NOIR CITY: Philadelphia

Noir City: Philadelphia

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NOIR CITY, with host Eddie Muller, returns to The Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville November 15 – 17 with a program of thematically linked double bills, pairing foreign language films with movies made in the United States and United Kingdom.

“This year’s NOIR CITY program is tailored to satisfy folks who love noir that’s full of the colorful vernacular slang so essential to American and British noir—as well as adventurous viewers intrigued by a familiar story–a crime committed for passion or profit—playing out in cultures with different values, mores, and styles.” —Eddie Muller

NOIR CITY honcho and FNF president Eddie Muller, familiar to a national audience as the host of Noir Alley on Turner Classic Movies (TCM), credits preservation efforts by film archives worldwide, and the advent of digital distribution, as the reason “we’re now able to recognize the global scope of film noir.” At this year’s NOIR CITY: Philadelphia he notes, audiences will experience familiar noir tales … but half will be from Argentina, France, Italy, and Japan presented alongside English-language offerings .The 10-film program of thematically linked double bills includes heists, prison breaks, missing persons, cultural alienation, and lots of plain old-fashioned murder.

Kicking off the collection of rarities is the FNF’s most recent restoration — 1952’s Argentine film Never Open That Door (No abras nunca esa puerta) — based on two short stories by American master of suspense fiction, Cornell Woolrich. The picture was preserved by the Film Noir Foundation in 2013 and was completely restored by the FNF in 2023 through UCLA Film & Television Archive.

Included on the 2024 NOIR CITY: Philadelphia schedule are English-language rarities such as Black Tuesday (1954) and Across the Bridge (1957). Little-seen international titles include Zero Focus (Japan, 1961) and Smog (1962), a forgotten surrealist masterpiece by Italian director Franco Rossi freshly restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive. The festival ends Sunday evening with a heist double bill of John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and the 1963 French film Symphony for a Massacre.

There will be an Eddie Muller book signing on Saturday afternoon, November 16 – with books available for sale – of Muller’s recent publications: Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir, Noir Bar: Cocktails Inspired by the World of Film Noir, and Kid Noir: Kitty Feral and the Case of the Marshmallow Monkey. Consult The Colonial Theatre for book signing time.

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NOIR CITY: Philadelphia
Please note that full details for each screening and film are linked below.

Friday, November 15th, 2024 – Opening Night

NEVER OPEN THAT DOOR / NO ABRAS NUNCA ESA PUERTA
ARGENTINA (1952) Dir. Carlos Hugo Christensen. 85 min. DCP.

STREET OF CHANCE
UNITED STATES (1942) Dir. Jack Hively. 74 min. 35mm.

Tickets/ DETAILS

Saturday at 11:00 AM, Eddie Muller will be in the Berry Theatre signing copies of his books. This event will last until approximately 1:00 PM. It is in conjunction with Reads & Company, which will have copies of “THE ART OF NOIR,” “DARK CITY”, “NOIR BAR”, and “KITTY FERAL” for purchase.

Saturday, November 16th, 2024 – Set 1