<<< March 30 - April 2, 2006 >>>

Discuss this series with other film fans on:
http://www.myspace.com/americancinematheque

Through the middle half of the twentieth century, the Cinematheque Francaise in Paris was the ultimate yardstick for cinematheques and repertory cinemas worldwide, a haven where one could go to view all different kinds of films from a vast variety of international sources. Henri Langlois, the ardent cineaste who founded the institution in the 1930’s, was instrumental in bringing numerous masterpieces to the attention of both critics and public alike, conjuring up esteemed reputations for legions of filmmakers, many of whom – Dreyer, Bunuel, Murnau, Vigo, Lang, Renoir, Hitchcock to name but a few – would go onto pantheon status in the cinematic halls of glory. We’re happy to be able to present a short run of the acclaimed, newly re-edited documentary, HENRI LANGLOIS: PHANTOM OF THE CINEMATHEQUE about the legendary founder of the Cinematheque Francaise and its early years, featuring interviews with many great filmmakers including Francois Truffaut, Claude Chabrol and Jean-Luc Godard, as well as screenings of a handful of films mentioned in the documentary that enjoyed popularity when they were originally screened at the Cinematheque.

March 30 - April 2

HENRI LANGLOIS: PHANTOM OF THE CINEMATHEQUE (LE FANTOME D'HENRI LANGLOIS), 2004, Leisure Time Features, 128 min. Director Jacques Richard’s original, mammoth, 3-1/2 hour portrait of the founder and guiding visionary of the Cinémathèque Française, Henri Langlois, has been pared down to a more accessible length but is still an absolute must-see for film lovers. Featuring a fascinating wealth of archival footage, including interviews with Godard, Truffaut, Chabrol and others, the film traces Langlois’ heroic efforts to save world film culture, from the Cinematheque’s founding in the 1930’s, to its tenacious survival during the WWII Nazi occupation (Simone Signoret recalls carrying contraband prints around in a baby carriage), to its enormous influence on the French New Wave of the 1950’s, and to the titanic battles for control of the organization in the late 1960’s, when Langlois’ removal prompted demonstrations and even rioting in the streets of Paris. "A labor of love made over the course of seven years that crucially matches the energy and passion Langlois himself embodied." – Todd McCarthy, Variety.

Friday, March 31 – 7:30 PM

New 35mm Print! ZABRISKIE POINT 1969, Warner Brothers, 112 min. Director Michelangelo Antonioni’s pictures were favorites at the Cinematheque Francaise in the 1960’s, especially his mind- expanding odyssey of two youths (Mark Frechette and Daria Halprin) on the run from the police after a violent student demonstration. Their surreal adventures in the California desert climax in slow motion apocalypse to the strains of Pink Floyd. ZABRISKIE had equally-strange echoes in real life: actor Frechette later robbed a bank, and died mysteriously in prison; co-star Halprin was Frechette’s off-screen girlfriend for a short while. This film reflects the USA’s tumultuous counterculture of the time – sublime turmoil that was simultaneously going on in the streets of Paris as well. Co-written by Sam Shepard, and co-starring Rod Taylor and a very-young Harrison Ford.

THE DREAMERS, 2003, Fox Searchlight, 115 min. "Only the French would build a movie theater in a palace." So says Matthew (Michael Pitt), an innocent young lad from San Diego arriving to study in riot-torn 1968 Paris. Soon he’s established an intimate friendship with Isabelle (Eva Green) and her brother, Theo (Louis Garrel), a camraderie sparked with erotic fervor as well as an intense cinephilia that borders on obsession. Although this faithful recreation of the late sixties by director Bernardo Bertolucci was not one of the films shown at the old Cinematheque Francaise, it perfectly embodies the youthful devotion to cinema in the streets of 1968 Paris, illustrated with scenes set at the Cinematheque as well as archival footage from the day of such figures as Jean-Pierre Leaud distributing leaflets outside on the street. A beautiful time capsule about the revolutionary ideals and aesthetic aspirations of youth. Due to some explicit sexual imagery, no one under 17 will be admitted to this screening.]

Saturday, April 1 – 7:30 PM

Early Years Of The Cinematheque Francaise – Double Feature:

M, 1931, Kino International, 99 min. Peter Lorre is stupendous as the pathetic child murderer unsuccessfully hunted by the police in Fritz Lang’s impressive masterwork. The judicial heat generated by Lorre’s killing spree incites the police-harassed denizens of the Berlin underworld to take matters into their own hands to find the culprit. "It’s an incredible film – a model of psychological suspense and a stunning display of Lang’s power and skill." – Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle.

CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, 1919, Kino International, 75 min. Director Robert Weine’s weird masterpiece is arguably the most striking and historically important work of German Expressionist silent cinema. Conrad Veidt is mesmerizing as Cesare, the pasty-faced somnabulist sent forth by psychotic asylum head, Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss) to do his evil bidding, specifically kidnapping beautiful waif, Jane (Lil Dagover). Although a story framing device was added to bookend the nightmarish events (slightly blunting the subversive script by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer), the film still retains an astonishing power, in large part due to Veidt’s riveting portrayal, as well as the maze of twisted buildings, streets and rooms dreamed up by production designers, Walter Reimann, Walter Röhrig and Hermann Warm. With musical accompaniment by Dan Redfeld.

Sunday, April 2 – 6:30 PM

Early Years Of The Cinematheque Francaise – Double Feature:

PERSONA, 1966, Sony Repertory, 85 min. Nurse Alma (Bibi Andersson) takes over the care of Elisabeth Vogler (Liv Ullmann), an esteemed actress who has undergone a traumatic breakdown onstage and is no longer able to speak. Gradually, a merging of personalities seems to occur. One of Ingmar Bergman’s greatest masterworks and perhaps his most stringently austere examination of the female psyche. A starkly ascetic journey into the heart of what comprises identity.

LE BEAU SERGE, 1958, Janus Films, 98 min. Director Claude Chabrol’s debut feature film, while embodying qualities of France’s ‘classic’ cinema, is still looked on as the first incarnation of the French New Wave. The low budget, the cast of then-largely-unknowns and the brutally honest treatment were traits heralding the advent of a revolutionary film movement that would soon sweep the nation’s cinemas and then the world. Recuperating from illness, Francois (Jean-Claude Brialy) returns to his hometown only to find it dying on the vine and his best friend, the previously promising and handsome, Serge (Gerald Blain), a now-dissolute alcoholic in a stagnant marriage. Chabrol looks at both the differences and the doppleganger similarities between Francois and Serge, and creates a simple, but rigorous psychological landscape, much as he would do in his later thrillers.

>> Also playing at the Aero, March 29.