Starting tomorrow evening, at the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, I'll be hosting a six-week series of screenings called "Original Gangsters" with which I attempt to encapsulate the history of the gangster film with a mere six films. A futile effort but hopefully an entertaining and not unilluminating one. The first on the docket is The Beast of the City, a template of sorts and NOT a Vitaphone production, interestingly enough. The films are displayed via DVD, because that's how it's done in this venue. I'll introduce and lead a discussion afterwards. Check it out if you're around; more info is here.
Very cool! So glad you're showing "Touchez Pas Au Grisbi"
Posted by: David Ehrenstein | January 21, 2013 at 05:44 PM
I will definitely try to stop by at least for SCARFACE and THE OUTFIT.
Posted by: lipranzer | January 21, 2013 at 06:00 PM
I rarely wish I was in New York.
This is one of those times.
Posted by: lazarus | January 21, 2013 at 11:25 PM
Oh, I'd love to go to at least a couple. Balancing kids will be tricky but maybe they'd like Little Caesar. (Not really kidding either.)
This is a beautiful re-design Glenn. Much easier to read and the white makes your screen caps stand out as well. Also, I am so pleased you have the same epigraph, which looks even more jaunty and defiant in the new and improved foo-foo font. Great job.
Posted by: The Siren | January 22, 2013 at 07:34 AM
Hooray for those last two selections, giving play to a French genre-adjunct and, in "The Outfit", a scrappy closing entry that among other virtues is a working love letter to the tradition of Hollywood character actors, almost too many to name, in their weathered, sclerotic late-career glory. In making sure your series included a Stark adaptation, you also showcase Robert Ryan's final iteration of hard-core American bastardry.
Posted by: jwarthen | January 22, 2013 at 04:24 PM
SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT TIME, ORIGINAL GANGSTERS!! WISHED I LIVED IN BROOKLYN. LOVE THE NEW LOOK OF YOUR BLOG
Posted by: atk | January 23, 2013 at 01:35 PM
I enjoyed the series. Never cared particularly for gangster movies, still don't, but those were excellent introductory selections and the little talks that bookended them were enlightening. At first, I was a little disappointed from an artsy perspective. Stars such as James Cagney, Walter Huston, Edward G. Robinson, Paul Muni, Jean Gabin and Robert Duvall, along with tightly scripted plot progressions mostly carried the films. I forget exactly how you phrased it? "Filled up the screen," "soaked up all the air in the room." Something like that. Only "Scarface" with its interesting camera movements and hidden X's resonated with a more modern sensibility. But I came to appreciate the other films for not just what they are but also for the bits of cultural history they illustrated. That's the kind of thing that made the series so valuable, and why I like criticism in general. It's all about story and good criticism finds fascinating stories within and about the basic plot and execution of the nominal story. Hopefully, you'll do something like that again. The BPL is a great institution. Thanks, again.
Posted by: mw | February 27, 2013 at 09:22 AM