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

January 13, 2004

February 2004 Film Calendar

Block Cinema, a collaboration of the School of Communication and the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, 40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston campus, screens classic and contemporary films in the museum’s James B. Pick and Rosalyn M. Laudati Auditorium.

Block Cinema features a series on different themes, directors or countries during each quarter of the academic year. The three main film themes for Winter 2004 focus on works by Japanese director “Akira Kurosawa,” comedies and noir films about “Class in Classic Hollywood” and “New Taiwanese Cinema.”

Block Cinema, in partnership with like-minded groups, brings numerous special and rare screenings to Chicago in addition to its regular schedule. All foreign films are subtitled in English, unless otherwise noted. Detailed descriptions of the films are available in the tri-quarterly Block Cinema calendar and on the new Block Cinema Web site at http://www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu/blockcinema.

Block Cinema is curated by Block Cinema staff and a student group called the Film and Projection Society (FPS).

General admission is $6, or $4 for Northwestern faculty and staff, Block Museum members, students and senior citizens. Special Block Cinema events are $10, unless otherwise noted. A season pass is $20, but does not include admission to special events. Tickets and season passes are available at the door 30 minutes before showtime.

For more information about 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/education/nufilms.html.

FEBRUARY 2004

New Taiwanese Cinema, “Song of the Exile,” 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4 (Ann Hui, 1990, Taiwan, 100 minutes, 16 mm). An ambitious and difficult daughter, Hueyin (Maggie Cheung), returns home to Taiwan from London for her sister’s wedding. Immediately at odds with her mother, Hueyin nonetheless accompanies her on a trip to rural Japan, her mother’s birthplace. A universal story about the tensions between mother and daughter, it is a heartfelt and entertaining lesson in Asian history and cultural difference.

Class in Classic Hollywood, “Sullivan’s Travels,” 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5 (Preston Sturges, 1941, United States, 90 minutes, 35 mm). A film director (Joel McCrea) who wants to make a socially aware movie sets out with only a dime in his pocket to experience life in the real world and understand the common man.

Akira Kurosawa, “Yojimbo,” 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6 (Akira Kurosawa, 1961, Japan, 110 minutes, 35 mm). This film masterfully melds the Western and gangster genres into a samurai movie that in turn became the inspiration for Sergio Leone’s 1964 Italian-made Western “Fistful of Dollars.”

New Taiwanese Cinema, “Pushing Hands,” 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10 (Ang Lee, 1991, Taiwan, 105 minutes, 16 mm). This is a social comedy about a lonely, elderly Taiwanese man who moves to the United States to live with his son, where he discovers he has little in common with his Caucasian daughter-in-law. When a myriad of cultural differences assault his restrained, conservative nature daily, he finds solace and meaning in his mastery of the ancient Chinese art of Tai Chi.

Class in Classic Hollywood, “The Lady from Shanghai,” 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12 (Orson Welles, 1947, United States, 87 minutes, 35 mm). A bizarre tale of lust, greed, adultery and murder that one top film critic described as “the only true film noir comedy.” The ensemble cast includes Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth. Welles not only co-starred in this thriller, he also was the producer, director and co-screenwriter.

Akira Kurosawa, “Red Beard,” 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13 (Akira Kurosawa, 1965, Japan, 199 minutes, 35 mm). “Red Beard” marks a transition in Kurosawa’s career. It was his last black-and-white Cinemascope film and his final collaboration with actor Toshiro Mifune. It tells the story of an arrogant, sheltered medical student who chafes under the direction of a tough but kind rural charity clinic doctor (Mifune) who takes him under his wing.

Valentine’s Day: “Say Anything,” 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14 (Cameron Crowe, 1989, United States, 100 minutes, 16 mm). Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) wants to be a professional kick boxer. He is also head over heels for Diane Court (Ione Skye), the class valedictorian. His best friend Cory (Lili Taylor) explains, there’s no hope. From a decade that gave us more good teen movies than bull market years, “Say Anything” is many a person’s benchmark for how good a boyfriend could be and the movie that taught us to, like Lloyd, “draw the line at seven unreturned phone calls.”

New Taiwanese Cinema, “Soul of a Painter,” 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18 (Huang Shugin, 1994, Taiwan, 130 minutes, 16 mm). Set in the early 1900s, “Soul of a Painter” tells the story of a young, married art student, Yu-liang (Gong Li), who is suddenly faced with a pair of misfortunes that threaten her domestic and professional life -- her school is shut down and she discovers she is unable to have a child. She departs for Paris to study art and becomes Europe’s first successful Chinese female artist.

Special Free Event, “Elliott Carter at Buffalo,” 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19 (D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, 1980, United States, 45 minutes, 16 mm). In 1979, composer Elliott Carter flew to Buffalo, New York, to hear a group of first-rate musicians rehearse and perform “Double Concerto,” his complex work for piano and harpsichord. This film is a unique record of a concert performance and an informative look at the collaboration between musicians and a renowned composer. Several of the artists featured in both the film and the post-screening Celebration concert will be present for discussion. The screening, sponsored by New Music Northwestern, is being held in conjunction with the “Elliott Carter 95th Birthday Celebration” concert at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 19 at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. For concert tickets, which range from $4.50 to $6.50, call Pick-Staiger at (847) 467-4000.

Class in Classic Hollywood, “Force of Evil,” 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19 (Abraham Polonsky, 1948, United States, 78 minutes, 35 mm). This is a well-acted film noir about a big-time racketeer (portrayed by John Garfield) and his brother, who doesn’t want anything to do with him.

Akira Kurosawa, “Dersu Uzala,” 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20 (Akira Kurosawa, 1975, Russia/Japan, 137 minutes, 35 mm). A scraggly hunter rescues a Russian military man in Siberia, triggering an international conflict and a cross-cultural exchange. With a poetic examination of honor, respect and sheer survival, the Oscar-winning “Dersu Uzala” is unmistakably Kurosawa.

Special Event, Pinetop Seven perform live accompaniment to “Laugh, Clown, Laugh,” 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21 (Herbert Brenon, 1928, United States, 73 minutes, 35 mm). In this silent film, Tito Beppo (Lon Chaney) portrays a struggling traveling-show clown, who discovers a young girl (Loretta Young) who has been abandoned by her family. His partner Simon and he take her into their lives and raise her. When the young girl grows into a beautiful woman, Tito, who has been like a father to the girl, struggles with his amorous feelings for her, until a young count asks for her hand in marriage. Brenon’s 1928 film 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. Admission $10.

New Taiwanese Cinema, “Good Man, Good Woman,” 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25 (Hou Hsaio-hsian, 1995, Taiwan, 108 minutes, 35 mm). This complex film tells the stories of two women, played by the same actress, and their tragic love relationships. Hou paints a rich, but dark picture of life in Taiwan, both past and present, to portray the stubborn strength of the human spirit.

Class in Classic Hollywood, “Destination Tokyo,” 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, (Delmer Daves, 1943, United States, 135 minutes, 35 mm). “Destination Tokyo” is a Hollywood war film at its classic best. Cary Grant portrays the crisp, cool Captain Cassidy, with a multi-ethnic crew that tips its hat to American democracy.

Akira Kurosawa, “Kagemusha,” 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27 (Akira Kurosawa, 1980, Japan, 160 minutes, 35 mm). Set in 16th century Japan, “Kagemusha” (which means “shadow warrior”) takes place during the bloody warfare between three clans. It became, at the time, one of the most expensive movies in Japanese history.

REELTIME FILM SERIES

Reeltime is an independent film and video forum jointly sponsored by the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University and the Evanston Public Library in partnership with project directors Andrea Leland, Kathy Berger and Ines Sommer.

The free admission, monthly series of award-winning independent features, documentaries and short-subject videos is held either at the main branch of the Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington Ave., in downtown Evanston, or the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, 40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston campus. Each screening is followed by a discussion between filmmakers and the audience.

Free parking is available on Northwestern’s Evanston campus after 5 p.m. weekdays and all weekend.

For more information, call the Block Museum at (847) 491-4000 or the Evanston Public Library at (847) 866-0300 or visit the museum’s Web site at www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu or the Reeltime Web site at www.reeltimeevanston.org.

Reeltime, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, “Halsted Street” (1932) by Conrad Friberg and “Halsted Street, U.S.A.” (1999) by David E. Simpson, Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art’s Block Cinema. These two fascinating documentaries explore the rich history and cultural geography of a quintessential Chicago thoroughfare. Presented in conjunction with the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art’s exhibition “American Expressionism: Art and Social Change, 1920s-1950s” exhibition on view at the museum from Jan. 30 through May 9, 2004, in the Main Gallery. Filmmaker David E. Simpson and film scholar Chuck Kleinhans will be present for discussion. Admission is free.