Gary Joseph (1950-2012)

(left to right) Seth Shire, TCM Host Robert Osborne and Gary Joseph at the TCM Classic Movies Classic Film Festival Hollywood 2010

Gary Joseph died this past Sunday (October 14, 2012).  He was my very great friend with whom I saw probably 1,000 movies over the course of our friendship, which lasted 26 years.  His death leaves a giant hole.

Many people have friends in their lives that they have known for 26 years, but I will bet few can remember the exact moment that they met these friends.  I can.  I met Gary, appropriately enough, in a movie theatre where we were both taking a film class.  He sat two seats away from me, stuck out his hand and said, “I’m Gary Joseph.”  I did not know it at the time, but a unique and important person had entered my life.  When we met, Gary was 35-years-old with red hair and a red beard.  When he died on Sunday he was 61 and what hair he had left had turned gray.

“Barry Lyndon” at Film Society of Lincoln Center – Digital Presentation – DCP

Ryan O’Neal and Marisa Berenson in Stanley Kubrick’s 1975 masterpiece “Barry Lyndon”

On June 22, 25 and 27 at 12:15, the Film Society of Lincoln Center will present a digitally restored showing of Stanley Kubrick’s 1975 film “Barry Lyndon.”  The presentation will be in DCP (Digital Cinema Package) which is becoming the industry standard for projection of new and classic films.  DCP uses cutting-edge technology to scan 35mm film negatives into digital files and then plays them back, from a computer hard drive, at stunning 2K or 4K resolution. The result is sound and image that rivals or surpasses even the best quality 35mm prints.

I am often asked to name my favorite movie, a formidable question considering how many movies I have seen.  I always come up with the same answer, “Barry Lyndon.”  I first saw “Barry Lyndon” at the age of 13 when my parents took me to see it during its opening week at the Ziegfeld Theatre in Manhattan.  The Ziegfeld, along with the Paris, and thankfully the Film Society’s Walter Reade Theatre, is one of the last of the city’s great single screen movie theatres.  I had never seen a movie like “Barry Lyndon” before and I certainly had never seen a movie theatre like the Ziegfeld.  If you have not seen a movie there, go.

Albert Brooks at Film Society of Lincoln Center

Albert Brooks, who appeared at the Film Society of Lincoln Center on January 8.

Albert Brooks, comedian, actor, writer and movie director appeared at the Film Society of Lincoln Center on Sunday, January 8 to discuss his career.  It was an evening of film clips, stories, anecdotes; an event that presented a varied and comprehensive look at Brooks’ work acting in the films of other directors, including Martin Scorsese, Sidney Lumet, Steven Soderbergh, James L. Brooks (no relation) and others. Brooks was interviewed by Scott Foundas, Associate Program Director for the Film Society.   The event took place at the Walter Reade Theatre.

The Complete Clint Eastwood

From July 9 – 27 The Film Society of Lincoln Center will present “The Complete Clint Eastwood,” a comprehensive retrospective of all films directed by triple threat actor, director, producer, Clint Eastwood. The series will also showcase signature Eastwood performances in films directed by Sergio Leone and Don Siegel. On July 10 Eastwood himself will make a live appearance, via Skype, for a Q&A session following a screening of “A Fistful of Dollars” (1964). On July 9 critic, author and director Richard Schickel will present his documentary “The Eastwood Factor.” After the screening Schickel will sign copies of his book “Clint: A Retrospective.”