The Rich Films of Vincente Minnelli at BAM

Anyone who is sick of going to the movies just to watch a DVD projected on to a bigger screen should rush over to BAM in Brooklyn for the last two weeks of their retrospective on one of the master directors in film, Vincente Minnelli. Its hard to control the want to take every night off and go see the sweeping scenes, the crisp close ups, the wonderful almost undecided camera movements of this Director. This is what film is all about. The richness of these movies makes one feel pulled into the screen not pushed away from it like the flat BLU-RAY and CGI films of today. So much has been missed already this fall. BAM has been sprinkling his films over their calender for the last two months and in Oct. has shown New York a full taste of his genius. What is left? Plenty! Lets start with "A Matter of Time" with Ingrid Bergman, Liza Minnelli (Yes she is his daughter), and Charles Boyer. This rarely-shown film was Vincente's last and BAM has brought to us a Swiss Film Archive print with an extra sequence. Shot in Italy this is the story of a once vibrant countess that had many love affairs and was a muse to artists. Minnelli's films have a protagonist that want to bend and shape the world to their liking just to find out that the world is the one doing the shaping of peoples lives. This theme is repeated in most of his work. BAM does touch on his more serious work with "The 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse" and "The Seventh Sin." The "4 Horseman" is about a family that is on both sides of WW2. And "Sin" is about a adulterous doctor’s wife set in China during cholera epidemic. This is a remake of "The Painted Veil" that had Greta Garbo as the wife that wanted change and excitement. Minnelli was brought into this film mid-production and had only to finish a few scenes, but his touches made it the passionate piece of cinema it is. On a lighter note, Vincente was well known for his Comedy and Musicals. Showing soon is one of his best comedy's "The Reluctant Debutante." Made in 1958 this is a story of a father and mother that want to bring their daughter into society, but all she wants is the love of a young drummer. Lets just say he does not fit the bill her parents had written for her. With Rex Harrison, Kay Kendall, and Sandra Dee its not hard to poke fun at the upper crust. Fun is fun and what is more fun then a good musical. Those who do not like these type of film may have never seen Minnelli's efforts in the medium. With most of the retrospective over there are still some of his best musically based films left to see. "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" is a Streisand picture made when she was young and still had a talent for elaborate parts. Like the one in this film about a woman from Brooklyn that goes a little wacky after being hypnotized. Also there is Judy Holliday's last film that is a laugh riot with Dean Martin in the mix, "Bells Are Ringing." One can not forget "Gigi" witch earned Nine Oscars including Best Director for Minnelli and Best Picture for 1958! Last but not least is "Brigadoon." This is one of the best Musicals ever made and has a lovely story played out by Gene Kelly in one of his best performances. Here he slips into the land of Brigadoon and falls in love. Fantasy and reality fight for dominance in this film. The viewer is picked up and set down in the mind of the director that spent his life going back and forth from the fantasy of Hollywood pictures and the reality that we all live in everyday.

Fritz Lang's Metropolis with Sci-Fi Giveaways!!

Witness a NYC Sci-Fi event this weekend at the Sunshine Cinemas. Come Downtown for "Metropolis" by Fritz Lang. This tale of the future is one of Lang's early German Expressionist films he did before being pushed to move to America during the War, where he mostly made Pulp films. (The Big Heat (1953), While the City Sleeps (1956)) This is the 1984 version of "Metropolis" with Giorgio Moroder's pop-rock soundtrack. Found footage that was cut for the original 1927 Science Fiction Classic is added to this to make it 80 minutes long. On Friday and Saturday night this silent Sci-Fi, the most expensive silent film ever made, is showing at Midnight. As with most Sci-Fi Films the Sunshine Cinemas has some giveaways for those who love all things Science Fiction. So Spend some time this weekend looking to the future to a mega-city and explore the concept of humans abusing technology. http://www.landmarktheatres.com/market/newyork/sunshinecinema.htm
Sunshine Cinema
143 East Houston Street, between 2nd and 1st Ave.
New York, NY 10002
(212) 260-7289
http://nycyouarehere.blogspot.com/2011/02/while-city-sleeps-with-fritz-lang-at.html

Lyonel Feininger at the Whitney One More Week!

The Whitney Museum of American Art is showcasing a New York born artist that moved to Germany and was a leading force in German Expressionism and the Bauhaus. Lyonel Feininger spent fifty years of his life in Germany before the Nazi's dislike of Modern Art made him come home to the Big Apple. Feininger started out as a Cartoonist before taking his characters to new places with Cubism and other forms of Expressionism. This retrospective is all encompassing. Its not just the paintings he is none for of architecture, street scenes and fractured seascapes. Here there are beautiful examples in watercolor and oil, and small wood block prints made of the tops of Cigar boxes when painting supplies became scarce during the war. Along with a small group of the early cartoons. Also a room full of hand-carved wooden figures and buildings, little sculptures of his world, his city, only known as City at the Edge of the World. Now for a small fee one can drift into this world uptown on 75Th Street.


Whitney Museum of American Art
945 Madison Avenue at 75Th Street
New York, NY 10021
General Information: (212) 570-3600
info@whitney.org


General admission: $18
Ages 19–25: $12
Ages 62 and over: $12
Full-time students: $12
Ages 18 and under: FREE
Admission is pay-what-you-wish on Fridays, 6–9 pm

Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods

Now a days people are looking for a way to make everyday meals healthier. It is nice to know that there are some companies that have had the same mantra for over thirty years. Bob's Red Mill has been a leader in bringing good people "natural foods in the natural way". This mill outside of Portland Organ is a stone grinding miller of whole grains. Up there in the north west Bob and his family have been the leader in whole grain products, from flours and hot cereals to baking mixes and grains. From rolled oats and Muesli to flax seed and wheat germ. Bobs has everything, beans, soup and bread mixes, even baking soda. They have more then 400 products that are made from raw ingredients that are sourced from farmers throughout the United States and Canada. Not only do they have 50 different certified organic products, they also have a line of certified gluten free products. Then on top of that all of their products are certified Kosher by a Rabbi. The letters GMO have been out of the papers lately, but Genetically Modified Organism's are not real food. The Red Mills products come from identity preserved seeds. Bob's can not say the same for it neighbors and because of wind drift cross pollination their products don't carry a GMO-free label. So all this means that Bob uses real seed to make real food the way nature intended. Now in their search to "provide our customers with something that is fully nutritious and delightful to eat,” they have brought out two Hemp products. Bob's Hulled Hemp Seed and Hemp Protein Powder are made from “One of nature’s most perfect foods.” How is Hemp good for you? Well, our bodies use proteins called Amino acids. These Amino acids are important to muscle tissue and a healthy immune system. All in all hemp has twenty known Amino Acids, ten that our bodies cannot produce by themselves. Like most of Bob's products these can be added to smoothies and sprinkled over cereal, or used in baking. No need to go far to find Bob's meals and cereals. They are carried in many health food stores and groceries. One can also put in a order online. They internationally ship UPS or in the US through the postal service. One can even ship some whole grains to military addresses out of the US. If you want to start to eat better with less toxins in your everyday diet then try Bob's Red Mills natural foods.

http://www.bobsredmill.com/

Coming Apart at the BAM in Brooklyn

When a film is shot entirely in one room It makes an entertaining plot. Some of these films are very good and have edge of your seat thrills almost all brought out with just a few actors and great Dialogue. Look at "12 angry men" about a jury's decision or Hitchcock's "Rear Window", and "Rope." Also there is the Film "Sleuth," starring Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier where the whole plot is based on words. One could call this a "Plot Device." Using this one room scenario even great comedy can be achieved like in Kevin Smith's "Clerks." This week BAM is screening a one room film called "Coming Apart." Based in New York and on a kind of a true story about moving into the same building as your ex and their new lover. This film in very lets say.. interesting. This is concerted an "60s independent classic" shot for around $60 thousand dollars. The infamous Rip Torn, plays Psychiatrist Joe Glazer, a man that has chosen to "Come Apart" and film it with a hidden camera and some well placed mirrors. This breakdown leaves some with a strange feeling of dislike and others saying they loved it. A film one has to see first before makeing a dissection on if it's just over the top or under the skin.

Tue, Aug 23 at 4:30, 6:50*, 9:30pm
*Intro by Milton Moses Ginsberg

Forbidden Planet Sci-Fi Event at Midnight!

Witness a NYC Sci-fi event this weekend at the Sunshine Cinemas. "Forbidden Planet" the 1956 Classic Science Fiction Film is on the big screen for two night's at midnight. Tonight Friday the 19Th and tomorrow Saturday the 20Th the men of Earth go into deep space for the first time. This film was the first Sci-Fi film to take men into the stars. Starring the young Leslie Nielsen, and Anne Francis, Forbidden Planet gives us everything a unearthly film should have. With space travel, strange worlds and of course robots. Well one robot. "Robby the Robot" was one of the first movie robots to have a personality and can do some pretty neat tricks. Come one and all so see what Sci-Fi is all about in the LES this weekend. What else do you have to do late night? To make this an extra special event the Sunshine Cinema has brought together the city's leaders in Cult and Collectibles. Kim's Video has teamed up with the Cinema with giveaways and coupons. And "Forbidden Planet" the Comic store has also stepped up with coupons for all who love Sci-fi. Its not everyday that one can go out into the nether regions of space and back in one night. So get downtown and out of Earth's atmosphere with "Forbidden Planet" this weekend!!

Mostly Mozart Festival At the Lincoln Center

It is that time of year again when the Lincoln Center has their Mostly Mozart Festival. This year they are putting focus on Mozart naturally, but also on Igor Stravinsky a modern composer known for his work in the 30's and 40's. Featuring a film of the 1966 CBS News Special on Stravinsky, along with a screening of Stravinsky himself conducting the Symphony of Psalms in Hungary. This year there are musical offerings with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra and special guest Conductors, Pianist, Soprano's, and much more. One can enjoy an All-Mozart Program with Iván Fischer conducting and the lovely soprano Lucy Crowe, on Tue. the 9th and Wed. the 10th. Then there is a night of music where Mozart shares the stage with Haydn lead by the French conductor Jérémie Rhorer. The French pianist Bertrand Chamayou will also perform Mozart's Piano Concerto No.12 in A major, on Tue. the 23rd and Wed. the 24th. There will be more programs with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra on the weekends through August. Then come the Quartet's with nights filled with music from the Takács Quartet and Emerson String Quartet. There will also be dance and even an Opera. Don Giovanni, "Mozart’s most haunting opera" will be on stage several times this month. Along with these big events there will be smaller shows under the New York sky in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse. These start late at 10:30pm and will be intimate little gatherings. So get ready for some Mozart this August through the 27th at the Lincoln Center.