24 Hour Movie Marathon

24 HOUR MOVIE MARATHON

"While to the stranger's eye one street was no different from another, we all knew where our neighborhood somehow ended. Beyond that, a person was... a stranger."

- Arthur Miller, Playwright, raised in Brooklyn

Look folks, I don't normally bother the Pink Smoke audience with what I'm doing over at my other job programming the Jacob Burns Film Center, but we have going on this weekend (on 6/18/2011) is too awesome for me to ignore it. It would be spiritually dishonest not to brag about it because it's just amazing. Granted, we're always doing awesome stuff and I never write about any of that - so I mention the general excellence of our programming not in an asshole-y, conceited sort of way, but more as proof of how what I'm going to tell you about right now is just that ridiculously amazing. In honor of of our 10th Anniversary, we're going to be running two screens of movies for 24 goddamned hours. And the line-up is so beautfiul, it would (as Spike Lee's dad would say) bring a tear to a glass eye. Below you can read what I wrote about it to sell tickets and experience my words processed through a "shill" filter and I'm sure that's more concise and coherent than what I'm writing right now. Our graphic design department even made a little puzzle where you can try to figure out the line-up because we're not explicating it in advance. It's weird but thrilling. But come on, you can get a bunch of these. Everyone knows what I think is the best Dirty Dozen rip-off ever made - I mention it in my 100 Movie Moments list. Hell, if you just google the clues, about 5 of the answers will come from just following links back to this website. Honestly, there's a picture of Marilyn Monroe on there in her iconic pink dress wearing diamonds and you can't get that clue?

Interestingly, we switched the film for one of the 7:05 screenings and the clue "Before we went to India, but technically after" still works just fine. Cribbs helped me write the clues, so any instances of irritating puns like "lovingly crafted" and "Like Lolita but doesn't have it" can be traced back to him.* Because of our deals with the distributors, we can't say what any of the previews are, but I used an image from one of them as the banner for this anyway. It's the best movie of 2011, but I saw it in 2010, so I went ahead and said it was one of the best from that year. It doesn't matter what year you see it because it rules. I personally am excited because we're showing 3 movies that have never been released in the U.S. on vhs or dvd - one is from the greatest non-Kurosawa director of samurai flicks, one I've written about extensively for the site (mainly about how it's impossible to see) and the final one is famous for having its screenings shut down whenever a theater tries to sneak in a show. There's a 4th film that also has technically never been released in the U.S., but it's fairly recent and feels weird to lump in with the others. Did I mention we're also showing my favorite movie, a film which I've never seen on the big screen? Keep in mind, I don't think it's the greatest film ever made and I probably wouldn't even call it a masterpiece, but it is the film with which I identify most deeply.

Honestly, I've never been happier about what I've had the opportunity to bring to the JBFC and I wanted to tell you about it. That's all. I'm just excited.

- christopher funderburg

Jacob Burns Film Center, Pleasantville, NY

24 Hour Movie Marathon

Join us for a party, a get together that I’m sure will at times be both raucous and relaxed, a feast where you can gorge on some of the best films ever made – films that, incidentally, have never before played at the JBFC. 6 previews of new films, 3 films never released on vhs or dvd, 4 brand new digitally restored prints; the whole program laced with rare short films, brilliant music videos and unforgettable trailers.

Here’s how it works: you buy a ticket for the whole program. In the theaters at the appointed start times (see the “clues” puzzle above), we’ll announce the choices– and then you go into the one you want to see. Pretty straight-forward. In fact, when we were dreaming up this idea to keep the theater open for 24 hours, the idea seemed simple: a day-long party for Westchester’s movie lovers, from the casual to hardcore, a thank you to those who have kept the JBFC thriving for the past 10 years. Seriously, it’s not some endurance test – come early, see a couple movies, go home and sleep and come back later; or start Sunday morning and stay all day. Sure, anyone who manages to stay all 24 hours and see 12 films will be awarded our Grand Prize: a year of free movies at the JBFC**...but I know you’re in it for the art, for le cinema, not for the plunder.

So—take a look at the clues and see if you can figure out the films, but the surprise is part of the fun, and trust me, the line-up will blow you away. Add in special guests like director Jonathan Demme and NY Times critic Janet Maslin and I can’t imagine what more we possibly could have done to celebrate 10 years of the JBFC. I’ll see you on the 18th to toast with me to 10 more.

--JBFC Senior Programmer Christopher Funderburg

Tickets: $40 (members), $60 (nonmembers)
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Print out a pdf copy of the clues above to bring with you!

* JOHN REPLIES: Give me a break - I threw those out there as jokes while we hurriedly came up with the clues over ice cream at Friendly's, and you kept insisting "No no - that's good!" and scribbled them down on a notepad. Personally, I think I came up with the best clue, the one next to the picture of a taxi - which makes it so ridiculously easy to get. (Jimmy Fallon fans, strap on your seatbelts!) CHRIS: Oh John, don't be scared of your gift for puns! I know you thinks it's the reason Arab terrorists killed your dad, but it was actually all just a convoluted plot concocted by your secretly evil mentor! Don't resent your "will to pun" - harness it and use it for good!

** There are many, many exceptions to this. Don't be a smartass and think you can use your special comp card to come see Steven Spielberg for free in September or something like that.

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