We think of repertory houses as places for entertainment, but sometimes they’re more than that. They can influence opinion and change the way the history of movies is thought about and talked about.
In the 1980s, programmer Bruce Goldstein at Film Forum in Manhattan coined the term “pre-Code” and changed perceptions of early 1930s cinema with his advocacy of American movies made before censorship.
In 1994, Elliot Lavine and Bill Banning’s Norma Shearer tribute at the Roxie Cinema began the rediscovery of this pivotal feminist pioneer.
And just in this decade, Don Malcolm’s series of French film noir, also at the Roxie, has been a total game changer in terms of how noir, both French and American, is perceived.
On Thursday, Nov. 14, “The French Had a Name for It 6” begins at the Roxie. Subtitled “Darkness in the 1960s,” the festival consists of 15 films that will be shown over the course of three days, ending with a program on Monday evening. Malcolm, who has introduced Bay Area audiences to 101 French noirs since his first festival in 2014, says that this will be the last such festival for a while.
Before Malcolm came on the scene in 2014, everyone thought that Americans invented film noir, and the French just gave it a name.Au contraire. In fact, noir seems to have been invented simultaneously, or, if anything, the French got there first. It was also assumed that America did noir better than everywhere else. That’s almost true, if you don’t count France. But French noir is brisk. It has great stars and directors, and — this is big — it wasn’t censored like American noir.
新节日值得一看每一个东西day. You can immerse yourself or dabble, and you’ll be OK either way. On Thursday night, “The Burning Court” (1962) is particularly strong, with Jean-Claude Brialy starring opposite a trio of terrific midcentury actresses — Edith Scob, Nadja Tiller and Perrette Pradier — in a story about relatives who can’t wait for their creepy rich uncle to die. Not only can’t they wait, but they won’t wait.
Friday, Nov. 15, has a fine double feature —“Joy House” (1964), with Jane Fonda(in her French phase) and Alain Delon; and “Where the Truth Lies” (1962), with Juliette Gréco as a woman who might just be a powerful witch.
The highlight of Saturday, Nov. 16, is “One Does Not Bury Sunday” (1960), the story of an African student who wants to marry his Swedish girlfriend, but then everything starts to go wrong. It’s a fascinating, intelligent film about power, class and race.
On Saturday night, the one not to miss is “Symphony for a Massacre” (1963), a twisted caper film, with Jean Rochefort as a mild-mannered crook who sets about murdering his entire gang to steal their money.
Sunday, Nov. 17, showcases two of the great leading ladies of the day,Emmanuelle Riva(“Therese”) and Michèle Morgan (“Web of Fear”). Sunday night brings togethernoir mainstay Jean Gabinwith阿兰·德龙in “Any Number Can Win” (1963), on a double bill with “La Mort de Belle” (1961), an arresting entry starring Jean Desailly. The show concludes with a pair of 1966 films dealing, at least in part, with the lingering effects of war: Alain Resnais’ “The War Is Over” and “Objective: 500 Million.”
Many fans of American noir end up seeing the same movies over and over, because the supply isn’t endless. This festival, like the ones past, gives people a chance to see good noirs that they’ve never seen before — and might not ever see again. Enjoy it while it’s here.
“The French Had a Name for It 6: Darkness in the Sixties”:A five-day festival of French film noir from the 1960s. Nov. 14-18. $12-$14. Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., S.F. 415-863-1087.www.roxie.com