Bertolucci Retrospective at Facets

By chicago_chris in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 25, 2004 5:42PM

This week continues Facets' retrospective of the films of Italian great Bernardo Bertolucci. This is a real treat for cineastes because his films are among the most sensual and visually sumptuous ever made and demand to be seen on a big (or Facets' moderately large) screen. Tonight, check out the underrated Besieged, a made-for-TV feature starring Thandie Newton that nicely approximates the dynamics of a silent film. (Another benefit of that feature: Newton doesn't do much talking.)

Also, you can watch the director's most acclaimed work, multiple Oscar winner The Last Emperor, on Saturday. (As strong as Bertolucci's direction is, Chicagoist really loves Emperor for its score by David Byrne and Ryuichi Sakamoto.) But the can't-miss movie of the program comes tomorrow night with The Conformist, one of the best-photographed (and simply best) films ever made. Even better, Facets will show a restored print with a sequence cut out of the American version of the film. With The Conformist inexplicably unavailable on DVD, you should catch this while you can.