SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Fall 2017 Special Presentations include a 35mm print of John Boorman’s 1967 crime masterpiece Point Blank, a postscript to our summer 2017 tribute to author Donald E. Westlake. Plus, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, David Lynch’s feature film prequel to his landmark television series and the return of Aleksandr Sokurov’s one-shot wonder, Russian Ark.
- Sat., Sep. 9 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
Marvin stars as Walker, his quintessential tough guy role, in this adaptation of a “Parker” novel by Richard Stark (aka Donald E. Westlake). After being double-crossed in a heist by both his best friend and his wife, Walker begins a quest to retrieve his half of the money…and exact a little personal revenge. Walker’s journey, shot in widescreen and told in a brilliantly edited elliptical style, takes him through several architecturally dazzling Los Angeles locations and San Francisco’s Alcatraz Prison. The acclaimed second feature by British director Boorman (Deliverance, Excalibur) is an existential action classic and an influence on countless films, including Mel Gibson’s remake, Payback.
- Fri., Sep. 29 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
As the latest season of Twin Peaks concludes, return to the dawn of Lynch’s 25-year saga. Depicting the last seven days in the life of Laura Palmer, this harrowing prequel only deepens the mysteries of everything that follows. Free from network censors, Lynch fearlessly detonates the tone of the original TV series, deranging it into an inescapable, big-screen nightmare. Special pre-show material assembled by Daniel Knox. (MK)
- Fri., Nov. 17 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
Sokurov’s internationally celebrated tour-de-force employs an immersive point-of-view camera that takes us into the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Sokurov allows the viewer to magically travel through time and witness Catherine the Great, Czar Nicholas, and the Great Royal Ball of 1913. In a dazzling achievement, the camera travels across the Museum in a single, uninterrupted shot covering 4,265 feet of galleries, 867 actors, hundred of extras and three live orchestras. Shrewdly avoiding the October Revolution of 1917, Russian Ark provides an elegy to the past (and future) of Russian culture. After the screening there will be a discussion led by Maria Belodubrovskaya, Assistant Professor of Film, Department of Communication Arts, UW Madison and the author of Not According to Plan: Filmmaking Under Stalin. Co-presented with the UW’s Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia (CREECA).
