Film: Region's series offer treasures for movie buffs

9/18/2010

So much for the second-annual Black Swamp International Film Festival.

With its creators/promoters busy this fall — Rich Iott with an election, Cap Averill II with a new child — Toledo’s October weekend film festival has been put on hold. For now.

Worry not, movie lovers, as there’s still plenty to sate your cinema cravings this fall with familiar film showcases at the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University, and some classic movies from Lyric Photoplay Society and Rave Motion Pictures.

Film Fridays

Imprisonment is the theme of UT’s yearlong Film Fridays movie series, which began in late August.

No worries about what you’ve missed; you can quickly get up to speed this Friday with “The Birdman of Alcatraz” (1962) starring Burt Lancaster as a murderer with an unusual hobby that brings him a measure of recognition and redemption.

OCT. 1: “Scared Straight” (1978). This documentary about inmates being used to “scare” juvenile offenders into being productive citizens caused quite a stir when it was released. Now it’s being parodied on “Saturday Night Live.”

OCT. 29: “First Blood” (1982). Forget John Rambo as patriotic killing machine in the Asian jungles, the original film made him a homeless Vietnam vet who wages war on a small-town sheriff who pushes the former soldier too far.

OCT. 30: “Mrs. Soffel” (1984). Diane Keaton stars as a warden’s wife who finds herself attracted to a prisoner played by a young and not-so-polarizing Mel Gibson.

NOV. 5: “Poison” (1991). Writer-director Todd Haynes (“Far from Heaven, I’m Not There”) intercuts three stories and themes — “Hero,” “Horror,” and “Homo” — each inspired by the novels of Jean Genet.

The Film Fridays are shown at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for Performing Arts Lab Theatre (PA 1039). Admission is free, though $3 donations are welcomed. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/29mvzhj.

BGSU series

BGSU offers three film series this fall at its Gish Film Theater and Gallery in Hanna Hall. Park in Lot A, corner of South College Drive and East Wooster Street, for easy access. The International Film Series features several award-winning films, beginning Thursday with the 2009 Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, Okuribito (“Departures”), (2008) Japan. Director: Y jir Takita.

Also included in the series:

SEPT. 30: “Young T rless,” (1966) Germany. Director: Volker Schl ndorff

OCT. 14: “Sophie Scholl–Die letzten Tage” (“Sophie Scholl: The Final Days”) (2005) Germany. Director: Marc Rothemund.

OCT. 21: “Habla con ella” (“Talk to Her”), (2002) Spain. Director: Pedro Almodovar.

OCT. 28: “Anonyma–Eine Frau in Berlin” (“A Woman in Berlin”) (2008) Germany. Director: Max F rberb ck.

NOV. 4: “Dieci inverni” (“Ten Winters”), (2009) Italy. Director: Valerio Mieli.

NOV. 18: (“Admiral”), (2009) Russia. Director: Andrei Kravchuk.

For those who prefer films with more of a cultural flair, there’s the Tuesdays at the Gish series, which features works by a disparate list of filmmakers including John Waters, Russ Meyers, Howard Hawks, and Academy Award-winner Kathryn Bigelow.

TUESDAY: “Two Thousand Maniacs!” (1964) U.S. Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis.

SEPT. 28: “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” (1965) U.S. Director: Meyer.

OCT. 5: “The Strange Loves of Martha Ivers”, (1946) U.S. Director: Lewis Milestone.

OCT. 19: “NextFrame Film Festival,” (2010) U.S. and International, featuring works from award-winning student filmmakers.

OCT. 26: “D.O.A.,” (1950) U.S. Director: Rudolph Mat .

NOV. 2: “The Thin Man,” (1934), U.S. Director: WS Van Dyke.

NOV. 11: “His Girl Friday,” (1940) U.S. Director: Hawks.

NOV. 16: “Near Dark,” (1987) U.S. Director: Bigelow.

All films in The International Film Series and Tuesdays at the Gish series begin at 7:30 p.m.

And for those who wish to celebrate homegrown talent, check out the Centennial Celebration of Ohio and BGSU Actors. All films are shown at 3 p.m. Sundays and are hosted by Jan Wahl.

TODAY: Two Comic Stars, a salute to BGSU graduate Tim Conway, who was born in Willoughby, Ohio, and Phyllis Diller, from Lima, Ohio. The presentation will feature clips from their film and television work.

OCT. 17: “An Unseen Enemy,” starring Lillian Gish, from Springfield, Ohio, and her younger sister Dorothy, from Dayton, (1912) U.S. Director: D.W. Griffith.

And “The Trip to Bountiful,” also starring Lillian Gish and BGSU alumna Eva Marie Saint, (1953) U.S. Director: Vincent J. Donehue.

OCT. 31: “The Mark of Zorro,” starring Tyrone Power of Cincinnati, (1940) U.S. Director: Rouben Mamoulian.

NOV. 7: “Teacher’s Pet,” starring Doris Day (n e von Kappelhoff), from Cincinnati, and Clark Gable, from Cadiz, Ohio, (1958) U.S. Director: George Seaton.

For more information on these film series, visit http://tinyurl.com/2u4t46b.

Classics

The Lyric Photoplay Society, which is at its new home at the Maumee Indoor Theater, 601 Conant St. in Maumee, has two movie favorites this fall.

NOV. 14: 2:30, 4:30, and 7 p.m. “North By Northwest”. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 classic starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint.

DEC. 12: noon, 2:30, 4:30, and 7 p.m. “White Christmas.” No holiday season is complete without this Bing Crosby, Roosemary Clooney, and Danny Kaye 1954 chestnut.

The Lyric Photoplay Society will be getting into the ghoulish spirit Oct. 30 at the Valentine Theatre, 410 Adams St. in downtown Toledo, as well with its Halloween Thrill Laugh-fest: “Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948), which includes Dracula and the Wolfman, along with the classic “Bride of Frankenstein” (1935) starring Boris Karloff as the monster and Elsa Lanchester as his bride. Showtimes to be announced.

Rave

Rave Motion Pictures has two programs: Cinema Classics at Levis Commons 12, 2005 Hollenbeck Drive in Perrysburg, and the Metropolitan Opera at Fallen Timbers 14, 2300 Village Drive West in Maumee.

Cinema Classics runs 1 p.m. Mondays. Admission is $2. Upcoming showings include “D.O.A.” (Monday), “Vengeance Valley” (Sept. 27), “His Girl Friday” (Oct. 4), “Big Trees” (Oct. 18), and “Africa Screams” (Oct. 25). For more information, call the theater at 419-874-5963.

With the shuttering of the Maumee 18, Metropolitan Opera Live in HD is now shown at Fallen Timbers. The program kicks off at 1 p.m. Oct. 9 with a presentation of Wagner’s “Das Rheingold.” An encore showing is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 27. Tickets are $22 for adults, $20 for seniors, and $15 for children 12 and younger. For more information and a further listing of opera presentations, call the theater at 419-878-3898.

Michigan

The Michigan Theater, 603 East Liberty St. in Ann Arbor, offers a wide range of art-house films, series, and programs. For more information, visit http://tinyurl.com/yrrgjx.

Contact Kirk Baird at:

kbaird@theblade.com

or 419-724-6734.