If you’ve enjoyed the Noir City: Lust and Larceny series at SIFF and are wondering where to get your next theatrical noir fix, we direct you to the Seattle Art Museum’s Empire of the Night: The Best of British Film Noir series.  For ten Thursdays this spring,  SAM visits “Empire of Night, where thrilling tales of love and betrayal, greed and obsession swirl in the midnight fog.”  SAM knows their stuff, having presented the first American film noir series here in 1977 and have had incredibly successful and well curated series ever since.

Empire of Night starts April 1st. We  have Full Series passes on sale here at the store: $58 for SIFF, Northwest Film Forum and SAM members,  $65 for general admission. Each film starts at 7:30 at SAM Downtown’s  Plestcheef Auditorium. For more information, visit their website or call the SAM box office at (206) 654-3121.  We do NOT have tickets for the individual films–if you’re looking to go to just one film, contact the SAM box office.

Here’s the series lineup & information.  Note: Watch all trailers & clips at your own risk, as there may be spoilers and/or things that reveal really cool parts.

April 1st--BRIGHTON ROCK (1947)– Directed by John Boulting, starring Richard Attenborough and Carol Marsh.  Look for Hermoine Baddeley as Ida. Among her many film & TV roles, she played Ellen the maid in Mary Poppins (well done, Sister Suffragette!). Attenborough was in his early 20s at the time and wears his hat well. Here’s an example:

April 8th–WANTED FOR MURDER (1946)–Directed by Lawrence Huntington, starring Eric Portman, Dulcie Gray and Stanley Holloway.  I couldn’t find a proper trailer for the film but thanks to the boundless wonders of the Internet, I did find some images from the film set to Kate Bush’s song “Mother Stands for Comfort” (there’s a scene at the beginning before the musical montage starts if you just want to watch that).

April 15th–THE OCTOBER MAN (1947)–Directed by Roy Ward Baker, starring Joan Greenwood and John Mills (dad to Hayley and Juliet and the family in Disney’s  Swiss Family Robinson).  Juliet Clark at Pacific Film Archive says, “In a twist on the wrong-man theme, this hybrid of playful murder mystery and psychological melodrama stars John Mills as an innocent man whose own self-doubt makes him a suspect.”

April 22nd–IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAY (1947)–Directed by Robert Hamer, starring Googie Withers and Jack Warner.  Check out  the  trailer here. They sure don’t make trailers like they used to.  While on your way to the movie, I suggest you listen to Morrissey’s “Everyday Is Like Sunday.”

April 29th–CORRIDOR OF MIRRORS (1948)–Directed by Terence Young, staring Eric Portman, Edana Romney and an up & comer named Christopher Lee.  There’s an excellent overview to be found at Britmovie.co.uk.

May 6th--SO EVIL MY LOVE (1948)–Directed by Lewis Allen, starring Ray Milland, Ann Todd and Geraldine Fitzgerald. Here’s a link to a post on the blog Film Noir of the Week, where you’ll find a full synopsis and a tasty snippet of the film itself.  Listen for the appropriately  intense score. And  just because it’s cool, here’s  Milland on What’s My Line:

May 13th–THE THIRD MAN (1949)–Directed by Carol Reed, based on the novel by Graham Greene, starring Orson Welles and Joseph Cotton. We’ve said it before, but you should never pass up a chance to see this story of “continental intrigue” in 35mm.

May 20th--SO LONG AT THE FAIR (1950)–Directed by Antony Darnborough and Terence Fisher, starring Jean Simmons, Dirk Bogarde and David Tomlinson (who you may recognize as George Banks from Mary Poppins.)   This twisted tale of disappearance was based on a novel that also inspired an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Here’s a key bit:

May 27th–THE LONG HAUL (1957)–Directed by Ken Hughes, starring Diana Dors and Victor Mature. Steve Seid at the aforementioned Pacific Film Archive says, “Racketeering is the principal cargo in this well-tuned tale about a trucker in trouble. Victor Mature (in a role intended for Marlon Brando) plays Harry Miller, a deactivated G.I. stranded in England with his Liverpudlian wife. Harry signs on as a driver for a lorry combine only to find that mobsters rule the road. Joe Easy (Patrick Allen), the ruthless thug who runs Easy Hauling, plays it fast and loose with his freight, but not as loose as his curvaceous cohort Lynn (Diana Dors, the British Monroe).”

June 3rd–THE CLOUDED YELLOW (1951)–Directed by Ralph Thomas, starring Trevor Howard and Jean Simmons.  Howard plays an ex-Secret Service agent who takes a nice quiet job on a country estate categorizing butterflies. He  falls for his boss’ niece (Simmons), and when she’s accused of murder they use his stealth skills to lead the cops on a chase across the Lake District. Here’s Ms. Simmons getting grilled by the fuzz.  She didn’t do it…did she?

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If one film a week isn’t enough for you (we understand, sometimes more than one a day isn’t enough for us), check out the 197 titles in our Film Noir section, located upstairs in the shadows of the Murder/Mystery/Suspense room.

The documentary profiles the early days of the RCRG from their origins at a White Center roller rink, to the formation of the league and its four signature teams, to their fierce competition in Tuscon against some of the best leagues in the country. It’s not just a behind the scenes look at the the league and the women who skate but also a profile of the passion and politics involved when a group of dedicated individuals create & maintain a grassroots organization.  Plus, there’s plenty of tough derby action as these athletes race, block, push, and sometimes flat out fight their way to victory on the track. Please enjoy not one, but two trailers (warning: the first one has some salty language)

And here’s an episode of the MacGuffin Podcast, in which Spencer and BOFT co-director Lacey Leavitt discuss her career in film and the genesis of Blood on the Flat Track. They also get to talking about their favorite guilty viewing pleasures (Viva VHS!) and their DVD picks for the week. We’d like to give a virtual high-5 to Ms. Leavitt for the most concise comment on Michael Bay’s Transformers we’ve heard. You hit the nail right on the head!

Episode 28 – A Change Of Pace from Spencer Fornaciari on Vimeo.

Make plans to be here Tuesday night for the DVD release and meet the amazing women behind the movie and the sport. And while you’re here, be sure to check out our ever growing Roller Derby rental section!

Note:  If listening to Mr. Scorsese talk about film and film preservation made you tear up a bit (like I did), be sure to check out A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies,  in which he takes us through his favorite films and shares their influence on his work. One viewing is roughly equivalent to a quarter of film school.

Both films begin at 7:30pm downtown at the Seattle Art Museum. For ticket information, please visit their website.

To prepare for her visit, here’s footage of Ms. Schoonmaker discussing her career and how she goes about the editing process.

Make plans to take a late lunch, skip class, or leave work early to meet and chat with a modern film legend. We’ll see you here.

Most people know him as the director of films like the Basketcase trilogy, and the beloved horror comedy Frankenhooker, but Frank Henenlotter is also a film historian. He works with Seattle’s own Something Weird Video to help preserve and distribute films that might otherwise have been lost forever. We at Scarecrow are (obviously) fans of film preservation and believe that every movie, no matter if it’s a big budget tearjerker or a zero budget post-apocalyptic buddy comedy, has something to teach us. Unlike other rental stores and services, Scarecrow doesn’t discriminate in favor of big studios – we’re proud of our incredibly diverse collection, and we’re proud to have an in-store guest who helped keep that diversity alive.

It was the Frank Henenlotter’s Sexy Shockers collection (released by Something Weird Video) which made it possible for us to see movies like Andy Milligan’s Bloodthirsty Butchers and the full length version of the mind bogglingly bizarre Love Goddess of Blood Island.

A lover of trash cinema since childhood much of his knowledge of the genre comes from first hand experience as a viewer in the sleazy 42^nd street grindhouses of the 1970’s and 80’s. Along with a few other die-hard film geeks (Johnny Legend, Joe Bob Briggs, etc.) his devotion to the genre has made it possible for those of us who treasured our copies of The Golden Turkey Awards, or Re Search magazine’s Incredibly Strange Films, to see the obscure movies we had been reading about for so many years.

Come meet the man in person here at Scarecrow Video, then see his newest (and most over the top) movie Bad Biology Feb 5^th and 6^th at 11pm at Grand Illusion Cinema. Filmed in glorious 35mm, Bad Biology is billed as “a truly god-awful love story” that tells the story of two attractive young people with mutant genitalia who meet and fall in love, with horrific results. Judging by the trailer, it’s going to be a wild ride that isn’t for the weak of stomach or the faint at heart. We have the DVD on sale now for $14.95.

*Note: At the artist’s request, a DVD purchase of Bad Biology is required to have other items signed

100) Requiem For A Dream—Darren Aronofsky, 2000
99) Ponyo—Hayao Miyazaki, 2009
98) The Man Without A Past—Aki Kaurismaki, 2002
97) Team America: World Police—Trey Parker, 2004
96) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest—Gore Verbinski, 2006

95) Time Out (Laurent Cantet, 2001)–Perhaps the most suspenseful film I’ve ever seen. What’s it about you ask? Some tool who quits his job and lies about it to his family. That’s it. Sounds mundane as hell, until you watch this amazing thing and enter into his world of lies, deceit, and pretending to be someone he’s not. Then, you twist and turn and sweat for 134 short, short minutes. Lauren Cantet, who also directed Human Resources and The Class, is making movies like nobody else today. His films regularly show up on year end lists, and thankfully, this one made the decade cutoff so I could include it.–Mark S.

94) 2046—Wong Kar Wai, 2004
93) Machuca—Andres Wood, 2004
92) High Fidelity—Stephen Frears, 2000
91) Redbelt—David Mamet, 2008
90) The Departed—Martin Scorsese, 2006
89) Beau Travail—Claire Denis, 2000
88) Hedwig and the Angry Inch —John Cameron Mitchell, 2001

87) Man On Wire (James Marsh, 2008)–This movie is incredible. You know from frame one that this man will survive his daring illegal high wire walk between the twin towers, yet you sit in nervous suspense. A great document of an event that still seems too good to be true, it reclaims the memory of the World Trade Center without once mentioning 9/11.—Bryan T.

86) Broken Embraces—Pedro Almodovar, 2009
85) United 93—Paul Greengrass, 2006

84, 83, 82) Tulse Luper Suitcases–Part 1: The Moab Story  Part 2: Vaux to the Sea  Part 3: From Sark to the Finish (Peter Greenaway, 2003-2004)—Greenaway utilizes a toy chest of digital editing tricks to manipulate screen space and sample and loop images and sounds in what is undoubtedly his most modern-looking film. It would be unbearably pretentious were it not so darkly humorous and fun to watch. With gusto and a touch of meticulous fascism, Greenaway’s typical obsessions play-out, sometimes literally in list form, in the tale of a man who can’t keep himself out of prison. It is also, ostensibly, about the history of uranium, and part of a much larger project (that may never happen).—Laird

81) The Saddest Music in The World—Guy Maddin, 2003
80) Irreversible—Gaspar Noé, 2002
79) Black Book—Paul Verhoeven, 2006
78) Up—Pete Docter and Bob Peterson, 2009
77) Birth—Jonathan Glazer, 2004
76) Miami Vice–Michael Mann, 2006
75) The Piano Teacher—Michael Haneke, 2001
74) A Prairie Home Companion—Robert Altman, 2006
73) Bad Education—Pedro Almodovar, 2004
72) 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days—Cristian Mungiu, 2007
71) Hunger—Steve McQueen, 2008

70) Gosford Park (Robert Altman, 2001) & A Prairie Home Companion (#74) – Shortly before he left this world, Robert Altman gave us two wonderful gifts, in some ways the richest films he crafted in his 55 years of filmmaking. Both are stories set in a contained world during a finite amount of time, yet the locales could not be more different. Gosford takes place on an English country estate and Prairie unfolds in a small Minneapolis theatre, yet both contain a depth charge that, when revealed, will resonate in the viewer’s mind long after leaving the theater. Also, Altman got some of the finest actors in the world to work on these meditations on love and death and family (Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren, Eileen Atkins, and Michael Gambon, L. Q. Jones to name a few, and yes let’s forget about Miss Lohan please,) and in doing so, added immeasurably to his completely singular blend of improvisation and mini-epic. –Mark S.

69) Mean Girls—Mark Waters, 2004
68) American Psycho—Mary Harron, 2000
67) Best of Youth—Marco Tullio Giordana, 2003
66) Blade 2—Guillermo del Toro, 2002
65) Morvern Callar—Lynne Ramsay, 2002
64) Dirty Pretty Things—Stephen Frears, 2002
63) I Heart Huckabees—David O. Russell, 2004
62) The Lives of Others—Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006

61) The Science of Sleep (Michel Gondry, 2006)–This film wears a Gigantic Heart on its sleeve, a heart hand crafted out of the most amazing material found in a thrift store that contains only the most original and exciting things that you have never seen before but somehow remind you of fond memories and better tomorrows. –Phony T

60) All About My Mother—Pedro Almodovar, 1999
59) The Taste of Tea—Katsuhito Ishii, 2004
58) Iron Man—Jon Favreau, 2008

57) Darwin’s Nightmare (Hubert Sauper, 2004)–An impending sense of doom quietly permeates every frame of this powerful documentary. Centered mainly around Tanzania’s fishing industry, the end sum is more horrific than anything else, fiction or non-fiction, that graced a screen this year. I may have lost faith in humanity.—Laird

56) Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai—Jim Jarmusch, 2000
55) Werckmeister Harmonies—Bela Tarr, 2000
54) Cache—Michael Haneke, 2005
53) Persepolis—Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi, 2007
52) Lost in Translation—Sofia Coppola, 2003
51) The Proposition—John Hillcoat, 2005
50) Let The Right One In—Tomas Alfredson, 2008
49) The Wind That Shakes The Barley—Ken Loach, 2006
48) Waking Life—Richard Linklater, 2001
47) Marie Antoinette—Sofia Coppola, 2006
46) Perfume: The Story of a Murderer—Tom Tykwer, 2006
45) Borat—Larry Charles, 2006
44) The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters—Seth Gordon, 2007
43) Grindhouse (Planet Terror & Death Proof)—Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, 2007
42) District 9—Neill Blomkamp, 2009
41) 25th Hour—Spike Lee, 2002
40) Volver—Pedro Almodovar, 2006
39) Eastern Promises—David Cronenberg, 2007
38) Pan’s Labyrinth—Guillermo del Toro, 2006

37) The Triplets of Belleville (Sylvain Chomet, 2003)—To date, Sylvain Chomet has made one animated short, one live action short, and one feature, yet I truly believe that in 100 years his work in animation will dwarf all who came before and since. Well, ok, maybe Miyazaki and Brad Bird could sit at the same table, but that’s it. Triplets has so much going for it that it stuns me every time I look at the thing. Nearly wordless, yet the lovely score/soundtrack, amazingly rich characters, and most of all, astoundingly detailed, hand-drawn animation make this film a singular experience not only for the decade, but for the century.–Mark S.

36) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000)—Naysayers grumble that Ang Lee’s film was a glossy, award-baiting attempt to make a foreign film palatable for US audiences, but I don’t understand how people can fail to see beauty in this dazzling film. Part coming of age story, part romance, part action, all epic, delivered with skill and force by Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi, plus incredible fight scenes choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping. You’re probably due to watch it again.—Jen

35) Battle Royale—Kinji Fukasaku, 2000
34) The New World—Terrence Malick, 2005
33) A History of Violence—David Cronenberg, 2005
32) The Pianist—Roman Polanski, 2002
31) Synecdoche New York—Charlie Kaufman, 2008

30) Master and Commander: The Far Side of The World (Peter Weir, 2003)—This is a perfect movie. A historical epic about the minor and major events (war and scientific discovery) that shape civilizations. Also, it has boats and explosions.—Travis

29) Old Boy—Chan Wook Park, 2003
28) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind—Michel Gondry, 2004

27) I’m Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007)—I’m Not There is easily my favorite movie of the decade. I could go into all that mumbo jive about how the film is a deconstruction of myth and celebrity, an artsy take on the biopic, a tour-de-force character piece for some of the finest actors working in Hollywood today, a faithful love note to an American folk hero, an imaginative exploration of persona and how we create who we are out of what we know. But I won’t. I just love Bob Dylan. –Jason D

26) Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada—Tommy Lee Jones, 2005
25) In The Mood For Love—Wong Kar Wai, 2000
24) Amelie—Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001

23) Wet Hot American Summer (David Wain, 2001)–One of the questions we get asked the most around here is “Can you recommend a really good comedy that I haven’t seen?” Yes, we can. 95% of the time, we’re gonna send you upstairs to grab this movie. So, go ahead and grab it. If you don’t think it’s funny, I suspect you also hate pizza and think kittens are ugly.—Travis

22) The American Astronaut—Cory McAbee, 2001
21) Inland Empire—David Lynch, 2006
20) Punch Drunk Love—Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002
19) Inglourious Basterds—Quentin Tarantino, 2009
18) Lord of the Rings: Return of the King—Peter Jackson, 2003
17) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers—Peter Jackson, 2002
16) Shaun of the Dead—Edgar Wright, 2004
15) The Incredibles—Brad Bird, 2004
14) Mulholland Drive—David Lynch, 2001
13) O Brother Where Art Thou—Joel Coen, 2000
12) There Will Be Blood—Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007
11) Wall-E—Andrew Stanton, 2008
10) Adapatation—Spike Jonze, 2002
9) Zodiac—David Fincher, 2007
8 and 7) Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2—Quentin Tarantino, 2003 & 2004
6) The Dark Knight—Christopher Nolan, 2008
5) Spirited Away—Hayao Miyazaki, 2001
4) Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring—Peter Jackson, 2001
3) No Country For Old Men—Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007
2) The Royal Tenenbaums—Wes Anderson, 2001
1) Children Of Men—Alfonso Cuaron, 2006

You’ll find all of these DVDs (except for Broken Embraces, which is currently playing at The Egyptian) in our special rental section at the front of the store (just look for the crow wearing a crown).  Again, we invite you to weigh in on these choices and share your own with us here and in the store.