The Film Society of Lincoln Center announces Going Steadi: 40 Years of Steadicam, a celebration of the groundbreaking filmmaking tool that made possible many of cinema's most iconic shots, December 16 - January 3.
Combining the freedom of a handheld camera with the stability of a dolly, Steadicam made its groundbreaking debut in
Hal Ashby's 1976 film Bound for Glory, which won the Oscar for best cinematography. Since then, it has become an essential tool of filmmaking and has allowed cinematographers to execute some of their most astonishing camera movements. Steadicam enabled the camera to move with the same grace as the bodies, objects, and spaces that it films, expanding the medium's visual possibilities in ways that many of the key filmmakers of the subsequent four decades have found indispensable.
Steadicam has left an indelible mark on Hollywood filmmaking, and the series features films by
Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, After Hours), Paul
Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia),
Brian De Palma (Carlito's Way, Raising Cain), and
Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown). It has also been used to striking effect in works by international filmmakers such as Hou Hsiao-hsien (Millenium Mambo), Béla Tarr (Werckmeister Harmonies), Bertrand Tavernier (Coup de torchon), and others.
Tracing Steadicam's lasting impact, Going Steadi features some of the earliest and most iconic examples of the tool's use, including John G. Avildsen's Rocky in a new 4K restoration and rare 35mm screenings of Kubrick's The Shining; provocative 90s films like
Kathryn Bigelow's Strange Days and
Warren Beatty's Bulworth; and more recent examples like
Gus Van Sant's Elephant and Bi Gan's audacious road movie and New Directors/New Films 2016 selection Kaili Blues, which utilizes Steadicam to create some of the most stunning visuals in any movie this year. Other highlights include Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut (on Christmas Day!), Tony Scott's cult classic The Hunger starring
David Bowie, and roller disco musical Xanadu, all on 35mm.
Steadicam creator and cinematographer Garrett Brown, who won a special Technical Academy Award for its invention and development in 1977, will appear in person on December 16 to introduce Bound for
GLORY at 6:30pm and
John Schlesinger's Marathon Man at 9:30pm, and on December 17 to introduce Rocky at 6:30pm and The Shining at 9:00pm.
Tickets will go on sale Thursday, December 1. Save with special holiday pricing: tickets just $7 for Film Society members, students, and seniors (62+); and $10 for the general public. Visit filmlinc.org for more information.
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