The common trend around the holidays is to re-watch classic seasonal films on video or TV, but Cineplex is somewhat bucking the trend by offering digital screenings of Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life across Canada on the big screen, Dec. 8 and 12.
The 1946 film is a perennial favourite and never missed an appearance on the idiot box each December. Although it’s been released a number of times on DVD – initially as a public domain title, and for the past 3 years via Paramount in fancy-schmancy special editions – families should get a kick out of seeing Capra’s classic in theatres for $5 single admission – just don’t bring the living room chatter into the theatre. You know who those people are. We all wish them coal for Xmas. Lots of it.
And if you’re in Texas Dec. 9th, the Alamo Drafthouse is offering 35mm print screenings of Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) at 8pm, and a 35mm print of Black Christmas (1974) at 10:30pm.
AND in Toronto, The Bloor Cinema is showing Die Hard (1988) Tues. Dec. 14 and Wed. Dec. 15. There is no other Xmas film. Period.
Just uploaded at Rue Morgue is my latest blog regarding the recent screening of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980) at The Revue Cinema, in the second of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers and the cinema’s series Great Cinematographers in Revue.
My blogetorial blather was supposed to be followed by audio clips from the screening’s Q&A with Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown, but the recorded audio wasn’t good, so unless I find a cleansing solution better than Sound Forge, I’ll have a transcript posted next week.
Lastly, I’ve uploaded a pair of interviews regarding horror score releases. Kritzerland continues to bring out rare material within the horror realm, and I’ve an interview with label bigwig/soundtrack producer Bruce Kimmel regarding composer Albert Glasser (Earth vs. the Spider, The Boy and the Pirates, Attack of the Puppet People), as well as a short segment on Hugo Friedhofer’s One-Eyed Jacks (1961), recently released as a 2-disc for which I’ll have film + CD reviews this weekend.
The second interview is with George Fox, co-owner of 2M1 Records. Coming this month on CD is Andy Garfield’s score for Adam Green’s Frozen, one of the best horror films of the year. That release will be followed by a double-bill of Garfield’s Hatchet I and II scores (also on CD). I wonder if Green will produce a what-the-hell-happened-to-my-movie featurette when the latter film hits DVD and Blu-ray, given it was unceremoniously pulled from Canadian and U.S. cinemas within days of its theatrical debut. Truly one of the weirdest moments in film exhibition this year.
And lest I forget, this Sunday Dec. 5, the TIFF Bell Lightbox is screening Phillip Borsos’ The Grey Fox, with a Q&A session after the screening this Sunday, starting at 3:30pm.
Wed. Dec. 8 at 7pm has visual effects whiz Douglas Trumbull giving a 2 hour lecture at the Lightbox on Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, and on Thurs. Dec. 9 at 8pm, he’ll talk for another 2 hours about Blade Runner, after which you can devote another 2.5 hours of your life to the film + Chris Marker’s La Jetee.
See? There's more to December than cookies, shopping, and fat men in white beards chuckling aloud to streetwalkers.
Mark R. Hasan, Editor
KQEK.com
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