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Wednesday 8/3/11

5:00 PM HDNM
Magic Trip: Ken Kesey’s Search (2011 USA): I don’t usually recommend stuff on these HD channels because, well, I’m an old-fashioned guy and haven’t taken the HD leap yet. However, I’ll make an exception in the case of Magic Trip, which is premiering on HDNM concurrent with its limited theatrical release. For those of you under 40, Ken Kesey was the puckish Merry Prankster of the 1960s, a free spirit who (when he wasn’t writing books like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Sometimes a Great Notion) lived on LSD and drove around the United States in a psychedelic bus. That’s all here and much, much more, so if you’re in the mood for a long (well, hour and a half long) strange trip, look no further than this Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) joint. Pun intended, of course. Acid flashbacks occur at 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM.

Thursday 8/4/11

3:00 AM HBO Signature
The Sicilian Clan (1969 FRA): This superior caper film stars the grand old man of French cinema, Jean Gabin (who, by the way is getting his own "Summer Under the Stars" day on TCM later this month), as a manipulative gangster and handsome young heartthrob Alain Delon (don't we ALL wish we could have his hair?) as the target of Gabin's ire. The two are working together on the same jewelry heist, but each is convinced he can get the better of his co-conspirator whilst also pulling the wool over the eyes of Inspector Le Goff (Lino Ventura). Superbly directed by Henri Verneuil and featuring yet another excellent Ennio Morricone score, The Sicilian Clan is still unavailable on home video. It used to air in widescreen on Fox with some regularity, and I’m hoping the usually reliable HBO Signature will also be showing it in its correct aspect ratio.

8:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Kiki (1926 USA): Speaking of Summer Under the Stars, today turns out to be Ronald Colman day! Until Kino recently released it on DVD, Kiki was a very hard film to see and now gets what is, I suspect, its TCM premiere. Colman plays Victor Renal, a Paris dance-hall manager who finds himself targeted by the titular lass (Norma Talmadge), who’ll go to almost any lengths to get her man. Independently produced by Ms. Talmadge, Kiki is a delightful piece of romantic fluff helmed by Clarence Brown.

Friday 8/5/11

Midnight Sundance
The Girl on the Train (2009 FRA): The shadows of Tawana Brawley and Ashley Todd loom large over this controversial drama. Emilie Duquenne plays the lass on the choo-choo, a young woman named Jeanne who seems not to have a care in the world. Mum (Catherine Deneuve) has arranged a job interview for her daughter with a Jewish businessman named Bleistein (Michel Blanc), but Jeanne blows it, and then takes things to the next level by telling her would-be employer that a gang of North Africans assaulted her on the train and carved a swastika into her stomach. Only problems: there’s no evidence of the attackers and the swastika is backwards. Is Jeanne making a statement about the prevalence of anti-Semitism in modern France, or is she both exacerbating and belittling a serious problem? Directed by Andre Techine, The Girl on the Train is an intriguing think piece occasionally undone by soapy sub-plots, but still well worth a look.

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