Pioneer
Theater
East
Village / Lower East Side Movies
December 2005
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Calendar style schedule - Pioneer Theater front page
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MY BIG FAT INDEPENDENT MOVIE (dir. Philip Zlotorynski, 80 mins, 2004) |
THE LOW BROW COMEDY FOR THE HIGH BROW CROWD! BLAZING SADDLES did it to the Western. AIRPLANE did it to the Disaster Flick. SCARY MOVIE did it to the Horror Film. NOT ANOTHER TEEN MOVIE did it to the, uh, Teen Movie. And now, it’s time for "Independent Films" to get what they’ve got comin’ to ‘em. MY BIG FAT INDEPENDENT MOVIE is a feature comedy that includes spoofs of some of that paradoxical place, the high profile "independent" film world's most sacred cows movies, such as MEMENTO, PULP FICTION, MAGNOLIA, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, AMELIE, RUN LOLA RUN, EL MARIACHI, THE GOOD GIRL, PI, SWINGERS, and many others. The story follows Johnny Vince (Darren Keefe), a hipper-than-thou swingin’ hepcat and trombone player. Two talkative hitmen, Sam (Neil Barton) and Harvey (Eric Hoffman), mistakenly believe Johnny to be the third member of their gang, assembled by their evil crime boss to pull a "botched robbery" in Las Vegas. Along the way, they take a beautiful hostage – the lovely, desperate and lonely cashier Julianne (Paget Brewster). Little do they know that she will forever change their pathetic lives. During the journey our foursome encounter their share of freaks including a bald genius, a forgetful thug, a jogging red-head, a well-dressed mechanic, a bound and gagged girl, rabbis on a mission, Pete Jones, and lots of lesbians. As in many of sacred cow "indie" films, they form an unlikely bond. Hilarity ensues. As does violence. |
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Doors Art Foundation presents films from Croatia HERE (dir. Zrinko Ogresta, 90 mins, 2003) Croatian with English subtitles Thurs Dec 1 7pm - buy tix At 7pm on the First Thursday of the month, the Doors Art Foundation presents a film from Croatia. Other Thursdays at 7pm often feature programming presented with other ethnic and cultural groups. |
Starring Zlatko Crnkovic,
Ivo Gregurevic, Marija Tadic, Jasmin Telalovic, Ivan Herceg, Nikola Ivosevic
The Balkan conflict and its legacy continue to make their mark on the contemporary Croatian cinema. A success with the audiences and the critics, Zrinko Ogresta's Here (Tu) makes no attempt to find heroes or apportion blame. It opens with the story of a mentally disabled man in a village recently devastated by civil war. What follows are five loosely linked portraits from contemporary life: a young female drug addict, a lonely retired man who is deluded into accepting a young neighbor's offer of a date, a television actor who has become an alcoholic, and two soldiers who have been traumatized by war. The stories present situations in which the characters find themselves at odds with an apparently normal world, living essentially private lives and unable to establish relationships. There is a no narrative resolution although the film ends with the ironic use of the national anthem before the camera retreats through a tunnel similar to that with which the film begins. The war frames and inflects a sympathetic and humane portrait of everyday life that recognizes how all generations of the Croatian society have been permanently marked by the horrors of the recent war. |
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EXIST: (dir. esther bell, 80 mins, 2004) Thurs Dec
1 9pm - buy tix |
"Not
a protest film, but a film that investigates the underlying motives and
feelings of those who live to protest." a standout at the 2005 New York Underground Film Festival Weaving together documentary and fiction, maverick filmmaker Esther Bell takes real political activists and builds a dramatic narrative film around their experiences, intimately exploring the individual lives of the millions marching in the streets. In the trenches of America's resurgent protest movement, EXIST captures the essence of personal relationships in the midst of turmoil, and explores how far people will go to be heard. Starring Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio), Nic Mevoli, and Ben Bartlett. |
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DR.
STRANGELOVE (dir. Stanley Kubrick, 93 mins, 1964 ) Fri Dec 2
10:45pm - buy
tix GEORGE W. BUSH, DICK CHENEY, DONALD RUMSFELD, CONDOLEEZZA RICE, AND PAUL WOLFOWITZ ALL RECEIVE FREE ADMISSION. WE HOPE ONE OR ALL OF THEM WILL COME INTRODUCE THE FILM AND DISCUSS IT WITH THE AUDIENCE AS THEY CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND IT BETTER THAN MOST OF US. |
"The
most shattering sick joke I've ever come across." "It's
one of the greatest - and undoubtably the most hilarious - antiwar statements
ever put to film. See it before the world ends." DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB is Stanley Kubrick's Cold War masterpiece. Based on the novel RED ALERT by Peter George, the film is set at the height of the tensions between Russia and the United States, when all it would take to destroy the world was one push of a button. And General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) is just the man to do it. Convinced
that the Russians have infiltrated America's "vital essence,"
the crazed Ripper gives the go code to the 843rd bomb wing to attack Russia,
setting in motion a series of darkly hilarious vignettes involving gung-ho
soldiers, wacky generals, spying Russians, drunken premiers, battles with
soda machines, fights in the War Room, and the Russians' top-secret Doomsday
Machine. Shot in black and white, the film has three main centers of action:
one of the B-52 bombers, on which a group of loyal men know they are about
to start World War III; Burpelson Air Force Base, where Group Captain
Lionel Mandrake (Peter Sellers) is trying to convince everyone that Ripper
has gone mad and the bombing must be stopped; and the War Room, where
President Merkin Muffley (Sellers again) is trying to make peace with
the Russians. The finale featuring Sellers as Dr. Strangelove is a comic
gem. Hayden, George C. Scott, Slim Pickens, Keenan Wynn, and Sellers (in
three roles) are especially terrific in what may be the funniest, most
poignant black comedy ever made, a vicious satire on the farcical aspects
of the military and the cold war. |
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Mormonsploitation! NEW YORK DOLL (dir. Greg Whiteley,78 mins, 2005) Sat Dec 3
10:45pm - buy
tix |
"As
journeys go, this is one to treasure." "Greg
Whiteley's small, tender documentary portrait looks at life after rock
'n' roll as experienced by the original bassist for the New York Dolls." A recovering alcoholic and recently converted Mormon, we first meet mild-mannered Arthur Kane on the LA bus he takes most days to his job at the Family History Center library. No one would connect the shy 55-year-old in the suit and tie to Arthur "Killer" Kane, statuesque bassist for the legendary '70s rock band, The New York Dolls. Arthur became the bass player for the Dolls in 1971 and helped form, in rocker Morrissey's words, "one of the most raucous, notorious bands in musical history." Decked out in platform heels, skin-tight pants, smeared lipstick and hair a mile high, the Dolls' gender-bending stage antics belied a ferocious sound that presaged punk and influenced a generation of musicians. But drug abuse and inner-band bickering led to a split in 1975, with Arthur himself bottoming out. In the early spring of 2004, Morrissey, former President of the New York Dolls fan club and curator of the 2004 Meltdown Festival in London, asked the Dolls to reunite for two shows. Arthur was ecstatic. Would it go well? (synopsis adapted from RottenTomatoes) |
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Chicago City Limits First Sundays Comedy Films First Sundays Sun Dec 4 7pm - buy tix filmmakers & special guests will attend! This is a Sunday Shorts program. At 7pm on many Sundays, the Pioneer presents programs of short films. |
First Sundays, New York's monthly short comedy film festival, puts the "ho ho" into "ho ho ho" with a collection of funny holiday shorts. Featuring the work of Patrick Cannon, Kevin Maher, Ward Sutton and more! Admission includes a free Stella Artois at the after party. |
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Fangoria presents JOSHUA (dir. Travis Betz,
97 mins, 2005) Mon Dec 5 7pm - buy tix This is a "Bizarro Monday" program. Every Monday at 7pm the Pioneer presents the finest (and trashiest) in horror, sci-fi, freakshow, exploitation, martial arts, genre, b-movies, z-movies, and just plain weird stuff. |
In the small midwestern town of Bisbee, secrets run deep, but none more frightening then those of Kelby Unger. Returning home to attend his imprisoned father's funeral, Kelby slowly begins to remember why he left in the first place. His unsuspecting fiancé, Amelia, is tossed into the center of his Hell, as she watches the man she loves breakdown and evolve into the secrets he buried. The name Joshua is uprooted, reopening a pit in Kelby’s stomach and causing Amelia to put together a horrifying puzzle of what one man can be capable of. The more Joshua becomes real, the more Amelia realizes who Kelby was, and he, in turn, realizes who he is. Like son, like father. What he discovers, is more terrifying than the Devil himself. |
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DIRTY
DOZEN 7: Tues Dec 6 7pm - buy tix This is a Tuesdays@7 program. Every Tuesday at 7pm features special guests presenting their film, and is followed by a beer and pizza reception for ticket holders. |
The Slamdance Film Festival presents a program of short films. 1.
Dambo* by INCABLOK Teru Noji & Yosuke Takeuchi (6 min.) The directors and Slamdance staff will attend the screening. Slamdance 2006 program announced after the screening. |
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Newfest presents TRANSPARENT (dir. Jules Rosskam, 61 mins, 2005) preceded by (dir. Ji Hoon Park, 25 mins, 2004) Weds Dec 7 7pm - buy tix An LGBT Wednesdays program. At 7pm on the First Two Wednesdays of every month, NewFest presents highlights from their festival. Other Wednesdays at 7pm often also feature LGBT programming. |
NewFest LGBT Film Festival presents highlights from their 2005 festival. LATINA,
ROME, AND THEIR FAMILYI: TRANSPARENT: |
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(dir. James Spione, 84 mins, 2004) Thurs Dec 8 7pm - buy tix Thursdays at 7pm often feature community-based programming presented with ethnic and cultural groups. |
“Thrills
its audience… American Farm is Spione’s feature-length directorial
debut, but he already shows the acuity of a veteran… [he] weaves
together disparate voices into an elaborate mosaic that ultimately reveals
a singular story.” “Personal
and poignant…Spione doesn’t sentimentalize farm life, but
by showing it as the backbreaking, dirty, freezing work that it is, he
somehow still makes it seem noble and even beautiful.” “Fascinating….
James Spione’s passionate 84-minute documentary… is reminiscent
of the sociological impact generated by the early 1970s PBS reality series
An American Family.” In this moving portrait of a vanishing way of life, documentary filmmaker James Spione explores the century-long struggle of his mother’s family to hold onto a small dairy farm near Cooperstown, New York. Drawing on remarkably intimate interviews with three generations of Ames family members, Spione chronicles the backbreaking work, agricultural innovation and determination in the face of tragedy that led to the success of the operation. At the same time, American Farm reveals the profound shifts in attitude and long-simmering family conflicts that have created the current crisis: no one in the next generation is willing to take over the farm. As he approaches seventy years of age, the director's cousin Langdon is now faced with selling a property that has been the center of family life for 150 years. Narrated entirely by the people that grew up there, American Farm is both powerful tribute to, and sober demystification of, one of America’s most hallowed and least understood institutions. |
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DIAS DE SANTIAGO (dir. Josué Mendez, 83 mins, 2004) Thurs Dec
8 9pm - buy
tix |
Josué Méndez´s extraordinary debut explores the tragic impossibility of a war veteran to re-integrate into civilian life. 23-year old Santiago (Pietro Sibille, in a “volcanic performance,” - VARIETY) returns home, weary from years of jungle fighting, searching for hope. But his native Lima has become a less than welcoming place. Unable to get a job or credit, or afford an education, misunderstood by his family, wife and friends whom he finds decadent and distant, Santiago’s estrangement from an increasingly hostile and chaotic world deepens, as his anger and frustration rise. Through a powerful and original style of narration, Mendéz vividly examines the effects of war upon those who carry it out. While the suppressed rage of Sibille´s Santiago Roman may recall DeNiro´s Travis Bickle, Sibille manages to push the envelope, eliciting sympathy for a complex character that walks the line between chilling hostility and great humanity. |
Charas
presents (dir. Chuck Portz, 81 mins, 2004) Fri Dec 9 7pm - buy tix |
a docudrama thriller exposing the horrors of sexual trafficking of young women in Eastern Europe. Best Feature Film Tivoli International Film Festival * Best Feature Film Flint Film Festival An American journalist, a mysterious Gypsy woman and a bookkeeper with an inside angle try to stay one step ahead of a gang of ruthless killers as they uncover the horrors of the human trafficking of sex slaves in the Balkans. Young women are being transported to Bucharest with false promises of jobs as dancers and models. Once there, they are traded for heroin, stripped of their passports and shipped to Turkey for a life of prostitution. Countries throughout the former Soviet Union provide a chilling backdrop to a tangled web of corruption, betrayal and romance as this unlikely band of heroes tries to uncover the secrets of the flesh-for-heroin trade. Join them on an edge-of-your-seat adventure with a one-way ticket on the Bucharest Express. Bucharest Express is not a documentary, but rather a hard-hitting mystery that blows the lid off the ruthless trade of young women. |
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PERVERT! (dir. Jonathan Yudis, 83 mins, 2005) Fri Dec 9 10:45pm - buy tix |
Starring Mary Carey, that notorious vixen, who gave Schwarzenegger a run for his money in the California governor race! The
shocking story of salacious scandal! "Smells like Russ Meyer." -Film Threat A young man (Sean Andrews as “James”) comes to spend the summer at the remote desert ranch of his father (Darryl Sandeen as “Hezekiah”) in hopes of repairing their estranged relationship only to find that he’s become a psychotic madman. But who is responsible for the bizarre murders James has uncovered? Hezekiah pins the blame on his son, and after a series of unexplainable incidents, James begins to doubt his own suspicions. Little does he know that the real killer lurks just under his nose. |
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JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (dir. Don Chaffey, 104 mins, 1963) Mon Dec 12 7pm - buy tix Mon Dec 26
6:30pm |
The special effects classic! The epic story that was destined to stand as a colossus of adventure! The legendary Greek hero leads a team of intrepid adventurers in a perilous quest for the legendary Golden Fleece. Jason has been prophesied to take the throne of Thessaly. When he saves Pelias from drowning, but does not recognize him as the man who had earlier killed his father, Pelias tells Jason to travel to Colchis to find the Golden Fleece. Jason follows his advice and assembles a sailing crew of the finest men in Greece, including Hercules. They are under the protection of Hera, queen of the gods. Their voyage is replete with battles against harpies, a giant bronze Talos, a hydra, and an animated skeleton army, all brought to life by the special effects wizardry of Ray Harryhausen. This is a "Bizarro Monday" program. Every Monday at 7pm the Pioneer presents the finest (and trashiest) in horror, sci-fi, freakshow, exploitation, martial arts, genre, b-movies, z-movies, and just plain weird stuff. |
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Tues Dec 13 7pm - buy tix sponsored by SKYY Vodka From personal trauma to strange premonitions and political realities, this month’s short films focus on “Disruptions.” This is a Tuesdays@7 program. Every Tuesday at 7pm features special guests presenting their film, and is followed by a beer and pizza reception for ticket holders.
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The Independent Feature Project presents a program of short films. Cavities Carla
Cope Patch Waking
Dreams Be
Quiet |
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Newfest presents BACHELOR FARMER (dir. Michael Culpepper and Nikki Draper, 58 mins, 2004) preceded by (dir. Peter Daulton, 25 mins, 2004) Weds Dec 14 7pm - buy tix An LGBT Wednesdays program. At 7pm on the First Two Wednesdays of every month, NewFest presents highlights from their festival. Other Wednesdays at 7pm often also feature LGBT programming. |
NewFest LGBT Film Festival presents highlights from their 2005 festival. FLOWERS FROM
THE HEARTLAND: BACHELOR FARMER: |
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(dir. Will Parrinello, 2005) Thurs Dec 15 7pm - buy tix
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featuring His Holiness the Dalai Lama *Amnesty
International Film Festival Audience Award Winner "...a moving documentary." - OAKLAND TRIBUNE "...an intimate portrait." - SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE featuring His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Author/Climber Jon Krakauer, with appearances by actors Richard Gere and Goldie Hawn. In isolated communities around the world, Tibetan exiles have created a 'virtual Tibet,' where they have endured and even flourished in the face of overwhelming adversity. DREAMING OF TIBET follows their arduous journeys from Tibet into exile over a 19,000 foot Himalayan pass. It's a flight that the Dalai Lama took in 1958 and over 150,000 of his followers have taken since then. This intimate documentary is about the resilience of the human spirit under the most dire circumstances. The film looks at the lives of three extraordinary Tibetan exiles who have survived in exile and are deeply involved in working for the survival of their culture. |
Mormonsploitation! A quick overview of some of the Mormons' crazy and dangerous ideas, as well as some of the goofy characters the LDS community has brought forth into the celluloid world! "Peluca," the precursor to NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, also directed by Jared Hess and starring Jon Heder, will precede select screenings. Sweet! Read the preview in THE REELER. Mormonsploitation season tickets: $52 for all eight movies.
Special thanks to Emily Rems, James D'Arc of the BYU Film Archive, Stu VanAirsdale, Steve Fagan, Ed Seaman of Music Video Distributors, Paul Rachman of Slamdance, Dennis Nyback, and Murray Glass. |
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TRAPPED BY THE MORMONS (2005) (dir. Ian Allen, 69 mins, 2005) Thurs Dec
15 9pm - buy
tix filmmakers & special guests will attend a remake of
the 1922 cult horror classic! |
We all know Mormons are evil, but, good God, THIS?!! Mormonsploitation! Starring NYC Drag King Johnny Kat "If
you only see one Mormonsploitation flick in your lifetime, make it this
one."
"Mormonism's
answer to REEFER MADNESS is back, in a remake that exceeds the original's
campy silliness! Three words: Polygamous zombie vampires!" Passion. Polygamy. Pamphlets. Isoldi Keane, the top recruiter in all of Mormondom, is using his mesmeric powers to ensnare the young, delightful Nora Prescott in his evil web of passion, polygamy, and pamphlets. Can Nora withstand Isoldi’s wicked-sexy Mormon wiles? Will Isoldi marry Nora and take her to where the Great Salt Lake meets the Crystal Temple. . .or is something darker lurking in her future? Slavery! Polygamy! Death!! Cherry Red Productions and Jeff Goode Entertainment conspire to present this hauntingly hip and hilarious remake of the 1922 cult horror flick TRAPPED BY THE MORMONS. |
Mormonsploitation! ALL DOLLED UP (dir. Bob Gruen 95 mins) Sat Dec 17 10:15pm - buy tix |
featuring the New York Dolls! In the early 70's, rock photographer Bob Gruen and his wife Nadya purchased a portable video recorder. In a period of three years they shot over 40 hours of New York Dolls footage. Now for the first time ever this footage is unveiled. This feature length documentary captures the band during early performances in New York at Kenny's Castaways and Max's Kansas City, then follows the Dolls on their tour of the west coast, including footage from the Whiskey A Go Go, the Real Don Steele Show, Rodney Bingenheimer's E Club and much more. Intercut with revealing interviews, backstage banter and late night debauchery, this is THE definitive document of the New York Dolls. |
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PRIMER (dir. Shane Carruth, 78 mins, 2004)
Fri Dec 16 midnight - buy tix ALTHOUGH NOT
OPENLY MORMON, PRIMER FEATURES TWO GUYS IN
WHITE SHIRTS AND TIES WITH CRAZY IDEAS ABOUT THE FUTURE AND THE PAST SPEAKING
GIBBERISH SOMEWHERE IN THE AMERICAN WEST. COULD PRIMER
BE A COVERT MORMON PROPAGANDA MOVIE? COME INVESTIGATE! |
"An ingenious
movie about the perils of ingenuity. . .Invigorating. . .Like PI or MEMENTO,
PRIMER is the kind of movie likely to inspire both imitators and cultists.
. .Carruth has invented something fascinating." * Grand Jury Prize - Sundance Film Festival * PRIMER is set in the industrial park/suburban tract-home fringes of an unnamed contemporary city where two young engineers, Abe and Aaron, are members of a small group of men who work by day for a large corporation while conducting extracurricular experiments on their own time in a garage. While tweaking their current project, a device that reduces the apparent mass of any object placed inside it by blocking gravitational pull, they accidentally discover that it has some highly unexpected capabilities--ones that could enable them to do and to have seemingly anything they want. Taking advantage of this unique opportunity is the first challenge they face. Dealing with the consequences is the next. A ThinkFilm release. |
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TRAPPED BY THE MORMONS (1922) (dir. H.B. Parkinson, 1922) Sat Dec 17 7pm - buy tix |
The original
Mormonsploitation classic! Starring Evelyn Brent and Olaf Hytten This
exploitative early film is a drama about the Mormon sect. The story of
a young girl, lured into the Mormon's net by the most clever of the Mormon
ranks. Extremely rare 16mm print proudly projected at the wrong speed, with special added Mormonsploitation shorts. |
Mormonsploitation! NEW YORK DOLL (dir. Greg Whiteley,78 mins, 2005) Sat Dec 3
10:45pm - buy
tix |
"As
journeys go, this is one to treasure." "Greg
Whiteley's small, tender documentary portrait looks at life after rock
'n' roll as experienced by the original bassist for the New York Dolls." A recovering alcoholic and recently converted Mormon, we first meet mild-mannered Arthur Kane on the LA bus he takes most days to his job at the Family History Center library. No one would connect the shy 55-year-old in the suit and tie to Arthur "Killer" Kane, statuesque bassist for the legendary '70s rock band, The New York Dolls. Arthur became the bass player for the Dolls in 1971 and helped form, in rocker Morrissey's words, "one of the most raucous, notorious bands in musical history." Decked out in platform heels, skin-tight pants, smeared lipstick and hair a mile high, the Dolls' gender-bending stage antics belied a ferocious sound that presaged punk and influenced a generation of musicians. But drug abuse and inner-band bickering led to a split in 1975, with Arthur himself bottoming out. In the early spring of 2004, Morrissey, former President of the New York Dolls fan club and curator of the 2004 Meltdown Festival in London, asked the Dolls to reunite for two shows. Arthur was ecstatic. But how would it all turn out? (synopsis adapted from RottenTomatoes) |
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WAGON MASTER (dir. John Ford, 86 mins, 1950) Sun Dec 18
7:15pm - buy
tix Rare 35mm screening of this classic Mormon Western, directed by John Ford! |
John Ford directs a tale of Mormon mischief in the Wild West! ‘Hell’ ain’t cussin’, it’s geography! "With
its singing cowboys, square-dancing Mormons, and the trancelike drumming
of Navajos (whom Ford views with admiration), this is the closest thing
to a musical that Ford ever made. The rock cliffs of the valley remind
wagon master Travis (Ben Johnson) of a cathedral; with the whooping ram’s-horn
call of the earthy Sister Ledeyard (Jane Darwell), Ford fills that cathedral
with a primal, exultant folk Mass." John Ford said of this film, "WAGON MASTER came closest to what I hoped to achieve." A relaxed epic Western without major stars, it features Ward Bond as Jonathan Wiggs, a sardonic Mormon taking a wagon train of his people to Utah's San Juan Valley with freewheeling cowpokes Travis Blue (Ben Johnson) and Sandy Owens (Harry Carey Jr.) as guides. En route, the group comes upon a medicine show troupe, run by Dr. A. Locksley Hall (Alan Mowbray), that is heavily under the influence of its product and out of water, and they too become part of the caravan. As the trek continues, the Mormons also begins to run low on water, which is less of a problems than a meeting with the murderous Clegg family, led by the unctuous Uncle Shiloh (Charles Kemper), who claims that he and his five "boys" are simple cowhands. To avoid violence, Wiggs allows them to join the convoy but regrets it when the medicine troupe attempts to leave the wagon train and is stopped at gunpoint by the Cleggs. An enjoyable character-based excursion that draws humor from the uneasy coexistence of a wide range of social types, WAGON MASTER showcases the gruff and appealing Bond in a role that he would repeat, with little alteration (and great popular success), on television's WAGON TRAIN. (synopsis from Rotten Tomatoes) |
Mormonsploitation! A MORMON MAID (dir. Robert Z. Leonard, 1917) Mon Dec 19 7pm - buy tix This is a "Bizarro Monday" program. Every Monday at 7pm the Pioneer presents the finest (and trashiest) in horror, sci-fi, freakshow, exploitation, martial arts, genre, b-movies, z-movies, and just plain weird stuff. |
This
silent melodrama is set against the 1840s westward migration of the Mormons.
Dora, a young woman, and her family are saved from an Indian attack by
a Mormon community traveling to Utah. They join the wagon train. Dora
is pursued by two men, one a recent convert, the other a scheming elder
with a stable of wives. The Mormon elder wants her in his harem. When
the mother kills herself from revulsion toward polygamy, the daughter
must consider her own future and the man she loves. One of Mae Murray's
few surviving films, this was intended by Robert Leonard to be a thoughtful
drama about the goods and evils of Mormonism, but today it is generally
considered pure anti-Mormon propaganda. Extremely rare 16mm print proudly projected at the wrong speed, with special added Mormonsploitation shorts. |
Mormonsploitation! Dennis Nyback presents The
Mormon Tues Dec 20
7pm - This is a Tuesdays@7 program. Every Tuesday at 7pm features special guests presenting their film, and is followed by a beer and pizza reception for ticket holders.
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DUE TO THE TRANSIT STRIKE, THE MORMON CHURCH EXPLAINS IT ALL TO YOU HAS BEEN CANCELLED, AS THE NECESSARY FILMS AND PERSONNEL CANNOT MAKE IT FOR THIS SHOW (the 9pm show will go on, however). THE MORMON CHURCH EXPLAINS IT ALL TO YOU WILL BE RESCHEDULED. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ALERTED AS TO WHEN THAT IS, SEND AN EMAIL TO FILM [AT] TWOBOOTS [DOT] COM. THANK YOU. a classic collection of Mormon movies presented by fabled film collector Dennis Nyback Man's
Search for Happiness
1964
Cipher in the Snow 1973
The Mailbox
1977 |
RASHOMON (dir. Akira Kurosawa, 89 mins, 1950) THE SEVEN SAMURAI (dir. Akira Kurosawa, 207 mins, 1954) Double bill!
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AKIRA
KUROSAWA RASHOMON This highly acclaimed film, set in feudal Japan, presents an intriguing tale of violent crime in the woods, told from the perspective of four different characters - a bandit (Toshirô Mifune), a woman (Machiko Kyô), her husband (Masayuki Mori), and a woodcutter (Takashi Shimura). Only two things about the incident seem to be clear - the woman was raped and her husband is now dead. However, the other elements radically differ as the four participants and/or witnesses relate their own stories (with the dead man, eerily enough, speaking through a medium). As each account is revealed, what seemed black and white turns to various hues of gray, leading to surprising - and confounding - relevations. THE
SEVEN SAMURAI Set in 16th Century Japan, the epic SEVEN SAMURAI follows the plight of a defenseless farming village that lives in constant fear of marauding bandits. The farmers know that when their crops are harvested, the thugs will attack, so four men go to town in hopes of employing samurai to fight for them. However, the poor villagers can merely offer payment in the form of shelter and a daily bowl of rice, and initially only Kambei (Takashi Shimura), a brave elder samurai, and his eager young apprentice, Katsushiro (Isao Kimura), take up their cause. Encountering various nomadic warriors on the streets, they slowly put together his team of swordsmen, recruiting Shichiroji (Daisuke Katô), Gorobei (Yoshio Inaba), Heihachi (Minoru Chiaki), and Kyuzo (Seiji Miyaguchi). Finally, Kikuchiyo (Toshirô Mifune), a scruffy wanderer who has been trailing them, completes the small band of ronin. However, upon reaching the village, the samurai learn that the farmers fear them as much the enemy. Despite the tensions, Kambei and his men slowly train the peasants to defend their village. Eventually the warriors launch a preemptive strike against the bandits, and begin a series of intense conflicts that culminates in a rain-soaked final battle--without a doubt, one of the most stunning sequences in cinema history. |
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(dir. William Wyler, 155 mins, 1968) - 35mm print Sun Dec
25 4pm - buy
tix |
It's
the first day of Chanukah. You know you're going to go see a movie and eat Chinese food anyway, so why not do it with us? Join other Babs fans and downtown Jews for a screening of FUNNY GIRL followed by Chinese food and American beer. Barbra Streisand's (Oscar-winning) film debut as Brooklyn-born comedienne Fanny Brice who became the star attraction of the Ziegfeld Follies. With music by Jule (GYPSY) Styne and directed by William (WUTHERING HEIGHTS) Wyler, this restored version is a treat for the whole family. Hosted by Pioneer Theater General Manager - and Streisand aficionado - Mr. Joe Ferrelli. Lights! Camera! Jews! A Jewish Film Series presented by the 14th Street Y, www.14StreetY.org |
Bizarro Mondays! JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (dir. Todd Armstrong,
104 mins, 1963) BEAUTY
AND THE BEAST (dir. Jean Cocteau,
93 mins, 1946) Double bill! This is a "Bizarro Monday" program. Every Monday at 7pm the Pioneer presents the finest (and trashiest) in horror, sci-fi, freakshow, exploitation, martial arts, genre, b-movies, z-movies, and just plain weird stuff. |
FAMILY
FANTASY & FAIRY-TALE JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS The special effects classic! The epic story that was destined to stand as a colossus of adventure! The legendary Greek hero leads a team of intrepid adventurers in a perilous quest for the legendary Golden Fleece. Jason has been prophesied to take the throne of Thessaly. When he saves Pelias from drowning, but does not recognize him as the man who had earlier killed his father, Pelias tells Jason to travel to Colchis to find the Golden Fleece. Jason follows his advice and assembles a sailing crew of the finest men in Greece, including Hercules. They are under the protection of Hera, queen of the gods. Their voyage is replete with battles against harpies, a giant bronze Talos, a hydra, and an animated skeleton army, all brought to life by the special effects wizardry of Ray Harryhausen. BEAUTY
AND THE BEAST "One
of the most magical of all films." "A
magnificent fairy tale."
Visionary
filmmaker and poet Jean Cocteau responded to the terrors and creative
constraints of occupied France with this elaborately realized take on
the classic fairy tale BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Suggested by his longtime
collaborator and muse, French actor Jean Marais, the cinematic version
of the fable first penned by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont became
Cocteau’s most celebrated film. Cocteau renders the story of a gentlehearted
beast in love with a simple and beautiful girl in the style of the luminous
paintings of Dutch master Vermeer. From the quaint and humorous scenes
of Beauty’s happy home to the ominous surreal spectacle of the Beast’s
enchanted estate, Cocteau transforms the simple tale of tragic love into
a surreal vision of death, desire, and beauty. Marais is chilling as the
lonely and tormented beast, projecting a wounded love for the glacial
yet endearing Beauty (Josette Day), whose simple request for a rose from
her father brings tragedy crashing down on her whole family. Cocteau expands
upon the cinematic inventiveness first seen in his masterpiece BLOOD OF
A POET with mirrors made of water, living statues, and candelabras fashioned
from living arms, transforming a children’s fable into a complex
and radiant cinematic classic. |
THE LITTLE FOXES (dir. William Wyler, 112 mins, 1942) THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (dir. William Wyler, 172 mins, 1946 Double bill! |
WILLIAM
WYLER THE
LITTLE FOXES An esteemed film adaptation of Lillian Hellman's play involving the corrupt machinations of a wealthy Southern family. Vicious queen bee Regina Giddens (Bette Davis) and her two greedy brothers scheme mercilessly in their attempt to make a fortune on a new cotton mill. In the process Regina is more than willing to crush anyone who stands in their way-- including her own husband. (synopsis from Rotten Tomatoes) THE
BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES ".
. .the best American movie about returning soldiers I've ever seen--the
most moving and the most deeply felt. It bears witness to its times and
contemporaries like few other Hollywood features, and Gregg Toland's deep-focus
cinematography is one of the best things he ever did." Perhaps
the most memorable film about the aftermath of World War II in the U.S.,
it unfolds with the homecoming of three veterans to the same small town.
The leads all touch emotional truths: Myrna Loy seems able to express
longing, joy, fear and surprise - mostly with her back turned - in a particularly
poignant welcome home. The movie never glosses over the reality of altered
lives and the inability to communicate the experience of war on the front
lines or the home front. A landmark achievement. WWII vet Russell, who
lost his hands in the war, is the only person to win two Oscars for the
same role, Best Supporting Actor and a special Oscar "for bringing
hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance." |
RASHOMON (dir. Akira Kurosawa, 89 mins, 1950) THE SEVEN SAMURAI (dir. Akira Kurosawa, 207 mins, 1954) Double bill!
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AKIRA
KUROSAWA RASHOMON This highly acclaimed film, set in feudal Japan, presents an intriguing tale of violent crime in the woods, told from the perspective of four different characters - a bandit (Toshirô Mifune), a woman (Machiko Kyô), her husband (Masayuki Mori), and a woodcutter (Takashi Shimura). Only two things about the incident seem to be clear - the woman was raped and her husband is now dead. However, the other elements radically differ as the four participants and/or witnesses relate their own stories (with the dead man, eerily enough, speaking through a medium). As each account is revealed, what seemed black and white turns to various hues of gray, leading to surprising - and confounding - relevations. THE
SEVEN SAMURAI Set in 16th Century Japan, the epic SEVEN SAMURAI follows the plight of a defenseless farming village that lives in constant fear of marauding bandits. The farmers know that when their crops are harvested, the thugs will attack, so four men go to town in hopes of employing samurai to fight for them. However, the poor villagers can merely offer payment in the form of shelter and a daily bowl of rice, and initially only Kambei (Takashi Shimura), a brave elder samurai, and his eager young apprentice, Katsushiro (Isao Kimura), take up their cause. Encountering various nomadic warriors on the streets, they slowly put together his team of swordsmen, recruiting Shichiroji (Daisuke Katô), Gorobei (Yoshio Inaba), Heihachi (Minoru Chiaki), and Kyuzo (Seiji Miyaguchi). Finally, Kikuchiyo (Toshirô Mifune), a scruffy wanderer who has been trailing them, completes the small band of ronin. However, upon reaching the village, the samurai learn that the farmers fear them as much the enemy. Despite the tensions, Kambei and his men slowly train the peasants to defend their village. Eventually the warriors launch a preemptive strike against the bandits, and begin a series of intense conflicts that culminates in a rain-soaked final battle--without a doubt, one of the most stunning sequences in cinema history. |
WHERE IS THE FRIEND'S HOME? (dir. Abbas Kiarostami, 85 mins, 1987) AND
LIFE GOES ON (dir. Abbas Kiarostami, 108 mins, 1992) Double bill!
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ABBAS
KIAROSTAMI rediscover two classics from the great Iranian filmmaker WHERE
IS THE FRIEND'S HOME? "a
sustained meditation on singular landscapes and the way ordinary people
live in them; an obsessional quest that takes on the contours of a parable;
a concentrated inquiry that raises more questions than it answers; and
a comic as well as cosmic poem." Ahmed, an eight-year-old boy, desperately hunts through two tiny Iranian villages trying to return a notebook to his classmate, who will be expelled from school if the book is not returned. WHERE IS THE FRIEND'S HOME? is a remarkable statement about responsibility and morality but is foremost an unsurpassed rumination on the lives of children. AND
LIFE GOES ON *Winner, Roberto Rossellini Prize, Cannes Film Festival* Part fiction, part documentary and part road movie. In the aftermath of an earthquake which killed more than 50,000 people in northern Iran in 1990, a father and his young son set out to learn the fate of the two young boys who starred in Kiarostami’s WHERE IS THE FRIEND'S HOME? As they travel through the devastated yet beautiful landscape, their interviews with survivors coalesce into a moving portrait of human resilience. |
CONFIDENTIAL
REPORT (dir. Orson Welles, 100 mins, 1955) F FOR FAKE (dir. Orson Welles, 85 mins, 1974) Double bill!
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ORSON
WELLES CONFIDENTIAL
REPORT A dying man's final words send two people to Gregory Arkadin (Orson Welles), a mysterious and much-feared billionaire who lives in a Xanadu-like castle. In Welles's noirish MR. ARKADIN, Robert Arden stars as Guy Van Stratten, an adventurer and fortune hunter who is interested in Arkadin's money--and his daughter, Raina (Paolo Mori). Arkadin, overprotective of his daughter, has his "secretaries" prepare a damaging dossier on Van Stratten--entitled "Confidential Report." But Arkadin then makes a deal with Van Stratten--he will pay the young man for preparing a similar file on him, for Mr. Arkadin says he remembers nothing about his past and does not know where he came from. Even his name is a mystery. Van Stratten's search for the truth about Arkadin's past--which takes him throughout Europe and to Mexico and features encounters with a variety of fabulously colorful characters--is highly reminiscent of Thompson's search for Rosebud in CITIZEN KANE. Shot in black and white, filled with elegant, cosmopolitan party scenes, and extraordinary close-ups, MR. ARKADIN is a visually stunning film. The camera angles and movement, the exotic sets, the playful music, and the quick cuts--as well as the extremely entertaining and metaphorical stories that Arkadin tells--all help make MR. ARKADIN a sublime treat. F FOR FAKE Orson Welles has a ball examining the nature of what is real and what is fake in the funny, bizarre F FOR FAKE. Four people stand at the center of this documentary: Elmyr de Hory, who some believe forged more than a thousand masterpieces, many of which hang in some of the world's most famous museums; Clifford Irving, who is not only out to prove what a fake Elmyr is but also wrote a fake biography of Howard Hughes; Oja Kodar, who claims that Pablo Picasso painted 22 canvases of her that no one has ever seen; and Welles himself, who harks back to his days creating the havoc-causing THE WAR OF THE WORLDS for radio. But the true star of the film is the editing; from absurd stock footage to shots of Welles smirking into the camera from different locations to scenes with a monkey scurrying about, the film is vastly entertaining to watch. F FOR FAKE is an underrated, underappreciated work of comic genius about the nature of reality, celebrity, and art, by a master filmmaker showing a surprisingly wicked sense of humor. |
DR.
STRANGELOVE (dir. Stanley Kubrick, 93 mins, 1964 ) GEORGE W. BUSH, DICK CHENEY, DONALD RUMSFELD, CONDOLEEZZA RICE, AND PAUL WOLFOWITZ ALL RECEIVE FREE ADMISSION. WE HOPE ONE OR ALL OF THEM WILL COME INTRODUCE THE FILM AND DISCUSS IT WITH THE AUDIENCE AS THEY CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND IT BETTER THAN MOST OF US. ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK (dir. Fred F. Sears, 77 mins, 1956) Double bill!
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END
OF THE WORLD, END
OF THE YEAR DR. STRANGELOVE "The most
shattering sick joke I've ever come across." "It's
one of the greatest - and undoubtably the most hilarious - antiwar statements
ever put to film. See it before the world ends." DR.
STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB is Stanley
Kubrick's Cold War masterpiece. Based on the novel RED ALERT by Peter
George, the film is set at the height of the tensions between Russia and
the United States, when all it would take to destroy the world was one
push of a button. And General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) is just
the man to do it. ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK A frustrated big-band promoter runs into rock-and-rollers Bill Haley and the Comets at a small-town dance. He quickly becomes their manager and, with the help of Alan Freed, hopes to bring the new sound to the entire country. But will a conniving booking agent, with a personal ax to grind with the manager, conspire to keep the band from making the big time? |
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