Museum Of Moving Image Presents Dave Kehr: When Movies Mattered

Film critic Dave Kehr's new book When Movies Mattered: Reviews from a Transformative Decade, published by the University of Chicago Press, is a collection of his reviews written between 1974 and 1986 in the Chicago Reader. To celebrate the publication of this anthology, Museum of the Moving Image will present a weekend film series on March 26 and 27, 2011, featuring Dave Kehr in person and film screenings inspired by the book.

The series, Dave Kehr: When Movies Mattered, opens with the premiere of a newly restored print of Raoul Walsh's Sailor's Luck (1933), followed by a discussion with Kehr, moderated by the Museum's Chief Curator David Schwartz, and book signing in the Museum store. Other films in the series are Walter Hill's The Driver (1978), Luis Buñuel's That Obscure Object of Desire (1977), Jonathan Demme's Melvin and Howard (1980), and Jean-Luc Godard's Every Man for Himself (1980)-all presented in 35mm prints.

"Dave Kehr's writing is lucid and expansive, informed by both a deep respect for the history of classic cinema, and an openness to new modernist forms," said David Schwartz. "Simply put, When Movies Mattered establishes Kehr as one of the most important film critics of his time."

Dave Kehr is best known to cinephiles for his DVD column in The New York Times, where he ranges freely through film history, writing about classic and contemporary world cinema. His website Davekehr.com has become home for some of the most thoughtful, well-informed film discussion on the Internet. Yet for many years, much of Kehr's best writing, his brilliant long-form criticism for the Chicago Reader, has been unavailable. His new anthology, When Movies Mattered (University of Chicago Press, 2011), is a treasure trove for serious film enthusiasts. For one thing, the volume covers an enormously vibrant period, when new films were being made by grand masters like Jean Renoir, Alfred Hitchcock, and Orson Welles; emerging New Hollywood directors like Walter Hill, John Carpenter, and Jonathan Demme; and international stars like Jean-Luc Godard and Wim Wenders.

Schedule for Dave Kehr: When Movies Mattered
March 26 & 27, 2011
All screenings take place at the Museum (36-01 35 Avenue, Astoria) and are included with Museum admission.

Sailor's Luck
Saturday, March 26, 2:00 p.m.
Followed by a discussion with Dave Kehr and book signing
Dir. Raoul Walsh. 1933, 64mins. 35mm print. Written by Bert Hanlon. With James Dunn, Sally Eilers, Victor Jory. Sailors on shore leave, an elusive young woman, and a dance marathon, are all part of the action in this in this lively Raoul Walsh pre-Code delight, shown here in a brand new 35mm print. In his lengthy and essential appreciation of Walsh, Kehr wrote, "I can think of no other case of a filmmaker whose work was so widely, and rightly, perceived as important, but yet received so little intelligent attention." After the screening, Kehr will discuss his book in a discussion moderated by Chief Curator David Schwartz. Followed by a signing in the Museum store.

The Driver
Saturday, March 26, 5:00 p.m.
Dir. Walter Hill. 1978, 91mins. 35mm print. With Ryan O'Neal, Bruce Dern, Isabelle Adjani. This lean, existential thriller about a getaway driver pursued by a manic cop is one of the finest examples of neo-noir. As Kehr writes, "the rhythms of The Driver resemble the classic construction of a Howard Hawks film: dialogue alternated with action, the tensions created in a static scene exploding into movement in the next scene, to be either resolved or exaggerated."

That Obscure Object of Desire
Saturday, March 26, 7:00 p.m.
Dir. Luis Buñuel, 1977, 103 mins. Restored 35mm print from Rialto Pictures. With Fernando Rey, Carole Bouquet. A wealthy man falls for a young maid, who is played by two actresses in Buñuel audacious swan song. Kehr writes that Buñuel is "still on the attack, making films that eat away at the small complacencies, the convenient assumptions, the thin illusions that we adopt to make our lives seem more orderly, more rational, more simply livable."

Melvin and Howard
Sunday, March 27, 4:30 p.m.
Dir. Jonathan Demme, 1980, 95mins. 35mm print. With Jason Robards, Paul Le Mat, Elizabeth Cheshire. The true-life story of a man who stopped to give a lift to grizzlEd Howard Hughes and was later named an heir to his fortune, is the basis for Demme's enchanting movie. "In its ideas and emotions, it's the largest American movie in a long time, but it's a modest, comfortable film, a movie that's a pleasure to spend time with."

Every Man for Himself
Sunday, March 27, 7:30 p.m.
Dir. Jean-Luc Godard, 1980, 87mins. 35mm print. With Isabelle Huppert, Jacques Dutronc, and Nathalie Baye. A video artist, his lover, and a prostitute cross paths in Godard's inventive return to relatively mainstream filmmaking. "Someone once remarked that 'real' is a word that means nothing without quotation marks; Every Man for Himself is Jean-Luc Godard's last-ditch attempt to knock them off."

Hours: Tuesday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday, 10:30 to 8:00 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (Closed on Monday except for holiday openings).
Film Screenings and Other Programs: See above for schedule.
Museum Admission: $10.00 for adults; $7.50 for persons over 65 and for students with ID; $5.00 for children ages 3-18. Children under 3 and Museum members are admitted free. Admission to the galleries is free on Fridays, 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. Paid admission includes film screenings (except for special ticketed events and Friday evenings) Tickets for special screenings and events may be purchased in advance by phone at 718.777.6800.
Location: 36-01 35 Avenue (at 37 Street) in Astoria.
Subway: R or M trains (R on weekends) to Steinway Street. N or Q trains to 36 Avenue.
Program Information: Telephone: 718.777.6888; Website: http://movingimage.us