The Chicago Rep-port 2/16-2/22, 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 ongoing series Apocalypse Then: The Vietnam War on Film now tackles the preeminent Vietnam War movie (and namesake for the series), Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979, 4K DCP), the epic journey through the jungle in search of an elusive AWOL general. No other film has more effectively encapsulated the horrors and craziness of the Vietnam conflict. Apocalypse Now screens on Saturday, February 17 and Tuesday, February 20. The Tuesday screenings includes a post-film discussion led by SAIC professor Nore Annesley Taylor.
Music Box Theatre, 3733 N Southport Ave
Do something you’d never thought you’d do and celebrate President’s Day weekend with a 25th anniversary screening of Dave (Ivan Reitman, 1993, 35mm) on Sunday, February 18. The political satire posits the ridiculous scenario of a doppelganger assuming the role of POTUS when the real Commander-in-Chief suffers a stroke. Come to think of it, that scenario becomes less ridiculous seeming by the day.
At midnight on both Friday and Saturday screens Gummo (Harmony Korine, 1997, 35mm), the controversial debut from the director of Spring Breakers. Made up of vignettes on the trials and tribulations of a group of seemingly feral children, Gummo is a bizarre and unsettling film that continues to make viewers wonder if there is something deranged going on in the mind of all those involved.
The silent cinema returns for a Saturday matinee with an underseen film from an early master filmmaker, Drifting (Tod Browning, 1923, 35mm). The tale of crime and the international drug trade is accompanied with a live organ score by local legend Dennis Scott.
Black Orpheus (Marcel Camus, 1959, 35mm), an updating of a classic Greek tale set in the crazy world of Rio’s Carnival, plays as a matinee on Sunday.
Presented by the fine folks at the Chicago Film Society, Two Weeks in Another Town (Vincente Minnelli, 1962, 35mm) screens on Monday, February 19, starring Kirk Douglas as an A-list Hollywood star who is hired to work at Italy’s famed Cinecitta in what quickly reveals itself as a satirically troubled production.
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: Blue Valentine (Derek Cianfrance, 2010, 35mm), the haunting and incredibly depressing break-up movie, played exquisitely by stars Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling.
Sundays, Phantom Rides: Trains & Cinema: Emperor of the North (Robert Aldrich, 1973, 35mm), an epic showdown between a sadistic train conductor and the train-hopping hobos who use it for shelter.
Mondays, The Future is Black: Afrofuturism in World Cinema: Space Is the Place (John Coney, 1974, DCP), a Chicago musician plans to lead the population of a black community on another planet.
Tuesdays, Deep Seijun: Rare Films of Suzuki Seijun: The Flowers and the Angry Waves (Seijun Suzuki, 1964, 35mm), a yakuza foreman hides out when he elopes with the boss’s daughter.
Wednesdays, Le Samouraï: An Alain Delon Retrospective: L’Insoumis (Alain Cavalier, 1964, DCP), Delon plays a French Foreign Legion deserter who is presented with a kidnapping plan that can get him back into France.
Thursdays, A Dish Best Served Hot: Feminist Revenge Fantasies: Ms. 45 (Abel Ferrara, 1981, 35mm), a rape revenge film from the New York master of exploitation.
Thursdays, Ginger Snaps Back: A Feminist Take on Horror: Julia’s Eyes (Guillem Morales, 2010, DCP), a woman who is losing her eyesight from a degenerative disease attempts to solve the death of her sister
The Logan Theatre, 2646 N Milwaukee Ave
To celebrate awards season, the Logan’s February late-night series spotlights Oscar winning or Oscar worthy films from the past six decades. This week features two violent prestige films from eccentric master filmmakers: Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986, format unknown) on February 17-19 and Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009, format unknown) on February 20-22.
