' ' Cinema Romantico: Double Feature Theater

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Double Feature Theater


Today Marc of Go, See, Talk is spearheading a brilliant blogathon in which we are to imagine ourselves as movie theater owners and then set up a week's schedule of double features, with Sunday being our special triple feature. Believe me, back in the days when I used to manage a movie theater (which was really just a multiplex) I would fantasize about what I'd run all week in Theater 16 where they'd shove all the movies that had been around forever.

Alas, I was never given the chance. Now my dream has come true!

Monday: "The Big Sleep" / "To Have And Have Not." The totality of the first film combined with about the first 40 minutes of the second film might just make for the most sheerly watchable 155 minutes in the history of cinema.


Tuesday: "Before Sunrise" / "Quiet City". My theater could follow-up the young Jesse and Celine with the old Jesse and Celine, but thought it would instead be best to continue re-living our youth and serve up a much less talky companion piece subsituting Park Slope for Vienna. (Note: If you didn't know, the still in my blog header is taken from "Quiet City." Thought I'd mention it.)

 
Wednesday: "Ruby In Paradise" / "Sunshine State". Two underseen indie gems that show the Florida you don't necessarily see in the postcards. The former contains the best performance of Ashley Judd's life. The latter is John Sayles' best film.
 
 
 
Thursday: "Roxanne" / "Bowfinger." When you're alone and life is making you lonely you can always......watch "Roxanne" & "Bowfinger" back to back.

 
Friday: "Captain Blood" / "Adventures of Robin Hood." Motion pictures do not, cannot and will not get any more rousing and spirited than these two certified Flynn/De Havilland/Rathbone/Curtiz monumental landmarks.

 
Saturday: "My Blue Heaven" / "Goodfellas". I had several ideas for this slot but was having trouble choosing and then this double feature was pitched to me one night by a couple friends over a few beers when I explained this particular blogathon and it was just way too good not to include. The story of Henry Hill as told by Ephron and then by Scorsese.


Sunday: "The Insider" / "Heat" / "Last of the Mohicans." In the 1990's Michael Mann made three movies. These three movies. One was a true story set in the world of "60 Minutes", one was about bank robbers in L.A., one was set during The French & Indian War, but they all had one thing in common. Each one was a masterpiece.

14 comments:

blahblahblah Toby said...

you play that double feature every monday and i'm there every monday.

Anonymous said...

Of all the “Double Feature Theater” posts I have read so far, I have to say yours is the best. I haven’t seen either of the Wednesday movies but love the rest. Putting My Blue Heaven and Goodfellas together is inspired.

Alex Ramon said...

Great!Especially keen on Wednesday & Saturday.

Anonymous said...

I love your tuesday, great pictures as well! I love how you found conncections between films, I just went thematical.

Nick Prigge said...

Blah Blah Blah: Aren't those movies great? I mean, really, I had no other choices but that one to kick it off. Any era, Bogey & Bacall win.

Andy: Thanks, mate. I wish I could take credit for My Blue Heaven/Goodfellas but that's my friends Dave & Daryl. Luckily I can recognize other people's genius.

Alex: So glad you like Wednesday's. I love those two films. Especially Sunshine State. I'd force that film on everyone if I could.

5plitreel: I've got another post on "Quiet City" coming Tuesday. I love that movie so much. And I figured pairing it with "Before Sunrise" could get people who haven't seen it to watch it.

Thanks for reading, guys!

blahblahblah Toby said...

i could watch bogie read the shipping report.

Tom Clift said...

That Michael Mann triple feature is awesome!!! Just had to say that

Nick Prigge said...

Nice. In retrospect that might make for a fairly intense triple feature but I definitely know I could revel in it. Glad to hear you could too.

Unknown said...

Thursday and Friday would be a RIDICULOUS amount of fun.

Nick Prigge said...

Yes. Yes, it would. If only.

Marc said...

You had me at Bogey but I really love your inferred "Witness Protection" Saturday. Don't find many My Blue Heaven fans these days. Nice to know ya Nick!

Nothing wrong at all with Michael Mann wrapping up the week but that's like Mann Marathon isn't it?:P

Thanks for being part of this!

Nick Prigge said...

It could potentially be Mann overload but that's a risk this theater has no choice but to take.

blahblahblah Toby said...

having now seen quiet city i think i must add my name to tuesday too. the problem being linklater's film will seem somehow lacking in comparison.

and the blue heaven thing, i had no idea about this movie. it's going on my watch list i think.

theoncominghope said...

There's a neat story in one of Roger Ebert's books about the storyline from Before Sunrise coming to life. I wrote about it here:

http://theoncominghope.blogspot.com/2011/08/awesome-thing-of-day-before-sunrise.html