Page 6 April 13, 2017 EL SEGUNDO HERALD Entertainment Check It Out Film Review (L-R): Host Ben Mankiewicz, Jennifer Dorian, Director Peter Bogdanovich, Pola Changnon, Charlie Tabesh and Genevieve McGillicuddy. by performing beautiful songs to “cheer up” their community. Throughout the villagers’ trials and tribulations, each character grows and finds inner strength through the testing of their endurances. T h e a u d i o b o o k a d d s d e p t h t o characterizations from audio portrayals by actors Gabrielle Glaister, Imogen Wilde, Laura Kirman, Adjoa Andoh, Tom Clegg and Mike Grady. These are beyond the typical narration of a print book, especially the comic misadventures of amoral midwife Mrs. Paltry, the vibrancy of pre-teen Kitty Winthrop and the melancholy of young Jewish evacuee Sylvie. There is also the delightful addition of excerpts of actual performances of popular versions of classical music sung by women’s choirs, including “Abide with Me and All Creatures,” “Ave Maria,” and “The Lord is my Shepherd.” This is the first novel by author Jennifer Ryan, a former book editor. Listen and read this novel and others at the library. Stop in and ask our reference staff for assistance and recommendations for other good reads. • •HAPPY• SBA loans. Business credit lines. Cash management services. Commercial RE, construction and equipment loans. Ed Myska Senior Vice President 310.321.3285 emyska@grandpointbank.com 1960 E. Grand Avenue, Suite 1200 El Segundo, CA 90245 grandpointbank.com Five-Star Superior Rating by BauerFinancial The Last Picture Show and Black Narcissus Wow at Turner Festival By Ryan Rojas for www.cinemacy.com Amidst all of the new and contemporary movies that we here at Cinemacy watch and share with our readers, there are always old classics that have been skipped, or just need to be to re-watched and enjoyed all over again. One event that celebrates the films of the past is the Turner Classic Movie Film Festival, held annually at the Hollywood Chinese and Egyptian Theaters, and running from Thursday, April 6 through Sunday, April 9. This festival, in which this genre of movie lovers take in and discuss all things classic (sometimes walking about in full vintage dress to get into the fun), celebrated the theme “Make ‘Em Laugh: Comedy in the Movies.” Films shown included such classic comedies as Steve Martin’s feature film debut The Jerk; the 50th Anniversary screening and restoration print of Dustin Hoffman’s The Graduate; and Singin’ in the Rain, which honored the late Debbie Reynolds. This year there was a somber note in remembering Robert Osbourne, TCM’s famous host who passed away last year and who served as the channel’s most recognizable face. Osbourne’s presence was synonymous with the channel itself. Nonetheless, it was a wonderfully produced film festival where I even caught a few gems that I had not seen before. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) Alfred Hitchcock’s feature film that got him recognized as a filmmaking talent by thenlegendary Studio Head David O. was one of four films presented as part of TCM’s special nitrate film screenings. This new screening series in which four film prints that were shot on nitrate film stock--whose high silver content in the film stock made color contrast alluring, but also highly flammable and prone to theater fires--were played in the Egyptian Theater, whose projection booth was painfully retrofitted in order to play the film stock. As Martin Scorsese noted in the introduction of the movie’s amazing print quality, nitrate film was popularly used before the ‘40s until it was eventually phased out. The mystery of a family whose daughter is kidnapped and held ransom, played to enthused audiences. Peter Lorre’s English-speaking film debut was a stylish mystery that had me excited to watch the remake (the 1956 remake of the same name, starring James Stewart and Doris Day). The Last Picture Show (1971) Peter Bogdanovich introduced his most critically awarded film in The Last Picture Show before the Saturday afternoon screening. He was impressed that the packed house had shown up “that early” for the screening. Bogdanovich spoke candidly, talking about the visual inspiration modeled after Citizen Kane in which friend Orson Welles advised that the only way Bogdanovich could capture the sharp depth of field that Citizen Kane had achieved years before was to shoot it in a black and white format that also places the film in its context of the period. The ‘50s-set movie about a small Texas town that centers around the local high school was a visual masterpiece and became further cemented in film legacy when it took home Academy Award wins for Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman for their Supporting Actor and Actress roles (this also marks Jeff Bridges’ film debut). Saturday Night Fever (1977) John Travolta had a multi-picture deal with Paramount Pictures after starring in Grease when he was cast as Tony Manero, a young Brooklyn teenager whose weekday work only serves to pay for weekend dancing and shenanigans with friends. The film, with Travolta’s disco dancing and the Bee Gees’ iconic soundtrack, immediately entered pop culture and ended up making a quarter of a billion dollars. It was directed by John Badhamm, who was on-hand to introduce the film and recounted that Travolta was nervous about the dance scenes and that the iconic white suit (which there were only two versions) had to be dried off with a hair dryer between takes. Black Narcissus (1937) Closing the festival coverage was another nitrate film screening of the beautiful Black The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir By Jennifer Ryan Reviewed by Roz Templin, Library Assistant, El Segundo Public Library It is 1940 during World War II in Kent, Great Britain, and most men have left the village of Chilbury to fight. This leaves the women to “keep calm and carry on” by implementing a women’s choir, which The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir by Jennifer Ryan. bolsters their confidence and forges bonds of friendship between them. Told through letters, journal entries and newspaper articles, the story lets us experience the devastation of the Nazi bombings of the British countryside, unexpected--even forbidden--bittersweet love, and adventure and intrigue. We share in the worry the townsfolk have for those in the midst of battle. The choir bands together when their worldview grows dark. By using music, each woman finds ways of going forward, even when it seems the odds are against them in every way. They are able to give others a muchneeded respite from bad news and hard times Roz Templin. See Film Review, page 20 FROM HERALD PUBLICATIONS
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