At first glance, these films may seem
unrelated except for their unmistakable artistry. But there
is a thread... Since CAFF is all about context shifting, viewing
them at our festival may surprise you: like you've never seen any of these
films before. Before you come to the screening, take a look at the
expanded
essay for each film by clicking on the title.
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Intolerance
(1916)
Written by Tod Browning and D.W. Griffith. Directed
by D.W. Griffith.
D.W. Griffith’s ambitious, absurdly expensive,
apology for Birth of a Nation. Audiences at the time
rejected the four interlocking stories of the history of intolerance.
The New Yorker has since called it, “A mad, brilliant, silly extravaganza.
Perhaps the greatest movie ever made.” (180 min) |
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Metropolis
(1927)
Written by Thea von Harbou, based on her novel; Directed
by Fritz Lang
God was dead. Marx and Mammon were
god. Factories were their temples. The humanity of the masses
was being sacrificed to urbanization: the original “rise of the machines.”
In a stunning visual parable, Fritz Lang makes an ardent plea for compassion
as the essential mediator between science, the forces of progress, and
the individual. (123 min) |
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Nanook of
the North (1927)
Written & Directed by Robert Flaherty
Robert Flaherty practically invented the
documentary with this poignant slice of Eskimo life. Flaherty
follows the daily trials of Nanook as he tries to provide for his family
in a biting Alaskan winter. Pure, simple, profound, beautiful.
What reality TV used to look like (before it was invented). (65
min) |
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The
Man With the Movie Camera (Chelovek s kinoapparatom) (1929)
Written & Directed by Dziga Vertov
This playful film is at once a documentary
of a day in the life of the Soviet Union, a documentary of the filming
of said documentary, and a depiction of an audience watching the film.
Even the editing of the film is documented! (80 min.) |
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Snow
White & the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Based on a story by the Bros.
Grimm. Adapted by Ted Sears,Richard Creedon, Otto Englander, Dick
Rickard, Earl Hurd, Merrill De Maris, Dorothy Ann Blank, Webb Smith.
Produced by Walt Disney
Disney’s first feature-length animated
musical brought spectacle, color and song into an America wracked by the
Dust Bowl and the Depression. It was compelling vision in which beauty
and virtue were rewarded by happiness ever after. It led to cinema’s
most successful franchise which defined the dreams of little girls and
boys for generations. A life saving kiss or a poison apple? (83
min) |
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The Bicycle
Thief (1949)
Written by Cesare Zavattini. Directed by Vittorio
de Sica.
From the ashes of World War II arose the
back-to-basics cinema of Italian Neo-realism. With the movie
studios in ruins, filmmakers turned to the streets of Rome, using non-professional
actors to tell simple, human stories about a man, his son, and a stolen
bike. Consistently, one of Sight and Sound’s Top Ten films
of all time. With a post-screening discussion presented by The Focolare
Movement. (90 min) |
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The 400 Blows
(1959)
Written by Francois Truffaut & Marcel Moussy.
Directed by Francois Truffaut.
The French New Wave started with small
films, set amidst Parisian streets, using amateur actors and available
light. Francis Truffaut’s autobiographical tale shows the resilience
of a twelve-year-old boy amidst delinquent parents and an indifferent social
system. Still as fresh and lyrical as the day it debuted. (99
min) |
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Don't Look
Back (1966)
Written & Directed by D. A. Pennebaker
Rebels, beatniks, hippies—the revolution
starts here. Folk icon Bob Dylan put on sunglasses, plugged
in an electric guitar and blew away audience expectations.
Director D.A. Pennebaker introduced cinema verite, making his camera practically
invisible as Dylan tangles with the press, with fame, and with his enduring
musical muse. (96 min) |
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The
Graduate (1967)
Written by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry.
Based upon the novel by Charles Webb. Directed by Mike Nichols.
Pick your classic moment: Simon
& Garfunkel’s soundtrack, Mrs. Robinson, “Plastics.” A
savage script, sharp direction and Dustin Hoffman’s breakthrough role as
a student languishing at the bottom of a swimming pool all combined to
capture the growing disillusionment of a generation ravaged by societal
and sexual revolution. (105 min) |
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Star Wars,
A New Hope (1977)
Written & Directed by George Lucas.
It was a time of upheaval: Civil Rights,
Vietnam, and terrorists at the Olympics. There was LSD, Roe vs. Wade,
and Watergate. The movies reflected the self-doubt, uncertainty
and gloom of the time. And then, a beautiful princess sent a message:
“Help me Obi Wan Kenobi! You are my only hope!” Star Wars “a
new hope” took our anxieties “far, far, away,” and changed Hollywood forever.
This is the reissued Special Edition. (121 min) |
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Do the Right
Thing (1989)
Written & Directed by Spike Lee.
Public Enemy pumps up the volume and the
tension on the hottest day of the summer of 1988. Inspired
by a real incident, Spike Lee’s bright, aggressive film challenges viewers
of all colors. The debate continues between love and hate,
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King and what it means to “do the right thing.”
(120
min) |
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Pulp Fiction
(1994)
Written by Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary. Directed
by Quentin Tarentino
The postmodern shift starts here.
Hitmen quote the Bible. Needles make you squirm. Violence
makes you laugh. Quentin Tarantino redefined independent film and
the conventions of storytelling. We’ve been remaking it ever since.
Presented in a widescreen Panavision print. (154 min) |
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Moulin Rouge!
(2001)
Writen by Baz Lurhmann and Craig Pearce. Directed
by Baz Luhrmann
In the century since 1899’s Summer of
Love, the longing for deep and personal connection remains the melody that
most haunts human beings. Moulin Rouge! stunned theatergoers
with its lavish production design and musical syncretism. It single-handedly
revitalized a genre and gave the MTV generation a big screen baptism. (128
min) |
Come explore a Century in Cinema. Let the past
inspire your future...
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