RARE FARE AT ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES. The documentary Cinemania shows some of the city's most fervid film buffs plotting how they can shuttle from one movie house to another to catch all the great screenings that they can. This week(end)--and maybe this month--may test the movie-hopping abilities of even the most resourceful Cinemaniac.

You see, you've got your docs in Astoria. You've got your Morricone at MOMA, The Film Forum, and Radio City Musical Hall. Then there's Mafioso. Plus, if you're quick about it, you can still catch Tears of the Black Tiger.

But wait--there's more: a rarely screened Jacques Demy movie and amazing-sounding Japanese documentaries at Anthology Film Archives.

The Jacques Demy movie is The Pied Piper (1972). The follow-up to Demy's fractured fairy tale Donkey Skin--and the latest in a slow rollout of Demy revivals including Donkey Skin as well as Lola, Bay of Angels, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Young Girls of Rochefort, and Model Shop--it features music and acting by Donovan (right) and performances by Jack Wild, John Hurt, Donald Pleasence, Roy Kinnear, and Diana Dors (a.k.a. Diana Mary Fluck).

I know very little about The Pied Piper, but I've been so delighted by Umbrellas, Young Girls, and Donkey Skin that I'm anxiously looking forward to seeing this revival (which--be warned--is not supposed to be very child-friendly). Here is J. Hoberman's write-up. My many Vancouver readers will be pleased to know that it's coming to the Cinematheque, too.

As for the documentaries of Kazuo Hara, I hardly know a thing about them but, judging from Ed Halter's review, they seem fascinating. Here is Kenneth Ruoff's interview with the director.

Back to Demy: Here's a scene from Donkey Skin.



Source (3:30)