I love films, and I especially love the Detroit Film Theater's varied schedule of new and classic films screened in the beautiful 1920s Art Deco-style movie theater at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Fans of big-screen showings will find even more to love these days at the DFT as the theater recently replaced its 30-year-old screen with a new, high-gain screen that is forty percent larger than the older screen.
I checked out my winter film guide when it showed up in the mail from the DFT and, as always, found plenty of films I'd love to see over the next few months. The season's crop of docs, in particular, looks like it includes more than a few gems.
Here are a few DFT showings that sound especially interesting:
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This season's special events include the area premiere of The Hungry Ghosts, the directorial debut of Detroit 1-8-7 actor Michael Imperioli (January 30). Be sure to stick around after the film when Imperioli appears onstage to discuss his film.
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We saw The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg about ten years ago when the DFT screened that documentary about the Detroit Tiger legendary first baseman and his encounters with anti-Semitism during the 1930s. The DFT's showing of Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story, which includes archival footage and contemporary interviews with players, family, and fans about Greenberg and other Jewish major league baseball players throughout the years promises to be similarly fascinating (January 29 and 30).
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Music fans should enjoy Soundtrack for a Revolution, which tells the story of the American civil rights movement with archival footage and an emphasis on importance of the movement's freedom songs, including new performances of the classic songs by contemporary artists like John Legend, Wyclef Jean, and Joss Stone (February 12).
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Detroit-area residents working to revitalize the city will want to check out successful Hollywood screenwriter Carl Kurlander's story of moving back to his hometown of Pittsburgh and his examination of how that industrial city might reinvent itself in the face of a troubled economy in My Tale of Two Cities (February 26).
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Actor James Franco is receiving plenty of Oscar-related buzz these days with his performance as trapped mountain climber Aron Ralston in 127 Hours, and the DFT, with its knack for picking particularly of-the-moment films, performances, and personalities, presents Franco as poet Alan Ginsberg in a dramatization of the 1957 obscenity trail aimed at his work in the film Howl (January 28-29 and February 4-6).
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Speaking of the Oscars, the DFT presents all of the 2011 Academy Award Nominated Short Films from the animated and live-action categories, offering film fans a chance to see these abbreviated gems that they may never get to see otherwise (February 11-13 and February 18-20).
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I'm not normally a fan of French films, but Queen to Play, a dramatic comedy starring Kevin Kline in his first French-speaking role, sounds like it could be interesting (April 22-24 and April 29-May 1).
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Some of the best bargains of the season can be found in the DFT 101 matinee series schedule, like screenings of silent classics like Buster Keaton's The Cameraman (March 19) and a newly restored version of Russian directing great Sergei Eisenstein's visually and emotionally stunning Battleship Potemkin (March 26). The series also includes the 1957 Oscar Award-winning Lust for Life which features Kirk Douglas in his Oscar Award winning portrayal of the tortured artist Vincent Van Gogh (February 19) and F for Fake, a 1973 quasi-documentary about fakery from director Orson Welles, which reportedly has a bit of a surprise ending (January 15).
The special DFT 101 showings are free with paid Detroit Institute of Arts admission or for DIA members, or for a discount matinee price of $5 otherwise.
The rest of the DFT films generally cost $7.50 ($6.50 for Detroit Institute of Arts members, full-time students), or you can purchase discount pass cards for $30, which are good for five admissions. Some special screenings may cost a bit more.
Check the DFT's full schedule and ticket pricing online.
Most of these flicks aren't available on DVD yet, and great movies are usually best on the big screen. But if you can't get to the DFT for a showing or want to own a film for encore viewing later, some of these films available on DVD include: The Hungry Ghosts, Soundtrack for a Revolution, Howl, Queen to Play, The Cameraman, Battleship Potemkin, Lust for Life, and F for Fake.
© Dominique King 2011 All rights reserved
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