Film Talk viewing and discussion group Saturday, Sep 26, 2009 (10:15 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.) Wheeler Auditorium Enoch Pratt Free Library Central Library 400 Cathedral St. Baltimore, MD 21201 Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese, US, 1973, 110 mnutes) Director Martin Scorsese magnificently examines the hierarchy of a Mafia family in New York's Little Italy. Charlie (Harvey Keitel) tries to work his way up the bottom rungs of organized crime's ladder, while trying to keep his sociopathic friend Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro). This is complicated by Charlies affair with Johnny Boys cousin Teresa (Amy Robinson), who is rejected by Charlies family, and a large dose of Catholic guilt. Some films are so thoroughly, beautifully realized they have a kind of tonic effect that has no relation to the subject matter. Such a film is MEAN STREETS . . . one of the finer American films. Vincent Canby, NEW YORK TIMES Unfolds with the inevitability and power of a classic tragedy against teeming background of Little Italy's annual week-long Festa di San Gennaro. Everything that is said or done has the sense of being absolutely right. It was evident that Scorsese was a born filmmaker. Scorseses way with actors (all of whom are exceptionally gifted), words and images is nothing short of prodigious. Harrowing, intense, grueling even, MEAN STREETS is an unqualified success. Kevin Thomas, LOS ANGELES TIMES MEAN STREETS is a work of undeniable power. This is a provocative movie, a work of intense commitment and integrity on the part of everybody involved. The acting is so splendid that we'd like to see more of it. John Koch, BOSTON HERALD AMERICAN For more information, see: Movie Review Query Engine Internet Movie Data_base_ Trailer Senses of Cinema - on Martin Scorsese &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Followed by, at 2:00PM: Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The _meta_l Years plus the cult classic short Heavy _meta_l Parking Lot Heavy _meta_l is more than music, it's a way of life. Pratt looks back at _meta_l's '80s heyday with two classic documentaries. Heavy _meta_l Parking Lot (Jeff Krulik & John Heyn, 1986, 17 minutes) In 1986, local filmmakers Jeff Krulik and John Heyn interviewed the fans hanging out in the parking lot before a Judas Priest and Dokken concert that night at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. The rest is cult classic history. Full of unintentional hilarity, it became one of the most heavily bootlegged underground shorts in history (it was allegedly a fave video on Nirvana's Tour Bus) before begatting an official 20th Anniversary release on DVD in 2005. It also inspired the short-lived 2004 series Parking Lot on cable TV's Trio channel. The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The _meta_l Years (Penelope Spheeris, 1988, 93 minutes) Having perfectly captured the spirit of the 1980s West Coast punk scene in The Decline of Western Civilization (1981), director Penelope Spheeris turned her attention to '80s _meta_l bands in this sequel that features Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy of Motorhead, Chris Holmes of W.A.S.P., Aerosmith, Kiss, Poison, and performances by Faster Pussycat, Lizzy Borden, London, Odin, Seduce, and Megadeth. According to Time Out magazine, ...This acid look at the LA _meta_l scene bears all the hallmarks of Spheeris's obsession with, and flair for, documentary and documentary-_style_ film-making. She lets the pompous stars hoist themselves by their drugs 'n' booze-soaked petards without having overtly to make fun of them. For more information, see:
www.heavy_meta_lparkinglot.com/ (official site) Heavy _meta_l Parking Lot (Imdb) Heavy _meta_l Parking Lot (Wikipedia)
www.jeffkrulik.com (HMPL director Jeff Krulik's official site) Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The _meta_l Years (Imdb) Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The _meta_l Years (YouTube clip) For more information, contact: Marc Sober Humanities Department The Enoch Pratt Free Library 400 Cathedral St Baltimore, MD 21201 ph: (410)396-5487 fax: (410)396-1410 e-mail:
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