Tuesday, April 28, 2009

"Variety" -- an NYC time capsule



The 1984 drama "Variety" plays tomorrow night at 5 during the Tribeca Film Festival. According to the Program Notes: "In Bette Gordon's pioneering indie film about voyeurism from a female perspective, a young woman (played by Sandy McLeod) works as a ticket taker in a porn theater, and her curiosity leads her to shadow a male patron."

"'Variety' features an unparalleled collaborative team of downtown artists and performers, including composer John Lurie, cinematographer Tom DiCillo, writer Kathy Acker, photographer Nan Goldin, and actors Spalding Gray and Luis Guzmán. In retrospect, 'Variety' also represents a time capsule of New York City, filmed at bygone landmarks like the Variety Theatre, Fulton Fish Market, and Yankee Stadium, as well as an edgier incarnation of Times Square."

No advance tickets are left for the screening at the SVA Theater on West 23rd Street. But you can go for the rush tickets an hour in advance of the screening ...

The Villager has a feature on the film in this week's issue.
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3 comments:

  1. Mykola DementiukApril 28, 2009 at 9:01 AM

    You ever read 'Variety Photoplays' a great poetry book by Edward Field from the 60s? Captures the mood of the city at the time, he's definitely underrated.

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  2. lvvApril 28, 2009 at 10:38 PM

    I love this film! Will Patton and Cookie Mueller are in it, among the luminaries mentioned above.

    Patton, maybe best known as the bad guy in Desperately Seeking Susan, is a prolific character actor to this day on shows like 24, and a writer, too (he wrote a short-story chapbook for Richard Hell's CUZ Editions called "Lassitudes of Fire").

    Cookie, a brilliant writer and East Village goddess whose advice column, "Ask Dr. Mueller," appeared in the East Village Eye for years, died in 1989. She also featured in several John Waters films, including my favorite, Female Trouble.

    They are two of my favorites. I'd love to see the revival, but too bad I'll still be chained to my desk at that hour. Highly recommended if you can go, though!

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  3. EV GrieveApril 29, 2009 at 4:44 PM

    Thanks for the comment, Ivv... I'd like to see this too in a theater... Don't have much faith in the rush tickets system, though...

    ReplyDelete

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