A celebration of Vienna cinema
Last week, a major series began at Palo Alto’s Stanford Theatre that celebrates the Austrian capital’s rich cultural heritage — a series of films made in Vienna, about Vienna or made by someone from Vienna.
The series continues Thursday-Friday, Sept. 29-30, with two films by Vienna-born directors: Fritz Lang’s “M,” the haunting story of a hunt for a child killer that made former Vienna stage actor Peter Lorre a star; and Josef von Sternberg’s “The Blue Angel,” which introduced the dangerous seduction of Marlene Dietrich.
Lang’s “The Woman in the Window” and Austrian Billy Wilder’s landmark “Double Indemnity” make up an enticing noir double feature on Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 1-2.
Two dozen more films will screen through Nov. 13, when the series closes with two films about Viennese psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud — Montgomery Clift plays him in John Huston’s “Freud,” and Alan Arkin in Herbert Ross’ unusual look at Sherlock Holmes, “The SevenPer-Cent Solution.”
The backbone of this series is Max Ophüls, represented by five films, all set in Vienna, from each of his major periods — his early work in Germany, his mid-career work in Hollywood and his late career in France.
Ophüls, born in Germany, had a love affair with Vienna. It was where his artistry flowered; where he became the creative director of the Burgtheater in 1926 at age 24. It was where he met his wife, actress Hildegard Wall, and it was where he would return time and time again as a setting for his films.
“The camera exists to create a new art,” Ophüls once said. “To show what can’t be seen elsewhere, neither in theater nor in life.”
All of Ophüls’ skills are in display in the 1933 German film “Liebelei” (Oct. 6-7), about an ill-fated love affair at the dawn of the 20th century. The rise and fall of a narcissistic pianist played by Louis Jourdan is seen through the eyes of admirer Joan Fontaine in 1948’s “Letter from an Unknown Woman” (Oct. 15-16), Ophüls’ best Hollywood film. Ophüls made 1940’s “From Mayerling to Sarajevo” (Oct. 20-21) and “La Ronde” (Oct. 29-30) in France.
It all builds up to the great 1955 “Lola Montès” (Nov. 5-6), a must-see film. It was Ophüls’ only film in color, and the only film he made in CinemaScope. It turned out to be a magnificent last act: Ophüls died of heart problems less than two years later at age 54.
“For me, life is movement,” says Lola (Martine Carol), the scandalous woman whose romantic escapades among the artisans, military men and royalty of 19th century Europe becomes a threering circus in Ophüls’ visual feast.
It serves as an apt description of Ophüls, famous for his sweeping camera movements and elegant compositions. His was a cinema of movement indeed. Through Nov. 13 at the Stanford Theatre, 221 University Ave., Palo Alto. (650) 3243700. www.stanfordtheatre.org
Reel Rock 11:
The traveling adventure-film festival arrives at the Castro Theatre with five new spectacularly photographed climbing films shot in exotic locales and various extreme weather conditions around the globe. Might need to down a little Dramamine with your popcorn. Three of the professional athletes featured in the documentaries — Ashima Shiraishi, Brette Harrington and Mike Libecki — will appear in person. 7 p.m. Thursday-Friday, Sept. 29-30, at the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., S.F. (415) 621-6120. www.castrotheatre.com
Meiko Kaji double feature:
Kaji was the poster girl of Pinky Violence, that female-centric 1970s Japanese film genre that pushed the envelope on sex and violence to lure audiences away from their TVs and back into the cinemas. “Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter” and “Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion” are pretty wild, and pretty fun. 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, at Alamo Drafthouse’s New Mission Theatre, 2550 Mission St., S.F. (415) 549-5959. www.drafthouse.com /sf