Film Forum Podcasts

THE RED SHOES: “Why do you want to dance?” “Why do you want to live?” Anton Walbrook’s Lermontov is not interested when red-tressed Moira Shearer desperately wants to join his troupe — but then he sees her dance. And then the Red Shoes ballet, based on Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of shoes that dance the wearer to death, will be her triumph. But when she finds romance with composer Marius Goring, it’s the eternal battle between Life and Art. Perhaps the greatest triumph of triply-credited (producers, writers, directors) “The Archers” — aka Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger — following their successive smashes A Matter of Life and Death and Black Narcissus, Powell agreed to film Pressburger’s decade-old script if they could create an original ballet from scratch and cast an actual ballerina in the lead — and then their discovery, 21-year-old non-actress Shearer, took almost a year to make up her mind. With Léonide Massine (actual Ballets Russes choreographer and Nijinsky’s successor as chief soloist) as the troupe’s maître de ballet, and also dancing the role of The Shoemaker; and Sir-to-be Robert Helpmann choreographing everyone else, the 17-minute ballet is a tour de force, its Oscar-winning score produced in record time by Brian Easdale when a predecessor’s attempt was rejected in toto. Shoes would run 110 straight weeks in New York alone; but in recent years, while relatively decent prints have been in circulation, none have come close to the brilliance of Jack Cardiff’s legendary original Technicolor photography. UCLA’s Robert Gitt and team have gone back to the damaged original nitrate materials, including the still-extant three-strip camera negs; his digital restoration led to a negative used to strike this breathtaking new 35mm print. This podcast is a rebroadcast of the recording of the Q & A with THELMA SCHOONMAKER, recorded February 19, 2010, at Film Forum at a screening of the film.

CRAZY HORSE: (aka DÈSIR) Inside Paris’s Crazy Horse cabaret – the most famous nude dance show in the world. Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman explores one of the most mythic and colorful places dedicated to women, the Crazy Horse – a legendary Parisian cabaret club, founded in 1951 by Alain Bernardin. Over the years it has become the Parisian nightlife ‘must’ for visitors, ranking alongside the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. Wiseman’s impeccable eye finds the Crazy Horse a uniquely French showcase, with an emphasis on elegance, perfectionism and a grueling schedule (2 shows a night and 3 on Saturdays, 7 days a week). The film shows us the rehearsals for and the unveiling of the brand new show – Désir – created by the renowned French choreographer Philippe Decouffle. This podcast is a recording of the Q & A with filmmaker FREDERICK WISEMAN, recorded January 18, 2012, during a screening of the film.

KHODORKOVSKY: Mikhail Khodorkovsky was once the richest man in Russia. Today, he’s one of the world’s most famous political prisoners. A story of Shakespearean proportions, The New York Times has reported on Khodorkovsky in both its news and oped pages. Joe Nocera (June 4, 2011) writes: “Over the past six months, I’ve written three columns about Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former Russian oligarch who has been in prison since 2003, charged, tried, convicted — and recently reconvicted — on transparently bogus tax and embezzlement charges… His real crime, after all, was challenging Vladimir Putin, the Russian strongman. More importantly, Khodorkovsky’s fate stands as a powerful illustration of Russia’s biggest problem: the contempt the country’s corrupt rulers have for the rule of law.” Fascinating interviews with Khodorkovsky (sometimes sitting in a glass box in the courtroom), members of his family, and others portray a country transformed from its moribund Communist past to one in which power-hungry politicians are abetted by a corrupt, drunken and cynical younger generation. Stark black and white animated sequences help tell an amazing back-story that plays like a political thriller. This podcast is recording of the Q & A with filmmaker CYRIL TUSCHI & the film subject's son, PAVEL KHODORKOVSKY, recorded November 30, 2011, during a screening of the film.

COLONEL BLIMP: (1943) “The war starts at midnight!” protests throaty, beefy Roger Livesey’s WWII Home Guard Commander Clive Candy, V.C., but that new lot aren’t playing by the rules. Then from the ensuing Turkish bath battle emerges the back-from-the Boer-War 1902 Candy, soon en route to a saber duel with a total stranger, German lieutenant Anton Walbrook (The Red Shoes’ impresario Lermantov), and on to the Great War and to the present, along the way loving three women, all played by 20-year-old Deborah Kerr. Inspired by a scene cut from the Archers’ One of Our Aircraft is Missing (David Lean suggested it could make a film in itself) and by cartoonist David Low’s eponymous caricature of establishment pomposity, Blimp enraged Churchill, who tried to get it banned. A triumph of sumptuous Technicolor photography by Georges Périnal (with assist from the young Jack Cardiff); production design by the great Alfred Junge; undetectable trick work (memorable highlight: the duel in the seemingly cavernous gym); with Walbrook’s four-minute single-shot speech on why he came to Britain, and Livesey’s “I haven’t changed” valedictory. Drastically cut on U.S. release, this is the full-length version, with its ravishing color brought back with the same care lavished on 2009’s Red Shoes restoration. This podcast is recording of the introduction by filmmaker MARTIN SCORSESE and MARGARET BODDE, Executive Director of The Film Foundation, recorded November 18, 2011, during a screening of the film

THE OTHER F WORD: Punk rock dad: an oxymoron? THE OTHER F WORD, with charm and wit, explores the bizarre transformation of punk rockers (featuring Pennywise’s Jim Lindberg, whose anthem is “F--- Authority”) into soccer dads. The L.A. punk scene’s leading men — among them Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Ron Reyes (Black Flag), Mark Hoppus (Blink 182), Tim McIlrath (Rise Against), and Fat Mike (NOFX) — open up about their troubled childhoods and how, today, they balance profane rage with being conscientious parents. “Raucous, eye-opening…and unexpectedly wise. Watching foul-mouthed, colorfully inked musicians attempt to fit themselves into Ward Cleaver’s smoking jacket provides for some consistently hilarious situational comedy… Resonant with anyone (punk or not) who’s stumbled head-first into family life.” — Andrew Barker, Variety This podcast is a recording of the Q & A with one of the subjects of the film, MARK HOPPUS of Blink-182, recorded November 15, 2011, during a screening of the film

THE LOVE WE MAKE: Directed by cinema verité master Albert Maysles (GIMME SHELTER, GREY GARDENS) and Bradley Kaplan, THE LOVE WE MAKE follows Paul McCartney through the streets of New York City in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks as he organizes an all-star benefit concert, The Concert for New York City. On the morning of September 11, 2001 McCartney was in a plane on the tarmac, about to leave NYC when the attacks occurred. Grounded, he returned to the city and witnessed first-hand the shock and devastation that overtook New York. Shooting in beautiful black-and-white (as the Maysles brothers did when they filmed the Beatles in 1964 for WHAT’S HAPPENING! THE BEATLES IN THE USA, their seminal portrait of the group’s first American tour) directors Maysles and Kaplan capture McCartney rehearsing with his band for the concert, connecting with New Yorkers on the streets, and behind-the-scenes at interviews with Dan Rather, Howard Stern and others. The film features performances from the concert itself, with unparalleled access backstage to McCartney and such luminaries as David Bowie, Steve Buscemi, Eric Clapton, President Bill Clinton, Sheryl Crow, Leonardo DiCaprio, Harrison Ford, Mick Jagger, Jay Z, Billy Joel, Elton John, Stella McCartney, Governor George Pataki, Keith Richards, James Taylor, Pete Townshend, and many more. This podcast is a recording of the Q & A with THE LOVE WE MAKE co-directors ALBERT MAYSLES & BRADLEY KAPLAN, recorded November 10, 2011 during a screening of the film

WE CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN: “You can only learn filmmaking by making films” and that’s what Nicholas Ray’s students at Harpur College did for two years, rotating technical assignments and improvising a story line with their director/teacher/star. Conceived as a teaching tool by Ray and his wife Susan, this avant garde and “multi-narrative” film utilizes three, four, or five moving images simultaneously. Shelved and virtually unseen for over 30 years, Susan Ray, wife of the director, in collaboration with the Venice Film Festival, has completely edited and restored it as the director intended, in time for Nick’s centennial year. This podcast is a recording of the Q & A with SUSAN RAY and crew members, recorded October 17, 2011, during the screening of the film

YOU DON'T LIKE THE TRUTH: Canadian Omar Khadr was 15 years old, a child soldier, when he was sent by his militant father to work with the Taliban in Afghanistan, assembling mines in an Al Qaeda compound. In 2002, he was captured by U.S. forces during a raid in which he was severely wounded and an American soldier was killed by a hand grenade. Omar was sent to Guantánamo and given the choice of pleading guilty to this murder and accepting an 8-year sentence, or contesting the charge and facing the possibility of life imprisonment. YOU DON’T LIKE THE TRUTH was culled from seven hours of surveillance material, taken of Omar’s questioning, recently declassified by the Canadians. It is the only interrogation footage from inside Gitmo that has ever been released. The legal, political, and psychological implications of this prisoner’s ordeal are manifold. The film forces us to take responsibility for the strange form of justice that is being meted out in the name of homeland security. This podcast is a recording of the Q & A with YOU DON'T LIKE THE TRUTH filmmakers Luc Côté and Patricio Henriquez, recorded September 28, 2011, during a screening of the film

THE MILL & THE CROSS: What would it be like to step inside a great work of art, have it come alive around you, and even observe the artist as he sketches the very reality you are experiencing? Lech Majewski brings to life Pieter Bruegel’s masterpiece The Way to Calvary, the story of the crucifixion, setting it in 16th century Flanders under brutal Spanish occupation. Rutger Hauer plays the artist, Michael York his patron, and Charlotte Rampling the Virgin Mary. As epic events unfold, bawdy country living continues unabated: couples entwine, musicians play wind instruments, soldiers torment their enemies mercilessly, and children scurry about. Using sophisticated computer technology, the filmmaker creates a brilliantly complex and fascinating multi-layered dreamscape that melds iconic moments in art, history, and religion with the quotidian lives of ordinary people. This podcast is a recording of the Q&A with filmmaker LECH MAJEWSKI, recorded September 14, 2011, during a screening of the film

PAY OR DIE!: (1960, Richard Wilson) Italian-American detective Ernest Borgnine wages a one-man war against “the Black Hand” (forerunner to the Mafia) — his heroics include saving Enrico Caruso from a bomb! — in thriller based on the career of real-life NYC cop Joe Petrosino. This podcast episode is a recording of the introduction to PAY OR DIE! by JAMES LARDNER (Recorded September 11, 2011) during the NYPD FESTIVAL at Film Forum

SERPICO: (1973, Sidney Lumet) Al Pacino’s Frank Serpico flashes back from his beginnings as a naïve, idealistic police recruit to a bearded, hippie-like undercover detective in a relentless mission against corrupt cops. Al’s powerhouse performance vaulted him to the front rank of American actors. This podcast episode is a recording of the introduction to SERPICO by JAMES LARDNER (Recorded September 10, 2011) during the NYPD FESTIVAL at Film Forum

MADIGAN: (1968, Don Siegel) By-the-book commissioner Henry Fonda gives cops Richard Widmark and Harry Guardino just 72 hours to retrieve the hyper, bespectacled killer they let escape. Based on a book that stirred William Bratton to dream of becoming NYC’s police commish. Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive. This podcast episode is a recording of the introduction by former NYPD Commissioner BILL BRATTON, recorded September 6, 2011, at a screening of MADIGAN during the NYPD FESTIVAL at Film Forum

EL BULLI: El Bulli has been called the best restaurant in the world and Ferran Adrià, its creator, deemed a brilliant innovator, the father of molecular gastronomy, or sometimes just a crazy chef. The restaurant, located outside of Barcelona, closes each year for 6 months, as Adrià and staff sequester themselves to concentrate on creating the new culinary wonders that will become their next 30-course menu. (The restaurant accommodates only 50 for dinner, despite two million annual requests for reservations.) This is cooking as avant-garde art: a cocktail composed of hazelnut oil, salt, and water or a dessert of freezedried peppermint and ice shavings. Surrounded by bizarre hi-tech equipment, elaborate containers, chopping blocks and knives, they experiment with making mushroom juice and sweet potato meringue. Gereon Wetzel’s elegant, observational documentary captures the razor-sharp, science-fiction sensibility at work. Adrià exclaims: “The more bewilderment, the better.” This podcast episode is a recording of the Q & A with Saveur magazine founder and author of Ferran: The Inside Story of El Bulli and the Man Who Reinvented Food COLMAN ANDREWS, recorded August 5, at a screening of EL BULLI at Film Forum

EL BULLI: El Bulli has been called the best restaurant in the world and Ferran Adrià, its creator, deemed a brilliant innovator, the father of molecular gastronomy, or sometimes just a crazy chef. The restaurant, located outside of Barcelona, closes each year for 6 months, as Adrià and staff sequester themselves to concentrate on creating the new culinary wonders that will become their next 30-course menu. (The restaurant accommodates only 50 for dinner, despite two million annual requests for reservations.) This is cooking as avant-garde art: a cocktail composed of hazelnut oil, salt, and water or a dessert of freezedried peppermint and ice shavings. Surrounded by bizarre hi-tech equipment, elaborate containers, chopping blocks and knives, they experiment with making mushroom juice and sweet potato meringue. Gereon Wetzel’s elegant, observational documentary captures the razor-sharp, science-fiction sensibility at work. Adrià exclaims: “The more bewilderment, the better.” This podcast episode is a recording of the Q & A with with chef and El Bulli alumnus GEORGE MENDES, recorded July 27, 2011, at a screening of EL BULLI at Film Forum

PASSIONE: Little wonder that PASSIONE, John Turturro’s wild, colorful, sexy ode to the music and people of Naples, was “rapturously received” (Variety) and interrupted by “spontaneous outbreaks of applause” (Sight + Sound Magazine) in Italy, where it played for more than four months (its soundtrack on the charts for five). A brilliant actor in film, theater, and television, Turturro is also the director of three features (including the hilarious, irreverent ROMANCE & CIGARETTES which premiered at Film Forum) and a man whose talents are fueled by an unquenchable zest for life. He describes PASSIONE as “a musical adventure that comes directly out of the people and the volcanic land they inhabit. Conjuring ancient stories and myths that still live -- of love, sex, jealousy, and social protest -- each song is a small screenplay, an emotional postcard. I tried to see if I could understand in a small way, a little bit of the soul of the city, while at the same time killing clichés about it. There are places you go and once is enough. Then there’s Napoli.” This podcast episode is a recording of the Q & A with filmmaker JOHN TURTURRO, recorded June 22, 2011, at the opening night reception at Film Forum