JERSEY CITY SHOWDOWN(S)

I know I just touted this weekend's Sam Fuller offerings at the Museum of the Moving Image--especially Saturday afternoon's Falkenau program. And I stand by the recommendation. But there's another attractive movie program this weekend, in Jersey City, that I also want to note.

Three big Westerns from three continents will be shown on the big screen of the Loew's Jersey Theatre on Friday and Saturday. As you can see from this Scoboco post, the grand, old-timey moviehouse is an attraction in itself. Adult admission is $6, with combo discounts available.

Sergio Leone's great The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly will show Friday night at 8 pm--it's arguably the main attraction of the this "East Meets West(ern)" series, as it is a quintessential example of widescreen moviemaking. Be warned, though: It's violent and 161 minutes long.

Here's short trailer featuring Ennio Morricone's famous theme.



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Another superb example of filmmaking shows on Saturday at 2 pm. Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai is a masterfully told and meaningful adventure story enhanced by exemplary casting that underscores the personality differences among the main characters. This offering is the longest of the bunch, clocking in at 208 minutes. Beforehand there will be programs related to Japanese culture.

Here's a fantastically done scene: A crowd watches in amazement as an unarmed master samurai, posing as a Buddhist priest, rescues a baby from an armed rogue.



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The Seven Samurai "inspired" Hollywood's The Magnificent Seven, the third offering, which will play at 8:30 pm. The storyline holds up well, the acting is also good, and rousing Coplandesque score by Elmer Bernstein is one of the "classics." This one is relatively short, at a mere 126 minutes. There will be a talk with a Q&A after the movie.

Here's a trailer.



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HAPPY HAPPY JOY! JOI LANSING DAY IS HERE!! Last year Blog About Town celebrated with the unforgettable Scopitone "The Web of Love."

This year it's another Scopitone: Lansing's cover of "The Silencer."



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And now it's time to compare and contrast: Here Cyd Charisse--with Vicki Carr's voice--performs the same song (music by Elmer Bernstein and Mack David) in the opening credits to The Silencers, the Matt Helm film that will be on a Film Forum double bill with Our Man Flint on Thursday, May 3, 2007.



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For a more complete version of the opening credits, click here.