Cine/Club—free screenings of classic films followed by discussion—is held on Friday nights. These events are open to students, their guests, mentors, parents and friends of Art & Film. No need to RSVP. Screenings are held at the Randall Museum (199 Museum Way) and the Delancy Street Screening Room (500 Embarcadero). Refreshments are served at 6:30 and the film begins at 7pm unless otherwise noted.

Discussions are held after each film with moderators Heather Woodward, the head of creative writing at the School of the Arts, and Ronald Chase, the director of Art & Film.




Friday 6: Cine/Club: Delancey Street Screening Room

Carl Dreyer's THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (1928, France)

Another of the ten greatest films. One of the most beautifully poetic ever, and a classic of silent film, Dreyer’s PASSION follows Joan during her last hours as she struggles to remain truthful in the face of execution. This film gave birth to the close-up.

 
WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?

It’s time for something really different! This film did more for the art of filmmaking than almost any other. It gave birth to the close-up and to the concept that images could reflect deep emotion—that the medium was not just a instrument of entertainment, but could legitimally be considered fine art. The simplicity of the images will startle you. The performance by the actress—who through the strain of the intensity of the performance and experience was driven mad and committed suicide—is really unprecedented. The text is taken from the actual interrogation of Joan of Arc. It helps you understand the atmosphere and context of the middle ages. Come have a revelation, perhaps!

Saturday 7: Art Saturday

10:30 Meet on the balcony outside Metron overlooking Yerba Buena Park (on Mission between 3rd & 4th)
11:00 We'll go see galleries, followed by a picnic lunch and see a film in the afternoon.
Friday 13: Cine/Club: Randall Museum

Akira Kurosawa's STRAY DOG (1949, Japan)

A young police detective searches frantically through a bombed-out, post-war Tokyo for a pickpocket who ran off with his gun. An absolute classic film-noir from a great director.

 
WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?

Kurosawa is an important director who was very influenced by films from the west and vice-versa. His Seven Samauri was adapted several times into westerns, but he himself had a special fondness for gangster films and film-noir. This is his Japanese take on the film noir genre—and its filled with enough plot twists, ingenuity and delightful characters to make your head spin. But he’s also a master of atmosphere and his imagination has a field day with riffs on what one can do with the genre.

Saturday 14: Art Saturday

10:30 Meet on the balcony outside Metron overlooking Yerba Buena Park (on Mission between 3rd & 4th)
11:00 We'll go see galleries, followed by a picnic lunch and see a film in the afternoon.
Friday 20: Cine/Club: Randall Museum

Volker Schlöndorff's THE TIN DRUM (1979, Germany)

A film version of Gunter Grass’ controversial novel about a German boy named Oskar who, on the eve of World War II, decides not to grow up… and literally doesn’t. Armed with a toy drum and a piercing scream, Oskar makes his way through the war any way he can.

 
WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?

This is the first in a trio of challenging films we're showing, each powerful in their own way. This one is highly entertaining, partly for its shock value. Its imagery and its style are not the stuff you’re used to, so it will open your eyes to all the bizarre things that can be done. It describes its scenes with a lot of thrown away humor, and to watch this child actor give one of the most remarkable performances on film is a joy in itself. What kind of style? We might describe it as cheerfully grotesque—or perhaps morbidly outrageous, or both. You’ll have a ball as little Oscar makes his way through the horrors of the Nazi years with his tiny drum and vengeful spirit. Let’s say he manages to stir things up.

Saturday 21: Art Saturday

10:30 Meet on the balcony outside Metron overlooking Yerba Buena Park (on Mission between 3rd & 4th)
11:00 We'll go see galleries, followed by a picnic lunch and see a film in the afternoon.
Friday 27: Cine/Club: Delancey Street Screening Room

Jean Cocteau's ORPHEUS (1950, France)

A modern, Parisian reimagining of the Greek myth. In this version, Orpheus is a Death obsessed poet, Death’s henchmen are motorcycle punks and the underworld is the bombed-out remains from the Nazi occupation. The middle of Cocteau’s ORPHIC TRILOGY.

 
WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?

Some students have considered this a challenge, some find themselves ushered into film paradise. In any case, this film gives you a chance to have a taste of why French films are different from all others. A simple story––Orpheus is a poet whose wife dies and goes to Hades, and he goes after her. It helps when Death falls in love with you, doesn’t it? But the marvelous imagery... scenes where the messengers of death disappear into mirrors, walk backwards through the netherworld, send messages over the radio in code. As poetic and far-fetched as can be, it gives you a fascinating look at what makes French films so special.