A big beret to fill
Tomorrow night at the Walter Reade Theater, Film Comment Selects a biopic of a certain fatigue-sporting folk hero best known for leading the Cuban revolution.
Wait a second, you say, didn’t Che already make a rare appearance in it’s four-and-a-half-hour glory during the New York Film Festival? Yes, but that was the Steven Soderbergh-directed Che.
Benicio Del Toro as Che
This, my friends, is the rarely screened 1969 classic starring Omar Sharif embodying the indelible visage of emblazoned upon the threadbare t-shirts of grad students everywhere. And between Richard Fleischer’s blast-from-the-past biopic Che! and Soderbergh’s groundbreaking Spanish-language epic, there are some radical differences. To wit…
Omar Sharif as Che!
Directors:
Soderbergh (Che): Famous for putting Sundance on the map with 1989’s Sex, Lies, and Videotape.
Fleischer (Che!): Famous for helming the film that brought the world the phrase: “…is made out of people!!!”
Castro was played by…
Che: Demián Bichir, a Mexican actor
Che!: Jack Palance, the famous one-armed push-up doing Oscar winner
Production:
Che: working characteristically fast and loose, Soderbergh shot Che himself, using a brand-new hi-def camera called The RedONE. The first half of the film was shot in anamorphic, while the second half was confined to a less wide-screen scope. [Watch Soderbergh talk about his process in an exclusive Film Society Q&A]
Che!: Widescreen all the way–this feature was pure Hollywood production.
If you saw Che, or even the Motorcycle Diaries, Che! is a new lens on understanding a pivotal historical moment. And it just goes to show: one exclamation point can mean a world of difference.
Buy your tickets now: Tue Oct 28: 6:35
the filmlinc blog 
Just in time for Halloween–our contest winner reveals her favorite scary movie
October 31, 2008“Wait Until Dark is the sweetest thrill of a scary movie I know. Audrey Hepburn, all fragile bones and immense, unseeing eyes, mesmerizes as she’s stalked by drug dealing tough Alan Arkin, who exudes menace – and odd ball suave.
The blind Hepburn, who never has to wait for dark, fumbles, stumbles and clutches with such looks of stricken horror and pale, sweaty adrenaline, that we feel it all too. Arkin, with his equally pallid skin and vampirishly dark hair, multiplies the gothic atmosphere of this mod sixties thriller.
There are equal parts terror and surprise; this is a classic twists and turns film, and it’s impossible not to get swept up in the tension. Ironically, it is also a very visual film, and the shots, cuts and colors will stay with you long after the credits pass to black. I first saw it when I was ten, and it stuck with me for decades, with no dvd/vcr reminders. It will stick with you too.”
-by S.B. Arkun, grand prize winner of the Film Comment/Young Friends of Film Halloween contest
Get in on the fun–share your own favorite scary movie in the comments below!
Categories: Film Comment, just for fun, quotables, what's on, Young Friends of Film
Tags: Film Comment, wait until dark, Young Friends of Film
Comments: Be the first to comment