Events for January 20th, 2013
Dark Passage
Directed by Delmer Daves. US. 1947. NR. 106 min. Warner Bros. DVD.
- Sun, Jan 20, 2:00 pm
In this, their third screen pairing, Bogart plays an escaped convict who is aided in his search for the real killer of his wife by an eager and supportive Bacall. In order to escape detection, Bogie must get a new face, via plastic surgery. To enhance this plot device, a most interesting technique is used: the first half of the film is photographed as seen through Bogart’s eyes, thus causing us to, in essence, become him. More»
Words of Witness
Directed by Mai Iskander. US. 2011. NR. 68 min. Human Rights Watch Film Festival. DVD.
- Sun, Jan 20, 4:30 pm
“One of the most stirring moments in “Words of Witness,” a new documentary by Mai Iskander, is the storming of the State Security headquarters in Cairo. After the start of the revolution on January 25, 2011, many protesters were imprisoned, some rounded up in Tahir Square. Now three weeks after Mubarak’s ouster, the crowds storm the infamous bastille to see if there may still be prisoners left inside. As they force their entry, chaos spreads through the spooky hallways. This could very well be the Stasi, so generic these corridors of officialdom seem, with fluorescent lights and linoleum tiles. The camera shakes frantically. Unsure where to look, the men rip floor tiles, in search for secret passageways. What they find instead are black bags filled with secret files. In them, thousands of lives are documented, as they were spied on, interrupted, tortured, tragically cut short. To see this ocean of evidence, as the men plow through it in search of familiar names, is breathtaking. More»