Hudson Valley Crucial Viewing March 28-April 10

Happy post-blood moon eclipse/spring equinox week everyone! We’ve finally made it through! Winter is over! (Even though it’s still pretty cold and rainy and grey outside…) Big week for KFF coming up! We’ve got two screenings in the next two weeks (wow!) so you can get your fix of KFF curated cinema twice in one week, if you think you can handle it. Our David Lynch tribute at The Old Dutch Church is looking like it might sell out (wow!) so if you think you’d like to come, reserve a seat here. Or, if that’s not your jam, the second film in our series with Rough Draft is on Monday, April 7th. Let’s get weird with Francis Ford (and come talk to me about Megalopolis, again.) Beyond that, we’ve highlighted a couple other repertory films in the area, but I’d recommend checking the calendars of some of our favorite theaters. We can’t always highlight everything that’s being shown, and Upstate Films in particular has some great repertory series going on right now, including their Elaine May series (which is highlighted down below). Beyond that, if you’re not yet a member of our Popcorn Club, we’d recommend signing up now. In May our membership prices will increase, but you can still sign up now at the reduced price! We’ve got more news coming your way soon, but until then: let’s hear about some movies.

Warren Beatty’s HEAVEN CAN WAIT
Orpheum Theater, Saugerties – opens Friday, March 28, 4:15pm

If you made it out for Elaine May’s A New Leaf and are craving more, this might be the right movie for you. Directed by Warren Beatty with a screenplay adaptation co-written by him and May, Heaven Can Wait is a Trading Places style sports comedy with a divine twist. Beatty plays a young quarterback whose life is taken too early by an overzealous guardian angel. From there, the body-swapping antics begin. Beatty’s original script was written with Muhammad Ali in mind for the lead role. Ali turned it down and Beatty changed the sports angle from boxing to football to better suit his experience. This film falls in line with a number of divine mistake movies, but it especially reminds me of the Pressburger/Powell pic A Matter of Life and Death (which if you haven’t seen, get to it). I’ve always enjoyed Beatty’s films and I think he has a deft touch here with his directing. The film is sweet in the sort of earnest way most sports films are. This is the time of year that I always want to watch movies like this, probably because we’re staring down the barrel of another MLB season. If you’re a fan of sports movies and haven’t seen this one, give it a go. It belongs on the legacy list, in my opinion. (1978, 101min)

David Lynch’s STRAIGHT STORY
Bethany Hall @ The Old Dutch Church, Kingston – Saturday, March 29, 6:30pm

More Lynch! More Lynch! More Lynch! This is the chant I imagine you are all doing right now. Am I wrong? From what I’ve seen at the last few Lynch screenings around the Hudson Valley, I don’t think I am. We’re stoked to be showing Straight Story partially because it, along with (I’d argue, The Elephant Man, feel a bit like Lynch’s forgotten films. Beyond that, though, we also have a lot of love for this film. There’s all sorts of funny oddities about this film. It was distributed by the Walt Disney Company, which is obviously one of the funniest artist-corporation relationships I could possibly imagine. It’s also based on a true story, and Richard Farnsworth, who plays the main character, received an Oscar nod for his performance. It’s definitely a mainstream version of a Lynch film, but that doesn’t mean it lacks the things that make him the filmmaker he is. I think in some ways it’s the movie that speaks the most to Lynch’s relationship to the practice of Transcendental Meditiation. It’s an extremely contemplative movie, at times almost slow, but not in a way that’s distracting, or makes you lose your attention. Lynch’s deep sense of humanity and emotionality comes out here in its most uninhibited state, and I think it’s extremely moving. We’re lucky to be showing it in a larger space, along with our collaborators from Little Rye Bakehouse, who will be slinging pies and coffee for all of you. If you think you’re going to come, give us an RSVP. We can’t wait to watch it with you. (1999, 112min)

Jonathan Frakes’ STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT
Story Screen, Hudson – Saturday, April 5, 8:00pm

Okay, so first things first here: I was not a Star Trek kid. I wanted to be! I watched most of The Original Series when I was probably 12 or 13, but gave up on the journey shortly thereafter, mostly because my mom teased me about it so hard. This, coming from a family of enormous nerds (I say this with love). That said, I was a little nervous to figure out how to write about this movie this week. Star Trek fans can be kind of intense! But ultimately, writing about anything Star Trek is really just appealing to the deep, sci-fi nerd inside of all of us. You kind of get the best of everything here. A 90s imagining of mid-21st century clothing (and I think they might be on the money here…)? Check. Sir Patrick Stewart bringing the most gravitas of all time to a plot that requires him to say “The Borg” approximately once a scene? Check. It’s also Jonathan Frakes’ directorial debut, and you can tell he was just having fun, which always makes a movie ten times better for me. As someone coming into it relatively blind (or with a little bit of background context, like me) it’s still an easy story to dig into, and it keeps you engaged and charmed, like Star Trek tends to. This one really is for the fans, but if you’ve been looking for a way to dip your toes in the water, I honestly don’t think it would be the worst place to start. (1996, 111min)

Francis Ford Coppola’s RUMBLE FISH 
Rough Draft, Kingston – Monday, April 7, 8:00pm

Okay guys, confession time! I have not seen Rumble Fish yet! This will be my first time, and I’m extremely excited. I loved S.E. Hinton’s novels when I was a kid, and I remember very distinctly devouring The Outsiders as a pre-teen and being beyond excited to get my hands on everything else. Rumble Fish was shot back to back with Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of The Outsiders, so it features a majority of the same cast. Rumble Fish is a more experimental adaptation, shot entirely on black and white and utilizing techniques reminiscent of the French New Wave and German Expressionism. The film didn’t come close to breaking even on its nearly $10 million budget, and received confused reviews. I like Coppola the most when he stops caring about the Hollywood system, and Rumble Fish is definitely a part of that legacy. I’m really excited to watch it with you all for the first time. (1983, 94min)

Howard Hawks’ HIS GIRL FRIDAY
Starr Cinema, Rhinebeck – Wednesday, April 9, 7:00pm

His Girl Friday is maybe my favorite film from the first half of the 20th century. It’s got some steep competition, but if we’re judging based on how many times I’ve seen it, and how many people I’ve forced to watch it (or simply recommended it to) I think it takes the cake. Singing in the Rain is a close (very close) second, but this one has a certain je ne sais quoi. Partially it’s Cary Grant’s phenomenal performance as the cocksure newspaper editor, or the truly electric dynamic between him and Rosalind Russell. Maybe it’s the workplace drama of it all. Ultimately, though, I think it’s really the definitive screwball comedy of its time, but you can argue that with me if you’d like. To me it really defines the genre, hitting all of the beats and setting out a formula that you can use to perfectly capture the energy and kineticism that makes the genre so fun. It’s also one of the romantic comedies you can really point to as an inescapable influence on the romcoms of the late 20th and early 21st century. It’s a landmark movie, and its influence is inarguable, whether you like it or not. I think we’ve lost a lot of interest in movies from the early decades of Hollywood, and I get that. They can feel sort of foreign in tone, in pace, in politics. But they’re also important films, and ones that deserve to be revisited and considered. Especially the ones that never really went away, whether you knew it or not. (1940, 92min)