Over the last few decades, the death knell of traditional moviegoing has been rung many times. Twenty-five years ago there was the VCR debate, when, at a heated Congressional hearing, film honcho Jack Valenti famously said that “the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone.”
But if Valenti now sounds laughably off the mark, consider the maneuverings of Hollywood during the introduction of television, when studios tried a “fee TV” system, designed to lure new television owners to grander auditoriums. In the early ’50s, some bright studio head thought a live-to-theater broadcast of Carmen would draw opera buffs unable to attend the Met. It was a financial flop, but in the last five years, the idea has found new life, with better sound and camera work attracting crowds to theaters that otherwise might sit empty on an early Saturday afternoon.
That weekend gaggle of Pavarotti paparazzi is emblematic of the industry’s ability to reinvent the wheel: just when you think there’s little reason to head to the theater anymore—wait a few weeks, and almost anything out now will be available in your home by some means—enterprising bookers, theater owners and studios pull together something enticing enough to get you into the car on a dripping July day. Maybe it’s the thought of meeting a visiting screenwriter for a discussion session, or of revisiting a childhood favorite with your own child sitting wide-eyed in the dark. Maybe it’s a chance to be thrilled by Hitchcock all over again, with the rich, velvety tones of a newly struck print.
Then again, not everything needs reinventing. Sometimes it’s enough that the Coke is full of ice, that the theater is cold and black, and that everyone around you is there for the same reason you are. Here’s a bit of what’s happening, locally and in the larger world of film, this summer.
The Local
Hadley’s Cinemark Theater has always been at the forefront of special programming, though you might not know it. But once you wade through its giant selection of big-screen hits, you’ll find everything from those aforementioned opera broadcasts to big-ticket boxing matches. They also run the popular Friday Night Rewind series, showcasing classic comedies and cult hits in five dollar midnight screenings. That series is scheduled to run through early July, and includes:
Blazing Saddles: The inspiration for countless college quote-offs, Mel Brooks’ raunchy comedy is a wonderfully plainspoken look at racism and other forms of idiocy. (June 18-19)
Annie Hall: You’ve probably heard about Christopher Walken’s small but indelible performance in this early Woody Allen picture. I promise you, that impression your officemate loves to do does Walken no justice. Catch the original. (June 25-26)
Reservoir Dogs: The film that put Quentin Tarantino on the map. Esoterically verbose, with a fragmented story arc for punctuation, it paved the way for Pulp Fiction and introduced us to the Tarantino stable of go-to actors Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen and Tim Roth, among others. (July 2-3)
Additionally, Cinemark will repeat six of the season’s most popular Metropolitan Opera performances in Wednesday night and midday Thursday screenings. On tap are Romeo et Juliette (June 23), Eugene Onegin (July 7), La Boheme (July 14), Turandot (July 21), and—coming full circle—Carmen (July 28). And if opera isn’t quite your thing, check out the June 22 Big Four concert, featuring metal icons Slayer, Metallica, Anthrax, and Megadeth in a show beamed in from Europe.
Over the bridge in Amherst, plans have been unveiled for an ambitious, summer-long Alfred Hitchcock retrospective. Spanning the master’s full career, the nearly dozen films will each be presented twice weekly (Sundays and Wednesdays) in newly restored 35mm prints, giving many filmgoers the chance to experience Hitchcock as never before. The full schedule and synopses are available at amherstcinema.org, but a short list of some of what’s on offer would have to include:
Strangers On a Train: A still-creepy thriller from 1951, Strangers stars Farley Granger as an amateur tennis player who idly dreams of killing his wife. He learns the danger of such thoughts when he meets the unhinged Bruno (Robert Walker), who suggests they swap murders: he’ll kill Guy’s wife if Guy will kill his father. With no connections, who could suspect the other man? A masterpiece of thematic suspense, rarely equaled. (July 4 and 7)
Psycho: Still his most recognizable work, Psycho is perhaps better described as Bernard Herrmann’s most recognized work. The composer is said to have fought Hitchcock to have the infamous violins included for the shower scene where Janet Leigh’s character meets her end. Hitch proved to be a gentleman, later saying that a full third of the film’s effect was due solely to the music. (Aug. 22 and 25)
Notorious, North By Northwest, and To Catch a Thief: This Cary Grant trifecta is what movies are all about. The very essence of a leading man, Grant remains all things, a malleable actor who was at home as a suave rogue, an upstanding do-gooder, or a retired cat burglar. See him here with some of the iconic women of cinema, including Ingrid Bergman and Grace Kelly. (Various dates.)
Amherst also breaks down the film/music wall when it collaborates with Northampton’s annual Django in June Gypsy jazz festival. (Full disclosure: my own band also performs at another point in the festival schedule.) On Thursday, June 17 the cinema presents Swing, a film by art-house favorite Tony Gatlif (Latcho Drom, Gadjo Dilo) about a young boy’s fascination with Gypsy guitar music. French Gypsy guitarist Aurilien Bouly performs a live concert before the film, giving attendees the opportunity to hear the intoxicating music in the flesh.
What would summer be without the occasional weekend getaway? Around the Valley, one of the most picturesque spots for a Saturday recharge is Shelburne Falls. Walk along the Bridge of Flowers or head down to the glacial Potholes to contemplate Earth’s history over an open-air lunch. But once the sun goes down, beat a path to Memorial Hall, where, most weekends, you’ll find an interesting movie paired with concerts by local musicians. Here are some of the highlights from the upcoming season:
Then She Found Me: Helen Hunt stars as a middle-aged teacher who finds herself alone when her husband leaves and her adoptive mother dies. Into the void steps her biological mother (Bette Midler), a maddening whirlwind of eccentricity, and the more stable Colin Firth as the father of one of Hunt’s students. Based on a novel by local author Elinor Lipman, who will be in attendance at the Saturday show to discuss both book and film. (June 18-19)
Midnight Cowboy: John Schlesinger’s 1969 film about two kinds of New York, and the two kinds of hustlers who find themselves developing an unexpectedly intimate friendship on its streets. A young Jon Voight is effective as would-be gigolo Joe Buck, but the standout role was reserved for Dustin Hoffman, whose “Ratso” Rizzo is reanimated every time a jaywalker shouts “I’m walkin’ here!” (July 16-17)
Topsy Turvy: From director Mike Leigh (Happy Go Lucky) comes this beautifully over-the-top period piece. Focused on the creation of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operetta The Mikado, the result is by turns charming and biting but is, above all, a colorful story about creativity and the complicated human relationships that help create art. (Aug. 20-21)
The National
On the wider film front, the summer promises more releases than most of us will be able to see. But between cookouts and the Cape, keep an eye open for some of these special films.
Documentary
A Film Unfinished: Yael Hersonski’s film based on an incomplete Nazi propaganda film, staged in the Warsaw ghetto in 1942. (August)
Cropsey: A pair of Staten Island filmmakers revisit decades-old child murders to discover the horrible truth behind what has become just another urban myth. (June)
Racing Dreams: Marshall Curry follows three youngsters on the championship go-cart circuit. Hoop Dreams for the NASCAR set. (June)
Art-House Only
Dogtooth: Winner of the Un Certain Regard award at the 2009 Cannes’ film festival, director Giorgos Lanthimos’ film follows three adolescents as they uncover the glories of the physical world after a childhood spent with an oppressive father. (June)
Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky: Hot on the heels of Coco Before Chanel comes this look at the famous designer’s passionate affair with the composer Stravinsky. With Anna Mouglalis and Mads Mikkelsen; directed by Jan Kounen. (June)
Life During Wartime: When Todd Solondz’s film Happiness was released in the late ’90s, it went off like a bomb. Now he’s back to check in on some of his characters, now relocated from Jersey to Miami. Don’t be surprised if at first you feel off balance; this time around they’re played by different actors. (July)
Mesrine: Instinct of Death: Jacques Mesrine was one of France’s best-known criminals for a few decades of the 20th century; it should be no surprise that Jean-Fran?ois Richet’s two-part film about him proved a major hit in his native country. Whether or not his criminal cool will play well on this side of the Atlantic is an open question, though it can’t hurt that he’s being portrayed by Gallic icon Vincent Cassel. (August)
Guilty Pleasures for Thirtysomethings
The A-Team: This ridiculous update of a ridiculous TV show had no right to even be made, much less be any good. Nevertheless, it has managed to attract some fairly good actors, so maybe I’m wrong. (I’m probably not.) The biggest question to date is whether anyone will perish in the film version as opposed to simply getting a slight headache when their jeep flips over 18 times, then explodes. (June)
The Expendables: Another ridiculous remake, this one is a remix of all the movies its stars made famous 20 years ago. Sly Stallone stars, and directs a rogue’s gallery of aging action stars including Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Jason Statham and Dolph Lundgren (okay, so they’re not all action “stars” per se) as they journey to overthrow a South American dictator. Bonus: Schwarzenegger is rumored to make an appearance. (August)
Grease: The Sing-Along: You’ll not find me dead or alive at this show, but it’s sure to be a smash, and, frankly, it deserves it. Enjoy. (July)
