No. 51
Fans of China’s “first” golden film era (1922 to 1937) can take in a silent version of The Pearl Necklace. Devotees of the Russian director Grigori Kozintsev can see his 1957 interpretation of Don Quixote. Fred Kelemen fanatics can enjoy Fallen, the German indie auteur’s latest. And that’s just on Thursday, December 22. Also playing that day:
The Grace Lee Project, an Asian-American autobiographical indie about women named Grace Lee (Film Forum).
Electric Shadows, a Chinese film from first-time filmmaker Xiao Jiang, about a movie buff during the Cultural Revolution (ImaginAsian Theater).
Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Tommy Lee Jones’s Cannes prize winner (Sunshine Cinema).
Baby, a six-minute 1954 short by documentarian D. A. Pennebaker in which he follows his daughter Stacy around the Central Park Zoo (IFC).
The Constant Gardener and Broken Flowers, reemerging just in time for the Oscar run-up (Quad).
The Power of Nightmares, a three-episode, three-hour-long anti-Bush BBC series (Cinema Village).
Pygmalion (the 1938 basis for My Fair Lady) and The Sea Wolf (Michael Curtiz’s 1941 Jack London adaptation) are featured in a series curated by Stephen Sondheim (MoMA).
The Syrian Bride, an Israeli film about an altar-bound bride trapped in the no-man’s-land between Israel and Syria (Makor).
The Pearl Necklace, a 1926 Chinese silent adaptation of a classic Guy de Maupassant short story, and Swordswoman of Huangjiang, VI, a popular 1931 genre film about a woman warrior (MoMA).
North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Secret Agent (Film Forum).
The Shining (BAM).Don Quixote, Russian director Grigori Kozintsev’s 1957 adaptation (Film Society of Lincoln Center).
Rashomon and Seven Samurai, an Akira Kurosawa double feature (Two Boots Pioneer Theater).
Fallen, Fred Kelemen’s dark indie about a quiet man who walks past a woman about to commit suicide, doesn’t stop to help her, and must live with the guilt (Anthology Film Archives).
Meet Me in St. Louis, the Judy Garland musical, as part of the gay-friendly “Chelsea Classics” series (Clearview Chelsea Cinemas). Next: Because You Can Get a Nice Plate of…