Spring special presentations include 35mm prints of the raucous comedy Slap Shot, presented on the eve of star Paul Newman’s centennial; and The Battle of Algiers, Gillo Pontecorvo’s provocative and innovative docudrama on the revolt against French colonialism in North Africa. Plus, several new DCP restorations including Tarsem’s The Falland Clouzot’s The Wages of Fear, presented in tandem with William Friedkin’s remake, Sorcerer.
FRI., 1/24, 7 p.m.
THE FALL
US, South Africa, India | 2006 | DCP | 119 min.
Director: Tarsem
Cast: Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru, Justine Waddell
In a Southern California hospital in the 1920s, an injured and heartbroken movie stuntman (Pace) entrances a fellow patient – a seven-year-old immigrant girl (Untaru, in one of the greatest of all child performances) – with an elaborate tale of romance and adventure worthy of Scheherezade. Together, they form a bond while using their imaginations to escape the sometimes troubling real world. Filmed in 28 countries over four years, this overwhelmingly beautiful fantasy from accomplished video and film director Tarsem (The Cell) absolutely must be seen on the big screen to be fully appreciated, especially in the new 4K DCP that will be screened. “The Fall is a mad folly, an extravagant visual orgy, a free-fall from reality into uncharted realms” (Roger Ebert).
SAT., 1/25, 7 p.m.
SLAP SHOT
US | 1977 | 35mm | 122 min.
Director: George Roy Hill
Cast: Paul Newman, Strother Martin, Michael Ontkean
In his funniest, most foul-mouthed performance, Paul Newman is Reggie Dunlop, coach and aging hockey player for the minor league Charlestown Chiefs. When the town mill announces its closing and the team faces imminent folding, Reg launches a series of crazy promotional schemes to attract interested buyers, including hiring the goonish Hanson Brothers. Nancy Dowd’s brilliantly profane script remains hilarious while also offering an incisive critique of professional sports and life in a rustbelt town. This screening of a 35mm print is presented on the eve of Paul Newman’s centennial.
FRI., 1/31, 7 p.m.
THE WAGES OF FEAR
France | 1953 | DCP | 153 min. | French with English subtitles
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Cast: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter Van Eyck
Hiding from the world in South America, four men with nothing to lose sign on to haul truckloads of explosive nitroglycerine over miles of treacherously bumpy mountain roads. Clouzot’s supreme masterpiece of suspense and survival was a bonafide international box office hit and winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or. A new 4K DCP restoration will be screened.
FRI., 2/7, 7 p.m.
SORCERER
USA | 1977 | DCP | 122 min.
Director: William Friedkin
Cast: Roy Scheider, Francisco Rabal, Bruno Cremer
Five desperate men from different countries, all hiding out in a sweaty South American hellhole, agree to take on an impossible mission: transporting, via truck, several crates of highly explosive nitroglycerin over several miles of the most rugged jungle and mountain terrain imaginable. One of the most underrated films of the 1970s, director Friedkin’s variation on Clouzot’s The Wages of Fear is as explosive as the truck’s cargo. With one tension-filled set-piece after another, Sorcerer is as tough – and memorable – as they come.
SAT., 3/1, 7 p.m.
THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC
France | 1928 | DCP | 81 min. | French intertitles with English subtitles
Director: Carl Th. Dreyer
Cast: Renée Falconetti, Eugène Silvain, Michel Simon
Jeanne d’Arc’s final hours are transformed by Dreyer into a transcendent meditation on faith and sacrifice, rendered with searing immediacy and spiritual intensity. Falconetti’s iconic performance, framed in haunting close-ups, captures the raw agony and divine grace of martyrdom. A supreme masterpiece of the silent era, The Passion of Joan of Arc will be presented in a version beautifully scored for chorus and orchestra by Richard Einhorn, who titled his composition “Voices of Light.”
FRI., 3/7, 7 p.m.
SWORD OF GRANADA 3-D (EL CORAZÓN Y LA ESPADA)
Mexico | 1953 | DCP | 87 min. | Spanish with English subtitles
Director: Carlos Véjar, Edward Dein
Cast: Cesar Romero, Katy Jurado, Rebecca Iturbide
In this period costume drama full of action, intrigue, and romance, Don Pedro de Rivera (Romero), the rightful owner of a Spanish castle seeks to reclaim it from an occupying Moorish Caliph. Don Pedro’s accomplice is Juan Ponce de León, who intends to steal the “Rose of Granada,” a rare gem owned by the Caliph, which supposedly contains a rare essence that ensures eternal youth. Never before screened in its original 3-D and Spanish-language version in the U.S., Sword of Granada will be preceded by the 1952 British 3-D short, Black Swan (12 min.). Both films have been restored by the 3-D Film Archive. Special thanks to Bob Furmanek and Greg Kintz.
FRI., 3/14, 7 p.m.
THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS
Italy, Algeria | 1966 | 35mm | 121 min. | French and Arabic with English subtitles
Director: Gillo Pontecorvo
Cast: Brahim Haggiag, Jean Martin, Saadi Yacef
A landmark achievement in mixing fiction and documentary styles, The Battle of Algiers covers three years (1954-1957) in the Algerian struggle for independence from occupying France. Using actual locations and cinema vérité filming techniques, Pontecorvo achieves an astonishing, urgent realism. Ennio Morricone’s percussive, militaristic score adds just the right notes to this truly revolutionary movie.
FRI., 5/2, 7 p.m.
3 BAD MEN
USA | 1926 | DCP | 92 min.
Director: John Ford
Cast: George O’Brien, Olive Borden, Lou Tellegen
One of John Ford’s finest movies from the silent era, 3 Bad Men masterfully blends an intimate story with the historical backdrop of the 1870s Dakota land rush. The film follows three outlaws who, after discovering a young woman orphaned by a gang, redeem themselves by protecting her at great personal cost. Filled with breathtaking action sequences, rich themes of redemption, and nuanced performances, this grand Western exemplifies Ford’s talent for mixing human drama with sweeping images of America. Restored by the Museum of Modern Art with support from the Celeste Bartos Fund for Film Preservation. Live piano by David Drazin!
SAT., 5/3, 7 p.m.
Marquee Theater
COMMUNICATION ARTS SHOWCASE – May 2024
USA | 2024 | 90 min.
Highlighting works produced in Communication Arts Media Production courses at UW Madison, this program is curated by the instructors of documentary and narrative production courses and gives new filmmakers the opportunity to present their films on screen for the first time.