J.G. Ballard and the Cinema at the Anthology Film Archives

"High-Rise," based on the 1975 novel by J. G. Ballard, opens tomorrow at the Sunshine on East Houston. (Still kinda curious to see how this plays on film. Hey, 66% percent via Rotten Tomatoes!)

Coinciding with this theatrical release, the Anthology Film Archives is presenting a program titled J.G. Ballard and the Cinema:

British author J.G. Ballard is one of the towering figures of 20th-century experimental literature, a writer whose uncompromising, fearless, and sometimes frighteningly penetrating vision of our modern, technological society, and the psychological and erotic dimensions that underlie it, manifested itself in 19 masterful novels and many dozens of short stories. It’s curious that such a profoundly modern writer, and one who was, both in his life and his work, consistently preoccupied with the movies (he lived for 50 years in Shepperton, a stone’s throw from the famous Shepperton Film Studios), has seen so few of his works adapted into film.

As HuffPost put it, "This somewhat loosely structured series features films that have been directly influenced by Ballard, films that Ballard expressed admiration for, and films that just seem Ballardian in theme."

Things kick off tomorrow night with a double dose of David Cronenberg — "Crash" and "Shivers" aka "They Came From Within."

Check out the whole schedule here. (Highlights include a screening Saturday evening of "The Road Warrior," a film Ballard was said to admire.) The Anthology is on Second Avenue at East Second Street.

And check out the trailer for "Crash" (NC-17! The children!)...