go here THE SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM NOTES FOR NOIR CITY 16
(JANUARY 26 THROUGH FEBRUARY 4, 2018)
NOIR CITY 15 • Monday, January 23, 2017
THE KILLING
7:15 PM
You'll think you've died and gone to hardboiled heaven. Or is it hell? Kubrick was only 28 when he unleashed this twisty and twisted masterpiece, studded with diamond-hard dialogue courtesy of pulp master Jim Thompson. Sterling Hayden arranges a clockwork racetrack robbery only to learn the hard way what happens to best-laid plans. Kubrick proved his noir bona fides by casting genre stalwarts Elisha Cook Jr., Marie Windsor, Coleen Gray, Ted de Corsia, Jay C. Flippen—and unforgettable wild man Timothy Carey. Presented digitally
USA, 1956. United Artists [Park Circus] 85 min. Screenplay by Jim Thompson and Stanley Kubrick, from a novel by Lionel White Produced by James B. Harris. Directed by Stanley Kubrick
CRUEL GUN STORY
KENJÛ ZANKOKU MONOGATARI
9:00 PM
Jô Shishido, the chubby-cheeked superstar of Japanese noir, toplines the crown jewel from Nikkatsu, the studio responsible for the country's best crime films. Smart-mouthed Togawa (Shishido), contentedly doing time for taking vengeance on the man who paralyzed his sister, is sprung from jail by a gangster who wants him to boost 120-million yen from an armored car following the Japan Derby. Only his benefactor isn't telling Togawa everything. The title doesn't lie: there's cruelty and guns galore and a finish that's almost apocalyptic. Presented digitally
Japan, 1964. Nikkatsu Studios [Janus/Criterion] 87 min. Screenplay by Hisataka Kai and Haruhiko Ôyabu Produced by Hideo Sasai. Directed by Takumi Furukawa
Tuesday, January 24
THE LADYKILLERS
7:15 PM
Leave it to England's fabled Ealing Studios to produce the greatest comic caper ever made. Criminal mastermind Alec Guinness has the perfect plan for a daring robbery. He's assembled the right team, among them Peter Sellers. He's devised the ideal cover -- he and the lads masquerading as a string quintet. What he can't possibly prepare for is the righteous meddling of their host, Mrs. Wilberforce (Katie Johnson). William Rose claimed his script came to him in a dream; under the direction of Mackendrick (Sweet Smell of Success), it plays like one, too. Presented digitally
England, 1955. Ealing Studios. 97 min. Screenplay and story by William Rose Produced by Michael Balcon. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
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THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN
9:10 PM
Time for a proper British heist, what? We meet Lieutenant Colonel Hyde climbing out of a sewer in a tuxedo. Chapped at being cashiered from the service, he's decided to rob a bank using a pulp novel as his manual and a band of stiff-upper-lip miscreants adrift after World War II as his crew. A who's who of beloved U.K. character actors, including Jack Hawkins, Roger Livesey, Richard Attenborough, (and screenwriter Forbes in an acting role), take their marching orders from Ealing Studios veteran Basil Dearden, for whom this was a career high point. Presented digitally
England, 1960. Allied Film Makers / J. Arthur Rank {Criterion]. 116 min. Screenplay by Bryan Forbes, from the novel by John Boland Produced by Michael Relph. Directed by Basil Dearden
Wednesday, January 25
ONCE A THIEF
7:15 PM
French superstar Alain Delon's first leading role in an English-language film highlights this ultra-hip 1960s heist yarn, shot entirely on location in San Francisco. The debonair Delon plays an ex-con settled into domestic semi-bliss with wife Ann-Margret, but when dogged cop Van Heflin puts the finger on him for a job he didn't pull, Delon has no choice but to throw in with his brother Jack Palance (!!!) on an actual robbery. Based on a novel by local mystery man Zekial Marko, who also acts in the film and provides exceptional '60s-hipster dialogue. Presented digitally
USA, 1965. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [Warner Bros.]. 107 min. Screenplay by Zekial Marko, from his novel Produced by Jacques Bar (uncredited), Fred Engel, and Ralph Nelson. Directed by Ralph Nelson
THE SICILIAN CLAN
LE CLAN DES SICILIENS
9:25 PM
Double down on Delon, as the sexy star portrays an escaped fugitive taken in by a Sicilian crime boss (the great Jean Gabin). Delon offers the gang a plan he learned in prison for a daring diamond heist, which they set in motion despite the relentless pursuit of a dogged detective (Lino Ventura). The real pitfall, however, is Delon's play for the boss' sexy daughter-in-law. Gallic testosterone runs amok in this high-flying thriller, enhanced in no small measure by Ennio Morricone's evocative score. Presented digitally
France/Italy/USA, 1969. 20th Century-Fox. 122 min. Screenplay by José Giovanni, Pierre Pelegri, and Henri Verneuil, from a novel by Auguste Le Breton. Produced by Jacques-Eric Strauss and Henri Verneuil. Directed by Henri Verneuil
Thursday, January 26
THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123
7:15 PM
The most New York movie ever made, a time capsule of the Big Apple's hellish Fun City days. A quartet of desperadoes led by Robert Shaw's icy soldier of fortune hijacks a subway train loaded with passengers—and only an unlikely duo of transit cops, Walter Matthau and Jerry Stiller, can foil their ingenious ransom scheme. Fierce, funny, and full of fetid atmosphere that hits you like a gust from a passing Lexington Avenue Express. Powered by David Shire's propulsive score and culminating in one of the all-time great closing shots. Presented in 35mm
USA, 1974. United Artists [Park Circus]. 104 min. Screenplay by Peter Stone, from the novel by John Godey Produced by Gabriel Katzka and Edgar J. Scherick. Directed by Joseph Sargent
THUNDERBOLT & LIGHTFOOT
9:20 PM
Before the accolades for The Deer Hunter and the controversy of Heaven's Gate, Michael Cimino made one of Hollywood's most offbeat heist films. Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges play the title characters, a professional thief and a footloose drifter who fall in together. Thunderbolt's old running buddies are hot on the trail of the loot from their last job, and it may take a new robbery to get rid of them. From its wildly memorable opening to its gut-wrenching climax, the film provides viewers with a unique ride. Presented in 35mm
USA, 1974. Malpaso Company / United Artists [Park Circus]. 115 min. Screenplay by Michael Cimino. Produced by Robert Daley. Directed by Michael Cimino
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