The Chicago Rep-port 1/26-2/1, by Aaron Pinkston
Repertory screenings may not be as abundant in Chicago as they are in LA/NY but when you look around, there are many theatergoing delights. The Chicago Rep-port is a weekly(ish) series highlighting the best and most compelling repertory screenings in the Second City.
Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N State St
The newest collaboration with the School of the Art Institute, Apocalypse Then: The Vietnam War on Film, begins this week, highlighting a variety of film styles on the Vietnam War from the late 1960s up to today. The series starts with Indochine (Régis Wargnier, 1992, 35mm), starring Catherine Deneuve (who received an Oscar nomination) as a French rubber plantation owner revolving around her relationship with her adopted Vietnamese daughter. The film screens Saturday, January 27 and Tuesday, January 30 with a post-screening lecture by SAIC professor of South and Southeast Asian art, Nora Annesley Taylor.
Music Box Theatre, 3733 N Southport Ave
Sponsored by Daily Grindhouse and the AV Club for midnight screenings on both Friday and Saturday night, you can see Wild Beasts (Franco Prosperi, 1984, 35mm). Called the “most ludicrous, most Italian of all animal attack films,” Wild Beasts is a bizarre and fascinating experience. I’m not sure I totally believe it, but the film is apparently about a bunch of PCP being dumped in a zoo’s water reserve, which makes the animals go crazy and try to kill everything in sight. If that plot description is one tenth as crazy as it seems, this rare screening shouldn’t be missed.
Doc Films, 1212 E 59th St # 3
With the new year, a new batch of fantastic film series is on tap at Doc Films. Over the next few months, you can check out great classic and genre films on bad marriages, feminist horror films, African American visions of the future, and retrospectives on Seijun Suzuki and Alain Delon.
Fridays, Marriage on the Verge of Collapse: Contempt (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963, DCP), one of Godard’s biggest productions, with notable performances from mega-star Brigitte Bardot and filmmaker Fritz Lang
Sundays, Phantom Rides: Trains & Cinema: Mystery Train (Jim Jarmusch, 1989, 35mm), a wild, one-night adventure through Memphis, full of music and Jarmusch-esque quirks
Mondays, The Future is Black: Afrofuturism in World Cinema: An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (Terence Nance, 2012, DCP), a glorious mix of documentary, narrative, and a number of genre film styles as an artist ponders love and modern relationships
Tuesdays, Deep Seijun: Rare Films of Suzuki Seijun: Eight Hours of Terror (Seijun Suzuki, 1957, 35mm), a riff on Ford’s Stagecoach, wherein a group of travelers are confronted by a group of dangerous criminals
Wednesdays, Le Samouraï: An Alain Delon Retrospective: Any Number Can Win (Henri Verneuil, 1963, 35mm), former cellmates (Delon and co-star Jean Gabin) reunite for one last grand score
Thursdays, A Dish Best Served Hot: Feminist Revenge Fantasies: Hard Candy (David Slade, 2005, 35mm), a still timely thriller set around sexual dangers in the internet age, featuring the breakout performance of Ellen Page
Thursdays, Ginger Snaps Back: A Feminist Take on Horror: Prevenge (Alice Lowe, 2016, DCP), equally disturbing and hilarious, a send-up of the evil spawn genre where an expectant mother is being controlled by her baby in utero
The Logan Theatre, 2646 N Milwaukee Ave
As we’ve turned the page on 2017, the Logan Theatre’s late night lineup in January is preparing for a better year with Jolly January, spotlighting purely enjoyable cinema. This week offers a dueling criminals and crime fighter comedic pairing: Raising Arizona (the Coen Brothers, 1987, format unknown) on January 26-29 and The Pink Panther (Blake Edwards, 1963, format unknown) on January 30-February 1.
Norris University Center McCormick Auditorium, 1999 South Campus Drive, Evanston
Running since 1981, the yearly tradition known as B-Fest, a 24-hour marathon of some of the best, worst, and weirdest genre films comes back to the campus of Northwestern University this Saturday through Sunday. For only $40 ($30 if you are a student), take a peek at this year’s crazy awesome line-up (all screenings are format unknown):
Double Trouble (John Paragon, 1992)
She (Robert Day, 1965)
Tremors (Ron Underwood, 1990)
Dolls (Stuart Gordon, 1987)
Wizard of Speed and Time (Mike Jittlov, 1979)
Plan 9 from Outer Space (Edward D. Wood Jr., 1959)
Night Train to Terror (various, 1985)
The Astrologer (Craig Denney, 1975)
The White Gorilla (Harry L. Fraser, 1945)
The Wicker Man (Neil LaBute, 2006)
Surf Ninjas (Neal Israel, 1993)
The Villain (Hal Needham, 1979)
Troll 2 (Claudio Fragasso, 1990)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Michael Schultz, 1978)
The Mummy’s Ghost (Reginald Le Borg, 1944)
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (W.D. Richter, 1984)