<<< July 7 - 10, 2005 >>>

This series is also at the Egyptian
July 5 - 17, 2005.

"Are you a Mod or a Rocker?" a female reporter quizzed Beatle Ringo Starr in A HARD DAY’S NIGHT. His famous response – "I’m a Mocker" – neatly summed up the cocky, carefree spirit of the 1960’s, when every teenager with pegged pants and a shag (haircut, that is) started his weekend with "Ready, Steady, Go!" and droves of dollybirds in Twiggy/Suzy Kendall gear roamed the swinging streets of London. After a one-year hiatus – which gave us time to dig up even MORE swinging classics and rarities -- our Annual Mods & Rockers Film Festival is back in all its day-glo glory for its 6^th edition!! This year’s Fest features a three-film mini-tribute to one of the mod-est actors of the 60’s, John Phillip Law, kicking off with Mario Bava’s irresistible DANGER: DIABOLIK in an ultra-rare 35 mm. print, and continuing with screenings of the sci-fi classic BARBARELLA and THE LOVE MACHINE (which also shows as part of our tribute to author Jacqueline Susann, along with a brand-new print of THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS.) Other highlights include a special "Ringo’s 65^th Birthday" screening of perhaps the single greatest Mods & Rockers movie, A HARD DAY’S NIGHT starring The Beatles, plus the James Bond/007 classic GOLDFINGER, the Director’s Cut of the landmark concert doc WOODSTOCK, and a bevy of groovy 60’s nuggets that haven’t seen a projector in many years, including THE MILLION EYES OF SUMURU, ANGEL ANGEL DOWN WE GO and the wonderfully-titled Anthony Newley magnum opus CAN HIERONYMUS MERKIN EVER FORGET MERCY HUMPPE AND FIND TRUE HAPPINESS?

Friday, July 8 – 7:30 PM

Special Screening – Celebrating Ringo Starr’s 65^th Birthday!!

A HARD DAY’S NIGHT, 1964, Miramax, 85 min. Director Richard Lester's brilliant, carefree comedy set the tone for the rest of the 1960's and captured The Beatles at their best, clowning (as one respected reviewer said) like the new Marx Bros. From Lester's restless, handheld camerawork to writer Alun Owen's surreal day-in-the-life script and George Martin's sprightly score (both Oscar-nominated) to the Beatles themselves - exuberantly singing "Can't Buy Me Love," "She Loves You" and ten other Beatles classics -- this is the essence of the Sixties.

New 35 mm. Print! VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, 1967, 20^th Century Fox, 123 min. Dir. Mark Robson. "You know it’s bad to take liquor with those pills," warns small-town-girl turned super-model Anne (Barbara Parkins) to Broadway diva/train wreck Neely (Patty Duke). Neely’s answer: "They work faster." If you want to see the great, bitchy, booze/angst/sex/drugs-fueled godmother to "Desperate Housewives" – you’ve come to the right place!! Based on author Jacqueline Susann’s runaway best-seller – which practically created a cottage industry in glossy, sex-drenched soap operas on page and screen – VALLEY also co-stars the tragically beautiful Sharon Tate as B-movie queen Jennifer. Our enormous thanks to our friends at 20^th Century Fox for striking a new print of this 60’s classic!! >> Also screening at the Egyptian on July 16.

BLOW UP, 1966, MGM (Warners), 111 min. Dir. Michelangelo Antonioni. In-demand fashion photographer David Hemmings shags half the models in London – before running into enigmatic beauty Vanessa Redgrave, who only wants a certain roll of film from him. A riddle within a riddle, Antonioni’s most famous film has often been imitated (De Palma’s BLOW-OUT, Greenaway’s THE DRAUGHTSMAN’S CONTRACT) – but never equaled. Look for a young Jane Birkin in one of her first film appearances – and for The Yardbirds mimicking the Who’s penchant for auto-destruction in the film’s frenzied nightclub scene!!

GOLDFINGER, 1964, MGM/UA, 111 min. Dir. Guy Hamilton. "Do you expect me to talk, Goldfinger?" "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die …" cackles homicidal villain Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe), as he prepares to re-arrange 007’s secret equipment with a laser beam, in what is widely considered to be the best of the classic Sean Connery Bond pictures and high point in 60’s pop culture (dig the Aston Martin! the Shirley Bassey-sung theme song!) Co-starring the saucy Honor Blackman as Bond’s nemesis-turned-partner Pussy Galore, with Shirley Eaton as the gold-painted girl, Harold Sakata as mute assassin Oddjob, and the venerable home office team of Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell and Desmond Llewelyn. Terrific production design by series veteran Ken Adam. The film’s mod zeitgeist credentials are underscored by Bond’s priceless observation: "Drinking Dom Perignon ’53 above a temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit? That’s as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs …"

>> Also showing at the Egyptian on July 8.