Films This Week 05/21/21

by Gary Palmucci | 21st May 2021 | Gary's Corner

Hello everyone. We’re carrying on for another week with our Oscar-centric titles and recent European feature films and documentaries, some of which will be departing on May 28th. We’re also pursuing a couple of new releases for the Memorial Day weekend.

I am continuing to venture out to the NYC art houses and repertory screens that have reopened this spring. In the coming weeks I’ll be catching in various parts of town Monte Hellman’s Two Lane Blacktop, Fellini’s 8 1/2 and Kubrick’s 70mm 2001: A Space Odyssey, all personal favorites.

Many of you may recall that some of our most memorable New Plaza Cinema screenings have been with classic film reissues…Alain Delon in Monsieur Klein and the epic Christ Stopped at Eboli at NYIT, and Cinema Paradiso at Symphony Space. However, during this year of Virtual Cinema when we’ve occasionally offered vintage classics like Fellini’s La Strada and Toby Dammit or more contemporary ones such as Claire Denis’ Beau Travail, the level of “ticket-buyer” interest has been very modest.

Is there something about watching a classic “virtually” that seems to diminish it, as opposed to waiting for a future big-screen revival?  As we continue to troll for engaging films for our Virtual Cinema lineup, we’d like to hear from you about that and of course — as we’ve already heard from some viewers — your own experiences on returning to the cinema. Please scroll down and leave a comment.

Gary Palmucci, Film Curator
New Plaza Cinema