EXHIBITIONS
David Levinthal: War, Myth, Desire
June 1, 2018–January 2, 2019
David Levinthal: War, Myth, Desire is the first museum retrospective of the artist’s work in more than twenty years. Since the mid-1970s, David Levinthal has been exploring the relationship between photographic imagery and the fantasies, myths, events, and characters that shape contemporary America’s mental landscape. The exhibition will feature photographs from all of Levinthal’s major series to date—including Hitler Moves East (1972–1975), Modern Romance (1983–1985), The Wild West (1986–1989), Desire (1991–1992), Blackface (1995–1998), Barbie (1997–1998), Baseball (1998–2004), and History (2010–2015)—in addition to never-before-exhibited outtakes, commissions, and archival materials.
Gail Albert Halaban: Out My Window
July 7, 2018–January 2, 2019
In Out My Window Gail Halaban employs photography as a form of social engagement. She starts by explaining her work to neighbors—either her own neighbors or the neighbors of people whom she identifies through social media—and eliciting their agreement to participate in her project. Then, she facilitates communication among the participants and arranges to photograph one of the neighbors from the other’s window. The visually captivating images that result encourage us to take a fresh look at the strangers who live near us. More than that, Halaban’s work demonstrates that proximity is no guarantee of familiarity and that photography can be a powerful way to foster community.
A History of Photography
October 20, 2018-April 21, 2019
Many of the social and political issues currently at the forefront of popular discussion have been present for multiple generations. This rotation in the History of Photography Gallery considers contemporary events in light of our past and underscores cyclical and persistent themes in American society—including race, gender, and colonialism, to name a few. The exhibition, curated by Ross Knapper, collection manager in the Department of Photography, will be on view October 20, 2018–April 21, 2019. It features photographs by Barbara Norfleet, Mary Ellen Mark, Patrick Nagatani, Dawoud Bey, Larry McNeil, and Lim Young Kyun, as well as several unidentified photographers.
Ongoing Exhibitions:
From The Camera Obscura to the Revolutionary Kodak Ongoing, Mansion
This three-part exhibition examines early photographic processes through cameras and related equipment from the museum’s collections. A walk-in camera obscura provides a unique view of the West Garden; Making Photographs: The First 50 Years focuses on daguerreotype, wet plate, and dry plate photography; and The Revolutionary Kodak tells the story of one of the most important cameras in the history of photography
SEPTEMBER EVENTS
Sunday, September 2, 3 p.m.
LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCES IN THE MANSION
Steve Kelly, Aeolian pipe organ. Free to members, incl. w/museum admission.
Thursday, September 6, 6 p.m., Main Galleries
GALLERY TALK: The Toys of Levinthal’s War, Myth, Desire
Christopher Bensch, vice president for collections and chief curator at the Strong National Museum of Play, will lead guests through the exhibition David Levinthal: War, Myth, Desire, and discuss the historic and cultural impact of the toys Levinthal uses in creating his photographs. Free to members; incl. w/museum admission.
Friday, September 7, 1 p.m.
CURATOR-LED GALLERY TOURS: History of Photography-Technology
Technology Curator, Todd Gustavson. Free to members, incl. w/museum admission.
Saturday, September 8, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
FALL PLANT SALE
Purchase perennials and woody plants grown from seeds, divisions, cuttings, and offshoots from the museum gardens. Sale near the University Ave entrance.
Sunday, September 9, 3 p.m.
LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCES IN THE MANSION
Jake Svendsen, jazz piano. Free to members, incl. w/museum admission.
Saturday, September 8, 11 a.m.
SIGN-LANGUAGE MUSEUM TOUR
Signed 45-minute house tours are led by docent Bob Menchel. Reservations strongly recommended. Private signed tours are available with advance notice. Reservations and info: tours@eastman.org or (585) 327-4838.
Saturday, September 8, 1 p.m.
CURATOR-LED GALLERY TOURS: Gail Albert Halaban: Out My Window
Curator in Charge, Department of Photography, Lisa Hostetler. Free to members, incl. w/museum admission.
Wednesday, September 12, 11 a.m.
SIGN-LANGUAGE GARDEN TOUR
Signed 45-minute garden tours are led by docent Bob Menchel. Reservations strongly recommended. Private signed tours are available with advance notice. Reservations and info: tours@eastman.org or (585) 327-4838.
Thursday, September 13, 6 p.m.
WISH YOU WERE HERE TALK: Andrea Modica: Photographs
For decades, Andrea Modica has used an 8×10‑inch view camera to create portraits of wide-ranging subjects: minor league baseball players in Florida, a fifteen-year portrait of a girl from Upstate New York, a family-run slaughterhouse in Colorado, human skulls found on the grounds of a mental hospital, a horse clinic in Italy, high school best friends, and, most recently, participants in the January 1 Mummer’s Day Parade in South Philadelphia. Admission is free to members, $6 general, $3 students (w/ID). A book signing will follow the talk.
Friday, September 14, 1 p.m.
CURATOR-LED GALLERY TOURS: History of Photography-Photographs
Associate Curator, Department of Photography, Heather Shannon. Free to members, incl. w/museum admission.
Saturday, September 15, 12 p.m., Curtis
FOCUS 45: Recent Acquisition: The David Levinthal Photograph Collection
In 2017, the Eastman Museum received a large gift of photographs by David Levinthal, making this institution the most significant repository of this internationally renowned artist’s work in the world. How did this come to be? What is the significance of the gift, and what is happening behind the scenes of the museum to make the material publicly accessible? Lisa Hostetler, curator in charge of the Department of Photography, will answer these questions and more in her talk. Free to members; incl. w/museum admission. Talk only: $6 general, $3 students.
Saturday, September 15, 2 p.m., Dryden
David Bordwell: Reinventing Hollywood
Celebrated American film historian David Bordwell will discuss filmmaking in the 1940s, the techniques that became part of standard film lexicon, and the filmmakers who brought about these changes. His latest book, Reinventing Hollywood: How 1940s Filmmakers Changed Movie Storytelling, details some of these major shifts, including voice-over narration, nonlinear narrative, and movements to both the more realistic and the fantastic. Book signing to follow. Free.
Sunday, September 16, 3 p.m.
LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCES IN THE MANSION
Performance Plus with the Eastman School of Music: Ginastera String Quartet, music of Mozart and Dvorˇak; host: Stephen Johnson. Free to members, incl. w/museum admission.
Friday, September 21, 1 p.m.
CURATOR-LED GALLERY TOURS: History of Photography-Photographs
Assistant Collections Manager, Department of Photography, Rachel Andrews. Free to members, incl. w/museum admission.
Saturday, September 22, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
MUSEUM DAY—FREE Admission for All
The museum will be open for free, in the spirit of Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day. Experience the photography exhibitions David Levinthal: War, Myth, Desire and Gail Albert Halaban: Out My Window, see the History of Photography Gallery, explore hands-on activities for all ages in the Discovery Room. All tours and lectures are FREE.
Saturday, September 22, 11 a.m.
SIGN-LANGUAGE GALLERY TOUR
Signed 45-minute gallery tours are led by docent Bob Menchel. Reservations strongly recommended. Private signed tours are available with advance notice. Reservations and info: tours@eastman.org or (585) 327-4838.
Saturday, September 22, 12 p.m. Dryden
LOOKING FOR FREDERICK DOUGLASS: Resources in Libraries, Museums, and Archives
Frederick Douglass was a highly visible public figure, a popular orator, and a prolific writer and memoirist; he has also been called “the 19th century’s most photographed American.” Yet, two hundred years after his birth, locating and bringing together documentary records of Douglass’s life can be a challenge. While the circumstances of his life and legacy certainly play a role, this elusiveness may have as much to do with the differing standards and practices among libraries, museums, and archives that hold such materials. The Eastman Museum will host a FREE conversation about these challenges.
Sunday, September 23, 3 p.m.
LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCES IN THE MANSION
Brian Dooley, classical guitar solo. Free to members, incl. w/museum admission.
Friday, September 28, 1 p.m.
CURATOR-LED GALLERY TOURS: David Levinthal: War, Myth, Desire
Associate Curator, Department of Photography, Jamie Allen. Free to members, incl. w/museum admission.
Sunday, September 30, 3 p.m.
LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCES IN THE MANSION
Laura Dubin Trio. Free to members, incl. w/museum admission.
OCTOBER EVENTS
Friday, October 5, 1 p.m.
CURATOR-LED GALLERY TOURS: History of Photography-Technology
Technology Curator, Todd Gustavson. Free to members, incl. w/museum admission.
Sunday, October 7, 3 p.m.
LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCES IN THE MANSION
Joe Blackburn, Aeolian pipe organ. Free to members, incl. w/museum admission.
Thursday, October 11, 6 p.m.
WISH YOU WERE HERE TALK: Kiliii Yuyan: On the Sea Ice, We Wear White—The Importance of Cultural Immersion in Photography
Kiliii Yuyan’s mission is to rewrite the narratives of minority and indigenous cultures—especially those who live close to the land. Against a backdrop of ecological upheaval, he shows us the essential connection to nature that has kept traditional cultures alive for millennia. From being adopted by an Inuit whaling family to becoming a shoulder to cry on for suicidal youth, he has gone deep into native communities to create photographs that are changing the perception of modern indigenous culture. Yuyan is an indigenous Hezhe and Chinese-American photographer, filmmaker, and journalist whose award-winning work has been published by the Nature Conservancy, NPR, Pacific Standard, and National Geographic Traveler. Admission is free to members, $6 general, $3 students (w/ID). A book signing will follow the talk.
Friday, October 12, 1 p.m.
CURATOR-LED GALLERY TOURS: History of Photography-Photographs
Assistant Collections Manager, Department of Photography, Rachel Andrews. Free to members, incl. w/museum admission.
Saturday, October 13, 11 a.m.
SIGN-LANGUAGE MUSEUM TOUR
Signed 45-minute house tours are led by docent Bob Menchel. Reservations strongly recommended. Private signed tours are available with advance notice. Reservations and info: tours@eastman.org or (585) 327-4838.
Sunday, October 14, 3 p.m.
LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCES IN THE MANSION
Clarinet Collection. Free to members, incl. w/museum admission.
Friday, October 19, 1 p.m.
CURATOR-LED GALLERY TOURS: History of Photography-Photographs
Associate Curator, Department of Photography, Heather Shannon. Free to members, incl. w/museum admission.
Saturday, October 20, 12 p.m., Curtis
FOCUS 45: A History of Photography
Ross Knapper, collection manager in the Department of Photography, will discuss his selections for the latest rotation in the History of Photography Gallery. This exhibition considers contemporary events in light of our past and underscores cyclical and persistent themes in American society—including race, gender, and colonialism, to name a few. The selection includes photographs by Barbara Norfleet, Mary Ellen Mark, Patrick Nagatani, Dawoud Bey, Larry McNeil, and Lim Young Kyun, as well as several unidentified photographers. Free to members; incl. w/museum admission. Talk only: $6 general, $3 students.
Sunday, October 21, 3 p.m.
LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCES IN THE MANSION
Scio Saxophone Quartet, music of Alexander Glazunov, William Bolcom, and Jennifer Higdon; host: Pallas Riedler. Free to members, incl. w/museum admission.
Friday, October 26, 1 p.m.
CURATOR-LED GALLERY TOURS: David Levinthal: War, Myth, Desire
Curator in Charge, Department of Photography, Lisa Hostetler. Free to members, incl. w/museum admission.
Friday, October 26, 7:30 p.m.
MASQUERADE IN THE MANSION
Our annual Halloween cocktail party is held in the historic (and, perhaps, haunted?) home of George Eastman. Wear your finest black tie or evening attire, don an elaborate mask, and enter through the porte-cochere just like guests did in Eastman’s time. Enjoy hors-d'oeuvres and Halloween-inspired cocktails concocted by the RCR team. Upstairs, revelers can see a unique exhibit of spirit photographs from the museum’s photography collection, create their own sun prints and digital spirit photographs, and partake in other spooky activities. The evening’s eerie live soundtrack will be provided by organist Tim Schramm on the Aeolian pipe organ and Rochester-based jazz quartet Bearcat and the Birds. Limited VIP tickets are available for a Rumors & Ghosts tour of the third floor, attic, and basement of the mansion (areas not usually accessible to the public).
TICKETS
General: $45 per person, includes 2 drinks
VIP: $60 per person, includes Rumors & Ghosts Tour and 3 drinks
Purchase in advance at eastman.org/masquerade. This event will likely sell out.
Saturday, October 27, 11 a.m.
SIGN-LANGUAGE GALLERY TOUR
Signed 45-minute gallery tours are led by docent Bob Menchel. Reservations strongly recommended. Private signed tours are available with advance notice. Reservations and info: tours@eastman.org or (585) 327-4838.
Sunday, October 28, 3 p.m.
LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCES IN THE MANSION
Koki Tanaka and E-na Song, violin and piano duo. Free to members, incl. w/museum admission.
# # #
DRYDEN THEATRE FILM CALENDAR
SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2018
FEATURED FILM SERIES
- Reinventing Hollywood: David Bordwell and 1940s Filmmakers, September 13–October 17
- A Star from the Start: The Animation of Jirˇi Trnka, Wednesdays in September
- Labor Film Series, Fridays
- Through a Lens Darkly: Horror Films and Photography, October 18, 25, 31
- A Century of Polish Independence, October 20, 24, 27
- Silent Tuesdays, most Tuesdays
- Rochester Premieres, September 6, 7, 14, 21, 25, 28, October 5, 12, 19, 25, 26, 31
- Senior Matinees—Free for 55+, most Mondays, (supported by the Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation)
# # #
Saturday, September 1, 7:30 p.m.
Dirty Dancing (Emile Ardolino, US 1987, 100 min., 35mm)
It’s the end of summer—but there’s still the end-of-season talent show. Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey play the star‑crossed young lovers who meet at an Upstate summertime resort—he’s the dance instructor and she’s the Peace Corps–bound debutante. Their forbidden love is channeled through their forbidden dance, and they will change each other’s lives forever. Baby’s been put in a corner, and we don’t know if she’ll ever reunite with Johnny, no matter how many lessons he’s given her.
Tuesday, September 4, 7:30 p.m. - Silent Tuesdays
Never Weaken (Fred C. Newmeyer, US 1921, 19 min., 35mm)
Why Worry? (Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, US 1923, 63 min., 35mm)
Celebrating the 125th birthday of the silent era’s “Third Genius,” Harold Lloyd, the Dryden presents these two films that catch the comedian at his best. In the first, Lloyd attempts to help his sweetheart’s employment status, but is heartbroken when he believes that she may love another, leading to a dangerous decision. Released the same year as Safety Last!, Why Worry? features Lloyd as Harold van Pelham, a wealthy hypochondriac looking for rest and relaxation on the fictional island of Paradiso. Instead, he walks into a revolutionary uprising and winds up in jail next to the seven-foot-tall Colosso, a “wild” man with a toothache. Live piano by Philip C. Carli.
Wednesday, September 5, 7:30 p.m. - Animation of Jirˇí Trnka
The Devil’s Mill (Cˇertu˚v mlyn, Jirˇi Trnka, Czechoslovakia 1949, 20 min., 35mm)
The Emperor’s Nightingale (Cisarˇu˚v Slavic, Jirˇi Trnka, Czechoslovakia 1948, 72 min., 35mm)
Trnka’s first feature-length animation, The Emperor’s Nightingale is his adaptation of a classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a Chinese emperor enchanted by the song of a mechanical songbird. It is an enchanting animated jewel box awash in hallucinatory, storybook imagery. Preceded by The Devil’s Mill, in which a barrel organ grinder meets the devil on a mysterious moonlit night. This haunted house fable showcases Trnka’s atmospheric use of sound to conjure a macabre mood.
Thursday, September 6, 7:30 p.m. - Rochester Premiere
Ava (Sadaf Foroughi, Canada/Iran 2017, 102 min., DCP, Persian w/subtitles)
Based on the director’s own adolescent experiences, Sadaf Foroughi’s Ava is a gripping debut about coming of age in a strict society. Living with her well-to-do parents in Tehran, Ava is bright and focused, with common teenage concerns—friendships, music, social status, academic performance. When her mistrustful and overprotective mother questions her relationship with a boy, Ava is overwhelmed by a newfound rage. The model student begins to rebel against the strictures imposed by her parents, her school, and society.
Friday, September 7, 7:30 p.m. - Labor Film Series | Rochester Premiere
The Young Karl Marx (Le jeune Karl Marx, Raoul Peck, France/Belgium/Germany 2017, 118 min., DCP, German and French w/subtitles)
On the heels of his Oscar-nominated documentary I Am Not Your Negro, Raoul Peck’s latest film is a historical drama about German philosopher and revolutionary socialist Karl Marx. In his mid-twenties, Marx (August Diehl) is facing government censorship, forming his partnership with Friedrich Engels (Stefan Konarske), sparring with rival thinkers to build an international socialist movement, and writing the Communist Manifesto. The film focuses on these two impetuous young men, the women in their lives (including Vicky Krieps as Jenny von Westphalen-Marx), and their passionate belief in the revolutionary power of the oppressed to create a radically new world.
Saturday, September 8, 7:30 p.m. - 50th Anniversary
Funny Girl (William Wyler, US 1968, 151 min., 35mm)
Barbra Streisand’s Oscar-worthy performance is the highlight of this musical biography of Fanny Brice, the well-known stage, film, and radio comedian of the early twentieth century. Brice, bursting with talent but not a “traditional” beauty, is desperate to start a career on the stage. After getting her foot in the door at a vaudeville show, she manages to attract the attention of the Ziegfeld Follies and becomes one of their most popular acts. She also attracts the attention of Nicky Arnstein (Omar Sharif), a gambler in relationships and life, who will become her greatest love.
Monday, September 10, 1:30 p.m. - Senior Matinee—Free for 55+
Dirty Dancing (Emile Ardolino, US 1987, 100 min., 35mm)
Tuesday, September 11, 7:30 p.m. - Silent Tuesdays
The Toll Gate (Lambert Hillyer, US 1920, 73 min., 16mm)
One of the greatest western stars of all time, William S. Hart plays Black Deering, an outlaw who has decided to go straight. While pulling one last train robbery, Deering is betrayed by his closest lieutenant. Deering will do anything to get his revenge, including breaking out of prison and tracking the turncoat to Mexico. Live piano by Philip C. Carli.
Wednesday, September 12, 7:30 p.m. - Animation of Jirˇí Trnka
A Star from the Start (aka Survey of Techniques) (Jirˇi Trnka, Czechoslovakia 1945–51, 74 min., DCP)
This program of six witty, offbeat short animations, culled from the early part of
Trnka’s career, demonstrates his mastery of multiple forms of animation, such as hand-drawn images, collage effects, and stop-motion puppets. The program includes: Grandpa Planted a Beet (1945), Trnka’s first film; The Animals and the Brigands (1946), a Cannes prize-winning folktale; Springman and the SS (1946), a Max Fleischer–like anti-Nazi lampoon; The Gift (1946), a surrealist mini-masterwork; Romance with Double Bass (1949), an adaptation of a Chekov short story; and The Golden Fish (1951), a wryly humorous fairy tale.
Thursday, September 13, 7:30 p.m. - Reinventing Hollywood | Special Introduction
Our Town (Sam Wood, US 1940, 90 min., 35mm)
Thornton Wilder’s classic American play comes to the silver screen with a young William Holden as George Gibbs and Martha Scott in an Oscar-nominated performance as Emily Webb. The story takes place over four days in three different years as sweethearts George and Emily grow together, begin their relationship, and deal with all the hardships life has to offer. Already a progressive stage play, the film uses some of these newer stage techniques, adapts them to the big screen, and adds voice-over, flashback, hallucinatory imagery, and direct‑address to help to tell the cinematic story. Special introduction by David Bordwell, author of Reinventing Hollywood: How 1940s Filmmakers Changed Movie Storytelling.
Friday, September 14, 7:30 p.m. - Labor Film Series | Rochester Premiere
Machines (Rahul Jain, India/Finland/Germany 2017, 71 min., DCP, Hindi w/subtitles)
Stunning visuals combine with social advocacy in Rahul Jain’s debut documentary, which won the Special Jury Award for Cinematography at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Taking audiences into the labyrinthine passages of an enormous textile factory in Gujarat, India, Jain’s camera wanders freely between pulsating machines and bubbling vats of dye to create a moving portrait of the workers. Interviews with the workers, who toil there twelve hours a day for meager wages to send to their families back home, and with the factory owners reveal the stark inequality and dangerous working conditions brought about by unregulated industrialization in the region.
Saturday, September 15, 7:30 p.m. - Reinventing Hollywood | Special Introduction
The Human Comedy (Clarence Brown, US 1943, 117 min., 35mm)
Multiple protagonists tell the home-front story of the small town of Ithaca, California. Homer Macauley (Mickey Rooney) takes a night job as a telegraph messenger to help his mother make ends meet while his older brother is off to war. This puts Homer in contact with many others in the town, including his brother and sister (Van Johnson, Donna Reed), the young lovers Tom and Diana (James Craig, Marsha Hunt), and wire chief Willie Grogan (Frank Morgan). Life in all its possibilities plays out against this backdrop of the average American town. Special introduction by David Bordwell, author of Reinventing Hollywood: How 1940s Filmmakers Changed Movie Storytelling.
Monday, September 17, 1:30 p.m. - Senior Matinee—Free for 55+
Funny Girl (William Wyler, US 1968, 151 min., 35mm)
Tuesday, September 18, 7:30 p.m. - Silent Tuesdays
Ben-Hur (Fred Niblo, US 1925, 143 min., 35mm)
The most expensive spectacle of its time, this film tells the familiar story of Judah Ben‑Hur (matinee idol Ramon Novarro) in the early days of Christianity. His wealthy family is persecuted for their faith by the Romans, including Judah’s childhood friend Messala. Following an accident, Judah is sentenced to life as a galley slave and separated from his family. He seeks to find a way to escape, exact his revenge, and find his sister and mother. The massive sea battle scene and the famous chariot race are the centerpieces of this epic tale that still resonates almost a hundred years later. Live piano by Philip C. Carli.
Wednesday, September 19, 7:30 p.m. - Animation of Jirˇí Trnka
Why UNESCO? (Procˇ UNESCO?, Jirˇi Trnka, Czechoslovakia 1958, 10 min., 35mm, Czech w/subtitles)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Sen noci svatojanske, Jirˇi Trnka, Czechoslovakia 1959, 72 min., 35mm, English version)
Coming near the end of Trnka’s career, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is likely his best-known work. Richard Burton narrates this bewitching adaptation of Shakespeare’s romantic fairy tale, a masterpiece of surpassing balletic beauty that plays out amidst a garlanded pastel dreamscape. Preceded by Why UNESCO?, a short commissioned by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, which employs strikingly simple animation to make the case that all of humanity is enriched when we tear down the walls that separate us.
Thursday, September 20, 7:30 p.m. - Reinventing Hollywood
Intruder in the Dust (Clarence Brown, US 1949, 87 min., 35mm)
This rarely seen adaptation of the mystery novel by William Faulkner investigates racism and justice in the mid-century South. When a black landowner is falsely charged with the murder of a white lumberman, it’s up to an unlikely band to defend him. A black teen, a white teen and his lawyer uncle, and an elderly woman come together to prove the landowner’s innocence and bring the true murderer to justice. While providing a social message, the film also highlights the importance of mystery to 1940s cinema and utilizes the flashback technique.
Friday, September 21, 7:30 p.m. - Labor Film Series | Rochester Premiere
I, Daniel Blake (Ken Loach, UK/France/Belgium 2016, 100 min., DCP)
Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, Ken Loach’s latest film is a gripping human tale about the impact one man can make. Daniel Blake (Dave Johns), a gruff but goodhearted widowed woodworker, lives by his own common-sense moral code. But after a heart attack leaves him unable to work and the state welfare system fails him, the stubbornly self-reliant Daniel must stand up and fight for his dignity. He leads a one-man crusade for compassion that will transform not only his life, but also the lives of a struggling single mother (Hayley Squires) and her two children. I, Daniel Blake is a moving, much-needed reminder of the power of empathy from one of the world’s greatest living filmmakers.
Saturday, September 22, 7:30 p.m. - Reinventing Hollywood
Gentleman’s Agreement (Elia Kazan, US 1947, 118 min., 35mm)
Gregory Peck stars as Philip Green, a journalist transplanted from California to New York assigned a series for his new magazine on the subject of anti-Semitism. He struggles with how to approach the topic until he decides to pass himself off as Jewish. While very few people know about the ruse (the 1940s technique of “restricted knowledge”), Philip goes about his everyday life, including career and romance, while suffering prejudices and ultimately discovering that the issue is much larger than a magazine article.
Monday, September 24, 1:30 p.m. - Senior Matinee—Free for 55+
The Human Comedy (Clarence Brown, US 1943, 117 min., 35mm)
Tuesday, September 25, 7:30 p.m. - Silent Tuesdays | Rochester Premiere
The City Without Jews (Die Stadt ohne Juden, H. K. Breslauer, Austria 1924, 80 min., DCP)
Lost for more than ninety years, the original version of this title was found at a Parisian flea market in 2015. Meticulously restored by the Austrian Film Archive, and thanks to the largest crowdfunding campaign in Austria’s history, the film can once again see the light of day. Based on the dystopian 1922 novel by Hugo Bettauer, the story contemplates a city that has identified its Jewish population as the root of its problems and expels them from its borders. Although the (non-Jewish) citizens are initially happy with this act, the city falters and the decision is reversed. Prophetic in its content and in its imagery, the film presaged nationalist anti-Semitism and made the argument that exclusion of a defined group of citizens weakens the community. Live piano by Philip C. Carli.
Wednesday, September 26, 7:30 p.m. - Animation of Jirˇí Trnka
Mature Mastery (Jirˇi Trnka, Czechoslovakia 1962–65, 74 min., DCP)
In the 1960s, at the height of his artistic output, Trnka turned to increasingly dark, surreal, satirical, and politically defiant subject matter. The result was a string of visually innovative, modernist masterpieces that encompass dystopian science fiction, religious parody, and, in his final crowning achievement, an impassioned protest against state censorship. This shorts program includes: Passion (1962), in which a boy’s need for speed grows up along with him; Cybernetic Grandma (1962), a satire on automization; Archangel Gabriel and Mistress Goose (1964), a bawdy, medieval-set tale based on a story from The Decameron; and The Hand (1965), Trnka’s final work about toiling under the restrictions of a totalitarian government.
Thursday, September 27, 7:30 p.m. - Reinventing Hollywood
Cabin in the Sky (Vincente Minnelli, US 1943, 98 min., 35mm)
Presented in a gorgeous sepia-toned print, this story follows Petunia Jackson (Ethel Waters) as she tries to convince her husband, Joe (Eddie “Rochester” Anderson), to stop gambling and lead a good life. He complies but a relapse endangers his life, and he feels the forces of good and evil battling for his soul. Minnelli’s directorial debut, this wonderful MGM musical features some of the greatest jazz performers, including Louis Armstrong and Lena Horne. Minnelli’s hypnotic direction and Busby Berkeley’s choreography underscore the use of dreams and hallucinations popular in 1940s Hollywood productions. Free to members.
Friday, September 28, 7:30 p.m. - Labor Film Series | Rochester Premiere
Free Lunch Society: Come Come Basic Income (Free Lunch Society: Komm Komm Gundeinkommen, Christian Tod, Austria/Germany 2017, 92 min., DCP, German w/subtitles)
What would you do if you did not have to work for a living? What if you received an unconditional basic income as a right? Today, the elimination of jobs and the increased productivity of labor have compelled consideration of basic income proposals. Free Lunch Society provides background on this idea and searches for explanations, possibilities, and experiences related to its implementation. Will it induce laziness or will it fully develop individual and social possibility? Do we need to rely on employment to give our lives meaning?
Saturday, September 29, 7:30 p.m. - Reinventing Hollywood
Road to Singapore (Victor Schertzinger, US 1940, 85 min., 35mm)
Road to Zanzibar (Victor Schertzinger, US 1941, 91 min., 35mm)
Films of the 1940s were more reflexive and self-aware than ever before, and this was evident in no place greater than in the “Road to . . .” series of films. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby play accidental adventurers on travels to exotic locales primarily as an excuse to take swipes at other Hollywood dignitaries, sing, and look at beautiful women. In Singapore, Crosby is running from an unwanted marriage, and in Zanzibar, both are running from a burning circus. David Bordwell writes, “In the course of these farces, the pair relentlessly insisted that a movie was just a movie.”
Monday, October 1, 1:30 p.m. - Senior Matinee—Free for 55+
Gentleman’s Agreement (Elia Kazan, US 1947, 118 min., 35mm)
Tuesday, October 2, 7:30 p.m. - Silent Tuesdays
The River Pirate (William K. Howard, US 1928, 77 min., 35mm)
At the advent of sound, Fox released films with the soundtrack printed onto the film using the “Movietone” system. The River Pirate, released with a music and sound effects soundtrack, stars Victor McLaglen as a convict who has been assigned to a reform school to teach the art of sailmaking as part of his sentence. His influence over Sandy (Nick Stuart), a waterfront urchin at the school, is evident—particularly when the convict is paroled and breaks Sandy out of the school to become a warehouse thief. Sandy is torn between his loyalty to the convict and his burgeoning love for Marjorie (Lois Moran), a detective’s daughter who wants him to go straight.
Wednesday, October 3, 7:30 p.m. - Reinventing Hollywood
H. M. Pulham, Esq. (King Vidor, US 1941, 120 min., 35mm)
In an extraordinary experiment in 1940s cinematic subjectivity, our hero, Harry Pulham (Robert Young) appears in every scene of the film, meaning that the audience only ever knows what Harry knows. Harry is prompted to re-examine his life’s decisions after receiving two phone calls: one from his college chum who recruits him to write brief biographies of everyone for their 25-year Harvard reunion, and the second from the woman he met in New York City after the war (the “one who got away”; Hedy Lamarr). Taking place over two days and through myriad flashbacks, Vidor’s film brings to life an early example of middle-aged angst.
Thursday, October 4, 7:30 p.m. - Reinventing Hollywood
A Letter to Three Wives (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, US 1949, 103 min., 35mm)
Prior to boarding a boat for an all-day charity picnic, three married women (Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern) receive a single letter saying that another woman has run away with one of their husbands, but doesn’t tell them which. All three husbands have excuses for why they can’t be at the picnic, so the story depends on flashback to investigate which of the three husbands may have been the one to escape. Mankiewicz won two consecutive writing and directing Oscars for this film and the equally flashback-heavy All About Eve, released the following year. Also showing: Wednesday, October 10.
Friday, October 5, 7:30 p.m. - Labor Film Series | Rochester Premiere
Araby (Arabia, Joao Dumans, Affonso Uchoa, Brazil 2017, 97 min., DCP, Portuguese w/subtitles)
Teenaged Andre lives in an industrial town in Brazil near an old aluminum factory. One day, a factory worker, Cristiano, suffers an accident. Asked to go to Cristiano’s house to pick up clothes and documents, Andre stumbles on his notebook. As Andre reads the journal entries, we are plunged into Cristiano’s life, into stories of his wanderings and work, his adventures and loves. Beautifully written and filmed, Araby is a fable-like road movie about a worker who sets off on a ten-year journey in search of a better life.
Tuesday, October 9, 8:30 p.m. - ImageOut of the Archive
Buddies (Arthur J. Bressan Jr., US 1985, 81 min., DCP)
The first feature to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic, this film has recently been restored and re-released for the big screen. The story follows two gay men: Robert, who is dying of AIDS, and David, who pays him regular visits in the hospital, becoming his “buddy” as Robert deals with his illness. What starts out as very formal (David shows up in a surgical mask and gloves), becomes a close friendship as the two share histories and happier times, debate the gay liberation movement, and change each other’s lives. Tragically, the director himself died from AIDS-related complications two years after the film was released. Note later start time.
Wednesday, October 10, 7:30 p.m. - Reinventing Hollywood
A Letter to Three Wives (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, US 1949, 103 min., 35mm)
Thursday, October 11, 7:30 p.m. - Reinventing Hollywood
The Seventh Cross (Fred Zinneman, US 1944, 112 min., 35mm)
Spencer Tracy is George Heisler, one of seven prisoners who escape from a German concentration camp in 1936. The commandant of the camp is determined to track them down and vows that each one he recovers will be put on a cross to die. One by one, the men are captured until only one cross remains empty. The final escapee will need to not only think on his feet, but also have faith in humanity—particularly difficult in a Germany on the verge of war. A unique voice-over narration is only one of the techniques that distinguish this film.
Friday, October 12, 7:30 p.m. - Labor Film Series | Rochester Premiere
In the Intense Now (No Intenso Agora, Joao Moreira Salles, Brazil 2017, 127 min., DCP, Portuguese and French w/subtitles)
Like Chris Marker’s classic documentary A Grin Without a Cat, Joao Moreira Salles’s film speaks to the late 1960s as a moment of great historical intensity. Footage from China during the 1966 Cultural Revolution is juxtaposed with that of the French students’ uprising in May of 1968 and the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in August of the same year. Funerals of students, workers, and police officers link the events of 1968 in the cities of Paris, Lyon, Prague, and Rio de Janeiro. The footage, all of it archival, reveals the state of mind of those filmed—joy, enchantment, fear, disappointment, dismay—and sheds light on the relationship between a film document and its political context.
Monday, October 15, 1:30 p.m. - Senior Matinee—Free for 55+
A Letter to Three Wives (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, US 1949, 103 min., 35mm)
Tuesday, October 16, 7:30 p.m. - Reinventing Hollywood
The Seventh Cross (Fred Zinneman, US 1944, 112 min., 35mm)
Wednesday, October 17, 7:30 p.m. - Reinventing Hollywood
Cat People (Jacques Tourneur, US 1942, 73 min., 35mm)
The Curse of the Cat People (Gunther von Fritsch and Robert Wise, US 1944, 70 min., 35mm)
In the 1940s, there was a shift toward more realistic portrayals and shooting on location, but there was also a corresponding move toward the fantastic. In these two Val Lewton produced horror/suspense films, Irene (Simone Simon) is haunted by legends from her European upbringing about young women who turn into predatory felines when sexually aroused. Despite this, she falls in love and plans to marry a man she met at the zoo. The curse is not limited to Irene, however, and in the second film, a young girl is visited by imaginary friends and threatened by her neighbor’s daughter.
Thursday, October 18, 7:30 p.m. - Through a Lens Darkly
Shutter (Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom, Thailand 2004, 97 min., 35mm, Thai w/subtitles)
Driving home from a night of celebratory drinking with friends, Jane accidentally hits a girl in the road with her car. Tun, her boyfriend, is rattled and convinces Jane to drive away, leaving the girl in the road. Tun, a photographer, starts to see white images in his newly developed photos, some that point to a specific place and some that seem to show a face. Jane believes that they might be haunted by the girl they hit on the road, but Tun doesn’t buy that theory. When his friends start to systematically commit suicide, however, Tun discovers he can’t escape his past. Shutter was influenced by contemporary Japanese horror and is the highest-grossing Thai horror film of all time.
Friday, October 19, 7:30 p.m. - Labor Film Series | Rochester Premiere
American Socialist: The Life and Times of Eugene Victor Debs (Yale Strom, US 2018, 99 min., DCP)
Leader of the American Railway Union’s great Pullman Strike of 1896 and a founder of the Industrial Workers of the World, Gene Debs ran as a Socialist for president of the United States three times—once from prison, having been convicted of opposing military service in World War I. Filmmaker and ethnographer Yale Strom has turned his attention to this American political hero, hoping to define and contextualize the term “socialist” through an objective but passionate history of a movement that continues to have an impact on our lives today.
Saturday, October 20, 7:30 p.m. - A Century of Polish Independence
The Promised Land (Ziemia obiecana, Andrzej Wajda, Poland 1975, 179 min., DCP, Polish w/subtitles)
Based on the 1898 novel by the Nobel Prize winner Władysław Reymont, the film is set in the fast-growing industrial city of Łodz´. It focuses of the experiences of three young men, a Pole, a German, and a Jew, who work together to fulfil their dream of building a textile factory. Their gambit is successful beyond their dreams, but it extracts a high price from each of them. The film portrays the end of the romantic era in the Polish territories, the loss of traditional values, and the triumph of uncouth and dynamic nineteenth-century capitalism. Łodz´, the land of promise for many, means destruction for others. Regularly counted among the greatest Polish films ever made, The Promised Land won Wajda numerous awards at prestigious festivals and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Monday, October 22, 1:30 p.m. - Senior Matinee—Free for 55+
The Seventh Cross (Fred Zinneman, US 1944, 112 min., 35mm)
Tuesday, October 23, 7:30 p.m. - Silent Tuesdays
Maciste in Hell (Maciste all’Inferno, Guido Brignone, Italy 1925, 95 min., 35mm)
The Marvelous Maciste made his debut in the 1914 Italian classic Cabiria and in fifteen years appeared in 27 silent films, played by Bartolomeo Pagano in all. The pattern established for these films shows strongman Maciste as a hero dedicated to restoring order, overthrowing evil rulers, and in the end, getting the virtuous girl while resisting the temptress, in many locations around the world. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before the perpetrator of all evil called on Maciste. Dragged down into the fiery depths of hell, Maciste can rely on only his virtue and his strength to get him back to the land of the living. Live piano by Philip C. Carli.
Wednesday, October 24, 7:30 p.m. - A Century of Polish Independence
The Pianist (Roman Polanski, France/Poland/Germany/UK/US 2002, 150 min., 35mm)
Based on the autobiography of the acclaimed Polish Jewish composer and pianist Wladysław Szpilman, the film details his experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. Together with all of the city’s Jews, Szpilman’s family was forced to give up their possessions and move to the Warsaw ghetto. He miraculously avoided deportation from the ghetto to a Nazi death camp—though the remaining members of his family did not. Szpilman eventually managed to escape and went into hiding in the ruins of Warsaw, scavenging for food and shelter. At the 75th Academy Awards, The Pianist won Oscars for Best Director (Roman Polanski), Best Adapted Screenplay (Ronald Harwood), and Best Actor (Adrien Brody), and was nominated for four other awards, including Best Picture. The film also won the Palme d’Or at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, among many other awards.
Thursday, October 25, 7:30 p.m. - Through a Lens Darkly | Rochester Premiere
The Bride (Nevesta, Svyatoslav Podgaevskiy, Russia 2017, 93 min., DCP, Russian w/subtitles)
A nineteenth-century artist who specializes in death photography—the practice of photographing the recently deceased to honor them and ease the transition to grief for their loved ones—loses his wife in a tragic accident. He takes her photograph posed in a favorite chair and with open eyes painted over her closed eyelids. In an effort to revive his dead wife’s soul in another body, he kidnaps a young virgin and buries her with the corpse. What comes back is not what the photographer was expecting. Years later, a young couple who want to be married on the estate discover that, despite the passage of time and the years of neglect, a strange spirit still haunts the house.
Friday, October 26, 7:30 p.m. - Labor Film Series | Rochester Premiere
This Is Our Land (Chez nous, Lucas Belvaux, France/Belgium 2017, 114 min., DCP, French w/subtitles)
Though Marine Le Pen was defeated in the 2017 French election, her far right-wing party and its nationalist, anti-immigrant platform live on. This Is Our Land is a fictionalized story of a working-class single mother in Northern France who naively agrees to run for mayor, representing the Patriotic Bloc. Lucas Belvaux, who previously directed Rapt, a terrific thriller about a French politician’s kidnapping, deals with another type of kidnapping here as Populist rhetoric dominates the electorate.
Saturday, October 27, 7:30 p.m. - A Century of Polish Independence
Nights and Days (Noce i dnie, Jerzy Antczak, Poland 1975, 245 min., DCP, Polish w/subtitles)
The film portrays the life of two generations of the Niechcic family during a half century of Polish history, between 1865 and 1914. Barbara Niechcic (Jadwiga Baranska) escapes from the town of Kaliniec at the outbreak of World War I. She recalls her life’s triumphs and hardships as her family attempts to hold itself together and retain its dignity despite persecution, expulsion, and losing everything it holds dear. This colorful family saga offers rich atmosphere and a sentimental look at the impoverished nobility, the genesis of the intelligentsia. Nights and Days was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and Baranska won the 1976 best actress award at the Berlin Film Festival for her inspired performance.
Monday, October 29, 1:30 p.m. - Senior Matinee—Free for 55+
Cat People (Jacques Tourneur, US 1942, 73 min., 35mm)
Tuesday, October 30, 7:30 p.m. - Silent Tuesdays
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (John S. Robertson, US 1920, 85 min., 35mm)
John Barrymore delivers spectacular and chilling performances as both title characters in this superb adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel. Dr. Jekyll’s theory of man’s dual nature inspires him to experiment in releasing his own dark side and accidentally turns himself into the murderous Mr. Hyde. This version is widely recognized as the greatest silent film rendition (there were at least four!) of the legendary horror story. Live piano by Philip C. Carli.
Wednesday, October 31, 7:30 p.m. - Through a Lens Darkly | Rochester Premiere
Daguerreotype (Le secret de la chambre noire, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, France/Belgium/Japan 2016, 131 min., DCP, French w/subtitles)
Jean is looking for work when he lucks upon an interesting position as an assistant to photographer Stephane, who uses a large‑scale studio to create life-size daguerreotypes. Stephane, who has lost his wife, has become increasingly detached from society, dedicated to the pursuit of re-creating an image of his dead wife using his grown daughter Marie as a model. He requires her to sit still for hours at a time, and though she consents to these dangerous sessions, she also wants her father to be able to move on and find peace. When Jean discovers that the house they work in can be valuable as real estate, a plan takes shape . . .
