Vilgot Sjöman’s film about a young woman exploring 1960s Sweden and her sexual identity is considered one of the most controversial movies of all time.
Starring Sjöman and Lena Nyman, I Am Curious (Yellow) is a landmark film from and about Swedish society during the sexual revolution. It was seized by customs in the United States, igniting a heated court battle, influencing censorship laws while being banned in numerous cities. You may also remember the film from Don Draper being “scandalized” by it on Mad Men.
In his book, Scandinavian Blue, Jack Stevenson says, “…this film was about more than creative freedom or nudity. It was an experiment in form and content, an attempt to break down the barrier between reality and fiction and a bid to demystify the filmmaking process. It would be a lot of different things all at once; a rumination on modern youth, a take on the state of Swedish society and a check-list of Sjöman’s own personal hang-ups. And not least it was an occasionally poignant story about a confused and conflicted teenage girl who, armed with a tape recorder, youthful indignation and a yen to fantasize, goes out onto the streets to find answers.”
Part of the Nitehawk Naughties SCANDINAVIAN EROTIC CINEMA program.
GRINGO TRAILS takes on one of the most powerful globalizing forces of our time: tourism. On May 9, director Pegi Vail and Melvin Estrella will be in house for a Q&A; on May 10, they will be joined by travel writer Anja Mutic.
Spanning South America, Africa and Asia, the tourist pathway known as the “gringo trail” has facilitated both life-altering adventures and the despoiling of many once virgin environments. The film follows stories along the trail to reveal the complex relationships between colliding cultures: host countries hungry for financial security and the tourists who provide it in their quest for authentic experiences.
SuperTrash presents the dark side of William Shatner in 1974’s IMPULSE.
In Impluse, The Shat perfs a very touchy cat, Matt Stone, a matricide survivor who’s become a honeymoon slayer. Forever cuckoo’ed by his trauma, Shatner plays the role like Hamlet — if Ham was a prism of Sonny Chiba, Robert Goulet, and Dracula‘s Renfield. Impulse is breezy and sleazy, like easy-listening grindhouse with an immaculate 70’s vibe. William Grefe directs exploitation with–shall we say–seriousness, as seen in other Grefe works like Stanley and The Hooked Generation. Perhaps the real-dealio credit belongs to writer Tony Crechales, who was definitely on a psychodrama bender having previously penned The Killing Kind and So Evil, My Sister.
Presenting Impulse is a SuperTrash pleasure for curator-author Jacques Boyreau and designer Joe Niem–with thanks to archivist Scott Moffett. For the curious and cogently unhinged, we include a gallery of SuperTrash legacy, representing museum shows, books, underground cellars, and upcoming web commerce…Pig in and dig out…!
From Olivier Assayas, CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA is an exhilarating, behind-the-scenes look at art, acting and aging.
At the peak of her international career, Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche) is asked to perform in a revival of the play that made her famous twenty years ago. But back then she played the role of Sigrid, an alluring young girl who disarms and eventually drives her boss Helena to suicide. Now she is being asked to step into the other role, that of the older Helena. She departs with her assistant (Kristen Stewart) to rehearse in Sils Maria; a remote region of the Alps. A young Hollywood starlet (Chloë Grace Moretz) with a penchant for scandal is to take on the role of Sigrid, and Maria finds herself on the other side of the mirror, face to face with an ambiguously charming woman who is, in essence, an unsettling reflection of herself.
Find out the intentions of the USSR’s submarine captain as he head for the United States in THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER.
Based on the popular Tom Clancy novel (the first film adaptation), this suspenseful movie tracks Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) as he abandons his orders and heads for the east coast of the United States. Equipped with innovative stealth technology, Ramius’ submarine, “Red October,” is virtually invisible. However, when an American sub briefly detects the Russians’ presence, CIA agent Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) sets out to determine Ramius’ motives, fearing he may launch an attack on the United States.
Part of Nitehawk’s May COLD WAR brunch series.
Rocky Balboa goes to Russia to avenge the death of his friend and make America proud in ROCKY IV. A 35mm presentation!
Rocky IV is an American versus Soviet showdown in the boxing ring! After winning his championship, everyone’s favorite boxer Rocky Balboa is all set to retire and enjoy life with his wife. But after his friend Apollo Creed is killed in the ring by the new Russian boxing sensation Ivan Drago, those plans drastically change. Rocky trains hard once again (in one of the franchise’s best training sequences) and heads to the USSR to avenge the death of his friend in one long, arduous match with Drago. Made while Cold War tensions were high, ROCKY IV shamelessly waves the U.S. flag, but when James Brown sings “Living in America,” you’ll feel like doing the same.
Part of Nitehawk’s INDEPENDENCE DAY celebration!
The Cold War era gets the theatrical spoof treatment in TOP SECRET! A 35mm presentation!
Shhh…The Airplane! crew of Zucker–Abraham-Zucker targets World War II spy and Elvis films (along with nearly every other film genre) in their second spoof feature, Top Secret!. In his debut feature, Val Kilmer stars as the American rock-and-roll idol Nick Rivers who, while on performing in East Germany on a goodwill tour behind the Iron Curtain, falls in love with the daughter of an imprisoned scientist. This leads to his unexpected involvement in an espionage scheme with the French Resistance with Omar Sharif to rescue her father from the German! Cue the gags!
Part of Nitehawk’s May COLD WAR brunch series.
Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, James Earl Jones
Only Kubrick could make a strange, weird, and brilliant black comedy centering around nuclear weapons in the Cold War era that would still resonate more than fifty years after its initial release. Dr. Strangelove tells the story of an unhinged Air Force general Jack Ripper supercede presidential approval to launch a nuclear bomb over the Soviet Union and the room full of politicians and generals trying to stop a nuclear apocalypse. The thing that makes it great is that it’s a comedy, a jet black comedy. And, as with any Kubrick film, it’s best to just see it on the big screen.
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Leonard Nimoy, Veronica Cartwright, Jeff Goldblum
Philip Kaufman’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers is one of two incredible remakes starring Mr. Goldblum. As with its predecessor, the film retains the sense of paranoia as we are shown the horrifying site of the human race being slowly transformed into extinction. Here we have an alien life form from deep space arriving in San Francisco after fleeing their dying planet and, as they begin mutating into other life forms on earth, people begin to wonder what is happening to their friends and family who are now devoid of any familiar characteristics. It seems to be up to Elizabeth Driscoll from the SF health department and her psychiatrist colleague Dr. David Kibner to save the city, or at least themselves and two friends, but you know how bleak these invasion tales go.
Jeff Goldblum forgets his mantra in Woody Allen’s quintessential New York love story ANNIE HALL. A 35mm presentation!
New York neurotic tendencies run rampant in Annie Hall where Woody Allen shows us the beginning, evolvement, and ultimate ending to one couple’s relationship. It’s a deep film with a range of humor (the scenes of Singer’s childhood in Coney Island with his family are particularly funny) that has become a portrait of a 1970s couple who, despite loving each other, can’t make it work. This story, full of laughter and tears, is relatable to any generation and like Allen says, we stick with relationships because, well, we need the eggs.
Jeff Goldblum’s appearance as a Los Angeles cliche at a Hollywood party may be small but it sure is memorable.
Part of Nitehawk’s THE WORKS: JEFF GOLDBLUM (BARELY GOLDBLUM & FULL GOLDBLUM) brunches and midnites throughout May and June!
