10-26-14
Classic Films at the Castro
"Vertigo" and "2001" on the big screen
The Castro Theatre is a local jewel in terms of being a historical landmark and in its diverse film showings. This month, I had the opportunity to see a couple of excellent classic films that came out long before I was born!
Vertigo
Hitchcock’s classic is well-known for novel-at-the-time filming techniques, among other things. For the most part the story didn’t grab me, striking me as convoluted and overdramatic. However, the 4k restoration was beautiful, and I enjoyed the window into a San Francisco of the past. While I appreciate Vertigo‘s place in film history, it seems very much of its time.
Hitchcock’s classic is well-known for novel-at-the-time filming techniques, among other things. For the most part the story didn’t grab me, striking me as convoluted and overdramatic. However, the 4k restoration was beautiful, and I enjoyed the window into a San Francisco of the past. While I appreciate Vertigo‘s place in film history, it seems very much of its time.
2001: A Space Odyssey
It was so cool to see this in a theater. I was impressed by Keir Dullea’s performance as Dave Bowman – it’s understated, yet I love how he stays cool under pressure as the mission goes haywire. 2001‘s vision of the future still seems so plausible, even though here we are in 2014 with little to show for advancements in space travel. Iconic frames, great production design and surprisingly bold color makes the film a work of art.
The idea of the monolith seems much more realistic in terms of meeting an alien intelligence, when compared to your standard actors-in-prosthetics, though I’ll admit the last act still leaves me behind a little bit. That’s the point, I guess – what is the monolith’s purpose? Does it make plans? Does it care about Dave or humans in general? Questions that maybe don’t have answers, or that ultimately don’t matter in a story about the incomprehensible vastness of the universe, about the fact that our earthly existences could never prepare us for what we may encounter out there.