Hudson Valley Crucial Viewing - February 1-15

Author

Brian Whitney
January 31, 2024

Hello, friends! Welcome to issue number three of Hudson Valley Crucial Viewing. The first half of February looks lean for classic cinema up here, but there are a few nice viewing options, including a free screening of Citizen Kane, and a couple of worthy offerings at Starr Cinema in Rhinebeck.

Before we get into that, though, let’s talk about Kingston Film Foundation. What was once a solo endeavor (culturebarren) is now a group in the process of establishing itself as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We’re planning some fun screenings this year in Kingston.

We’re kicking all this off with an exciting FREE series in March at Headstone Gallery in Uptown called Movies About Movies. Here are the details:

We’re pretty excited to see these three films, and to see all of you out there! Now let’s take a look at…

Orson Welles' CITIZEN KANE
Bardavon 1869 Opera House, Poughkeepsie – Thursday, February 1, 7:30pm

The grandfather of American cinema? Maybe. The greatest movie ever made? Orson Welles didn't seem to think so. Whatever you think, it's a film worth seeing on the big screen, and it's FREE! This kicks off the 2024 Bardavon film series, featuring twelve free movies between February and June. Plus the hour before the film is happy hour, with half priced beer and wine, and there's a free 30 minute concert on the Bardavon Wurlitzer organ before the film. Has all the makings of an excellent Thursday. (Editor's note: your humble narrator is the film programmer at the Bardavon. Direct your cheers and/or jeers here.) (1941, 119min)

Alfred Hitchcock’s NOTORIOUS
Time and Space Limited, Hudson – Saturday, February 3, 3:00pm

A newly restored 4K version of Hitchcock’s classic anguished love story between American spy Cary Grant and daughter-of-a-Nazi-war-criminal Ingrid Bergman. The content is certainly different than Hitchcock’s later work- it’s a romance, first and foremost- but his skill as a visual storyteller is evident here. Not to be confused with the 2009 Notorious BIG biopic, just in case you got this far and were still wondering. (1946, 101min)

Lloyd Bacon's 42ND STREET
Rosendale Theatre, Rosendale – Thursday, February 8, 7:00pm

When Stephin Merritt sang about Busby Berkeley dreams, this is what he was talking about. A pre-code musical choreographed by the notorious Busby himself, featuring the dancing skills of a young Ginger Rogers. Both a wild surreal choreographed musical and a realistic nod to the truths of trying to survive in the entertainment industry during the Great Depression. A lot of tropes that would show up in subsequent films start here. (1933, 79min)

Robert Altman's NASHVILLE
with actor/composer Allan Nicholls
Starr Cinema, Rhinebeck – Sunday, February 11, 11:00am

Multiple storylines, an hour's worth of musical numbers, and twenty-four main characters! The 1970s were really something for epic American cinema. A satirical musical comedy-drama that follows various people involved in the country and gospel music industry in Nashville over the five-day period leading up to a gala concert for a populist outsider running for president on the Replacement Party ticket."Probably the quintessential film about the overwhelming forces at the intersection of American art, industry and politics, and the people who try their best to live inside them."  Actor Allan Nicholls, who appears in the film as one third of the folk group/love triangle Bill, Mary, and Tom, also appears in person at this screening. An early one but worth your time. (1975, 160min)

Tran Anh Hung's THE TASTE OF THINGS
Starr Cinema, Rhinebeck – Opens February 14

Is Juliette Binoche the greatest living actor? Some of us (me) think so, and here she is as a chef, in a tender romance with a restaurant owner played by Benoit Magimel, Binoche's real life ex-husband. Spicy! If you like food movies like Big Night or Babette's Feast, this should be right up your alley. And it opens on Valentine's Day, no less! Tran Anh Hung won best director at Cannes for this one. Looks like a winner. (2023, 135min)

Theodore Witcher's LOVE JONES
Starr Cinema, Rhinebeck – Wednesday, February 14, 7:30pm

"Romance is about the possibility of the thing." Spend Valentine’s Day with a stylish romance that’s a little bit mundane and a little bit extraordinary, with a great, eclectic soundtrack. Often cited as one of the prime examples of Hollywood failing Black filmmakers, as Witcher was never given the opportunity to direct another film. “Every single leather jacket in Chicago was sourced for this movie.” Presented with Upstate Color. (1997, 108min)