Sag Harbor’s Cinema’s Booksmart: Two Wknds of Screenings & Discussions / 9.21-22 & 9.28-29

SAG HARBOR CINEMA’S BOOKSMART

Two consecutive weekends of screenings and conversations
about film and literature on September 21-22 and 28-29.

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Sag Harbor, NY – As part of Sag Harbor Cinema’s interest in exploring the connection between film and the other arts, we are pleased to announce a new initiative focused on the intersection of film and literature. In September, Sag Harbor Cinema’s Booksmart will feature screenings of four films inspired by literature, each followed by a Q&A with a special guest: Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters with writer/director Paul Schrader, Don’t Look Now with novelist Susan Scarf Merrell, Tim Burton’s Batman (guest TBA), and Goodbye, Columbus, with journalist and historian Eric Alterman.

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“The world of literature is often featured in our programs. The idea to further explore its relationship to film seemed a natural one to me. To lead us into this exploration, we have invited one of the greatest American screenwriters working today, an award-winning novelist whose work has been adapted into film, and a renowned essayist and academic, specialized in film adaptations. It will make for an exciting start of what I imagine as a recurring initiative,” says Sag Harbor Cinema’s Artistic Director Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan.

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On Saturday, September 21 at 6pm, Paul Schrader will kick off the series with a screening of his 1985 highly stylized biographical drama Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters. The film will be followed by a discussion with Schrader (whose screenwriting credits include Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Affliction, adapted from Russell Banks) about weaving elements from acclaimed Japanese author’s autobiography Confessions of a Mask and dramatizations of Mishima’s own writings (The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, Kyoko’s House, and Runaway Horses). The film was produced by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas with a musical score by Philip Glass.

On Sunday, September 22 at 6pm, the Cinema will host East End writer Susan Scarf Merrell for a screening of Nicolas Roeg’s 1974 thriller classic Don’t Look Now starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie as a grieving couple who travel to Venice only to find themselves at the center of mysterious phenomena. The film, based on the chilling short story by Daphne du Maurier, will also be followed by a Q&A with Merrell, whose novel Shirley was inspired by a chapter in the life of gothic author Shirley Jackson and subsequently turned into a film directed by Josephine Decker.

The series continues the following weekend with two more screenings and special guests. On Saturday, September 28 at 6pm, the Cinema will explore the highly popular form of comic book-based films through Tim Burton’s Batman followed by a discussion with a special guest from the world of comics.

Finally, on Sunday, September 29 at 6pm, the Cinema will screen Goodbye, Columbus, Larry Peerce’s 1969 adaptation of Philip Roth’s 1959 novella, followed by a Q&A with journalist Eric Alterman. Alterman is a CUNY Distinguished Professor of English and Journalism. He was the “The Liberal Media” columnist for The Nation for 25 years and is now a columnist for The American Prospect. He is the author of twelve books, including most recently We Are Not One: A History of America’s Fight Over Israel (2022).

As a nod to the literary weekends, the Cinema will also screen Rob Reiner’s 1986 classic Stand by Me, adapted from Stephen King’s 1982 novella The Body, on September 21 & 22 at 11am as part of the year round Kids & Families programming. SHC will also host one screening of Spike Jonze’s 2002 film Adaptation. on Monday, September 23rd at 6pm as part of SHC’s yearlong 100 Years of Columbia series. The film, written by Charlie Kaufman, is based on Kaufman’s own struggles to adapt Susan Orlean’s book The Orchid Thief.

Sag Harbor Cinema’s Booksmart is kindly sponsored by Assemble Media.

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ABOUT THE FILMS:

MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS

Directed by Paul Schrader

USA/Japan, 1985; 120 mins, in English and Japanese with English subtitles

Rated R

Paul Schrader’s visually stunning, collagelike portrait of the acclaimed Japanese author and playwright Yukio Mishima (played by Ken Ogata) investigates the inner turmoil and contradictions of a man who attempted the impossible task of finding harmony among self, art, and society. Taking place on the last day of Mishima’s life, when he famously committed public seppuku, the film is punctuated by extended flashbacks to the writer’s past as well as gloriously stylized evocations of his fictional works. With its rich cinematography by John Bailey, exquisite sets and costumes by Eiko Ishioka, and unforgettable, highly influential score by Philip Glass, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is a tribute to its subject and a bold, investigative work of art in its own right.

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DON’T LOOK NOW

Directed by Nicolas Roeg

UK/Italy, 1973; 110 mins, in English

Rated R

Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie mesmerize as a British married couple on an extended trip to Venice following a family tragedy. While in that elegantly decaying city, they have a series of inexplicable, terrifying, and increasingly dangerous experiences. A masterpiece from Nicolas Roeg, Don’t Look Now, adapted from a story by Daphne du Maurier, is a brilliantly disturbing tale of the supernatural, as renowned for its innovative editing and haunting cinematography as for its naturalistic eroticism and its unforgettable climax and denouement—one of the great endings in horror history.

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BATMAN

Directed by Tim Burton

USA, 1989; 126 mins, in English

Rated PG-13

Having witnessed his parents’ brutal murder as a child, millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) fights crime in Gotham City disguised as Batman, a costumed hero who strikes fear into the hearts of villains. But when a deformed madman who calls himself “The Joker” (Jack Nicholson) seizes control of Gotham’s criminal underworld, Batman must face his most ruthless nemesis ever while protecting both his identity and his love interest, reporter Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger).

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GOODBYE, COLUMBUS

Directed by Larry Peerce

USA, 1969; 102 mins, in English

Rated PG

Neil Klugman (Richard Benjamin), a young librarian in New Jersey, has eyes for Brenda Patimkin (Ali MacGraw), a beautiful Radcliffe student. Although they are both Jewish, Brenda’s family is much wealthier and more conservative than Neil’s. As their relationship matures, their differing cultural backgrounds cause Brenda’s mother (Nan Martin) to have trepidations about the couple. As their disparate ideas about sex and birth control come to the fore, their feelings for each other are tested.

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As a not-for-profit 501(c)3, community-based organization, Sag Harbor Cinema is dedicated to presenting the past, present and future of the Movies and to preserving and educating about films, filmmaking, and the film-going experience in its three state-of-the-art theaters. The Cinema engages its audiences and the community year-round through dialogue, discovery, and appreciation of the moving image – from blockbusters to student shorts and everything in between. Revitalized and reimagined through unprecedented community efforts to rebuild the iconic Main Street structure after a fire nearly destroyed it in 2016, SHC continues a long historic tradition of entertainment in the heart of Sag Harbor Village.

SAG HARBOR CINEMA’S BOOKSMART

Two consecutive weekends of screenings and conversations
about film and literature on September 21-22 and 28-29.