“The Good the Bad and the Ugly” returns to Film Forum, August 29 – September 4

Eli Wallach and Clint Eastwood in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” (1966)

Back by popular demand, following sold out screenings at its recent “Spaghetti Westerns” series, Film Forum presents director Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Western masterpiece “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” (1966) in a restored DCP (Digital Cinema Package) version.   TGTBTU will run from August 29 – September 4.

If you have not seen TGTBTU on the big screen all I can say is “go.”  It is tremendous fun and one of my favorite movies.  Plus, Film Forum’s screening is a rare opportunity to experience it under ideal circumstances.  DCP means is that TGTBTU will be screened in high definition video, projected from a hard drive, as opposed to a traditional 35mm film print.

“On Cinema: Alexander Payne” at New York Film Festival

Director Alexander Payne

On October 15 the New York Film Festival presented “On Cinema: Alexander Payne,” in which the director (“Election,” “About Schmidt,” “Sideways” and the soon to be released “The Descendants”) talked about influential films in his life.  The event was sponsored by HBO, moderated by NYFF Selection Committee Chairman Richard Pena and took place in the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater.

Payne proved to be an affable, frank and intelligent subject who frequently turned Pena’s questions around, playfully shooting them back at his interviewer.  Interspersed throughout the talk, Payne showed clips from four influential films: Anthony Mann’s “The Naked Spur,” Michelangelo Antonioni’s “La Notte,” Martin Scorsese’s “Casino” and Akira Kurosawa’s “Red Beard.”  Payne also brought a 16m print of an early film by director Carroll Ballard, “The Perils of Priscilla,” a lively, imaginative short which showed the world from the point of view of an abandoned house cat.  Payne said it was one of the best movies ever made.

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.”