<<< September 2008 >>>

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THE ROSE, 1979, 20^th Century Fox, 125 min. Winner of three Golden Globes and nominated for four Oscars, director Mark Rydell would only agree to helm this, his sixth feature, with the yet unproven leading lady Bette Midler, who gave a tour-de-force performance that channeled Janis Joplin’s tragic rollercoaster ride of excess and stardom in the music biz. Alan Bates and Frederic Forrest co-star ,with cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond. View Trailer Discussion with director Mark Rydell and Frederic Forrest.

BURN AFTER READING, 2008, Focus Features, 92 min. A comedy thriller, the latest from directors Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. CIA Headquarters, Arlington, Va.: Hard-drinking ex-veteran analyst Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) polishes off his memoirs and another bottle, as his wife, Katie (Tilda Swinton), runs-off with Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney), a married federal marshal. When a computer disc containing Cox's memoirs falls into the hands of internet-dating, cosmetic-surgery-obsessed Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) and her fitness hardbody collegues, Chad Feldhimer (Brad Pitt) and unrequited admirer Ted Treffon (Richard Jenkins), "No good can come of this," and a series of darkly hilarious encounters is sent spiraling out of control. *Note: Tickets are exclusively available to members of the American Cinematheque until 8/31. Call the member ticket order line to purchase. View Trailer | Official Website

FARGO, 1996, MGM Repertory, 98 min. One of Joel and Ethan Coen’s most acclaimed films (they won Oscars for their screenplay and Frances McDormand got one for Best Actress). Cool, calm, collected (and pregnant!) policewoman Marge (McDormand) tracks the kidnappers of a used-car salesman’s wife in North Dakota’s snow-covered wasteland. Salesman Jerry’s (William H. Macy) inept plot to get out of debt by staging the hoax unravels in gory fashion when his two bizarrely mismatched henchmen (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) have a falling out. That hulking Stormare’s nonchalant, bloodcurdling use of a woodchipper at the climax emerges as both chilling and hilarious testifies to the Coens’ complete mastery of tone in the filmmaking process. More on this film

Sunday, September 14 - 5:30 PM
John Badham In-Person! Double Feature:
BLUE THUNDER, 1983, Sony Pictures, 109 min. Deja vu 1983! The government has unleashed its newest weapon: a heavily armed helicopter that can spy on you from 1,000 feet and incinerate entire city blocks. The only ones who can stop Big Brother (in the form of Malcolm McDowell’s fascist cop) from using it against us are Vietnam vet-turned-police chopper pilot Roy Scheider and his tech-savvy partner, Daniel Stern. Director John Badham's paranoid actioner flies high with stunning cinematography by John Alonzo and dazzling dogfights over downtown L.A. View Trailer

WARGAMES, 1983, MGM Repertory, 114 min. Gentlemen, please: no video-gaming in the war room. For Matthew Broderick's seminal teen computer hacker, coming of age, saving the world and getting Ally Sheedy means accidentally triggering World War III (and causing big headaches for the likes of Dabney Coleman and Barry Corbin). Director John Badham's tale of a boy, his modem and Armageddon is as suspenseful -- and unnerving -- as ever. Both films scored by Arthur Rubinstein. View Trailer Discussion in between films with director John Badham and film historian Eric Lichtenfeld.

Double Feature: HAROLD AND MAUDE, 1971, Paramount, 91 min. Producer Robert Evans fought hard for non-conformist editor-turned-filmmaker Hal Ashby to be allowed to direct this wildly offbeat romance. The result is one of the most poignant and subversive films of the New Hollywood era, the impossibly beautiful love affair between suicidal youngster Bud Cort and eccentric, 80-year-old Ruth Gordon. View Trailer

THE MAN WHO SHOT CHINATOWN; THE LIFE AND WORK OF JOHN A. ALONZO, 2008, 77 min. Dir. Axel Schill. A portrait of a Mexican farm boy whose passion for film would lead him to become one of the most influential cinematographers in the history of cinema. Interviews with actors Sally Field and Richard Dreyfuss, film critic Roger Ebert, directors William Friedkin, Mike Figgis, John McNaughton, author/director Michael Crichton, colleagues Haskell Wexler, ASC, and John Toll, ASC, friend Frank Sinatra Jr. and others shed light on Alonzo’s creative process. Highlights of his work include clips from HAROLD & MAUDE, VANISHING POINT, SOUNDER, CHINATOWN , NORMA RAE, SCARFACE, FAREWELL MY LOVELY, BLUE THUNDER and INTERNAL AFFAIRS. Director Axel Schill will not be in attendance as was previously announced. View Trailer See CHINATOWN this month at the Egyptian!

CHOKE, 2008, Fox Searchlight Pictures, 89 min. Based on a novel by the author of Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk, Clark Gregg's directorial debut is a dark comedy of sexual compulsion, filial bonds and the sordid underbelly of Colonial theme parks. Sam Rockwell scams upscale restaurant patrons by feigning choking incidents in order to bond with his wealthy "saviors." His deranged mother (Anjelica Huston) is in a nursing home and her sexy doctor (Kelly MacDonald, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN) seems to think he is the son of Jesus. Official Website. Discussion following with actor/director Clark Gregg.