sign in sign up
<<
Home , Abel Ferrara, Delphine Seyrig, Don Marshall (actor), Jamie Lee Curtis, Nicolas Winding Refn, Olivia de Havilland

BAMcinématek presents Vengeance is Hers, a 20-film showcase of some of cinema’s most unforgettable heroines and anti-heroines, Feb 7—18

Includes BAMcinématek’s ninth annual Valentine’s Day Dinner & a Movie, with a screening of The Lady Eve and dinner at BAMcafé

The Wall Street Journal is the title sponsor for BAMcinématek and BAM Rose Cinemas.

Brooklyn, NY/Jan 10, 2014—From Friday, February 7 through Tuesday, February 18, BAMcinématek presents Vengeance is Hers. From screwball proto-feminism to witchy gothic horror to cerebral auteurist classics, this 20-film series gathers some of cinema’s most unforgettable heroines and anti-heroines as they seize control and take no prisoners. Seen through the eyes of some of the world’s greatest directors, including female filmmakers such as and , these films explore the full gamut of cinematic retribution in all its thrilling, unnerving dimensions. Vengeance is Hers is curated by Nellie Killian of BAMcinématek and Thomas Beard of Light Industry.

Opening the series on Friday, February 7 is ’s Medea (1969), a film adaptation of the Euripides tragedy which follows the eponymous sorceress on a vicious crusade for revenge. Starring legendary opera singer Maria Callas in her first and only film role, Medea marks the final entry in Pasolini’s “Mythical Cycle” which also includes Oedipus Rex (1967), Teorema (1968), and Porcile (1969). “Brilliant and brutal” (Vincent Canby, ), Medea kicks off this series showcasing international films from a variety of genres and creating an alternate history to the clichéd images of avenging women. The 7pm screening will be introduced by writer Wayne Koestenbaum (The Queen’s Throat).

Tales of women’s revenge were fodder for many an exploitation flick, including many with a subversive streak. In Abel Ferrara’s newly restored Ms. 45 (1981—Feb 7—9)—a feminist take on the rape-revenge film—a seamstress (Zoe Lund) transforms overnight into a gun-slinging vigilante Boasting another shotgun-toting heroine, Jack Hill’s Coffy (1973—Feb 17) features one of ’s most iconic performances as a nurse bent on shaking up her corrupt neighborhood. Other highlights include Stephanie Rothman’s women in prison meets revolutionary parable Terminal Island (1973—Feb 18); ’s gothic horror debut Black Sunday (1960—Feb 15), starring Barbara Steele; and Chor Yuen’s infamously erotic Shaw Brothers film Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (1972— Feb 17); all doing their part to enrich the genre.

A number of auteurs put their own twists on the revenge film, including with his Hitchcockian thriller Secret Defense (1998—Feb 10), “a chess puzzle devised by a grand master” (J. Hoberman) in which a young scientist seeks to avenge her father’s mysterious death. Other masterful interpretations of cinematic reprisal include Djibril Diop Mambéty’s rarely screened Hyenas (1992—Feb 12), a biting critique of neocolonialism about a wealthy Senegalese woman who returns to her hometown for retaliation, and Aki Kaurismäki’s grimly hilarious The Match Factory Girl (1990—Feb 13), starring Kati Outinen, the director’s frequent muse, are both masterful interpretations of cinematic reprisal.

Vengeance is Hers highlights the powerful female voices that emerged in a male-dominated art form with groundbreaking work from seven female directors. Hailed by The New York Times as the “first masterpiece of the feminine in the history of the cinema,” Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975—Feb 9), a visionary portrait of three days in the life of a widowed mother, was shot with an entirely female crew. Star also collaborated with pioneering video artist Carole Roussopoulos on S.C.U.M. Manifesto (1976—Feb 18; short for Society for Cutting Up

Men), a dramatic reading of ’ (’s would-be assassin) call to arms which screens in a double bill with the female-helmed Terminal Island. Rounding out the series’ diverse female perspectives are Kathryn Bigelow’s Blue Steel (1989—Feb 8), a reimagining of ’s starring ; Susan Seidelman’s dark domestic comedy She-Devil (1989—Feb 16), featuring one of ’s earliest comedic roles; and short films Possibly in Michigan (Cecelia Condit; 1983—Feb 15) and High School Reunion (Sarah Jacobson; 2003—Feb 15).

For the ninth annual Valentine’s Day Dinner and a Movie, BAMcinématek presents Preston Sturges’ screwball battle-of-the-sexes, The Lady Eve (1941—Feb 14). stars as a con artist with her sights on swindling the shy and unsuspecting heir to a fortune (), until she unwittingly falls in love with her prey. “A kind of breathless balancing act involving romance, deception, and physical comedy” (, Sun-Times), The Lady Eve screens at 6:30 and 8:45pm, followed or preceded by dinner in BAMcafé.

Other highlights of Vengeance is Hers include ’s (1976—Feb 15), in which a bullied but supernaturally gifted high schooler () gets her revenge in a blood-spattered finale; Kaneto Shindo’s stylish ghost story Kuroneko (1968—Feb 11), in which two murdered women return as angry cat spirits; Colin Higgins’ 80s office comedy Nine to Five (1980—Feb 16), featuring three shoulderpad-clad leading ladies (, , and ) bursting through the glass ceiling; and ’s (1949—Feb 13), an adaptation of ’ Washington Square which earned de Havilland an Academy Award for Best Actress.

For press information, please contact: Lisa Thomas at 718.724.8023 / [email protected] Hannah Thomas at 718.724.8002 / [email protected]

Vengeance is Hers Schedule

Fri, Feb 7 2, 7pm: Medea 4:30, 9:30pm: Ms. 45

Sat, Feb 8 7pm: Blue Steel 9:30pm: Ms. 45

Sun, Feb 9 2, 6pm: Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles 9:50pm: Ms. 45

Mon, Feb 10 7:30pm: Secret Defense

Tue, Feb 11 4:30, 7, 9:15pm: Kuroneko

Wed, Feb 12 4:30, 7, 9:30pm: Hyenas

Thu, Feb 13 5, 9:30pm: The Match Factory Girl 7pm: The Heiress

Fri, Feb 14

6:30, 8:45pm: The Lady Eve

Sat, Feb 15 2, 7pm: Carrie + High School Reunion 4:30, 9:30pm: Black Sunday + Possibly in Michigan

Sun, Feb 16 7pm: Nine to Five 9:30pm: She-Devil

Mon, Feb 17 6:30pm: Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan 4:30, 8:45pm: Coffy

Tue, Feb 18 7, 9:30pm: Terminal Island + SCUM Manifesto

Film Descriptions All films in 35mm except where noted.

Black Sunday (1960) 87min Directed by Mario Bava. With Barbara Steele. Mario Bava commenced his career-long exploration of perverse sexuality in this delirious and flamboyantly romantic adaptation of a ghostly folk tale by Gogol. Widely considered his best film, it also launched Barbara Steele’s career as the ultimate horror actress. It unreels like a relentless nightmare in which Steele—a witch—and returns from the crypt two centuries later to wreak revenge, a role she plays with wicked sensuality. Original Italian version with English soundtrack. Screens with Possibly in Michigan Dir. Cecelia Condit (1983) 12min. DCP. Sat, Feb 15 at 4:30, 9:30pm

Blue Steel (1989) 102min Directed by Kathryn Bigelow. With Jamie Lee Curtis, , Clancy Brown, Elizabeth Peña. Action auteur Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) renders this sleek, stylish police thriller with almost painterly abstraction. Day one on the force and rookie cop Megan Turner (Curtis) faces suspension for shooting an allegedly unarmed man. Shot through with a palpable, danger-at-every-turn sense of tension, Blue Steel is a fascinating blend of art-house aesthetics, psychosexual implication, and unfiltered action genre kicks. Sat, Feb 8 at 7pm

Carrie (1976) 98min Directed by Brian De Palma. With Sissy Spacek, , Amy Irving. De Palma’s wildly successful adaptation of ’s novel portrays a mercilessly taunted high schooler (Spacek, in an Oscar-nominated breakthrough role) who discovers she has the power of telekinesis. Bullied at school and secluded from the world by her evangelical, sexually repressed (Laurie), she gets her chance to bring the house down on her classmates in a justifiably infamous prom scene splattered in blood. This disturbing and stylish horror classic established De Palma as one of the most iconoclastic filmmakers his era. Screens with High School Reunion Dir. Sarah Jacobson (2003) 16min. DCP. Sat, Feb 15 at 2, 7pm

Coffy (1973) 91min Directed by Jack Hill. With Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui, William Elliott. Shotgun in tow, avenging angel Nurse “Coffy” Coffin (Grier) cleans up the neighborhood, ridding it of the pimps, pushers, and crooked politicians she blames for her kid sister’s drug addiction. Badass goddess Grier, the big screen’s original female action hero, is the unstoppable force that propels this stick-it-to-the-man cheapo classic.

Mon, Feb 17 at 4:30, 8:45pm

The Heiress (1949) 115min Directed by William Wyler. With , , , Miriam Hopkins. Henry James’ proto-feminist novella Washington Square is transformed into a stark and engrossing chamber drama in this Hollywood literary adaptation par excellence (which earned Oscars for Olivia de Havilland’s enormously affecting performance and Aaron Copland’s score). When plain Jane spinster Catherine Sloper (de Havilland) falls madly in love with the dashing Morris Townsend (Clift), she defies her relentlessly critical father (Richardson)—but is her new suitor just after her money? Thu, Feb 13 at 7pm

High School Reunion (2003) 16min Directed by Sarah Jacobson. Every bullied girl’s dream come true: DIY filmmaker Sarah Jacobson returns to her high school reunion, camera in hand, to confront her tormentors. DCP. Screens with Carrie Dir. Brian De Palma (1976) 98min. DCP. Sat, Feb 15 at 2, 7pm

Hyenas (1992) 110min Directed by Djibril Diop Mambéty. With Ami Diakhate, Djibril Diop Mambéty, Mansour Diouf, Calgou Fall. “Life made me a whore, and now I’ll make the world my brothel.” So proclaims an aging, now rich woman who returns to her impoverished Senegalese hometown and makes a diabolical proposition to its people: kill the man who impregnated and abandoned her years earlier, and receive a fortune. Mambéty’s follow- up to his classic Touki Bouki is a savagely comic surrealist adaptation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt's celebrated stage work The Visit. Wed, Feb 12 at 4:30, 7, 9:30pm

Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (1972) 86min Directed by Chor Yuenr. With Lily Ho, Yueh Hua, Betty Ting Pei. Controversial upon its release for its vicious violence and same-sex eroticism, Chor Yuen’s outrageous blend of martial arts and melodrama remains one of the most infamous entries in the Shaw Brothers canon. The sultry Lily Ho plays the daughter of a wealthy family who has been abducted into a high-class brothel, where she is taken under the wing of a lustful madam. As her mistress-lover molds her into an expert fighter, she begins to exact revenge on her tormentors. Recently selected as one of the greatest of all Hong Kong films by Time Out Hong Kong, this lurid gem is exploitation cinema at its most luxurious, with some of the most sumptuous production and costume design of the period. Digibeta. Mon, Feb 17 at 6:30pm

Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) 201min Directed by Chantal Akerman. With Delphine Seyrig, Jan Decorte, Henri Storck, Jacques Doniol- Valcroze. Three days in the humdrum life of a widowed Belgian mother: in near-real time, we watch as the title character (Seyrig) peels potatoes, runs errands, and entertains the occasional gentleman caller—leading up to one of cinema’s most shocking endings. Akerman’s landmark of slow cinema has been heralded as “the first masterpiece of the feminine in the history of the cinema” (The New York Times). Sun, Feb 9 at 2, 6pm

Kuroneko (1968) 99min Directed by Kaneto Shindô. With Kichiemon Nakamura, Nobuko Otowa, Kei Satô, Rokko Toura. Hell hath no fury like the seductive and very, very angry undead ladies in this stylish J-horror-meets-art- house ghost story. After being brutally raped and murdered by samurai, a mother (Otowa) and daughter- in-law (Taichi) dish out vengeance in the form of feline spirits, ripping open the throats of their attackers. Shindô’s hallucinatory fable—shot in glittering, gorgeous widescreen black and white—conjures a bewitching, dreamlike atmosphere. Tue, Feb 11 at 4:30, 7, 9:15pm

The Lady Eve (1941) 94min Directed by Preston Sturges. With Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, Eugene Pallette. Barbara Stanywck gets the last—and best—laughs opposite Henry Fonda in this battle-of-the-sexes farce. She’s a brash and brassy con artist; he’s the dweeby snake-obsessed heir to a beer fortune whom she trains her sights on. Blink and you’ll miss one of Sturges’ many rapid-fire one-liners in this screwball masterpiece that somehow manages to develop into an achingly romantic, disarmingly moving that upends the genre. Fri, Feb 14 at 6:30, 8:45pm For the Valentine’s Day Dinner & a Movie, the 6:30pm screening will be followed by dinner at BAMcafé at 8:30pm, and the 8:45pm screening will be preceded by dinner at 6:45pm.

The Match Factory Girl (1990) 68min Directed by Aki Kaurismäki. With Kati Outinen, Elina Salo, Esko Nikkari. Painfully shy match factory worker Iiris (Kaurismäki regular Outinen) ekes out a bleak subsistence in Helsinki, where she is scorned by her ineffectual mother and stepfather and her clumsy attempts at social interaction are met with indifference. When a one-night stand leaves her pregnant and alone, Iiris takes matters into her own hands—in spectacular fashion. With Kaurismäki’s characteristic deadpan, The Match Factory Girl walks a fine line between grim and grimly hilarious. Thu, Feb 13 at 5, 9:30pm

Medea (1969) 110min Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. With Maria Callas, Massimo Girotti, Laurent Terzieff, Giuseppe Gentile. Superstar opera diva Maria Callas portrays the avenging sorceress of Greek legend in Pasolini’s primitivist retelling of Euripides’ tragedy. Spurned by her lover Jason, pagan priestess Medea unleashes a maelstrom of bloodshed. Italian iconoclast Pasolini’s heady mix of mythology, Marxism, and magic distills the tale to its most abstract and elemental, while Callas, in a nearly wordless performance, is electrifying as the woman who rains fire on her enemies. Restored 35mm print courtesy of the Pasolini Foundation. Fri, Feb 7 at 2, 7pm

Ms. 45 (1981) 80min New digital restoration! Directed by Abel Ferrara. With Zoë Lund. The ne plus ultra of women’s revenge movies, Abel Ferrara’s exploitation classic takes place in the cesspool of 80s New York, where mute garment district worker Thana (Lund) is raped once, twice—and then something snaps. Packing a pistol and clad in leather (and later a nun’s habit), Thana handily wastes a good chunk of ’s male population, while Ferrara, defying the trappings, forges a feminist statement in extremis. DCP. Fri, Feb 7 at 4:30, 9:30pm Sat, Feb 8 at 9:30pm Sun, Feb 9 at 9:50pm

Nine to Five (1980) 110min Directed by Colin Higgins. With Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, Dabney Coleman. Three overworked and underpaid female employees (the formidable team of Fonda, Tomlin, and Parton) join forces to take revenge against their chauvinistic boss (Coleman) via a half-baked kidnapping scheme. This women’s-lib 80s comedy classic features the memorable image of Tomlin as a homicidal Snow White and, of course, Dolly Parton (in her film debut) warbling that indelible theme song. DCP. Sun, Feb 16 at 7pm

Possibly in Michigan (1983) 12min Directed by Cecelia Condit. Set in a suburban landscape tinged with surrealism, this darkly funny, richly metaphorical fairy-tale riff finds two beauties (with a love of “violence and perfume”) taking down a sinister beast. DCP. Screens with Black Sunday Dir. Mario Bava (1961) 87min. Sat, Feb 15 at 4:30, 9:30pm

S.C.U.M. Manifesto (1976) 26min Directed by Carole Roussopoulos and Delphine Seyrig. In a gesture of desemination, Delphine Seyrig dictates Valerie Solanas’ S.C.U.M. (Society for Cutting Up Men) Manifesto to the director while news of international strife plays on the kitchen radio. DCP. Screens with Terminal Island Dir. Stephanie Rothman (1973) 88min. Sat, Feb 15 at 4:30, 9:30pm

Secret Defense (1998) 170min Directed by Jacques Rivette. With , Jerzy Radziwilowicz, Grégoire Colin, . When research scientist (Bonnaire) discovers that her father’s seemingly accidental death may actually have been a murder committed by his business partner, she resolves to get retribution in Rivette’s icy, enigmatic thriller. With shades of Hitchcock, the New Wave titan’s tour-de-force contains an entrancing 20-minute set-piece in near-real time as Sylvie embarks on a tense train journey to confront her target. This screening will feature live subtitling. Mon, Feb 10 at 7:30pm

She-Devil (1989) 99min Directed by Susan Seidelman. With Meryl Streep, , Ed Begley Jr., . When her husband (Begley, Jr.) walks out on her for a fluttery Barbie Dreamhouse-dwelling romance novelist (Streep), frumpy housewife Ruth (Barr) sets to work exacting revenge of nigh-demonic proportions, systematically destroying her ex’s home, family, and career. Director Seidelman (Desperately Seeking Susan) adeptly guides this adaptation of a Fay Weldon novel into increasingly dark and demented territory. Sun, Feb 16 at 9:30pm

Terminal Island (1973) 88min Directed by Stephanie Rothman. With Don Marshall, Phyllis Davis, Ena Hartman, Marta Kristen. “A lurid exploitation subject turned into a crafty feminist allegory” (Dave Kehr). Dumped on an island off the coast of , a group of convicted death row inmates are left to duke it out for themselves. In this subversive action flick helmed by grindhouse iconoclast Stephanie Rothman. At first enslaved by a fascistic patriarchal regime, the women of the island rise up in revolt against their male oppressors—and blow up plenty of stuff in the process. Tue, Feb 18 at 7, 9:30pm

About BAMcinématek The four-screen BAM Rose Cinemas (BRC) opened in 1998 to offer Brooklyn audiences alternative and independent films that might not play in the borough otherwise, making BAM the only performing arts center in the country with two mainstage theaters and a multiplex cinema. In July 1999, beginning with a series celebrating the work of , BAMcinématek was born as Brooklyn’s only daily, year-round repertory film program. BAMcinématek presents new and rarely seen contemporary films, classics, work by local artists, and festivals of films from around the world, often with special appearances by directors, actors, and other guests. BAMcinématek has not only presented major retrospectives by major filmmakers such as Michelangelo Antonioni, Manoel de Oliveira, Shohei Imamura, Vincente Minnelli (winning a National Film Critics’ Circle Award prize for the retrospective), Kaneto Shindo, , and William Friedkin, but it has also introduced New York audiences to contemporary artists such as Pedro Costa and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. In addition, BAMcinématek programmed the first US retrospectives of directors Arnaud Desplechin, , Hong Sang-soo, and, most recently, Andrzej Zulawski. From 2006 to 2008, BAMcinématek partnered with the Sundance Institute and in June 2009 launched BAMcinemaFest, a 16-day festival of new independent films and repertory favorites with 15 NY feature film premieres; the fifth annual BAMcinemaFest ran from June 19—28, 2013.

Credits

The Wall Street Journal is the title sponsor of BAM Rose Cinemas and BAMcinématek.

Steinberg Screen at the BAM Harvey Theater is made possible by The Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg Charitable Trust.

Pepsi is the official beverage of BAM.

Brooklyn Brewery is the preferred beer of BAMcinématek.

BAM Rose Cinemas are named in recognition of a major gift in honor of Jonathan F.P. and Diana Calthorpe Rose. BAM Rose Cinemas would also like to acknowledge the generous support of The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, The Estate of Richard B. Fisher, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, Brooklyn Delegation of the Council, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, Bloomberg, and Time Warner Inc. Additional support for BAMcinématek is provided by the Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation, The Grodzins Fund, The Liman Foundation and Summit Rock Advisors.

Special thanks to: Roberto Chiesi/Cineteca Bologna; Paola Ruggiero/Cinecitta Luce; Jams Muir/Swank; Evan Husney/Drafthouse Films; Chris Chouinard/Park Circus; Brian Belvorac/Janus Films; Hughes/Pierre Grise Productions; Florence Almozini/Cultural Service of the French Embassy; Sam Green; Rebecca Cleman/Electronic Arts Intermix; Josephine Ng/Celestial Pictures; Sebastian del Castillo/American Genre Film Archive; Jake Perlin; Hélène Fleckinger/Centre Audiovisuel ; Hilton Als; Gary Palmucci/Kino Lorber; Paul Ginsburg/Universal; Joe Reid/20th Century Fox.

General Information BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, and BAMcafé are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). Both locations house Greenlight Bookstore at BAM kiosks. BAM Fisher, located at 321 Ashland Place, is the newest addition to the BAM campus and houses the Judith and Alan Fishman Space and Rita K. Hillman Studio. BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn’s only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, offers a bar menu and dinner entrées prior to BAM Howard Gilman Opera House evening performances. BAMcafé also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music for BAMcafé Live on Friday and Saturday nights with a bar menu available starting at 6pm.

Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center (2, 3, 4, 5 to Nevins St for Harvey Theater) D, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Atlantic Terminal – Barclays Center Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM

For ticket information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org.