MEDIA CONTACT: Judy Moore at (847) 491-4819 or jkm229@northwestern.edu

January 6, 2004

Block Films Feature Taiwan, Hollywood, Kurosawa

EVANSTON --- Block Cinema, a collaboration of Northwestern University’s School of Communication and the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, will screen three new film series for Winter 2004 that focus on modern-day Taiwan, classic Hollywood comedies and film noirs, and films by legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa.

This winter, Block Cinema will screen 35 classic and contemporary films in the James B. Pick and Rosalyn M. Laudati Auditorium, the museum’s 150-seat facility at 40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston campus. The films begin at 8 p.m. or as noted below.

• New Taiwanese Cinema Series. In celebration of a gift of 16 mm prints from the Taiwanese Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago, Block Cinema has curated a series of New Taiwanese Cinema that will be screened Wednesday evenings. With intricately composed shots and focus on community through ensemble casts and long shots, these new Taiwanese films have played a crucial role in critiquing and understanding Taiwan’s history and culture. This Block Cinema series will begin with Edward Yang’s “The Terrorizer” (Jan. 7), an early and seminal example of New Taiwanese Cinema. Other films in this series are Chang Yi’s “Kuei-mei, A Woman” (Jan. 14); Hou Hsiao-hsian’s “Dust in the Wind” (Jan. 21), “City of Sadness” (Jan. 28) and “Good Man, Good Woman” (Feb. 25); Ann Hui’s “Song of the Exile” (Feb. 4); Ang Lee’s “Pushing Hands” (Feb. 10); Huang Shugin’s “Soul of a Painter (Feb. 18); Edward Yang’s 2000 film “Yi Yi” (March 3); and Tsai Ming Ling’s film “What Time Is It There?” (March 10). The series is sponsored by the Center for Global Culture and Communication at Northwestern University.

• Class in Classic Hollywood Series. In conjunction with the “American Expressionism: Art and Social Change, 1920s-1950s” exhibition on view in the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art’s Main Gallery from Jan. 30 to May 9, Block Cinema will present a film series on “Class in Classic Hollywood” on Thursday evenings. The series of class comedies usually affirms the status quo while the film noirs draw attention to the plight of the less fortunate. Among the comedies that Block Cinema will present will be Frank Capra’s 1934 film “It Happened One Night” (Jan. 8), George Cukor’s “Holiday” (Jan. 15) and “The Philadelphia Story” (Jan. 22); John Ford’s “The Grapes of Wrath” (Jan. 29); Preston Sturges “Sullivan’s Travels” (Feb. 5); Orson Welles’ “The Lady from Shanghai” (Feb. 12); Abraham Polonsky’s “Forces of Evil” (Feb. 19); Delmer Daves’ “Destination Tokyo” (Feb. 26); Jules Dassin’s “Night and the City”(March 4); and Herbert J. Biberman’s “Salt of the Earth” (March 11).

• Akira Kurosawa Series. Friday nights, the students of Northwestern’s Film and Projection Society (FPS) have programmed a series of Akira Kurosawa’s movies. One of Japan’s greatest filmmakers, Kurosawa‘s influence on American and European film is difficult to over estimate. Especially influencing the Western with his sense of spectacle and tragedy, Kurosawa made movies of all genres. The scope and scale of his talent make it impossible to recommend just one Kurosawa movie. The Kurosawa series features “Rashomon” (Jan. 9); “Ikiru” (Jan. 16); “The Seven Samurai” (7 p.m. Jan. 23); “Throne of Blood” (Jan. 30); ”Yojimbo” (Feb. 6); “Red Beard” (7 p.m. Feb. 13); “Dersu Uzala” (Feb. 20); “Kagemusha” (Feb. 27); “Ran” (March 5); and “Dreams” (March 12).

Special screenings include three free films -- Guy Maddin’s “Pages From a Virgin’s Dairy” and “The Heart of the World” -- and Joe Grazulis’ 20-minute short feature “Trailers” (Jan. 27).

There also will be a Valentine’s Day showing of Cameron Crowe’s “Say Anything,” starring John Cusack (Feb. 14) and a Reeltime screening of two films -- Conrad Friberg’s 1932 documentary “Halsted Street” and David E. Simpson’s 1999 documentary “Halsted Street, U.S.A.” (7:30 p.m. Feb. 11).

On Feb. 19 there will be a 6:15 p.m. pre-concert screening of D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus’s 1980 film “Elliott Carter at Buffalo” prior to the 7:30 p.m. New Music Northwestern “Elliott Carter 95th Birthday Celebration” concert at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston campus, in honor of the American composer.

In October 1979, Carter arrived in Buffalo to hear a group of first-rate musicians rehearse and perform “Double Concerto,” his complex modern work for piano and harpsichord. “This film is a unique record not only of the making of a concert performance, but an informative look at the collaboration between musicians and a renowned conductor,” said Pennebaker. The free Block Cinema screening will include a pre-concert talk by several of the artists featured in both the film and the Celebration concert. (Single concert ticket prices range from $3.50 to $6.50. For tickets to the Pick-Staiger concert, call (847) 467-4000.)

Herbert Brenon’s 1928 film “Laugh, Clown, Laugh” (Feb. 21) will be presented with an original score and live musical accompaniment by Pinetop Seven, a musical ensemble from Chicago that combines film noir song with exotica style orchestrations. Tickets for this special event are $10.

Block Cinema is generously supported by the Louis Family Foundation and James B. Pick and Rosalyn M. Laudati.

General admission is $6 or $4 for students with identification. Special events are $10. A season pass is $20. Free parking is available in the lot directly south of the Block Museum. For more information about all of the winter screenings, call the Block Cinema Hotline at (847) 491-4000 or go to the Block Cinema Web site at www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu/blockcinema.