Results tagged “siskelfilmcenter”

I'm very concerned about the depiction of women on the screen. It's related to their being either high- or low-class concubines, and the only question is when or where they will go to bed, and with whom or how many. There's nothing to do with the dreams of women, or of woman as the dream, nothing to do with the quirky part of her, the wonder of her. I'm sure we could have made a much more successful film if A Woman Under the Influence had depicted Mabel's life as being rougher, more brutal; if it made statements so that people could definitely take sides. But along the way, I'd have to look at myself and say, "Yes, we were successful in creating another horror in the world." I don't know anyone who has had such a terrible time that she doesn't smile ever, that she doesn't have time to love, open her eyes, think about the details of life. Something [wonderful] happens all the time, even at the height of tragedy. I wanted to show that too.

Every man, woman and child in the Chicago-area will probably either go see Public Enemies (and watch for our review tomorrow) or Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen at the movies this weekend, but there are a ton of cinematic alternatives available. Because, you know, there's more to America than murderous gangsters and robots. Such as:

A young man's oafish buddies convince him to take a bus to the countryside and meet them at a college chum's guest house, where "there's lots of booze and delicious barbecue." Of course when he arrives his friends are nowhere to be found; and getting back to Seoul proves to be an unexpectedly tall order. Among the problems he has to contend with are crappy cell phone reception, con artists, and the constant necessity of being polite by accepting drinks from strangers.

Almost sounds like the name of a law firm representing Blago, but no. The Chicago Film Archives is drawing from its impressive collection for a pair of upcoming screenings. The films involved are all rare and extremely worthwhile.

The European Union Film Festival continues at the Siskel through April 2. Here are reports on two more titles.

The European Union Film Festival continues at the Siskel through April 2. Here are reports on two more titles.

Considering the fact that we have pretty much no rules and virtually no limitations on us, we decided to alter the scope of the 'cast this week. In this podcast - one conversation. Just the two of us. One Mr. Rob Christopher and myself, talkin' film festivals. The European Union Film Festival at the Siskel Film Center, that is. Do you find yourself asking, "What the sweet hell is the European Union Film Festival?" Yeah, me too. So we'll all find out together. Step one is Rob's original post, step two is right here.

Running March 6 -- April 2 at the Siskel, the 12th Annual European Union Film Festival includes 59 feature films, all Chicago premieres. No matter what kinds of movies you like, this festival has them. We urge you to check out the full slate. Meanwhile, we'll be reporting on a few of the titles we've seen.

Chicago isn't just a great place to see movies. It's also a great place to be an independent filmmaker. Young filmmakers Joe Swanberg and Andrew Bujalski have a direct honesty at the center of their work; Stephen Cone's films are equally sincere while exploring more unconventional subject matter. The Christians, which enjoyed successful runs at the Siskel, is centered on a small group of devout believers holed up in a Chicago apartment, convinced that the Rapture is imminent. His short Young Wives played at the 2007 LA Shorts Fest. Cone is about to start shooting his next project, In Memoriam: A Comedy. We talked with him about the themes of his work and what it's like to make films in Chicago.

Winter is a damn good time to just sit around and drink coffee and watch movies. Stuff to watch:

How do you know when you've seen a good movie? Try the 13" Test. That is, watch the movie on a 13" TV. If you still like it, if it moves you and thrills you and does all the other things a movie should, then you know it's good.

Barney Rosset is the most famous person you've never heard of. But you've probably heard of some of the authors he's published: Samuel Beckett, D.H Lawrence, Henry Miller, Jean Genet, Malcolm X and William S. Burroughs just to name a few. Born into a wealthy Chicago family, he grew up here in the city and attended the Francis W. Parker School (where one of his classmates was filmmaker Haskell Wexler).

Just when we thought the Siskel Film Center had reached its maximum level of awesome, they've pretty much blown our minds by announcing a month-long Jim Henson retrospective. It runs from November 8 through December 4. It features all the highlights you'd expect (including The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth) as well as a bunch of stuff you won't see anywhere else.

Los Angeles, 1972: Barbi is a bored suburban housewife, frustrated that her blond stud of a husband Rick seems to care more about working at the office than spending time with her. So she reinvents herself as Viva, call girl extraordinaire, and soon finds herself in the middle of some far out adventures, pursued by a nudist hippie, a narcissistic artist, a cynical theatre director and her best friend Sheila's philandering husband. Can she find happiness and fulfillment in the middle of the sexual revolution?

Call us contrarians. One of summer's most delicious pleasures is to be esconced in a cool, darkened theater as we lose ourselves in a movie for a few hours. Or for more than a few hours. The Leopard, screening twice as part of the Siskel's Visconti retrospective, is 185 minutes long, and it's worth every single minute. The experience is especially overwhelming when seen on a big screen.

There is arguably no genre of music littered with more forgotten figures than jazz. When it comes to pop and rock, every neglected album is just a Pitchfork blurb away from reappraisal and appreciation. But in the world of jazz, for every undervalued legend like Jimmy Scott whose work is rediscovered, there are dozens still consigned to near invisibility. Such a singer is Jackie Paris. He toured with Charlie Parker, performed with Lionel Hampton and Charlie Mingus, and even opened for Lenny Bruce. But an erratic recording career and the proverbial string of bad personal choices have ensured his status as a little-known cult figure. 'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris, a new documentary playing in a week-long run at the Siskel, traces the life of the troubled song stylist. Interviewees include Billy Taylor, George Wein, Mark Murphy, and Ruth Price. Incidentally, thanks to the magic of iTunes, several of his albums are now back in print. A casual listen brings to mind Johnny Mathis with a smidge of Jon Hendricks' tone.

Here are some things to do this evening to consider bringing your voter receipt.

The above study in irresponsible parenting, "CARMICHAEL & shane" by Alex Weinress and Rob Carlton, is just one of the finalists to make it into the Chicago Short Film Brigade's Best of 2007 lineup that will be screening tonight at the Gene Siskel Film Center. Thirteen films have been selected from the 52 shorts that were screened in the Short Film Brigade's four 2007 episodes, and one lucky winner will walk away at the end of the night with the $350 Audience Award.

Thanks in part to huge voter turnout partially driven by bonafide grassroots excitement, Barack Obama cruised to victory in Iowa, and is expected to do well again today in New Hampshire. Yet the Siskel Film Center has quietly cancelled screenings of the new documentary Senator Obama Goes To Africa, which were scheduled for later this month. Why? We just told you why.

We're referring of course to the Golden Globes ceremony, which has been axed because of the writer's strike. It was announced today that Instead of the long-winded, smarmy fashion show we've seen in the past, the Sunday NBC telecast will instead be a bare-bones press conference padded out with lotsa clips (all the better to separate the commercials with, my dear). Says Jorge Camara, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association: "We are all very disappointed that our traditional awards ceremony will not take place this year and that millions of viewers worldwide will be deprived of seeing many of their favorite stars celebrating 2007's outstanding achievements in motion pictures and television." Oh, the sacrifice! Yup, we here in the Chicagoist offices are shedding tears right alongside you.

We’re big fans of the Helvetica Typeface here at Chicagoist. It’s everywhere here on our site. But we’re not sure about an 80-minute documentary, Helvetica, celebrating the typeface and it’s proliferation in society. The film is currently being screened at the Gene Siskel Film Center, now through the 20th.

Well, we've been hearing about Looptopia for awhile. A big overnight festival held in the Loop, blah blah. We didn't think too much about it. We pretty much dismiss the Loop after 5 p.m. and give it up for lost on the weekends. Looptopia is obviously working hard to change all that. It's going on this Friday through early Saturday morning and since we're going to be down there, we decided to check out the...

Screening as part of the Sixth Chicago Palestine Film Festival, Leila Khaled, Hijacker is a 58-minute documentary which examines the life of Leila Khaled; as a member of the PFLP she participated in two airplane hijackings in 1969 and 1970. As the first female hijacker, she occupies a disquieting position at the crossroads between feminism and terrorism. She's inspired both revulsion and admiration (songwriter Julian Cope, who composed the song "Like Leila Khaled Said," has remarked that "she was really one of the most beautiful girls in the whole world.")

What a change? We woke up this morning and remembered that occasionally the sky is clear enough that you can see the sun. We have put together some events that are going on around town today so that you can't get out before the wind kicks your ass. As always, feel free to add events in the comments.

"... when people ask me today where I live, I am often tempted to say instead of Chicago, I live on the Internet."

No, we aren't referring to the NSA, or to the Cubs' talent scouts. We here at Chicagoist feel that it's never too early to get into the Halloween spirit. And that's why tonight you'll find us at the wonderful Siskel Film Center for the 6:00 screening of the original 1956 classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It's the next feature in the Tuesday night Fall Lecture Series; this semester the theme is Science Fiction Movies....

This week marks the return of Adventures in Modern Music at the Empty Bottle. Arriving on the heels of the World Music Festival, the five-day event celebrates experimental music like the mash-up dance rock of Brazil’s Tetine, blessed-out head trips of France’s Colleen and Trapist’s space rock. A full lineup is available at the Bottle’s website, but don’t forget to see You’re Gonna Miss Me, a documentary at the Siskel Film Center on the fall...