Lee H & the Boones at the Strand - free!

Lee H & the Boone brothers will be giving a free concert Sat. April 19 at the Strand Theatre (717 Clay St). It's from 5 to 7 PM. Free food, pay bar.

Join us at the Strand Theatre
717 Clay Street

for an exclusive showing of an Italian classic film: 

Il Sorpasso
Friday, March 28 at 7 PM

$5 advance tickets available at Highway 61 Coffeehouse

$7 at the door 

Dino Risi, Italy 1962, 107 min.Racing into Rome early one morning, smooth-talking, fast-walking Vittorio Gassman just needs to borrow someone's phone - even sleepy, uptight law student Jean-Louis Trintignant's will do. Bored and with nothing better on tap, the two hit the road in Gassman's souped-up Lancia Aurelia, blazing past farmers, priests, and bicyclists, honking horns at beautiful tourists, and shambling through Italy's beautiful beaches. But what's at the end of the road? Perhaps the first modern-day road movie, and a favorite of directors from Martin Scorsese to Alexander Payne, Il Sorpasso was a smash hit in Italy and abroad, yet has remained unavailable in this country for decades. Janus Films is proud to present this masterpiece of the Commedia all'italiana in a new restoration sourced from the original camera negative.

Japanese comedy coming to the Strand March 22

Join us at

the Strand

(717 Clay St.) for

Key of Life

this Saturday, March 22 at 7 PM

 

$7 at the door

$5 in advance at Highway 61 Coffeehouse

 

From Twitch Film:

 

Key of Life is the sort of film that seldom plays outside of the festival circuit and that, is nothing short of a tragedy. Because as much as the typical distribution argument that films such as this - films that are too quirky for the genre crowd and too genre for the arthouse - makes a certain degree of objective sense this is simply brilliant storytelling rife with sterling performances and a completely original, completely compelling spin on both the gangster film and the romantic comedy. And, yes, you read that right.

Uchida's third feature revolves around a trinity of key characters, each of whom could easily have anchored a film all on their own but whose stories mesh into a whole even greater than the sum of its parts. 

First we meet Kanae (Hirosu Ryoko), a driven and somewhat neurotic woman pushing into her mid thirties. While she's risen through the ranks of her chosen profession, Kanae's meticulous and unemotional manner have left her a single woman and she's decided it's time for that to change. She's going to get married. She doesn't know to whom yet but she's got it all scheduled out so it's time to get cracking.

And then there is Sakurai (Sakai Masato) a failed actor who also proves to be a failure as a suicide artist. Yes, one more thing for Sakurai to feel bad about not being good at. Shaken and a little sweaty from his suicide attempt Sakurai heads to the local bath house to clean up. Because, why not? It's not like he's got anything else worthwhile on the go and he's all out of rope to hang himself with.

It's at the bath house that Sakurai meets Kondo (Kurosawa Kiyoshi regular Kagawa Teruyuki), an elite hit man looking to unwind after a job. But 'meet' may be too strong a word. Because Sakurai's first encounter with Kondo begins with the assassin flying ass over teakettle after stepping on a bar of soap and crashing to the floor, knocking himself unconscious.


At its heart Key Of Life is a movie about isolation and the desire for community, the need to be recognized and accepted, with the identity change being the mechanism that allows each of the three characters to strip away their outer facades and be at least a little bit honest about who they really are and who they want to be. Uchida is well aware of the irony of truthfulness coming out of an extended lie, the entire film delighting in finding emotional truth by subverting factual truth. 

A romantic comedy of errors with a bit of a body count and a few smashed cars, Key Of Life is an absolute delight that could not possibly come more highly recommended.

March 2014 Films at the Strand

On Saturday, March 1 at 7 PM the Strand will be showing Paolo Sorrentino's The Great Beauty.

This new film is a colorful trip to current day Rome, where we meet Jep (Toni Servillo), the self styled king of nightlife, who on the occasion of his 65th birthday, begins to wonder if he will ever find Great Beauty. It's a lush, decadent visit to the ancient city and its people, who party through the nights. (in Italian with English subtitles.)

View the trailer.


ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINEE - BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE 
FILM 

WINNER - GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD® - BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

WINNER - 4 EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS
BEST PICTURE - BEST DIRECTOR - BEST WRITER - BEST ACTOR


2014 Film Independent Spirit Award Nomination - BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM 

WINNER - BAFTA AWARD® - BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 




Tickets are $7 at the door and $5 in advance at Highway 61 Coffeehouse. 601 529 7252
--------------------------------------------------------

And coming to the Strand, Saturday, March 8 at 7 PM:
MANHATTAN SHORT's
2ndAnnual Feature Film Project: Everyone's Going to Die

Come cast your vote - help decide the fate of this film.

Everyone's Going to Die, The feature directorial debut of British filmmaker duo Jones tells the story of two lost souls and one last chance.

Melanie's life in a seaside town is going nowhere until she meets Ray, back in town with a shady job to do. A moment's escape becomes a chance to save themselves and each other. Everyone's Going to Die is a modern British story about coming home, getting by and the redemptive power of feeling you're not alone.

Everyone's Going to Die is one of a new breed of British independent films where story is the key driver in the film. Shot on a tiny budget in the summer of 2012, the film stars Rob Knighton, a former carpet fitter in his first ever acting role, and German star Nora Tschirner. The film was shot over one month in a small seaside village, where local townspeople worked as crew, extras and supporting artists. The Film was quickly selected to World Premiere at SXSW in 2013, and then nominated for Best British Film at Edinburgh International Film Festival. Then floowed a tour of Russia with the British Film Council, Dinard in France where the film received a special mention, the prestigious Mar Del Plata in Argentina, nominated for Outstanding British Debut at the British Independent Film Awards and Premier Plans in France. It is now this year's selection for the 2nd Annual Feature Film Project. 

Watch trailer for Everyone's Going to Die

Tickets: $7 at the door ($5 in advance at Highway 61 Coffeehouse) 

601 529 7252

----------------------------------------------------
Coming to the Strand Saturday, March 15 at 7 PM

Xingu

Directed by Cao Hamburger 

Country: Brazil

Runtime: 102 min

From the Producers of City of God comes Xingu. The film tells the incredible story of the Villas-Boas brothers - Orlando (Felipe Camargo), Cláudio (João Miguel) and Leonardo (Caio Blat) – and the events leading up to the creation of the Xingu National Park, the first major Indian reservation in Brazil. It salvages a forgotten and dramatic moment in Brazilian history that remains up-to-date and urgent still today.

Tickets: $7 at the door ($5 in advance at Highway 61 Coffeehouse) 

601 529 7252
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And one of my favorite Italian films will be

at the Strand on Friday, March 28 at 7 PM

 

• Italy
• 1962
• 105 minutes
• Black and White
• 1.85:1
• Italian (With English subtitles)

The ultimate Italian road comedy, Il sorpasso stars the unlikely pair of Vittorio Gassman and Jean-Louis Trintignant as, respectively, a waggish, freewheeling bachelor and the straitlaced law student he takes on a madcap trip from Rome to Tuscany. An unpredictable journey that careers from slapstick to tragedy, this film, directed by Dino Risi, is a wildly entertaining commentary on the pleasures and consequences of the good life. A holy grail of commedia all’italiana, Il sorpasso is so fresh and exciting that one can easily see why it has long been adored in Italy.

Tickets: $7 at the door ($5 in advance at Highway 61 Coffeehouse) 

601 529 7252

Promises of the Art House Convergence

I just returned from a week in Utah wading through the snow at the 2014 Art House Convergence. The AHC is a conference / get together of people who show art house films and those who distribute them. In addition there are representatives of firms who supply equipment and services needed to show films and run a cinema: credit card processing, ticketing, advertising, etc. The idea is to get these folks together to discuss ways forward to accomplish the goals of getting these more challenging films before an audience; also to make art house theaters more versatile and more integrated into their communities.


My goal was to meet the people I am already dealing with for films and to make connections with new sources. I accomplished this and much more. The months and hopefully years ahead should reveal strategies, sources, and ideas gleaned at the AHC. Already I am hearing from new connections as we get acquainted and try to determine how to work together.


In the foreseeable future we do have a number of films coming up, some featuring interviews with the filmmakers either in person or utilizing technologies such as SKYPE. We will be showcasing more local and regional filmmakers. We will participate in a short film competition later this year. We will have more silent films with live music.


We hope to eventually offer new kinds of entertainment such as live streamed opera, concerts, dance, and plays to our community. I am excited about how this tiny downtown theater could become a gathering place where cultural events as well as entertainment, and educational programs originating anywhere on the globe can be shared.


As always, let me hear your ideas and suggestions.


Stay tuned.
Daniel W. Boone
Westside Theatre Foundation / Strand Cinema

STRAND Cinema 
presents
Nosferatu + Moving Machines =   
Live Music + Silent Film


Thursday, Oct 31 • 8 PM

Strand Theatre • 717 Clay St

$10
tickets available at Highway 61 Coffeehouse
or at the door

Silent films were never silent.  From the early days, live music was performed to accompany the images. Sometimes written, but often improvised, the music was a complement, a completion of the film. When sound pictures became the norm, the element of live performance at the movies was largely abandoned. There was no need. 

Recent years have seen a resurgence in silent films accompanied by live musicans. 

FW Murnau’s 1922 Nosferatu will be presented at the Strand Theatre in downtown Vicksburg with live original music by Palmer Shiers and Jeff Gough, known collectively as Moving Machines. This year they are being joined by percussionist Josh Harrison. Anyone who attended last year’s presentation of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari knows how cool this will be. It was standing room only last year, so getting advance tickets and/or getting there early is a good idea.


Palmer and Jeff, who have been performing together for more than 2 years, both play electric stringed instruments: guitar and bass, using a technique they sometimes refer to as “treated guitar.” The term describes the fact that uch manipulation of the sound is employed, including multiple effects
pedals and sometimes distortion in an effort to create music that will evoke emotions. “I wanted to devote myself to experimental music without lyrics, because I thought I could communicate feelings better that way,” Palmer Shiers said.  Harrison is now a permanent member of Moving Machines
adding his unique percussion treatments to their sound. 

Roger Ebert gave Nosferatu 4 out of 4 stars. Here are a few of his comments about the film: Murnau's silent film was based on the Bram Stoker novel, but the title and character names were changed because Stoker's widow charged, not unreasonably, that her husband's estate was being ripped off.
Ironically, in the long run Murnau was the making of Stoker, because “Nosferatu” inspired dozens of other Dracula films, none of them as artistic or unforgettable. “Nosferatu” is more effective for being silent. It is commonplace to say that silent films are more “dreamlike,” but what does that mean? In “Nosferatu,” it means that the characters are confronted with alarming images and denied the freedom to talk them away. There is no repartee in nightmares. Human speech dissipates the shadows and makes a room seem normal. Those things that live only at night do not need to talk, for their victims are asleep, waiting.

Don’t miss this show.
 

Here's our new marquee inspired sign for the front lobby and our improved concession area starring Stacie. This project is ongoing, and should be even better soon.