Over the past fifty years, film noir has been recognized as a unique example of an organic cinematic movement, one that produced many of the best and most time-tested Hollywood films of the forties and fifties. These tough-as-nails crime stories, told in a distinctly American vernacular, but informed by a darkly romantic European visual sensibility, continue to entrance audiences in each successive generation.
NOIR CITY: CHICAGO at the Music Box
A Celebration of Classic Hollywood Film Noirs • July 31 – August 6, 2009
Special Guest HARRY BELAFONTE in Person!
The Second City will become the latest NOIR CITY this summer, as the Film Noir Foundation teams up with Chicago’s Music Box Theatre on a weeklong festival of film noir starting July 31. Nine films will be shown on the big screen in their original 35mm splendor, many of them will be presented as double bills pairing undisputed classics with complementary rarities.
“Chicago has always been high on our list of cities that need a regular noir festival,” said FNF president Eddie Muller, “and it was equally obvious that the Music Box, one of the great remaining movie theaters in the nation, is where NOIR CITY belongs.”
NOIR CITY: CHICAGO’s special guest will be legendary actor-singer HARRY BELAFONTE. Mr. Belafonte will be at the theater on August 1 at 7:30 for a screening of ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW, a 1959 film noir about a bank heist foiled by the racism of two of its participants.
In his greatest performance, Belafonte (who also co-produced) plays an embittered, heavily-in-debt jazz musician, a husband and father who makes some wrong choices trying to keep his family together. Directed by Robert Wise ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW is both a searing depiction of the consequences of racism and a taut, stylish, beautifully photographed crime thriller. ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW is a masterpiece of American cinema that has had to wait 50 years to receive its due.
Mr. Belafonte will be interviewed on stage following a screening of the film.
NOIR CITY: CHICAGO Complete Schedule:
Friday, July 31 **
A Double Dose of Deadly Dames – Double Feature
“The Lady From Shanghai”(Orson Welles, 1948, 86m)
“Framed” (Richard Wallace, 1947, 82m)
Saturday, August 1 **
Cheaters Never Prosper – Double Feature
“Double Indemnity” (Billy Wilder, 1944, 106m)
“The Prowler “ (Joseph Losey, 1951, 92m)
7:30 Special Event with Harry Belafonte
“Odds Against Tomorrow” (Robert Wise, 1959, 96m)
Mr. Belafonte will be interviewed following a screening of the film.
Sunday August 2 **
Hemingway Noir – Double Feature
“The Killers “ (Robert Siodmak, 1946, 105m)
“The Breaking Point “ (Michael Curtiz, 1950, 97m)
Monday, August 3
Chicago Noir – Double Feature
“Call Northside 777” (Henry Hathaway, 1948, 111m)
“Chicago Syndicate “ (Fred F. Sears, 1955, 83m)
Tuesday, August 4
A Double Dose of Deadly Dames – Double Feature
“The Lady From Shanghai”(Orson Welles, 1948, 86m)
“Framed” (Richard Wallace, 1947, 82m)
Wednesday, August 5
Cheaters Never Prosper – Double Feature
“Double Indemnity” (Billy Wilder, 1944, 106m)
“The Prowler “ (Joseph Losey, 1951, 92m)
Thursday, August 6
Hemingway Noir – Double Feature
“The Killers “ (Robert Siodmak, 1946, 105m)
“The Breaking Point “ (Michael Curtiz, 1950, 97m)
** Screenings of films July 31-August 2 will include introductions by film noir experts EDDIE MULLER and FOSTER HIRSCH.
Exact showtimes for all films except ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW with Harry Belafonte are yet to be determined.
ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW will take place at 7:30 on August 1.
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