Catherine Deneuve in Repulsion. 1965. Great Britain. Directed by Roman Polanski
These notes accompany screenings of Roman Polanski’s </em>Repulsion</a> on February 12, 13, and 14 in Theater 3.</p>
Although his first feature, Knife in the Water</a>, was something of an international success, Roman Polanski’s career plans remained uncertain.
Recently I was watching a 35mm print of a new film acquisition called Vincere (2009), directed by Marco Bellocchio. Vincere tells the story of the rise of Benito Mussolini and Ida Dalser, the woman he kept as his secret lover for decades. At one point in the film, Mussolini pays a visit to the Milan headquarters of the Futurists to view a multimedia art exhibition.
Black Girl. 1965. Senegal. Written and directed by Ousmane Sembene
These notes accompany a program of films by Ousmane Sembene screening on February 5, 6, and 7 in Theater 3.
Ousmane Sembene (1923–2007) of Senegal is considered “the father of African film,” and the two films in this program are among his earliest works. By the time he came to film, at age 40, he had a checkered past ranging from deep immersion in tribal religion to Communism, and from military service to being a longshoreman in Marseille.
These notes accompany screenings of Alfred Hitchcock’s </em>The Birds</a> on January 29, 30, and 31 in Theater 3.</p>
Tippi Hedren and a feathered friend in The Birds. 1963. USA. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock In his seminal study of Alfred Hitchcock, critic Robin Wood focuses on the director’s career-long apprehension that civilization rests precariously on a very thin layer of what we accept as reality, but which covers a foreboding, underlying chaos.
These notes accompany screenings of a program celebrating the New Social Documentary and Television on January 22, 23, and 24 in Theater 3.
Documentary films had been there at the very beginning of cinema. Even before it occurred to filmmakers that they might create their own images, the example of still photography had paved the way for capturing the real world.
Another Sky. 1954 (1960 in USA). Great Britain/Morocco. Courtesy Photofest
These notes accompany screenings of Gavin Lambert’s </em>Another Sky</a> on January 8, 9, and 10 in Theater 3.</p>
It may seem a little peculiar to include Gavin Lambert (1924–2005) in this series, but he was an important figure in film history and scholarship, and his solitary directorial effort, Another Sky, is an interesting example
Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, and Brandon De Wilde in Hud. 1963. USA. Directed by Martin Ritt
These notes accompany screenings of Martin Ritt’s </em>Hud</a> on January 1, 2, and 3 in Theater 2.</p>
The Hollywood and television blacklist in the HUAC/McCarthy era of the 1940s and 1950s had many victims.
These notes accompany screenings of Frederick Wiseman’s </em>Titicut Follies</a> on December 26, and 27 in Theater 2.</p>
There were many significant developments in the field of documentary filmmaking in the decades following World War II.
Nina Pens Rode in Gertrude. 1964. Denmark. Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
These notes accompany screenings of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s </em>Gertrud</a> on December 18, 19, and 20 in Theater 3.</p>
Carl Theodor Dreyer (1889–1968), like Orson Welles, is generally considered one of the greatest of filmmakers in spite of a relatively small output spread over half a century.
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