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New York Film Festival Retrospective: 50 Years of Janus Films

Renoir, Bergman, Ophuls, Antonioni, Truffaut, Kurosawa, Cocteau, Buñuel, Polanski return to New York in glorious new prints!

NEW YORK — May 22, 2006 — The 44th annual NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL will unspool at Lincoln Center from Sept. 29 through Oct. 15, and this year's Retrospective will celebrate 50 years of Janus Films, it was announced today by Claudia Bonn and Richard Peña, executive director and program director respectively of the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

From Italian neo-realism to the French New Wave, from Bergman's existential inquiries to Kurosawa samurai epics, this year's NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL Retrospective promises to be a thrilling, encyclopedic overview of world cinema classics. 50 Years of Janus Films will open with Jean Renoir's humanist masterpiece, The Rules of the Game (1939), on Sept. 30 and will continue through Oct. 27, showcasing unprecedented survey of over 30 world cinema classics, most of them screening in pristine new prints at the Walter Reade Theater.

“This series is our chance to salute 50 years of specialized film programming in New York and the United States,â€

M. Lange!

Assuming these are all future (maybe distant future) Criterion releases, it looks like the Forthcoming list could do with some updating.

There actually aren't a lot of surprises here - maybe Bardem and Saura, and I wasn't aware that Vigo was on the cards. Though the comparative dearth of silent films may count as a disappointment.

I hope this means a reissue of Kwaidan is on the way!
I can't wait for M.Lang, Sansho, Earrings and Daybreak. To name only a few!

so I guess we pretty much know about half of 2007's CC releases already, huh?

Pedestrian and tedious. We've seen this stuff ad nauseum ad nauseum ad nauseum. How appropriate for the stale and pompous NYFF. (And I say this as a regular NYFF subscriber.)

Barmy wrote:Pedestrian and tedious. We've seen this stuff ad nauseum ad nauseum ad nauseum. How appropriate for the stale and pompous NYFF. (And I say this as a regular NYFF subscriber.)

So I guess you'll be saving some subscription money this fall, you lucky dog!

Barmy wrote:Pedestrian and tedious. We've seen this stuff ad nauseum ad nauseum ad nauseum. How appropriate for the stale and pompous NYFF. (And I say this as a regular NYFF subscriber.)

It must get boring, being SO pretentious.

These films are great but The Seventh Seal, 400 Blows, Viridiana, Rules of The Game? What about some films that haven't been seen in years on the big screen.

marty wrote:These films are great but The Seventh Seal, 400 Blows, Viridiana, Rules of The Game? What about some films that haven't been seen in years on the big screen.

They have both types of films.... these are sure to sell tickets I'm sure.

Barmy wrote:Pedestrian and tedious. We've seen this stuff ad nauseum ad nauseum ad nauseum. How appropriate for the stale and pompous NYFF. (And I say this as a regular NYFF subscriber.)

Yes, I simply don't understand why these people keep insisting on showing us masterpieces!

tryavna wrote:

Barmy wrote:Pedestrian and tedious. We've seen this stuff ad nauseum ad nauseum ad nauseum. How appropriate for the stale and pompous NYFF. (And I say this as a regular NYFF subscriber.)

Yes, I simply don't understand why these people keep insisting on showing us masterpieces!

=D> =D> =D>

They don't have "both types of films". A five year old could have made that "selection". Why not try to screen "masterpieces" not available on DVD? Is it "pretentious" to say that no one needs to see 400 Blows or whatever yet again?

Barmy wrote:They don't have "both types of films". A five year old could have made that "selection". Why not try to screen "masterpieces" not available on DVD? Is it "pretentious" to say that no one needs to see 400 Blows or whatever yet again?

So don't go!

BTW, these films in the retro have yet to be released by CC:

The Phantom Carriage / Korkärlen - Victor Sjöstrom, Sweden, 1921
Zero for Conduct / Zéro de conduite – Jean Vigo, France, 1933
The Crime of Monsieur Lange / Le Crime de Monsieur Lange – Jean Renoir, France, 1935
Daybreak / Le Jour se lève – Marcel Carné, France, 1939
Miracle in Milan / Miracolo a Milano – Vittorio de Sica, Italy, 1951
The Earrings of Madame de... / Madame de... - Max Ophuls, France, 1953
Monika / Sommaren med Monika – Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 1953
Sansho the Bailiff / Sanshô Dayû – Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan, 1954
Death of a Cyclist / Muerte de un ciclista – Juan Antonio Bardem, Spain, 1955
Fires on the Plain / Nobi – Kon Ichikawa, Japan, 1959
The Organizer / I Compagni – Mario Monicelli, Italy, 1963
W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism / W.R. – Misterije organizma – Dusan Makavejev, Yugoslavia, 1971
Cria! / Cría Cuervos – Carlos Saura, Spain, 1976

Actually that's a helpful list because a couple of those are a bit off the beaten path.

You would have seen that if you would have actually read the post to begin with.

Is there a schedule available online yet?

ombre du soleil wrote:Is there a schedule available online yet?

No.

Barmy wrote:They don't have "both types of films". A five year old could have made that "selection". Why not try to screen "masterpieces" not available on DVD? Is it "pretentious" to say that no one needs to see 400 Blows or whatever yet again?

You seem to have seen a lot of films, Barmy. Good for you. 400 Blows is old hat. Le Règle de jeu? Overexposed. Children of Paradise? Not again. The Earrings of Madame de... ? Puh-leeze!

Not all of us share your level of experience. There are some of us provincials who would kill to see any one of those films on a big screen--let alone an entire series of seldom-screened masterpieces. Your complaints (stated in your usual confrontational tone) are not pretentious. They are egocentric and arrogant.

Personally, I'm happy that Janus & Criterion have chosen a wide range of films to celebrate this anniversary, and that they didn't tailor their list to suit your particular needs. Still, it might've been nice to see your reaction if they had programmed your ideal series of films. Would you have anything at all to say if you had nothing to complain about?

If they want to show this program in Wyoming, fine. But it's showing in NYC. Historically the NYFF has used the sidebar to showcase neglected cinema (e.g. Egyptian flix, Italian silents). That approach is a greater service to the community than the umpteenth NYC 400 Blows screening.

I also will admit that I actually don't like many of those dinosaur flicks all that much.

Bring on Monsieur Lange!! I hope that Criterion does bring it to DVD. I fell in love with that film the first time I saw it.

Thanks for the info. Looks like I will have to see a lot of movies this October. In particular Sansho, to which this is hopefully a precursor to a CC release. But also M. Lange, Fires on the Plain, as well as Children of Paradise and 400 Blows which I think would be nive to see on a big screen.