HATCHING filmmaker Hanna Bergholm will participate in Q&As after the 7:30 PM screening at the Monica Film Center and after the 10:15 PM screening at the Laemmle Glendale on Friday, April 29.
Virtual Q&A with the CHARLOTTE filmmakers this Sunday, April 24.
“Smashing…touching and piercing. A stirring and true-spirited romantic film.” The overlooked 1970 British classic ‘Bronco Bullfrog’ gets a proper U.S. release starting April 29 at the Laemmle Glendale.
The debut film by “one of the forgotten heroes of British cinema” (Matthew Sweet, BBC Radio 4), Barney Platts-Mills’ Bronco Bullfrog is “remarkable” (Mollie Panter-Downes, The New Yorker), a “breathtaking time capsule” (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian), and a “revelation” (Kieron Corless, Sight & Sound).
Seventeen-year-old Del, with no money and nowhere to go, breaks into train cars with his cool, fresh-out-of-borstal (reform school) pal Bronco Bullfrog. But one day he meets the lovely Irene, and despite an earful from his dad (and her mum), the two young lovers run away together… but to where?
Shot in London’s East End in 1969, cast with Doc Marten-wearing “suedehead” locals, and set to a dynamic soundtrack by early ’70s art rock band Audience, Bronco Bullfrog has been compared to the work of Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, but with a punk rock spirit. After a minuscule American release following its Edinburgh and Cannes premieres, this “lost gem” (Dave Calhoun, Time Out) returns over 50 years later as a cult landmark of two teens in love, in black and white and cockney—with subtitles.
Sadly, filmmaker Barney Platts-Mills passed away last year so is not here to be part of the re-release of his film. In his stead, Oscar-winning director James Scott will participate in a Q&A after 7:30 PM screening of Bronco at the Laemmle Glendale on Friday, April 29.
From Sasha Frere-Jones recent piece in the Observer:
“The British 1970 film Bronco Bullfrog…is about kids in the streets, full stop. Del (Del Walker) starts up a romance with Irene (Anne Gooding) and bounces around with his friend Joe, aka Bronco Bullfrog (Sam Shepherd), running from cops and parents through Stratford, East London. A year before starring in this neo-realist dream, Walker was talking to director Barney Platts-Mills while they made a short documentary of Walker and his friends doing improvisatory theater with director Joan Littlewood.
“‘Is this better than hanging about in the streets? Is that all you do?’ Platts-Mills asks him.
“‘It’s all I’ve ever done,’ Walker says. “Streets—Stratford, Plaistow, Green Gate, East Ham, Leyton, Sleaford. Everywhere. Get a bit sick of it.’
“That film is called Everybody’s An Actor, Shakespeare Said, but that statement is the plot of Bronco Bullfrog, almost in total. Now rereleased by Gabriele Caroti and Seventy-Seven, a “boutique movie and music label focusing on vintage, underseen, and underappreciated work,” Bronco Bullfrog is a funnel right back into 1969 East London, a bright black-and-white look at several working class kids with no future and all the time in the world. Before Quadrophenia, before the Jam, before the Sex Pistols, there was this.
“‘We both loved the Italian neo-realists, Barney and me,’ cinematographer Adam Barker-Mill told me. ‘Joan and the boys had something.’ In the late ‘60s, Littlewood had been working in a theater in East London, putting on shows with local teens. The gang of boys hanging about in front of the theater was slowing things down, so she put them to work.”
Read the rest of Frere-Jones’ piece here.
‘Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen,’ the engrossing behind-the-scenes story of one of our finest movie musicals, opens May 6.
The fall of 2021 marked the 50th anniversary of Fiddler on the Roof, the film Pauline Kael called “the most powerful movie musical ever made.” Narrated by Jeff Goldblum, Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen captures the humor and drama of director Norman Jewison’s quest to recreate the lost world of Jewish life in Tsarist Russia and re-envision the beloved stage hit as a wide-screen epic. We have an advance screening of Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen May 5 at the Royal followed by week-long engagements at the Royal, Playhouse and Town Center beginning May 6.
For a taste of the film, here’s a clip in which composer John Williams and Jewison discuss enlisting the brilliant violinist Isaac Stern to provide the title character’s music.
We are planning a series of Q&As at the Royal: Thursday, May 5th – evening show for LAJFF – Q&A with Daniel Raim (director), moderated by Hilary Helstein (LAJFF); Fri. May 6 – 7:30pm – Q&A with Daniel Raim (director), Sasha Berman (producer), and Michael Sragow (co-writer, co-producer); Sat. May 7th – 7:30pm – Moderated by film critic Kenneth Turan, Q&A with Daniel Raim (director), Sasha Berman (producer), and Michael Sragow (co-writer, co-producer); Wed. May 11 at 7:30pm – Q&A with Michael Sragow (co-writer, co-producer).
Finally, here’s an excerpt from a rave review Raquel Stecher recently posted on her site Out of the Past:
“Director Daniel Raim continues his quest to champion the art of filmmaking with his latest documentary Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen (2022). Narrated by Jeff Goldblum, this documentary takes a deep dive into the making of Fiddler on the Roof (1971), director Norman Jewison’s personal and professional journey and all of the key players who came to together to make one of the greatest musical films of all time.
“Fiddler on the Roof was the brainchild of composer Jerry Bock, lyricist Sheldon Harnick and writer Joseph Stein. The inspiration came from a selection of short stories by Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem called Teyve and his Daughters as well as artist Marc Chagall’s 1912 painting The Fiddler. The play opened on Broadway in 1964 and there was some concern that the story would only appeal to a small Jewish audience. However, Fiddler’s tale of a Jewish dairy farmer who attempts to marry off his five daughters in pre-revolutionary Russia, is a story of family, tradition and the inevitability of change. This gave the story a universal appeal and along with the excellent story and top-notch musical numbers, Fiddler was an international success. And naturally it was destined to become a film.
“Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen explores the history behind the Broadway show, how Norman Jewison came to be involved, the casting, musical direction, art direction, location scouting, choreography, cinematography and many other elements that came to make the film as well as Fiddler‘s legacy. There is so much here to take in but it never feels overwhelming.
“The documentary includes interviews with director Norman Jewison, lyricist Sheldon Harnick, musical director John Williams, actresses Rosalind Harris (Tzeitel), Michele Marsh (Hodel) and Neva Small (Chava) and film critic Kenneth Turan. There are also archival interviews of Jewison back in 2000 as well as actor Topol and art director Robert F. Boyle. The interviews add so much to this documentary. There is nothing quite like firsthand accounts of an important moment in film history. And much like Daniel Raim’s other documentaries, there are illustrations from artist Patrick Mate as well as plenty of archival footage and behind-the-scenes photographs. The documentary is also is chock full of interesting facts even beyond just the making of Fiddler on the Roof. Watching it felt like I was getting two documentaries for the price of one: the making of a film and the biography of its director.”
Read the rest of Ms. Stecher’s review here.
Nicolas Cage Comedy ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ – Special Advance Screenings
Nicolas Cage stars as… Nick Cage in the action-comedy THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT. Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, the fictionalized version of Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous super-fan (Pedro Pascal). Things take a wildly unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative (Tiffany Haddish) and forced to live up to his own legend, channeling his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters in order to save himself and his loved ones. With a career built for this very moment, the seminal award-winning actor must take on the role of a lifetime: Nick Cage.
We open MASSIVE TALENT on April 22 at the Claremont, Glendale, Newhall, NoHo and Playhouse but are first hosting special advance screenings this Saturday night at those theaters.
Here’s a clip from the film:
Praise for THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT:
“The filmmakers pull from every corner of Cage’s filmography to craft something transcendent. – Marya E. Gates, RogerEbert.com
“There’s something for everyone in THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT. It’s one of the funniest movies of the year.” – Simon Houpt, The Globe and Mail
“Tom Gormican’s nostalgic adventure trip THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT is a true love letter to every facet of Cage’s past and a tantalizing roadmap to his future.” – Robert Daniels, The Playlist
Regular engagements start April 22 but you can see Cage’s acclaimed comedy first this Saturday night. This is just a sampling of the strong critical response that greeted the film at the South by Southwest Film Festival last month in Austin. As of this writing, MASSIVE TALENT has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
It is yet another highlight in the career of sui generis Oscar-winning actor Nick Cage. Even as he was making millions (and, apparently, spending even more) while starring in a series of action movies, he has always made sure to deliver terrific performances in some highly original films. His performance in MASSIVE TALENT reconnects us with the exciting actor from such diverse modern classics as WILD AT HEART, RAISING ARIZONA, MOONSTRUCK, ADAPTATION, BRINGING OUT THE DEAD and PIG.
Click here to read this amazing Reddit AMA Cage did last weekend.
One of the first terrific Hollywood films of the year, MASSIVE TALENT is a non-superhero, non-blockbuster film and so something of an experiment to see if there is still an audience for this kind of movie. If we want these types of idiosyncratic films to be released theatrically in the years ahead, we need to demonstrate that there is an audience for these films, and we need to do it now! Real movies are meant to be seen in a theatre. But comedies truly benefit from the shared experience. And right now, it feels like we could all use a good laugh to distract us for at least a couple of hours from the news.
“If you want movie studios to make movies that are good, interesting and original, you need to go see them.” Washington Post on ‘Everything Everywhere,’ ‘Massive Talent’ and ‘The Northman.’
Washington Post columnist Sonny Bunch recently published a compelling piece headlined “If you want original movies to survive, get to a theater this April” about returning to movie theatres. Laemmle Theatres has been open for just over a year at this point. If you aren’t going to the movies as frequently as you did before the pandemic, you are contributing to trends in distribution that may be irreversible. Bunch’s piece speaks to this better than we can, which is why we’re sharing it. We understand that we have all been through a very traumatic time. It has been tragic and frightening. But we aren’t where we were when the pandemic started. We have effective vaccines and booster shots and plentiful masks that provide an amazing level (granted, not 100%) of protection. Test & Treat is rolling out so that you can get access for treatments that will minimize illness. And theatres are set up with better ventilation systems to more effectively circulate and filter air inside auditoriums. You can safely return to moviegoing. So, nu?
From the Post: “Are you sick of comic book movies and other franchises? This month, you actually have a chance to do something about it. A trio of big, original new releases comes to theaters this month. Go see one — or all of them. If these movies fail, our theatrical future will be nothing but the disappointing Morbius and its ilk. And movie lovers who have defaulted to home entertainment even after coronavirus vaccines, rapid tests and high-quality masks have become widely available will have only themselves to blame.
“Dark jewel of 1960s British cinema” THE SERVANT restored and screening at the Royal April 15-21.
“I’m a gentleman’s gentleman and you’re no bloody gentleman!” Upper-crust James Fox thinks he’s found a “treasure” in Jeeves-efficient new butler Dirk Bogarde — just the man to put his life and swankily restored Knightsbridge townhouse in order — though his frightfully stuck-up fiancée Wendy Craig sniffs more than disapprovingly. But after Bogarde’s mini-skirted “sister” Sarah Miles suddenly shows up on Fox’s doorstep, the line of demarcation between Upstairs and Downstairs blurs, in American blacklistee Losey’s pioneering 1963 Mod psychodrama The Servant, the first of three collaborations with playwright Harold Pinter (who can also be glimpsed in a restaurant cameo). With jazz score by John Dankworth (and vocal by his wife Cleo Laine, heard on an eros-arousing LP) and stunning B&W camerawork by Douglas Slocombe (Kind Hearts and Coronets, Man in The White Suit, Raiders of the Lost Ark).
“The Servant is a dark jewel of 1960s British cinema with the perfect alchemy of collaborators in director Joseph Losey, screenwriter Harold Pinter, cinematographer Douglas Slocombe, and stars Dirk Bogarde and James Fox. It’s cold as ice, perfectly precise, and chillingly effective. Clearly an influence on Bong Joon-Ho’s later class war masterpiece Parasite, this is an absolutely wicked classic from top to bottom.” – Edgar Wright quoted in Indiewire, reflecting on films that inspired Last Night in Soho
***** 5 Stars [highest rating] “Losey’s masterpiece. A perfect storm of perversity. Pre-Persona identity transference and prole pole-positioning, [The Servant] immediately transformed the director from has-been Hollywood exile to European auteur. Everything hits just the right note of louche Britannia, from Losey and cinematographer Douglas Slocombe’s visual expressionism (warped reflections abound; stairwell shadows look like prison bars) to screenwriter Harold Pinter’s pause-as-power-play dialogue to the actors’ character assassinations on class assumptions.” – David Fear, Time Out New York
“The nastiest movie ever made. A vile snake pit of appalling manners, lust and degradation. Losey does masterly work in confined spaces… Bogarde’s performance as the scheming servant sets the standard for sly corruption.” – David Denby, The New Yorker
“One part aristocratic film, one part angry-young-man movie… Mixing techniques as surely as it mixes class (graceful dolly shots are placed side-by-side with the handheld photography), [it evokes] the hysterical confusion of a culture in upheaval.” – Zachary Wigon, Village Voice
Rejuvenate your spirit with Spring 2022 Culture Vulture films.
We began our weekly Culture Vulture series in 2014 to showcase the best films from and about the world of dance, opera, plays, musicals, fine art and more. We screen them every Monday at 7:30 PM at the Playhouse 7, Royal, Newhall, Claremont 5, and Glendale. Can’t make it on Mondays? No problem! Catch discounted encore presentations Tuesdays at 1 PM. Our schedule through May:
April 11-12: The beautifully crafted Easter in Art explores the Easter story as depicted in art, from the time of the early Christians to the present day. Shot on location in Jerusalem, United States and throughout Europe, the film explores the different ways artists have depicted the Easter story through the ages and thus depicts the history of us all.
April 18-19: Raphael: The Young Prodigy tells the story of the Italian Renaissance artist, starting from his extraordinary portraits of women – the Mother, the Friend, the Secret Lover and the Client. From portraits of his mother, who died when the painter was only eight, to the female admirers who helped him on his road to success, Raphael was able to portray an ideal of celestial beauty and focus his gaze more on the psychology of his subjects than on their physical forms, so that their personalities emerge in a striking manner.
April 25-26: In Black Flowers, five Holocaust survivors choose art as a vehicle for healing the wounds of their past. An undeniable bond is visible between the horrors they experienced and the artistic expression they find. The necessity of optimism is eminent in the personalities of these survivors. Screening with Commandment 613, in which Rabbi Kevin Hale joyfully practices the sacred craft of Torah restoration, bringing new life to scrolls saved in Czechoslovakia during the Shoah. Black Flowers filmmaker Tammy Federman will participate in Q&As following the April 25th screening at the Royal and the matinee screening at the Playhouse on the 26th.
May 2-3: Gallant Indies features 30 dancers of hip-hop, krump, break-dancing, and voguing. It’s a first for the Director Clément Cogitore, the choreographer Bintou Dembélé, and the Paris’ Opera Bastille. By bringing together urban dance and opera singing, they reinvent Jean-Philippe Rameau’s baroque masterpiece, Les Indes Galantes. From rehearsals to public performances, it is a human adventure and a meeting of political realities that we follow: can a new generation of artists storm the Bastille today?
May 9-10: 42nd Street – The Musical ~ One of Broadway’s classics, this production of 42nd Street is the largest-ever production of the breathtaking musical. Set in 1933, it tells the story of Peggy Sawyer, a talented young performer with stars in her eyes who gets her big break on Broadway. Filmed in 2018 at London’s Theatre Royal and directed by the original author of the show, Mark Bramble, this eye-watering extravaganza is full of crowd-pleasing tap dances, popular musical theatre standards (“Lullaby of Broadway,” “We’re in the Money,” “42nd Street” and more), and dazzling ensemble production numbers.
May 16-17: To mark the centenary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, Tutankhamun: The Last Exhibition offers audiences an extraordinary opportunity to meet the Pharaoh, with exclusive coverage of how 150 of his treasures were moved to become part of the biggest international exhibition ever dedicated to him. Explore a continuous dialogue of cross-references between the ancient past when the Pharaoh was alive, the more recent times which saw the discovery of his tomb by archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922, and the present day with exhibitions and studies dedicated to Ancient Egypt.
May 23-24: Alain Resnais: Five Short Films ~ Five newly restored early short film masterpieces from the legendary filmmaker. Resnais would go on to make his mark in feature films, including the Oscar-nominated Hiroshima Mon Amour, but these early-career shorts demonstrate an already keenly developed eye. The films are a remarkable compendium of the stylistic elements found in his features, and represent an important contribution to the distinguished French documentary tradition.
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