Ryan McNeilMarc from Go, See, Talk wants me to indulge in a geeky dream – the dream of owning and operating my own movie theatre.
What a wonderful world that would be. I can tell you for certain, that my theatre would contain a bar that opened when the films ended so that people could gather and passionately discuss what they’d just seen. Of course, what sort of proprietor would I be if I didn’t foster the conversation myself?
But this geeky dream that Marc has planted in my head doesn’t come for free. I have to lure patrons in with a creative week of double features. Well, in deciding what sorts of double features I wanted to unfurl, I thought it might be fun to take people away to cities they might dearly love, or cities they might never have seen…
Few people capture Gotham like Woody Allen, and for me there is no movie more quintessentially New York than MANHATTAN. Captured in all its black & white splendour, audiences can begin their week with Gershwin and peaceful benches in front of the Brooklyn Bridge. After that, it’s time to let the streets of New York really sing with WEST SIDE STORY. The city gets used in a very different way in this film, but it’s still wonderful how Bill Shakespeare’s original tale of tragic Italian love can feel so very New York.
Time to hop the pond and head over to Merry Ol’. London was actually a tricky spot to program, since so many films take place there. I decided what was best was to show it’s past, and (hopefully not) it’s future. We begin in “Swingin’ London” of the 1960’s with Michael Caine in ALFIE. He’ll charm the parts off you – it’s what his character does – and leave you asking “Jude who?”. After seeing what London was, it’s time to sweat out what it hopefully never will be with V FOR VENDETTA. This dystopian tale features the government rallying people with deceptively frightening “Strength through Unity ; Unity through Faith” creedo. However, in this world where government has exceeded its bounds, one man still has something to say…and if he has to, he’ll take pull down every historic brick in London to get his message out.
(For this screening, audience members will be given free Guy Fawkes masks)
The city of lights is next, and choosing films for this city was actually a little tough. Many films reference Paris, or take place within it…but I was hoping to find titles where the city itself is more than just a setting. I wanted stories that take us through Paris…not just ones that nod to Paris. BANDE A PARTE is a programming nod to all my fellow movie geeks, as it was a podcasting guest who suggested I track it down. Its iconic scenes have been copied in a few other films, and it will make you want to listen to jazz, smoke, and drive through Pare-eee with the top down. Playing against all that mischief and youthful abandon is the quiet contemplation of BEFORE SUNRISE. I’m hoping some other blogger-run-theatre out there will be doing a double feature of this film and its predecessor, but at my joint, audience members can gather, watch the long walk through Paris unfurl, and ask themselves their own “what if” questions.
Thursday: VENICE
Next we go to Venice to look at it from two different perspectives. Actually, of all the entries in this series, this might be the one that takes such opposite views of one city. We’ll begin with WINGS OF THE DOVE, which as a period film, makes Venice look very lush and romantic. But just to make sure people don’t run too quickly to their travel agent, we’ll follow that with DON’T LOOK NOW which actually makes Venice look rather dirty and menacing.
As the weekend begins, we go to japan. Here I’ll begin with what I reckon would be a low-attended showing of LOST IN TRANSLATION (I’m discovering a lot of people loathe it). I still like that movie a lot, and I think it’s a well-suited entry into this series since it focuses on being a stranger in a strange land and connecting with other strangers. But before you decide to stay home and watch reruns of Friday Night Lights, consider coming for the late show and seeing Godzilla destroy much of Tokyo. If it sweetens the pot, you can imagine that Bob and Charlotte are still canoodling below ‘Zilla somewhere and get squished by his giant reptillian foot.
C’mon – you knew this was coming. After a long week, Sunday brings me back home with two of the very best movies representing my hometown. I’ve written ad nausem about why they best represent this city, so I won’t bore you with repetition today. All I will say is that respectively, CHLOE and SCOTT PILGRIM embody how sexy and fun Toronto can be. Hopefully finishing out the week with these films can send the hometown crowd home happy.
$2 off for anyone who presents a bag from Sonic Boom Records and a cocktail napkin from The Rivoli.
If you blog, consider writing an entry for this series before Saturday…if you don’t leave a comment with your week of double features.
