Next month will mark the return of New York City’s Quad Cinema, a theater reshaped and rebranded as a proper theater via the resources of Charles S. Cohen, head of the distribution outfit Cohen Media Group. While we got a few hints of the line-up during the initial announcement, they’ve now unveiled their first full repertory calendar, running from April 14th through May 4th, and it’s an embarassment of cinematic riches.
Including the previously revealed Lina Wertmüller retrospective, one inventive series that catches our eye is First Encounters, in which an artist will get to experience a film they’ve always wanted to see, but never have, and in which you’re invited to take part. The first match-ups in the series include Kenneth Lonergan‘s first viewing Edward Yang‘s Yi Yi, Noah Baumbach‘s first viewing of Withnail and I, John Turturro‘s first viewing of Pather Panchali, and Sandra Bernhard‘s first viewing of Rainer Werner Fassbinder‘s Lola.
Also including double features, a Harold and Lillian Michelson series, a batch of films that correlate with the number four, and more, check out the stellar full line-up below; and for updates on what will screen every weekend throughout the entire city, including the Quad, follow here.
Four Play
April 14-May 4
Four is the magic number at the Quad: 44 years of history, four screens… with four sides each. To honor the theater’s unique footprint, we delved into film history to gather up some of cinema’s greatest four-handers, love-rectangles, fourth installments, and quadriptyches, to serve up an amuse bouche for the wide range of programming you’ll be seeing at the new Quad.
4 Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle
Eric Rohmer, 1987, France, 99m, 35mm
The Four Feathers
Zoltan Korda, 1939, UK, 130m, 35mm
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Vincente Minnelli, 1961, U.S., 153m, 35mm
Four Times That Night (Quante volte… quella notte)
Mario Bava, 1972, Italy, 82m, 35mm
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Mike Newell, 1993, UK, 117m, 35mm
Four’s a Crowd
Michael Curtiz, 1938, U.S., 92m, 35mm
New York premiere of new Library of Congress 35mm restoration
The Fourth Man
Paul Verhoeven, 1983, Netherlands, 102m, 35mm
The Gang of Four
Jacques Rivette, 1989, France, 160m, DCP
World premiere of new 4K restoration
Presented by Matías Piñeiro on April 26
The Lickerish Quartet
Radley Metzger, 1970, U.S., 90m, 35mm
The Merchant of Four Seasons
R.W. Fassbinder, 1971, West Germany, 89m, DCP
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
Paul Schrader, 1985, USA/Japan, 121m, 35mm
With Paul Schrader in person
Phase IV
Saul Bass, 1974, U.S., 84m, DCP
Quadrophenia
Franc Roddam, 1979, UK, 120m, DCP
Rocky IV
Sylvester Stallone, 1985, U.S., 91m, 35mm
Quadrophilia
Ongoing Series begins April 14
“I saw it at the Quad!”
When the Quad Cinema debuted in 1972, Jonas Mekas wrote in his Village Voice “Movie Journal” column, “The fact that we have four movie theaters in one house [at the Quad] could eventually lead (with imaginative programming) to a screening situation with four different choices. For instance: a premiere opening of a Hollywood movie, a Hollywood ‘classic,’ a European (or South American) movie, and avant-garde (or independent) movie.”
The Quad would go on to feature precisely this breadth of curation, screening movies across all genres and eras and nationalities in first-run, second-run, and repertory. For older moviegoers, this rotating, year-round series will hopefully serve as a reminder of halcyon decades of Quad viewing, and for younger cinephiles, offer a crash course on our rich history.
City of Hope
John Sayles, 1991, U.S., 129m, DCP
With John Sayles in person
The Gang’s All Here
Busby Berkeley, 1943, U.S., 105m, 35mm IB Technicolor
The first repertory film to ever screen at the Quad. This print was struck from the original three-strip negative and rarely screened since the 1972 rerelease.
Going Places (Les Valseuses)
Bertrand Blier, 1974, France, 113m, 35mm
King Lear
Jean-Luc Godard, 1987, U.S./France, 90m, 35mm
Presented by Richard Brody
Return of the Secaucus Seven
John Sayles, 1980, U.S., 110m, 35mm
With John Sayles in person
Lina Wertmüller: Female Trouble
April 14-May 1
In the 1970s, Lina Wertmüller was a certifiable international phenomenon—a lively firebrand behind white glasses who became one of the decade’s marquee-name filmmakers. Smashing box-office records for foreign-language films, her hot-button movies—erotic and polemical and provocative all at once—became must-see conversation pieces. Her notorious Seven Beauties earned four Oscar nominations, including one for Best Director, making her the first woman ever nominated for the award.
She was loved by some (Vincent Canby, John Simon), loathed by others (Pauline Kael, Molly Haskell), and the likes of Louis CK, Spike Lee, Jodie Foster and Amy Heckerling declared themselves ardent fans. Today, her daring, unapologetically politically incorrect films—where sex and politics are always inextricably bound—look more essential than ever before. Wertmüller’s films played a combined 75 weeks here in the 1970s, making her the reigning Queen of the Quad—and so we’re thrilled to relaunch our theater with the most extensive Wertmüller retrospective ever seen in New York.
Organized in collaboration with Gabriele Caroti. Special thanks to Jonathan Hertzberg (Kino Lorber), Cinecittà Luce, and Caterina Corbaz.
Swept Away
Lina Wertmüller, 1974, Italy, 116m, DCP
World premiere of new 2K digital restoration
Special week-long engagement begins April 14. A Kino Lorber release.
Seven Beauties
Lina Wertmüller, 1975, Italy, 115m, DCP
World premiere of new 2K digital restoration
Special week-long engagement begins April 14. A Kino Lorber release.
Behind the White Glasses
Valerio Ruiz, Italy, 112m, DCP
Director Valerio Ruiz in person at select shows opening weekend
Exclusive New York engagement begins April 21. A Kino Lorber release.
All Screwed Up
Lina Wertmüller, 1974, Italy, 105m, DCP
A Kino Lorber release.
Blood Feud
Lina Wertmüller, 1987, Italy, 124m, 35mm
8 ½
Federico Fellini, 1963, Italy, 138m, 35mm
Ferdinando e Carolina
Lina Wertmüller, 1999, Italy, 102m, 35mm
World premiere of new 2K digital restoration. A Kino Lorber release.
Let’s Talk About Men
Lina Wertmüller, 1965, Italy, 91m, 35mm
The Lizards
Lina Wertmüller, 1963, Italy, 85m, 35mm
Love & Anarchy
Lina Wertmüller, 1973, Italy, 129m, DCP
A Kino Lorber release.
A Night Full of Rain
Lina Wertmüller, 1978, Italy/Canada, 104m, 35mm
The Seduction of Mimi
Lina Wertmüller, 1972, Italy, 112m, DCP
A Kino Lorber release.
Sotto…Sotto
Lina Wertmüller, 1984, Italy, 105m, 35mm
Summer Night
Lina Wertmüller, 1986, Italy, 94m, DCP
World premiere of new 2K digital restoration. A Kino Lorber release.
First Encounters
Ongoing Series begins April 15
Moviegoing is about memories—not just of the films you saw, but where and when and with whom. With this in mind, we’ve invited a selection of notable New Yorkers to choose a film they’ve never seen but have always wanted to—whether it be a canonical classic or a rarified obscurity. In this ongoing special series, filmmakers, musicians, artists, writers, and beyond will finally get to see these films for the first time, and share their immediate, raw reactions with the audience following the screening. You never forget your first encounter.
Sandra Bernhard’s first viewing of
Lola
Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1981, West Germany, 113m, 35mm
With Sandra Bernhard in person
John Turturro’s first viewing of
Pather Panchali
Satyajit Ray, 1955, India, 125m, DCP
With John Turturro in person
Noah Baumbach’s first viewing of
Withnail and I
Bruce Robinson, 1988, UK, 107m, 35mm
With Noah Baumbach in person
Kenneth Lonergan’s first viewing of
Yi Yi
Edward Yang, 2000, Taiwan/Japan, 173m, 35mm
With Kenneth Lonergan in person
Jeffrey Deitch’s first viewing of
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
D.A. Pennebaker, 1973, UK, 90m, 35mm
With Jeffrey Deitch in person
One Shots
Ongoing Series begins April 15
You’re cordially invited to join us for these very special one-night-only events. You only have one shot.
The General
Buster Keaton & Clyde Bruckman, 1926, U.S., 78m, DCP
New York premiere of new 4K restoration
Presented by Peter Bogdanovich
Two for Tuesday
Ongoing Series begins Tues April 25 & Tues May 2
The Quad upholds the venerable tradition of the double feature with regular pairings.
Two gripping thrillers based on works by the bestselling novelist Frederick Forsyth
The Odessa File
Ronald Neame, 1974, UK/West Germany, 129m, 35mm
The Day of the Jackal
Fred Zinnerman, 1973, UK/France, 142m, 35mm
Jeff Lieberman: Two frighteners from the director of Squirm
Just Before Dawn
Jeff Lieberman, 1981, U.S., 92m, DCP
Blue Sunshine
Jeff Lieberman, 1977, U.S., 95m, DCP
New York premiere of new 4K restoration
Further Research: Harold and Lillian
April 29-30
To accompany Daniel Raim’s new documentary, Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story (opening at the Quad on April 28), we’re devoting our repertory screen to the work of Harold and Lillian Michelson–prolific storyboard artist and researcher, respectively–whose work on seminal Hollywood productions went unrecognized (and often uncredited) for decades. This pocket series helps set the record straight, in appreciation of the impact their storyboards, production design, and meticulous research left on movie history.
Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story
Daniel Raim, U.S., 94m, DCP
Director Daniel Raim in person at select shows opening weekend
Exclusive New York engagement begins April 28
The Cotton Club
Francis Coppola, 1984, U.S., 127m, 35mm
The Day of the Locust
John Schlesinger, 1975, U.S., 144m, 35mm
Fiddler on the Roof
Norman Jewison, 1971, U.S., 179m, DCP
Full Metal Jacket
Stanley Kubrick, 1987, U.S., 114m, 35mm
History of the World, Part I
Mel Brooks, 1981, U.S., 92m, DCP
Irma La Douce
Billy Wilder, 1963, U.S., 147m, 35mm
Terms of Endearment
James L. Brooks, 1983, U.S., 132m, 35mm
See more at quadcinema.com.