Brooklyn-Centric Film Series Kicks Off On Halloween With Walter Hill’s ‘The Warriors,’ Includes Films By Spike Lee, Noah Baumbach & More
Here’s a pretty cool treat for those that live in Brooklyn — like many of us on The Playlist team. Beginning on Halloween (October 31), the excellent BAMcinématek repertory house will be launching their “Brooklyn Close-Up” series; a year-long retrospective that marks BAM’s 150th anniversary and celebrates the rich film history that has taken place in the borough.
Celebrating nine decades of Brooklyn film, BAM is the oldest performing arts center in the country, and as part of this commemoration, the “Brooklyn Close-Up” series will feature an iconic film on the last Monday of every month through December 2012.
Extra cool is the fact that the series will celebrate many of Brooklyn’s various neighborhoods by highlighting films that took place there. Bed-Stuy will be represented by Spike Lee’s unforgettable “Do The Right Thing,” Bay Ridge will get shine via “Saturday Night Fever,” Carroll Gardens love will be shown through “Moonstruck,” Park Slope will be personified by films by Hal Ashby and Noah Baumbach (“The Landlord,” “The Squid & The Whale”), Williamsburg will be showcased by Elia Kazan’s classic tale, “A Tree Grows In Brooklyn,” Walter Hill’s “The Warriors” will feature Coney Island and so on and so on. Below you’ll see the line-up and the exclusive “Brooklyn Close-Up” series poster as designed by Brooklyn artist Nathan Gelgud. Some of the future screenings will be double features and many will be followed by Q&As with special guests – something to keep an eye on.
— Bay Ridge:
John Badham’s “Saturday Night Fever” (1977)
— Bedford-Stuyvesant:
Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” (1989)
William Friedkin’s “The French Connection” (1971)
Michael Campus’ “The Education of Sonny Carson” (1974) Pivotal scenes shot in Fort Greene Park
— Bensonhurst:
Paul Morrissey’s “Spike Of Bensonhurst” (1988)
— Brighton Beach:
James Gray’s “Two Lovers” (2008)
— Brooklyn Heights:
Peter Yates’ “For Pete’s Sake” (1974)
Michael Winner’s “The Sentinel” (1977)
— Brownsville & East New York:
Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas” (1989) Also Gowanus, under the Smith/9th St. overpass
— Carroll Gardens:
Norman Jewison’s “Moonstruck” (1987) Also Brooklyn Heights
Ronald Bronstein’s Frownland (2007) Actually, the “Columbia St. Waterfront District”
— Coney Island:
Harold Lloyd’s Speedy (1928)
Morris Engel’s The Little Fugitive (1953)
Eugène Lourié’s The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
Walter Hill’s The Warriors (1979)
— Crown Heights:
Jim McKay’s “Our Song” (2000)
— DUMBO:
Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon A Time in America” (1982)
— Flatbush:
Alan J. Pakula’s “Sophie’s Choice” (1982)
— Fort Greene:
Ryan Fleck’s “Half Nelson” (2007) Also Gowanus and East New York
Spike Lee’s “She’s Gotta Have It” (1986)
Gravesend: Sidney Lumet’s “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975) But shot in Windsor Terrace
— Park Slope:
Hal Ashby’s “The Landlord” (1970)
Wayne Wang’s “Smoke” (1995)
Noah Baumbach’s “The Squid and the Whale” (2005) Also a block in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens aka “the fillet of the neighborhood”
Aaron Katz’s “Quiet City” (2007)
— Red Hook:
William Lustig’s “Vigilante” (1983) Also Greenpoint
Uli Edel’s “Last Exit to Brooklyn” (1989)
— Williamsburg:
Elia Kazan’s “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” (1945)
Andrew Bujalski’s “Mutual Appreciation” (2005)
— Neighborhood Unidentified:
Wes Craven’s “Vampire in Brooklyn” (1995)
(Please note that not all films are confirmed.) For specific showtimes, check out the BAM website.
