December Films At Northwestern

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Northwestern University’s Block Cinema will conclude its celebration of the centennial of the birth of film archivist Henri Langlois (1914-1977) on Dec. 5.

Langlois was responsible for saving countless films from destruction by the Nazis or decay due to indifference and neglect. A pioneer of film preservation, he was an influential figure in the history of cinema. He is credited with preserving more than 60,000 films by the early 1970s.

Through the first Friday in December, Block will screen a selection of works championed by Langlois, the co-founder, director and curator of the Cinémathèque Française in Paris, one of the world’s most celebrated film archives.

As a curator, Langlois introduced the best of world cinema to future critics and filmmakers (Godard, Truffaut, Rensais and countless others) and inspired a generation of writers, scholars, curators and directors through his legendary screenings and cinema museum.

Winter 2015 Preview

Following the University’s winter break, Block Cinema’s Winter 2015 schedule will begin on Friday, Jan. 16, with an ongoing series of contemporary documentaries programmed in conjunction with the Northwestern University School of Communication’s new program, MFA in Documentary Media.

Also screening at Block Cinema in early 2015 is a program of classic films from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s that are set in the Himalayas, including screenings of “Epic of Everest,” “Lost Horizon” and “Black Narcissus.” They relate to the Block Museum’s main gallery winter 2015 exhibition, “Collecting Paradise: Buddhist Art of Kashmir and Its Legacies,” which opens to the public on Jan. 13 and runs through April 19.

All films will be screened in the James B. Pick and Rosalyn M. Laudati Auditorium at the Block Museum of Art, 40 Arts Circle Drive, on Northwestern University’s Evanston campus.

Visit the Block website for a complete list of programs at: http://www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu/view/cinema.

BLOCK CINEMA ADMISSION

Unless otherwise noted, general admission to Block Cinema is $6 for the general public or $4 for Block Museum members, Northwestern faculty, staff and students, students from other schools with valid IDs and individuals 60 and older. Quarterly passes are $20. Tickets are available one hour before show time. For more information, call the Block Cinema Hotline at (847) 491-4000 or visit the Block Cinema website at www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu/block-cinema.

DECEMBER 2014 BLOCK CINEMA FILMS

• Tribute to Henri Langlois, “L’Atalante” and “Le Tempestaire,” 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, 

“L’Atalante” (Jean Vigo, 1934, France, 35mm, 89 minutes). “L’Atalante” is one of the most acclaimed films of world cinema. It was director Jean Vigo’s final film (and only feature) before his premature death at age 29. It’s a simple story of a young woman from the country who moves to the river barge piloted by her new husband, and a moment of discord that threatens their happiness. Dita Parlo and Jean Dasté are one of the great romantic couples in cinema, based on this one film alone, though co-star Michel Simon nearly steals the film as the barge’s eccentric first mate. It is a magical film that critic Jonathan Rosenbaum called “one of the supreme masterpieces of French cinema. It will be preceded by: “Le Tempestaire” (Jean Epstein, 1947, France, DCP, 22 minutes). With a severe storm looming overhead, a young woman worries about her seafaring fiancé and seeks out the fabled old fishermen who are rumored to possess magical powers over the weather. Set in director Jean Epstein’s beloved Breton region, “Le Tempestaire” has long been considered a masterwork of both French and avant-garde film.

For more information on upcoming films, visit www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu/view/cinema/magnificent-obsession.html - 7