Eyes Without a Face is a strangely lyrical horror film, recalling somewhat Val Lewton’s productions for RKO in the 1940s. The movie is almost as interested in identity and morality as it is in scaring you. But scare you it does, not only with its ghastly premise, but with some… Continue reading
By Trylon volunteer Collette Ricci Scream is not only a good horror movie (or a very well executed meta-horror for that matter) it’s a movie that epically snubbed a terrible trope that had dominated the horror genre for too long. Early 80s slasher movies set the tone for modern… Continue reading
Jerry Webster (Rock Hudson) is a rising star in his ad agency. Thanks to his hard work? Hardly. He’s a master of the wine-and-dine, schmoozing clients to the profound consternation of his rival, Carol Templeton (Doris Day). Tony Randall plays the Tony Randall part. Screens at the Heights… Continue reading
A film is being made, but it’s missing the director and script. The cast and crew decide to make the best of a difficult situation and enjoy the production without them. Beware of a Holy Whore sees Fassbinder crafting an autobiographical self-parody, revealing the absurdity of the theater community… Continue reading
Review by Trylon volunteer Ben Schmidt If I grabbed an Italian dictionary, with time and effort I could piece together a sentence or two. And were you to indulge me, I could talk my Italian to you. But I certainly wouldn’t be speaking it. Absent would be the nuance that… Continue reading
Our Rainer Werner Fassbinder series continues at the Trylon! When Fox (Fassbinder) wins the lottery, he finds himself with some new friends that have very expensive tastes. Fassbinder begins his tale with a cliched premise and turns it into a fascinating and devastating expose of betrayal, greed and friendship…. Continue reading
The Blob was all set to run amok in the Pioneers and Soldier Memorial Cemetery last week, but its appearance was cancelled due to rain. Hey, you didn’t think it was gone for good, did you? The Blob is back on Wednesday, September 17! It creeps, it oozes, it’s… Continue reading
Set in San Francisco in 1985, Test is a portrait of Frankie, a shy young dancer caught in the anxiety and fear of the AIDS crisis. A sensitive study that captures the tense atmosphere in which the HIV test became available and men were faced with knowing, but not… Continue reading
Review by Fernando F. Croce The satirical thrust is The Blue Angel, also perhaps Nabokov’s “Ode to a Model,” whipped up by Rainer Werner Fassbinder into something like the greatest women-in-prison movie. Cats on a darkened staircase comprise the opening tableau, the camera pulls back to contemplate the studio-boudoir-dungeon where… Continue reading
UPDATE: Due to inclement weather, this event has been rescheduled for Wednesday, September 17. Review by Trylon volunteer Ben Schmidt At some point in our country’s history, some people were paid to sit in a room and work out what to do if we encounter an… Continue reading
Mohammed Rasoulof’s Manuscripts Don’t Burn (2013), filmed secretly inside Iran and smuggled out of the country for its premiere at Cannes, is an angry and at times despairing meditation on censorship, betrayal and state-sponsored violence. Its sense of outrage at a repressive government recalls Costa-Gavras’ 1969 thriller Z but the… Continue reading
Our series Beauty is Everything: Vincente Minnelli closes Thursday night at the Heights Theater with a screening of the 1958 Oscar winner for Best Picture, Gigi. Review by Trylon volunteer Geoffrey Steuven. Alternately remembered as a late, great MGM musical and one of the worst films to ever win the Best Picture… Continue reading
The Trylon’s Jim Jarmusch: No Answers Provided series continues with one of our absolute favorites, Down by Law. Review by Trylon Volunteer Michelle Baroody. When Down by Law was released in 1986, Roger Ebert wrote that this “is a movie about cheap whiskey and black coffee, all-night drunks and lost… Continue reading
The Trylon’s Jim Jarmusch: No Answers Provided continues this week, with his masterful acid western, Dead Man. Review by Trylon volunteer Caty Rent. Every Night & every Morn Some to Misery are Born. Every Morn & every Night Some are Born to sweet delight. –William Blake, Augeries of Innocence Dead Man is… Continue reading
The Trylon is celebrating the work of comedian/writer/director Harold Ramis this weekend with two of his funniest movies–Stripes and Groundhog Day. Review by Trylon regular Aaron Vehling. There’s a point in Harold Ramis’ 1993 film Groundhog Day when arrogant Pittsburgh weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) posits that the omniscience and… Continue reading
Our Jackie Chan Adventures series closes with the eponymous action star’s first American vehicle, Rumble in the Bronx. Review by Trylon volunteer Thorn Chen. Almost immediately as he gets to the Bronx, Ma Hon Keung (Jackie Chan) gets on the bad side of neighborhood motorcycle thugs and its head Tony… Continue reading
The Trylon’s celebrated 5th Anniversary Silent Film Festival has been a rousing success, and it closes this weekend with the man who started it all: Buster Keaton. Five years ago we presented a month of sold-out Keaton shows to inaugurate the Trylon, and we’ve been going strong ever since. Come… Continue reading
Our wonderful Jackie Chan Adventures series continues with what some consider his greatest movie, The Legend of Drunken Master! Review by Trylon regular Ben Schmidt. The Legend of Drunken Master is exactly five things: 1. It’s the best kung fu movie ever made. 2. It’s so damned good, it transcends… Continue reading
The Trylon’s Jackie Chan Adventures continues with the crazy historical epic Project A. Review by Trylon regular Ben Schmidt. Project A is a weird bird. But any bird that allows Jackie Chan, Samo Hung, and Yuen Biao to sing together is worth watching, this film being no exception. They three are… Continue reading
Our Hackman in the Seventies series closes with what is arguably the man’s greatest film, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation. Review by Aaron Vehling. In Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation, Gene Hackman’s Harry Caul is renowned for his unparalleled ability for audio surveillance, and for the blood on his hands… Continue reading
Our wonderful Gene Hackman in the Seventies series continues with what is arguably the least known of Hackman’s great films, Scarecrow. There is no reason whatsoever for this little masterpiece to have fallen through the cracks. Released in 1973, after Hackman had won his Oscar for The French Connection, and… Continue reading
The Trylon and Heights Theater’s fabulous series, 1939: Hollywood’s Zenith, continues with George Cukor’s classic, The Women. Review by Trylon volunteer Maria Gomez. “I come from a world where a woman’s gotta come out on top….or it’s just too darn bad.” –Miriam Aarons Men have long been trying to understand… Continue reading
American Jesus review by Trylon volunteer David Berglund. There is likely no more essential subject of study in a pursuit to understand American culture than Christianity. It is undeniable that the person of Jesus defines America – not because he holds the nation’s allegiance, but because no matter your worldview… Continue reading
Our Gene Hackman in the Seventies series continues with what might be his most unheralded role, as angry cop turned heroin addict in French Connection II. This sequel is outstanding, though difficult to endure. Don’t miss it! Review by Trylon volunteer Michelle Baroody. Released in 1975, French Connection II was directed by John Frankenheimer, the… Continue reading
Our Gene Hackman in the Seventies series opens with perhaps his most iconic role, as angry cop “Popeye” Doyle in William Friedkin’s The French Connection, for which our man won his first Oscar (and which inspired the name of the fried chicken franchise!) Review by Trylon volunteer Michelle Baroody. The… Continue reading
The Trylon and Heights Theater’s 1939: Hollywood’s Zenith series continues with perhaps the most iconic American musical ever made: The Wizard of Oz. Review by Trylon regular Ben Schmidt. Oz. The great and powerful film most of us have fond memories of watching…on television. But even on the tube, The… Continue reading
In light of the disappearance of Malaysian Arlines flight MH370 (and a dozen other airline tragedies where we watch the headlines unfold the narrative), we’ve all tried to imagine what happened and what it was like. Charlie Victor Romeo sheds a horrifying light on the scenarios in the cockpit… Continue reading
We close out our wonderful Alec Guinness Centennial with the David Lean epic Lawrence of Arabia. This nearly four hour masterpiece is like digesting a great novel in one evening–you emerge from the theater shaken, a bit overwhelmed, maybe a tiny bit starstruck, and better for the experience. Add to… Continue reading
The Trylon and Heights Theater’s 1939: Hollywood’s Zenith series begins at the Heights on Thursday night, with Frank Capra’s acclaimed Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington review by Trylon regular Ben Schmidt. In roughly a month, Michael Bay’s new Transformers movie will flicker to life in theaters… Continue reading
The Trylon’s celebrated Alec Guinness Centennial continues with our final Ealing Studios comedy, Kind Hearts and Coronets. Review by Trylon volunteer David Berglund. In a few short weeks, the Tony Awards will take place at Radio City Music Hall. More likely than not, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,… Continue reading
Listen, it’s simple, Buster Keaton’s The General is one of the greatest movies of all time. And the best way to see a movie — especially a comedy — is with a big crowd. And outside? On one of the best days of 2014? Forget it. There is absolutely no way… Continue reading
Nearly every Guinness film we’ve shown in this series has been a comedy. But the films that likely turned Alec Guinness into Sir Alec Guinness were his dramas. His big dramas — Kwai, Zhivago, Twist, Arabia — are widely known by film fans. But the lesser seen Tunes of Glory is another stand out that we’re… Continue reading
Before our Alec Guinness series gets all serious with Tunes of Glory, we feature one of his finest comedies The Ladykillers? How fine is it? Fine enough that Greatest American Filmmakers (to some), Joel & Ethan Coen chose it for the first film they every tried to remake. Of course, their remake… Continue reading
The Sixth Annual Hitchcock Festival closes with the Master’s final film, Family Plot. Don’t miss this rare screening! Family Plot review by Trylon volunteer Greg Hunter. Imagine a film of hazy California afternoons. A film in which a stretch of sun-bleached coast is as fine a backdrop for violence as… Continue reading
Our brilliant Alec Guinness Centennial continues with what is probably the man’s most underrated comedy, The Horse’s Mouth, for which he received an Oscar nomination for his screenplay (but not his acting, which is a crime.) Don’t miss this rare 35mm screening! The Horse’s Mouth review by Trylon volunteer Patrick… Continue reading
Our Nicholas Ray series, Inside the Outsider, comes to a close with what is unquestionably his masterpiece, Rebel Without A Cause, screening Thursday night at the Heights Theater. Rebel Without A Cause review by Trylon volunteer Caty Rent. Rebel Without A Cause is without a doubt one of the most iconic… Continue reading
Our celebrated Alec Guinness Centennial continues tonight with a wonderful screening of the Ealing Studio’s comedy The Man in the White Suit. This creature was nimbly directed by the woefully underrated Alexander Mackendrick–who did Sweet Smell of Success, Whiskey Galore!, The Ladykillers (screening May 19 & 20 at the Trylon)… Continue reading
Alfred Hitchcock defined himself in 1934-1935. Although he was an established director with specialty in tense filmmaking, these years saw him go from being a director to the Alfred Hitchcock. In 1934 his original version of The Man Who Knew Too Much established one of Hitch’s main career touchstones: the… Continue reading
Hot Blood review by Trylon theater manager Nikki Weispfenning. Our Nicholas Ray retrospective is almost over, and what have we seen? Lynching! Police brutality! Murder during wartime! Before we get back to the serious problems of the juvenile delinquents in Rebel Without A Cause (screening at the Heights on May 8), let us… Continue reading
Young and Innocent (1937), one of the more rarely seen films by Alfred Hitchcock, hits the screens at the Trylon this weekend. When a writer named Robert discovers a body on the beach and runs to get help, two women who see him fleeing naturally peg him for the murder… Continue reading
