Cult classic revenge at its sexiest: POINT BLANK.
A 35mm presentation.
John Boorman’s Point Blank is a streamlined, sexy, and slick “give me back my money” crime film. Walter is a ruthless crook betrayed by his partner who leaves him for dead on Alcatraz Island. He survives and returns a couple of years later to get revenge with only one thing in mind: retrieving the rather inconsequential sum of money that was stolen from him. Point Blank is essential crime film viewing.
Part of Nitehawk’s fall CRIME series.
Starring: Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider, Marcel Bozzuffi, Tony Lo Bianco, Eddie Egan
Based on a true story, William Friedkin’s Oscar-winning thriller The French Connection follows two New York City detectives Popeye Doyle and Buddy Russo as they attempt to break a narcotics smuggling ring and ultimately uncover “The French Connection.” But when one of the criminals tried to kill Doyle, he begins a deadly pursuit that takes him far outside the city limits.
A mob assassin tries to set things right in John Woo’s THE KILLER.
A 35mm presentation.
Mob assassin Jeffrey (Chow Yun-Fat) is no ordinary hired gun. He’s the best in his business and he views his chosen profession as a calling rather than simply a job. So, when beautiful nightclub chanteuse Jennie is blinded in the crossfire of his most recent hit, Jeffrey chooses to retire after one last job to pay for his unintended victim’s sight-restoring operation. But when Jeffrey is double-crossed, he reluctantly joins forces with a rogue policeman to make things right.
Part of Nitehawk’s fall CRIME series.
Starring: Ron O’Neal, Carl Lee, Sheila Frazier, Julius Harris
Priest is a suave top-rung Harlem, New York drug Pusher who decides that he wants to get out of his dangerous trade. Working with his reluctant friend he devises a scheme that will allow him make one last big deal and then retire. When a desperate street dealer informs the police of Priest’s activities, Priest is forced into an uncomfortable arrangement with corrupt narcotics officers. Setting his plan in motion, he aims to both leave the business and stick it to the man.
A life re-evaluation ensues when the BAD LIEUTENANT investigates a rape charge.
A 35mm presentation.
Harvey Keitel is the Lieutenant, a corrupt cop steeped in gambling debt who exploits his authority to sexually harass teenage girls, embezzle money and abuse drugs. His troubles come to a head when a mob lackey delivers an ultimatum: pay off his debt, or else. His fate appears sealed but when he learns that a $50,000 reward is being offered to whoever catches a pair of thugs who raped a nun, he jumps at the opportunity, hoping that he can still redeem himself.
Part of Nitehawk’s fall CRIME series.
Cops, yakuza and ICHI THE KILLER.
Welcome to a world where violence is a virtue and depravity is a way of life in the underside of Shinjuku, the home of Kakihara, a sadistic yakuza killer. He relentlessly tears apart the underworld searching for the man who killed his boss. The mastermind behind the plot is Jijii, an ex-cop bent on turning the gangsters of Japan against one another. His trump card is a physically powerful lunatic who is constantly on the verge of snapping. This madman is Ichi the Killer, and between him and Kakihara, the streets will run red with blood.
Part of Nitehawk’s fall CRIME series.
The future is here.
George Lucas’ THX 1138 depicts a dystopian future light-years from the far-flung, heroic mythologies that the young director would later explore in Star Wars. Stark and austere, the striking visual wasteland of Lucas’ faceless future floundered in its original release at the box office – but later gained traction among cult audiences and critics. The chilling exploration of a soulless future remains a compelling examination of the present, as it follows one man’s harrowing attempt to escape a world where thoughts are controlled, freedom is forbidden and love is the ultimate crime.
Part of Nitehawk’s September FUTURE COPS midnite series.
Starring: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Kurtwood Smith, Ray Wise, Miguel Ferrer, Dan O’Herlihy
In the not-so-distant future, a fatally wounded cop comes back to life as part-robot in a dystopian Detroit to fight crime and find his killers. As with any Paul Verhoeven film, RoboCop has a certain “quality” to it. At once campy yet serious, this film is a mix of science-fiction, crime thriller, action, and black comedy. In this very Nietschean tale of being “more human than human”, Robocop (Peter Weller) struggles with his new role as an indestructible being who still can’t escape the emotional past. I mean, what good is being part robot if your human side (with all the love and revenge involved) keeps getting in the way? The socio-political reach of RoboCop is wide too as it comments on everything from the media, capitalism, gentrification, and gender issues. Plus, it’s a blaaaaaast!
Stop by the New Amsterdam Theatre circa November 20, 1974, for this month’s DEUCE presentation of Ivan Passer’s LAW AND DISORDER – starring Carroll O’Connor and Ernest Borgnine!
Plus: Prizes and surprises, Fernet-Branca cocktails featured at the after-party, and music by Maestro Jeff! Presented by THE DEUCE JOCKEYS: Jeff, Andy, and Joe!
Nitehawk’s MUSIC DRIVEN presents a screening of BREAKING A MONSTER.
Q&A with director Luke Meyer, and Unlocking The Truth band members Jarad Dawkins and Malcom Brickhouse.
Breaking a Monster begins as the band members of Unlocking The Truth are all in 7th grade, spending their weekends playing metal music in Times Square – often to substantial crowds. They take on a 70-year-old industry veteran manager. With his guidance they are soon on their way to a $1.8M record deal with Sony Music.
Anything feels possible, and the eyes of the world are upon them. The boys are coming of age, not only as they become professional musicians, but also as they transcend childhood and step into adulthood. The sudden breakout of any band, let alone one of pre-teens, is an extremely narrow and specific period in time – Breaking a Monster is the story of this rapid transformation.
