Friday night tights 2
On a Friday night, one guy puts on his tights. Directed, written, produced, edited by: Joonki Park A winner in the Canadian Film Centre‘s “Shorts Nonstop” competition. Thank you, Ian Birnie, for the share.
Koehler on Cinema: Kubrick’s Last Movie
“Stanley Kubrick,” LACMA’s enormous exhibition devoted to the influential filmmaker, which closes June 30 for its only American stop, is essential viewing. The reasons why go beyond the show’s palpably physical survey of the life and work of one of the most important directors since World War II. It provides the viewer with an entirely ...
LACMA’s last picture show: Ozu’s “Late Autumn” on July 30 2
Jul
21
2011
There are still several wonderful films between now and then, but for your calendar’s purposes, one date stands out. The final screening of LACMA’s weekend classic film program, begun 41 years ago and overseen by Ian Birnie for the last 15, features Yasujiro Ozu’s “Late Autumn” (1962). That’s on Saturday, July 30, 2011. In his ...
Wicked comedy by Lubitsch at LACMA 1
Jul
16
2011
It was pure pleasure, in the waning days of the LACMA weekend classic film series, as curator Ian Birnie trotted out yet another sublime film pairing, this time a comedy duo: the first film, Preston Sturges’ social commentary/classic, “Sullivan’s Travels,” topped by Ernst Lubitsch’s insane, zany, perfectly scripted, outrageous and brilliant “To Be or Not ...
Celebrating classic film at LACMA 1
Jul
10
2011
We spun in classic film heaven at LACMA this weekend. The first installment of curator Ian Birnie’s final series — his last picture show — which is devoted to “audience favorites,” offered four stellar international films — one, each, by directors from Germany (Murnau), the U.K. (Powell/Pressburger), again Germany via France (Ophuls) and Italy (Antonioni). ...
Ah, Ian. Ian Birnie’s swan song @ LACMA this month 1
Jul
1
2011
It’s a sad and bittersweet moment. We’re down to the last weekend film series curated by LACMA’s great film department head, Ian Birnie. The 41-year old program, a landmark of high cinephilic culture, is giving way to a new structure, delivered in tandem with Film Independent and headed by the film critic Elvis Mitchell. There ...
BREAKING NEWS: LACMA announces new film program
This just in from the museum: “Los Angeles (April 6, 2011)—The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) announced today that it has entered into a partnership with Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival. LACMA and Film Independent will inaugurate the new weekly Film ...
La belle Catherine … Deneuve
Mar
9
2011
The film goddess Catherine Deneuve, at 66 larger than life, still impossibly beautiful, and emanating the off-putting mix of power and femininity that characterizes French women (and intimidates me!), received the audience’s full adulation in a personal appearance tonight at LACMA’s Bing Theater. Fittingly, today is International Women’s Day. Et quelle femme! We’d just watched ...
Catherine la Grande: Deneuve in person at LACMA 1
Mar
6
2011
Preparing to see Catherine Deneuve appear in person in conjunction with a screening of “Potiche,” her new film directed by François Ozon, we swung by the museum late Friday night to see Roman Polanski’s “Repulsion” . . . a perfect movie. Ian Birnie, film curator responsible for the museum’s Deneuve retrospective, shares his view on ...
“Scarecrow” cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond @ LACMA
Jan
23
2011
Following a double bill at LACMA so soulful and affecting that the feeling was beatific [“Electra Glide in Blue” & “Scarecrow” both from 1973], the museum hosted the great cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond for a talk. Zsigmond, in tandem with his compatriot Laszlo Kovacs, introduced a palette of mittel European muted natural light to Hollywood. According to ...