FLASHBACK 1990: Dee Radams previews the lineup at the Sundance Film Festival.
Annual United States Film Festival Kicks off with Charmers and Alarmers
By Dee Radams
In commemoration of City Weekly's 40th anniversary, we are digging into our archives to celebrate. Each week, we FLASHBACK to a story or column from our past in honor of four decades of local alt-journalism. Whether the names and issues are familiar or new, we are grateful to have this unique newspaper to contain them all.
Title: Annual United States Film Festival Kicks Off with Charmers and Alarmers
Author: Dee Radams
Date: Jan. 16, 1990
The 1990 Sundance United States Film Festival will be remembered for its retrospectives, documentaries and independent productions, instead of its lackluster "world premiere."
Festivities begin Jan. 19 at 8:00 p.m. in the Capitol Theatre as MGA/UA unleashes the Robert De Niro/Jane Fonda drama Stanley and Iris—starting off the proceedings with a faint whimper rather than the spectacular band of last year's revival of the 1927 silent classic, Sunrise. Advance word on this Martin Ritt-directed effort has not been very encouraging, though Ritt and Fonda will attend the premiere. (De Niro, perhaps wisely, decided to sit this event out since his last picture We're No Angels, wasn't much to shout about, either.) Surely the festival could have presented something more celebratory.
Luckily, things can only get better after opening night. The U.S. Film Festival then moves to Park City, where it will remain until Jan. 28, with screenings divided between the Egyptian Theatre, Holiday Village Cinemas, and the Prospector Square Theatre. Once again, this reviewer has been fortunate enough to provide some pre-festival critiques of upcoming films. The diversity, as always, remains impressive, and there will be something for every moviegoer that is worth seeking out.
Roger and Me
Of all the premieres, this is probably the most notable and deservedly so. Roger and Me (Jan. 21-22) recently earned the 1989 National Society of Film Critics award for best documentary. Novice filmmaker and journalist Michael Moore turns the camera on his hometown of Flint, Michigan, after General Motors closes down over 10 factories and leaves 30,000 of its employees out of work, thus diminishing the city's prosperity.
Undaunted, Moore attempts to meet the man responsible for Flint's economic decline: GM head honcho Roger Smith. Does the filmmaker succeed in his admirable quest? Watch this often hilarious, inventive documentary and find out.
Mr. Hoover and I
Independent filmmaker, Emile de Antonio, takes his deserved shots at the man we've loved to hate in recent years: J. Edgar Hoover. The result is Mr. Hoover and I (Jan. 20, 23-25), an insightful, sometimes funny documentary in which de Antonio gets his belated revenge on the FBI and Hoover many years after the organization first formatted its dossier on de Antonio during the 1930s when he became a member of the Young Communist League.
Running 90 minutes, de Antonio has created an intimate work that focuses on an individual's unjust treatment at the hand of political paranoia. No doubt we will discover more insidious activities of Hoover and the FBI in future documentaries. Preceding Mr. Hoover and I is the 6-minute short "Son of Jonah," directed by local filmmaker Sam Dunn—an enjoyable homage to poet Charles Bukowski.
Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer
At last, there is a documentary on the great 1940s filmmaker Preston Sturges, the man responsible for such comedy classics as Sullivan's Travels, The Miracle of Morgan Creek, and Unfaithfully Yours, among others. Director-producer Kenneth Bowser's Preston Sturges (Jan. 21-22, 25 and 27) is a fascinating look at a cinematic genius whose creative freedom in Hollywood was unprecedented and, sadly, short-lived.
Utilizing film clips, interviews with actors Joel McCrea, Eddie Bracken, and Cesar Romero, and commentary from noted film critic Andrew Sarris, the 75-minute documentary traces Sturges' life and work from his early screenwriting days in the 1930s through his tragic decline in the late 1940s and '50s. In all, Preston Sturges remains an unforgettable portrait of an American original and an absolute must for movie buffs.
Richard Lester
One of the U.S. Film Festival highlights will be a special tribute and discussion on the works of British director Richard Lester—a man who has collaborated with performers as diverse as the Beatles and Buster Keaton while establishing his offbeat cinematic techniques.
Besides a special screening of the Beatles feature A Hard Day's Night (Jan. 20-21), the festival will also present such Lester gems as The Knack (Jan. 20 and 22), the dark anti-war comedy How I Won the War (Jan. 21 and 28) starring Michael Crawford and John Lennon (Jan. 21 and 28), the cult classic Petulia with George C. Scott and Julie Christie (Jan. 23 and 28), and the delightful Robin and Marian (Jan. 24 and 27) featuring Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn in memorable form.
Besides attending the Hard Day's Night screening in Park City, Lester will also discuss his overall career Jan. 20 at 1:00 p.m. in the Elks Building on South Temple. Tickets for the Lester discussion are $15.
Melvin Van Peebles
Influential black filmmaker, Melvin Van Peebles, will be celebrated in a retrospective of his work spanning over 30 years. Along with such Van Peebles triumphs as 1971's Sweet Sweetback's Baadasss Song (Jan. 21 and 24) and 1969's race-reversal comedy Watermelon Man (Jan. 23 and 28), the festival will also present the critically-praised The Story of a Three-Day Pass (Jan. 22-23), the 1981 mini-series Sophisticated Gents (Jan. 23 and 28), and the director's latest release Identity Crisis (Jan. 26 and 28), starring his son Mario Van Peebles.
In addition, the black cinema pioneer will present an evening of songs, comedy and readings appropriately titled "Live from Park City: It's Melvin Van Peebles!" on Jan. 26 at 4:00 p.m. in the Egyptian Theatre. Tickets for this special event are $10.
Duck, You Sucker
As a tribute to the late director Sergio Leone, the festival's "Gone But Not Forgotten" series will include the uncut version of Leone's action-packed Duck, You Sucker (Jan. 22 and 24) starring Rod Steiger and James Coburn amidst the Mexican Revolution. Perhaps not as well known as the director's Clint Eastwood Trilogy of the 1960s, this spectacular (though slightly overlong) 1972 movie is classic Leone all the way.
Next month, The Private Eye will feature a post-festival wrap-up of movies seen during the week-long cinematic smorgasbord.
Latest in City Weekly REWIND
