Événement

NOIR CITY 17: 1960: BREATHLESS / PSYCHO

Saturday, February 2: 1960

7:15
BREATHLESS (A BOUT DE SOUFFLE)
(1960, Les Films Impéria [Rialto]. 90 min.)

Scr. Jean-Luc Godard, from a story by François Truffaut. Dir. Jean-Luc Godard

Small-time crook Michel Poiccard (Jean-Paul Belmondo), a ne'er-do-well with a headful of cinematic delusions, falls for Patricia (Jean Seberg), a sexy young American in Paris. Action, ennui, and tragedy ensue. On one level, a loving tribute to Hollywood B moviemaking, but more crucially a simple tale told in nontraditional, exhilarating cinema verite style; it heralded not only the arrival of France's nouvelle vague, but a seismic shift in movie style and technique. One of two noir-tinged films released in 1960 that forever changed international cinema. Presented in 35mm courtesy of Rialto Pictures
Cast: Jean-Paul Belmondo (Michel Poiccard), Jean Seberg (Patricia Franchini), Daniel Boulanger (Police Inspector Vital), Jean-Pierre Melville (Parvulesco)

9:15
PSYCHO
(1960, Paramount [Universal]. 109 min.)

Scr. Joseph Stefano, from the novel by Robert Bloch. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock

Arguably the most influential film in modern cinema. Hitchcock's groundbreaking and trendsetting picture starts as pure noir: Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), desperate for a new life, steals $40,000 from the real estate office where she works. Fleeing to a rendezvous with her lover, wracked with fear and guilt, she stops for the night at the Bates Motel, where she meets timid, awkward Norman (Anthony Perkins)... and his mother. Traditional noir quickly goes down the drain, and a new era of sensational cinematic terror gripped the public's imagination. Featuring an incredible score by the legendary Bernard Herrmann, and several of the scariest sequences in movie history. Presented in 35mm courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Cast: Janet Leigh (Marion Crane), Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates), Vera Miles (Lila Crane), John Gavin (Sam Loomis), Martin Balsam (Det. Milton Arbogast), John McIntire (Sheriff Chambers), Simon Oakland (Dr. Richmond), Patricia Hitchcock (Caroline), Mort Mills (patrolman)