Thursday, July 08, 2010
CLINT EASTWOOD FESTIVAL AT LINCOLN CENTER
In another stroke of brilliant programming the Film Society of Lincoln Center has gathered together a large collection of Clint Eastwood's films and is presenting them through the month of July.
(At Lincoln Center, it's like a year-round film festival of the highest quality!)
at a NYFF press conference
at Lincoln Center 2008
Photo by Eric Roffman
Just looking at the (vast and excellent) list of films that Eastwood has variously produced, directed and acted in, makes it clear what a powerful force in modern cinema he has been!
Watching some of those films again, or for the first time, makes it even more clear.
Though many films may be available on TV, VCR or DVD, the beautiful, high quality projection on the large screen (and just the experience of watching with an audience!) at Walter Reade, makes them worth seeing in the Theater.
Clint Eastwood will be live on Skype on Saturday, July 10. There will be a screening of Richard Shickel's "The Eastwood Factor" to begin the festival, on July 9.
Here's a short bio of Eastwood from the Film Society, along with information about the screenings:
Clint Eastwood Retrospective: July 9-27, 2010
A Retrospective of works directed by and starring the Hollywood icon
including THE EASTWOOD FACTOR, a documentary by Richard Schickel,
A Retrospective of works directed by and starring the Hollywood icon
including THE EASTWOOD FACTOR, a documentary by Richard Schickel,
and a one-time only Skype appearance by the man himself, Clint Eastwood, on July 10th!
The Film Society of Lincoln Center pays homage to American screen icon, Clint Eastwood, with a retrospective of his work July 9-27, 2010. From the sun-drenched plains of the mythical West to the merciless streets of San Francisco; from seductive disc jockeys to battle-scarred war veterans; through thrillers, war movies and biopics, with a few comedies thrown in for good measure-Clint Eastwood has done it all. In his 40 years as a director, Eastwood has ranged farther and deeper into American history and experience than anyone in American cinema except perhaps John Ford. Indeed, he is one of the very few contemporary directors whose work can in fact be honestly compared to that of the great auteurs of Hollywood's golden age.
"Clint Eastwood's expansive body of work has been delighting audiences for decades, and we are thrilled to be presenting this career-spanning retrospective in his honor," says Mara Manus, Executive Director, The Film Society of Lincoln Center.
Eastwood came up through the acting ranks, working in dozens of bit parts throughout the Fifties until finally landing a major role in Rawhide; the TV series was a hit and Eastwood was on his way. A few years later a friend recommended him to an Italian director about to embark on a western to be shot in southern Spain. That film was A Fistful of Dollars,and together with its director Sergio Leone, Eastwood would create one of the iconic images of the era: The Man with No Name-tall, taciturn, slow to action but always threatening. The reserve, that sense of diffidence about which some earlier casting directors had complained, had now been forged into his acting persona, and Eastwood would continue to explore and analyze that image both as actor and director.
The money earned on the Italian films enabled Eastwood to finally start his own production company, Malpaso, and soon after to start directing his own films, in which he often starred as well. His filmography reads like a roll call of the glories of American cinema in the past four decades: The Outlaw Josey Wales, Pale Rider, Bird, Unforgiven, A Perfect World, The Bridges of Madison County, Mystic River. Moreover, many of our best actors have given their greatest performances in Eastwood's films: Meryl Streep, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Costner, Forest Whitaker, Angelina Jolie-to name but a few.
Yet what's perhaps most impressive about Eastwood's films is how much, taken together, they truly feel like a body of work. Even when working in wildly differing genres or historical periods, there's an extraordinary coherence to his work, a sense in which one can follow his development of themes, ideas and character across his films. Jean Renoir famously commented that directors really only make one film, in which each individual work is but a single scene or episode, and this seems an amazingly apt description of Eastwood's cinema. At the core of many of Eastwood's films is a meditation on violence; repeatedly his films examine not only the effects on violence on others, but even more the impact on those who use violence.
"Few American artists have ranged as far and wide across American life and history as has Clint Eastwood," says Richard Peña, Program Director, The Film Society of Lincoln Center. "With each passing year, his stature as one of the vital voices in our cinema becomes more affirmed, and we are delighted to offer New Yorkers the chance to savor his great achievement by offering this complete retrospective of his work as a director, along with a few key performances by Mr. Eastwood in films by his 'mentors,' Sergio Leone and Don Siegel."
So for this salute, we decided to give audiences a rare treat: all the films directed by Clint Eastwood, along with key works by Sergio Leone and Don Siegel, two of his greatest influences. Following the July 9th screening of The Eastwood Factor, director Richard Schickel will be signing copies of his book CLINT: A RETROSPECTIVE at the Walter Reade Theater's Frieda and Roy Furman Gallery. On July 10th, Eastwood joins us, live via Skype, to partake in the celebration with a Q&A following a screening of A Fistful of Dollars. Don't miss this unique opportunity to see and savor the on screen evolution of one the true film greats, Clint Eastwood!
TICKET INFORMATION:
Single Screening Tickets:
$12 General Public/ $8 Seniors & Students/ $7 Members [$10 Affiliate]
Weekday Matinee Screenings,
Mon-Fri before 6pm: $9 General Public/ $6 Seniors & Students/ $5 Members
Five Film Pass:
$50 General Public/ $35 Seniors & Students/ $30 Members
All Access Pass:
$129 General Public/ $109 Seniors & Students/ $99 Members
Purchase Options:
Online:
visit http://www.filmlinc.com/
In Person: Walter Reade Theater box office;
Hours: Mon-Fri opens at 12:30pm, Sat/Sun opens 1/2 hr before first public screening; closes 15 minutes after last public screening, at 6pm when there are no public screenings.
For more information visit http://www.filmlinc.com/ or call 212 875 5601.
All sales are final. No refunds or exchanges. All showings are subject to change. Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of the management.
All films are screened at:
Walter Reade Theater at The Film Society of Lincoln Center
165 West 65th Street, upper level
(between Broadway and Amsterdam Ave.)
Subways: 1 train to 66th Street Lincoln Center
Buses: M5 M7 M104
More options available at nearby Columbus Circle
FILM DETAILS
Absolute Power
Clint Eastwood, 1997, USA; 120m
In this shadowy White House thriller, a burglar (Eastwood) sees something he shouldn't. Philandering President Gene Hackman is not amused.
Tue Jul 20: 3:40
Sat Jul 24: 3:30
Bird
Clint Eastwood, 1988, USA; 161m
Forest Whitaker's indelible turn as Eastwood jazz idol Charlie "Bird" Parker is heroic and heartbreaking-an essential performance of the 80s or any decade. NYFF '88.
Sat Jul 17: 6:00
Mon Jul 19: 1:00
Blood Work
Clint Eastwood, 2002, USA; 111m
Post heart transplant, a detective (Eastwood) tackles one last murder. "So much more than just a thriller."-Amy Taubin, Film Comment
Fri Jul 23: 1:30
Breezy
Clint Eastwood, 1973, USA; 108m
One of the era's most undervalued films, this May-December romance links a divorcé (superb William Holden) and a hippie (Kay Lenz).
Tue Jul 13: 1:15
The Bridges of Madison County
Clint Eastwood, 1995, USA; 135m
This "love story for adults" follows the passionate four-day affair between a housewife (Meryl Streep) and a photographer (Eastwood) in 1960s Iowa.
Wed Jul 21: 1:00 & 6:15
Bronco Billy
Clint Eastwood, 1980, USA; 116m
A gentle screwball comedy in which a fugitive heiress (Sondra Locke) crashes a New Jersey shoe salesman's Wild West big top.
Fri Jul 16: 1:30 & 8:45
Changeling
Clint Eastwood, 2008, USA; 141m
The majestic, fact-based period drama about a missing child stars Oscar nominee Angelina Jolie (and was the Centerpiece of NYFF '08).
Sun Jul 25: 3:30
Dirty Harry
Don Siegel, 1971, USA; 102m
Eastwood compatriot Don Siegel galvanizes the vigilante-cop classic with clean, hard filmmaking, with Clint's gunplay and growls in high form.
Sat Jul 10: 9:00
Thu Jul 15: 4:10
The Eastwood Factor
Richard Schickel, 2010, USA; 90m
Schickel's warm documentary joins Eastwood on an extraordinary trip down memory lane, with visits to the Warner Brothers lot and his hometown. Following the screening, Schickel will be signing copies of his book, CLINT: A RETROSPECTIVE.
Fri Jul 9: 7:00
The Eiger Sanction
Clint Eastwood, 1975, USA; 125m
Paranoia on an Alpine peak! Eastwood does his own mountaineer stunts as an art-collecting ex-assassin called back for one last kill.
Mon Jul 12: 6:30
Tue Jul 13: 3:30
Escape from Alcatraz
Don Siegel, 1979, USA; 112m
The classic nail-biter about a 1962 prison break from "The Rock" was the climactic Siegel-Eastwood pair-up-and a doozy.
Thu Jul 22: 4:00 & 9:35
Firefox
Clint Eastwood, 1982, USA; 136m
Eastwood steals a secret Soviet warplane! "A level of personal expressiveness all but banished from popular American movies." -Dave Kehr
Fri Jul 16: 3:50
Sat Jul 17: 3:20
A Fistful of Dollars
Sergio Leone, 1964, Italy; 96m
The dazzling spaghetti Western trilogy begins: The Man with No Name (Eastwood) pays a small Mexican town a very special visit. Followed by a live conversation and Q&A with Eastwood via Skype!
Sat Jul 10: 2:30
Flags of Our Fathers
Clint Eastwood, 2006, USA; 131m
Guts and glory get a reality check through the cracked prism of Iwo Jima's flag-raising. With Ryan Philippe and Adam Beach.
Sat Jul 24: 6:00
Mon Jul 26: 6:00
For a Few Dollars More
Sergio Leone, 1965, Italy; 130m
The spaghetti Western feast continues: Eastwood's bounty hunter and Lee Van Cleef zero in on a bank bandit.
Thu Jul 15: 1:30
The Gauntlet
Clint Eastwood, 1977, USA; 114m
Under an action-packed onslaught, a drunken cop (Eastwood) and a mob-witness hooker (Sondra Locke) try to escape Vegas, or anywhere, alive.
Wed Jul 14: 4:10 & 8:45
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Sergio Leone, 1966, Italy; 161m
The One and Only! If you've never seen this tour-de-force Western on the big screen, then you haven't seen it.
Thu Jul 22: 12:30 & 6:15
Gran Torino
Clint Eastwood, 2008, USA; 116m
A tough-as-nails Detroit retiree (Eastwood) grudgingly makes nice with Vietnamese neighbors and shows no-good hoods the meaning of honor.
Tue Jul 27: 4:00
Heartbreak Ridge
Clint Eastwood, 1986, USA; 128m
A hard-drinking old-school Marine sergeant whips his rowdy grunts into shape in this colorful tribute to military life.
Sat Jul 17: 9:00
High Plains Drifter
Clint Eastwood, 1975, USA; 105m
A stranger (Eastwood) dispenses his own justice in a corrupt Western town in this unsettling study of the archetypical gunslinger.
Mon Jul 12: 4:20 & 9:00
Honky Tonk Man
Clint Eastwood, 1982, USA; 123m
In this "male tear-jerker," a broke-down country singer (Eastwood) aims for the Grand Ole Opry during the Depression.
Fri Jul 9: 4:30
Wed Jul 14: 6:20
Invictus
Clint Eastwood, 2009, USA; 134m
Morgan Freeman becomes Nelson Mandela in this uplifting story of rugby triumph (team captain: Matt Damon) in the ashes of apartheid.
Tue Jul 27: 8:40
Letters from Iwo Jima
Clint Eastwood, 2006, USA; 141m
The notorious island battle gets a harrowing and deeply moving retelling, elegantly structured and told through Japanese eyes.
Sat Jul 24: 8:40
Mon Jul 26: 8:40
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Clint Eastwood, 1997, USA; 135m
Eastwood's adaptation of the Georgia-set best-seller stars John Cusack as the Gotham reporter covering local color and maybe murder. With primo Kevin Spacey.
Wed Jul 21: 9:00
Million Dollar Baby
Clint Eastwood, 2005, USA; 132m
Reviving the boxing picture, Eastwood's heartbreaking father-daughter-bond story between coach (Eastwood) and scrapper (Hilary Swank) reaped Oscar gold.
Sun Jul 25: 1:00
Mystic River
Clint Eastwood, 2003, USA; 137m
Crimes past and present corrode the bonds between childhood Boston friends in this devastating Lehane adaptation starring Oscar-winner Sean Penn. Opening Night NYFF '03.
Fri Jul 23: 6:15
The Outlaw Josey Wales
Clint Eastwood, 1976, USA; 135m
A Missouri farmer (Eastwood) journeys to avenge his murdered wife in this nuanced consideration of community and payback.
Sun Jul 11: 3:45
Wed Jul 14: 1:30
Pale Rider
Clint Eastwood, 1985, USA; 115m
Before Unforgiven, Eastwood rode to the rescue of the Western with this stark tale of a mining monopolist laid low by guess-who.
Fri Jul 9: 2:00
Fri Jul 16: 6:30
A Perfect World
Clint Eastwood, 1993, USA; 130m
This soulful fugitive drama examines the bonds between an enigmatic go-it-aloner (Kevin Costner) and the boy he kidnaps.
Sun Jul 11: 1:00
Tue Jul 20: 1:00
"Piano Blues"
Clint Eastwood, 2003, USA; 85m
Part of PBS's The Blues series, this chronicle of masters from Tatum to Brubeck testifies to Eastwood passions as composer/pianist.
Tue Jul 27: 6:15
Play Misty for Me
Clint Eastwood, USA, 1971; 102m
For his directorial debut, Eastwood went for cracked obsession: a swinging deejay gets stalked by his number-one lady-fan. Featuring a Roberta Flack hit.
WITH
The Beguiled: The Storyteller
Clint Eastwood, USA, 1971; 12m
A rare documentary shot during the making of Don Siegel's The Beguiled.
Sat Jul 10: 6:30
Mon Jul 12: 2:00
The Rookie
Clint Eastwood, 1990, USA; 121m
Charlie Sheen plays the stone-faced protégé to a grizzled cop (Eastwood) determined to stop some German auto thieves and their fast, fast cars.
Mon Jul 19: 4:00 & 8:50
Space Cowboys
Clint Eastwood, 2000, USA; 129m
Four silverback pilots (Eastwood, James Garner, Donald Sutherland, and Tommy Lee Jones) blast into space to save a satellite in this high-spirited adventure.
Fri Jul 23: 3:45
Sat Jul 24: 1:00
Sudden Impact
Clint Eastwood, 1983, USA, 117m
Dirty Harry directs himself for the first time in a no-holds-barred pursuit of an enraged and complex serial killer (Sondra Locke).
Sat Jul 17: 1:00
True Crime
Clint Eastwood, 1999, USA; 127m
A womanizing journalist (Eastwood) sets out to exonerate a death-row inmate (Isaiah Washington). With James Woods and Denis Leary as news editors.
Wed Jul 21: 3:40
Fri Jul 23: 9:00
Unforgiven
Clint Eastwood, 1992, USA; 130m
Eastwood finally won the Best Director Oscar for this devastating dissection of the mythology of violence and retribution so prominent in his films.
Sun Jul 18: 3:15
Mon Jul 19: 6:20
White Hunter, Black Heart
Clint Eastwood, 1990, USA; 114m
In a fictionalized take on the making of The African Queen, a proudly self-destructive filmmaker (Eastwood) almost derails his latest project with his brawling and big-game hunting.
Sun Jul 18: 1:00
SCHEDULE
Friday 9
2:00 Pale Rider
4:30 Honky Tonk Man
7:00 The Eastwood Factor
Saturday 10
2:30 A Fistful of Dollars
6:30 Play Misty for Me + The Beguiled: The Storyteller
9:00 Dirty Harry
Sunday 11
1:00 A Perfect World
3:45 The Outlaw Josey Wales
Monday 12
2:00 Play Misty for Me + The Beguiled: The Storyteller
4:20 High Plains Drifter
6:30 The Eiger Sanction
9:00 High Plains Drifter
Tuesday 13
1:15 Breezy
3:30 The Eiger Sanction
Wednesday 14
1:30 The Outlaw Josey Wales
4:10 The Gauntlet
6:20 Honky Tonk Man
8:45 The Gauntlet
Thursday 15
1:30 For a Few Dollars More
4:10 Dirty Harry
Friday 16
1:30 Bronco Billy
3:50 Firefox
6:30 Pale Rider
8:45 Bronco Billy
Saturday 17
1:00 Sudden Impact
3:20 Firefox
6:00 Bird
9:00 Heartbreak Ridge
Sunday 18
1:00 White Hunter, Black Heart
3:15 Unforgiven
Monday 19
1:00 Bird
4:00 The Rookie
6:20 Unforgiven
8:50 The Rookie
Tuesday 20
1:00 A Perfect World
3:40 Absolute Power
Wednesday 21
1:00 The Bridges of Madison County
3:40 True Crime
6:15 The Bridges of Madison County
9:00 Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Thursday 22
12:30 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
4:00 Escape From Alcatraz
6:15 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
9:35 Escape From Alcatraz
Friday 23
1:30 Blood Work
3:45 Space Cowboys
6:15 Mystic River
9:00 True Crime
Saturday 24
1:00 Space Cowboys
3:30 Absolute Power
6:00 Flags of Our Fathers
8:40 Letters From Iwo Jima
Sunday 25
1:00 Million Dollar Baby
3:30 Changeling
Monday 26
6:00 Flags of Our Fathers
8:40 Letter From Iwo Jima
Tuesday 27
4:00 Gran Torino
6:15 "Piano Blues"
8:40 Invictus
Labels: Clint Eastwood, film society of lincoln center, Walter Reade Theater
