Tuesday, September 2, 2008

End of the Summer Cinema, Bytowne September & October

I personally found my summer months not have being to enthused about new films. There might have been a few gems in a sea of rubbish. This summer great new releases included Flight of the Red Balloon, Encounters at the End of the World and the Dark Knight. So instead of going out to see films, I stayed in. I kept myself occupied visiting film history. I just came back from Montreal where they were having their World Film Festival. They had many screenings throughout the city, there was a Tony Curtis tribune and Brian de Palma had a master class on his oeuvre. They closed down part of St.Catherine street and had an immense screen to project films each night. When i was there they were playing Heaven's Gate (Michael Cimino). When i got there i sat beside three other film students. They were great, we talked about films, had a few drinks (they were generous enough to share some mixed drinks they brought in Coke bottles). Hundreds of strangers just sat there, either on the provided benches, stairs or sitting on the ground to enjoy the film. There was a great sense of a cinephile community.

What i was anticipating was what all the New York, Chicago and Sight & Sound critics were talking about. The films listed below have premiered already in major cities for a couple of months now but thankfully their here for the fall. Were now just getting Man On Wire (James Marsh, 2008), Taxi to the Dark Side, Gonzo the Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (Alex Gibney, 2007, 2008), My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin, 2007), Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (Marina Zenovich, 2008).-David Davidson

Man On Wire (09/05-14), Taxi to the Dark Side (09/11), Gonzo the Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (09/12-15), My Winnipeg (09/12-15), Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (09/26-30) (Bytowne Cinema, 324 Rideau Street)

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