#Metrograph

[humanoidhistory]

TRON plays tonight New York's Metrograph.

[world-of-celebs]

Anne Hathaway attends the "She Came To Me" New York Screening at Metrograph on October 03, 2023 in New York City.

[ogradyfilm]

Recently Viewed: Orochi

[The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!]

Orochi is one of those miracles of film preservation: a century-old silent melodrama from a period in the history of cinema that precious few motion pictures survived (and certainly from which none escaped totally unscathed), cobbled together from elements recovered from various disparate sources—including, according to the opening credits, archival footage salvaged from a documentary produced in the 1970s—and resurrected for future generations, like an echo from the distant past. In that context, the quality of the movie itself is almost irrelevant; its mere existence is impressive enough.

The story is a tragedy in the tradition of Sophocles and Euripides: a series of miseries, woes, and indignities endured in rapid succession—a torrential deluge of suffering utterly devoid of even the pretense of hope to alleviate the central character’s anguish (indeed, the pervasive atmosphere of despair occasionally borders on absurdist comedy). Shakespeare’s Romeo may have been “fortune’s fool,” but the protagonist of this bleak cautionary tale is somehow less favored by the Fates. Despite his unwavering chivalry and virtue, low-ranking samurai Heisaburo Kuritomi’s stubborn pride, tactless honesty, and inflexible moral code (classic examples of what the Greeks called “hamartia”) are frequently mistaken for disrespect and insolence—feudal Japan, after all, had a rather distorted definition of “honor”: hypocrisy and corruption were easily disguised by the superficial façade of courtesy, propriety, and decorum; likewise, rank, wealth, and reputation were often wielded as weapons against the courageous few that dared to challenge the status quo. Thus is our disgraced, wretched hero a victim of his culture’s prejudices, unjustly persecuted by those that take advantage of their privilege and power to exploit the weak—and his gradual descent down the social ladder (tumbling first from devoted scholar to vagabond ronin, then plummeting to the level of reluctant outlaw, before finally ending up as a feral barbarian) is as spectacular to behold as it is excruciating to witness.

Buntaro Futagawa’s confident, workmanlike direction perfectly complements the relentless urgency of the narrative. Montages replete with dissolves, cross-fades, and match cuts expand and condense time and space, elegantly conveying Kuritomi’s deteriorating sanity. Sweeping, fluid camera movements gracefully track the action, capturing the frantic chase scenes and frenetic sword fights in long, seamless, unbroken takes. The exaggerated performances and stylized makeup and costuming evoke the artifice of kabuki theater, lending a welcome touch of surrealism to the otherwise oppressively naturalistic plot (a compelling juxtaposition). The 4K restoration recently screened at Metrograph was further enriched by a propulsive musical score (courtesy of composer Yasuaki Shimizu, who was in attendance) and energetic—albeit excessively expository—benshi narration (prerecorded, sadly; after experiencing Ichiro Kataoka’s magnificent presentation of A Diary of Chuji’s Travels at Japan Society last December, I would have preferred another live accompaniment—alas, c’est la vie).

Fiercely political, defiantly critical of authority, and unapologetically humanist in its sympathies (it was, in fact, censored upon its initial release due to its perceived subversive themes), Orochi feels as relevant today—i.e., in the “post-truth” era embodied by America’s current presidential administration—as it was a hundred years ago. What a delightful discovery!

[jgthirlwell]

Scala!!! is a documentary about the legendary London repertory cinema ; JG Thirlwell spent a lot of time there in the late 70s and early 80s. Thirlwell, who appears in the documentary, will be joining co-director Ali Catterall and co-director & former Scala film programmer Jane Giles for a Q and A after the screening of the film at Metrograph in NYC on July 21 2024.

[becomingflynn]

'Ripley' screening hosted by BAFTA at the Metrograph in NYC (x)

[cntryclwn]

[cinemacentury]

Monday, March 18, 2024

"I woke up last night all alone in the hotel room. Do you know what that feels like? I've never felt like that in my life."

135. REBELS OF THE NEON GOD (Tsai Ming-liang, 1992) - Taiwan - Theatrical (DCP) - Metrograph, Theater 2 - 106 minutes. Presented as part of the series Forever Young. New film #126.

[stillsuchathing]

A riddle with several plausible solutions, Haneke’s film leaves the viewer without the satisfying closure of identifying one thing that’s wrong with a life of antiseptic ease, but the disquieting sense that everything is wrong about it.  Caché - Now Playing In Theater at Metrograph

[ptgerard]

Great write-up in the New York Times on Metrograph's streaming service, a project I've been working on as a technical product leader since 2020.

[streamondemand]

Coming Attractions: Streaming in March 2025

Notable shows “Daredevil: Born Again” (Disney+, 3/4) revives the Marvel superhero series with Charlie Cox returning as Matt Murdock, the blind lawyer with a double life, and Vincent D’Onofrio as mobster Wilson Fisk. Brian Tyree Henry and Ving Rhames star in “Dope Thief” (Apple TV+, 3/14), a limited series about a group of Philadelphia friends who pose as DEA agents for a robbery that lands them…

[anitosoul]

Hero

[proverbialschoolmarm]

[justapillowpetpanda]

My Wishlist

[ogradyfilm]

Recently Viewed: In Water

In Water—the most recent exercise in minimalism from South Korean indie auteur Hong Sang-soo—is intentionally shot entirely out-of-focus. While the early marketing, publicity, and media coverage attributed this creative choice to the director’s own deteriorating eyesight (reminiscent of Derek Jarman’s hauntingly poetic Blue), it’s also thematically appropriate: the story’s protagonist, after all, is an amateur filmmaker willing to spend his life savings on the production of a low-budget short movie for which he has not yet written a script—or even developed a concrete premise. The hazy, blurry, indistinct imagery therefore reflects the character’s lack of artistic vision—and the ambiguity of his motivations.

Beyond this obvious cinematographic gimmick, In Water is otherwise rather typical of Hong’s work; from its long takes to its static compositions to its circuitous dialogue to its postmodern framing device to its excruciatingly languid pace, it is subtle with a capital “B”—which certainly won’t appeal to every viewer’s sensibilities. The question, then, becomes: “Does the unconventional presentation elevate the material?” And honestly, being a relative Hong Sang-soo neophyte… I don’t really feel qualified to provide a satisfactory answer; his style is an acquired taste, and I’m not confident that I’ve sampled enough of his previous dishes to accurately judge how this latest flavor compares. Perhaps I’ll revisit it after further refining my palate…

[dbguidebook]

MUST HAVE MOVIE APPS: METROGRAPH. #Societythings