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
A major entry into one of the most cinematic film genres gets a week-long engagement as The Great Silence (Sergio Corbucci, 1968, DCP) plays through the weekend and on Tuesday evening. If Sergio Leone is the king of the spaghetti western, Corbucci is the crowned prince, and The Great Silence is his masterpiece. The film features many of the genre’s trademarks, including an excellent multi-cultural cast [headlined by Jean-Louis Trintignant and Klaus Kinski], a quiet hero, a vengeful widow, brutal violence, and a wonderful Ennio Morricone score.
Throughout May, the Siskel is featuring select works of filmmaker Philippe Garrel, whose newest film, Lover for a Day, made its Chicago theatrical debut last week. The Gift of Intimacy highlights seven films that examine humanity and love in Garrel’s trademark style. As someone who recently saw my first Garrel film, he is certainly a filmmaker that deserves this kind of deep dive. This week you can see J’entends plus la guitare (I Can No Longer Hear the Guitar, 1991, Philippe Garrel, 35mm) on Friday and Saturday and Marie pour mémoire (Marie for Memory, Philippe Garrel, 1967, DCP) on Saturday and Monday. If you want to see both this weekend, you can get a double-bill ticket for Saturday at a discounted rate.
Music Box Theatre, 3733 N Southport Ave
Rep screenings are limited at the Music Box this week as they mostly focus on their annual Chicago Critics Film Festival, which highlights local critics’ favorite films from the early year film festival circuit. The attractions include First Reformed, Leave No Trace, Eighth Grade, Madeline’s Madeline, and more. If you live in Chicago, this is your first chance to see many of the films that critics and movie lovers will be talking about all year.
Part of the festival, though, is a 25th anniversary screening of Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993, 35mm) on Sunday at noon. Though it is now considered a classic blockbuster by many, its practical effects and sheer wonder hold up as well as any of the blockbusters being released today.
Doc Films, 1212 E 59th St # 3
The Spring 2018 series calendar is now in full swing, featuring the best of Canadian cinema, the Korean New Wave, the work of Elia Kazan and Michael Haneke, and more! Here is the breakdown of the calendar along with this week’s screenings:
Sundays, Miracle on the Han River: The Korean New Wave: Lady Vengeance (Park Chan-wook, 2005, 35mm), the dynamic finale to Park’s Vengeance Trilogy with a great central performance by Lee Yeong-ae.
Mondays, Beyond Hollywood North: Contemporary Canadian Voices and Visions: Archangel (Guy Maddin, 1990, 35mm), Winnipeg’s favorite son makes his second appearance in the series, this time with a late-silent era style melodrama with a one-legged soldier and his lost love.
Wednesdays, Elia Kazan: A Retrospective: A Face in the Crowd (Elia Kazan, 1957, 35mm), Andy Griffith stars in a profile of an unlikely figure’s rise to political power.
Thursdays, “Love Is a Matter of Timing…”: Harold and Maude (Hal Ashby, 1971, 35mm), beloved cult classic featuring the ultimate cinematic May-December romance between a suicide obsessed teenager and a kooky old woman.
Thursdays, Shattered Visions: Loss of Identity in Cinema: A Zed & Two Noughts (Peter Greenaway, 1985, 35mm), from one of the most bizarre art auteurs, the tale of twin zoologists who lose their wives in a tragic car accident and develop strange obsessions.
The Logan Theatre, 2646 N Milwaukee Ave
Late nights in May is a celebration of the greatest movie musicals. Put your dancing shoes on as this week features films by two of the art’s great geniuses of different forms: Purple Rain (Albert Magnoli, 1984, format unknown) on May 4-7 and All That Jazz (Bob Fosse, 1979, format unknown) on May 8-10.
