The Pickford Cinema

Up the Yangtze (Coming Soon)

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:35:52 GMT

Rather than take a broad–canvas approach to the enormous upheaval that is the Three Gorges Dam, China’s massive restructuring of the Yangtze river to plumb for hydroelectric power, director Yung Chang wisely constructs a smaller, more intimate narrative about a peasant family whose home, a glorified shanty, is about to be a casualty of progress. At the same time, they send their eldest daughter to work on a cruise ship that brings Western tourists to ‘The River,’ as the Chinese call it, before it’s gone. Meek and scared, and rechristened ‘Cindy’ to make her name easier for tourists to remember, Shui Yu joins another recent recruit renamed ‘Jerry,’ who turns out to be a boastful and aggressive shipmate. Their fortunes juxtaposed by the constant presence of the mighty river create a moving elegy for the receding giant. Surprisingly intimate, gorgeously framed, Up the Yangtze—one of the best reviewed films of the year—is a gem not to be missed.

An Evening with Clyde Ford (Tuesday Only!)

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:23:17 GMT

**Please Note: This multimedia event will be at The Leopold’s Crystal Ballroom**

On Tuesday, September 2, 7:00 pm, Bellingham author Clyde Ford will launch the book tour for the Vanguard release of his suspense thriller, Precious Cargo at the Leopold Ballroom, 1224 Cornwall Avenue. Ford will read passages from the book’s exciting introduction into the richly detailed and exhilarating world of murder and intrigue amid the lush landscape and waters of the Pacific Northwest. The evening includes an exclusive premiere of the exciting special features video filmed for Precious Cargo, narrated by Morgan Freeman and starring Ruby Dee, Roscoe Orman, and Swil Kanim. Tickets to this event are $10 and include refreshment and dessert. Ford will also be signing copies of his book, which will be available for sale at the event.

This event is presented by Pickford Film Center. Tickets are now available at Pickford Film Center box office at 1416 Cornwall Avenue and Village Books at 1210 11th Street, Bellingham. Proceeds from the ticket sales will support Pickford Film Center.

Man on Wire (Now Showing)

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 06:36:27 GMT

By Lisa Schwarzbaum (EW)

French high–wire artist Philippe Petit was 24 in 1974 when, in one of the great guerrilla–art spectacles of our time, he walked a wire he and his accomplices had illegally strung from one not–quite–finished World Trade Center tower to the other. There, 1,350 feet up from the sidewalk, he danced in the air for nearly an hour between what were then the world’s tallest buildings. Later, the man with the elfin face and catlike feet was arrested, sent to a shrink, released — and celebrated around the world.

The empty space where those Twin Towers once stood is never acknowledged in Man on Wire, James Marsh’s breathtaking documentary about that mad–genius ‘'coup’' (as Petit calls it) achieved over three decades ago. And that choice itself is a kind of daring high–wire act: For the duration of this film, the towers are solid again. This is about what happened then, the quest and the realization, told by the colorful dreamers who made it happen, and balanced by Marsh with a lovely sense of rhythm, wit, and wonder. Petit himself is a lithe and mesmerizing narrator with (not surprisingly) a flair for the dramatic, even in words. Equally marvelous is Annie Allix, then Petit’s girlfriend, who finds les mots justes to describe the challenge, triumph, and aftermath back on earth. The gorgeous music includes Ralph Vaughan Williams’ wafting tone poem ‘'The Lark Ascending’' — apt in describing an artist who might well be part bird. A

A Prairie Home Companion (Starts Saturday, Sep 6)

Wed, 17 May 2006 21:07:04 GMT

"Rib-ticklingly funny at times and genial as all get-out, Robert Altman's take on Garrison Keillor's three-decades-old Minnesota institution is about nothing more or less than the privileged musical and behavioral moments created by the engagingly diverse cast." Todd McCarthy, Variety

Tell No One (Starts Friday, Sep 5)

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 06:45:31 GMT

"Beautifully written and acted, Tell No One is a labyrinth in which to get deliriously lost." The New York Times, Stephen Holden

American Teen (Starts Friday, Sep 12)

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:42:31 GMT

"American Teen" shows how a documentary can be as moving and suspenseful as the best narrative feature. There's Jake Tusing, a classic geek, who has horrible acne and a mouthful of braces, and says the creepiest things: "There's a lot of grease on the table now," he tells a girl, "because I put my face on it." Yet he has a great longing for romance - will he find it? And will Mitch Reinholt, a superficial jock who runs with the cool crowd, discover that he actually has a soul, kind of like Andrew McCarthy in "Pretty in Pink?" Stay tuned.

Bike Porn 2 (Starts Thursday, Sep 18)

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 19:29:05 GMT

Last year a small riot broke out as the sell out audience of The Pornography of the Bicycle spilled onto the streets of Cornwall Ave. The sequel plays one night only at Pickford Cinema. Bike Porn 2: Bikexploitation. A series of short movies by various artists on the theme "bicycle exploitation.

The Time Machine (Saturday, Sep 20 Only!)

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:50:00 GMT

Pickford Film Center Presents…

Rocket Sci–Fi Matinees

Sponsored by Rocket Donuts

This summer, the 50’s are back—and so are 50’s prices! 50 cents admission gets you a serial and a feature film from the golden years of science fiction.

Featured Serial: George Wallace as Commander Cody in Chapter 3 of Radar Men on the Moon!

George (Taylor) invents a time machine and after short expeditions to check out the two World Wars and the atomic age, it’s the future all the way, baby—to the year 802,701, where humanity has devolved into couch potatoes and the cannibal class who feed on them. When George falls for Weena (Mimieux), an Eloi, he’s determined to save her and her people from the hungry Morlocks. Featuring age–defying stop–motion animation and fabulous special effects!

Frozen River (Starts Friday, Sep 19)

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:54:38 GMT

"As the summer heats up, let Frozen River wash over you; let its bracing drama and the intensity of its acting restore your spirits as well as your faith in American independent film." Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan

Searchers 2.0 (Starts Wednesday, Oct 1)

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:30:44 GMT

Meet Alex Cox, director of Sid & Nancy, Repo Man when he brings Searchers 2.0 to Bellingham!

While actors Mel and Fred are getting high and watching television together, they see a film critic announce a screening of DOC HOLIDAY VS. BUFFALO BILL. The showing will take place in three days in the fabled Monument Valley on a huge outdoor screen. The film’s legendary screenwriter, Fritz Frobisher, will be there in person for a Q&A.

Fred and Mel are transfixed. They were both in that picture as children! And both were savaged by the sadistic screenwriter, Fritz Frobisher. They vow to take a road trip to exact their revenge!

But first they must convince Mel’s beautiful daughter Delilah to come with them and provide her car, a monstrously large SUV. Fred gets upset when he discovers the huge gas guzzler has a bumper sticker proclaiming, “Kick Their Ass and Take Their Gas.” Of course the Iraq war is about gas, he concedes, but it’s also about Justice and Revenge… This expands Mel and Fred’s revenge fantasy to include robbing Frobisher and splitting the money three ways. Never mind that Frobisher must be eighty or eighty six!

As they pass homemade memorials to the war dead, the men debate who is the greatest revenge hero of all time: Eastwood or Bronson? After Delilah lectures them on the moral purpose of Elizabethan Revenge Drama, Fred tries to convey to her the appeal of THE SEARCHERS. But Delilah has no interest in old cowboy movies.

Unable to tolerate the actors’ endless discussion of movies, Delilah abandons them in the desert. There, in the splendor of the red buttes, the fate of everyone depends on their knowledge of the maestro, Sergio Leone.

Bottle Shock (Starts Friday, Sep 26)

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:11:21 GMT

"Bottle Shock is more than the story. It is also about people who love their work, care about it with passion and talk about it with knowledge." Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times.

Hail the Conquering Hero (Thursday, Oct 2 Only!)

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:11:50 GMT

Sturges satirizes home-front American patriotism run amuck during WWII. All the sacred cows of the era--heroic fathers, loving moms, battle fatigue--are prime targets, and might give those tired of Politics 2008 a good laugh. Eddie Bracken comes home with a band of GI's who pretend he's a hero-and it's not so easy to tell the truth. Election laughs, Sturges style.

Paperback Dreams (Starts Thursday, Nov 6)

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:34:00 GMT

PAPERBACK DREAMS is the story of two landmark independent bookstores and their struggle to survive. The film follows Andy Ross, owner of Cody's Books, and Clark Kepler, owner of Kepler's Books, over the course of two tumultuous years in the book business.