the time of its showing, and formats will include both digital and film.

 

The series “Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema” will run from September 13 through October 25. It consists of 18 Polish film classics from the 1950s through the 1980s that Scorsese hand-picked to circulate throughout North America as part of this overview. Scorsese says: “These are films that have great emotional and visual power. They are serious films that, with their depth, stand up to repeated viewings. The themes in these films will resonate, as they did profoundly for me...There are many revelations in the ‘Masterpieces of Polish Cinema’ series, and whether you’re familiar with some of these films or not, it’s really an incredible opportunity to discover for yourself the great power of Polish cinema, on the big screen in brilliantly restored digital masters.”

 

The retrospective includes WWII dramas, historical epics, love stories, a cult fantasy, modern social dramas, contemporary moral inquiries, and a couple of comedies. The directors represented comprise a who’s who of Polish cinema, one of the world’s great film traditions. All filmmakers are represented with major works, and some especially significant auteurs (Andrzej Wajda, Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Krzysztof Zanussi) have multiple movies in the series, creating mini retrospectives within the larger exhibition. Two of the Polish films will show at the Capitol Theatre. The schedule:

 

SUN       9/13       4:00 PM                THE WEDDING

THU       9/17       6:45 PM                THE LAST DAY OF SUMMER

THU       9/17       8:15 PM                JUMP

THU       9/24       6:45 PM                INNOCENT SORCERERS

SAT        9/26       8:15 PM                THE PROMISED LAND

TUE        9/29       7:00 PM                BLACK CROSS shown at the Capitol Theatre

SAT        10/3       7:00 PM                PROVINCIAL ACTORS

SAT        10/3       9:05 PM                TO KILL THIS LOVE

TUE        10/6       7:00 PM                THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT shown at the Capitol Theatre

THU       10/8       6:45 PM                ILLUMINATION

THU       10/8       8:35 PM                CAMOUFLAGE

SAT        10/10     5:00 PM                THE CONSTANT FACTOR

SUN       10/11     6:30 PM                PHARAOH

THU       10/15     6:45 PM                EROICA (HEROISM)

THU       10/15     8:30 PM                NIGHT TRAIN

FRI          10/23     7:30 PM                A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING

SAT        10/24     5:00 PM                MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS

SUN       10/25     4:00 PM                AUSTERIA (THE INN)

 

Unless noted below, admission to Cinematheque films is $9; members, CIA I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $7. A second film on the same day generally costs an additional $7. Currently all tickets are sold only at the door, cash/check only. Free parking for available in two Cleveland Institute of Art lots accessed from E. 117^th Street: Lot 73 and the Annex Lot. Moviegoers should enter the building thorough entrances C or D (both face E. 117^th St.) or entrance E (which faces E. 116^th St.).

 

Below is the complete September-October film schedule. For further information, images, or screening links, call John Ewing or Tim Harry at (216) 421-7450, send an email to cinema@cia.edu, or visit www.cia.edu/cinematheque. The Cinematheque receives valued support from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.

 

SEPTEMBER 3-6

 

Thursday, September 3, at 6:45 pm &

Friday, September 4, at 9:35 pm

ROAR

USA, 1981, Noel Marshall

Where’s Minnesota dentist/hunter Walter Palmer when you really need him? Lions and tigers and other wild animals terrorize the family of a wildlife preservationist in this all-too-real thriller made by Tippi Hedren and her then husband Noel Marshall. Filmed at the Shambala animal sanctuary in California and touted as “the most dangerous movie ever made,” the film (which also stars Marshall and Hedren and their children, including Melanie Griffith) caused injuries to 70 cast and crew members (including all three leads), resulting in broken bones, scores of stitches, and even gangrene! Many of the attacks and accidents can be seen on screen. “There almost certainly will never be anything like Roar again, and that's reason enough to check it out.” –The Playlist. DCP. 94 min. http://drafthousefilms.com/film/roar

 

Thursday, September 3, at 8:40 pm &

Sunday, September 6, at 4:00 pm

GÜEROS

Mexico, 2015, Alonso Ruiz Palacios

“The foreign-language discovery of 2015 so far, and pretty close to the best film I’ve seen all year” (Andrew O’Hehir, Salon) is a comedy that pays tribute to the early films of the French New Wave and other 1960s b&w classics. A mischievous Mexican teen is sent to stay with his equally feckless college student brother in 1999 Mexico City during a student strike. These two güeros (light-skinned Mexicans), along with the dynamic (and sexy) strike leader Ana, go in search of a legendary sixties folk singer who allegedly made Bob Dylan cry. “Best debut feature I've seen in the last year, best Mexican film in recent memory.” –Godfrey Cheshire, RogerEbert.com. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 102 min. www.kinolorber.com

 

Friday, September 4, at 7:30 pm

TOM AT THE FARM

TOM À LA FERME

Canada/France, 2013, Xavier Dolan

The fourth feature by Canadian enfant terrible Xavier Dolan, made between Laurence Anyways and Mommy, is a tense, stylish psychological thriller about a young gay man (Dolan) who travels to Canada’s homophobic heartland for his partner’s funeral. Once there he realizes that his lover’s grieving mother is unaware of her late son’s sexual orientation, though her knowing other son threatens and brutalizes the visitor. “Taut, creepy, compelling, and sexy.” -Time Out London. Subtitles. DCP. 102 min. amplifyreleasing.com

 

Friday, September 4, at 9:35 pm

ROAR

See 9/3 at 6:45 for description

 

Saturday, September 5, at 5:00 pm &

Sunday, September 6, at 6:30 pm

Back by Popular Demand!

NOTHING LASTS FOREVER

USA, 1984, Tom Schiller

So strange and unclassifiable that it was never released theatrically, this 1980s sci-fi comedy written and directed by longtime Saturday Night Live writer and filmmaker Tom Schiller (and produced by Lorne Michaels) stars Zach Galligan, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Mort Sahl, among others. Set in a surreal future where the iron-fisted Port Authority controls NYC (they regulate travel into Manhattan, administer a test for would-be artists, etc.), the film follows an art student who goes to work in the Holland Tunnel but eventually finds himself on a bus to the moon. Old newsreels, classic film clips, and assorted celebrity cameos add to the comic craziness of this sweetly funny oddity that charmed our audience in June. 35mm. 82 min.

 

Saturday, September 5, at 6:45 pm &

Sunday, September 6, at 8:15 pm

New Digital Restoration!

A POEM IS A NAKED PERSON

USA, 1974/2015, Les Blank

Shot between 1972 and 1974 but never released due to creative differences between filmmaker Les Blank and the movie’s subject Leon Russell, this long forgotten documentary is finally seeing the light of day. Regarded by Blank as his greatest feature, the movie captures singer-songwriter and Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Russell at work and at play in his Oklahoma recording compound, a kind of commune visited by other artists and musicians. With Willie Nelson and George Jones. “A time capsule capturing the flavor of early-'70s bohemian life.” –Hollywood Reporter. Cleveland premiere. DCP. 90 min. www.janusfilms.com

 

Saturday, September 5, at 8:35 pm

KURT COBAIN: MONTAGE OF HECK

USA, 2015, Brett Morgen

This authorized, comprehensive biography of Nirvana front man and late grunge superstar Kurt Cobain is one of the most acclaimed films of 2015. Cleveland theatrical premiere. DCP. 132 min. www.montageofheckfilm.com

 

Sunday, September 6, at 4:00 pm

GÜEROS

See 9/3 at 8:40 for description

 

Sunday, September 6, at 6:30 pm

NOTHING LASTS FOREVER

See 9/5 at 5:00 for description

 

Sunday, September 6, at 8:15 pm

A POEM IS A NAKED PERSON

See 9/5 at 6:45 for description

 

SEPTEMBER 10-13

 

Thursday, September 10, at 6:45 pm

STRAY DOG

USA, 2014, Debra Granik

Acclaimed indie filmmaker Debra Granik follows up her powerful dramas Down to the Bone and Winter’s Bone with a frank and surprising documentary about a Missouri Vietnam vet. Sixty-something Ron Hall is a Harley riding, trailer park residing good ol’ boy with ample tattoos and facial hair. He also suffers from PTSD, is learning Spanish, and loves dogs, his granddaughter, and his Mexican wife. Won the documentary award at the 39^th Cleveland Int’l Film Festival. “Dedicates itself to breaking through the debris of clichéd, one-dimensional public impressions of vets, bikers, immigrant wives and kids and trailer-park lifestyles.” –Hollywood Reporter. DCP. 98 min. www.straydogthemovie.com

 

Thursday, September 10, at 8:45 pm &

Saturday, September 12, at 5:00 pm

Rediscovered African American Classic!

New Digital Restoration!

LOSING GROUND

USA, 1982, Kathleen Collins

The second movie written and directed by celebrated playwright, professor, and indie filmmaker Kathleen Collins, who died in 1988 at age 46, was one of the first feature films by an African American woman. It was also almost a lost film. Never released theatrically (though we showed it in 1993), this seriocomic tale of two married black professionals (a philosophy professor and a philandering painter) at a crossroads in their life together was rescued from obscurity by Milestone Films, who have restored and rereleased it to rave reviews. With Bill Gunn and Duane Jones. “A nearly lost masterwork.” –The New Yorker. Cleveland revival premiere. DCP. 86 min. www.milestonefilms.com/collections/art-artists/products/losing-ground

 

NO FILMS FRI., 9/11

 

Saturday, September 12, at 5:00 pm

LOSING GROUND

See 9/10 at 8:45 for description

 

Saturday, September 12, at 6:50 pm

35mm Studio Archive Print!

FREUD

aka FREUD: THE SECRET PASSION

USA, 1962, John Huston

“Huston’s most remarkable film” (Time Out Film Guide) stars Montgomery Clift as the young Sigmund Freud, living in Vienna and refining his psychoanalytic theories as he treats a seriously neurotic young woman (Susannah York). Never released on video or DVD in the U.S., and shown here in its uncut version, Freud features striking dream sequences that make it “an extraordinary, uncanny film noir” (TOFG). The original script was written by Jean-Paul Sartre! 139 min. Special admission $10; members, CIA I.D. holders, age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Saturday, September 12, at 9:30 pm &

Sunday, September 13, at 6:30 pm

HORSE MONEY

CAVALO DINHEIRO

Portugal, 2014, Pedro Costa

One of the film events of the year! The first feature in eight years from the director of Ossos, In Vanda’s Room, and Colossal Youth finds Portuguese auteur Pedro Costa returning to Fontainhas, the decrepit immigrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Lisbon that was the setting for his previous movies. Ventura, the elderly émigré worker from Cape Verde who was the central figure in Colossal Youth, is also the star of this movie. He wanders down corridors and hallways, and through history—a kind of sleepwalker flanked by friends and phantoms from his own and Portugal’s tragic past. The result is a dreamy, hallucinatory tone poem that embraces the underclass, seduces the viewer, but safeguards its secrets. “Strange, hauntingly beautiful…Working about as far as possible from the commercial mainstream of the movie business, Costa has again made a singular docu-fiction hybrid that defies classification as readily as it reimagines the possibilities of cinema.”-Variety. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 103 min. www.cinemaguild.com

 

Sunday, September 13, at 4:00 pm

Martin Scorsese Presents:

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

New Digital Restoration!

THE WEDDING

WESELE

Poland, 1973, Andrzej Wajda

The late 19^th-century wedding between an urban poet and a peasant girl is crashed by phantoms from Poland’s tortured past. This film version of a famous Polish play was brought to the screen by the country’s greatest filmmaker, Andrzej Wajda (Ashes and Diamonds, Man of Iron, Katyn, and many others). Subtitles. DCP. 106 min. www.mspresents.com

 

Sunday, September 13, at 6:30 pm

HORSE MONEY

See 9/12 at 9:30 for description

 

Sunday, September 13, at 8:35 pm

FRESH DRESSED

USA, 2015, Sacha Jenkins

This new documentary charts the influence of hip-hop on the fashion world—chronicling how African American style migrated from Southern churches to northern cities, and on to international runways and the malls of Middle America. Includes lots of music, vintage film clips, and interviews with Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, Sean Combs, and others. “Snazzy.” –Variety. Cleveland premiere. Blu-ray. 90 min. freshdressedmovie.com

 

SEPTEMBER 17-20

 

Thursday, September 17, at 6:45 pm

Martin Scorsese Presents:

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

New Digital Restoration!

THE LAST DAY OF SUMMER

OSTATNI DZIEŃ LATA

Poland, 1965, Tadeusz Konwicki

The first film directed by an important Polish writer, critic, and filmmaker who died earlier this year won the Grand Prize at the Venice Film Festival. The movie focuses on a nameless man and woman, both lonely and damaged by WWII, who meet one day on the deserted sand dunes of a Baltic beach and try to relate to each other. Subtitles. DCP. 62 min. www.mspresents.com

 

Thursday, September 17, at 8:15 pm

Martin Scorsese Presents:

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

New Digital Restoration!

JUMP

SALTO

Poland, 1965, Tadeusz Konwicki

In this Kafkaesque drama, a mysterious man (Zbigniew Cybulski, “the Polish James Dean”) jumps from a train and ends up in a small Polish town where he claims to have lived during the German occupation of WWII. The townspeople aren’t certain whether they remember him, but his mere presence stirs up uncomfortable memories for them. Subtitles. DCP. 105 min. www.mspresents.com

 

Friday, September 18, at 7:15 pm

THE LOOK OF SILENCE

Denmark/Indonesia/Finland/Norway/UK/Israel/France/USA/Germany/Netherlands, 2014, Joshua Oppenheimer

In Joshua Oppenheimer’s blistering follow-up to his take-no-prisoners 2012 documentary The Act of Killing, an Indonesian optician confronts the rightwing thugs who murdered his older brother during the country’s brutal anti-communist purge of the 1960s. “Staggering…A superior work of confrontational boldness…Essential.” –Time Out New York. Subtitles. DCP. 103 min. thelookofsilence.com

 

Friday, September 18, at 9:20 pm &

Sunday, September 20, at 8:35 pm

EDEN

France, 2014, Mia Hansen-Løve

The new film from the acclaimed French director of Father of My Children and Goodbye First Love (both shown at the Cinematheque) follows the life of a pioneering, teen DJ (modeled after the director’s brother, who wrote the script) during the heady days of the early 1990s club and rave scene in France. With Greta Gerwig, Golshifteh Farahani, Brady Corbet, et al. A 2014 New York Film Festival selection. “[A] graceful, deeply affecting movie.” –Hollywood Reporter. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 131 min. www.facebook.com/thefilmEden

 

NO FILMS SAT., 9/19

 

Sunday, September 20, at 4:00 pm

Post-film Discussion!

THE WANTED 18

Palestine/Canada/France, 2014, Amer Shomali, Paul Cowan

How did 18 cows owned by Palestinians during the First Intifada become “a threat to the national security of the state of Israel”? This funny, whimsical mix of claymation and documentary details an absurdist, stranger-than-fiction 1987 episode that saw the Israeli army hunting for a herd of hidden dairy cows that Palestinians in the town of Beit Sahour had purchased and raised in order to avoid buying Israeli milk. “Beautiful and important and very strange.” –Village Voice. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 75 min. www.kinolorber.com Co-sponsored by Cleveland Peace Action Education Fund, Interfaith Council for Peace in the Middle East, and Interfaith Peace Builders—Ohio. Members of all three organizations pay $7.

 

Sunday, September 20, at 6:30 pm

Ice Cream Sunday!

35mm Studio Archive Print!

COMFORT AND JOY

UK, 1984, Bill Forsyth

Singular Scottish writer and director Bill Forsyth made this rarely shown film right after his delightful Gregory’s Girl and brilliant Local Hero. It’s a quirky comedy-drama about a Glasgow radio host (Bill Paterson) who becomes embroiled in an ice cream war between two rival Italian families operating ice cream trucks in the city. Never released on DVD in the U.S. 106 min. The first 80 patrons receive a certificate from Mitchell’s Ice Cream for a “free scoop.”

 

Sunday, September 20, at 8:35 pm

EDEN

See 9/18 at 9:20 for description

 

SEPTEMBER 24-29

 

Thursday, September 24, at 6:45 pm

Martin Scorsese Presents:

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema
New Digital Restoration!

INNOCENT SORCERERS

NIEWINNI CZARODZIEJE

Poland, 1960, Andrzej Wajda

The great Andrzej Wajda followed his celebrated WWII trilogy (A Generation, Kanal, Ashes and Diamonds) with a contemporary portrait of Poland’s modern youth. Condemned by Communist Party officials, this unflattering film focuses on a dissolute doctor who is unwilling to commit to his girlfriend. Zbiegniew Cybulski, Roman Polanski, and Jerzy Skolimowski (who co-wrote the script) play three of the physician’s cynical, aimless friends. Subtitles. DCP. 91 min. www.mspresents.com

 

Thursday, September 24, at 8:35 pm &

Sunday, September 27, at 6:30 pm

WE COME AS FRIENDS

France/Austria, 2014, Hubert Sauper
For his latest look at life in contemporary Africa, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Hubert Sauper (Darwin’s Nightmare) designed and built a lightweight plane that he piloted into remote corners of newly independent South Sudan. There he interviewed politicians, tribal lords, and impoverished citizens of the war-torn, oil rich nation, along with foreign do-gooders and profiteers who are temporarily living and working there. The result is a sad, infuriating, often surreal snapshot—and one of the best reviewed movies of 2015. “A masterfully composed and suitably outraged look at the neocolonialist exploitation of South Sudan.” –Variety. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 110 min. www.wecomeasfriends.com

Friday, September 25, at 7:15 pm &

Sunday, September 27, at 8:40 pm

New Digital Restoration!

REBELS OF THE NEON GOD

QING SHAO NIAN NUO ZHA

Taiwan, 1992, Tsai Ming-liang

Never released theatrically in the U.S. until earlier this year, the first film from the master Taiwanese filmmaker of The Hole and What Time Is It There? is another of Tsai’s studies of urban alienation and aimlessness. The director’s longtime muse, Lee Kang-sheng, plays a disaffected cram school student who becomes fixated on a pair of motorcycle-riding petty hoods and starts stalking them around Taipei. “As a first film, it is incredibly accomplished.” -L.A. Times. Cleveland revival premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 106 min. bigworldpictures.org

 

Friday, September 25, at 9:25 pm &

Saturday, September 26, at 6:45 pm

Curated by Christopher Nolan

THE QUAY BROTHERS IN 35MM

UK, 1986-2015, Stephen and Timothy Quay, Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception) has assembled this program of three stop-motion animated classics by the Brothers Quay—all in newly struck 35mm prints—and supplemented them with a new short film of his own about the filmmakers (Quay, 2015). Born in Pennsylvania but living and working in London, twins Stephen and Timothy Quay have spent decades animating ordinary objects (dolls, pencils, combs, etc.) and incorporating them into creepy, textured dreamscapes redolent of European fairy tales. (They are the spiritual successors to the great Czech stop-motion master Jan Švankmajer.) The Quay shorts in this program include Street of Crocodiles (1986), The Comb (1991), and In Absentia (2000). Not for children. Cleveland premiere. Total 67 min. www.zeitgeistfilms.com Special admission $10; members, CIA I.D. holders, age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Saturday, September 26, at 5:00 pm &

Sunday, September 27, at 4:30 pm

2015 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL AWARD-WINNING SHORTS

USA/Japan/Singapore/Australia/France/Poland, 2014-15, various directors

World of Tomorrow, a mind-bending new animated film by Don Hertzfeldt, is one of the highlights of this all-new touring program of award-winning shorts from this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The show’s other five works—Frankie Shaw’s SMILF; Atsuko Hirayanagi’s Oh Lucy!; Kitty Green’s The Face of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul; Paul Cabon’s Storm Hits Jacket; and Paulina Skibińska’s Object—range from live action to documentary to “poetic,” but each movie won one of the festival’s short film jury prizes. Cleveland premiere. Some subtitles. DCP. 83 min. sundance.org/shortfilmtour

 

Saturday, September 26, at 6:45 pm

THE QUAY BROTHERS IN 35MM

See 9/25 at 9:25 for description

 

Saturday, September 26, at 8:15 pm

Martin Scorsese Presents:

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

New Digital Restoration!

THE PROMISED LAND

ZIEMIA OBIECANA

Poland, 1975, Andrzej Wajda

This rarely shown, Oscar nominated epic by Poland’s greatest living filmmaker follows three men—a Pole, a Jew, and a German—who band together to open a textile factory in ruthless, corrupt, industrialized late 19^th-century Łódź. From a novel by Nobel prize winner Władysław Reymont. With Daniel Olbrychski. Subtitles. DCP. 179 min. www.mspresents.com

 

Sunday, September 27, at 4:30 pm

2015 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL AWARD-WINNING SHORTS

See 9/26 at 5:00 for description

 

Sunday, September 27, at 6:30 pm

WE COME AS FRIENDS

See 9/24 at 8:35 for description

 

Sunday, September 27, at 8:40 pm

REBELS OF THE NEON GOD

See 9/25 at 7:15 for description

 

Tuesday, September 29, at 7:00 pm

Special Offsite Event!

The Cinematheque at the Capitol Theatre

Martin Scorsese Presents:

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

New Digital Restoration!

BLACK CROSS

KRZYŻACY

aka KNIGHTS OF THE TEUTONIC ORDER

aka KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK CROSS

Poland, 1960, Aleksander Ford

Poland’s first superproduction, made to compete with the colossal historical spectacles coming out of the U.S. and the rest of Europe at the time, became the country’s all-time box office champ. Based on a novel by Nobel laureate Henryk Sienkiewicz (Quo Vadis), the film recreates the events leading up to 1410’s decisive Battle of Grunwald, when the Poles and Lithuanians defeated the invading German-Prussian warrior-monks of the Teutonic Order. Subtitles. DCP. 165 min. www.mspresents.com Shown on the big screen at the Capitol Theatre, 1390 W. 65^th St. Special admission $10; members, CIA I.D. holders, age 25 & under $8. No passes, twofers, or radio winners. No Cleveland Cinemas passes or discounts. Special thanks to Jon Forman and Dave Huffman.

 

OCTOBER 1-6

 

Thursday, October 1, at 6:45 pm &

Friday, October 2, at 7:15 pm

HOME FROM HOME: CHRONICLE OF A VISION

DIE ANDERE HEIMAT – CHRONIK EINER SEHNSUCHT

Germany/France, 2013, Edgar Reitz

Edgar Reitz continues his career-long Heimat saga with an epic prequel to the 20^th-century events chronicled in the 15-hour Heimat (1984), the 26-hour Heimat II (1993), and the 11.5-hour Heimat 3 (2004)—all shown exclusively in Cleveland at the Cinematheque! Set during the 1840s in the Hunsrück region of Prussia that will encompass the fictional German village of Schabbach and the multi-generation Simon family in the later films, Home from Home focuses on Jakob Simon, a blacksmith’s son and forbear of the future Simon clan, as he experiences poverty and social injustice in the Rhineland. Though revolutionary ideas are in the air, Jakob contemplates emigrating to Brazil along with many of his countrymen. Winner of both the German Film Award and the German Film Critics Association Award for best film of 2014, Home from Home is handsomely photographed in b&w and color and scope, and brilliantly cast. “A magnificent, career-capping achievement from one of the great storytellers of our era.” –Time Out London. “Nearly four hours, but never a dull moment.” –The Guardian. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 231 min. www.corinthfilms.com Special admission $12; members, CIA I.D. holders, age 25 & under $9. No passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Saturday, October 3, at 5:00 pm

Sebastian Birch accompanies

GREED

USA, 1924, Erich von Stroheim

Unbelievably, one of the all-time great films has never been released to DVD! Erich von Stroheim’s potent silent film version of Frank Norris’ novel McTeague chronicles how the love of money destroys the lives of three friends in 19^th-century California. Originally 9-10 hours long, Greed remains the most mutilated masterpiece in film history. Although the complete version remains lost, what survives is impressive, inflammatory, and indelible. Sebastian Birch, composer and Assistant Professor of Music at Kent State, will provide live piano accompaniment. 35mm. Shown at 24 frames per second. Approx. 100 min. Special admission $10; members, CIA I.D. holders, age 25 & under $8. No passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Saturday, October 3, at 7:00 pm

Martin Scorsese Presents:

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

New Digital Restoration!

PROVINCIAL ACTORS

AKTORZY PROWINCJONALNI

Poland, 1979, Agnieszka Holland

The feature debut by the Oscar-nominated Polish director of Europa Europa, The Secret Garden, and In Darkness is a comic drama (with political overtones) about a rising young theater director who produces a classic play in a small Polish town and clashes with the company’s aging star over the actor’s intended “performance of a lifetime.” Subtitles. DCP. 104 min. www.mspresents.com

 

Saturday, October 3, at 9:05 pm

Martin Scorsese Presents:

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

New Digital Restoration!

TO KILL THIS LOVE

aka KILL THAT LOVE

TRZEBA ZABIĆ TĘ MILOŚĆ

Poland, 1972, Janusz Morgenstern

Two young lovers in early 1970s Poland desperately want to live together in a shared apartment. But to afford the rent, they engage in some morally dubious behavior. This unknown-in-America film is reputedly one of the best Polish movies of its era. Subtitles. DCP. 97 min. www.mspresents.com

 

NO FILMS SUN. AFTERNOON 10/4

 

Sunday, October 4, at 7:00 pm

A Special Event!

Hitchcock’s Unseen Holocaust Film!

New Digital Restoration!

GERMAN CONCENTRATION CAMPS FACTUAL SURVEY

UK, 1945/2015, Sidney Bernstein, Alfred Hitchcock

This sobering record of the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp by British troops in April 1945 was shot on the spot by army and newsreel cameramen. Producer Sidney Bernstein of Britain’s Ministry of Information hired editors and writers—and Alfred Hitchcock, whom he considered the film’s “director”—to sift through, shape, and clarify the horrific raw footage. The intent was to produce a definitive document of Nazi atrocities that would be shown to the German people and shame them into accepting the Allied occupation. But the film was never completed and the project shelved. In 1984 a five-reel version of the movie (entitled Memory of the Camps) was shown around the world. But it took three more decades (and five years of painstaking research and restoration work conducted by Britain’s Imperial War Museum) for the planned six-reel film to be finished and released. That restored movie is what we will show tonight—in a DCP imported from London’s British Film Institute. No one under 18 admitted! Cleveland premiere. Approx. 90 min. Special admission $12; members, CIA I.D. holders, age 25 & under $9. No passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Tuesday, October 6, at 7:00 pm

Special Offsite Event!

The Cinematheque at the Capitol Theatre

Martin Scorsese Presents:

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

New Digital Restoration!

THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT

REKOPIS ZNALEZIONY W SARAGOSSIE

Poland, 1965, Wojciech Has

Jerry Garcia’s favorite movie is a trippy, surrealistic, mind-blowing epic with a Chinese box structure of stories within stories. A Napoleonic army officer in Spain discovers a book that lures him into a series of nested narratives populated by ghosts, hermits, cabalists, gypsies, and bodacious princesses. It’s part Alice in Wonderland, part Arabian Nights. With Zbigniew Cybulski. Music by Krzysztof Penderecki. Subtitles. DCP. 184 min. www.mspresents.com Shown on the big screen at the Capitol Theatre, 1390 W. 65^th St. Special admission $10; members, CIA I.D. holders, those age 25 & under $8. No passes, twofers, or radio winners. No Cleveland Cinemas passes or discounts. Special thanks to Jon Forman and Dave Huffman.

 

OCTOBER 8-11

 

Thursday, October 8, at 6:45 pm

Martin Scorsese Presents:

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

New Digital Restoration!

ILLUMINATION

ILUMINACJA

Poland, 1973, Krzysztof Zanussi

Krzysztof Zanussi’s penetrating portrait of the intellectual, moral, and spiritual growth of a young scientist follows him from his university days through his first intimations of mortality years later. “The best film of 1973…Zanussi’s considerable gift lies in his apprehension of the mysteries of growing up—not childhood, but that vital, crowded region between 18 and 30.” –Int’l Film Guide 1975. Subtitles. DCP. 91 min. www.mspresents.com

 

Thursday, October 8, at 8:35 pm

Martin Scorsese Presents:

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

New Digital Restoration!

CAMOUFLAGE

BARWY OCHRONNE

Poland, 1977, Krzysztof Zanussi

In Krzysztof Zanussi’s wry drama, two university professors—a young idealist dedicated to teaching and a cynical veteran prone to deception and expediency—clash over their opposing values during a tense summer session. Subtitles. DCP. 106 min. www.mspresents.com

 

NO FILMS FRI., 10/9

 

Saturday, October 10, at 5:00 pm

Martin Scorsese Presents:

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

New Digital Restoration!

THE CONSTANT FACTOR

CONSTANS

Poland, 1980, Krzysztof Zanussi

A young idealist who yearns for the beauty of mountains and the clarity of mathematics finds himself mired in a messy world of injustice, petty corruption, and disease. Writer-director Krzysztof Zanussi (a Cinematheque guest in 1988) majored in physics and philosophy in college. Subtitles. DCP. 96 min. www.mspresents.com

 

Saturday, October 10, at 7:00 pm &

Sunday, October 11, at 4:00 pm

Two Tavianis Times Three

New Digital Restoration!

THE NIGHT OF THE SHOOTING STARS

LA NOTTE DI SAN LORENZO

Italy, 1982, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani

In the summer of 1944, on a night when wishes supposedly come true, Italian villagers flee their Fascist-controlled Tuscan town after dark and venture into the countryside to meet and greet the rumored partisans and Americans who are coming to liberate them. The events of this fateful night are recalled and rendered with lyrical, mythic, magical-realist flourishes, lending the whole movie a fairy tale quality. One of the most beloved and moving foreign films of the 1980s. Cleveland revival premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 105 min.

 

Saturday, October 10, at 9:05 pm

THE CONNECTION

LA FRENCH

France/Belgium, 2014, Cédric Jimenez

Oscar winner Jean Dujardin (The Artist) plays a French magistrate trying to take down the kingpin of the Marseille heroin trade in this 1970s-set crime drama that is essentially The French Connection on the other side of the Atlantic. Like William Friedkin’s 1971 Oscar winner, this police thriller was shot on, and will be shown from, 35mm. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. 135 min. http://drafthousefilms.com/film/the-connection

 

Sunday, October 11, at 4:00 pm

Two Tavianis Times Three

THE NIGHT OF THE SHOOTING STARS

See 10/10 at 7:00 for description

 

Sunday, October 11, at 6:30 pm

Martin Scorsese Presents:

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

New Digital Restoration!

PHARAOH

FARAON

Poland, 1966, Jerzy Kawalerowicz

Young Pharaoh Ramses XIII clashes with the powerful temple priests for control of ancient Egypt in this lavish historical epic that, when first released, resonated with young, freedom-loving Poles living under Communism. Has battle scenes worthy of Hollywood. Co-written by Tadeusz Konwicki. Subtitles. DCP. 175 min. www.mspresents.com

 

OCTOBER 15-20

 

Thursday, October 15, at 6:45 pm

Martin Scorsese Presents:

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

New Digital Restoration!

EROICA (HEROISM)

Poland, 1957, Andrzej Munk

Rejecting the passion and romanticism that was de rigueur for big-screen depictions of WWII heroism, Polish Jewish filmmaker Andrzej Munk (1921-61) tells two wartime stories full of irony, satire, and bitter comedy. The first focuses on a Polish black marketeer who accidentally becomes a Resistance hero. The second concerns a group of Polish POW’s in a German camp who don’t really want to escape. Subtitles. DCP. 81 min. www.mspresents.com

 

Thursday, October 15, at 8:30 pm

Martin Scorsese Presents:

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

New Digital Restoration!

NIGHT TRAIN

POCIAG

Poland, 1959, Jerzy Kawalerowicz

In this Polish “Hitchcock” film, a man and a woman who each seem to be running away from something end up sharing the same sleeping compartment on an overnight train. With Zbigniew Cybulski. Subtitles. DCP. 100 min. www.mspresents.com

 

Friday, October 16, at 7:30 pm &

Sunday, October 18, at 7:00 pm

TAXI

Iran, 2015, Jafar Panahi
For this third shot-on-the-sly feature since being officially banned from filmmaking for 20 years, master Iranian director Jafar Panahi drives a taxi cab around Tehran, picking up an assortment of passengers (a DVD bootlegger, an injured man, a young girl, et al.) who talk and argue about life in their beleaguered nation. Is what we’re watching real, or is it scripted and acted? The cagey Panahi won’t tell, but small cameras, confinement, and cinema itself are recurrent elements in his recent films. “A film of quiet but profound outrage, laughing on the surface, but howling in anger just beneath.” –Variety. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 82 min. www.kinorlorber.com

 

Friday, October 16, at 9:15 pm &

Sunday, October 18, at 4:30 pm

35mm Scope Print!

THE GOONIES

USA, 1985, Richard Donner

Seven kids living in an Oregon coastal town find an old pirate map and search for buried treasure. This comedy-adventure cult classic turns 30 this year. With Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, and Martha Plimpton. 114 min.

 

Saturday, October 17, at 5:00 pm

Two Tavianis Times Three

New Digital Restoration!

PADRE PADRONE

Italy, 1977, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani

Winner of the Palme d’Or (top prize) at the Cannes Film Festival, the Taviani brothers’ international breakthrough film is a potent portrait of an illiterate Sardinian shepherd who manages to escape an impoverished upbringing, brutal father, and patriarchal society via education. Subtitles. DCP. 114 min.

 

Saturday, October 17, at 7:15 pm

World War I + 100

4K Digital Restoration!

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

Britain, 1962, David Lean

Recently named the #1 film you must see on the big screen, David Lean’s most celebrated epic will never look and sound better than it will in this new 4K digital restoration in our grand, new, state-of-the-art theater! Peter O’Toole stars as T.E. Lawrence, a British adventurer who united Arab tribes against the Turks during WWI. Stunning desert landscapes and an all-star supporting cast (Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, the recently deceased Omar Sharif, et al.) helped earn the film seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, and Cinematography.  4K DCP.  227 min. Special admission $10; members, CIA I.D. holders, those age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Sunday, October 18, at 4:30 pm

THE GOONIES

See 10/16 at 9:15 for description

 

Sunday, October 18, at 7:00 pm

TAXI

See 10/16 at 7:30 for description

 

Tuesday, October 20, at 7:00 pm

Special Offsite Event!

The Cinematheque at the Capitol Theatre

3-D RARITIES

USA, 1922-53, various directors

The first documented public exhibition of a 3-D motion picture took place on June 10, 1915, at New York’s Astor Theatre. We commemorate this centennial with a special program of treasures (assembled by the 3-D Film Archive) dating back to the dawn of stereoscopic cinematography. Program includes: Kelley’s Plasticon Pictures: Thru’ the Trees, Washington, D.C. (1922), the earliest extant 3-D demonstration film with incredible footage of Washington and NYC; New Dimensions (aka Motor Rhythm), the first domestic full color 3-D film, originally shown at the New York World’s Fair in 1940; Thrills for You, a fascinating 1940 promotional film for the Pennsylvania Railroad; Boo Moon, a 1954 stereoscopic color cartoon; Doom Town, a controversial anti-atomic testing film which was mysteriously pulled from theatrical release after a few playdates in July 1953; I’ll Sell My Shirt, a burlesque comedy unseen in 3-D for over 60 years; the trailer for The Maze, with fantastic 3-D production design by the legendary William Cameron Menzies; and much more! Cleveland theatrical premiere. DCP. 94 min. www.flickeralley.com Shown on the big screen at the Capitol Theatre, 1390 W. 65^th St. Special admission $10; members, CIA I.D. holders, those age 25 & under $8. (Prices include 3-D glasses.) No passes, twofers, or radio winners. No Cleveland Cinemas passes or discount offers. Special thanks to Jon Forman and Dave Huffman.

 

OCTOBER 22-25

 

NO FILMS THU. 10/22

 

Friday, October 23, at 7:30 pm

Martin Scorsese Presents:

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

New Digital Restoration!

A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING

KRÓTKI FILM O ZABIJANIU

Poland, 1987, Krzysztof Kieslowski

A young thug kills, then is killed by the state. Kieslowski’s harrowing, matter-of-fact chronicle of illegal and legal murder—with eerily stylized cinematography—is an expansion of Episode Five (Thou Shalt Not Kill) of The Decalogue, the director’s celebrated 10-part series based on the Ten Commandments. Winner of the Felix Award for Best European Film of 1987. Subtitles. DCP. 84 min. www.mspresents.com

 

Friday, October 23, at 9:15 pm

New Digital Restoration!

CRIME WAVE

aka THE BIG CRIMEWAVE

Canada, 1985, John Paizs

Never heard of this bizarre dark comedy from Winnipeg wunderkind and indie filmmaker John Paizs? It’s a huge cult favorite to those who know it (read the “user reviews” on IMDb.com) and it has never been released to DVD. (We first showed it in 1987.) Paizs plays a young writer who wants to pen “the greatest color crime movie ever.” But though he’s good at writing beginnings and endings, he’s perpetually stymied by middles. So he seeks help from a mysterious Kansas-based script doctor known as “Dr. Jolly.” Paizs spoofs 1950s noir movies, TV shows, and educational films in his deadpan classic. DCP. 80 min. Special thanks to Brigitte Hubmann, Telefilm Canada.

 

Saturday, October 24, at 5:00 pm

Martin Scorsese Presents:

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

New Digital Restoration!

MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS

MATKA JOANNA OD ANIOLÓW

Poland, 1960, Jerzy Kawalerowicz

A priest is sent to investigate demonic possession among nuns at a convent in this celebrated classic set during the 17^th century.  The film was inspired by the same real-life case in 1634 Loudun that also spawned Ken Russell’s The Devils (1971). Subtitles. DCP. 103 min. www.mspresents.com

 

Saturday, October 24, at 7:05 pm

50^th Anniversary!

RED BEARD

AKAHIGE

Japan, 1965, Akira Kurosawa

In 19^th-century Japan, a gruff slum doctor (Toshiro Mifune) tries to convince an arrogant young intern that caring for poor people is nobler than being a society physician. Kurosawa’s humanistic epic is perhaps the only hospital drama with swordplay. Kurosawa and Mifune’s 16^th, and final, film together was voted the best Japanese film of 1965 in the Kinema Jumpo magazine poll. 35mm scope print! Subtitles. 185 min. Special admission $10; members, CIA I.D. holders, those age 25 & under $8. No passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Sunday, October 25, at 4:00 pm

Martin Scorsese Presents:

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

New Digital Restoration!

AUSTERIA (THE INN)

Poland, 1983, Jerzy Kawalerowicz

Polish master Jerzy Kawalerowicz (Mother Joan of the Angels, Pharaoh) remembers Poland’s lost Jewish population and culture with this drama set at the start of WWI (but clearly looking forward to WWII). Based on a long-suppressed script originally written in the 1960s, the film tells of a Jewish innkeeper who houses a diverse group of people (a stranded Hungarian hussar, some city-dwelling Jews, a band of Hasidic zealots, et al.) who have fled Cossack hostilities. Subtitles. DCP. 102 min. www.mspresents.com

 

Sunday, October 25, at 6:30 pm

Two Tavianis Times Three

New Digital Restoration!

KAOS (CHAOS)

Italy/France, 1984, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani

The Taviani brothers’ follow-up to their international art house hit The Night of the Shooting Stars (see 10/10 & 11) is a visually sumptuous epic consisting of four folkloric stories by Luigi Pirandello, all set in Sicily, plus a prologue and a rapturous epilogue. The tales are alternately sad, funny, lyrical, and fantastic. The strangest may be the second episode, in which a frightened young wife discovers that her new husband goes outside and bays like a werewolf during the full moon. Subtitles. DCP. 188 min.