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7:00 PM Sundance
The Duchess of Langeais (2007 FRA): The most recent film directed by octogenarian New Waver Jacques Rivette, The Duchess of Langeais is a handsomely mounted frock flick based on a story by Balzac. The late Guillame Depardieu stars as Armand, the hunky and hairy Marquis of Montriveau, hero of the Napoleonic Wars. Perhaps overwhelmed by his own PR, Armand meets le cute with the titular noblewoman (mousy Jeanne Balibar) and immediately claims her as his own — without taking into consideration either her husband or the vows she is preparing to give to a local order of nuns. There are lots of long, languid conversations, but finally Armand tires of waiting for the Duchess to desert either her physical or spiritual spouses, and like the Stratego master he is, outmanoeuvres his opponent. Thrill a minute it isn't, but Rivette's eye for detail (period and otherwise) and a particularly fine performance from Balibar make it all worthwhile.

Saturday 04/25/09

1:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Perversion for Profit (1965 USA): Recently deceased Los Angeles newscaster George Putnam plays host in this salacious, half hour long warning to parents. George wants you to know that there are many threats lying in wait to pollute the minds of innocent American children: smut peddlers, blue movies, dirty magazines, and most dangerous of all, those wicked, wicked homosexuals. Produced by our good friends at Citizens for Decent Literature, Perversion for Profit is a mind-boggling time capsule that proves the Christian right have been losing the "Culture Wars" for a long, long time. It's followed at 2:15 AM by the fascinating Ask Me, Don't Tell Me (1961 USA), a short documentary about the rehabilitation of San Francisco gang members.

2:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
I Married a Monster From Outer Space (1958 USA): The title says it all, doesn't it? Tom Tryon stars as Bill Farrell, a man whose body is taken over by an alien being as he drives home from his stag party on the eve of his marriage to fiancée Marge (Gloria Talbot). Ignoring Bill's strange new personality, Marge goes ahead with the marriage — and it takes her a full year before she realizes the man she married may not, er, be the man she married! Finally suspicious, Marge follows Bill on one of his late night visits to his hidden flying saucer — and soon discovers that most of the town's other eligible men-folk also harbor space aliens from a dying planet. Turns out the fairer sex on their home planet are sterile — but making love to Earth women is not as easy as our galactic gigolos imagined. TCM is airing I Married a Monster in widescreen — a small screen first, I believe — so be sure to attend the ceremony this afternoon!

Sunday 04/26/09

5:00 AM IFC
Ballad of a Soldier (1959 USSR): Sometimes I recommend films I haven't seen in 20 years or more, basing my opinions on dim memories from countless trips to long gone movie palaces like the UC Theatre or the Telegraph Repertory. Now that I've seen this one again, I'm pleased to issue an even more fervid recommendation than on previous occasions. Ballad of A Soldier is a very simple story of a Russian infantryman (Volodya Ivashov) who stumbles into committing an act of bravery. Impressed by his ability to knock out two German tanks, his commanding officer grants him a leave to fix the family roof. He has six days to get home, fix the roof, and return to the front, and numerous obstacles get in his way, including an overburdened rail system, a legless Russian veteran (played brilliantly by Yevgeni Urbansky, who looks a bit like Marlon Brando) in need of help, a recalcitrant railway guard who responds to bribery, and - most importantly - a young woman (Zhanna Prokorenko) who falls in love with him. The film is deeply moving without being in the least bit sentimental and is gorgeous to look at, featuring magnificent and superbly framed black and white cinematography by Vladimir Nikolayev and Era Savelyeva. Try watching it without at least getting a lump in your throat.

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